Book Review: The Rose of Winslow Street

Libby Sawyer's life hasn't been terribly exciting. At 28 years of age, she lives with her elderly professor father in a grand old house on Winslow Street, in the town of Colden, Massachusetts. Or at least she used to. While Libby and her father are away at their summer residence, a mysterious Romanian man has moved himself, his two young sons, his sister, and two henchmen into the Sawyer home! Michael Dobrescu claims the house on Winslow Street belongs to him, and he is willing to battle in court for it. At first outraged and intimidated by Michael, Libby is later intrigued and strangely drawn to this bold, strong interloper. Michael's fierce love and protection for his family are what drives him, and in time, Libby longs to be a part of that family. But she is caught between loyalty to her father and the new love growing in her heart.

This book was excellent. Set in Massachusetts in the late 1800s, I really liked the setting as a New Englander. But more than that, I loved the heroine, Libby. This was the first time I've ever come across a heroine with Libby's unique disability--she cannot read. But oh my, can she draw and paint! And then there was Michael--a big bear of a man who is passionate about flowers and perfume, of all things! Yet also a man who will hack down a whole garden of roses to protect his sister, Lady Mirela, from the tortured memories their fragrance brings. Have I piqued your interest yet? :) I really enjoyed this book. It was a real treat to follow Libby's and Michael's paths, and there was even a little bit of mystery woven into the story. The only thing that bothered me a little had to do with "holy sisters" and a convent--but I don't want to say too much about that so as not to spoil the story for anyone. I understand why the author wove them into the story, though. Also, I should note that there a couple of "darker" incidents described in the book--nothing extremely graphic, but I wouldn't recommend this book for preteen or young teen girls because of that. All in all, this was a very satisfying read, and I look forward to reading more of Elizabeth Camden's work! I give The Rose of Winslow Street 5 out of 5 stars.

**Disclosure: I was given a free review copy of this book by Bethany House Publishers, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Sam's birthday in pictures

At long last, I am finally posting pictures from Sam's big day! We had such a fun family day doing all kinds of fun stuff. It worked out nicely that Sam's birthday fell on Jim's day off.

First we went candlepin bowling . . . he looks so old in this picture!!

I love watching the kids bowl. It's so cute!

Josiah was proud to be the big winner of the game!

Then we went to Chili's for lunch, because we happened to have coupon that made the kids' meals free!

We don't go out often to anyplace other than fast-food, so this was a big treat for everyone. Sam even got a free dish of ice cream when the waitress found out it was his birthday! :)

After that, we did a little shopping, and then came home to get ready for his party. My parents and Grampa came over for supper. After we ate, Sam unwrapped some fun presents, like a sleeping bag . . .

and a super hero cape made by his Grammy!

And then it was time for cake and ice cream! He drew me a picture of what he wanted his cake to look like. Can you tell what it is?

Ah, here's a better view:

Blowing out the candle--I love his expression!

It was a great day and we all had so much fun! I love to make birthdays special for my kiddos. (Remind me of that when I am staying up late again to make Julia and Josiah's cakes next month, okay? :))

Roses just because

Last night my sweet guy surprised me with this gorgeous bouquet--not for any particular occasion, but "just because." I was so surprised, and they add such a sweet burst of color on our table at an otherwise rather ugly time of year!

It occurred to me later that yesterday happened to be my "blogaversary"--the day I hit seven years of writing in this little space. I never remember to keep track of that, but I went back and checked, and sure enough--there it was, March 14. So much has changed in those seven years . . . then, we had a 1 year old and lived in a tiny little trailer. Our house was far from finished. Homeschooling was still just a distant thought. Julia and Josiah weren't even born or thought of! Here we are, seven years down the road, with three precious souls in our care, all moved into our own home (which still isn't finished--but a lot closer than it was then! :)), keeping busy with school and all kinds of stuff. Our church has changed, things in our extended family have changed, our marriage has been through harder times than I imagined and has grown and become more beautiful as a result. We have changed. I'm thankful for this place to chronicle the journey.

