Teach them Diligently Convention- Inspiring! Fun! And, oh, the curriculum!

Teach them Diligently Convention in Nashville.

Ken Ham was there.

As well as Pam Tebow. (Tim's Mom!)

Rachael Carman.

Heidi St. John and so many other inspiring speakers/authors!

The curriculum. was. 

Everywhere!

(No joke, I was sweating.  Had to concentrate on my breathing.  Crazy.)

(Opryland Hotel below)

It was soooo worth the road trip.

A shining example of "fun for the whole family!"

("Aquarium" restaurant. Looked like the poor eel above had a tummy ache.  lol)

We all attended camp activities or listened to speakers.

Some even snuck away to Starbucks.

Or so I heard.;)

My cutie even brought along her travel journal.

I loved watching her document everything we did that weekend.

It was wonderful meeting fellow homeschoolers and making new friends.

(Rainforest Cafe)

At dinner we'd all catch up on what we did that day.

A mini-vacation!

We are absolutely attending next year.  Do you planning on coming?

When we got back home I declared that summer was here!

Time to break out the salt water taffy.;)

This book just looks like all kinds of fun.

Care to join me?

Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

My Thoughts:

I loved "My Stubborn Heart" by Becky Wade and was thrilled to be asked to review her new release, "Undeniably Yours"!  Meg Cole (I envision her as a cross between Reese Witherspoon and Virginia Madsen) is a wealthy young lady who's struggling in a situation she was hoping to avoid.  Her father has passed away and she's now responsible for the family empire- Cole Oil.  Suffering from intense stress and panic attacks, Meg is in need of rescuing- and love.  In walks handsome, Bo Porter (I heard him as a young Trace Adkins- minus the ponytail), ex-Marine and all Cowboy...

I didn't think that Becky Wade could top "My Stubborn Heart" but she proved me wrong!  Her gift of creating characters with vulnerabilities and depth is once again showcased beautifully.  It was utterly endearing how Meg felt safe with Bo and I adored reading how she took his breath away, from the very beginning.  Swoon!  I found myself caring for both Meg and Bo and eagerly read the book to see what would happen!  In a way, they both need to be "rescued"and that's what makes a truly magical love story, in my book.:)  I can't wait to read the next release in the Porter family series! 

Back Cover:

When Meg Cole’s father dies unexpectedly, she’s forced to return home to Texas and to Whispering Creek Ranch to take up the reins of his empire. The last thing she has the patience or the sanity to deal with? Her father’s Thoroughbred racehorse farm. She gives its manager, Bo Porter, six months to close the place down.

Bo knows he ought to resent the woman who’s determined to take from him the only job he ever wanted. But instead of anger, Meg evokes within him a profound desire to protect. The more time he spends with her, the more he longs to overcome every obstacle that separates them and earn her love.

Just when Meg realizes she can no longer deny the depth of her feelings for Bo, their fragile bond is broken by a force from Meg’s past. Can their relationship–and their belief that God can work through every circumstance–survive?

Purchase a copy here.

Becky Wade is a graduate of Baylor University. As a newlywed, she lived for three years in a home overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, as well as in Australia, before returning to the States. A mom of three young children, Becky and her family now live in Dallas, Texas. Visit her website at www.beckywade.com.

Becky Wade is celebrating her latest swoon-worthy novel, Undeniably Yours (Bethany House), with a 

Kindle Fire giveaway and hosting an Author Chat party on Facebook {5/29}!




One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire


• Undeniably Yours and My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade
  

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 28th. Winner will be announced at the "Undeniably Yours" Facebook Author Chat Party on May 29th. Connect with Becky for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Becky will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.




So grab your copy of Undeniably Yours and join Becky on the evening of May 29th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)





Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 29th!




*I was given a copy of this book by Litfuse Publications in exchange for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was received.*

Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck (Swoon!)

                                                            My Thoughts:

                                                                  
   After dating for 12 years (yes, 12!), Susanna Truitt's boyfriend tells her that "he's found the right ring, but not the right girl."  Wow.  All is not lost, though, as fate steps in.  There's a chance meeting under Lover's Oak where Susanna is rescued by (could he truly be?) a prince??  Nate Kenneth (soon to be King Nathaniel) is gorgeous, polite, funny, and even willing to clean toilets!  Don't get me started on that charming English accent (Yes!  I could hear it while I was reading the story.)  He's traveling incognito on holiday and has no plans to fall in love, until he meets spunky Susanna...

