Love Remains ~ Book Giveaway

Zarah Mitchell has never forgotten the pain after her relationship with Bobby Patterson ended so abruptly years ago. She also never understood why it ended.

When Bobby walks back into her life over a decade later, Zarah finds herself at the center of a matchmaking plot ~ and she is the primary target. Both her grandmother and Bobby’s grandmother do all they can to throw the two of them together.

Bobby and Zarah find their attraction to each other still lingers, but Bobby has moved to town and is investigating the agency that Zarah works for…without her knowledge. Will the two of them be able to overcome the pain from years past and start a new future together, or will Bobby’s investigation put another block in their relationship?

My Thoughts

I loved that Love Remains had two sides to it {as real-life does!}. Knowing both sides of the story, I felt for both characters and didn’t want either of them to get hurt any further. Kaye has done another amazing job with this book, pulling the reader into the lives of the characters.  Her details of the historical society that Zarah works for and the ties that Zarah feels to her job made it even more fun to read. I can’t wait to read the next books in this Matchmaker series now!

Find Out More

~ Visit Kaye’s website

~ Join Kaye’s Facebook fan page

~ Buy Kaye’s book at Amazon.

The Giveaway

Would you like to win a copy of Love Remains? I have one copy to mail to one of my readers! Leave a comment on this post ~ be sure there is a way for me to contact you. The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, September 7th at 8pm.

This book was provided for review by Barbour. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Bible in 90 Days {#B90Days} ~ Week 9 Check-in

I was really hoping to get completely caught up this week, since I was a little behind last week in my reading. As of tonight I am finishing up Isaiah…meaning I’m still a little behind.

Excuses? Yup. I got some. We went camping and I did bring my Bible along to read, but ended up focusing more on keeping Kaleb from going face first into the fire pit instead.

I’m ok with that {grins}.

Laurianna is still doing a great job keeping up with her reading and her readings have been a part of her daily school routine {which she rather likes}. As for me…this week I’m going to be spending my free time reading and catching up. Being out of Psalms is making the reading much easier, so I’m hoping it will actually go much more quickly.

If you are interested in learning more about the Bible reading challenge, you can read more about it at Mom’s Toolbox. You can also download your own printable reading bookmark if you want to join along in the challenge.

One Week Down!!

We started school this past week and {woo hoo!!} have all survived intact. We celebrated by having lunch at Chic-fil-A…mainly so the kids could get an ice cream cone. :)

I can honestly say that I am rather wiped this week trying to get back into the swing of a full school schedule. The weather has been beautiful, so Rick suggested that we go camping Friday night.

Our first time camping.

Please pray.

Or…if you’d like, I can let you know the campground we’ll be staying at and the approximate time that we’ll be attempting to set up our tent without the interference of four children. I’m sure there will be plenty of room for you to set up a chair and have a good laugh.

Book Giveaway ~ Still House Pond

Lilly Gray Corbett is growing up…and although she is {most} always willing to help her mama, Copper, by watching her younger siblings, she longs to be a little bit independent. When the opportunity arises for her to spend a month visiting with her aunt ~ including traveling by herself on the train, she is thrilled.

When Lilly’s parents receive word that her train was involved in a crash, they rush to the wreckage, holding onto the hope that their daughter is still alive. Was her decision to allow Lilly to go the wrong one ~ and will she live to regret it?

My Thoughts

Until I was about 2/3 of the way through Still House Pond by Jan Watson, I didn’t even realize it was part of the Troublesome Creek series. The book is definitely able to be read independent of the other books, but you will find yourself wanting to know more of the stories of the other characters in the book.

Find Out More

Jan Watson won the 2004 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest for her first novel, Troublesome Creek. Her other awards include a nomination for the Kentucky Literary Award in 2006 and second place in the 2006 Inspirational Readers Choice Contest sponsored by the Faith, Hope, and Love Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Willow Springs and Torrent Falls are the sequels to Troublesome Creek.

