Still Life Book Review #3

I'd have to admit that this book was a little bit harder for me to get into than most. But I opened my imagination an really dug into it. Still Life is the second book in the Chesapeake Valor mini series, it's about a young woman named Avery Tate who is a former crime scene photographer. In this book her best friend since childhood has gone missing an she is determined that she will find her an find her alive. The fact that she is working with a past lover does not make her job any easier! So now she's faced with her past haunting her and her friends possible death! The more her and her friends dig into the mystery the closer they get to some death defying truths!         

                                                                                             

I was kind of disappointed when reading this because I thought it was going to be a great mystery and the more I got into it the more I realized it had quite a bit of romance in it. I am not a big romance fan so for me Pettrey went too far on that topic. The mystery itself is very big an so it should be while it is a missing/possible murder. I like how Pettrey puts her own enthusiasm into it an makes you wonder how it happened an who did it. She keeps you in your toes that's for sure! So if you like mystery and romance in the same book than I would highly recommend you reading it! However, if you're like me and you don't care for a lot of romance than I wouldn't suggest you reading Still Life.

Because of my honest review Bethany House Publisher has sent me a free copy of this book. I would highly recommend to anyone who loves mystery and romance combined. 

Live Smart! Book Review #2

My second Bethany House Book Review was a non-fiction this time! Live smart by Dan Dumas. In this book Dumas teaches us about following God's way and not our own. He explains very well how sometimes we think we know whats best but when honest with ourselves: we all know God has the better plan! 

 I love how just by reading his book you can tell he's excited about what he wants to say. There are times when he seems to go a little overboard with the explanation or might continue on a topic for too long. So for me it got a kind of hard to read at times.  

 Dumas really has a heart for people to understand this an in all words, Live Smart! I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't read books like this before. I've grown up reading on these sort of topics so it was kind of the same thing said in a different way. If you want the truth an honesty about choosing God's way, than you should read this book! 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Publisher in exchange for my honest review. I would recommend "Live Smart!" to anyone who hasn't read a lot about giving your life to God. It's a good uplifting book though that could help anyone who is struggling with trusting God. 

Dressed for Death

Well this is my very first book review for Bethany House! I am very excited about it and hope this helps out anyone who is looking to read a good novel! 

Dressed for Death is a very captivating mystery written by Julianna Deering. I love reading mysteries because they're so easy to get caught up in. Deering sets this up in such a way that you don't see what's coming and to the very last chapter you still get surprised! 

   What made this one even more interesting was that she added a bit of romance which is something that most mysteries don't have. I also like the way she set this story in a regency era.  

   Deering has a little bit of everyone, from the married couple all the way to a young man who finds love a little gross. One thing I thought was a little odd was some of the men were quoting Jane Austin's books. It didn't seem as realistic but then again this is a different era. 

   All together I thought it was a very good book and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery/romance novel. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Publisher in exchange for my honest review. I would definitely recommend "Dressed for Death" to anyone who loves a good mystery. 

Memorial Day Part 2

Memorial Day comes to an end. Almost, but there is still a few things left to do. 

   

Four-wheeler rides are always fun! It's so hard to come over to Daddy-Laynes house and not ride the four-wheeler. It's totally not safe to do this with 3 people but its a country road, we went slow, (kinda) and we are all alive! So it was a lot of fun and we went for 3 or 4 rides that day! *smile 

       

One important event I forgot to mention was the homemade ice-cream! Jennifer was in charge of making it. We had 2 ice-cream churns so we made chocolate, (the best) and peach. They both turned out very creamy and delicious! 

   Of course the only right thing to do is to enjoy a bowl of homemade ice-cream right after a hot four-wheeler ride. So that's what we did!

It was the best! Better than what you get from the store! 

    But the day still wasn't over yet! We had one more thing to do: fishing! 

    It's been so long since we've gone, so starting out was kind of ruff. 

   Me and Mama got stuck on so many trees or logs and each broke 3 lines. But we were very productive in catching fish! 

      

Mama caught so many she couldn't hold them all for the picture. I believe it was 5 or 6 in total. The best fisher woman of the day! 

       

      Jennifer caught one which I think                    

                  was the biggest. 

          

As for me I caught 2! The big one on the right is actually a mud fish. Daddy-Layne said it wasn't worth keeping but I was proud of catching it! 

     After that we got another bowl of ice-cream and the day was over. So I hope y'all had a great Memorial! God bless!!

                   

Memorial Day Part 1

So everyone has their normal family traditions that they do for every holiday. Even on Memorial Day people have something special planned. Most of the time it's a big day for a cookout with family and friends and play some games or something.

   We normally try to have people over and set up the volleyball net but it seems like every year the people we try to get always have something else planned. But we still had a blast this year!!

   We were at Daddy-Laynes for Memorial Day and had smoked Boston butt, grilled BBQ chicken, heart attack Mack-n-cheese, killer baked beans with homemade ice-cream for dessert! What more could you ask for? 

