Whip Cream Delight!

The grocery store had a sale on canned whip cream the other day, so I brought some home for the kids. It's a rare treat around here, and Dessert was ecstatic! :-) It's fun to make him happy.
Of course, Darling had some too, but her whip cream had already melted. So good!

I'm Back!

Wow! That was quite the bug! I sure have a lot to be thankful for this week. My cough is still lingering, but watching the girls (who were on the mend, while I was on the way down) , I can tell it'll just take a little time. My voice decided it was time to join the rebellious ranks, so it went on Sunday. I'm hoping it'll come back in time for Thanksgiving. :-)

I sure feel like I've a lot to catch up on at home. Yesterday was a great first day's try at it. I'm giving myself through Wednesday to catch up, and then hopefully we can start next week on square one again.

We missed a few big things while sick. Drum's orthodontist appt. His special one to take off his bridge expander. Now he has to wait two more weeks! My perm - oh, my poor hair! (I'll live :-) It's rescheduled for next Monday. (Yippee!!) Speech Club - Now we still have the last bits of cutting left hanging over our heads. I was hoping to have that done! Oh well, there's always next week. :-) I can't remember what else... Oh yeah, visiting and seeing all our friends!

My kids keep asking, "What are we doing tomorrow?" "Nothing but school," I reply. "Oh." They walk away disappointed. They are looking so forward to a busy social life again!

Actually as I type this, they did their first dip into social life again (other than church the other morning). Duke went with Dad on a service call. Dot, Drum, and Dime went to breakfast prayer meeting with a few of the youth group. PTL for youth group! What else could get my three teens up and out the door by 6:30! They come home by 8:30 or so, awake, dressed, eaten, and ready for school. A mini miracle!!

1 Thing You can be Thankful for:

You are not me! We've got the flue bug around here, and I finally caught it. After spending a night like staying in transition in labor, I'm ready to be done with it! 3 IB's and I still ache all over. My side of the bed was wet this morning from my fever. Miserable! May you not come down with it.
Hopefully I'll have a better update soon...

Deer Hunting Success!!

Dime got an awesome opportunity to travel with his Uncle Patrick and Cousin Nick to go deer hunting in Missouri. He was soooo excited. Success with the hunt happened Saturday morning. It was fun to get the call! He shot it through the lungs at 80 yards away to drop it. We were so excited for him. Getting to hunt with Uncle Patrick in Missouri was a real dream of his. It was so nice of my brother and his son to share their trip.
Thanks so much, Uncle Patrick!!

Lakeshore Christmas - A Book Review

Mareen Davenport lives and breathes two things - the library, where she is the librarian, and Christmas. This Christmas season she is so excited about the opportunity to direct the town's annual Christmas pageant.

Her only struggle is that her assigned co-directer is Eddie Haven. Eddie was famous as a result of playing Jimmy Kringle in "The Christmas Caper" when he was little. But, Eddie has a long-standing hatred of Christmas born out of his childhood traditions of traveling all during the Christmas season entertaining others. His Christmas memories are of cheap hotels, no presents, tired parents, and endless performances in different places. Then he had an accident after a botched proposal, and was sentenced to help with the annual Christmas pageant.

The library was struggling under the mounting bills "exacerbated by rising costs and hard times for the entire area." Priority funding went to agencies like police, fire, and EMS, not to old libraries. People could travel 20 miles to the libraries in bigger towns. Mareen understood the dilemma, but the library closed? Avalon's library had endured over 99 years, and it seemed terrible to celebrate its centennial by announcing its closing.

How would Mareen endure the closing of the library? Is there a chance to save the library? How would she endure working alongside Eddie Haven, of all people, during her favorite holiday? Who is Jabez Cantor, and how does he play into the happenings around the town? Will Mareen allow herself to cheat in order to save the library? Will Mareen and Eddie take time to realize how different the "real them" is compared to the fronts they put on for others?

To check out other reviews about "Lakeshore Christmas" visit:
http://mothertalk-bookreviews.momcentral.com/2009/11/lakeshore-christmas.html
Or click on this link - Mothertalk


Spoiler Warning: I enjoyed this book very much except for three things: some swearing done by Eddie, the fact that Eddie and Mareen participate in premarital sex (briefly described), and then that Eddie and Mareen live together before marriage. This book could have been a great read without those negative points. Statistics say 8 out of 10 couples who live together before marriage will break up before the wedding or afterwards in divorce. To read more about this check out: http://www.rayfowler.org/2008/04/18/statistics-on-living-together-before-marriage/ or click on this link.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by MotherTalk on behalf of Lakeshore Christmas and received a copy of the book to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Fun with the Bunnies

With the beautiful weather we had, the kids had a blast playing with the bunnies in our fenced in area.
Darling's going to "house" the bunny, so he can't get away. :-)
Below is Dessert with his bunny:
Isn't Nutmeg (the bunny) so adorable. He doesn't mind laying on his back at all and is just the cuddliest bunny. So sweet!
Nutmeg and Roya nibbling leaves and romping around:
Darling just put one of the bunnies down the slide! Rascal!! (We put a stop to that.)