~ Visit Jan Watson’s website

~ Buy Jan’s books at Amazon.

The Giveaway

Would you like to win a copy of Still House Pond by Jan Watson? I have one copy to mail to one of my readers! Leave a comment on this post ~ be sure there is a way for me to contact you. The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, August 31st at 8pm.

This book was provided for review by Tyndale House. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Kalebisms…

Before he starts changing some of his mispronunciations, I want to write down a few of the words Kaleb says that just make me smile whenever I hear them said {and also shush anyone that tries to correct him!}.

Highskiving ~ Skydiving

UhKenna ~ McKenna

Lanna ~ Laurianna

Zachee ~ Zachary

spleed slicin ~ speed slicing {Wii Resort}

scabetti ~ spaghetti

Head on over to Mary's at Not Before 7 for some more Tiny Talk Tuesday!!

Bible in 90 Days {#B90Days} ~ Week 8 Check-in

Just a quick update because we have bunches of people coming over in a few hours, so I really need to focus on dinner and making the house somewhat presentable {grins}.

This past week was full of craziness and time at the hospital ~ a new nephew being born, Kaleb still being sick {he’s much better now}, getting everything all set for us to start school today…so I know for sure that I am at least 2 days behind, but I am definitely past the halfway point ~ so YEAH!!! I’m still playing catch-up from lack of sleep and a few other things, but will have it all in place in the next day or two {I hope!}.

If you are interested in learning more about the Bible reading challenge, you can read more about it at Mom’s Toolbox. You can also download your own printable reading bookmark if you want to join along in the challenge.

Because Babies are CUTE!

Little Miles is home and a {fairly} still target for taking pictures of at the moment. And I have to share some, of course!

Especially because baby feet are just so sweet…

A New Little Nephew!!!

I was incredibly blessed to be a part of the birth of my nephew ~ a birth story that is going to be talked about for some time, since his daddy had a job interview right in the middle of mom’s labor…and made it back JUST in time to witness his birth.

With 15 minutes to spare. Literally.

We are so very excited to welcome baby Miles into our family, weighing in at a a solid 9 pounds 8.9 ounces and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. Congratulations, Evan and Peggy!!

  

A New Baby…

Our family is growing ~ our extended family that is! As of today, I have {or will have sometime today} one new nephew and another one will be making his arrival during the month of September.

My sister-in-law and her hubby asked me to take some pictures of them before their little boy arrived, so we went out this past weekend and had a little fun.

Tell me she doesn’t have the cutest baby belly!

 

 

    

Does OxiClean Need a New Spokesperson?

A certain 3 year old decided to take a little blue marker on an adventurous trip around the house.

Down the stairs, stopping every now and then to artistically embellish the carpeting.

And the walls.

Eventually ending up in the basement where he added his signature to some chairs, a little more carpeting, and finally his body.

Thankfully, after a big ol’ bucket of OxiClean with water, the blue is gone from all with the exception of a certain little boy’s body.

Daddy can clean that up tonight when he gets home.

We’re Obviously Not Vegetarians

A few weeks ago, when the weather was good and hot…and Mommy was a little tired of heating up the kitchen every afternoon, there were several days that we ended up having a lot of veggies and such for dinner.

One night I asked Rick to pick up a pre-cooked chicken from Costco and as Laurianna was helping me set out a variety of vegetables on the table and then the chicken, she said ~ “If we didn’t have the chicken, this would all be a veterinarian meal.”

Head on over to Mary's at Not Before 7 for some more Tiny Talk Tuesday!!

Bible in 90 Days {#B90Days} ~ Week 7 Check-in

Despite my attempts last week, I didn’t catch up fully on my reading until later this week. It was really driving me nuts and throwing much out of whack in my mind because I knew that I was SIX days behind…and that really overwhelmed me.

I chunked out the reading and read in spurts throughout the course of two days, and mentally promised myself that if I could get back on track I would be able to sit down and read a ‘fluff’ book.

