Be My Valentine: Memory Jars, Cookie Surprise, Scrapbook Highlights, Romantic Dinner for Two, & More!
Last year I started the “Be My Valentine” series to help celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day Holiday. Here are some fun ideas from last year that our family enjoyed:
Be My Valentine: “I Love You” Memory Jar
A unique Valentine’s gift this year packed full of love and memories! I have created jars (or containers) full of memories for various occasions in the past and they have always been a huge hit with both kids and adults.
Be My Valentine: Cookie Surprise!

Surprise Valentine's Cookie - this one had three different flavors! A fun cookie to make with your kids. It is a sugar cookie with crushed hard candies to make window panes. Fun activity and delicious!
Be My Valentine: Scrapbook Highlights
how your spouse and family you love them on Valentine’s Day by doing a Scrapbook highlighting the big events over the past year. (Photo by shimelle)
Be My Valentine: Romantic Dinner for Two!
You can go out on Valentine’s Days (or any other Date Night) for less when you pack a picnic for two.
Gift Giving: 12 Days of Appreciation
I did this 12 Days of Christmas Appreciation for Jake at Christmas time but it would be a great one to do for Valentine’s Day, your Anniversary, or birthday!
A picture of one of the 12 Days of Appreciation for my husband to help get you started on ideas!
I would love to hear some of your ideas of how you are planning to make Valentine’s Day special with the one(s) you love! Feel free to share you link below in the comments! 🙂
Recipe: Mixed Fruit Smoothie
Flash frozen strawberries we picked this summer with fresh pears, blueberries and banana
I know it is still Winter but every once in awhile I look forward to a good smoothie for breakfast or snack. This smoothie is rich in antioxidants and vitamins to give you that extra boost for the day!
Mix Fruit Smoothie:
- 3 Frozen Strawberries
- 1 small Pear
- 1/4 cup Blueberries
- 1/2 Banana
- 1/2 cup Milk
Put all the ingredients together and blend until smooth. Drink and enjoy!
Mix Fruit Smoothie
Be My Valentine: “Heart to Heart” Cookies
Heart to Heart Cookies
We made these cookies by using cookie cutters. The girls had fun taking these cookies to school for their lunches.“Heart to Heart” Cookies:- 3/4 cup Butter
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 package instant White Chocolate Pudding
- 3/4 cup Cake Mix (any flavor)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 1/4 cups Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Sprinkles
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet and cookie cutters. Mix flour, salt and baking soda together and set aside. Cream butter, brown sugar, and sugar together. Stir in the pudding and cake mix until well blended. Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and mix until smooth. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time until mixed well. Stir in the sprinkles. Use an ice cream scoop to place the dough inside the cookie cutters. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.Cookie dough inside the cookie cutterBe My Valentine: “I Love Everything You Dew” Love Note
I LOVE everything you dew!
A few weeks ago I discovered these cute “pop” love notes from Darling Doodles and have been enjoying adding these love notes to my stash of ones to give to Jake! 🙂 He enjoys drinking Mountain Dew so when it goes on sale I try to get a little for him. This particular love note was a great one to give to my man!
When Jake is coming home after being away with work for several days or if he has had a tough day I try to do something special to cheer him up. I will put the surprises in various visible places throughout the house (his side of the garage, kitchen, his desk, our dresser, on his plate at the table, etc…) where I know he will be. Although, he never knows when I am doing it or where I will put it he always finds it. On this particular day he was stressed with a lot on his plate with work, travel arrangements, family and everything else. I decided it was a good day to put out a special surprise for him to say “I love you”! The Mountain Dew and sweet note sitting on the dresser downstairs in our family room was the first thing he saw walking into the house and it did bring a smile which made it worth it for me!
Sometimes taking just a few minutes out of your day to show your spouse you are thinking about them and that you care can make all the difference. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time, money or effect but the benefits will go a long way. Doing something special for them could mean packing their lunch for work the next day, laying out their clothes the night before, or even leaving a love note on their pillow. Investing time and energy into your marriage is always good for the entire family. How do you cheer your spouse up or make them feel appreciated?
Heart Reflections: You Think You’re Safe
Birds Nest Safely hidden away
One day as our family was spending time outside cleaning up the yard and gardens something caught my eye. In one of our small holly trees was a little birds nest. It was nestled snugly into the trees branches with a road only a couple feet away, across the street from a cat, and on our side of the yard where a dog and kids were running around. The nest was so low to the ground that the girls were able to look into it. For weeks they kept checking to see if the bird was coming back.
It must have been a quiet day on our street for a bird to think that the location she had chosen was a good one especially with it being next to a road, cat, dog, kids, and close to the ground. The bird must have felt safe in the shelter of the tree despite all the danger around her. As I thought more about the little bird who lived in that nest it made me think about my life. How often do I go through life thinking my heart, life, and soul is safe?
I believe the bird felt protection and safety from the tiny leaves surrounding the nest, however, danger was all around it. As we go through life we will encounter hills and valleys. Sometimes we have a false sense of security in things (money in the bank, our health, family unity, etc…) much like the false sense of security the leaves provided the bird.
