Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. They have a section called Hey, It’s Okay and will list a bunch of things to be okay about. You're welcome to join in and do something like this on your blog. Doesn't have to be on a Tuesday either. Just make sure you link up and that the post you link up is a Hey, It's Okay Post.

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To NOT be throwing away a going away party for the Elf on the Shelf that apparently a lot of people do. I'm going to send it off happily. Natalie will probably hug it goodbye. We allow touching.


To have loved the movie Saving Mr. Banks. Go see it! PL Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, was a very amusing (and stubborn) lady. I wonder what she would have thought had she ever seen Yo Gabba Gabba?


To feel like I'm NOT ready for Christmas tomorrow. But it's coming no matter what. Ack!


To be glad my kids don't wake up butt early to open presents. I mean, they DO but they know they have to wait in their rooms to an appropriate time of at least 8.


To be surprising Tommy with a Wii U. We had told him it was too expensive so he's going to be shocked.


To have made sugar cookies with buttercream frosting. From scratch. I rarely make things from scratch.


To have wanted to make no bake cookies but the stupid commissary was out of oats. And I was going to make puppy chow but they were also out of powdered sugar. Ugh! Note to self: get tons of powdered sugar early next year.


To love that Tom will be silly with the kids. He was being a box monster. Mind you, Tommy is all, "No thanks," and stays in his room, but Natalie loves it.

The Scent of Fear

About The Book:  After three years of tenuous peace, John and Ellie Zimmerman are shocked when two old friends show up in disguise. Their world is once again sent into turmoil.  Jim Kenneman, Director of National Security, masterminded the break up of a group persecuting Christians in the Lancaster Tourist Zone. Now, they're gunning for him. At first, he relies on his negotiating skills, but his best operative convinces him that won't work.  Monty, a topnotch operative, worked on the Bird-in-Hand assignment and helped bring down the New Patriots. A recurring dream prompts him to rescue his boss from possible murder. The agency might not be sending him on assignment, but he knows God is directing his path - one that could wreck his career, family, and cost him his life.

About The Author:  Susan J. Reinhardt started off as a non-fiction writer. Her publishing credits include: LIVE!, Vista, The RevWriter Resource, The Secret Place, and numerous other periodicals and anthologies. She changed gears and began writing fiction after an experience in Gettysburg. Surrounded by history, she *heard* the voices of the forefathers as fading echoes. Attempts to write a poem or non-fiction piece were unsuccessful, so she put the thoughts aside and prayed. Eight months later, Susan and her late husband were discussing that event when he declared, "That's it! That's your book, and it will be written in 4 months and be called Ghosts of the Past." The first draft was written in 4 months and underwent a name change to Echoes of the Past. Later, it became The Moses Conspiracy. Now, after 2 years of caring for her husband through cancer until his death and 6 years of honing her fiction skills, The Moses Conspiracy has been published.  A widow, stepmom, daughter, and follower of Jesus Christ, Susan enjoys reading, couponing, gardening, family time, and searching for small treasures in antique shops.
Susan blogs at: http://susanjreinhardt.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSusanJReinhardt
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7012233.Susan_J_Reinhardt
Twitter: http://twitter.com/susan.j.Reinhardt

My Thoughts About The Book:  I did not read the first book, The Moses Conspiracy, before reading The Scent of Fear and probably should have.  I had some difficulty getting up to speed with the second book.  I have to say that once I got past the initial confusion I was captivated by the story and amazed by the writer.  This wonderful story is filled with action, suspense, and mystery, this story expands characters from The Moses Conspiracy, sharing their lives, trials, and how they come to terms with future events.  The book is a "can't put down" one and I found myself reading when I should have been doing other things.  I plan to go back and read The Moses Conspiracy while I wait for her next book to come out.  Excellent read!  Thanks for letting me have the chance to read and review this.

 

Statement of Disclosure: I received this book to review from Diane Estrella at www.dianeestrella.com  for an honest review.  Thank you so much for this opportunity.  Reviews are published on Goodreads and Amazon too.

All I Want For Christmas Is...

Christmas is in two days. I know! Cue panic! I have a list of things that I want. Maybe they'll happen?


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For everyone to stop using the word selfie. Please. I don't care if it's in the dictionary. It's an awful word that people over 18 should not be using.


For people to stop vaguebooking on Facebook. Don't post, "So depressed..." and not tell us why. I'm nosy. I want to know why. And I'll ask.


To find an agent so I can get my books published. Yes, I have The Swimmer's Assistant out but I want a REAL book and I want to be represented by an agent. Please let me find one. I've sent out query letters to several for my new book, Being Anne Boleyn, but so far, no luck.


For Miley Cyrus to go away. Seriously. Also, most of the real housewives of *insert state here* can go as well. Except Brandi. I like Brandi.


John Krasinski.


For people to stop writing checks in stores. I understand their purpose for sending bills, but in stores people want to get in and out. I'm generally behind someone who takes 10 minutes to write out a check. If you must write a check, please have everything filled out minus the cost, obviously. (My husband is really cursed. Whenever he's out, the person in front of us is writing a check like 95% of the time. Then he mutters, "Check writers! Why?")


