Our Full Summer

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In general, life around these parts has been busy. Isn’t it always though? Somehow I always feel like if I can just make it through this week, next week will be so much easier.

Except there’s typically always something that comes up then too.

This summer, we’ve spent a lot of time at the pool watching this…

Or this…

Is it wrong to say that I will be so relieved after this Saturday and the LAST official swim meet of the summer? Phew!! Fun, but crazy!

Taking a few days to spend time with extended family and have fun together…

Watching new chicks grow up rather quickly…

And crying when we lose a favorite hen to that mean raccoon.

And camping…sometimes we actually make it to a campsite and other times the storms scare us away and we just spend the weekend with friends. Overall, it’s been FULL of fun {and hot} ~ not busy. Just full.

In a Little Whisper

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Tonight, just before bedtime and after praying together, Kaleb pulled himself up into my lap and snuggled close. Then he put my face between his two hands and pulled my ear down to his mouth and started whispering.

“Tomorrow, after the girl’s friend leaves, can you pray with me? To ask Jesus in my heart?”

Consider it done.

Five Kindle Freebies to Grab!

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I’ve been downloading books like crazy to my Kindle the last few weeks and wanted to share a few FREE downloads with you all in case you missed them!

 

These are just six of the TWENTY books that are available for free on the Kindle. Be sure to check out my full list of freebies here:

Kindle Freebies List

Listed Above: Journey to Riverbend by Henry McLaughlin, Heiress by Susan May Warren, Making Waves by Lorna Seilstad, Love Finds You in Wildrose, TX by Tracey Bateman, The Loom by Shella Gillus and Paper Roses by Amada Cabot.

Be sure to check the price before you download ~ these were all free at the time of posting!

 

Reading Apps for the Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Amazon offers several other options for reading the books without owning a Kindle device. Here are a few you can download for free!

~ Kindle app for your iPad, iTouch or Droid
~ Kindle for your PC or Mac
~ Kindle Cloud Reader

 

Submerged by Dani Pettrey {Book Review}

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The plane crash that killed Bailey Craig’s aunt is shrouded in mystery. Her funeral forces Bailey to return to the small Alaskan town that she vowed never to step foot in again. So many things she feels were better left alone, including her past.

She just can’t forgive herself for all that she once was.

Bailey’s return isn’t only difficult for her. Cole McKenna still feels the same draw that he did so many years ago and even though she broke his heart, he can’t seem to stay away from her.

The two are pulled together as they search for the answers surrounding the mystery of her aunt’s death. Danger follows them wherever they go and together they race to find answers hidden beneath the Alaskan waters.

My Thoughts

Submerged by Dani Pettrey is a book that’s been on my ‘watch for release’ list for quite some time.  It is the first book in the new Alaskan Courage series and one that I had a hard time putting down. Unfortunately for me, I finished it all too quickly and now I have a bit of a wait for the next book. Which also means I will have time to read it again in the coming months and absorb even more now that I know how it ends…but I can’t tell you that!

For those who are familiar with the O’Malley series by Dee Henderson, you will L.O.V.E. this new series from Dani Pettrey. It has a similar mix of suspense and depth of characters that will leave you wanting more {in a good way}. Pettrey does a fabulous job developing the characters and introducing secondary characters whom you just know you will learn more about in following books…but have to wait to see what will happen.

Verdict ~ pick it up quickly and block off time to be by yourself once you start. It’s that good.

Find Out More

Dani Pettrey has a sneak peek of the second book in the Alaskan Courage series available on her website and you can also download a book club packet for the book Submerged when you visit.

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Submerged by Dani Pettrey in paperback from Amazon! It’ll be one you’ll keep to read again and again. :)

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

Thankful…

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This past Friday, we had some freak storms come through our area. Branches and trees are down everywhere, some falling on houses and power lines, others just making a mess in general.

I drove home in the midst of the storm and will tell you all that I was scared to death. Not a great feeling.

Around our house, there was little sign of the storm although our road was littered with debris. Millions surrounding us are without power and the weather has been anything but kind.

This is a tree in the backyard of a friend’s house. What you don’t see is the tent in the background that was literally unmoved. The tree landed just short of the house and while the cleanup will be tedious, I am so thankful they all are safe.

Thankful truly sums up my thoughts at this moment.

Spring Reading Thing 2012 Round Up

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Somehow it seems that the spring season went by much more quickly than I anticipated. Despite the fact that I had a super long plane trip…not quite as much reading was accomplished on that trip as I had hoped.

Overall, looking back at my 2012 Spring Reading Thing list, it appears to have completely deviated from what I had planned {not that I was super specific, mind you}. I had really hoped to read more non-fiction {snort}, but just by looking at the covers below, it turned out to be primarily historical fiction. Here’s a peek at what I actually kept track of reading.

A Heart Divided by Kathleen Morgan, Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergen, Loving Liza Jane, Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury, Out of Control by Mary Connealy, In Too Deep by Mary Connealy, The Messenger by Siri Mitchell, A Necessary Deception by Laurie Eakes, Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabth Camden, A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson, A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman, Downtown Green by Judy Christie, The Glory of Green by Judy Christie, Goodness Gracious Green by Judy Christie, Gone to Green by Judy Christie, A Texan’s Honor by Shelley Gray and A Texan’s Promise by Shelley Gray.

Favorite Finds {New Authors To Love}

Out of all of the books that I read this time around, I really enjoyed Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergen and A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman. Glamorous Illusions was one of those books that made me immediately start the search for more by this author. It is also the first book in a series {where the next one doesn’t release for a few months!!}, but the story pulled me in and I already have the next book in my cart in anticipation.

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman is the first in a series, but another one that I will be reading the rest of as well {thankfully, they have already been released!}. While I know who I had originally been rooting for in the book, Lessman did an amazing job of getting my feelings all mixed up and I wasn’t sure who to pull for ~ other than happiness! :)

Left Me Lacking {a.k.a. What I Didn’t Like}

I haven’t shared my review yet, but the last book in the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury, Coming Home, really just left me with a ‘blah’ feeling. I know that others may disagree with me on this, but while I love happy endings there are some things that are just too perfect and this was one of those books. I’ve read the majority of her other books in this series, so it was a bit of a disappointment overall.

The Non-Fiction I Didn’t Read

Let’s just say there is a big ol’ pile still on my nightstand, some about halfway through, but not a single one actually finished. Honestly, I’m not surprised at myself, but I still have high hopes!

That’s pretty much it for my completed 2012 Spring Reading Thing List. Did you finish more {or less} than you had hoped? See how others fared on their reading lists by visiting Katrina at Callapidder Days.