Someday I hope to use one of those companies that turns a blog into a book or books. It would be fun to have a book made for each year of the blog, maybe. That way it would be easier to look back and enjoy our family history over these years. Thanks to all the friends, old and new, who read here and have followed along with our story! And I think it is kinda cool that Jim just happened to spontaneously bring me roses on March 14, even though he (and I) never thought of it being a milestone of any kind. :)

Weekly Goals: Taking a break :)

My week has been pretty busy so far, and seeing as it's already Weds. night, I decided to take a break from posting my goals this week. I do actually still have some goals written down in my notebook, I just don't feel like taking the time to post them. :) I have a few other posts I really need to get done--first of all the late post about Sam's birthday, then a couple more book reviews, and maybe something else, so I'll jump back in with the weekly goal posts next week.

I had a fantastic "girls' day out" on Monday with my dear friends Gail and Les. We were gone all day and had so much fun! Wish I had a picture to share, but alas, they are still on my phone and I can't figure out how to get them from phone to computer. Oh well. :)

I am thinking ahead to St. Patrick's Day coming up, and realized I actually know very little about St. Patrick. The kids were asking me about him and why people dress in green on that day, and I really didn't have much of an idea! I'm planning to find some free resources online so I can study up on it a little bit and incorporate some teaching opportunities for school. :) I do remember how we would have fun back in high school dressing in green or orange on St. Pat's Day, and how they always made the punch in the big drink dispenser green on one side and orange on the other. Not that I ever drank that punch . . . icky! But anyway, fun memories. :) I do plan to try a crockpot corned beef and veggies recipe that I just found, that looks like something my family might actually eat, and then I think we should make Irish soda bread. Not sure yet what I will do for dessert, though. Any ideas?

Well, I need to get to bed. Hope you all are having a great week so far!

Book Review: Blue Moon Promise

Lucy Marsh hasn't had an easy life. Her mother died when she was very small, and now her father too has died, her stepmother has run off, and Lucy is left to care for her two young siblings, Jed and Eileen. With their landlord threatening eviction and an unknown danger lurking in the background, Lucy doesn't know where to turn for help. Help shows up unexpectedly, however, in the form of Henry Stanton, an old friend of her father's from Texas. He has a surprising offer for Lucy--a proxy marriage to his son, Nate. Mr. Stanton believes Nate needs a wife and that he's never going to get around to courting someone on his own. In spite of many misgivings, Lucy feels she has no choice but to accept this offer, as she needs some way to provide for her brother and sister.

Upon discovering what his dad has done, Nate Stanton is not too pleased. To be suddenly saddled with a wife--especially a tiny little thing like Lucy--and two children into the bargain, wasn't exactly in line with his plans for his life. However, Nate is an honorable man and eventually decides that the best thing to do is try to make things work. As for Lucy, she has much to learn about being a rancher's wife, but she's willing to give it a go! But even in Texas, the unknown danger continues to stalk them. When Lucy discovers a bunch of rare silver coins sewn into the hem of her best dress, the mystery begins to unravel. Do the coins have some connection with her father's death and her stepmother's desertion? Will Jed be able to remember what happened on that tragic night? How does Lucy's extended family--living in the same Texas town--fit into the picture? And will Nate and Lucy grow to love each other and accept their new life as a family?

Blue Moon Promise was my first Colleen Coble book, and I enjoyed it. It was a fun, historical Western romance with a good bit of mystery thrown in. I did feel that some parts of the plot were a little bit far-fetched . . . such as the time when Lucy faints, gets scared by an Indian, and falls and dislocates her elbow, all in the same day (and then gets bitten by a rattlesnake in the next chapter) . . . but the book was overall a fun read, and to be honest, I don't really expect a completely believable plot in this type of book. :) Not to say that it was poorly written or that there was no substance, because that wasn't the case--the writing was good and kept my interest, and I found myself really relating to Lucy. She was constantly trying to "measure up" to prove to Nate that she was the wife he needed, when he hadn't even set a standard for her to measure up to! And she also had control issues . . . learning to let go and trust God was a major theme in the book. Overall this was a clean read, no intimate scenes, although there was some discussion between Nate and Lucy about when to make their marriage "real." Having a little mystery thrown in helped keep my interest, and the plot twists and turns were fun. I really liked Nate and Lucy--they seemed like very real, "flawed" characters (like we all are!). I give Blue Moon Promise 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through theBookSneeze 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."

Weekly Goals 03/07/12

Well, I'm just a little late getting these posted! Better late than never, I guess . . .

