Beauty & Blessings

As we traveled on our vacation we did a lot of driving. We split up the trip from Texas to Tennessee with stops along the way. Then once we were in Tennessee we had the new experience of driving through the beautiful mountains. 

Today I'm sharing a devotional thought over at Laced With Grace. Click here to continue reading it now.

Have a day of blessings!

Back home!

We have returned from our vacation!  We went to Tennessee this year and enjoyed our time so much.  During some of the long stretches of riding I used my iPad to type a brief overview of what we did each day.  I plan to share those posts with a few pictures here over the next few days.  I hope you will check back and enjoy the pictures I share! 

Have a day of blessings!

The Bridge Tender

I finished The Bridge Tender by Matybeth Whalen while we were driving to our vacation. I've enjoyed her other books and was glad to be able to review this one.

About the book: Emily must realize that her dreams didn’t have to die with her first love. When Emily Shaw, a young widow, learns that her late husband's last surprise for her involves returning to Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to realize an old dream of theirs, she reluctantly embarks on a summer of discovery in the midst of grief. There, in the oasis of the beach community, she meets a host of townspeople with their own broken dreams and unexpected situations. As the island citizens divide over the fate of a nostalgic bridge, Emily happens upon a man who just may be the one to restore her faith in dreams, hope, and possibly love.

My thoughts:
This is a story of loss and healing after a loss. After Emily Shaw's husband passes away, she is faced with a life very different than she ever imagined. Her best friend Marta stands by her side through her grief and also encourages her to live life and pursue the dreams she had.  Emily works to do that and get involved in her new community and even make new friends, even though it hurts and she constantly misses her husband.

A big part of this book is the bridge. I enjoyed the symbolism of the bridge that is tied into the whole story.

I enjoyed the characters and their story. It reminded me that even with the pain in our lives we can find a way to continue living life and also the importance of not building a wall and shutting out others when we hurt the most.  Usually others have pain in their past too and shutting out people does not help you heal while opening up can sometimes bring healing to both parties. 

This is a nice book to add to your summer reading list!  I hope you will check it out!

Have a day of blessings!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Another late Thankful Thursday

Another late night posting for Thankful Thursday this week! 

 This week I'm thankful for....

~ my sweet husband and him having saved up time from work so we can take a family vacation. 

~ lessons learned with my sweet boy. Sometimes it pays to be patient and wait and not get the first thing you see that you like. Also, hearing my boy tell me the details of the books he has read. 

~ meeting blog friends in real life. 

~ the beauty of God's creation. I'm just so amazed!  I'll share pictures in another post.  

~ Pictures are great reminders of special memories. 

Thankful Thursday

I guess it is a very late edition of Thankful Thursday this week!  I started working on the Wednesday Hodgepodge yesterday and never got to answering the questions.  I always make a point though to do Thankful Thursday! 

We've had a good week here, busy with several things. 

This week I'm thankful for...
~ listening to my husband give the lesson on Wednesday night at our church. He spoke on the distractions of this life and how those take our eyes of Jesus.  He did a wonderful job.

~ watching my boy in his swim lessons this week.  He has really enjoyed the class.  It is one hour each day.  He's learning a lot of new skills.  I've heard the teachers are fabulous and was thankful he had the opportunity to take lessons this summer.

~ witnessing a man in Subway in quick action who prevented a little girl from getting run over by a van that was leaving the parking lot.  I was so glad that man jumped up when he did and the girl was safe.  She was looking for a ball that had rolled away.

~ seeing big huge tomatoes on our vines as well as baby cantaloupes.  They have gotten bigger this week already.

~ my Mom coming to see us one day and watch Caleb's swim lessons.  And she brought us a little bit of a chocolate cake she made.  It was so good! 

Have a day of blessings!

Full Steam Ahead

"God sees things in a scope so broad our narrow-focused minds can't even comprehend."

This quote really made me stop and think as I read Full Steam Ahead by Karen Witemeyer.  I have read the other books by this author and was looking forward to this new one. 

My thoughts:
Nicole Renard is on a mission to find an heir for her father that will be able to run the family company, Renard Shipping. The family has possession of a very special dagger. The competitors of the shipping business are doing what they can to get their hands on the dagger. Nicole is out to protect the dagger and find a husband for herself at the same time.

Nicole meets Darius Thorton when she is searching for employment.  She will work temporarily for him as his secretary to earn a little money on her way to find a husband. She appreciates that he accepts her mathematical abilities and the ideas she presents to help him in his experiments and research, but she doesn't understand the man's behavior. 

Both of these characters held my interest, and it was enjoyable to read their story.  One thing in particular I liked was the setting of this book was different from many of the historical fiction books I read.  The information about the shipping industry and the experiments with the boilers was all new to me.  I found this to be a nice change from the other historical fiction I've read.

This is a wonderful book from Bethany House Publishers.  They sent it to me for my honest review.  I hope you will check out this one and all the others by this author!

Have a day of blessings!

Is there room?

Summer can be a busy time for all of us.  If you have kids at home you probably have a different schedule than the other months of the year.  Are you making room for Jesus?

 Join me for a devotional I am sharing at Laced With Grace today.

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

We are in our first week of summer vacation.  I told my husband we had things planned through June which will make it seem like July is here before we know it. 

This week I am thankful for...

