Teaser Tuesdays - June 18th

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"During Holy Week, he took a 'turn for the worse,' the doctors said, 'There is nothing we can do.' Nothing you can do? I screamed, but only in my head."

~ Page 123, Lessons from the Mountain by Mary McDonough

You've Got Mail Monday

Happy, happy, joy, joy. Happy, happy, joy. (Brownie points for anyone who knows where that comes from.)  It has arrived! It's so rare I treat myself, I can't help but get excited when a total unnecessary, but thrilling product arrives.

I've missed talking about Downton Abbey while it's in between seasons. I can't wait until January, so I have an excuse to bombard this blog with DA posts. Enjoying this show so much was a surprise to me because it's not an era or a setting I read a lot of. American drama set in the 1800s is my thing. But these characters' lives have totally captivated me. I've even joined a DA forum.

The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes is filled with tons of historical information and loaded with historical pictures and photographs from the show. I've only skimmed it because most of my reading time takes place in the bathtub at night and there is no way I am taking this book with me. I hope to read through it while we're in North Carolina.

Included in this shipment was the latest Dork Diaries book, Tales from a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker, by Rachel Renee Russell. The girls love this series and we never miss a book. Thank God for Jeff Kinney and his Diary of a Wimpy Kid series that spurred an entire trend of diary books for boys and girls.

My latest Land's End and Gardener's Supply Company catalogs arrived last week, too. That's it for now. Hope you have a great week.

Use Sumertime Fun to Get Kids Ready for Kindergarten

Summer is a time for lighter schedules and fun and games. It can also be a time of great learning. In "Summertime Fun That Can Help Kids Get Ready for Kindergarten," you'll find tips on how to boost your child's social skills, teach them how to follow simple instructions, encourage independence, and more. You'll find this article online at http://www.summernanny.com/blog/summertime-fun-that-can-help-kids-get-ready-for-kindergarten/

Oh No, It's Raining!: How to Entertain Kids on Rainy Days

It's been raining so much around here, I swear I'm going to need an ark pretty soon. My girls have always loved to play in the rain. Before we put the drains in around our poorly pitched driveway, huge puddles would form in two areas that the girls would splash in. But sometimes, it's too cold to play out in the rain, so how do you entertain your children?

You'll find some ideas in this article, "Fun Ways to Spend Rainy Days Indoors with Kids."

What is your favorite way to spend time indoors on a rainy day?

Book Review: Belle of the Glades by Cheryl Abney

Eleven-year-old Isabelle Lacey feels abandoned and alone. After the death of her parents, she is cared for by her aunt while they travel to her Uncle Arden’s place in Okeechobee, Florida. The dangers of living in such a place are new to the former city girl, and she must learn to adapt to a perilous environment.

A map-inscribed shell rock drops Belle and her friends into the middle of a dangerous adventure filled with Everglades creatures and outlaws. Through it all, Belle must depend on her faith to help her adjust to her new life and keep her safe.

Belle of the Glades is a lovely faith-filled middle grade novel girls will enjoy. Readers will be drawn in by its plucky main character. Abney has created a girl whose sense of loss and abandonment makes her sympathetic, while her tenacity in coping with challenges inspires and empowers.

Abney paints a beautiful picture of the Florida Everglades in 1918 with rich details and descriptions of the world which Belle now calls home. The mystery of the shell rock propels the action forward to a superb conclusion.

Lovers of historical novels and adventure stories will want to read Belle of the Glades by Cheryl Abney.


Publisher iUniverse (March 15, 2013)
Language English
ISBN-10 1475975406
ISBN-13 978-1475975406


I received this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

This review first appeared at Christian Children's Authors.

Wordless Wednesday

Teaser Tuesdays - June 11

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I call being able to give a proper handshake an art because it seems so many people have forgotten or never learned how to do so. You can learn a lot about a person by the way he/she shakes your hand. 

~ Page 95, God's Special Forces: A Manual for Becoming a Young Woman of Quality by Darlene Laney