Book Review: Here burns my candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

I have been wanting to dip my toes in the historical romance genre. When I was offered a chance to review Here Burns my Candle I snagged it up quickly.

Here Burns my Candle is Christian Historical Fiction. A retelling of the old testament story of Naomi and Ruth, takes place in Edinburgh, 1745 during the Jacobite revolution. It follows a series of events that affect Lady Elisabeth Kerr and the family she married into.

A large part of the plot in the first quarter of the book revolves around Elisabeth's husband, Donald and his inability to be faithful to her. This part of the book tried my patience. I don't have any understanding for that behavior and the book didn't offer any new explanations. This part of the book moves more slowly than the rest of the book. I joked with my husband that this might be the book that finally puts me to sleep instead of keeping me awake.

However, when this book takes off it really takes off. Once the revolution begins the plot really moves quickly. It becomes a fast paced ride through the Jocobit revolution from the perspective of the women in the Kerr family. Higgs is wonderful at creating tension between characters and in the plot. Even though I knew the history involved at this time period, and I could guess what the outcome would be for the family, I found myself on the edge of my seat to find out how this works out.

The author has clearly done her homework for this time period. It was absolutely authentic. I really enjoyed all the details of everyday life in Scotland during the 18th century. The dialogue was authentic, and it included Scottish brogue which made the book all the more authentic. But they managed to do it without it being distracting, or hard to read.

I found the character of Elisabeth to be absolutely fascinating. She was inspiring. Her encounters and interactions with Christianity were absolutely authentic to me. It didn't seem forced or preachy. This was a great read I would recommend if you can see beyond the flaws in Donald's character and hang in until the plot picks up.



disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of the book to review by the publisher. My opinions however, are completely my own.

Pich Putt and Play

All of our children's birthdays are in March/April. Because of this, March starts to feel like a month long holiday. We started out thinking we would just do something with the family, and get the kids the gifts they had been wanting. Then we thought, okay we will invite a few friends, keep it small just have a little get together. Which is how we ended up at Pitch Putt and Play.

I am convinced this is the easiest, most stress free get together we have ever been part of. It was awesome. The kids loved the bumper boats. They are electric so no smelly, loud engines AND each of them had their own squirt gun. Somehow Grandma ended up in the one boat with no squirt gun, and all the kids thought she looked a little too dry. There is no proof that anyone cut the line to her squirt gun, but suspicions and rumors abound :).

Happy Birthday Chloe!!

My dear Chloe,

Here you are six years old, I can hardly believe it. I thought I told you kids that there would be no more growing up and no more birthdays allowed! But here you are, turning six.

Sometimes it is hard for me to remember that you are only six. You are so smart, and so ahead for your age. You are already doing second grade work, and you are only in kindergarten... its really amazing. You always have broken the mold.

You promised me tonight that if Emma and John leave home, you will stay behind. You know, so I won't get bored or lonely. You are such a sweet girl :). You are always so bright and sunny, brimming with enthusiasm.

Even though Daddy was out of town, I took you to Chuck E Cheese for your birthday. Chuck E Cheese himself delivered your birthday cake. I thought you and John were going to fall out of the booth. It's hard for me to believe I gave birth to you rodent lovers.

You LOVE winning tickets. You ignore all the rides, just to do the games that pay tickets. So ambitious and at the same time you always share with your brother and sister. You used some of your tickets tonight to buy your brother a treat too. I was so proud of you, I always am.

Even though we had already gotten you your "official bday gift"(you wanted a nintendo DS). Your brother and sister dragged me to the store during your dance class so they could buy you a gift on your birthday too. You are such a loved little girl. I hope you always keep that tucked in your heart.

The New Rainbow Brite

Hallmark sent our family a cd-rom introducing us to the new Rainbow Brite. The girls and I have had a blast playing with it. It is always so much fun when I get to introduce the girls to a character from my youth.

Here is the old Rainbow Brite from my childhood.....




















And here is the new souped up rainbow brite.....
















I am really quite picky about what my girls watch on TV. We do not watch the "tween" shoes that are so popular on the Nickelodeon channel. We don't own the "Bratz" line of dolls. Because of that I wondered how I would feel about the new Rainbow Brite. Would she be too bratty, or sexed up?

I was pleasantly surprised. My girls have outgrown the characters like Dora, and they like that Rainbow Brite seems older than a character like Dora. There is a glut of good shows and good messages for the toddler - preschool set. But there is a shortage of good shows for the girls who are age 7-12. It seems like most companies want to put them in the "tween" category, something I strongly object to. I don't want my girls dealing with teen themes, I want to preserve their childhood for as long as I can.

Rainbow Brite and her friends Moonglow and Tickled Pink are on a mission to spread love and happiness throughout the world. This is a message I can get behind.

Chloe loved the theme song, she has been singing it for weeks now...







For more info about the new Rainbow Brite visit www.rainbowbrite.com

**disclaimer**: I was provided with a free CD-Rom from Hallmark for the purposes of reviewing this product. However, my opinions are my own and I received no compensation for them.

So I go to tuck them in.....

....and this is what I find... such jokers I have over here.

To sleep, perchance to dream...

Some people, including the one I married, can miss sleep and just feel a little groggy the next day. I don't do well without sleep. I become a zombie, literally, except I smell better. My eyes are always half closed, and I mumble incoherently. My brain just backfires and sputters.

This past week was not awesome for us. Poor Chloe's asthma started acting up and from Wednesday through Friday I didn't sleep at all. We were up each night trying to get her asthma under control. It has finally resolved itself, and Brian came home so I was able to catch up on some sleep. I feel like a new woman, a very grateful new woman.

We are at an interesting place on our family life right now. Brian's schedule has become much more hardcore for travel. He is flying internationally now, and this limits even our chance to speak with each other when he is gone. Through our new dietary changes I discovered that I am really allergic to wheat and dairy. The changes have to stay, and the process of completely overhauling our menu is turning me inside out in many ways. We had a handle on our schedule and everything was rolling along smoothly. But the changing needs of our family are dictating a tweaking of the schedule both for our home, and our homeschool. This week I am going to focus here at home, and the blog on developing a schedule and some ideas to make our life run more smoothly.

Valentine Boxes

Ah the holidays, always something for a Mom to do. My kids needed a "mailbox" to have their valentine's dropped into and I happened to be out of shoe boxes that we could cover with wrapping paper. This was a very happy problem, I love how these turned out. After valentine's day we are going to give these boxes a brand new life as our "family love note center".

Okay so first you have to run to your local craft store and purchase an unfinished kleenex holder. In my Hobby Lobby they were all in an aisle with the unfinished wood. I paid about $3.99 each for mine.


Then you just paint them all a solid color. I let the kids do this part. I was very specific for them not to paint the bottom, but I forgot to tell Chloe not to paint the inside. But I figure a little paint won't hurt anything.

Once they are dry, just use a pencil to outline what you want to paint and embellish to your heart's content!