    I loved reading Susanna and Nathaniel's story!  Nate is the kind of prince every girl dreams about.  The chapter where he rushes Susanna to her father's bedside was utterly dashing!  I was surprised how long it took for her to figure out Nate was royalty but, then again, it's not every day (or any day!) you get to meet a prince!  Once Upon a Prince is delightfully romantic and refreshingly engaging and entertaining. From St. Simon's Island across the Pond to England, you'll never guess what is going to happen.  Yes, you may be pretty certain of how the book will end (delightfully!) but the twists and turns involved along the way will keep you quite entertained!

The Royal Wedding Series Book One

Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess---just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn't going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.

The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simon's Island is the queen of his heart. A prince has duties, and his family's tense political situation has chosen his bride for him. When Prince Nathaniel comes to Susanna's aid under the fabled Lover's Oak, he is blindsided by love.

Their lives are worlds apart. He's a royal prince. She's a ordinary girl. But everything changes when Susanna receives an invitation to Nathaniel's coronation.

It's the ultimate choice. His kingdom or her heart? God's will or their own?

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/kFb0Y

Meet Rachel:

Rachel Hauck is the bestselling author of Carol Award winner "Sweet Caroline", and RITA Finalist "Love Starts With Elle", and of the critically acclaimed fiction collaboration with multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans, "The Songbird Novels". She lives in sunny, though sometimes hurricane plagued, central Florida with her husband and their ornery pets. Rachel earned a degree in Journalism from Ohio State University and is a huge Buckeyes football fan. She is the past President of American Christian Fiction Writers and now sits on the board as an Advisor.

Find out more about Rachel at:http://RachelHauck.com

Rachel Hauck is celebrating the release of Once Upon a Prince with a fun "Royal Wedding" Giveaway and connecting with readers at her May 28th Facebook Party.







One "royal" winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire


• Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck
  

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 27th. Winner will be announced at the "Once Upon a Prince" Facebook Author Chat Party on May 28th. Connect with Rachel for an evening of book chat, wedding trivia, laughter, and more! Rachel will also be sharing a sneak peek at the next book in the series and giving away books and fun gift certificates throughout the evening.




So grab your copy of Once Upon a Prince and join Rachel on the evening of May 28th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

*I was given a copy of this book from Litfuse Publications in exchange for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was received.*

The Offering by Angela Hunt

My Thoughts:

Children.  A precious gift, often taken for granted in the rush of life.  But, if you will, please pause a second and consider what you would do if you couldn't have a child?  Your dream of a little one just wasn't happening.  To what lengths would you go to to have a child?  To add a precious member to your family?  Adoption, fostering, or even...  hiring a surrogate?  The Offering ponders these questions and truly makes you look inside yourself.  The main character, Mandy, is intelligent, loving and motivated.  She longs to help her family financially and at the same time help another couple that is unable to conceive a child.  Becoming a surrogate seems like an answer to prayer.  I appreciated Mandy's position and enjoyed her as a main character, although I didn't always agree with all her choices.  Angela Hunt does a heartfelt and thorough job of representing both sides of the surrogate/parent relationship.  I actually became emotionally attached to the characters in this book.  About 3/4 of the way through the story (while at the salon) I was blindsided by an event I didn't anticipate and I actually gasped out loud!  The Offering is emotional and intense and portrays a fictional story that could very well become a reality.  The ending is still on my mind and I wonder what decision I would've made?   

About The Offering:

After growing up as an only child, Amanda Lisandra wants a big family. But since she and her soldier husband can't afford to have more children right away, Mandy decides to earn money as a gestational carrier for a childless couple. She loves being pregnant, and while carrying the child she dreams of having her own son and maybe another daughter. . .
Just when the nearly perfect pregnancy is about to conclude, unexpected tragedy enters Mandy's world and leaves her reeling. Devastated by grief, she surrenders the child she was carrying and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium.

Two years later she studies a photograph of the baby she bore and wonders if the unthinkable has happened---could she have inadvertently given away her own biological child? Over the next few months Mandy struggles to decide between the desires of her grief-stricken heart and what's best for the little boy she has never known.

