Book: Paige Torn

Everyone knows they can count on Paige Alder. But between volunteering at church, putting in overtime at work, and helping her best friend plan an anniversary party, she's lucky to grab a cheese stick for dinner. Paige can't even remember the last time she had a few minutes to relax or dig into God's Word. Then she meets laid-back Tyler, an attractive, Jesus-loving guy. Will he be able to help Paige get her priorities on track?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Paige Torn, go HERE.

***

I have not had time to read this book yet either - only had it a week, which, in my former life would have been plenty of time, but not now!  It looked fun though so I hope it is!

***

Author Erynn Mangum

A few things about her: So, if we were having this conversation in person, we would probably be hanging out at Starbucks or one of the cute coffeehouses in town. I’m nuts about all things coffee, I’m crazy about all things pink and girly, and I love, love, love the Food Network! I’m married to my best friend and the most amazing guy ever, Jon. He is amiable toward coffee, does not like anything pink or girly and tolerates the Food Network. So, we make a good match! In July 2010, we became parents to one of the funniest, cutest, sweetest little guys in the whole world (and nope, we aren’t biased at all!), our Nater-Tot, who is legally known as Nathan. Most days, I’m cleaning up messes, making goofy faces, trying to fit some writing in, and just LOVING the life that God has given me!

I received this book from CFBA in exchange for my fair and honest review.

On babies and AC units

Whoever designed our air conditioner clearly did NOT have children.  You see because beyond the fan slats in the front (that are plenty wide enough for little fingers to get in) there is nothing stopping a small toy from dropping down into the fan compartment.

This is how much of said AC unit I had to take apart today to get out a little plastic tea set spoon - that white thing the arrow is pointing to.  After a gazillion screws (and none left over!) I was able to get it back together and our house is now mostly cool.  Good thing as it's supposed to get up to 110 by next Tuesday.  Seriously!

It's been fairly cool and pretty rainy this past few weeks so we haven't needed it... but I've been wondering where the tea spoons went... we came home with three and were down to one (which the girls like to fight over).  Now I know where one was I just wonder where the third one is!

And no, we don't have any higher window we could put this one in as the girls have figured out how to climb up on the couch and access it!

Ah, adventures with children!

Book: Pieces of the Heart

Cordelia Grace watched Bernard Howard, the love of her young life, go off to fight for our country in WWII. And she has spent the last three years creating the Pine Cone quilt that will grace their marriage bed when he comes home. Each row of triangles signifies a layer in her life, sets of memories, hopes, dreams, and prayers for her future, enough spoken words to cover them forever. Her image of their “happy-ever-after” grows proportionally as the quilt expands.

But is the man that returns from the war, the same man that she remembered? Are the dark shades of color that she had to use for the outside edges of the beloved quilt prophetic of her life to come? Can love and faith overcome all?

***

This week has been kind of ridiculous and that's about the length of time I've had this book.  So I've only had time to read the first chapter.  From what I've read I can tell you that there's enough of the mannerisms and colloquial style speech of the characters to really place you in the scene, but not too much as to be distracting or overwhelming with slang you can't understand.

This is a story with black main characters.  I don't think we have enough of those and I'm definitely interested to read about how they were treated as soldiers during the war versus when they came home to America where there was still so much racism.

Update: Okay, so the book blurb for this book is really misleading.  Bernard does not go off to war until fully halfway through the book and the first half, while taking place during WWII, does not really have much to do with it.  And when he comes home it's only the last three chapters of the book!

If I were to write the book blurb it would talk more about how Cordelia grows up torn between her grandmother's traditions, as represented by the Pine Cone quilt, and the modern lifestyle her mother chooses.  Will she choose the life of prayer and peace she sees in her grandmother, but doesn't quite believe in, or will she choose the modern independent lifestyle as espoused by her mother and girlfriends.

There are some very deep themes of abuse, racism, and spiritual matters addressed.  I wish the author actually had gone a little more in depth with how Cordelia changes, but overall, this was a good read.  It resonated with me and I feel it falls into a category that isn't much written about in fiction.

***

 
If you would like to read the first chapter of Pieces of the Heart, go HERE.

Bonnie S. Calhoun is Owner/Director of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), the ACFW ‘2011 Mentor of the Year,” President of (CAN) Christian Authors Network, and Appointment Coordinator for both the Colorado Christian Writers Conference (CCWC) and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference(GPCWC).

For the last six years she has taught workshops in Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, and creating Social Media promotions at both CCWC, and GPCWC, and in 2011 at the Montrose, Pa Christian Writers Conference. She also taught a Facebook workshop at the 2012 ACFW conference.