To have a PIP. (Poop/pee in peace.)

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What do YOU want?

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion Review

Most of my readers are aware that my son has Aspergers. This means he likes to keep a schedule and tends to panic if he's off of it. He gets overstimulated easily. It's hard for him to fit in. When talking to his peers, he'd prefer to talk about his latest obsession. It doesn't occur to him that others wouldn't want to hear all about cumulus clouds. It's difficult for him to read people's expressions.

It's why I connected to Don Tillman, the lead character in the book The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.

Don is a smart professor of genetics and he's looking for love. He decides to start a Wife Project to help him find a mate. He winds up meeting Rosie, who appalls him at first because she smokes and is always late, two things that he disapproves of. He decides to help her find her biological father and through a series of hilarious moments, he realizes that perhaps everything doesn't have to be just so...

Don never comes out and says that he has autism but a lot of his mannerisms certainly match up with having it. I saw my son Tommy in Don. I rooted for Don, just as I root for Tommy.

If you like The Big Bang Theory and enjoy Sheldon, you'll love Don.

I love how when meeting people Don says, "Greetings," instead of the "normal" hi or hello.

If Don agrees with something, he doesn't say "yes." He says "correct."

A lot of Don's quirks are my son's quirks. Who wants to be normal anyway? I giggled through so much of this book and now I want to say "Greetings" instead of hello.

Go read this book!

And no, I was not given a free copy by a publisher. I got the book from the library and loved it so much that I wanted to share it with all of you.

You can purchase The Rosie Project on Amazon here! If you read the book, let me know how you liked it.


Here's a scene from the book that amused me and reminded me of my son. He sometimes struggles with looking at people when they speak:

“You’re unbelievable," said Rosie. "Look at me when I’m talking."

I kept looking out the window. I was already over-stimulated.

"I know what you look like.”

An Amish Miracle

About The Book:  An Amish Miracle is a collection of three novellas, by three different authors, all set in the same Amish community: Always Beautiful, Always His Providence, and Always in My Heart.  The first story, Always in My Heart introduces us to Hope Bowman and her family.  Hope is dealing with grief stemming from giving up her firstborn son.  This grief shadows the young mother's happiness  after she and her husband have their fourth daughter. Hope finds herself questioning God and wondering if God would grant her desire for a son?  In Always His Providence we are introduced to widow Rosa Hostetler who is facing losing everything. As she struggles with the possible loss of her farm and her chickens she learns to rely on God to provide and to wait on his will, yet she almost misses the biggest blessing; the possibility of loving again. Beth Wiseman's contribution, Always Beautiful, is about young Becky Byler and her struggle with her weight and self-image.  Is beauty only skin deep and can only skinny girls experience true love? 

About The Authors:  Award-winning, best-selling author Beth Wiseman is best known for her Amish novels, but her most recent novels, Need You Now and The House that Love Built, are contemporaries set in small Texas towns. Both have received glowing reviews. Beth's highly-anticipated novel, The Promise, is inspired by a true story. Twitter: @bethwiseman Facebook: Fans-of-Beth-Wiseman
Ruth Reid is a CBA and ECPA best-selling author of the Heaven on Earth series. She's a full-time pharmacist who resides in Florida with her husband and three children.
Mary Ellis grew up close to the eastern Ohio Amish community, Geauga County. Before “retiring” to write full-time, Mary taught middle school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate. Mary is a CBA and ECPA best-selling author as well as an ACFW Carol Award finalist and runner-up for the 2010 Holt Medallion Award.

My Thoughts About The Book:  I was excited when I realized that the stories were all set in the same town and I would be visiting with the same characters in each of the books. Each novella was well-written, the characters pop off the page and you find yourself wishing for success for each of them. These were not your run of the mill Amish romance stories where boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl marry.  There are several twists and turns and you find yourself wondering if things are going to work out for the three key women characters.  I loved everything about these novellas.  I loved the recipes at the end of the story.  I will definitely give them a try.  Especially the pineapple cake of Hopes. If you like Christian romance, or like to read about the Amish culture, you will not regret reading this book.

Statement of Disclosure: I received this book to review from Thomas Nelson Publishing Group's Book Sneeze Blogging Program for an honest review.  Thank you so much for this opportunity.  Reviews are published on Goodreads and Amazon too.

The Legend of Ranger, The Reindeer Who Couldn't Fly by Alan Salisbury Review

I love holiday stories.

So I was happy to be able to review The Legend of Ranger, the Reindeer Who Couldn't Fly by Alan Salisbury, illustrated by Roberta Baird.

It also came with a CD that contained a song called Dream and Believe (Ranger's Song), that was quite catchy, as well as the audio book of The Legend of Ranger, the Reindeer Who Couldn't Fly.


The book is about what the title implies: a reindeer named Ranger, who can't fly. He's Rudolph's brother. He dreams of being able to help fly Santa's sleigh. He yearns to find out the secret of flying. Will he be able to figure it out?

