Sunday, September 11, 2022
Sunday Inspiration~ September 11, 2022
Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.
Friday, September 9, 2022
The River Girls by Melinda Woodhall~ BookSirens Book Review
Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.
The River Girls is a great book that keeps readers on their toes. With all the secrets, twists, and turns, you never know what will happen next. The author did a fantastic job of weaving the storylines together. She had a cast of strong women that lead the show and amazing supporting characters that bring the story together. She did a great job of building the characters. You quickly understood why they did what they did and what their roles were. The characters worked well together and brought the story to life.
It's a wonderful thriller that deals with topics in the news today.
Paperback: 342 pages
Publisher: Independently Published (November 15, 2018)
Who's killing the girls of Willow Bay?
When the body of a missing girl washes up on the banks of the Willow River, the killing is linked to two cold case murders, and the investigation must uncover the twisted motive of a serial killer before he kills again. Still reeling after her sister’s brutal murder, grief-stricken Eden Winthrop has returned to Willow Bay, where she runs the Mercy Harbor Foundation, a safe haven for victims of violence. When a teenage trafficking victim disappears from a shelter run by her foundation, Eden is drawn into the search for the sadistic killer. The hunt becomes personal when Eden's niece is abducted just as the body of yet another victim is discovered in a local river. In a desperate effort to save her niece, Eden must partner with the small-town police force that had failed to save her sister. And to catch the killer, she realizes she must trust the one man she vowed to never forgive and summon the strength to face her deepest fears.
The gripping first book in the page-turning Mercy Harbor Thriller series will keep you up at night.
About Melinda Woodhall~
Melinda Woodhall is the amazing author behind the page-turning Mercy Harbor series. She is also the author of the Veronica Lee series. She writes women's contemporary fiction under the name of M.M. Arvin. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, gardening, chauffeuring her kids around (like many of us), and working on her vegetarian lifestyle website. She currently resides in Florida with her family and is a proud mama of 5 children.
My Thoughts~
A thriller filled with suspense and intrigue!
This is the first book in the Mercy Harbor series. In this book, we are introduced to Eden Winthrop, who runs Mercy House, in honor of her dead sister who was murdered by her husband. Eden is drawn into a world of abduction, sex, drugs, and abuse when a young girl running from trouble shows up on the steps of the shelter house. Before Eden can help the young girl, she disappears. Eden is determined to figure out who this mysterious girl is. In the process, she is drawn into a world filled with lies, deceit, and secrets. Will Eden discovers the identity of the young girl? Will the police be able to help?
The River Girls is a great book that keeps readers on their toes. With all the secrets, twists, and turns, you never know what will happen next. The author did a fantastic job of weaving the storylines together. She had a cast of strong women that lead the show and amazing supporting characters that bring the story together. She did a great job of building the characters. You quickly understood why they did what they did and what their roles were. The characters worked well together and brought the story to life.
It's a wonderful thriller that deals with topics in the news today.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Sunday Inspiration~ September 4, 2022
Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.
Friday, September 2, 2022
Goodbye Summer~ Hello September
Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.
Well, hello there, September! You kind of snuck up on me. I swear it was just May. Oh summer, where did you go? I feel like you ran away a little too quickly. Does anyone else feel that way?
Don't get me wrong, I like fall and I'm ready for it. It just feels like summer disappeared a little too fast, but then again doesn't it always. And yes, I know fall doesn't "officially" start until the middle of September but we all know we're transitioning to fall.
So I thought I'd do a summer recap! I'm starting with May, even though it's still spring) because that's when our summer started.
May~
Therese finished up her first semester at college.
We took a beautiful, relaxing, and much-needed vacation to the Florida Keys. We did a college in NC on the way down. We visited Saint Augustine and the Everglades National Park, a request from Michael.
We spent a week in the Keys soaking up the sunshine. We finished off our trip visiting with some family in northern Florida.
We came home and visited the Iris garden. We bought a few bulbs too!
The kids worked on completing their lessons.
June~
Michael and Therese finished school for me. Michael graduated and we had a graduation party for him. We had a few other graduation parties that month 3 others..busy.
Therese had the SAT test.
