Book Review: The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado (2006)

The Christmas CandleMax LucadoThomas Nelson Publishers2006✯✯✯✯✯Official SynopsisJourney back to a simpler time, to a small English village where nothing out of the ordinary ever happens. Except at Christmastime.When a mysterious angel suddenly appears in a lowly candlemaker's shop, the holy and the human collide in a way that only God could imagine.Glowing bright with a timeless message, "The...

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Book Review: The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans (2014)

The Mistletoe PromiseRichard Paul EvansSimon and Schuster2014✯✯✯✯✯Official SynopsisElise Dutton dreads the arrival of another holiday season. Three years earlier, her husband cheated on her with her best friend, resulting in a bitter divorce that left her alone, broken, and distrustful.Then, one November day, a stranger approaches Elise in the mall food court. Though she recognizes the man from...

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Book Review: Where Treetops Glisten by Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman, and Sarah Sundin (2014)

Where Treetops GlistenTricia Goyer, Cara Putnam, Sarah SundinWaterbrook Press2014✯✯✯✯(Part of the Official Synopsis) The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartimeThree siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories, filled with the wonder of Christmas Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America’s...

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Book Review: The Christmas Shoppe by Melody Carlson

The Christmas ShoppeMelody Carlson2011✯✯✯✯Official Synopsis The small town of Parrish Springs is not ready for Matilda Honeycutt. A strange older woman with scraggly gray hair and jewelry that jangles as she walks, Matilda is certainly not the most likely person to buy the old Barton Building on the town's quaint main street. When it becomes apparent that her new shop doesn't fit the expectations...

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Woohoo, Snow Day off from Work!!

I think Compassion has changed its snow day policy because, for the first time since my mom has worked there (which is nearly 5 years), they called a snow day! Woot, woot! Get a load of that gorgeous snow! And thank goodness for the new snowblower my parents bought last year on sale! That cut the shoveling time by at least half, if not more...

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Christmas Fiction Extravaganza!

Now that I have a book review blog, I figured why not!There are literally no rules for this since it's not even a blogathon or a blog party, just an excuse for me to read and review Christmas fiction, a lot of which, I'm giving fair warning, will be Christian fiction. If you want to post my button on your page, I would be delighted, just so people can find my blog and hopefully some new Christmas...

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Experiencing an Authentic Scandinavian Meal

Even though my family hails from Swedish/Finnish roots, the Sons of Norway opens its doors to anyone with Scandinavian heritage, little caring if you're actually Norwegian or not. Two years ago my family, meaning myself, Caitlin, Mom, and Dad, attended the Lutefisk dinner that they host yearly in November. My grandfather (Mom's dad) always cooked lutefisk for Christmas, but he passed away before...

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Book Review: Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas

Ash & BrambleSarah PrineasHarperTeen2015✯✯✯Official Backpage Synopsis A prince.A ball.A glass slipper left behind at the stroke of midnight.The tale is told and retold, twisted and tweaked, snipped and stretched, as it leads to happily ever after.But it is not the true Story.A dark fortress.A past forgotten.A life of servitude.No one has ever broken free of the Godmother’s terrible stone...

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For France

Nothing I say can make the fear and the pain go away. But you are not alone. The world grieves with you and empathizes with you. America has stood where you are standing, watching our Twin Towers crumble at the hands of terrorists. Know that my prayers and the prayers of millions of people around the world go out to you right now. Evil will not triumph. It never has in the past which is why it...

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First Snowfall of the Season

I'm not talking the first snow of the year, but the first snow of the season, after you've gone through the heat of summer and then watched the leaves falling, and then finally, even before you expect it (like this crisp morning in Colorado) you wake up to little crystals coating every surface of your yard and house. My very first thought immediately flies to Christmas. So many good memories are...

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Update on reading Lorna Doone

Wait, what does "Her baint coom, Maister Zider-press" mean?I think I must have been expecting something other than what it's giving me. For one thing, all of that old English is KILLING ME. Bleh! Okay, yes, I love Shakespeare. But that's mostly because Shakespeare had a lyrical quality to his writing that simply sucks me into the story. Everything makes sense, everything has a purpose and a point...

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Book Review: The Doctor's Lady (2011) by Jody Hedlund

The Doctor's LadyJody HedlundBethany House Publishers2011✯✯✯✯✯Official Backpage SynopsisPriscilla White knows she'll never be a wife or mother and feels God's call to the mission field in India. Dr. Eli Ernest is back from Oregon Country only long enough to raise awareness of missions to the natives before heading out West once more. But then Priscilla and Eli both receive news from the mission...

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