Surface Tension

Fun Day out with Karis!

2010-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday Karis and I had a fun day out on the town. Josh, Angie and the girls went on a camping trip with the Fox's and I joined them for campfire pizza's and a walk down at Cane Creek Lake. After that I took Karis and Sydney (the Fox's youngest) home to sleep. Unfortunately the air conditioning was broken at the house, but at least we didn't have to deal with the bugs and the noise of other campers.

I had Community Group Saturday morning so we woke up a little early, gave the girls baths to get the smell of campfire smoke out their hair and we went to Starbucks. The girls were so cute on the drive there, they were holding hands and I had to snap a pic. The girls did great at Starbucks, and after I dropped Sydney back off at the Fox's house. I had a few errands I needed to run so instead of running all the way home I just kept Karis with me.

One of my errands ended us at Marshall's. Karis started to get a little antsy, so we had some fun with some crazy hats and fun scarves!

Dawn's Prelude

2010-04-28T17:10:00.001-07:00

Title: Dawn's Prelude
Author: Tracie Peterson
Series: Songs of Alaska (Book 1)
Age: Teen to Young Adult
Gender: Women
Summary: I don't think I have said this in a while, so I am allowed to say it again right...Tracie Peterson is an amazing author! After a few months of not being able to read, this book was a great one to start back up with. I finished it in two sittings as I could not put it down! It was mostly an historical romance novel with a splash of mystery and suspense thrown in to keep you turning the page.

The story starts in Kansas City, but the majority of the book takes place in a little town called Sitka, Alaska. It follows the life of newly widowed Lydia, a 28 year old who was forced to marry a man 20 years her senior at the age of 16. By a fluke in the will Lydia is left the inheritance of both her father and husband, which only causes more strife as her adult stepchildren are livid. Lydia's only remaining family is an Aunt in Alaska, so she leaves her lawyer in charge of the money and business ventures and travels to Alaska. Lydia's relationship with her husband was a very abusive one, so she was sure she could never trust a man again...that is until she meets Kjell Bjorklund. Kjell is of Russian decent, but had grown up in Alaska. He was married, but lost his wife many years ago and thought he would never marry again. Despite Lydia and Kjell's instant attraction, they are thrown through the ringer as Lydia discovers she is pregnant with her dead husband's child and her stepchildren are out for blood to get their inheritance back.

After two days I am already half way through "Morning's Refrain", book 2 in the Songs of Alaska series. I can't wait to go home and finish it tonight. I will post my review as soon as I am done. Unfortunately I will then have to wait the 3rd book, "Twilight's Serenade" until August :(

The Carousel Painter

2009-12-09T19:18:00.000-08:00

Title: The Carousel Painter
Author: Judith Miller
Age: Teen to Adult
Gender: Either...but probably more geared to females!
Summary: I am a huge fan of Tracie Peterson and have read all her books thus far...so I was looking for a new author to pick up to keep me busy reading. After reading the Broadmoor Legacy Series (co-authored by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller) I decided to try a book by Miller. I had heard good things about Miller's newest book...and I was not disappointed. Since Miller co-authored her first few books with Peterson they have a very similar writing style.

The Carousel Painter was a fantastic book! Set in the late 19th century in Boston, Miller captures the essence of a spunky young lady, Carrington Brouwer. Carrie grew up in Paris under the care of her artist father, until his untimely death. With no inheritance Carrie is forced to move back to America where her only friend, Augusta Galloway (one of her father's art students) lives with her mother and father. Mr. Galloway helps Carrie find a job in his carousel factory as a painter. Working in an all male factory to make ends meat, she is faced with a new life in Boston that brings about a handful of challenges. Josef Kaestner, factory manager and her only ally when jewelry is found missing from the Galloway mansion...becomes more than a friend and ally in a funny and entertaining twist of events.

Seaside Letters

2009-12-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

Title: Seaside Letters: A Nantucket Love Story
Author: Denise Hunter
Age: Young Adult - Adult
Gender: Either, but geared more toward females
Summary: I love Denise Hunter's books. Seaside Letters is Hunter's third book in the Nantucket Love Story collection...and was just as great if not better than the first two. It had me drawn in from page one...sometimes fiction books are a little slow at the beginning as they develop the characters, but Hunter has a way of reeling you in from the beginning. I finished the book in one day (and I was watching 3 kids while I did it)...granted I stayed up until 1am to finish it and woke up a little tired...but it was worth it. I was happy to see that Hunter included a little bit more God in this book. Her previous books have displayed Christian elements, but Seaside Letters is the first to have actual Christian characters.

