Book Review: Too Rich for a Bride by Mona Hodgson

It's okay to want to be a business woman more than a wife, right?  For Ida, that's all she wants.  Her sister's want so much more for her, like for her to find a husband.  They decide to take it upon themselves to find her a man.

Ida finds a mentor to help her in the male-dominated business world of the stock market.  Mollie O'Bryan teaches her all she needs to know.  However, what she doesn't teach her is what to do when not just 1, but 2, men start to show her attention.  Will she fall for one of them or will she decide that she is indeed too rich to be a bride and that her joy is found in being a business woman and not as a wife.

This book is the second in the Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series.  Having not read the first book, I still found this book to be a good read and now want to read the first book.  It was a light-hearted book that makes for a fun summer book.
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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for my review.

Book Review: Freedom's Stand by Jeanette Windle

What an intriguing book that was a page-turner!  This is a book I would definitely recommend to others.  It was also apparently nominated for the Golden Scroll Award.  Freedom' Stand is a sequel to Veiled Freedom.  It was fine to read without having read the first book, but I feel like I need to read the first one to gain a bit more understanding into this book.

Amy Mallory, an American relief worker, and Steve Wilson, a former U.S. soldier who is a private contractor are both working in Afghanistan.  While there, they see and experience the horrid circumstances that many who chose to live for Christ in these Islamic areas often face.

This book included much about Afghanistan and the author made it feel like you were truly experiencing the same experiences that she was writing about, as well as seeing the same places as her.  It is a romance book, but it is a thriller more than that.  It's heart-breaking as you see the way the women are treated and the abuse that goes on for those who live for Christ.

I find this to be one of those books that is hard to sum up in such few words.  Definitely a book that you should check out!

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I received this book free from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for my review.

We love animals!

I know Easter was a couple months ago, but I kept meaning to post these pictures and I forgot!  Our church has an annual Easter egg hunt for the preschool and children's departments.  This year, to allow everyone to get to the church before all of the eggs were hunted, they decided to have a petting zoo to keep the interest of all the kids.  It was definitely a great idea and all the kids loved it.

The softest hair!



Baby M kept smiling and petting this little lamb.  It was so cute!

 

This was right after he tried to take the pig for a ride in the wagon...I got to him before he got rolling!

Finding those eggs.  He knew more of what to do this year but wanted to open up EVERY egg and eat the candy BEFORE finding another one.

Memory Verse for Corduroy

I put a memory verse with each book that we study so that not only do we read the book daily, but we also say our memory verse many times throughout the day.  I firmly believe that I should saturate my kids with Bible verses, as well as I should be doing in my own personal life.  I'm not saying that just because he knows these verses that he will choose to submit to Christ at an early age, but my job as a mother is to present and live the gospel in my own life.  My home is my mission field at this point in my life.  That's why I always say that I never take my job lightly.  It's not easy, but I know one day it will pay off.

Our memory verse for Corduroy was Proverbs 17:17.  I choose to use the Cubbies worksheets from Awana for our Bible time.

Corduroy Lesson #9

On this particular morning, we dug out some teddy grahams and counted them by putting them on a graph that I had made.  We counted bears up to 8 and then the favorite part of all that hard work was getting to eat them.  Yum!  Of course, he may have been missing a few before he got to 8....I just might have been tempted to eat some while putting them on the table for him.  I saw him take a few sneak chews, too!

Book Review: Indelible by Kristen Heitzmann

I don't normally read these type of books because I hate suspense!  Needless to say, by the time I got done with this book, I had no nails.  I have no clue if it's really as suspenseful to most people as it is to me, but guess you'll have to read it for yourself to find out.  Then you'll have to let me know what you thought!

After Trevor McDaniel rescues a toddler from a mountain lion, he meets the toddler's aunt, Natalie.  Natalie is a sculpture who sculpts images out of clay that tend to stick in her mind constantly.  She always sees these pictures in her mind and they are very vivid.  However, Trevor can't put aside his past.  As his life becomes in danger, will he be able to save Natalie when he can't even save so many others?

This is apparently a sequel to Indivisible, which I have not read.  If you like suspense, then this book is for you.  If you don't, then skip this book!

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I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers.  I was given this book in exchange for my honest review of this book.

Book Review: Money Secrets of the Amish by Lorilee Craker

The Amish community is known for being frugal and for being simple and sharing what they have witabsolutely anyone, whether they need it or not.  They work together to provide health insurance and to pay medical bills for anyone in their community.  They are perfectly content with what they have and don't need a lot of materialistic things to make them happy.  In fact, they constantly fight against it in all areas of their life, which is something I need to be more careful about doing.

This book talks about despoiling children, buying in bulk, making more things for yourself, and many other topics.  It's a great guide to a start of a more frugal and rewarding lifestyle that is more simple.  I'm looking forward to applying some of the principles mentioned in this book into our own family.

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I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <[...]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

Book Review: When You Can't Find God by Linda Evans Shepherd

It's easy to ask the question "Where is God when...?"  When a mom is diagnosed with cancer and only has 2 months or less to live and has to leave behind her 2 young children, where is God?  Where is God when a mother looses her firstborn child before she is even able to hold her in her arms?  I think all of us are full of these questions.  However, we forget that God is still there.  He's still with us, drawing us closer to Him, if we will only choose to let Him come closer to us.

This book is an encouraging book that reminds us to pray through those tough times and to find the peace and hope that only God alone can give, which also produces the joy that we find when we are resting in Him.  Linda Shepherd knows this first-hand as she has walked this path in her own personal life.  Her now adult daughter was in a car wreck 20 years ago and suffered severe brain damage.  Linda learned that the only way to find that peace she so desperately needed was not to put aside the hard questions, but to ask them and have faith and cling to what God has said and know that He alone is in control even when we don't understand.  How encouraging! 

If you've ever asked the questions "Where's God when...?" then this book's for you!

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This book is available in May 2011 at your favorite bookseller, from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review: A Great Catch by Lorna Seilstad

If you're looking for a fun summer read, I definitely recommend this book.  I found myself laughing in some spot and just thoroughly enjoying this book.  This is the second book in the Lake Manawa Summers Series.  I haven't read Making Waves but I had no difficulty following along and am now looking forward to reading the first book in this series.

Emily Graham is a 22-year-old woman who is independent and in some ways, headstrong.  While at a resort, her aunts and grandmother decide that she it's time for her to settle down and find a man to marry.  Each person brought before her was turned down.  She just couldn't find a need for a man in her life, not to mention that she had no time at all for one in her life.  When she goes roller skating, she accidentally runs into a man, Carter Stockton, who is a pitcher for the Manawa Owls.   While Carter is trying to prove that he's meant to play baseball instead of working in a family business, will Emily decide that perhaps it's time for her to allow a man into her life?  Perhaps Carter will decide that Emily is a great catch for him in his life.

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This book is available in May 2011 at your favorite bookseller, from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Corduroy Lesson #8

Corduroy is now completed!  We had a lot of fun with this book.  We did many things besides what I posted here, such as collecting money in our piggy bank for small tasks that could be completed around the house.  We also went to the mall to ride the escalator (which those of you who know me know just how much I hated that!  For those who don't know me as well, I love escalators for some odd reason...perhaps because the country doesn't have escalators).

On this particular day, we sorted buttons.  Poor Corduroy was missing a button, so we did one day of sorting buttons by colors and by sizes.  He stayed focused on the task at hand and really enjoyed doing it.  We repeated this activity later when Daddy T got home because he was so proud of what he could do.

 And the completed task looked like this...

Can you tell he's one proud boy?!