Bonnie and her husband live in a log cabin in upstate area of New York with a dog and cat who think she’s wait-staff.

Her sites are: https://www.facebook.com/bonniescalhounsnarkandsuspense
https://www.facebook.com/bscalhoun

I received this book from CFBA in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Wordless Wednesday: Summertime

Summer is time for the Farmer's Market!

And time for a complete lack of schedule which would explain why I haven't posted in over a week.  Whoops!

Book: Barefoot Summer

Madison's heart has been closed for years. But one summer can change everything.

In the years since her twin brother's tragic drowning, Madison has struggled with her ability to trust God--or anyone else, for that matter. It was her brother's dream to win the annual River Sail Regatta in their small harbor town of Chapel Springs, Indiana. And Madison's determined to honor his legacy by making his dream her own. Maybe then she can finally find closure.

But learning to sail means learning to swim. And her instructor is Beckett O'Reilly, a man who already has two strikes against him in Madison's eyes. Being on the water terrifies Madison. But Beckett's calming presence and unwavering confidence eases her fear. And as much as she'd like to deny it, the chemistry between them is electrifying.

As her feelings for him grow, a fledging faith begins to take root in her soul, as well. With Beckett, Madison feels alive for the first time in years--carefree and confident she can win the regatta, maybe even find love.

But Beckett harbors a secret that will test the limits of their love and the depth of Madison's faith. Will their love survive summer's challenge? And will achieving her brother's dream give Madison the peace she desperately seeks?

***

This is billed as a summer romance, but I found it to focus more on Madison's internal demons with the romance playing into it a little bit, but more as a secondary plot line.  Madison is afraid of the past, afraid of the water, and afraid of her nightmares. Beyond that she doesn't trust God and she's mad at Him for taking her twin in an unexplained accident.

These are some deep issues and I thought the author did a good job of working through them.  It's not a dark story at all, just real life.  I appreciated that it wasn't a completely sappy everything-works-out-perfectly kind of story.

Madison also comes from a large family and I can see the rest of the series focusing on each of her siblings in turn.  Should be some good reads!

***

Purchase your own or read other reviews here.



Denise Hunter lives in Indiana with her husband Kevin and their three sons. In 1996, Denise began her first book, a Christian romance novel, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her books often contain a strong romantic element, and her husband Kevin says he provides all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!


I received this book from LitFuse in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Listen...

I don't usually put my boys to bed at night.  That's my husband's job and I take care of the girls.  But it's the end of the school year and he's been gone late twice this week, graduation and staff gatherings.

So I put them all to bed.  The boys hardly stop talking until I make them.  I sing "Mama" songs, different from the ones that Daddy chooses.  And they ask me questions like "who is the Devil?" and "where is he?" and "what does supernatural mean?"

And we talk about things when the house is quiet that don't come up in the crazy wild days that are our life.  In words that 6 and 3 year olds can understand I try to explain to them the things that are not of this world.

Sometimes I'm hushing and rushing so I can get things done and have some time to myself in the semi-quiet of the night house.  I try to be patient and answer their questions as best I can, but there is always one more, and one more, and... a 3 year old who thinks he will have a collection of weapons and pick the best one to fight Satan while I try not to laugh.

It's not so easy to listen to boys who babble in the middle of everything, sometimes just to get attention.  But sometimes I think this is the most important Mama job, just to listen and hear what their hearts are asking.

This is a post prompt from The Gypsy Mama. Join in? If you don't have a blog or don't want to write there I'd love to have you write with me, even in the comments!

Book: Stealing the Preacher

A cowboy who wants to be a preacher. An outlaw's daughter who wants to change his mind.

On his way to interview for a position at a church in the Piney Woods of Texas, Crockett Archer can't believe it when he's forced off the train by an outlaw and presented to the man's daughter as the preacher she requested for her birthday. He's determined to escape-which would be much easier if he could stop thinking about Joanna Robbins and her unexpected request.

For months, Joanna had prayed for a minister. A man to breathe life back into the abandoned church at the heart of her community. A man to assist her in fulfilling a promise to her dying mother. But just when it seems her prayers have been answered, it turns out the parson is there against his will and has dreams of his own calling him elsewhere. Is there any way she can convince Crockett he ended up right where he was supposed to be?

With her signature blend of humor, history, and lively western romance, two-time RITA Award finalist and bestselling author Karen Witemeyer delivers a Texas love story sure to steal your heart.

***

Stealing the Preacher is the second in a series, but it works well as a stand alone book too.  The premise is a bit silly, but it does manage to tie into the larger story eventually.

