​It's time to make a Christmas dessert and you want something quick and easy, but festive. Here's a simple recipe that tastes delicious and looks lovely. 

The stores are filled with hearts, chocolate, and roses in every shade of pink and red imaginable. As a lover of pink, chocolate and roses, this just may be my favorite time of year to shop!  It's St. Valentines Day! Yes, St. Valentine's Day--I know that sounds a little odd to your ears. When I was a little girl, that's what we called it. But in recent years, as all holidays are secularized and materialized more and more, St. Valentine's Day became Valentine's Day. 

Who was St. Valentine and why do we celebrate love on the day we've set aside to remember him?  Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome during the reign of Emporer Claudius. He was know for his kindness and selfless love. He was arrested for his faith and imprisoned, but managed to send and receive letters from his friends and fellow Christians. Emporer Claudius tried to convert him to Roman paganism to spare his life, but Valentine shared the Gospel with the emporer instead. Before he was martyred for his faith in Jesus, he healed the eyes of his jailor's blind daughter.  

In the Late Middle Ages, when courtly love and romance became the rage throughout Europe, St. Valentine's Day became associated with love and romance. Both romantic love and Christian martyrdom are things to celebrate.  St. Valentine stands in the "great cloud of witnesses," in Hebrews 12, cheering us on! St. Valentine's Day can be celebrated in either direction, or both directions. We can celebrate the romantic love we share with our sweethearts or we can remember those who have given their lives for the Gospel of Christ.

If we are celebrating St. Valentine's Day with our sweetie, there are many options.  He, of course, can buy us a dozen long-stemmed roses and a big box of Godiva chocolate.  We can go out to a lovely dinner and gaze into each other's eyes.  But, of course, those things cost money.  So, what are some inexpensive ways to celebrate the romance you share with your husband?  Here are some things Mike and I have done:

• Pack china, crystal goblets, a tasty lunch, and sparkling grape juice. Go on a picnic in a pretty spot.  Bring a beautiful comforter to sit on and be careful with the china and crystal!
• Buy a package of Valentines for children.  Write little notes to your husband on each one and hide them throughout the house.  Make most easy to find, but hide some so that they won't be found until later
• Make a CD of romantic songs and dance outside on the patio in the moonlight
• Make a scrapbook of your relationship from its conception until now. Look at it together. 

• Tell your children how you met, how your husband proposed, and other fun stories. Your children will love this!
• Wait until the children are in bed and have a romantic dinner by candlelight ALONE!
• Read old love letters out loud to each other!

"And Ebenezer Scrooge learned to keep Christmas well," we are told at the ending of  A Christmas Carol. What does it mean to keep Christmas well?

Does it mean to know all the words to at least twenty Christmas carols? Does it mean having the most lights in the neighborhood? Does it mean decorating every table top and wall space in the house with sparkly decorations? Does it mean having the tallest or fattest tree? Or is it buying expensive presents for everyone you know?

Keeping Christmas well begins in your heart. It starts with an understand of the miracle of Christmas, that magical moment when Heaven came down in the form of a newborn infant. Very God of Very God became flesh and all of Heaven gazed in wonder, though only a few were privileged to witness the event. You see, the miracle happened because of a very loving Father, a very Generous God filled with grace and mercy. He loved so much that He gave.

​When Sarah's Wish by Jim Baumgardner arrived to be reviewed, I decided to read the book and found myself immediately involved in Sarah's life and dreams.

Emotionally involved, I wanted her to find a family, to help her friends escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad, and to protect her from the evil slave catchers that made her life miserable.

I felt scared with Sarah sometimes and, other times, found myself laughing aloud at her antics.

When I finished the book, I wanted to read more about Sarah, to stay involved in her life. I felt like I had made a new friend. ​

"Is this an exercise video? Is this a math video?" I wondered aloud when Exploramania Gymathtics arrived in the mail to be reviewed.

The answer to my question is YES! It is an exercise video and it is a math video.

What a fun, colorful, exciting video to watch! Our hostess, exercise leader, and math teacher is energetic and upbeat. She reminds me of my spinning teacher at the Y. Her name is Carrie and she is the creator of Exploramania. The exercise video is a high-energy aerobic workout with a twist. The twist is that you are always doing math while you move and sweat.

"Isn't exercise fun?" perky Carrie asks throughout the 30 minute workout.

"Yes, Carrie," I have to agree. "This is fun!"

"You got a package of stuff to review," my son, Jimmy, informed me. "Do you need us to open it for you.

"Would you, boys?  That would be great!" I gave my son and his best friend the nod and within minutes, they had kitchen knives in their hands and were hacking away at the boxes.

"Guess what?" Josh asked with excitement in his voice.

You tell me!" I laughed at the boys' happy faces.

"It's from that company that sent the Nativity scene," they both said together.

"Oh, let me see." Now, I was excited too and soon all my daughters were gushing over One2Believe's latest shipment, an adorable replica/toy, Noah's Ark. This s a great Christmas present idea. 
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"Look at this beautiful picture book!" I gasped as I opened the unexpected package that had arrived from the mailman as we were leaving for homeschool coop.

"C'mon, Mom, we're going to be late...Wow! That is beautiful! Where did you get that book? It's amazing!"

We brought it with us, passing it around in the car. I gazed at it intently every time I stopped at a red light. We were are entranced by the pretty artwork.

I was so excited to finally be able to sit down and study each page carefully. It made me feel little a little kid again. I wish I had learned U.S. geography with this book. It made everything so simple!

I wasn't the only one in the family who couldn't wait to sit down and spend time curled up with this book. Little Man in the Map was one of the most popular items with my children that I have reviewed!

And so began our introduction to The Little Man in the Map by E. Andrew Martonyi. This large and lovely picture book is the most creative way I have ever seen to learn the fifty states. Of course, I do love well-written beautifully illustrated picture books. Is there anyone who doesn't love them?

This book is filled with little clues to help you remember the fifty United States of America. Betcha didn't know that there is a state shaped like a chair, another like a cup, and one state is even shaped like a dining room table. But you have to start with the Little Man in the Map.

And just who is this Little Man in the Map? Well, I won't tell you, but I will give you a clue. Look carefully at a map of the United States and you will see him in the center facing east.

What follows are fun clues to help students find and remember the location of all the states on the map. Of course, the center of it all is...The Little Man in the Map!

This is a fun, innovative way to learn United States geography. The book is  illustrated by Ed Olson. I loved his artwork--bright and colorful! His animation is happy and fun! Take a look at some of the book's illustrations at Design Loft Studio.