Happy Valentine's Day!

 I have always enjoyed Valentine's Day; even during those angsty teenage-and-single Valentine's Days, I couldn't quite feel like a grinch because my parents made the day so special for my siblings and me.  This year was no different!  I received a thoughtful Valentine's "care package" from my mom and a surprise flower delivery to my classroom from my dad.  They are the sweetest!

I also like Valentine's Day because it is a good excuse to bake (and eat) fun, heart-shaped treats!  This year I made some cookies to share:

(They are the soft kind of sugar cookie like the Lofthouse cookies you get at the grocery store.  Thanks to Two Peas and Their Pod for the recipe!)

To go with our Valentine's dinner tonight, I also couldn't help making a few mini jam pies: pie crust stuffed with a little bit of cream cheese and raspberry jam, sprinkled with sugar and baked at 400 degrees for ~12 minutes.  Delicious!

And who can resist a yummy Valentine's breakfast?  This year I had strawberries on hand and found that they could easily be cut into fun heart shapes to go with our pancakes!

Today I am thankful for all of my Valentines: friends, family, Baby on the way, and of course Jonathan!  This morning he totally surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers!  We are going to enjoy a quiet evening at home without any school work involved--just what we crave at the end of a busy week  :)  

Happy Valentine's Day to you from the three of us!  <3