Sweetpea (Sabrina) and Harbormaster (Tucker) have been writing back and forth via email for over a year. Harbormaster is anxious to meet Sweetpea in person but she is holding back because she has a scarred past and a low self-esteem. Sabrina is in love with Tucker more than she has ever been in love with another man, but she is scared to get hurt again. Can Tucker prove to Sabrina that his love is unconditional despite her past?

A Bride in the Bargain

2009-12-09T19:16:00.000-08:00

Title: A Bride in the Bargain
Author: Deeanne Gist
Age: Older Teen to Adult
Gender: Definitely Geared Toward Females (although I suppose some guys might like it too!)
Summary: Yet another GREAT book by Deeanne Gist! This book was so hard to put down. I stayed up late reading it until I couldn't keep my eyes open, read it while working out, read it during my lunch break...even read it at red traffic lights! Needless to say I finished it in 24 hours. The plot was intriguing and kept my interest from the very beginning. A majority of the story takes place in Seattle, Washington, in the mid 1800's. Anna Ivey is a 19 year old, orphaned by the Civil War who decides to move from Granby, Massachusetts; she decides to embark on a journey by boat with dozen's of other women and heads toward the west coast in hopes to find a job. Joe Denton is a Lumberjack who owns 640 aches of luscious forest, who is in dire need of a wife in order to keep his land. I am not going to tell you any more because I am afraid I might give the story away...and I don't want to do that because I think you should really read it yourself. The book is a mixture of romance and humor that will keep you guessing til the very end! The reason I said older teens is because there are a few parts that get a little steamy...I have to admit my breath caught in my throat and my pulse quickened as a read a few parts. After reading one scene I even had to put the book down and fan my red cheeks :) There was nothing inappropriate; the characters did not compromise themselves, but lets just way Gist is a good writer and makes you feel like you are part of the scene. I also like how Gist based the premise of the book on real historical facts. A few of the characters actually existed and she was as historically accurate as she could to still make the book work. All in all, if you like a good romance book twisted with a little history this is the book for you. Some of my other favorites by Gist include: Courting Trouble and Deep in the Heart of Trouble.

The Power of One Thing

2009-12-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

Title: The Power of One Thing
Author: Dr. Randy Carlson
Age: Adult
Gender: Either Male or Female
Summary: This is definitely a very challenging book...but in a good way. You should see my copy, it is tabbed and highlighted. I even went through and pulled out some quotes I really liked and posted them above my computer as motivation! I finished this book in a couple of days, but it will be a book that I keep on my bookshelf and will most definitely come back to it time and time again as a reference. I love how Carlson points out that the easiest way to make a change in your life is to do one small thing at a time (e.g. if you want to un-clutter your house, don't set out to clean the closets, attic and garage in one day...start with one office drawer today and do a little more tomorrow and so forth). In Part One he addresses the concept of "One Small Thing" and gets you to think about what area you want to change. In Part Two he breaks it up into 9 chapters and overs a different area in each chapter (e.g. Attitude, Words, Decision, Emotions, etc.). I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to change anything in their life and have been unsuccessful up till now; whether it be weight-loss, martial problems, clutter, or disobedient children. Click Here to read Chapter 1 and I am sure you will be running to Pathway in no time to read the rest because you will be hooked!

This book was provided for review by Tyndale House Publishers.

What Women Don't Know (and men don't tell you)

2009-12-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

Title: What Women Don't Know (and men don't tell you)
Author: Michelle McKinney Hammond & Joel A. Brooks Jr.
Age: Mature Teen to Adult
Gender: Female
Summary: I have to confess I was very surprised by the content and quality of this book. For a $6.99 book it was exceptional. It is however geared to a rather specific group though - single women waiting for husbands...which I have to say is a perfect match for me! You should see my copy of this book...it is marked up like crazy. It is definitely a book that I will keep as a reference for quite some time. In this book Michelle and Joel's goal is to help single women be smart about finding a mate. They came up with 14 rules to abide by in relationships with men to insure you marry the right man for you. The book starts off by advising you not to put your life on hold and start to look toward God and toward yourself to find value and discover if your heart and mind are in the right place. They then go into what to look for in a mate. They stress being picky and not settling for the first man that shows an interest in you. I have to admit this was an area I was worried about. I had gotten myself to the point that I was desperate to find a husband that I was afraid I might settle for the wrong man just so I could be married. I have to say I have a whole new (and much better) perspective on finding a mate. They finish with going through steps on how to evaluate serious suitors and how to compliment your man.