What a beautiful day with some of the sweet members of God's Creation - bunnies!

November 11 - Veteran's Day

In honor of my father and father-in-law:

American Minute with Bill Federer

November 11

The 11th hour of the 11TH DAY OF THE 11TH MONTH of 1918, World War I
ended.

Though the Armistice was signed at 5:00 AM, fighting continued till
11:00 AM, killing nearly 11,000 more men.

In 1921, President Warren Harding had the remains of an unknown
soldier killed in France buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at
Arlington Cemetery.

Inscribed on the Tomb are the words:

"Here lies in honored glory an American soldier know but to God."

Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all U.S.
Veterans.

In 1958, President Eisenhower placed soldiers in the tomb from WWII
and the Korean War.

The soldier from Vietnam, buried by President Reagan in 1984, was
identified by DNA tests as pilot Michael Blassie and was reburied in
1998 at Jefferson Memorial Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri.

On NOVEMBER 11, 1921, President Harding stated:

"On the threshold of eternity, many a soldier, I can well believe,
wondered how his ebbing blood would color the stream of human life,
flowing on after his sacrifice...

I can sense the prayers of our people...Let me join in that prayer.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom
come..."Thank You. We appreciate your sacrifice.

White Picket Fences - A Book Review

"White Picket Fences" by Susan Meissner illustrates the illusion of "normal" families.
Sixteen year old Tally has lived a very different life with her Dad than her Aunt Amanda and Uncle Neil live with their two children, Chase (17) and Delcey (13). Her Dad's characteristic upending of their current living situation puts Tally with her infrequently visited Grandmother Virginia. On the second day there, Tally comes home to find her Grandma has passed on. With no family, except for her Dad's sister, Amanda, her Aunt's home becomes the logical place to stay until her Dad returns from his "treasure-hunting" in Poland.
Aunt Amanda and Uncle Neil live in a nice, middle class neighborhood. Cousin Chase shows Tally around the school, and gradually they become friends. A class project puts Chase and Tally together as they interview two Holocaust survivors. They slowly discover there are secrets in each one's life that are eating at their "normal" life.

"Readers of emotional dramas that are willing to explore the lies that families tell each other for protection and comfort will love White Picket Fences. The novel is ideal for those who appreciate exploring questions like: what type of honesty do children need from their parents, or how can one move beyond a past that isn’t acknowledged or understood? Is there hope and forgiveness for the tragedies of our past and a way to abundant grace?"

This book reminds me of the verse, John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." This book has a great conclusion!! It would be appropriate for older teens to read.

Author Bio: Susan Meissner cannot remember a time when she wasn’t driven to put her thoughts down on paper. Her novel The Shape of Mercy was a Publishers Weekly pick for best religious fiction of 2008 and a Christian Book Award finalist. Susan and her husband live in Southern California, where he is a pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. They are the parents of four grown children.

To purchase the book online at Random House Publishing visit:

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400074570&ref=externallink_wbp_whitepicketfences_sec_0916_01

Would you like your own copy of "White Picket Fences"?
Comment below by November 22 for your chance to win a copy.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Three Fun Fall Reads!

Leaving Carolina
by Tamara Leigh
Initial Response: Great Book!!! Funny, Serious, Truths, Twists - Definitely a Yes!
Synopsis: Piper Wick left her small-town roots in Pickwick, NC many years ago. Now she is called back to deal with some potential changes in her Uncle Obadiah's will. After working so hard to rid herself of the baggage of the name Pickwick, including changing her own name to Wick, will she be able to keep Uncle Obadiah from ruining her long sought for dreams. Or have her dreams changed?
My daughter Dot was the guest blogger on this book:
Diary of a Teenage Girl, Maya: Book 4
By Melody Carlson
Initial response: Horray! :)
Age: 15+
Synopsis: Always excited about a new Diary of a Teenage Girl book, this was sure to please. And it certainly did.
As background, Melody Carlson has written over 200 books, including 16 Diary of a Teenage Girl books, separated into four series of four each. Chloe, Catlin, Kim, and Maya all know each other, and we read each of their journals.
Although rather partial to Chloe, I found Maya as someone I could also sympathize with. Maya has grown up taking care of her addicted mother. Independent, brave, but secretly wishing for a normal family, Maya enters High School for the first time (she has been homeschooled all her life). Several great decisions press on her; what will she choose? What will she do with her new-found musical ability?
Melody Carlson has a knack for getting inside a girls head and then translating it to the page: take it from me. While these girls' journals are more novels than journals - even I never remember details like that - I still love them. Quick, thought-provoking reads about Christ-committed girls; these are excellent for whoever wants to understand teenagers a little more - whether you are one or not.


