Play At Home Mom

This is the most awesome website.  Creative, easy, real.  And, one thing that I really loved is that it includes ideas for babies and toddlers that are not so boring they make you want to gouge your eye out.  I will be trying lots of the ideas on here for cheap/free summer fun.

Play At Home Mom

Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

It's been a while since I've done a book review for Booksneeze.  For the Beth Moore Bible study I did at the beginning of the year we were asked to "sanctify" ourselves by fasting something throughout the duration of the study, and I chose reading novels.  I didn't think it would be a big deal, but it was much more painful than I thought it would be.  I really hope it worked.

I just finished the book Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble.  It is set in the late 1800's in an area of Texas with lots of land but very little else.  The main character, Lucy, has accepted a marriage proposal made by a large land owner on behalf of his son, Nate, in a desperate attempt to provide for her siblings and keep them all together.  Little does she know that the man has more reasons behind his offer than simply providing a suitable wife for his son.

This book was an easy read.  I liked the setting and am always drawn to the strength of the women in that time period.  They had to be resourceful and determined.  There were times in the book that those qualities were a disservice to Lucy rather than an asset.  It made it difficult for her to receive Nate's love when it was finally offered.  By the second half of the book I was actually a little frustrated by her stubbornness.  Maybe that part dragged on a bit for me?  I wanted them to get on with things and just fall in love already!  But at the same time I could see how it applies to many of us in real life.  We can be just as stubborn about receiving love.

Some of the transitions in the book were a little off for me, how the characters would go from one emotion to the next or one difficulty to the next.  And there were a few times when I thought, "Okay, enough with the drama."  Lucy alone was cornered by a wolf-dog, attacked by a nasty ranch hand and bitten by a rattlesnake.  That's before you even mention the other characters and their various problems and aside from the drama of the story in general.

All in all it was a good book, and I would recommend it to a friend.

I was provided with a copy of this book by Booksneeze, but my opinions are my own.

The Easter Egg by Luke

Today is Luke's last day of kindergarten, and he's been coming home all week with all the papers he's accumulated over the year.  It has been fun to see what he's worked on as well as how much progress he's made.  I really hadn't realized how big a difference the year had made in his writing and ability to express his thoughts, but it's pretty stunning.  

This is from the beginning of the year.  The teacher had to decipher what he wrote.

                                                  This is from two months ago.

My favorite thing he came home with was a twelve page story called "The Easter Egg".  I'm not sure if it's finished or over how long of a period of time it was written, but I laughed out loud over several parts.  I don't expect any other person to appreciate this as much as I did, or even to read the whole thing.  But I wanted it saved digitally so that:

1. I can remember how much he made me smile with pride and genuine appreciation for his work. 

and 

2. He can know how much I cherished every accomplishment of his and how much I enjoyed watching him grow.

Plus, I know that I am every bit as bad about going on a "cleaning out" spree as my clutter free mother, and this will surely be thrown away in the heat of the moment.

Grandmothers, you don't get a pass on this; this is required reading for you. :)  If you need it to be larger you can click on the picture.