Stay in the Car Mom

DigiScrap: Painting and Halloween

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Getting closer with finishing 2009. All the way up to the end of October now.

NetGalley: Girls Uncovered

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

Girls Uncovered: New Research on What America's Sexual Culture Does to young Women by Freda Bush, MD, Joe McIlhaney, Jr. MD and Stan Guthrie

(from Amazon)

Any parent can identify with the feeling that girls growing up in America face a treacherous future; Girls Uncovered unveils the facts. In a follow up to their eye-opening release, Hooked, obstetricians Joe McIlhaney and Freda Bush present stunning scientific research on the development of young girls in America's increasingly reckless sexual culture. They survey the reality of prevalent sexual behaviors and attitudes as well as their psychological, social, physical, and spiritual effects. Despite the harrowing facts revealed by their studies, McIlhaney and Bush give us hope through their expertise as physicians and parents of daughters. Girls Uncovered provides fundamental wisdom and practical advice to help parents, counselors, and church leaders guide young girls safely through the challenges they will face so they can achieve their potential and enjoy full health, hope and happiness.

My Thoughts:

Every parent of a daughter who is going to be a teenager one day needs to read this book! Girls Uncovered was phenomenal. In no-nonsense language Bush and McIlhaney tell the truth about STI's (sexually transmitted infections), teenage pregnancy, the social stigma and the psychological effects of teenagers and young adults having casual sex and multiple premarital sex partners.

Although listed in some places as a Christian book, there is no references to the Bible in the book and no references to abstaining from premarital sex because of religious beliefs. What Girls Uncovered does say is that abstaining from premarital sex is in a teenage girls best interest physically.

The book is chock full of statistics that tell the real story; how, as Bush and McIlhaney put it, "sex is sexist." Meaning that most of the bad things that result from casual sex - STI's, teenage pregnancy, bad social stigmas - happen to girls, not to boys. The premise is that society used to protect our girls but now we, as a society, have done the opposite. We have sexualized our girls so much in the media that teenagers feel like that are abnormal if they aren't having sex. Bush and McIlhaney make the claim that we need to work together to remove that image from the media, to tell our girls the truth about what can happen when they have sex (and the true statistics of how often those things happen) and to help keep our young girls covered in society's protection.

I thought this was an excellent book. It was so honest, it was actually scary reading it as a mother of a soon-to-be preteen daughter. But I want my daughter to know the truth. I want her to know that when we tell her to save sex for marriage, we are trying to protect her. This book is an excellent resource to get that truth across. It tells story after story of heartbreak when girls didn't know the truth or chose not to believe it. And, before you ask, no, I'm not going to read it to my 8-year old daughter at this point in her life. But I am going to buy the actual paper version of this and keep it until she's older and ready to hear it.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I received a complementary Kindle version of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DigiScrap: Day out with Thomas, Circus Time

2012-01-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Continuing with my goals, here's my latest 4 digital scrapbook pages.

I use Creative Memories' StoryBook Creator software to create my pages (in case you are wondering). They are having a big sale on the printed books (getting all these digital pages printed out in one big book) and it ends this Thursday. So I would love to get all my 2009 pages done by then and order a book, but I don't know whether that will happen or not. I still have Oct, Nov and Dec to go...and there are LOTS of pictures in those months. Wish me luck...

Blogging for Books: A Sound Among the Trees

2012-01-23T11:48:00.001-05:00

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

(from Amazon)

A house shrouded in time.
A line of women with a heritage of loss.

As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

My Thoughts:

Wow! This book totally drew me in. I didn't realize until I was done with the book that I have read another book by this author. As with the Shape of Mercy, this book was excellent!

The writing switches each chapter from elderly Adelaide's point of view to new bride Marielle's. Both women, in their own way, wrestle with the haunting of the house - whether a haunting by ghosts or memories, neither can decide.

Adelaide feels her house, Holly Oak, has a grudge against any women born to its family, a grudge held over from Civil War times. Marielle feels the house has an unnatural pull to the memories of its dead, former inhabitants, one of whom is her new husband's first wife and the mother of his children.