Limelight
by Melody Carlson
Initial Response: Great!!
Age: Not appropriate for young teens. Mentions In.cest. Is an incident in the main character's childhood. Is written about appropriately, but spoils the book for the teenage girl who would love the rest of the book. I was thinking about blacking that part out so my middle daughter could read it, but it has an impact in the conclusion.
Synopsis: I really enjoyed the look into the life of Claudette Fiore, someone who used to turn heads in the Hollywood scene. Married to a famous director, Claudette hosted parties and lived a lifestyle most of us only read about. Now her husband is gone, and a crooked accountant has left her poor. She returns to her small town to live in the only home she owns. It was a hoot to read about her journeys into what most of us term, daily life. Just great!! Makes me appreciate the life I have.

These great books can be purchased at WaterBrook Multnomah through these links:

Leaving Carolina: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421661

What Matters Most: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421197

Limelight: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400070824

These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Shadow Government & Wisdom Hunter - Book Reviews

Wow! I had to think twice about posting this review after reading "Shadow Government" by Grant R. Jeffrey. It was an eye-opening trip into the surveillance world of our e-mails, phone calls, financial transactions, shopping trips, and border crossings. This book made me think about the time of history we are living in. The situation is ripe for a global government, and this book explains how and why.

Have you ever heard of a RFID chips? RFID stands for radio frequency identification. These are handy dandy chips (if you like to track things and people) . "Wal-Mart, the world's leading retailer using RFID product tagging, invested $250 million in the introduction of RFID technology. ... The program is used to monitor Wal-Mart's vast inventory from manufacturer to shipper to the particular shelf in a particular store on which a particular product sits." "Those who promote RFID technology claim that 'theft will be drastically reduced because items will report when they are stolen, their smart tags also serving as a homing device toward their exact location'"

Think about those last words "exact location" and the fact that when the product leaves the store, the RFID technology has not been disabled. Maybe you don't care if someone knows that you have a Gillette razor ("In 2003 Gillette ordered more than five hundred million RFID chips, which were embedded in their products, including the very popular Mach 3 razors."), but are you ok with someone knowing every product you purchased, how much you purchased, when and where you purchased them? The technology is rapidly increasing so that in the not so distant future, "a tiny, flat, flexible, battery-powered RFID chip will send the EPC ID number a considerable distance, allowing it to be read even by a satellite." Also, "bear in mind that an RFID chip provides much more information than your location. It also transmits a unique ID number that is linked solely to you and is tied to your credit or debit card account, linked to your purchases, and makes available other details about your life" - ie. your home address, bank, cars, insurance, etc.

Did you know that when you drive up to an international crossing between our country and a border country, a long-distance camera scans your license plate? "Instantly the U.S. Customs computer database compares your license plate number against the three national motor vehicle registry databases, plus the customs search-and-seize list and national police and security files of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. When the pleasant Customs and Immigration agent leans out of the booth and asks where you live, where you were born, and who is the registered owner of your vehicle, he or she already knows the answers!"

Want to know more? Want to read about some sci-fi weapons that aren't so much science fiction? Want to read more about what the UN is up to? Want to find out some news events you haven't heard about? Have you thought about "Why?"? Have you considered what role all of this plays in the end times? This book will answer all of those questions and more.
Reading this book will "help readers be equipped to face spiritual darkness with the light of prophetic truth."

Author Bio:

Grant R. Jeffrey is the internationally known prophecy researcher, Mideast expert, and author of Countdown to the Apocalypse, The New Temple and the Second Coming, The Next World War, and twenty other best-selling books. He is also the editor of the Prophecy Study Bible. His popular television program, Bible Prophecy Revealed, airs weekly on TBN. Jeffrey earned his master’s and PhD degrees from Louisiana Baptist University. He and his wife, Kaye, live in Toronto."Wisdom Hunter" by Randall Arthur was quite an interesting book. If you have had any dealings with legalism in your faith or have wondered what legalism is, this is a fiction book that opens the factual truth of legalism.

