Book Review: With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin

Extreme introvert, Lt. Mellie Blake has been told that if she wants to be a flight nurse, she will have to put effort into making friends and reaching out to others. Part of that includes the dreaded task of writing to an officer as part of a morale building program. She certainly has nothing to offer a man - not good looks, flirty ways, or social know-how but still she writes, thankful that at least it is anonymous.

Lt. Tom MacGilliver is liked by everyone, but is friends with no-one as he puts up walls to block the pain of his name associated with horrific events. He welcomes the opportunity for someone to get to know him without the past standing in his way.

Writing back and forth, a warm open friendship is built as they face the awfulness of WWII together. When they are stationed near each other, will they be able to tear away their masks and form a relationship in real life, or will their past hold them back?

Sarah Sundin does a great job of building depth into her characters and making them flawed - just like every one of us. Sometimes I think fiction has a way of making at least one character seem overly perfect, but I like how she portrays everyone as having a deep need of God in their life. I am generally not great on my war history beyond the more well known events, especially the African part of WWII, so it was interesting to read about that, but it probably would have meant more if I have a clue about it in the first place. I don't usually read books from this time period, but I really enjoyed this one! I received it in the mail at lunch time yesterday and finished it just after lunch time today :-)

Sarah Sundin is also hosting a giveaway to celebrate her new book so pop over to her facebook page and RSVP for her party on Thursday! Learn more here.

Enter Today - 9/10-9/27!

Thanks to Revell publishing for a free copy of this book to enjoy and review!

Molly talking - couple o' videos

Molly is such a chatter box these days! It's so hard to get a video of her talking though because first of all, I lost my camera. Second of all, I have to use my phone so whenever I take it out, she just wants to play with it!  I managed to get her saying "Elmo" the other day when she was reading.
She also loves saying "uh-oh" - in fact she will throw things all the time now just so she can say it :-)
I will plug in my video camera and try to get a few clearer ones soon. These are pretty blurry - I have a really crummy phone :-) Oh well!

First Week of Kindergarten

I can't believe this time is here already, but baby number one started school last week! I actually thought it was going to be harder than it was, but I could tell her was ready for the challenge. He was getting tired of our normal routine, less patient with the two other kids who were just acting their age, and certainly was not up for watching any "baby shows" on tv. (Though I will catch him watching sesame street, but hey - I even catch myself watching it too :-)

 I didn't even cry his first day - he didn't even really seem that nervous so neither was I.

He is really enjoying it so far, even though it is a very long day. I would say his favorite subject is math, at least that is the one he talks about the most. They sing a song called "The Number Rock" and it ends with "oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah." One night he was singing it so much that even Molly was saying "oh yeah" by the end of the night :-)
When I put him to bed that first night and we talked about going back the next day, he just smiled and said, "I can't believe I get to go there EVERY DAY!"

Some of his thoughts so far:

What is your favorite thing at school: Snack time and walk time.
No, I mean what is your favorite LEARNING thing at school : I do learn at snack time - I have to learn how to eat FAST!
What do you do at walk time: We hold hands with a partner and have to walk in a straight line - it's very hard to do that! The teacher has a stop and go sign and we have to pay attention.
Did you have science today?: Yes
What do you do in science: oh you know, talk about stuff (seriously - it's like trying to milk a rock getting details from this kid sometimes :-)

He really enjoyed PE, where they were learning jump rope.
He also really enjoys the bus ride and after a very long wait the first day, they have gotten pretty fast at getting home and it only takes half an hour to get to our stop which is not much longer than if I had to wait in line at the school to pick him up so it's a win win :-)

His teacher is such a sweetheart and is a great communicator. I really feel like I know what is going on in the classroom and I love it! It's going to be a great year :-)

Here are a couple of pics (some I took, some his teacher sent)

standing in line to go to class

 Performance Arts Class

Nice, son! 

Writing in their journals 

 Carpet time. His teacher said he always has a lot to say during this time. Shocker ;-)

Book Review: Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

The last time I read a book by Laura Frantz, I enjoyed it, although it wasn't a story I would want to go back and read again and again. This story is soooo much better! I loved the characters and the plot twists and well... everything!

Silas Ballantyne has less than a year to finish his apprenticeship and plans to keep his head down and work hard so that he can fulfill his dream to move west and begin his new life. He has no plans for distraction or romance or anything else that might stand in his way. Unfortunately for him, Liege Lee, is a hard man to work for and intends to get everything he can from Silas, including Silas himself, by marrying him off to one of his daughters. An old tradition holds that the apprentice marries into the family of the master, and Silas soon finds himself having Elspeth pushed toward him over and over.

On the other hand, Eden Lee is sweet and seeking God, and a friendship of sorts forms between them - still there can be no romance getting in the way of Silas' plans to move west. But so many other forces are at work, and not many of them are friendly. Silas must make some hard choices about love, work and his future!

Thank to again to Revell Publishers for a free copy of this book to review - I loved it and can't wait for the next one :-)

Available September 2012  at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.