This was a great and quick read and I would recommend it to any single women who is at the point of considering marriage. It would also be a great book for a single ladies small group as there are questions at the end of each chapter that would make it an easy to discuss book and at $6.99 you can't beat the price!

This book was provided for review by Waterbrook Multnomah.

The Noticer

2009-10-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Title: The Noticer
Author: Andy Andrews
Age: Teen thru Adult
Gender: Male or Female
Summary: This is the first book I have read by author Andy Andrews and it will NOT be the last! I picked up this book free through Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger Club (well I actually downloaded it onto my Sony e-Book Reader). I was kind of hesitant to read it as I had not read anything by Andy Andrews, but once I picked it up I could not put it down. Andy is a great author and this book was an easy read. It was a shorter book (only 176 pages) but had a lot of good content and some great life lessons. I am still not sure if the story was a true story or not, but in the book Andy was the narrator and he is telling the story of Jones. At the beginning Andy is a homeless twenty-something with a bad look on life and not much going for him. Jones (an older homeless man) befriends him and has him start reading books about great people in history and teaches him how to be better liked (so people will enjoy being around him). After Andy's 180 attitude change things start looking up for him and Jones just disappears. About a decade later Jones is back in the picture and is helping others with their everyday problems (one couple is on the verge of divorce...another man is depressed and on the verge of suicide...another man is in financial ruin). The book goes on to tell the stories of these individuals and what impact Jones has made on their "perspective."

Most Beautiful Family Ever!

2009-10-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Snowshoe, WV

2009-10-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

2009-10-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Donald Miller was in a funk. He had written a bestseller, and was now a much sought after speaker. He was accomplished. But for some reason, all of his success didn't bring the climatic ending that he was hoping for. He felt lost. Then he received a call from two men who wanted to turn his book, Blue Like Jazz, into a movie. Miller was unsure of how to turn his book, part memoir and part collection of essays, into a movie. So the two men came to visit him, and teach him about story.

From there Miller uses the elements of story to describe how people can paint a different picture of their life. Miller realizes that the majority of his life has been spent watching stories and making them up. He decides that he will turn his life into a story worth watching, rather than spending his time making up fictional stories.

Miller once again muses on his life, faith, and the human condition, all the while telling the story of his move from writing stories to living them. When he learns that characters are their actions, he resolves to do things with more meaning. He hikes in the Andes, asks out a girl he likes, and eventually meets his father for the first time ever. The comparisons he makes between stories and real life are phenomenal. I found myself reading through certain sections over and over, trying to grasp the depth of the prose. Some of his thoughts that are complex, taking a while to jog their way through your mind; others are simple and profound in their brevity.

For those that have read Miller's previous books, a couple of things will be familiar: his dry sense of humor and superb writing are prevalent throughout the book. What is new is hope. Miller no longer writes like a person wandering through his journey in life honestly searching for answers. He now writes like a person wandering through his journey in life honestly searching for answers, full of hope that one day they will be answered.

Baptism

2009-09-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

So I finally got baptized tonight. I have been wanting to do it for a long time but was scared of having to get in front of the whole church (not being a big fan of big crowds and all).

Tonight I was among 167 other Elevators (attenders of Elevation Church) who got baptized. It was an amazing experience as over 300 people clapped and cheers as we were dunked under. What an amazing work of God!

What made this experience even better was the fact that I got baptized by my own brother! It made it all that more special.

I will post pictures of me getting baptized as soon as I get them, so stay tuned!

Pinkalicious

2009-09-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago Angie bought the soundtrack for the musical Pinkalicious. It is about a girl who loves pink and especially pink cupcakes and after eating too many cupcakes turn pink. So for the last few weeks Alyssa of course wants to listen to Pinkalicious everytime we are in the car. We have listened to it so much that Alyssa has memorized large portions of the lyrics.

Last week I brought the girls home from church so they didn't have to stay through the send service, and was trying to keep them entertained and awake until we could get home and eat lunch. So of course Alyssa asked to listen to Pinkalicious.