I really enjoyed reading the front "From the Author" page. Randall Arthur states:
"When 'Wisdom Hunter' became a bestseller upon its release in 1991, I thought the success of the book was a fluke. To my further surprise, the book was nominated shortly thereafter for the CBA 'Book of the Year' award. I learned quickly that the subjects of legalism and spiritual dictatorship were provocative topics worldwide, transcending all denominational and cultural borders.

Almost two decades ago, 'Wisdom Hunter' was born, not out of a long-held ambition to write a best-selling novel, but from a personal need to write the things I learned and experienced as a young, legalistic missionary in Europe. The story was developed out of great anguish and written with an unquenchable passion. I am not an authority on the local church or the Christian life. I am simply a wisdom hunter - one who was hungry enough to rip the mask off my 'American Christianity' and delve into truth.

After the first release of the book, I eventually worked up the courage to present a copy of 'Wisdom Hunter' to the president of the mission agency under whose administration I had served for seventeen years. He read it that day, and he fired me that evening. Over the following three months, eighty-five percent of the churches that supported my missionary efforts severed their relationship with me. I knew the book would be controversial. Still, its message was worth the pain of losing my job and most of my income.

Would I do it over again? Yes, without hesitation.

Through the years, I have received thousands of letters form readers around the world who have been touched by the book's timeless message and unconventional ability to transform hearts and minds. The book lives on primarily because people read it and then vigorously promote it from pulpits and stages: in magazines, newsletter, Websites, conferences, camps, classrooms, discussion groups, and Internet forums; on television and radio; and especially one-on-one. Today, many people are aware of the problems caused by legalism in the church, and some changes have occurred. However, there remains a need to address these issues that render us ineffective as Christians. It is my desire that this edition of 'Wisdom Hunter' will do just that.

To those who have read the book and are fans, I say thank you. I am humbled and honored. May we always be students that dare to question. And may we never lose our heart for God.

If you are reading 'Wisdom Hunter' for the first time, I hope it will be a refreshing and thought-provoking experience. May it stir an unquenchable thirst for truth in your soul.

From my heart to yours,
Randall Arthur"

Now don't you really want to read this book?!

Summary: "Pastor Jason Faircloth knows what he believes. His clear faith, in fact, is why he is one of the most prominent pastors in Atlanta. He relies on it to discipline his daughter, his wife, his church. He prays daily that others would come to see God’s ways as he does. And it is about to cost him everything. Groping for answers in the face of tragedy, Jason begins a search for the only family he has left: the granddaughter kept hidden from him. Soon he finds himself on an international adventure that will take him straight into the depths of his soul. He is determined not to fail again. A fast-paced suspense novel rich in spiritual depth, Wisdom Hunter explores what it means to break free of Christian legalism—and discover why grace can mean the difference between life and death."

Author Bio: Randall Arthur is the bestselling author of Jordan’s Crossing and Brotherhood of Betrayal. He and his wife have served as missionaries to Europe for over thirty years. From 1976 till 1998, he lived in Norway and Germany as a church planter. Since 2000, he has taken numerous missions teams from the United States on trips all over Europe. Arthur is also the founder of the AOK (Acts of Kindness) Bikers’ Fellowship, a group of men who enjoy the sport of motorcycling. He and his family live in Atlanta, Georgia.

These books were provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

To purchase the books or find out more about the books, feel free to visit: waterbrookmultnomah.com

Duke's Big News :-)

I forgot to document Duke & my big news!

We finished "Brisingr"!!!!!!!
We've been reading through "The Inheritance Cycle" for about a year and a half.
We've read "Eragon," "Eldest," and now "Brisingr." I was really hoping the new book, "Eldunari," would be out before we finished "Brisingr," but nope. We both can hardly wait! I think we'll be purchasing the book at Wal-Mart the day it comes out. Early in the day!
What a great story. I will say (for those with younger kids) that I left a few lines out that were tough for younger ears. Only a few lines, and he didn't miss anything. He'll be able to read it later, but it won't stand out so much, as it would if it was the first time he heard it. I thought the connection between Eragon and his dragon, Saphria, was alot like the relationship between a Christian and the Holy Spirit. I'm really eager to hear how Paolini ends the story.

Now if I can only get some girl friends to read the books, so we can discuss them!!