The book is longer than most children's picture books, but my daughter still enjoyed it. She's learning to read, so she liked figuring out the various words:

The book is also filled with wonderful pictures about Ranger's life at the North Pole:

The Legend of Ranger, The Reindeer Who Couldn't Fly is written by a retired Commanding General. You can find out more about Alan Salisbury here.

To learn more about the book, go to this website, where you can view a trailer.

BUY The Legend of Ranger, The Reindeer Who Couldn't Fly here. It's only $12.95! You can also buy the CD and a stuffed Ranger toy, or you can buy a bundle with everything for $29.

You can feel good about buying the book, because ALL the profits are being donated to the Antonia J Gaillourakis Endowed Fund in Art Therapy for Children with Cancer.

So add another fantastic book to your Christmas collection! This will be one that you'll enjoy for years to come.



**I was given a free copy of the book and CD to review. My opinions are my own**

Bound To A Promise

About The Book:  (from a press release) - Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—“Mrs. Floyd, my name is Paul Howard, and I’m calling from the United States embassy in Antigua. I’m sorry, ma’am, but I need to ask, are you Bonnie Clever-Floyd, daughter of William Norman Clever? I regret to inform you that your father has been killed.”
It was a cold, ordinary morning when Bonnie Floyd answered the phone call that would change her life forever. That date—February 1, 1994, would be seared in her heart as the day her parents had been brutally murdered. “They didn’t suffer, Mrs. Floyd; they were shot in their sleep…”Stunned and despairing, Bonnie cried, “They’re dead. They’re gone…”
Bound to a Promise tells the amazing true story of faith in the face of unimaginable loss. Bonnie Floyd’s father and stepmother had been living a dream life—serving as caretakers of a private tropical island and traveling the world in a sailboat. That life was cut short when three young men boarded their yacht as it was anchored off the coast of Antigua. Determined that there should be no witnesses to their theft and brutality, the assailants shot all four people on board.  For several years prior to that terrible day in 1994, Bonnie and her husband, Donnie, had been seizing every opportunity to share their faith with her parents. “I had done all I knew to do to share with them. They had come a long way in their views of God. They acknowledged his hand at work in their lives and in ours, and they were never against a suggestion to pray,” Bonnie recalls. “To this day I can still see the intensity in my father’s blue eyes and the assurance on his face when he said, ‘I promise you, if I ever get into a position where I fear for my life, I will pray, but I have never been, nor will I ever be in a position where I am not in total control.’”  Within six months, Bonnie’s parents were dead.
In the coming months and years, as God began to reveal what really happened that night in Antigua, Bonnie found not just the assurance that she would see her parents again in heaven, but also the power to forgive. Bound to a Promise includes the fascinating account of the Antiguan trial that brought her parents’ killers to justice, featuring some dashing Scotland Yard detectives, a criminal in search of redemption, and many other memorable characters from the island. Bonnie’s colorful descriptions of her parents’ adventures abroad and her time in Antigua lighten the mood and add a touch of travelogue to the true crime drama. In a truly inspirational twist, Bonnie arranges a meeting with one of the confessed attackers, a man who would eventually claim her as family.

About The Author(from the back cover of the book):  Bonnie L. Floyd is "real, reliable, and refreshing.  Perhaps it is because she could easily be a next door neighbor or any of us.  Bound to a Promise is a true story of tragedy and redemption that unexpectedly resulted in the opportunity to share that story with others and, ultimately, the birth of Bonnie Floyd Ministries in 1996.  For several years Bonnie served in various capacities with Women of Faith and is currently an administrator for Barry and Sheila Walsh.  More importantly, she has a deep love and respect for God's Word that is born out of her service as a teacher and small group leader for more than twenty-three years.  Bonnie has been married to "her Donnie" since 1987.  Both California natives, they now make their home in Celina, Texas-a home that provides a perfect setting to share Bonnie's passion for cooking for entertaining family and friends.  They make their church home at Genesis Metro Church in Frisco, Texas, where Bonnie, who was ordained as a minister or the gospel in 2010, is an active member in women's ministries."

My Thoughts On The Book: This story was so powerful. It is filled with drama, intrigue, suspense, redemption, and forgiveness. I am not a huge fan of memoirs but this book had me from the very first page.  As the story unfolded I could not imagine what it would have been like to have lived this horrible story.  I felt as if I were right in the middle of everything that was going on.  I really loved how Floyd included background stories to help the reader truly understand her feelings.  The book was real, frank and honest.  This could happen to anyone.  The question I was left with was would I personally be ready if it did?  When she talks about forgiveness it was raw reading.  How do you forgive someone who did something so brutal to someone you love so much?  Bonnie's forgiveness is given through the God she knows and loves.  His grace is amazing and He always keeps His promises.  Even if you do not like memoirs, this book is a must read.

Statement of Disclosure: I received this book to review from B & B Media Group, Inc. for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to participate in this one.  It was AWESOME!