There are days I can't imagine what it would be like to have lived a hundred years ago and the way they did things.  But people are still people with all their quirks, flaws, and talents and this story does a good job of showing you the people.  With a few twists along the way you'll find Stealing the Preacher to be a fun read.

***

You can read other reviews on the LitFuse website or purchase your own copy.


Two-time RITA finalist and winner of the coveted HOLT Medallion and ACFW Carol Award, CBA bestselling author Karen Witemeyer writes historical romance because she believes that the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. Karen makes her home in Abilene, Texas, with her husband and three children.

I received this book from LitFuse in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Babies at a wedding

This past weekend the girls and I went on a road trip with my mom to a family wedding.  My cousin's daughter was getting married.  I haven't seen them in years, but I was in her wedding when I was 4 so it was appropriate!

The girls wound up with a new tea set from the lady we stayed with.  Her granddaughters have outgrown it and they had a blast playing with it all weekend.  Hope has been playing pretend with me at home for awhile now, "drinking" out of the stacking cups that we have here and sharing with me so this was perfect!

The wedding was Saturday afternoon in a beautiful old church... that had horrid lighting for pictures.  Not that I would have gotten many trying to keep babies quiet and entertained anyway!  They did really well and there were half a dozen other small children in attendance so I didn't feel too bad when they made little noises anyway.

The bride's niece, Averie, was the younger of two flower girls and she was adorable!  Waltzing down the aisle and forgetting to drop her petals until she looked back and saw the older one doing it.  Then dropping hers by the handful!

After the wedding we moved to the Lincoln Center for the reception.  It was a very cool vintage building... again with horrid lighting.  Here the girls are waiting (and waiting) for things to get started.

The dance floor was vacant while everyone milled around, but there was music playing.  I let the girls down and they danced their way across the floor.  It was completely adorable and Joy was even swinging her dress with her hands.  Unfortunately I couldn't chase and take photos at the same time.  And I would have had to use my flash anyway.

Audrey and Spencer!

The reception was lovely, my cousin had all the little details to make it fun.  From an old key on a tag with your table number to a popcorn bar for dessert and everything in between.

First dance!

The only downside was the photographer "crew".  Perhaps I am just ultra sensitive to this, but they were obnoxious.  There were three of them and they were completely in the way of everything.  You'll notice the cropping is a bit weird in the above photo... because the below is the original that I took without cropping.  And the guy with the video camera was actually circling them on the dance floor!  I didn't even bother to take pictures of the cake cutting because the three of them effectively made a wall in front of the bride and groom so not only could the guests not take any pictures they could barely see what was going on!

The bride's parents gave a toast and then played a music video they had created set to Welcome to the Family.  Oh yes, you must watch it!  All the people in it are the bride's immediate family!  It brought down the house!

We didn't get to stay too late, but had fun and the girls did amazingly well!

Imagine...

Imagine a world...

~where my three year old can play outside all day and I don't have to worry about him being kidnapped

~where the food he eats isn't poisoning him from gluten, or GMO corn/other

~where the people next door, down the street, and across the world are not acting out of selfish gain, but for the greater good

~where everyone in the world thinks about how their actions affect others, not just themselves or their small circle of influence


At my oldest's Montessori school they talk about their love light and how things make it grow brighter or dimmer.  Imagine a world where we all cared for other's love lights as much as we did our own.

It all starts with me (and you).  At home, today, how am I choosing to make the love lights around me glow in everything I do?

This is a post prompt from The Gypsy Mama. Join in?

Wordless Wednesday: Hair Pretties

I think I may have a slight addiction... and the girls' hair isn't even long enough to hold most of these yet!  Can you guess what kind of hair clip stash I had as a girl with long hair growing up???

(I found some sweet deals at Target and Mamabargains.com so I think I maybe paid $30 for all of this in the past few months!)

A Great Wolf Lodge Adventure

We drive past Great Wolf Lodge pretty much every time we go to Oregon* and the bright colored tubes caught Cory's attention a couple years back.  So I showed him what it was online and ever since he has wanted to go.  It's not cheap so we saved up all our birthday money and miscellaneous change to finally go as a belated birthday celebration this year for both boys.

*there is an alternate route to Oregon from our house so we don't always go by it

Birthday boys

On Mother's Day weekend we met both sets of grandparents and a set of cousins for a wet and wild adventure!

Hanging on Daddy in the wave pool - Slap Tail Pond

You can start playing at 1pm even if your room isn't ready, but thankfully ours was since the girls needed a nap!  The boys were ready to dive in when we got there as they'd driven over with my parents and already been to visit NW Trek AND Cabela's.  It was quite the birthday weekend for them!