We started construction on our porch (and it's still being completed). It's a slow process when you're doing a lot of the work yourself.
The kids had their work camp for our dioceses. This was Michael's last year for being able to go. Michael received an award from the Knights of Columbus for being an outstanding youth.
The kids had their State Championship for shooting. They both did amazing!
Therese and I went to a Kenny Chesney concert with my sister and her daughter.
July~
Celebrated the Fourth of July with the kids and their friends. Our church had a picnic and we could watch the fireworks from the parking lot.
We headed to Ohio for the National Championship for shooting. The kids did well. We then visited family that lived nearby. Therese dog sat for a neighbor when we got back.
The kids went to two amusement parks with friends. We celebrated the 1st birthday of an adorable little guy.
I worked on my lesson plans for Sunday school and cleaned my classroom.
We continued work on the porch, We added 9 new chicks to our flock, They were adorable.
August~
The kids had their team party so they could receive their awards for last year's State Championship, a Regional Competition, this year's State Championship, and this year's National Championship. They both walked away with a ton of awards. I'm so proud of them both.
We completed one section of the porch. The contractor that worked on that section did an amazing job.
We helped my hubby build a new fence for the chickens and started fixing up a shed for their new coop. (The girls actually moved in last night.)
We celebrated my niece's birthday. We visited my parents and visited Amish country. I bought some beautiful fabric.
Maddie had a vet appointment. She's getting older but is in great health. She dos have some stiffness in her back legs.
The boys went on their annual fishing trip. We had a week full of doctor's appointments...check-ups and dental.
The kids started classes at the local community college and I started a new quitling business. I'm still working on a few projects before I actually open the shop online. So stay tuned!
So that's where we are. It was a busy summer with lots of stuff going on. It's nice to sit back and relax a little now.
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Thrifting Thursdays~ What Goodies Did I Find?
Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.
Good Morning, y'all! Happy 1st day of September... can y'all believe that it's September already? I admit I'll miss summer, but I am so ready for some fall temps. I love fall fashions, curling up with a warm, cozy blanket, and watching the leaves turn to brilliant colors. Gold and red are my favorite.
Well, I have kept my promise to myself so far and have blogged more frequently (every day so far) this week. My plan for Thursdays is to showcase some great items I find thrifting. I love crafting with thrifted items and finding some great items to resell every now and then. Thrifting is like Christmas, you never know what you'll find!
So what did I find this week? I hit two different thrift stores and a used book store this week.
First Thrift Store Stop~
This has been my go-to for years. The kids and I discovered this shop when they were little. We would head to the library and then stop in the thrift shop to see what treasures we could find. The ladies there watched the kids grow up. We loved it. We would find tons of goodies: books, games, videos, toys, clothes, decorations, crafts, etc. They had it all.
Sadly, I rarely go now. In the last year, the original ladies have left and the store is now a little junky and disorganized. I loved how the older staff kept the store neat and tidy. It was well organized and the store was well laid out. Now, not so much. I miss chatting with the old staff and then I've seen a decline in donations. I still had there every so often, but just don't find as much as I used to.
What did I find?
Ann Taylor Loft Pants~ $6 with 50% off making them $3
(similar style found here)
Christmas Beads (2 red and 1 green)~ $3 each with 30% off making them $6.30
(similar beads can be found here)
Christmas Ribbon (2)~ $1 each with 30% off making them $1.4
(similar ribbon can be found here)
Crochet Techniques~ .50
Total $12.70
The pants are for me, the 2 religious books are for Sunday school, the crochet book for Therese, and the beads and ribbon are for new Christmas wreaths I'll make this year!
2nd Thrift Store Stop~
I had been wanting to stop and see this store. They have a wonderful Facebook page and the stuff looked great. We had never been, so we decided to stop in and check it out. I was disappointed. A lot of the clothes were well-worn or damaged and I felt the prices were a little high. Therese found a shirt she liked, but she could head to the actual store to buy the shirt on sale and it is brand new. So, she passed!
I did see a beautiful antique sewing machine, but I passed since I already have one from my father's mother and my mother has two from my grandmother.
We walked away with nothing.
