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I've gotta admit I was surprised that I got equal billing. I was hoping for 25%! LOL.

Book Review: Love on a Dime

Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This historical fiction piece is set in 19th Century New England where the main character, Lilly Westbrook, is a romance “dime novel” novelist – a profession that is considered scandalous amongst her fellow “society” families – so she writes in secret using the alias Fannie Cole. Besides trying to keep her writing career secret, Lilly must also contend with two men dueling for her love. The wealthy society catch, Harlan S., is about to propose to her, when her first sweetheart, Jackson Grail, appears back in her life and happens to purchase her publishing company. Drama ensues...

If Jane Austen and Francine Rivers coauthored a book, it might look something like this. Lucky for me, I love both authors! I really enjoyed this book, and could picture the characters well. Author Cara Lynn James uses Bible verses freely through the text while Lilly calls upon them to help her through times of crisis. While I have noticed some reviewers found this annoying, I thought they were well placed and helped us to understand Lilly's motivations and inspiration.

This book is dubbed “Ladies of Summerhill, Book One” so I assume that means more are coming and I plan on keeping my eyes open for them!


-Katie Casey
Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger
http://booksneeze.com/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”



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2010 Goodreads

Favorite Reads of 2010

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What were yours?

2010 in Review

So, I just went over my journal entry for this time last year and had a good chuckle over some of my goals for 2010.   Mostly I feel like a failure...  why do I do this to myself again?

• Daily Prayer Journal - was consistent for exactly 2 months, and then sporadic the rest of the year... would like to get better about this.
• Read 1 spiritual growth book per month - I think it was more like 5 for the year.  Not bad, considering I ended up reading a lot more pregnancy/baby books than I had planned for!  ;-)  (For what it's worth, my favorite was "200 Pomegranates & an Audience of 1" by Shawn Wood.)
• Read 1 business-related book every other month - really bad here.  Only read one:  "If You're  Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing it Right" by Jennifer Allan (very helpful - I like her style). I bought some good ones though, does that count?  LOL.
• Lose body fat - really epic fail.  I just added in this category.  But I got a super cute baby out of the deal, and a jogging stroller for Christmas, so hopefully I can get back on track for this goal!  
• Get pregnant - yes, it's true (I am a dork), I actually wrote this as a goal on January 1, 2010.  I had a positive pregnancy test on February 3, 2010.  Mission accomplished.  haha.
• Complete Dave Ramsey's Baby Step #2 - the debt snowball - we're not quite done with paying off our cars, but we're getting closer...
• Regular "date nights" with Eli - lukewarm on this one - did a little better pre October 3rd.  However, we've got a hot date planned at our favorite steak house for our 5-year anniversary on January 7th!!!
• Get in a small group by March - OK, we actually didn't accomplish this until September-ish, but it feels like I've known the people in our wonderful little group longer than that!  After having the awesome spiritual family that we did in St. Louis, this is something Eli and I spent a long time missing; and now I am thankful to say that God has surrounded us with another wonderful group of people to keep us accountable and real and to love and live life with.  Still love & cherish you STL folk and am so thankful for the technologies (facebook, blogs, email, cell phones) that allow us to stay close.

So, what are my goals for 2011?  Not sure yet...  Should I even make any?  Who knows?  But I will.  If nothing else, it will give us something to laugh at next year!  ;-)

Like Father, Like Son

Here's a photo from Eli's first Christmas...

And here are our attempts to recreate it...

And here's a photo of Eli with his white German Shepherd "Angel"...



















Unfortunately, Cooper (our black German Shepherd) would not let us recreate this scene...

But, Denver played along nicely...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Micah FAQs

People ask a lot of funny questions.  Here's my attempt to corporately answer the most common and/or most interesting.

How long is he sleeping?
I'll usually swaddle him up and put him down around 9:30 (after feeding him).  He'll usually then sleep for about 6-8 hours, wake up, eat, and then do another 3-4 hours.  I think this is pretty awesome compared to our old 2 hr routine.  However, once Micah's asleep at 9:30pm, I am frantically trying to do laundry, clean up, do dishes, shower, and pump.  On a good night, I'm asleep at 11pm and up again in 4 hours.  Still, this feels pretty good.

Is he sleeping through the night?
This is so subjective.  I give the same answer I gave above (6-8 hours) and some people are amazed and others act like they pity me.  Your definition of "through the night" might be different than mine, but in my book, I appreciate my 6 hours and don't expect any more for quite some time (or ever?)  LOL.

How are the dogs with him?

Good question!  Micah has 2 big furry brothers.  Cooper (our black 7 year old German Shepherd) is the body guard.  He guards me, and by default guards Micah since he appears to be an extension of me now.  He mostly ignores Micah.  Denver (our 5 year old "average dane" lab mix) is absolutely intrigued by every movement and sound Micah makes.  He may be slightly jealous of all the attention he used to get, but he takes it like a champ.  He even puts up with extended photo shoots.  Oh, and he checks for dirty diapers.  Seriously.  We hold Micah up to Denver and he sniffs his bottom.  If he sniffs and leaves, it's clean.  If he sniffs and points, it's dirty.  How handy is that?!?!  haha.

How's he eating?
This one amuses me.  He eats like a champ.  It's his favorite activity.  Do babies have any other hobbies besides eating?

Are you having fun?
Do you see the smile on my face?
(Even when he's screaming!)
Of course, I'm having fun.  Being a mom is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.

How big is he?
This one is ever-changing of course.  But so far, he remains in the 95th percentile for height and the 25th percentile for weight.  Right now that means, almost 25 inches long and almost 11 lbs.

Who does he look like?

This one is easy!  Definitely all Eli!  He has the Hosack nose, and maybe my ears.  But the rest is Eli.  Blue eyes, straight brown hair (even the same hair line!), chin, forehead, etc.  Check out Eli's baby photo next to this one of Micah:

 And then there's this classic shot.  What more do you need?

Oh, how I love these 2 boys!!!!

LUKE

OK, God, I get it.  I'm supposed to study Luke.

In June of 2009, Eli and I moved back to Kansas and began attending Grace Community Church in Spring Hill.  Pastor Joel was in the middle of preaching through the Gospel of Luke.  I think back then he was in chapter 4 or so.  Now, we're in chapter 11 or so.

In September of 2009, my favorite podcaster, Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, began a 2-year journey through Luke.

Recently, our little town of Spring Hill experienced a great loss in the life of 17-year old Nathan Stiles.  His life, however, was such a beautiful testimony of Jesus' love that his death is pulling people together in amazing ways.  At his funeral, his parents initiated "The Nathan Project" by giving out over 1000 Bibles to kids and adults alike.  The project's goal is to get people studying the Bible.  Numerous local churches have banded together to start offering small group study times.  Eli and I have incorporated it into our Wednesday night classes, and have been blessed to see our junior high class go from 10-12 to 30+ kids every Wednesday!  It's so exciting to see so many people excited to study God's word!

Anyway, Nathan's favorite book was Luke.  So that's what all (to my knowledge) the small groups all over the area are studying.

Coincidence?  I think not.  I don't think God deals in coincidences.  So, what's it all about?  JESUS!  I, we, people all over the world are all learning more about Jesus right now! Luke was a doctor with a knack for fact-checking.  His gospel is packed with detail and proof that Jesus is the Son of God.  Really, read it.  You'll see.

If nothing else, don't let this Christmas season go by without reading Luke 2.  You may already be quite familiar with it if you're a Peanuts fan...

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

-Luke 18:27