It takes the discovery of letters written during the Civil War to clear up the mystery enshrouded in Holly Oak. One third of the book is taken up by these letters written from young Susannah Page (transplanted southerner) to her cousin in Maine during the first 3 years of the Civil War. These letters are beautifully written and weave a story all their own, in ways connected with that of Adelaide and Marielle and in ways separate. When I got to that part of the story, I literally could not put the book down. It was that intriguing. In beautiful imagery, these letters show the ugliness and unfairness of war, that no matter which side of the conflict you are on, no one really wins. The victory only comes in the healing of a country and a family after the war is done.

I highly recommend this book.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

I received a complementary Kindle version of this book to review by the Blogging for Books program. All opinions are my own.

24 Books I Plan to read in 2012

2012-01-21T16:10:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite bloggers is Money Saving Mom. Not only does she tell us about deals in stores and online, but she also has excellent posts on setting goals.

One of her goals is to read 24 books in 2012.
I decided this would be an excellent thing for me to do as well.
While I normally do read a lot, I still have loads of books at my house that I have never read.

So, my reading goal for the year is to read one fiction book and one non-fiction book each month that I already own. I will still be reading and doing book reviews for Booksneeze, Blogging for Books, NetGalley and Tyndale throughout the year. But I am going to make reading my books a priority too.

Here's "the list":

January - Crazy Love by Chan
Unlocked by Kingsbury

February - Simplify Your Time by Ramsland
While We're Far Apart by Austin

March - Different Children, Different Needs by Boyd
The Secret Life of Josephine by Erickson

April - Love Life for Every Married Couple by Wheat
Her Mother's Hope by Rivers

May - The Power of a Praying Parent - OMartian
On Every Side - Kingsbury

June - Bringing up Boys - Dobson
Rebecca - du Maurier

July - Life Management for Busy Women - George
Never Let You Go by Healy

August - Too Busy Not to Pray by Hybels
Betrayal in Paris by Fell

September - Sacred Parenting by Thomas
Sadie's Song by Hall

October - Rocking the Roles by Hendricks
Where the River Ends by Martin

November - Captivating by Eldredge
Burn by Healy

December - Wild at Heart by Eldredge
No One You Know by Richmond

I really wanted to put Mere Christianity by CS Lewis on there but it's an intense book. I don't think I can just sit down and read it all at once. So instead, I'm going to try to read one chapter a month. Even at that, I won't finish it in a year. But that's OK. I think I'll need to think about each chapter for a while before I move on.

So there you have it. My 2012 goals may not be that intense, but I am going to be adding to them with things like this little by little. And now that I've posted this out there in cyberspace for all to see, then I'll be more likely to do it :).

Booksneeze: This Thing of Ours

2012-01-14T17:30:00.001-05:00

This Thing of Ours: How Faith Saved My Mafia Marriage by Cammy Franzese

(from the back cover)
A match made on a movie set and a lavish Beverly Hills wedding. The beginning of Camille Franzese's story takes on the shade of an exotic fairy tale. But a closer look at her marriage to mafia capo Michael Franzese exposes more than a decade of anguish endured in the shadows of her husband's crimes. The fear of arrest, the prison sentences, the house raids from federal agents - Camille lived through it all, not knowing whether her family could remain unbroken amid the turmoil and uncertainty that accompanied her husband's life of crime. Discover how Camille's devotion to her marriage and her faith in God's larger plan led to deliverance from devastation. Hers is a story of choices, consequences, and the prayers that hold us up when everything around us is falling down.

My Thoughts:

I was very excited about reading this book. It's not every day you get to find out how things really work in the mafia. Well, unfortunately, if that's what you are looking for, this book will disappoint. Despite the subtitle of this book, Franzese's husband was on his way out of the mafia by the time they married. In fact, he left for prison less than a year after their wedding and from that point on, he was no longer a mafia man.

Her story is more about her life during the two four-year stints her husband spent in prison and what she learned. There are two overwhelming themes throughout the book. One is that you must stand by your choices no matter the consequences. So you married a former mafia boss and didn't know it. Too bad - it was your choice to marry him without researching how he got his money. You must stand by your choice whether you like the consequences or not.