Yes, bad things happen to good people, but there are ways to help protect us from falling and that teach us how to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, and Friend.
- Personal Relationship with Him – a heart focused above
- Reading the Scriptures – not only does this bring you knowledge but it gives you hope, wisdom, and encouragement.
- Prayer – an on-going dialogue
Someone recently asked the question in our church Community Group – how much time did you spend reading God’s word this week? Honestly, my answer some weeks is pretty embarrassing. I often fill my days with good activities but somehow neglect the most important activity. Taking time to read God’s word, pray, and having a personal relationship with Him is the best way to not only find contentment but to truly be safe and protected.
The birds nest is easily seen from up above much like God sees me. He sees my heart, accepts me for who I am, and challenges me to grow. Where is your safety found?
A beautifully crafted bird nest exposed to the world.
Love seeing the handiwork of God’s creatures, simply amazing!
Be My Valentine: “Steal My Heart” Cookies
“Steal My Heart” Valentine Cookies
Last year I picked up this Valentine Heart pan on clearance after Valentine’s Day. The girls were very excited to try it out this year. We made these fun “Steal My Heart” Cookies together. The girls had a blast mixing up the cookie dough and they thought the cookies tasted pretty yummy too. You can use a variety of cookie mixes with this cookie sheet. Below is your basic sugar cookie mix, you can add in a few sprinkles for an extra special touch.
Sugar Cookies
- 1/3 cup Butter or Margarine
- 1/3 cup Shortening
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- Sprinkles (optional)
- Icing (optional)
1. Beat butter and shortening on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and a dash of salt. Beat till combined, scraping the bowl so everything is well blended. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually add the flour into the mixture.
2. Cover and chill dough for 1 to 3 hours to make it easier to handle when making cookies or cutouts.
3. Lay down wax paper and lightly flour. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Use a variety of cookie cutters to make the shapes you want. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
4. Cut out a heart shape in the middle of the cookies. Fill the hole with a crushed hard candy. The candy will melt during baking creating the glass window pane hearts in the middle of the cookies. *We tried using up extra candy canes but they didn’t melt well (they tasted good) but I would stick to the one color hard candies like life savers!
5. Bake at 375° for 7 to 9 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm and light brown. Cool until the middle window are set then transfer to a platter.
Heart Shaped Pan
Plate full of Valentine cookies
Heart shaped Valentine cookies
For more fun Valentine’s Day ideas go to Living in La La Land!
Free Audio Book: “Trusting God” by Jerry Bridges
For the month of February Christian Audio is offering a free download of their audio book . This month the audio book is Trusting God by Jerry Bridges.
Because obeying God makes sense to us. In most cases, His laws appear reasonable and wise, and even when we don’t want to obey them, we usually concede that they are good for us. But the circumstances we find ourselves in often defy explanation. (information from Christian Audio)
If you have been wanting to a book to listen to throughout the day or while driving then this is a great opportunity to get a book for free when you download it from Christian Audio in February. Make sure to submit your order by February 29, 2012 to get your free audio book. Thanks Christian Audio!
New Upromise eCoupons for February 2012
Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of February 2012. Remember to activate your eCoupons to get additional savings. If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or directly at the Upromise website.
This month they have 22 coupons you can activate for bonus savings. Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or purchase the items at the store and the cash will be added to your account. You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!
You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Lunch Box – Chicken Salad Sandwich, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Banana, Yogurt, Lime Jello, CheezIt Crackers, and Boost
With the second semester of school in full swing I am back to doing school lunches again every day. Someone asked me what I send with the girls in their lunch boxes and asked if I could share some of my ideas. Their lunches are not fancy, but I try to make them well balanced and fun. Here is another post on school lunches. In every lunch I pack a meat or protein, diary, fruit, vegetable, snack, and drink.
Lunch Box – Chicken Salad Sandwich, Banana, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Yogurt, Lime Jello, CheezIt Crackers, and Capri Sun Juice
Occasionally I will pick up some character sandwich bags at the Dollar Tree or other stores just for fun to add to the girls lunches. The girls love getting Princess, Dora, Tinkerbell, Lightening McQueen, and a variety of other character lunches baggies in their lunch boxes. Sometimes I will get great sandwich bread on clearance at the store and make what the girls call “football sandwiches” for an special treat as well (pictured below).
Princess sandwich bags
Giveaway: “Dining On A Dime” Cookbook by Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper
I am doing another giveaway on Blessings Multiplied! The winner of this giveaway will receive a copy of Dining On A Dime Cookbook by Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper! As a Mom, wife and homeowner I am always looking for ways to eat better and spend less. After reading Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper’s cookbook I know many of you will enjoy this book too! Here’s how to enter the giveaway:
- Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied. Sign up to receive Blessings Multiplied via email or like on Facebook.
- You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing what one way you save money while buying groceries or cooking.
All comments must be made by February 29th at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.
You can learn more information about this great book and my review on Dining On A Dime Cookbook by Tawra Kellam and JillCooper.
*A special thanks to Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper with Living on a Dime for providing this book for the giveaway!





















