Book Review

 

This is my latest read. I just finished it up. The back reads:

As the rest of the nation is embroiled in the civil war, the Amana Colonies have remained at peace-until now. Amalie Wiese arrives in the newly built village of Amana in 1863 only to find that her fiance, Friedrich, has left to fight with the Union army. Amalie fears for his safety even as she struggles with his decision to abandon the colony's peace-loving beliefs. She hopes that working alongside Friedrich's best friend will provide some comfort, but Matthias himself leaves for the battlefront to deliver supplies to the soldiers, war rages in Amalie's own heart. Will love claim victory?

I would give this book an eight out of ten stars (and that's only because I reserve the higher awards for only the best of the best of the best!)

 

The part that sticks out in my mind is:

     "I'm on my way to Iowa," she told him. "Our new community is separated from the rest of the world."

     " No matter how hard you try, you and your people will never be able to completely separate yourself from the world."

It struck me as odd because all my life those who have been placed above me in authority have pounded in my head that "we are to not be conformed to this world" and "be separate and different from the world" etc. I know that we are supposed to live our lives differently than those who do not have a relationship with Christ, but I believe that some people that i know actually feel that they can be completely separated from the world and that is just not possible. I think God just wants us to live life differently as an influence to those around us, that hopefully they will feel God's love for them through us. It makes me really stop and think about some of the choices that I make and although I still have a long way to go, I think I am doing better than I was. And after all, isn't that the point? To be constantly changing and trying to be more like Christ? Even if it is baby steps?

This book (by Melanie Dobson) was cute, grabbed my attention almost right away. It is well written, the story is believable, the characters are like able. It was actually a very good book. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Thanks for reading.

 

-erin-

Book Review

 

This is my latest read. I just finished it up. The back reads:

A former marine is no match for the spunky Sam Sinclair. Bryce Stone has returned to his hometown of North Pole, Alaska, and the self-admitted scrooge is not very happy about living in a town "Where the Spirit of Christmas Lives Year Round." What's worse, Bryce must postpone his dream of opening a furniture shop when his aunt Olive retires and leaves him with the family's cluttered Christmas boutique. When Bryce underestimates Sam, the inexperienced young woman hired to manage the store, it becomes a battle of wills, and the two soon find that they're fighting for more than just the shop.

I would give this book an eight out of ten stars (and that's only because I reserve the higher awards for only the best of the best of the best!)

 

The part of the book that stuck out to me was:

     Sliding her Bible from the bag, she'd told Bryce to find I Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 13.

     "'There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man,'" he'd read haltingly, "'but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.'" When he'd finished, Bryce admitted he hadn't understood a word of it.

     "It means," Olive had said, "that the Father knows you better than anyone in your life, so He knows exactly how much pain and pressure you can handle. And because He knows there will be times when you think He's forgotten what your limits are, He gave you this verse, to remind you that no matter how tough life seems, He'll always provide the strength to cope...or a door to escape through."

 

It is such a nice reminder and came just when I needed it.

This book (by Loree Lough) was cute, grabbed my attention almost right away. It is well written, the story is believable, the characters are like able. It was actually a very good book. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Thanks for reading.

 

-erin-

16/365

Have a Water Fight!

 

 

That face is priceless! He tripped on the sprinkler and was crying because he got muddy!

 

-erin-



Book Review

 

This is my latest read. I just finished it up. The back reads:

Cassie Constantine has no plans to stay in Florida. She's just here long enough to sell the vacation house she shared with her late husband, and then she'll hightail it back to her gracious Boston brownstone. But Cassie gets more than she bargained for with house renovations and wacky neighbors who manage to sidetrack her mission at every turn. Then there's Richard Dillon, the stuffed shirt she's paired with on the dance floor, who seems involved in a mystery...and who makes her heart beat faster than the rhythm of the quickstep. But the biggest surprise of all? The has-it-all-together Cassie finds herself in the midst of a personal overhaul. Will she let loose long enough to find new love in Holiday?

I would give this book an eight out of ten stars (and that's only because I reserve the higher awards for only the best of the best of the best!)

This book (by Sandra D. Bricker) was cute, grabbed my attention almost right away. It is well written, the story is believable, the characters are like able. It was actually a very good book. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Thanks for reading.