The other theme is that you must cover every part of your life in prayer, whether things are going well or not. Cammy learned to rely on God when she was raising 3 kids with a husband in prison. She had to continually rely on him when her husband got home and they adjusted to life together again. She relies on him today to help her learn to relate to her grown children.

So while this isn't a book about life in the mafia, it is a book about forgiveness and commitment. My only complaint is that the author tends to go off on rabbit trails at time and can be hard to follow.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book to review by Booksneeze. The opinions are my own.

My swagbucks Christmas solution

2012-01-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is my wonderful husband with his one and only Christmas present. Contrary to popular Facebook belief, this is not a toaster. It is an Asus EEE Pad Transformer Prime, in other words a tablet computer running the Android operating system.

He has wanted it for a while.

But tablets are SOOO expensive.

What's our solution?

Swagbucks!!

Thankfully in August, Swagbucks opened up it's website so that each person can have an account instead of just one per household. With Tim and I working together, we were able to earn $300 worth of Amazon credit from Swagbucks in just 5 months. We used that to buy Christmas presents, which freed up Christmas money to buy Tim the one gift he really wanted.

So, do I recommend Swagbucks?

You betchya!

And this week, Swagbucks is making Friday the 13th a lucky day. It's Swag Code Extravaganza Day, which means more opportunities to get reward points towards free stuff! It starts at 7am Eastern Time - throughout the day there will be 8 different Swag Codes, and if you can get them all, you'll have an extra 60 Swag Bucks in your account.

See you there!

Just to prove I did it

2012-01-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

Well, week one went without a hitch, according to my 2012 goals.

I (obviously) wrote a blog post - the one about the goals :).

And I did...wait for it...6 scrapbook pages!!!
They are from way back in 2009, so they really needed to be done.
Oddly enough, when I started blogging, I stopped cropping...hmmm, wonder if that's related....

Anyhoo, I'm back at it. I'm hoping to get the rest of my 2009 album done this month. I'm up to about August, so, we'll see if it happens. I'm optimistic :).

Here's the proof:

And I'm already on top of things for this week. I've done 2 pages so far and hope to do more tonight.

Do you scrapbook? If so, how far behind are you (please say "a lot" so I feel better)?

2012 Goals

2012-01-05T15:11:00.000-05:00

When I opened up my Google Reader this week, I was met with every blogger I know (well, almost everyone) posting their 2012 goals for the year. So I figured, what the heck, I'll join the crowd.

Last year I posted some pretty lofty goals in everything from personal growth to finances. Even though I did accomplish most of those goals, I've decided to set lower expectations for myself this year. Maybe "lower" isn't the right word. Maybe "more realistic" is better terminology.

Between my busy schedule (and, therefore, my high stress level) and my abdominal pain that won't go away, I just can't handle too much right now. I might make some more goals for myself in a couple of months when I (hopefully) get this pain thing figured out. But for now, this will be enough.

So, ta-da! Here are my goals:
1) Write one blog post a week.
2) Finish one 2-page scrapbook layout a week.

Yup, that's it. Pretty big goals, huh?

OK, all you perfect women out there with the spotless houses, up-to-date scrapbooks and loads of energy, you can stop laughing at me now. If I accomplish those 2 goals all year long, I will feel good.

And, since this is the first week in January and this is a blog post, then I have my first week 50% done. Yay, me!!! Now, to do that layout....

Blogging for Books: The Canary List

2011-12-16T14:03:00.001-05:00

The Canary List by Sigmund Brouwer

From the back cover:
Protected by the dark of night, Jaimie Piper runs. But is anywhere safe when Evil is hunting you?

She’s just a twelve year-old girl, bumped around between foster homes and relegated to school classes for challenged kids, those lagging in their test scores or with behavioral issues. But her real problem is that she can sense something the other kids can’t—something dark. Something compelling her to run for her life.

All Crockett Grey wants is to mark the anniversary of his daughter’s death alone.

But when his student Jaimie comes to him, terrified, her need for protection collides with his grief, and a tangled web of bizarre events sends them both spiraling toward destruction.

Crockett’s one hope of getting his life back is to uncover the mysterious secrets of Jaimie’s past and her strange gift. It isn’t long before his discoveries lead him to a darker conspiracy, secrets guarded by the highest seat of power in the world—the Vatican.