Motivation that apparently worked. I am actually a little bit ahead at the moment and also finished up a great book yesterday.

We’ve been reading through much of Psalms this week and it’s going much easier for me this time than the last reading through…for which I am very thankful! Laurianna also got a little bit behind in her reading, so the two of us have been encouraging each other along and trying to read together too. I am so proud of her for trying to keep up and do the challenge along with me! :)

If you are interested in learning more about the Bible reading challenge, you can read more about it at Mom’s Toolbox. You can also download your own printable reading bookmark if you want to join along in the challenge.

Feeling Helpless

One thing that I don’t like about being a mom is feeling helpless. Knowing that there is nothing that I can do in a situation, other than sit and watch and wait…frankly drives me nuts.

Today I’m sitting next to Kaleb while he is sick and exhausted and looking ever-so-pitiful. Other than holding his head in my lap, getting him something to drink and praying over him, there is nothing I can do to stop what’s going on in his little body.

There are days when being a mom isn’t fun ~ not because I don’t love my kids, but because I love them beyond measure and hate to see them in pain and sick. So while I’m feeling helpless, I’m doing the only thing I can…pouring out love on my little bug.

Chore Charts

In case you aren’t a visitor or reader of my homeschool blog…but if you are interested in how we manage chores around our house, you might want to check out the post I recently wrote about Chore Charts for kids. I even made printables and all to share with you all.

It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…

Putting the cape to the test, it’s SUPER-KALEB!!!

NOVICA ~ Review & $50 Gift Certificate Giveaway!!!

Both of our girls have learned to play chess over the last few years and we’ve managed to go through several cheap plastic chess sets along the way. Finding a quality chess set that we can use for years to come has been on my list…but didn’t happen until just recently.

NOVICA contacted me about reviewing a product for them and offering a giveaway to my readers…and I knew right away what I wanted to do {keep reading for the giveaway}! NOVICA is a company associated with National Geographic where you can find thousands of fair trade gifts and home decor items from artisans around the world. They showcase a range of items that can be used as corporate gifts or a just a little something special for a friend {or yourself}.

I ordered the Wood Chess Set and waited for my package to be shipped ~ from India! Over the course of 10 days I received tracking notices with the progress of my package. The set was ordered on July 18th and arrived on my doorstep July 27th. When I opened up the box, this is what was wrapped and ready for me…

Isn’t it pretty? Laurianna grabbed the ribbon and post card and after unwrapping the package, I pulled out a gorgeous chess set. The board is made from sheesham and kadam woods and folds in half.

The inside of the box is velvet lined and stores all the pieces nicely {so even I can figure out where they belong and what we are missing!}. Each of the pieces has a magnet to hold it on the board, which comes in very handy in our house. The girls were excited when I was finished taking pictures…and quickly ran off with it to play chess together.

Loving this beautiful set and am hoping that I will personally be able to take advantage of it…meaning my 5 year old may have to teach me how to play this year!

 

I spent a lot of time browsing the different items that Novica offers through their site…and there are a lot to choose from.  Novica has offered a $50 gift certificate to one of my readers good towards anything on their site!! How wonderful is THAT?

Mandatory first entry: Visit the Novica website and let me know what product you might like ~ maybe some earrings or home decor items. Leave a comment and tell me what you might pick if you win.

For additional entries {leave a separate comment for each entry}:

~ Subscribe to No Ordinary Moments and give yourself an extra entry.

~ Become a friend of Novica on Facebook

~ Follow Novica on Twitter ~ be sure to leave me your twitter name!

~ Send out a tweet about this contest. You can copy/paste the tweet below if you’d like!

@jolantheerb is hosting a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate from @Novica. Enter to win here: http://bit.ly/aSoJl3. Ends 8/18.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. The contest will be open until Wednesday, August 18th at 8pm EST and a winner will be chosen using Random.org.

 

Thanks to NOVICA for providing me with the product to review and the giveaway. This review reflects my personal opinions.