Used Book Store Stop~
O.K. I have to admit this is one of my favorite places. The selection is amazing. The prices are higher than at a thrift store, but often the books are like new. You still save a fortune. Therese and I can spend hours there and find way too many books we want. I always have to set a limit for myself.
My Book Buys~
Our House by Louise Candlish
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Diary of Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska- Divine Mercy in My Soul
Jack and Jill Quilts for Boys and Girls by Retta Warehime
Fabulously Fast Quilts by Amy Smart
Therese's Book Buys~
The Wonderful by Saskia Sarginson
Well, that's for today! Have a great Thursday. Just think the weekend is almost here and it's a 3 day weekend for a lot.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Wordless Wednesday~ Chickens
Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.
The Crazy Feather Crew
Hermonie- Gray
Jenny- Gold
Luna- White
Can you guess who they are named after?
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Teaching Tuesdays~ My 12th Year Teaching Sunday School
Please Note~ This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to click on a link, add it to your cart, and complete your purchase, I will receive a small percentage. We are very grateful for this additional source of income. Thank you.
.png)
.png)
Good Morning, y'all! So I'm trying to get back into blogging on a full-time basis again. Right now, I'm planning on trying to have a theme for each day to keep me motivated and on target. We'll see how that goes..haha! The past 2 years have been a little crazy with the kids getting bigger and life's craziness, so blogging took a backseat.
So my plan is to share about my 1st grade Sunday school class on Tuesdays, hence the blog title Teaching Tuesdays! I'll be planning lesson ideas, school themes, and funny things that occurred along the way.
For those of you that are new around here, I teach 1st-grade catechism for our local Catholic church. This is my 12th year. I started teaching when Therese was in 1st grade! Boy has time flown by.
Essentially, it's 1st grade Sunday school with Catholic teachings. Not all my lessons are strictly Catholic, so if you are another denomination of another Christian faith some of the lesson ideas can work for you too!
I'm currently working on my classroom and I'll share photos once we get it done. Therese is my aide in class. I love teaching with my girl. Therese picked the theme this year, We are doing an outdoor, mountain theme. It's one we hadn't done before. We both searched Pinterest for some ideas and then came up with our own take. I can't wait to share it with y'all!
Today, I thought I'd share how I break up my classroom time, so that little ones do not get bored or antsy! As you teachers now out there, first-grade can be like corralling cats!
Opening Prayer~
Once we enter the classroom and everyone has taken their seats we open with prayers. Throughout the year, we will be working on 5 prayers: The Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and the Guardian Angel prayer. We start with the easiest the Sign of the Cross and then start working on the Our Father. We devote 2 months to each prayer and then towards the end of the year, we are praying all 5 in the class together.
Saint & Virtue~
This is where learn about the various saints honored in the Catholic church. For each saint, we also learn about a corresponding virtue that the saints pertrayed in their daily loves. We learn all about the saint and how we can practice their virtue in our daily lives. I love seeing the kids excitement and seeing how much they remember from week to week.
Bible Lesson~
This is something new I've added to our lessons this year. We will start with stories from the Old Testament and then lead into the New Testament. Over the past few years, I've noticed more and more kids not knowing the basic Bible stories, so I thought I'd help fix that. We will be using the Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name from ZonderKidz as well as other resources to help teach these lessons. We'll read the story, work on a few pages, do a craft or play a fun game.
Bathroom Break~
This is pretty self explanatory. We take a quick bathroom break, water break, and maybe a snack break depending on the day.
Story Time~
I have a special section in m y room set aside for story time. This allows the kids to get up, move around, and just change their scerenry a little bit. Our story will go along with one of the topics we've talked or will talk about during class. Examples are saints, a virtue, person from the bible, or our lesson for the day.
Class Lesson~
Class lesson are topics from our book that pertain to the Catholic faith. It's our weekly Catechism lesson. We will cover various topics throughout the year, such as baptism, the Trinity, Mary and Joseph, prayer, the church, and the liturgical year.
Closing Prayer and Goodbye~
We end class with prayer. We usually end with the Our Father and Hail Mary. We pray for our friends, family, and church family. We aske God to help us during our week. I ask each child to work on completeing one good deed during the week. This helps them grow closer to Jesus, be more like Jesus, and to see Jesus in their fellow man.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)