Veteran's Day

Today is the day we set aside to remember those who have served, those who are currently serving, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in one of the fine branches of the United States military.  Thank you for everything.  The sacrifices you made makes it possible for me and my family to enjoy the freedoms we hold so precious and dear.   THANK YOU!!

On that note, if any of my readers are currently in the military or have served in our fine armed forces, go by Applebee's restaurants for either lunch or dinner.  Applebee's is giving our veterans and servicemen a free meal.  You get to pick one of nine choices and a drink.  You must show some sort of proof that you served or are serving to get your meal.  If you go to http://www.applebees.com/, you will find a list of the proof they will accept (even a picture of you in uniform) and what meals you can choose from.  They did this last year at a few select Applebee's.  The response they received was so overwhelming that they decided to offer it nationwide.

God Knows Our Hearts and Will Provide

I thought I had posted this story previously, but looking back over my blog, I don't see where I did. 

About a month ago, Beth Moore came to the Memphis area to hold a Living Proof Live event.  Tickets were $60 each.  The day before the event, we were discussing Beth Moore's visit during a bible study and asked who was going.  A few girls at our table raised their hand but my friend Shawn didn't.  When asked why, she said she couldn't afford a ticket but if God wanted her to go He would provide one for her. 

I remembered that before an event like this one, Beth would post on her blog an offer of free tickets to anyone who needed them.  When I got home, I checked Beth's blog, http://www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com/,  and saw her post for tickets.  Since the post had been made earlier that morning, I called Shawn right away, told her about it and gave her the number to call.  Shawn called and got an automated service.  Since all she had was the first names of the two ladies to ask for, Shawn prayed that if it was God's will He would have to get her to the right person.  There was a pause online then the call was transferred to Susan's voicemail (one of the ladies Beth had said to call).  Shawn left her information and what it was about.  About an hour later, Susan called her back.  She offered Shawn two tickets even though she only wanted one.  When Shawn asked her about the call transfer, Susan said she wasn't usually the one to get the calls. 

Shawn called me, told me what had happened and asked if I knew anyone needing a ticket.  Since we couldn't think of anyone, she called Leslie, our bible study leader, and asked her.  She knew Marva, another lady in BS wanted to go but was in the same situation as Shawn.  So, Shawn and Marva got to go to the event after all. 

A few days later, I checked Beth's blog and saw where she had posted pictures from the event.  Lo and behold, I saw a picture of Shawn and Marva worshipping God there in the post.  It was awesome!!  God had totally worked out all the details and let two wonderful women of God come and hear a word meant just for them. 

If you would like to see some pictures from the event, click on this link. It will take you to Beth Moore's blog and the post with the pictures.  Shawn, Marva and Cheryl (another lady in the group) are 2 minutes and 18 seconds into the video.

Happy Birthday Marines!

Today is the 234th birthday of the United States Marine Corp.  Happy Birthday Marines!!  Semper Fi!!  You've never looked better!!  Keep up the good work!!

White Picket Fences Blog Tour

The Janviers have the idyllic life - a beautiful home, great jobs, two wonderful kids - and surrounding it all is the proverbial white picket fence that protects them, offers them a serene sense of security ... and hides all their secrets.

When her black sheep brother disappears, Amanda Janvier eagerly takes in her sixteen-year-old niece Tally. The girl is practically an orphan: motherless and living with a father who raises Tally wherever he lands - in a Buick, a pizza joint, a horse farm - and regularly takes off on wild schemes. Amanda envisions that she, her husband, Neil, and their two teenagers can offer the girl stability and a shot at a "normal" life, even though their own storybook lives are about to crumble.

Seventeen-year-old Chase Janvier hasn't seen his cousin in years, and other than a vague curiosity about her strange life, he doesn't expect her arrival will affect him much - or interfere with his growing, disturbing interest in a long-ago house fire that plagues his dreams.

Tally and Chase bond as they interview two Holocaust survivors for a sociology project, and become startlingly aware that the whole family is grappling with hidden secrets, with the echoes of the past, and with the realization that ignoring tragic situations won't make them go away.

Will Tally's presence blow apart their carefully constructed world, revealing a hidden past that could destroy them all - or can she help them find the truth without losing each other? From the author of The Shape of Mercy, one of Publishers Weekly's Best Religious Fiction Books of 2008, comes a tale of family secrets smoldering behind a white picket fence.