My Thoughts:

This was a VERY, VERY good book. The first chapter or two were pretty spooky. I love to read in bed at night and I was afraid after reading those chapters that I wouldn't be able to sleep. However, the book became more mystery/suspense after those first few chapters and less spooky. Once I started reading I could hardly put it down until I got to the end.

If you are a fan of The DaVinci Code or the National Treasure movies, you'll love the political and religious intrigue in these books. You'll see the dark side of those who are so desperate for power, they will do anything to get it.

The characters in this book are wonderful. Brouwer creates main characters who are horribly flawed - all by circumstances out of their control. And I love every flaw they have. Brouwer also did a great job of not tying up every loose end in the book. For the most part, the big questions are answered; however, he leaves a lot of things up to the imagination of the reader. I think this would be a great book club book because I would love to have people to discuss all those loose ends with.

I highly recommend this book.

5 out of 5 stars.

All About Me: Christmas Edition

2011-12-08T13:56:00.001-05:00

OK, so this might be 6th gradish, but I just couldn't resist.

I saw this list on Taylor's blog and decided I'd throw my answers out there too.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Neither - don't like egg nog and I'm allergic to chocolate (shocking - I know). But I do love apple cider!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa sits them under the tree. They are the only unwrapped presents. That's how we know they are from him.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White on the tree. White and blue on the house.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No.

5. When do you put your decorations up? The Saturday after Thanksgiving, after I've recovered from Black Friday shopping.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I don't know that we have a lot of foods are solely made at Christmas. But I do love anything with cinnamon in it - cinnamon bread, cinnamon rolls, etc.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? I loved our Advent calendar. It was a fabric tree that we would pin wooden ornaments onto. The ornament for the 24th was Santa. The three of us kids would have to take turns pinning Santa on, so you only got to do it once every 3 years, but it was SOOOO exciting when it was your year.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Sad to say, but I don't think I ever believed in Santa. I always knew it was my parents.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We celebrate on Christmas Eve with Tim's extended family so we open several gifts on Christmas Eve with them. But all the gifts to our immediate family (me, Tim and the kids) must be opened on Christmas Day.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? It's prelit - Wahoo! So we just add ornaments. I usually let the kids do most of the decorating. There's really no theme, just things we've collected over the years. The kids each have a little tree in their rooms that they decorate any way they want to.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love the looks of it. Don't like having to walk or drive in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, I was blessed with the gift of balance. My husband was not.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with my family. I also love watching the kids open up their gifts.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Once again - I like anything with cinnamon in it.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I like it all. I like decorating the house. I like helping the kids do their Advent calendars. I like going to houses of our extended families and hanging out with them. I just like it all.

17. What tops your tree? An angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I love to give gifts, but, hey, I like to receive them as well.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Yum, I like peppermint, but only in small amounts.

20. Favorite Christmas show? Movie? Miracle on 34th Street - the original one.

21. Saddest Christmas Song? OK, I was going to put The Christmas Shoes one, but then I heard this one this morning. Most depressing Christmas song ever - hands down. (Warning: If you visit the YouTube link, be sure to have tissues on hand!)

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Mary Did You Know?

OK, Now it's your turn. How would you fill out this list?

Letter from Santa

2011-12-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

My kids got these in the mail yesterday.

In case you can't read them, they are letters from Santa.

Only I never signed up for any letters from Santa.

All I did was help my kids send out their letter to Santa, addressed to "Santa, North Pole."

Guess where these came from?

North Pole, Alaska.

And the return address was "US Postal Service."

All I can think is that some nice person up in Alaska sends letters back out to kids who send letters to Santa. My children's names were handwritten on the letter, as was Santa's name. The address on the envelope was handwritten as well. That took a little bit of time.

So, nameless postal person up in Alaska, THANK YOU!!!! You made my kids' year by sending them their own letter from Santa.

What about you? Did your kids send out a Santa letter this year? Did you get one back?

Unsolved Mystery

2011-12-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have to apologize.

I didn't mean to become just a book review blog.

However, I've really not been myself for about a month now. I started having bad abdominal pains 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. They are on my left side which, apparently, baffles doctors, because you don't have many organs on the left side.