I had to get it on video to share with the rest of you (and Alyssa is so excited that I am letting you all see it). When she discovered I was recording her she wanted to record some more when we got home and told me to make sure Nana and Grandma Great got to see it. So here you go...enjoy!

Writing Spider

2009-09-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

At my first babysitting job today Gabriel (2 yrs old) and I had the "pleasure" of stumbling upon this spider. I have to admit I was intrigued, but trust me I did not want to get to close. Spiders are fascinating to look at but I would die if it jumped on me. Unfortunately the picture is not the greatest as I took it with my cell phone camera, but I think you can get the general idea (big and scary looking). He was probably about 3 1/2 to 4 inches long.

Of course I had to harass him to see what he would do (plus I also wanted him to move so Gabriel would see him), so I poked his web with a LONG piece of grass and he did the funniest thing. Instead of scurrying away as I would have expected he started to swing his web forward and back as if he was on a trampoline. It was pretty cool! He also had a cool design on his web. You can kind of see it in the picture - the thicker zig zag down the middle of the web.

When I got home this evening I wanted to find out what kind of spider he was to see if I would have died had he jumped on me and bit me. Come to find out he is pretty common in this area. He is a Writing Spider or also called a Scribbler Spider. Well that was my science lesson for today!

Fearless by Max Lucado

2009-09-08T18:13:00.001-07:00

"Fearless" by Max Lucado

Yet another great read from Max Lucado. Perfect for the things we are facing today that cause us to fear (i.e. layoffs at work, slow downs in the economy, down turns in the housing market, etc).

This book gives you some great practical ways to deal with the fears in your life. Written in an easy to follow, entertaining format that will keep the attention of any who want to live their life without fear.

Here are a few of the great things I took away from this book:

"It's not the absence of the storms that sets us apart. It's whom we discover in the storm: and unstirred Christ."

"Fear itself is not a sin. But it can lead to sin."

"Why does He love you so much? The same reason the artist loves his paintings or the boat builder loves his vessels. You are his idea. And God has only good ideas."

"Fear mismanaged, leads to sin. Sin leads to hiding. Since we've all sinned, we all hide, not in bushes, but in eighty-hour workweeks, temper tantrums, and religious busyness. We avoid contact with God. We are convinced that God must hate our evil tendencies."

Be fearless by being peaceful:
P - Pray first
E - Easy now
A - Act on it
C - Compile a worry list
E - Evaluate your worry categories
F - Focus on today
U - Unleash the worry army
L - Let God be enough

"Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can."

"Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will."

Read the First Chapter
Watch the Book Trailer

Great Sermon by Pastor Furtick

2009-08-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Pastor Furtick gave a great sermon today!

Topic: Grey Areas (e.g. Drinking, Swearing, Secular Media, etc.)

Check it out yourself:

Cow Tipping Week 4

Here is an outline and some great take-aways I got!

Main Passage: 1 Corinthians 10: 23-33

1. Just because I can,

Doesn't mean I should.

When considering grey areas:

* Is it best? (Does it bless?)

* Does it build?

* Does it bind?

2. Just because you can't,

Doesn't mean I cant.

3. Just because I can't,

Doesn't mean you can't.

4. Just because you can,

Doesn't mean I can.

Jesus came to redeem the world not reject it!

My personal preference is not an absolute truth!

Concentrate on the truth you know rather than the truth you suppose!

You won't make a career out of pleasing other but make it a priority to protect my testimony!

Our Christian liberty is not a licence to be an idiot!

Everything is permissable but not everything is beneficial or constructive!

Kids Love Sunglasses

2009-07-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

Karis in Alex's Sunglasses

Kaitlyn in My Sunglasses

Great Little Helpers

2009-07-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

So I am pretty much settled in thanks to my great little nieces. Alyssa did a great job matching up my shoes and stacking them on my shoe rack. You can tell she has her mother's tendencies as she had to put all the "dirty" shoes on the bottom shelf and the "pretty" shoes went on the top shelf.

Alyssa also helped me unload ALL my books and Bibles and helped me put them neatly on my bookcase.

Both Alyssa and Kaitlyn helped me sort my socks and under-garments into different colored bins (see picture).

Josh just needs to put some shelves in my closet so I can put away the rest of my clothes that are currently sitting in laundry baskets!