   The day started out kinda slow and we just worked around the yard, in the house and put up pickles! One thing I love is homegrown, dill pickles!

   

Bethany cut the garlic up and put them in the mason jars that Daddy-Layne had put the dill seed in. 

   

Next Jennifer would stuff the jars full with the cucumbers that Mama had cut.

Then I would fill them up with the boiling, vinegar, salt water, screw the kids on tight and place them upside down.

Once the pressure has been built and they are sealed we place them in a cabinet and let them sit for a few months. Until then, we have last years pickles we put up to enjoy!

   So that was the start off to our Memorial Day! Along with playing ping pong. I'll go ahead and mention that I beat Daddy-Layne and Bethany! But it was definitely some competition! 

     I'll post part 2 hopefully sometime this week! God bless!! 

 

     

Our Lil' Man

About 4 years ago, just a few weeks before Christmas, my oldest brother called us from work and said that there was a man there that had Miniature Dash-hound puppies he was giving away. Since it was so close to Christmas the man knew he couldn't sell them, so to give them away was the best option. I was only 12 at the time so me, Bethany (16) and Phillip (14), were begging Mama to let us get one! Since it was cold Mama knew we would have to keep the little dog inside till it got warmer. She had said before that she could 'never' have an inside dog. Little did we know that one little puppy would change us forever!

My brother ended up bringing the dog home and after a long while of considering names for him we came up with the perfect one! A name that described him very well: Boss! He was so cute so every time he would whine for something we would do it. We would always hold him and cuddle with him. He was the boss so what other name was there?

You can easily see that with this kind of face it was hard to refuse! So pitiful!!

He always loved to crawl on you shoulder and sleep. He was so tiny he could easily curl up on your neck and dose off into a peaceful snooze.

As he got older he began to be very territorial and didn't like anyone but us! In this picture he is barking at our cows. Being the brave little dog he would run up behind the huge cows and bite at there ankles! Little did we know he would also bite our friends ankles too! Because of his aggression to other people we had to get a muzzle for him. He never liked that!

But even when he was older he still kept his adorable look!! He loved sleeping on our beds during the day and at night if we would let him! Every day he had his routine: he would whine to get on my bed and once I put him up there he would jump to Bethany's!   

But as much as we loved him we couldn't keep him forever. Sadly God chose to take him away this past Monday night. As we pulled up our driveway he got too close to the back tire and got pulled in. 5 years we've had him and its never happened. That alone shows that God had it in His plan. He didn't have any pain when he died, it was so sudden. Boss had so many different little things in his life that made him unlike any other dog. He had the most character! He's not just a dog, he was our lil' man! He was Boss.

Do You Believe

I'm sure everyone knows about the new movie that has come out titled: Do You Believe? Me and my sisters went to see the movie last night in theaters. I knew it was going to be good because my brother had seen it and said how amazing it was. What I didn't know is how impacting it would be in just my life. For me, the whole point of the movie was: do you believe the Cross of Christ? And if so, what are you going to do about it?
     So many Christians, myself included, go on in life knowing about the Cross but doing absolutely nothing with it. While watching the movie I began to think about my life. I am a born again Christian, I believe in God. But I can't say that I have the relationship with Him that I wish I did.
    I also thought about when or how I would die. What if someone held a gun to me and asked of I believed in God. If I answered yes he would kill me. If not than I would remain alive. I had to really think about what kind of faith I would have. I couldn't bare to live knowing that I denied God just to spare my life for a little while longer. I would rather die with a testimony then without. 

   When we got out of the theaters and into the car, I picked up my iPod and when I turned it on this song was what came up. So fitting for what I just experienced that night. 

     Do you really believe the Cross of Christ? How much faith do you have? He died for you. Would you die for Him?
    

Valentine Banquet

Well, February is already gone and past, especially Valentines Day. Unlike every Valentines I actually liked this one. Most of the time its just another day for me because there is nothing special about it for me except the discount candy on February 15! *smile There was no special person for me but there was a special moment!
  Some friends of mine that live about an hour away were telling me about a Valentine banquet that most of the couples go to every year and this year they were letting the teens go! So they invited me and said that they get to wear formal dresses. Since they're all homeschoolers and Christians they don't go to proms or anything like that, but they never get to wear formals. So the parents decided that this would be a good time for that! I didn't have a formal so I would just wear my Sunday best.
   When we got to my friends house, one of the girls had an extra dress that was my size! It was the most beautiful formal ever!! I was so excited because I had never worn a formal or gone to a Valentines banquet so this was all new for me! With 6 girls trying to get ready all at the same time...it took about 3 hours for everyone to do each others hair, make up and nails! But it was a lot of fun!
   We didn't have any dates or anything just 2 poor fellas that had to deal with us girls the whole time! Haha!
  Overall it was a great time and I really enjoyed it!
 These are just a few pictures we took, they aren't really good quality because they were taken with a IPad, but I hope you like them!