Noah in the wave pool - yay for complimentary life jackets!

The girls were really not quite sure what to think about the water after they got up.  Hope was actually climbing me to stay out of the water, but Joy was okay after a few minutes and got out of Grandma's lap to walk around in the water.

I'm not really awake yet Grandpa

My little fish Cory

Grandpa has a waterproof camera and it was so humid in the water park that he took most of these photos.  He even got a video of Cory doing somersaults underwater!

And while this is the Alberta Falls tube ride he actually took a video when we went on the Tornado... It's exactly 39 seconds long.  You can hear me scream.  Cory went with us and then asked to go again, twice!

Storytime in the lobby - all those critters are talking and singing!

After all that adventure we went back to the room for some microwave pizzas and quick change into jammies so we could head back down to the lobby for storytime.  We probably shouldn't have bothered.  Unless you were sitting in the center "cone" where the speakers were pointed you couldn't understand anything the critters were saying.  And they weren't really moving enough to keep the little guys attention.

Grandpa time!

The rooms are all equipped with a microwave and mini-fridge so you can bring food with you.  Their restaurants are all right, but too expensive to eat all your meals in.  We had breakfast in the buffet the next morning (book it with your room and it's cheaper and includes drinks) and it was a very good start to the day.

Joy loves to climb up in her chair

We booked the Wolf Den Suite and the boys were in awe when they saw it!  We even let Noah sleep on the top bunk.  Although it was kind of a mistake since the AC was blowing on him and he doesn't keep his covers on so he was whimpering a lot in the night.

The Wolf Den!

Right before bed we had everyone in our room... 8 adults and 6 kids!  We did all fit - sort of - so they're decent size rooms.  You can even request one with a balcony and from ours you could see the Tornado, complete with a neon flashing light show that the kids enjoyed!  But yes, just the 6 of us actually stayed in our room.

It's an I-spy! How many people in this photo?

After our great breakfast the girls took a nap while I packed up and all the boys enjoyed the water.  Then the girls were really into it and enjoying the baby pool. 

Hope climbed up by herself and then brother joined her

My water babies

I only had a few complaints about the whole trip: 1) that for a place dedicated to water there were no extra places in the room to hang wet swimsuits 2) there were no maps of the hotel/water park so it took awhile to get oriented and we lost some time (yes, I even asked) and 3) the entrance to the water park is on the 2nd floor and then the only way down with a stroller is to basically walk half the perimeter.  Not sure why they don't just have the entrance on the first floor, but it's kind of a pain.

Joy was pretty fearless in the water

Noah loved trying to shoot

Hope climbing again!

The inside of the waterpark actually isn't that big once you get used to it although unless you tell someone where you are/will be it might be awhile before you see them again.  There are one or two things for every age group so it makes a good place for families with something for everyone.

Noah in the waves

I actually did a few rides with my mom while the others had baby duty and the lines weren't too bad.  Because you have to stay in the hotel to play the number of people inside is limited.

Wave pool

the rest of the place

 

On the way out we bought souvenir cups for the boys with their favorite characters on them.

Waterlogged and ready for the long ride home.  Notes for the future: stay in a cheap hotel the second night so you can play late and not have to still drive home!

Kudos to you if you made it all the way through this post... I didn't quite know how to break it up into two and wasn't feeling particularly creative tonight!

Book: Once Upon a Prince

The Royal Wedding Series Book One: 
Once Upon A Prince

Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn't going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.

The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon's Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family's tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna's aid under the fabled Lover's Oak, he is blindsided by love.

 Their lives are worlds apart. He's a royal prince. She's a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel's coronation.

 It's the ultimate choice. His kingdom or her heart? God's will or their own?

***

If you liked the Royal Diaries series then you'll like this book.  Even though Susanna doesn't find out that "Nate" is a prince right away the story revolves around a simple American girl and a European prince.  There is a little bit of misunderstanding and a lot of needing to trust God.

I found myself feeling like the omniscient third person narrator at times during the story because it jumps between Nate and Susanna apart and while they don't know what's going on, you do.  It was an interesting place to be especially as Susanna's world is falling apart and she doesn't know what will happen next, while I could see the bigger picture.  Made me think about how we see life in general.

I'll be on the lookout of the next book in this series!  You can purchase your own copy here and read other reviews.

***

Rachel Hauck is the bestselling author of Carol Award winner "Sweet Caroline", and RITA Finalist "Love Starts With Elle", and of the critically acclaimed fiction collaboration with multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans, "The Songbird Novels". She lives in sunny, though sometimes hurricane plagued, central Florida with her husband and their ornery pets. Rachel earned a degree in Journalism from Ohio State University and is a huge Buckeyes football fan. She is the past President of American Christian Fiction Writers and now sits on the board as an Advisor.