WOW! This book had me turning the pages and not wanting to set it down. Susan Meissner's story of a family that looks and thinks they have it all together only to realize that they don't is fantastic. I love the way she weaves the lives of this family and their struggles together. You don't know what is going to happen next and are surprised with the twists and turns. I loved all the characters, especially Tally, but found myself drawn to Josef Bliss and Eliasz Abramovicz. The two men Tally and Chase interviewed were funny and inspiring. Even though they weren't related, they became brothers after all they had been through during World War II. This is an awesome book and I HIGHLY recommend it to everyone!!

Susan Meissner cannot remember a time when she wasn't driven to put her thoughts down on paper. Her novels include The Shape of Mercy, winner of the Christian Book Award for Fiction, and Blue Heart Blessed. Susan and her husband, a pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves, make their home in Southern California. They are the parents of four grown children.

If you are interesting in purchasing this book or would like more information, click here.

Extra Long Soccer Day and Rainfall Totals

Yesterday was a great day for soccer.  Good thing, because we had four games yesterday.  Yes, FOUR!!  Will and Hannah each had two games to get caught up on some of the ones missed due to the rain.  We arrived at the field around 9:15 a.m. and didn't leave until almost 2 p.m.  Will had games at 9:30 and 11:30 while Hannah had games at 10:30 and 12:30.  Both kids did great.  Will blocked a bunch of goals and Hannah got a goal.  After we were finished, Mike, I and the kids went through the Chick-fil-a drive-through and at lunch at home.  At 5:15 p.m., we had to leave the house again to head back for the Upwards Soccer Celebration.  It ended around 7:30 then we ate dinner at Subway.  The kids were exhausted and slept until 7:30 a.m.  (Since the time change, everyone is usually up just before 7 a.m.)  Hannah and I got sunburned on our faces; I also was sunburned on my neck, behind my ear and on my ear.  You can see where my earrings and glasses were because they are white instead of red.  After all the rain we had in October, it never occurred to me to get out the sunscreen.  I hope I remember it this Saturday.  We have four games again at the same times.

Speaking of rain, the weather forecaster on the local news said that the rainfall totals in October broke records.  I didn't hear the total amount but we had at least 1-2 inches every time it rained, some days we got 4-6 inches.  This area is also 11-12 inches over the annual amount of rainfall.  According to one of the local weather blogs, Memphis received 10.56 inches of rain in October.  Normal rainfall totals are 3.31 inches.  The old record was 10.13 inches set in 1919.

Fall Fiction Fun Blog Tour

This blog tour consisted of three books: Limelight by Melody Carlson, What Matters Most by Melody Carson, and Leaving Carolina by Tamara Leigh.

"I used to be a beauty... too good for our dusty little town...destined for greatness." Claudette Fiore' used to turn heads and break hearts. She relished the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle because she had what it takes: money, youth, fame, and above all, beauty. But age has withered that beauty, and a crooked accountant had taken her wealth, leaving the proud widow penniless and alone.

Armed with stubbornness and sarcasm, Claudette returns to her shabby little hometown and her estranged sister. Slowly, she makes friends. She begins to see her old life in a new light. For the first time, Claudette Fiore' questions her own values and finds herself wondering if it's too late to attain true beauty.

This was a good book. At first, I wasn't sure what to expect but Melody made this old curmudgeon likable in the end. Claudette was an aging actress that was used to the best. Suddenly, she has to adjust to living on her own and doing everyday chores such as cleaning, cooking and washing her clothes without servants to help. She was self-centered but gradually let others into her world. My favorite part was Claudette's attempts to do things on her own and making a mess of everything. It sounds like something I would do, especially not opening the flue in the fireplace. One of my favorite characters was Michael. Even though Michael was Claudette's husband's step-son, he took care of Claudette like he was her own son. He helped her get settled in her new house and tried to make the changes less harsh. I recommend this book for anyone looking for something different.

Melody Carlson is an award-winning, best-selling author of more than two hundred books including The Other Side of Darkness, On This Day, Crystal Lies, Finding Alice, and several series for teens. Melody and her husband live in central Oregon, where they enjoy an active lifestyle of skiing, hiking, gardening, camping, and biking. They are the parents of two grown sons.
To purchase this book or for more information, click here.

