Book Review - "Unstoppable" by Nick Vujicic

This is the second book by Nick Vujicic that I have read.  I have really enjoyed both books.  This book picks up where the last book left off, and deals with many hot topics for today, bullying, relationship issues, self-destructive thoughts and emotions, personal crises, career and job challenges, health and disability concerns, imbalances we may have in our bodies, etc., as well as feeling out of control.

He tells stories from both his own life, as well as stories from people that he has met.  I loved hearing the story how he met his beautiful wife, and their love story, their ups and their downs in their relationship.  In the center of the book are pictures of Nick and various places of ministry, people he has ministered to, as well as a wedding picture of Nick and Kanae. 

He is very honest in his struggles, and his feelings, and it makes him more relatable.  He also shares insights, and shows how to handle various problems that we may encounter.

Click here to read the chapter on how Nick met his wife

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.  The opinions are all my own.  :)

Brrrr

The temps have been low. Dangerously low. Like 20 below zero. They canceled public school two more days. The beauty of home educating is that we can keep right on schooling. 

Then, yesterday, it warmed up to 20 above. A 40 degree difference, or more, if you factor in the windchill, too. We had some coupons for free bowling, so we went bowling yesterday afternoon. We had fun. Let's just say out of the 6 of us, only one person got over a hundred. No, it wasn't me. I got the lowest score!  Lol. Even Sam and Matthew scored higher. Well, they did have the bumper lanes. 

Saturday is our big day. We start off with the fellas getting measured for the tuxes. Then, at 11:30 AM, Dan will receive an award from the American Heart Association. It's also Gracelyn's birthday. I know the fellas want to shop, too. 

Blessings!

Book Review - "Snapshot" by Lis Wiehl

Snapshot by Lis Wiehl is a work of fiction, about a real picture taken by the author's father.  Lis Wiehl's dad is a retired FBI g-man, who was going through some old files and found this picture of Lis and a little black girl.  She was captivated by the picture, and came up with the story line for the book, Snapshot.

In the story, Lisa Waldren is contacted by her father, James Waldren, a retired FBI man who is going through some old case files, and asks for his daughter's assistance in helping a man who is in prison, on death row, soon to be executed.  Do they have the wrong man in prison?  Lisa's dad, who was always so determined to get to the truth, why did he let the case fall silent for so many years?  Who really did shoot Benjamin Gray all those years ago?  Did Lisa, or her little friend see the actual shooter?  You will have to read this book, filled with mystery and intrigue!  It kept me up at night to finish the book.

I did enjoy the book, and trying to figure out the mystery.  Some of the characters in the book were people the author knows (Lisa Waldren is Lis Wiehl; James Waldren would be Lis' father, Richard Wiehl; William O'Ryan would be Bill O'Reilly)  I thought that was fun!

The only thing I didn't like about the book, being published by a Christian company, is that it is mentioned that Lisa's father, James, and his girlfriend have spent the night together on occasions.  Thankfully, it does not go into detail, but the thought is there.  It is a good story, just not a strong Christian witness.

I received a complimentary copy of the book,  Snapshot, from BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson, for my honest review. 


 

Candle light service

I just love candlelight Christmas services! They are so beautiful, calming, quiet, reflective!

I had Elise sitting with me, and I got to take some pictures. Oh, these are not real candles, but battery operated ones. 

Yes, she had a dirty face, but she was just so cute!

Blessings!

School is officially done for this year!

Next week we will have Home Ec, and do our Christmas baking. Lots of yummy goodies planned!  But, I am having problems finding round pretzels, as well as, smaller bags of Hershey kisses, Rolos, and M & Ms. 

This afternoon, we went to downtown Minneapolis, to Macy's, to see their 8th floor animated display. We are now stuck in traffic. 

Here are the fellas at the entrance. 

Here they are inside. 

This is in the city center mall. 

Parking for 1 hour and 1 minute was $11!!  $9 for the first hour, $2 the next 20 minutes. I don't know why people shop there!

Blessings!

Gearing up for Christmas

We have been shopping, and trying to figure out what to get some people.  The easiest, of course, are the little people. They are usually content with just the box!  

I have been making some Christmas gifts. I'll post some photos later, as some relatives would see it in here. 

Matthew and I made Egg Nog Donuts, in the Baby Cake Donut maker, then glazed them with an egg nog glaze. YUM!!  

Here they are:

Along with my donut helper:

Blessings!

I. Do. Not. Like. Knitting.

I much prefer crocheting over knitting. I can make a crocheted dishcloth in a couple hours. Knitting?  Much longer. Granted , I am new to knitting, and still learning, but it is a lot longer process. And, if you make a mistake?  Crocheting is a lot easier to fix. 

Here is my latest knitting project. I am almost half done. Woo hoo. (Read that with a lot of sarcasm)

 I do have to admit, I really like the looks of this stitch, though, and I don't think you can get this stitch crocheted. 

I'm also experimenting with making a homemade butterscotch root beer. I am enjoying the flops. 

Blessings!