I received this book from LitFuse in exchange for my fair and honest review.

View...

This is the view from the second floor dental clinic where I took my son today.  My son who fell while running with his toothbrush last night and spent the night whimpering intermittently.  His neck was so swollen this morning that I took him in first thing to the walk-in only to have them shuttle us up to the dentist.  He had better lights to look in anyway.

After an x-ray and close examination he determined there was no apparent damage from the toothbrush, but possibly a case of strep.  One more trip into town to see the pediatrician and we were off to the pharmacy for a prescription.

At the end of this very long day I'm thankful.  For friends who will come and play with your kids in the waiting room (and take pictures) while you sit with one who needs help.  For the availability of modern medicine to fix things so easily that would have been awful not so long ago.  For the sweet "hugs and tisses" I get from my Noah every day and that he will soon be back to his wild rambunctious self... sans toothbrush in the mouth!

This is a post prompt from The Gypsy Mama. Join in?

The Most Important Things

There is a war going on inside me.  A war about what's important.  How do I spend my time?

There is a list a million miles long of things to do, all of them vying for my attention.

At the top of course, my children and family, but other things that affect them are crowding just below.

*The food I feed them. Is it safe, genetically modified, sprayed with pesticides (the dirty dozen), fair trade?
*The clothes they wear. Did they come second hand, or from a brand that values their workers?  Were they made in the USA?
*The things I use to clean my house, the laundry soap, and the dishwashing detergent.  All of these are chemicals, but are they safe, organic and good for my family and the earth?

And what about the gospel?  Can I just chuck all of this out and say, what matters is if people know freedom in Jesus?  But didn't Jesus call us to care for the least of these?  And the people who work in the fields and labor over our clothes in inhumane conditions, aren't they the least of these?

Pick any one of those things above and you could easily have a full time job campaigning for reform, researching the best companies, making sure you only do business with the most ethical and green companies.

Then there are things like beauty, aesthetics, and pleasure.  I like to paint, read, photograph and scrapbook.  Is it a waste of my resources to spend hours painting murals on my children's walls if that could be used elsewhere?  Does it matter that my children love to show off their bedroom to any guests that come?  Does it matter that I have created beauty here if those resources could have been used to pull someone else out of poverty and despair?

What are we supposed to do?

***

Here's what I think I've finally realized.  We, as humans, and especially as Christians, are called to be stewards of the people and the earth around us.  But for each of us that looks a little different.

For me (with my chemistry background) it means being aware and proactive about the chemicals that are around us, be that in our food, cleaning products, or body products. (some of the reasons why)

Does that mean that the rest of it isn't important?  Not a chance!  And I do try to be as aware as I possibly can (thanks Lindsay!), but I simply cannot invest all my resources trying to solve all the problems at the same time.  I have to pick one.

I think this is true for each of us.  We have to pick the causes that we can make a difference in and let someone else work on their cause.  We can support each other while not looking down on someone else just because they think something else is more important.  We can share our knowledge around so that we all don't have to do the research individually.

Today I shared about the EWG's Skin Deep database with another mom in Target.  Someone I didn't even know, but we were both looking at the baby skin care products and I just couldn't help NOT sharing!

***

Sometimes I still feel like I'm chasing after nothing because this world will one day be gone and we will no longer be here.  But I am reminded that Jesus cared about more than just the future.  He cared about the here and now of the people he was with.  He provided them with healing and food - temporal things - while ministering to their hearts.  You can't have one without the other.

And so I will continue to advocate that we care for the earth and our bodies.  That we care for the temporal needs of those in other countries as well as their spirits.

This year at our church's missions weekend we had a speaker from The Eden Projects.  The people who work with this organization are mainly Christians, but it's not a Christian organization.  It's a group of people who believe that caring for the earth by reforesting the land will yield long term care of the people who live there.  It's an amazing organization and you really should check it out!

We will be putting some of our "time" - money into supporting this organization.  But it doesn't mean you have to, it's just one of the options.

So, what are the Most Important Things?  They are the things that are laid on your heart to show care to those around you, your neighbors next door and on the other side of the world.  And it will look different for you than it does for me.

Wordless Wednesday: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

We went to a birthday party on Saturday that had face painting... the boys asked to be Ninja Turtles.  I feel like I'm reliving my childhood, the Turtles are quite big around here these days thanks to the Lego kits received for their birthdays!