After a battery of tests, they've determined that there is nothing they can find wrong with my reproductive organs - at least the ones I have left. So, it's on to the GI doctor for me. It took 2 weeks to get in to see him, but I've been told that's pretty good. Some people have to wait months. Guess that's the up side of being in pain.

Anyway, that appointment is later this week and until I figure out what's wrong, I've been doing a lot of resting and taking pain pills.

I have been advised not to exercise until we solve this, so it's now been a month since I've seen the gym. That's hard for me. Exercise has always been my stress-reliever.

So I haven't really had a lot to blog about.

Maybe I should use my downtime to figure out blog topics...

Or I could just read more books and review them on here.

Either way, I just pray this is resolved soon.

Booksneeze: Smitten

2011-12-05T09:26:00.001-05:00

Smitten By Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, & Diann Hunt

The unthinkable happens to the sleepy, little town of Smitten, Vermont. Smitten Lumber, the town's paper mill and main employer, announces that it is closing. Unable to bear the thought of their town dying, four single friends get together and devise a way to capitalize on the town's name and keep Smitten in business.

Bold Natalie, trendy Julia, prim and proper Shelby and athletic Reese persuade the town leaders to turn Smitten into the romantic, honeymoon getaway of the Northeast. While transforming the town, each woman must deal with her own insecurities and, hopefully, find love along the way.

My Thoughts:

The set-up of this book was so unique and interesting to me. It's divided into four sections, each one being it's own little novella. Each section is about one of the four friends and is written by a different author (several of them being my favorite authors, I might add). Each author put a little bit of her personality into their character (as told in the interview with the authors at the end of the book). Also each section is written about a different season within the year it takes to transform the town.

I've never read a book that is distinctly written by four authors. As I was reading, I could tell the different styles of each author, but the book flowed together really well. It was really one main story line - the transformation of this little town and the people in it - but with separate little story lines within it. The authors and editor did a really good job of making it work together.

As for each individual story line, I thought they were pretty predicable. What you wanted to happen, happened. But that was OK. Sometimes it's good to read great romantic stories that turn out just like you want them to and that don't require a lot of thought on the part of the reader.

Having the plot develop in a shorter story or novella, could mean that characters aren't fully developed. However, that was not the case in this book. I thought each of the four friends had very distinct personalities that show up in each of the four stories.

This was a quick read and would be great for cold winter nights when all you want to do is cozy up next to the fire.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Kindle version of Smitten was provided to me by Booksneeze in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Hungry anyone?

2011-11-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Bet you thought this post was going to be about food.

It's not.

It's about an awesome book I just read.

Have you heard of this book?
A good friend of mine suggested I read it.
When I read the description, I was very skeptical.

The story takes place sometime in the future. North America has fallen in a great war and a new country, Panem, has emerged. Panem keeps it's subjects under control by fear and by the annual Hunger Games. Once a year, each of the 12 districts of Panem must randomly choose a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 and send them to the capital to compete in the Hunger Games. The 24 children are put into an arena and are forced to fight each other to the death. The winner receives numerous rewards including food for their district for a year. Oh and all this is televised live to the nation with mandatory viewing.

Can you see why I was skeptical? It doesn't really sound like the feel-good book of the year, does it? So it was with much trepidation that I started reading the book.

It was fan-tast-ic!! I couldn't put it down!!

It was SO good. It's listed as a book for 7th graders and up, but I was totally engrossed in it. The characters and settings are so rich and full. It's the kind of book that you can see the action going on in your head as you read it. I can't tell you too much about the story or I'll give away the good stuff. Needless to say, I highly recommend the book.

If you happen to have Amazon Prime and own a Kindle, you can "rent" this book for free. Just search for it on your Kindle and choose the "Borrow for free" option. I will warn you, though, this book is part of a trilogy and you can only rent one free book a month. I'm waiting anxiously for Dec. 1 so I can go rent the second book. I'll probably have to buy the third book because I don't think I'll be able to wait until Jan. 1 to get that one!

Enjoy!

Holiday Recap

2011-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

How was your Thanksgiving week?

My family had the whole week off!
No school...
No work...
No evening activities...

It was very,VERY nice.