~ the fun anniversary weekend trip my husband and I had.  We went shopping and ate Mexican food and went to a fun painting class.  

~ my helpful boy being out of school!  He is so helpful at the grocery store and he has loved helping in the kitchen.  He made us tacos for supper one night and has helped me chop vegetables for the grill twice.  Also he made cucumber salad for us too.

~ the rain we've been receiving.  Our garden has really grown since it has been raining here.  There are a bunch of tomatoes and I am excited for them to be red! 

~ painting with my husband! That was something I've wanted to do and found us a class at Painting with a Twist and signed us up for a picture I liked (and thought I could do! ha!).  I  knew my husband would be good at it because of all his artistic talent.  I liked mine too though.  We both enjoyed the class.  Our paintings turned out so different as did the others in the class.  It was such a fun experience! I want to go back with our boy sometime. 

~ having air conditioning to use when needed as well as windows to open to let in the breeze.  I've done both this week!

Have a day of blessings!

Purposeful Design

 

 



Have you ever paused to consider the vastness of this universe or the amazing design of the seasons we enjoy?  Has your mind ever pondered the instincts of salmon or the unique characteristics of the camel designed so perfectly for its habitat? 

In Purposeful Design Understanding the Creation by Jay Schabacker, you will catch a small glimpse of the amazing design of our Creator.  

This book goes through each day of creation and focuses on a different aspect of creation for each chapter.  The pictures are well done and fit so nicely with the text.  This is a coffee table size book in that it has large pages with detailed photos and some charts as well.

I read most of this book as I was sitting outside near a river on a cool day.  As I read I was aware of the beauty of my surroundings and the great care and design given by our Creator to this place we call our home.  I think sometimes we get busy and take for granted how things work, like the seasons and the location of the earth in comparison to the sun.  I was reminded of things I'd previously learned and gained new insight as well by reading this book.  I enjoyed reading this book and appreciate the reminder it has been to me of the beauty of the Creation around me and the way our Creator designed things so precisely and perfectly.   

Check out the website for the book at this link.

Disclosure of Material: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Hooray for Thursday and the last day of school!  It has felt weird to me that we went into the month of June.  I know the teachers and students were ready for the break!  Caleb has had a good year in 4th grade, and we are so proud of him.

Today I am thankful for...
~ celebrating our 13th anniversary with my sweet husband.  We had a nice day together, and I was thankful it worked out for me to be with him on that day. He gave me the sweetest card too, it made me saw awwww when I read the front. 

~ my boy finishing 4th grade.  I received many compliments on him from his teachers as well as the 5th grade teachers saying they are looking forward to having him in class.  He has had a good year and I'm thankful for that. 

~ Also I'm thankful for end of year traditions.  We have a fun new tradition  (that was started last year on the last day of school) was something "different" for breakfast.  Last year he had cupcakes and this year he had rocky road ice cream.  For several years I've made a poster that says "Welcome to Summer ____ Grader" and hang it on the garage door for him to see when we get home. 

~ making a rubber band bracelet with my boy.  He made one when he went to his reading party last week called Midnight Madness and wanted to teach me how to make them.  I found him a pack of rubber bands this week and we made them after school.

~ having a fun water fight together!  I loved hearing my boy laughing as he got us wet and we got him wet in return! 

Have a day of blessings!

13 years!!

As we celebrate our 13th anniversary, I have been thinking of memories we've made together.

...our first walk, our first date and the roses you sent me on my birthday.

... the comments made by our grandparents when we were introduced.

...  our wedding day. Driving by campus last Saturday and seeing a couple in their wedding attire smiling for their pictures made me think of our own special day . What a beautiful, perfect day it was.

...the many times God has provided...our first apartment, my first year teaching job (in a town where schools were closing and teaching jobs weren't in abundance), you getting your first job, my doctor who helped safely deliver our son, our home selling in 10 days, having a temporary home while we waited on our home.

I think of what a blessing you've been in my life for these past 13+ years.

....the joy it brings me daily to see your constant dedication as a father. You didn't miss a doctor's appointment with me during my pregnancy.  You continue to show such dedication and love by attending our son's programs, caring about his interests, and doing things with him daily.

... the way you support me and have always supported me. You've always shown me your support of my dream to be a stay at home Mom, and you continually remind me of the importance of what I'm doing and how much you believe in me and value me.

... the ways I've seen you grow and always continuing to learn. You are a good example to me in that and have taught me so much, more than I could ever begin to write.

...how you always know just what I need. I'm amazed at how well you read me every single time. Every. Single. Time. That's truly such a blessing.

Our marriage and friendship is a treasure to me.  These are some things I treasure....

.... From the time we took our first walk, we've both been able to totally be ourselves with each other.

... The way you are committed to me and our marriage and family. I do not take your commitment to me or my commitment to you lightly.

...  All our times together...our happy times, laughing times, sad times, crying times, silly times, quiet times.  I love our time together

... The way you know what I'm thinking. Just last week as I looked into your eyes when you came home from work, you said aloud sentence for sentence, word for word what I was thinking. You do that all the time and I treasure that about you.

I'm thankful for our 13 years of marriage. I love you. I respect you. I cherish you. I value our friendship and relationship. I'm honored to be your wife.

Happy Anniversary to my best friend. I love you!

"A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."  Ecclesiastes 4:12

Have a day of blessings!