What does your spouse do during the holidays that speaks to your heart? My friend, fellow author Jenny Carlisle tells us about something special her husband did for her. See if you think it's romantic like I do. ;)

In the language of Love, most of us have learned what reaches our hearts. Some react best to receiving gifts. Others melt when someone performs a service for them. Simple physical touch renews the romance for many couples. Spending quality time with your partner may be your magic formula.
 After nearly a half a century with the same man, I can confidently state that words (and deeds) of affirmation keep our home fires burning brightly.

While 2024 may not have gone exactly as I expected, that doesn't mean there hasn't been a lot of good happen. And let's be honest, a lot of the unexpected things have been good too.
Two of my biggest blessings this year are the two books I released. For Better or For Granted and A Match Made at Christmas are out in the world and receiving great reviews. (You can snag the e-copies for only 99cents through Dec 3.) These were both works of love and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. So, those are the first two things I'm listing to be thankful for this year.
Of course, my family is always on my list. My sweet husband and I celebrated 20 years of marriage back in June. And my children are growing and healthy and smart. Definite blessings, all of them.
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This year, my eight-year-old decided he wanted to play soccer. (Because he'd read about a boy on a soccer team in a book--but that's another story.) 
Did I know anything about soccer? Mostly just that it was played with a ball on a field and you weren't supposed to use your hands. That was it. But we signed him up for a youth league and figured we'd all learn together.
So, while my son was running around the field, learning to kick better and maybe even a bit about teamwork, I learned a few things too. Soccer mom was never a title I expected to have, but it was a lot more fun than I expected.

What does a cold soda have to do with romance? Well, you might be surprised. Guest author Shirley Gould is chatting with us today, talking about the romantic moments that all added up to a romantic marriage. See what you think.

Marrying a hopeless romantic led to amazing moments occurring when I least expected them. He sent me flowers so many times while we were dating, the florist made one of the deliveries herself so she could meet me, the object of his affection.
While living in Kenya, East Africa as missionaries, J.R. had to get really creative. During a rainy season that merged with El Nino, we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Nairobi, and I’d forgotten my umbrella. After paying our bill, he slipped out the door. When I stepped out of the restaurant, he had pulled our Land Cruiser onto the sidewalk so I could get in without getting wet. He was my hero.

I'm not going to lie. The last few weeks have been insanely busy. Really, the last few years, but especially the last few weeks. And it's all been good things like birthdays and holidays and retreats. But that can still wear you out if you don't find some time to be still and have some quiet.
Well, this Tuesday, I was blessed to be able to head back to my alma mater and speak to the Creative Writing Class and then have a book signing. It was an amazing day.
​But it also gave me a chance for some time to pause.

Want to know the bad part about letting your kids be readers?

Wait, wait, wait. Don't freak out on me yet. I'm not going to quit letting my kids read because it's not really a bad thing. But I got your attention, didn't I?

So, for real, here's what my problem is. My eight-year-old lately out of nowhere asks me "What does this word mean?" And words I have known forever suddenly are undefinable. Their meaning slips out of my head just like that. *snap*

To say author Betty Woods celebrated her anniversary with a bit of a bang is an understatement. The good news is, even when a party feels more like a rom-com, it can still be sweet and romantic. See what you think.

​   We celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary this spring. Probably not the way someone would write it in a romance novel, unless it’s a romantic comedy. Our official date is March 23. The kids originally envisioned renting a nice room, simple but elegant decorations and tables with white cloths until they found out how much all that would cost. Plan B our large backyard. But since we wanted an outdoor celebration, we waited until early April in hopes of better weather. It’s an understatement to say Texas weather is unpredictable. The high was in the eighties that afternoon. As you can see in the cake picture, Craig is wearing shorts. 

It's a super busy time of year, made even more so by the fact that I work for a tax firm who had a hard deadline last week. That's right. The tax season is finally winding down. But, it didn't happen easily.
I work from home most of the time (for that job), which means I have to have internet. And the Friday before deadline, our internet ... disappeared. We happened to be gone most of that day, to hang out with my parents and spend the last day of fall break doing fun fall things, so we didn't realize the extent of the problem until that evening.

I have the bad habit of being a perfectionist. I want everything I do to come out just right and ... let's be honest ... that can't always happen.
Well, when my children start planning their birthday parties, they plan big. And my newly-turned eight-year-old has also discovered the joy of pinterest and loves to search through ideas with me to make his party even better. So, when we started talking about his party, we agreed to go Nerf or nothing. In other words, a party full of dart guns and oranges and blues and boyish fun.
His first option for cake was a cupcake cake. I've always been intrigued by these, but never made one. The thought of trying to smooth the icing over all of the cupcakes to make it look like one cake was intimidating to me--especially since I don't prefer a ton of icing. But for him, I'd try it.

When you think of romance, normally you think of it ending in marriage. But that's not always the case. Sometimes, it can end as something just as sweet, though. Guest author, Mary Pat Johns is here to tell the story of her mom and her mom's Special Friend. See if you think this is as romantic as I do. ;)

​Mom was nineteen-years-old when she married Dad. He was the older man at twenty-three. They were married for over sixty years when Daddy passed. A year or so later, Mom packed the belongings she wanted to keep, had an estate sale for the rest, and moved into a retirement village.
As her only daughter, I had her all to myself for five years. I loved it, but it wasn’t enough for her, especially since I still worked. She had no desire to get married again but missed the daily companionship.