 

-erin-

Disney Progress - Part 13

It's no secret that my boys and I are all Disney fanatics! Seth has been saving any change he finds along with birthday and Christmas money for the last 4 years already! The other boys have added here and there as well but not quite as diligently. Well we have finally set a general time frame (not exact dates but the month and year that we want to go) so I have started adding money to the fund as I can as well!

I am a HUGE planner type person! So once we set the general time frame I sat down and made this binder. There's all kinds of information in here. There are packing lists, and financial papers to keep track of our saving progress and menus to a couple of the restaurants that we hope to eat at while there.

 

Every two weeks I count up how much we are adding to the fund and record it on a sheet in the Disney planning binder. June 4th we were able to add $243.65 into our fund! (Hopefully we can keep up this momentum and wont have any pay periods where we have to not add anything or not add what I planned to add) If we keep it up we might get to go earlier than I had originally planned!

WE ARE OVER 3/10 OF THE WAY THERE!!!

We have a goal of $10,000.00 and while that seems like a lot, it covers 2 adults and 4 children. I also don't feel like I have to spend that much as well. I am a bargain hunter and deal shopper, however, I would rather budget too much and have some leftover to go to the next vacation than get there and not have enough to do something that we want to do. Right now we are at $3,325.07!

As an update for the boy's jars:

Isaac- $1.44 (he lost some money due to bad behavior choices)

Seth- $4.15 (he lost and gained due to good behavior choices followed by bad judgement choices)

Ethan- $0.03 (he lost some due to bad behavior choices)

They started adding the change they find in there as well. LOL!

Under Disney Progress Tuesdays I wont always be posting about money deposits but I also have plans to make some items to take on our trip and I will be purchasing a few items as well so I will post about them as I am able.

I'm also so OCD in my planning that I will plan out the outfits we will wear and what day we will wear them so I will photograph and post those as well.

-erin-

Doll Progress - Part 11

 

There are 6 of these little cuties and 6 pair of matching panties! One of the outfits will go on a doll and eventually posted in my etsy shop and the other 5 will just eventually be added to the etsy shop as extra outfits that can be purchased.

 

-erin-

30/365, 26/365, 59/365, 24/365, 25/365

We recently had a chance to take a little trip and during that trip we were able to knock 5 things off of our list!

 

30/365 Go 4 wheeling

26/365 Go to the beach

It was too cold to go in the water but we had fun walking out to the lighthouse!

 

59/365 Ride on a train

24/365 Visit a museum

Isn't this place sooo cute?

25/365 Try a new restaurant

We tried Pablo's Grill in Sawyer, Michigan. So yummy!

Thanks for dropping by!

 

-erin-

Book Review

This is my latest read. I just finished it up. The back reads:

The roaring twenties come to a very small town... At a time when most American girls are dreaming of bobbed hair and flapper dresses, Hestia Myatt dreams only of becoming a doctor. Stinging from a broken engagement, she heads for the quiet hills of Maiden, North Carolina, to care for an ailing aunt. While there, Hestia becomes reacquainted with her former childhood nemesis, the now-handsome Booth Barrington. Things are going well for her until a glamorous cousin, Selene, arrives from New York under mysterious circumstances and begins to make Hestia feel hopelessly behind the times. Will Hestia be tempted to embrace the lifestyle of her cousin, who can talk of nothing but speakeasies and wild parties? Or will Hestia's maidenly influence convince Selene to give up her worldly ways?

I would give this book an eight out of ten stars (and that's only because I reserve the higher awards for only the best of the best of the best!)

This book (by Tamela Hancock Murray) was cute, grabbed my attention almost right away. It is well written, the story is believable, the characters are like able. It was actually a very good book. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Thanks for reading.

 

-erin-

78/365

78 Make a skirt (This one is for mom! DUH!)

 

So I needed a fuller skirt for activities such as 4-wheeling and motorcycle rides, etc. I didn't really use a pattern, just messed around and made myself a three tiered skirt.

 

Please excuse the awful picture. I don't photograph well.

 

And a closer view of the skirt.

Please excuse the awful picture. I don't photograph well.

I have a couple more skirts in the works and I'll update you as I can! Thanks for stopping by!

-erin-



Doll Progress - Part 10

Look at this fabric! It's so cute!

 



 

Anyway, here is my progress so far. I know it doesn't look like much but it is all the pieces I need to make SIX doll jumpers and SIX pair of panties! 