Sixteen-year-old Maya Stark has a lot to sort through. She could graduate from high school early if she wants to. She's considering it, especially when popular cheerleader Vanessa Hartman decides to make her life miserable - and Maya's ex-boyfriend Dominic gets the wrong idea about everything.

To complicate matters even more, Maya's mother will be released from prison soon, and she'll want Maya to live with her again. That's a disaster waiting to happen. And when Maya plays her dad's old acoustic guitar in front of an audience, she discovers talents and opportunities she never expected. Faced with new options, Maya must choose between a "normal" life and a glamorous one. Ultimately, she has to figure out what matters most.

What Matters Most (book 3, Diary of a Teenage Girl series, Maya) by Melody Carlson is great. Even though it is the third book in the Maya series and the last in the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, I could follow along with little trouble. Maya is a girl with a great head on her shoulders. She prays over every decision she has to make. She makes friends with the class outcast, despite what her "Christian" friends think, and isn't lured by the promise of fortune and fame. Maya is not afraid to let people know she is a follower of Christ. We all should strive to be the type of Christian Maya is.

Melody Carlson is an award-winning, best-selling author of nearly two hundred books for teens, children, and adults, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor series, the True Color Series and the Notes from a Spinning Planet series. Melody has two grown sons and lives in central Oregon with her husband, where they enjoy skiing, hiking, gardening, camping, and biking.

To purchase What Matters Most or for more information, click here.

They say you can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl. This girl begs to differ. Piper Wick left her hometown of Pickwick, North Carolina, twelve years ago, shook the dust off her feet, ditched her drawl and her family name, and made a new life for herself as a high-powered public relations consultant in Los Angeles. She's even "engaged to be engaged" to the picture-perfect U.S. Congressman Grant Spangler.

Now all of Piper's hard-won happiness is threatened by a reclusive uncle's bout of conscience. In the wake of a health scare, Uncle Obadiah Pickwick had decided to change his will, leaving money to make amends for four generations' worth of family misdeeds. But that will reveal all the Pickwicks' secrets, including Piper's.

Though Piper arrives in Pickwick primed for battle, she is unprepared for Uncle Obe's rugged, blue-eyed gardener. So just who is Axel Smith? Why does he think making amends is about more than just making restitution? And why, oh why, can't she stay on task? With God's help, Piper is about to discover that although good PR might smooth things over, only the truth will set her free.

Being born and raised in the South, my interest was piqued by Leaving Carolina. Tamara does a great job showing that Piper's struggles with her family are ones we all face, whether you life in the South or anywhere else. Piper, on top of having to figure out how to get Uncle Obe to change his mind instead of his will, also struggles to trust family members that hurt her throughout her childhood, even though some of them have changed for the better. This was another great book, probably my favorite of the three.

Tamara Leigh is the best-selling author of twelve novels, including Perfecting Kate, award-winning Splitting Harriet, and Faking Grace. A former speech and language pathologist, Tamara lives with her husband, David, and their two sons in Tennessee.

If you are interested in purchasing Leaving Carolina, click here.

Halloween Costumes

This year for Halloween Will dressed as a Thomas the Train Engineer; Andrew, Bob the Builder; and Hannah, a cat.  Will and Andrew's costumes were easy - we already had everything.  Hannah's was a bit trickier.  Mike and I went to two different stores looking for a cat costume but everything was either too big or too small.  While looking around at Target, I found a leopard outfit in a 12-18 month size and had an idea.  I bought it along with a black t-shirt that said "Happy Halloween" and some black leggings.  When Mike and I got home, I started taking the infant outfit completely apart.  I sewed the leopard front piece and one of the sleeves onto the front of the t-shirt and the other sleeve to the back.  I attached the tail to the bottom of the t-shirt on the back and the gold bow to the collar.  It took about four and a half hours but I am very pleased with the results.  The best part was:  Hannah loved it.  I found the leopard mask at Party Works.

Leopard costume:  $9.50

T-shirt and leggings:  $10.00

Leopard mask:  $2.00

Hannah's face when she saw it:  priceless