We enjoyed playing games (a little TurkeyFoot dominoes at Thanksgiving, anyone?), watching videos, going to see the Muppets movie in the theater (very cute!) and spending lots of good, quality time with extended family.

Oh, yeah, we did a little Black Friday shopping too ;).
I will admit, we were some of those crazy people waiting outside Target in the cold for an hour until it opened at midnight. Did I mention it was cold???? As in 27 degrees cold!

But, it was worth it. Target was so organized and calm. There was no pushing, no mad or mean people. And there were TONS of helpful sales people - yes, even at midnight on Black Friday. And, best of all, we got everything on our list. I can't tell you what we got on here because it might involve Christmas presents for family members and those family members just might be reading this. Don't worry, you'll like it ;).

I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend as well. Now we can all go full swing into Christmas,

Another Year Older

2011-11-29T09:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Sweetie.

I love you!!!

Blogging for Books: Life, in Spite of Me

2011-11-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Life, in Spite of Me by Kristen Anderson

(from Amazon) She wanted to die. God had other plans.
Overwhelmed by wave after wave of emotional trauma, Kristen Anderson no longer wanted to live. One January night, determined to end her pain once and for all, the seventeen-year-old lay across train tracks not far from her home and waited to die.

Instead of peace, she found herself immersed in a whole new nightmare.

Before the engineer could bring the train to a stop, thirty-three freight cars passed over her at fifty-five miles per hour. After the train stopped and Kristen realized she was still alive, she looked around—and saw her legs ten feet away.

Surviving her suicide attempt but losing her legs launched Kristen into an even deeper battle with depression and suicidal thoughts, as well as unrelenting physical pain—all from the seat of a wheelchair. But in the midst of her darkest days, Kristen discovered the way to real life and a purpose for living.

My Thoughts:

Wow! I have discovered I really love reading memoirs - true life accounts of how someone is surviving in this life. And talk about a survivor! At age 17, Kristen didn't want to survive; she wanted to die. She made a split-second decision to lay across the train tracks and end her life. In her memories of that night, she remembers the train trying to suck her up into it but something supernaturally pushed her down on that track and kept her from dying. She didn't know God at that time in her life, but through her struggles and recovery, she met him and realized it was his hand on her that night. I get goosebumps just thinking of that now.

This book is very real. Kristen does not gloss over any of her feelings or over any of her realities. She was a severely depressed teenager who was misdiagnosed and not taken seriously by several doctors. She offers great insight into what teenage depression looks like and how it can end, if parents and doctors don't take it seriously.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Kristen also shows how God can take a broken life - physically, mentally and spiritually - and transform it for his glory. Kristen's full-time job now is talking to teenagers struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts, taking them seriously and showing them a better way in life.

Life, in Spite of Me is honest, gritty and inspiring. I thought it was wonderful!

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I received an electronic copy of this book free with the Blogging for Book program. All opinions are my own.

Booksneeze: The Realms Thereunder

2011-11-22T10:03:00.001-05:00

The Realms Thereunder - Ross Lawhead

(from the back cover) A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraith-like creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluster around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.

Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.

But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality - a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners fo the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present and points beyond to defeat the ultimate thread to humanity.

Nothing they've seen so far prepares them for what awaits...in The Realms Thereunder.

My Thoughts

OK, I must start this review by pointing out that I'm not really a fan of fantasy. Why I picked this book to review, I don't know. That being said, even thought I didn't like the genre, I stuck it out and read every word.

The story jumps around in time a lot. In the beginning of book, there are two time periods - the present where Freya Reynolds is a college student at Oxford and Daniel Tully is homeless and living on the streets, and eight years ago where the two were, unknowingly, lured into a secret underground world. Then as the book progressed, Daniel and Freya are separated in the present to, really, two other time periods. So then, you have three separate storylines going, along with trying to remember the original one. To me, that was very confusing. I constantly had to go back in the book to refresh myself on what had just happened in that time period (3 chapters ago!).

My other complaint with the book is the storyline (at least the one from eight years ago), seemed all to familiar. Two children whisked to a secret world where it's the good wizard and his forces battling that bad wizard and his forces. The bad wizard must be destroyed but only a brave child with a pure heart can rid the world of evil. Sound like anything familiar? A little Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, anyone?