Meet Angela: 

With over four million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including "The Nativity Story". Hunt is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the publishing industry. Her nonfiction book "Don't Bet Against Me", written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela's novel "The Note" (with sales of over 141,000) was filmed as the Hallmark Channel's Christmas movie for 2007 and proved to be the highest rated television movie in the channel's history. Angela's novels have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, including the RITA, the Christy Award, the ECPA Christian Book Award, and the Holt Medallion. She often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers' conferences, and she served as the keynote speaker at the 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers' national conference. She and her husband make their home in Florida with mastiffs. In 2001, one of her dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest dog in America.

Learn more at http://www.angelahuntbooks.com

Angela Hunt is celebrating the release of The Offering with a Nook HD Giveaway and an Author Chat Party on Facebook {6/5}.






One winner will receive:

• A Nook HD
  


• The Offering by Angela Hunt 

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 4th. Winner will be announced at the "The Offering" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 5th. Connect with Angela for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Angela will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Offering and join Angela on the evening of June 5th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)





Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 5th!


*I was given a copy of this book by Litfuse Publications in exchange for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was received.*

sunshine day and homemade detergent

Peonies- my absolute favorite flower.  By some miracle, they return each year to my garden.

This is my only flower this year and I smile every time I see it!  How dreamy it would be to have bushes full of them... 

The weather here has been unbelievably gorgeous since the horrible storms passed.  It feels like God is saying, "All will be well, dear ones."

My newest mission (do you have them, too?) is to eliminate some chemicals from our everyday life.  Sooo... the first item on my list was to make homemade laundry detergent.  Never thought I'd attempt this but... it was FUN!

Here's what we did- just in case you want to try it, too!

Step 1: Get our your cheese grater (Thanks, Alicia!)

Step 2: Pull out your ingredients- 20 Mule Team Borax, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, 1 bar of natural soap and Baking Soda (not pictured).

Ivory soap is fine but we decided to splurge and purchase Dr. Bronner's.  They come in yummy scents of Peppermint, Almond, Lavender, etc.  We bought it at Fresh Market.

Grate the bar of soap.  Note: I was SO worried that my sweet pea would grate her finger.  (Insert lecture here.)  She did great (sorry for the pun!) and didn't get nicked even once!

The combination is as follows: 

1 part grated soap

 2 parts Super Washing Soda

 2 parts Borax

  a few teaspoons of baking soda

 Mix/Shake together in your container (We used a Tupperware cereal container) and you're done!  1/8 to 1/4 of a cup is all you need for a load of laundry.

**Note: We used 3 cups of grated soap, 6 cups of Borax and 6 cups of Washing Soda.**  

Later in the day, chalk made an appearance.  My driveway has never been happier!

Ah, the little artists at work.  I wonder if pilots can see this when they are taking off/landing?  Betcha they smile.:)

Became fast friends because they have the same first and middle names.  And, not only that, they are both ballerinas.  It was destiny.;)

Every year I think I should just trash this collection of bits and pieces.  And then we have days like today and I'm so glad I didn't.

Ruby does love apples.  It's no easy feat eating an apple that keeps rolling away from you!  She looks a bit deadly here, don't you think?

Oops.  Her apple rolled into the chalk and had to get rinsed off.  Look at that face!  I do believe she loves food more than I do.:)

There are No Orphans of God

Sunshine days are a joy and a blessing.

They give us precious memories for the season when only rain seems to fall.

As I sit here typing, the rain is falling steadily outside.

Storms are predicted for this afternoon, but for now I'll enjoy the comfort of being safe and dry in my cozy nest.

That's how life is sometimes.

We have to savor the sweetness and yet know that life has it's bitter moments, too.

We may not understand why bad things happen.

Why darkness can sometimes block out the light.

While attending the Teach them Diligently convention in Nashville last weekend, I heard more than one time that God loves our children more than we do.

Oh my, the tears did flow.

How is that even possible?

Look at the sacrifice God made for them- for all of us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

My precious daughter's ballet performance beautifully illustrated God's love.

"There are no Orphans of God."

Each and every one of us is a child of God.

He will never leave you.

The days of sunshine are easy and carefree.

We may even think we can do it all on our own.

No worries, right?

And then comes the dark days, filled with rain. 

Fear and anxiety are a constant companion.

God is always there for you.

He loves us more than we can begin to comprehend.

Please know that God is in control, dear friends.

You are never alone.

There are no Orphans of God.:)