 (Left to right), Stephanie, me, Norma and Scarlett

 This was a lot of fun to take! Gotta love the sass!

(left to right), Stephanie, Scarlett, Savannah, Cassie, Norma and me!

 Me

 Norma

 Scarlett

 Savannah

 and Stephanie!



Minion Card

The most recent and cutest card! I seen this on Pinterest and thought it was too cute to pass up. It was definitely easier to make than I thought other than having to cut out a bunch of little pieces. =)

 

Some cards are so cute that I don't want to give them away and this is one them. That is one reason why I take pictures of them! So I can make them again. =)

 

More Cards!

Card making is a main hobby that goes on in my family. We've got a room set aside just for it with all of our paper books, buttons, ribbons, stickers and all the little odds and ins.
   We recently went to Hobby Lobby, (my family's favorite store), and I had gotten a new paper book. I'm not a huge fan of the color pink but this book was too cute to pass up. It was all pink and green. Those two colors go very well together if you ask me. There was so many cute patterns in it and I could make all kinds of different cards! So I got it and have not been able to make any other colored cards! I would pick up another book and look through it but nothing would really come to me. I would end up going back to the pink one and have all the ideas come into mind! I haven't put all of them together because I'm a little stuck on one of them, so here is the two that I made with the pink book. The other ones are some that I made before. Hope you like them!

I would say that these two are the best ones I've made yet!

I love these birthday cards! Its something unique and yet really nice!

 This one was a little hard. I loved the background paper but didn't know what to put with it. Having 3 different colors makes the card different form all the others I've ever made but I like it!

 This one was a lot of fun to make! I like orange, and I really wanted to use that paper but I didn't know what to put with it. So I started cutting out the diamonds and placing them on it. At first it was just the purple ones but then I started cutting out different ones to add more color.

 Hope you like them! Sorry for the crooked photos. I'm not the photographer in the family that's for sure! Have a blessed day!

Tennessee Road Trip

The last week of October me and my two sisters went up to North Carolina and Tennessee for the whole week! There is a couple at our church take a trip up to NC every year for the whole summer. They know the man that owns the camp grounds and he let's them keep their camper there for the whole year. Anyways, she's been wanting us to come up and stay with her for quite some time now. We were finally able to do it and another friend of ours was able to go as well!

But before we headed towards NC we had to stop for some breakfast at Dunkin Donuts!

Plus coffee! *smile

We were super excited about going!! The long 7 hour drive gave us plenty of opportunities to catch

good selfies!

 

 

 When we finally got there we stayed in Mrs. Kathy's camper (which is in NC), for two days. We went to a few little consignment shops and stores, walked through town and just window shopped. When we got back to the camper we played two games of Phase 10 and Jennifer won both (pure luck).

   

 

This is a couple pictures from outside her camper. It was very nice, on the mornings when it was warm enough we could sit in the chairs she had set out, drink our coffee or hot

chocolate and enjoy the beautiful river!

We didn't do to much around there but on Wednesday we drove to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee! I have always loved going there. If I had a choice to live anywhere I wanted, it would be Tennessee. 

When we arrived, the first place we went was a restaurant called the Old Mill. It was super packed but totally worth the wait. There food was amazing!

After a late lunch we shopped at some of the little shops around the area and then went on to the condo. I've stayed in hotels before, and even a small chalet but nothing compared to what we were at!

 This was like a mansion compared to a camper! There was so much space and it was so big! We even had a porch! 

 In the cabinets were glass plates, bowls and even crystal glasses! With the big refrigerator and bowls, we decided to make a snack for that night! We bought some chips a hoy cookies, cool whip and milk. We dipped the cookies in the milk and placed them in the bowls, on top of them we put a spoon full of cool whip. After a few stacks of those we placed them in the fridge and waited for them to get nice and cold. It calls for an easy and delicious dessert.  

As for the rest of the week, we spent our time looking through some of the neatest little shops! We did some buying, and some window shopping! =)

What I love most about TN is the country! The mountains are so beautiful!

 It was the perfect time of the year to go because the leaves had changed color. Although it was hard to catch on camera.

 The photos are taken by my sister. I wasn't able to take my camera because of some complications so I just decided to steal some of my sisters pictures since she can take much better ones than me. =)

 The first day we arrived in TN we went hiking on some trail. It was very pretty and had a long river beside it. Me and Bethany also did some climbing. Walking farther down the trail, it had started to get really steep on the side. Bethany really wanted to get down my the river for some pictures so me and her climbed down the steep, slippery hill and walked on the bottom while Jennifer, Mrs. Kathy and Mrs. Linda were at the top just worried to death that we would break a leg!

After hiking, the rest of the week we just window shopped and walked around the area. In one area of shops we took a picture that was on Jennifer's bucket list.

They car we had, had a sunroof, so we climbed out the top and took a picture with the cars in the background. Just making memories!

 

Well I hope you enjoyed the pictures! I had no idea it was going to be this long but there was just so much to tell! =) Have a very blessed day!