The book really doesn't resolve any of the conflicts within it. It's almost more of an intro into the next book, which, I have to say, I won't be reading.

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

I read this book as part of the Booksneeze program for bloggers. All opinions are my own.

Scouting for Fun

2011-11-04T10:00:00.000-04:00

Boy Scouts is a wonderful organization and our local Pack is great. There are fun activities scheduled almost every week.

An added bonus? David is not the only one who can join in the fun. Siblings are (almost) always invited!

Here are some things we've done so far:

The Bike Rodeo

Halloween Dress-up/Fun Night (much candy was received)

Cub Scout Day at our local State Park. Their first archery lessons.

There has also been a magic show and a scrapbooking night. Coming up this week is a trip to the fire station.

Boys can start Cub Scouts (as a Tiger Cub) in the first grade. If you have a first grade boy and you haven't already, go check out your local Boy Scouts for great (cheap) fun for all!

Wordless Wednesday; Crazy Hair Night

2011-11-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

My little Tiger

2011-11-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

This year, David is finally old enough to join Boy Scouts. His daddy is an Eagle Scout and his Papaw has held many positions in his local Boy Scout troop over the years, so this is an important time for him.

He is my little Tiger Cub and I'm so proud of him.

Pumpkins

2011-10-31T09:48:00.002-04:00

Can you guess what they all are?

Swagbucks Codes all Day!!

2011-10-31T09:33:00.001-04:00

Do you use Swagbucks?

No?? Why not?

Swagbucks is a search engine that allows you to earn points, called Swagbucks. When you have earned enough points, you can trade them in for great prizes, like Amazon gift cards.

Don't believe me? So far my husband and I have earned over $250 in Amazon gift cards in just the last 6 months. We will be using that nice little chunk of change to help buy some Christmas gifts this year.

If you haven't joined, today is a great day to join!
If you already swag with us, check out this announcement from the folks at Swagbucks.

This week will be a can't miss at Swagbucks, as they run not one but TWO big days of codes! It all starts on Halloween Monday, with a series of Trick-or-Treat code hunts throughout the day. Then, on Thursday, it's another Swag Code Extravaganza - 60 Swag Bucks worth of codes being released throughout the day, plus special promotions, announcements and more! Be sure to go to the Swagbucks Blog at 7am Pacific Time Monday to join in the fun!

Start your Swagbucks journey today!!

Book Review: Growing up Amish

2011-10-21T10:00:00.000-04:00

Growing up Amish, a memoir by Ira Wagler

One clear night at age 17, Ira Wagler packs a bag and leaves his Old Order Amish settlement to strike out in the "English" world. In this memoir, Ira paints a vivid picture of life growing up as an Amish boy and as an Amish man. The book chronicles Ira's decade long confusion as to whether to remain Amish or leave the church. It culminates in his ultimate decision at age 26 to leave the order for good.

My Thoughts:

The description of this book just fascinated me. Amish life is very much idealized in modern-day literature and film. To find out from someone in that community what life is really like is like seeing into someone's secret hideaway. Ira's down-to-earth writing reveals that Amish life is not always peaceful and serene. Not everyone in that world is content with their lot in life. In fact, in these memoirs, Ira is anything but content. He struggles with the guilt of not continuing the Amish life as well as not really knowing how to live outside of the Amish community.

The writing is so real and in your face that you feel as if you are there in the situation. It has almost a raw quality to it that just draws out the emotion of the author and lets the reader feel what he is feeling. As a reader, your heart just breaks during Ira's struggles. You want him to overcome, whether it's in finally embracing the Amish church or whether it's learning to live outside of it. You just want him to succeed in life. But then you realize that this is someone's real life and not a novel. Heartaches happen, confusion happens. But after 10 years of living between two worlds, clarity happens and Ira chooses his path.

I thought this was an excellent book. It was well-written and engaging. I would like to know what happened to Ira after the end of the book. I feel like I need to know that he went on be happy, that he realized he made the right choice. So, Ira, if you ever read this, feel free to comment and let us know that you are happy.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I received a complementary Kindle version of this book for review by NetGalley.