Ice Cream Fiends

My ice cream fiends love themselves some free Chick-fil-a ice cream.

Free, of course, because Chick-fil-a lets them trade in their kids meal toy for an ice cream.

Which makes it not really free...

But they think it is and they enjoy it, so it's all good.

Olympic Inspired

The Olympics may be done, but the inspiration continues.  You probably can't tell, but he's wearing two swimcaps...just like Michael Phelps.

Tyndale Blog Network: Bees in the Butterfly Garden

Bees in the Butterfly Garden by Maureen Lang

Meg Davenport is the epitome of a lady.  Raised in a high society boarding school in New York during the late 1800's, Meg is shocked when she hears the news that her absentee father, John Davenport, has died.  Trying to learn more about his life, she attends his funeral and meets all of his friends.  While there her image of her father is shattered.  He was not a society gentleman at all, but was instead, a con man and a thief.

Ian Maguire has learned from the best.  As John Davenport student and protege, he can pull off cons with the best of them.  But Meg has him baffled.  She is convinced that she will follow in her father's footsteps.  Ian, however, is determined to keep her in society and out of crime.

Despite his original objections, when Meg decides to make an extended visit with Fifth Avenue friends, Ian sees an opportunity to lighten them of a little of their famous gold bars.  Can Meg pull off this hoax without losing everything?  Can Ian keep his heart in check long enough to do what's best for Meg?

My Thoughts:

I have to admit, I chose this book mostly because the heroine had my last name and there aren't many books out there like that.  But that fact aside...

I enjoyed the premise of this book - high society girl turns con artist in the late 1800's.  Lang did a great job of explaining what would be involved in pulling off a reconnaissance and robbery if modern technology were not available.  I really enjoyed reading those parts of the book.

I also really liked the themes of justice, grace and mercy that were woven throughout the book.  The Pemberton family had some very good real-life examples of how justice, mercy and grace could be carried out in every day life.  It made those themes more understandable to the reader.

Other than that, this book was very slow moving.  I kept waiting for the action to pick up and it never really did.  The characters were interesting and well developed, almost too well developed.  I have to admit that I got bored reading this and almost quit half way through.

I would love to give it higher marks because it had a lot of good qualities but overall, I just can't give out more than 3 stars to something that didn't hold my interest.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

I was provided a complementary copy of this book for review by the Tyndale Blog Network.  All opinions are my own.

How to play with your cousins

Kindle Fire...bringing families together.

Booksneeze: Tidewater Inn

Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble

Welcome to Hope Beach

Where the sea breeze is fresh, sun sparkles on sand . . . and trouble appears with the force of a hurricane.

Inheriting a beautiful old hotel on the seaward shore of Hope Island could be a dream come true for Libby. The inn cries out for her restorer’s talent and love of history. She’s delighted to learn of family she never knew she had. And the handsome Coast Guard lieutenant she’s met there on the island could definitely be the man of her dreams.

But Libby soon realizes that only way she can afford the upkeep on the inn is to sell it to developers who are stalking the island. The father, who willed her the inn, has died before she could meet him, and her newfound brothers and sisters are convinced she’s there to steal their birthright. Worst of all, her best friend and business partner has been kidnapped before her eyes, Libby’s under suspicion for the crime, and her handsome lieutenant clearly doubts her innocence.

Libby’s dream-come-true is becoming a nightmare. Can she find her friend and establish her innocence? Must she sell Tidewater Inn and lose her family again? Or can she find a home for her heart on the beautiful shores of Hope Island?

My Thoughts:

I love a good mystery tied in with a good romance, and this book has both.  Colleen Coble does a great job of keeping you guessing about who's in cahoots right up until the end.  The book was easy to read and the story line kept me engaged and wanting to read more.

Libby is cute, lovable and easy to relate to in her struggle to please God and to please others. At times I felt like she should have been a little bit more worried about her kidnapped friend,   but for the most part, she was a well-written character.

I love the description of Hope Island and all the residents there.  It makes me want to vacation there but to not tell anyone about it - to keep it my little secret hideaway.  

Overall Colleen Coble delivers up another great read.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I was given a complementary Kindle version of this book while participating in the Booksneeze program.  All opinions are my own.

They're Moving Up in the World

You might think it's crazy early, but today is the first day of school for our school system.

My babies are in Fourth and Second grade now.

Sniff, sniff, sniff...

Although my kids LOVE school and were very excited about returning, there was also a little bit of anxiety in there too.  Hopefully, once they get back into the routine of things and figure out that fourth grade and second grade are really quite doable, all that anxiety will go away.

For me?  No anxiety, just smiles...I finally get time to go to Walmart alone again, to clean my house without little people coming and uncleaning it right behind me and last, but not least, I get time to blog again.  Sigh.

Here's to a great year at school!

Fire it up!

Every kid wants an IPad.
They see them in school, on TV, in stores... and they want one for their very own.
The only problem?  They are soooooo expensive.
And when our kids want something big like that, we make them save up their own money to buy it (we're mean like that).

It takes a long time to save up that much money when you only earn $5.50 a week.

So what did they choose instead?

A Kindle Fire.

And I think it was a wonderful choice.  At only $169 (refurbished version), it didn't break the bank and with it's smaller size, it's easier for little hands to hold.  Amazon gift cards make for an easy gift from parents and grandparents and can be used for apps to play with or e-books to read.

Parental controls are super easy to set up, making it so that parents have to put in our top secret password before any apps or books can be purchased.  (David thought he would be helpful and asked me to tell him the password so I wouldn't have to be bothered with putting it in for him.  So sweet, but kinda defeats the purpose there, sweetie.)

What else does the Kindle Fire offer?

Why a super cool, awesome box, of course.
Watch this video made with your 9-year-old host to find out what a Kindle Fire box is good for.

 (Julie wanted me to add that you have to cut the flaps off the top of the box to make the lid close.)