Here's how I did with my goals last week:

1. Lose 1 lb.--DONE!
2. Drink 3 bottles of water 5-6 days--DONE!
3. Exercise 3-5 times--DONE! (5 times this week--yay!)
4. Finish reading Made to Crave--DONE!
5. Clean master bathroom--DONE!
6. Make new goals for March--DONE!
7. Blog 3 times--DONE!
8. Scrub kitchen floor--Nope, didn't happen. Maybe this week?
9. Work on decluttering master bedroom--Did a teeny bit, but so much more to do!
10. Complete 4 full days of school--DONE!
11. Host moms' group at our house--DONE!
12. Write book review for Blue Moon Promise--Didn't get to this one yet, hopefully soon.

I'm happy to see there are mostly "DONE's" on that list! It's amazing how much more I seem to get accomplished when I have something to aim for. Now, I still have lots and lots that I didn't get accompished, mind you. But it's good to see some progress. :)

And here are my goals for this week:

• Lose 1 lb.
• Exercise 3-5 times
• Drink 3 bottles of water 3-5 days (lowering my goal for this week because it is a busier week than normal)
• Get together with friends
• Family day for Sam's birthday
• Catch up on dishes
• Plan 2 weeks of menus/grocery shop
• Read Proverbs 3-10
• Write 2 book reviews
• Blog 3 times

I've already gotten a few of these done, and hoping to get more done in the few days I have left this week. :)

Happy 8th Birthday, Sam!!

Today is Sam's birthday . . . I can hardly believe he is 8 years old! Where did the past 8 years go? I know I will still be saying that when he is 16 . . . and 24 . . . and . . . oh dear. Time goes way too fast after you have kids! Anyway. As of right now he is still a kid, and I'm not going to jump too far ahead of myself in my thoughts. :)

We took the whole day off from school, as Jim had the day off and we decided to make it a fun family day. We did lots of fun stuff and capped the day off with a little family party. More about our day tomorrow . . . but I just wanted to quickly share this post tonight since it's his actual birthday!

I will also be sharing my weekly goals tomorrow; too tired tonight!

February Update and March Goals

It's that time again--my monthly goals update! Here's how I did in February:

• Finish Fruit of the Spirit Bible study for my devotions (I am about 2 months behind when the study was *scheduled* to finish--but should be able to wrap it up in the next couple of weeks!)--DONE!
• Begin memorizing Titus 2--Ummm, no. Haven't started this yet. Shame on me!
• Lose 4 lbs.--DONE!
• Minimize sugar--DONE!
• Really work on portion control and drinking more water--DONE!
• Exercise 5-6 times per week--Nope, this was a fail; I did exercise weekly, but it was more like 2-3 times.
• Read at least 2 books (Made to Crave and Loving the Little Years, plus hopefully another fiction book to review)--DONE! Well, almost. I finished Made to Crave this morning, but I'm going to count it anyway. I didn't finish Loving the Little Years yet, but I did finish another book, so I met my goal of reading 2 books this month.
• Rework the budget and re-read chapter one of The Money Saving Mom's Budget--Nope, didn't get either of these things done.
• Have friends over for dinner--No, this didn't happen (sadly!). It looks like March is shaping up to be a better month for hospitality, though. :)
• Send (very late) Christmas gifts to my sis and family!--DONE!
• DIY project: Repair kitchen rug or make a new one--DONE, because we bought a new one instead. :)
• Sewing project: Aprons for Julia and me, and maybe some for gifts--I didn't get any aprons made, but I did get some other sewing projects done (baby gifts, altering jeans), so this wasn't a complete fail.
• Have a monthly date night--DONE!

Before I sat down and figured out just how many goals I'd met, I felt like I hadn't done that great in February. But after looking them over, I realize I met more of them than I thought. It's encouraging! :)

Here are my goals for March:

• Begin memorizing Titus 2
• Read through Proverbs
• Start through marriage devotional together
• Read at least 2 books: (planning on Loving the Little Years, The Swiss Courier, and finishing The Rose of Winslow Street)
• Lose 4 lbs.
• Exercise 3-5 times per week
• Have friends over for dinner and other visits
• Monthly date night
• DIY project: Make foaming hand soap
• Sewing project: Easter dress for Julia
• Purchase new cell phone and plan for Jim, and cancel our old plan
• Rework the budget

And I think that should give me plenty to work on for this month! :) Are any of the rest of you setting monthly goals? I am finding it really helpful this year, and hopefully I can keep it up for more than just the first few months (which is what happened last year ;)).