 

In my opinion the dolls I make look ADORABLE in corduroy with cute little patterns. So I can't wait to get these all sewn up!

 

Once sewn, one will be put on a doll and the other five will be set aside for future projects.

I know this isn't a super fun and interesting update but it's part of the process and it's progress! Now I had less of this fabric than the previous two patterns so this is all I was able to get out of this pattern. No pleated skirts and no vests in this super adorable pattern.  :(

-erin-

3/365

Lay in a Hammock!

 

 

-erin-



Book Review

This is my latest read. I just finished it up. The back reads:

 

Second chances aren't easy to come by in a town named Tombstone. When Christy Gray receives an urgent summons to Tombstone, Arizona, she reluctantly leaves her new life in California for an unseen future. The trip goes from bad to worse when masked men hold up Christy's stage. She finally arrives in Tombstone to find her mother ill and her brother trapped in a life of gambling. Desperate for money to support her family, will Christy bow to pressure from local saloon owners and return to a life she thought she'd given up for good?

 

Nevada King has problems of his own. He's been dodging bullets for years and wants nothing more than to settle down and get married. but hes on the run from outlaws bent on revenge, and the one woman who captures his interest recognizes him from the stagecoach holdup. Will Christy turn Nevada in to the authorities, or will the outlaws on his trail catch up with him first?

I would give this book an eight out of ten stars (and that's only because I reserve the higher awards for only the best of the best of the best!)

This book (by Miralee Ferrell) was cute, grabbed my attention almost right away. It is well written, the story is believable, the characters are like able.There is also more about Christy Gray in the book Love Finds You in Last Chance, California by Miralee Ferrell. It is kind of a prequel to this book but they also both stand on their own so it doesn't really matter what order you read them in. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Thanks for reading.

 

-erin-

Disney Progress - Part 12

It's no secret that my boys and I are all Disney fanatics! Seth has been saving any change he finds along with birthday and Christmas money for the last 4 years already! The other boys have added here and there as well but not quite as diligently. Well we have finally set a general time frame (not exact dates but the month and year that we want to go) so I have started adding money to the fund as I can as well!

I am a HUGE planner type person! So once we set the general time frame I sat down and made this binder. There's all kinds of information in here. There are packing lists, and financial papers to keep track of our saving progress and menus to a couple of the restaurants that we hope to eat at while there.

 

Every two weeks I count up how much we are adding to the fund and record it on a sheet in the Disney planning binder. May 21st we were able to add $168.17 into our fund! That puts us $870.09 cents ahead of schedule!!! (Hopefully we can keep up this momentum and wont have any pay periods where we have to not add anything or not add what I planned to add) If we keep it up we might get to go earlier than I had originally planned!

WE ARE OVER 3/10 OF THE WAY THERE!!!

We have a goal of $10,000.00 and while that seems like a lot, it covers 2 adults and 4 children. I also don't feel like I have to spend that much as well. I am a bargain hunter and deal shopper, however, I would rather budget too much and have some leftover to go to the next vacation than get there and not have enough to do something that we want to do. Right now we are at $3,089.66! (I know that the total I had last week added with what I added this week does not add up to this total. I recounted the money from scratch and somehow found some extra money!)

As an update for the boy's jars:

Isaac- $1.44 (he lost some money due to bad behavior choices)

Seth- $4.15 (he lost and gained due to good behavior choices followed by bad judgement choices)

Ethan- $0.03 (he lost some due to bad behavior choices)

They started adding the change they find in there as well. LOL!

Under Disney Progress Tuesdays I wont always be posting about money deposits but I also have plans to make some items to take on our trip and I will be purchasing a few items as well so I will post about them as I am able.

I'm also so OCD in my planning that I will plan out the outfits we will wear and what day we will wear them so I will photograph and post those as well.

-erin-

Doll Progress - Part 9

Look at this fabric! It's so cute!

 



 

Anyway, here is my progress so far. I know it doesn't look like much but it is all the pieces I need to make SIX doll dresses and SIX pair of panties! 

 

In my opinion the dolls I make look ADORABLE in corduroy with cute little patterns. So I can't wait to get these all sewn up!

 

Once sewn, one will be put on a doll and the other five will be set aside for future projects.

I know this isn't a super fun and interesting update but it's part of the process and it's progress!

-erin-