Coffee Talk 1.20.12

Good morning!

Another day of in and out!  We are in the midst of schooling so I'm just dropping in for a moment.  At the moment, FB is reading and listening to Great Expectations, the other two school kiddos are doing their math assignments and I got Tigercub playing with Playdoh so I could sneak in here for a moment!

Nothing too exciting to say about the week.  We  had a normal week of activities and the normal running around.  We seem to be finally getting back into our normal routine after the Christmas holidays!

Tigerfan and I stayed up each night and worked on our adoption education courses and I can now proudly say, WE ARE THROUGH!  Yay, one step closer!

Today I hope to finish up another jewelry board that we are making to donate to our Orphan Care silent auction...hoping it will be really cute, of course I will post pictures next week.

I have also been reading a book that I TOTALLY recommend if you have children, or are planning on having children one day!  It is called Parenting by the Book by John Rosemond.  It is so common sense and yet common sense seems to have left our world these days.  I am telling you...I have been freed up so much in the past couple of weeks!  Now, if you love all the (in the words of the author) "psycho-babble" that has come out in the past 60 years, you may not appreciate the help this book offers, but he has basically thrown out all the advice given by "experts" over the last few decades and gone back to the REAL instruction manual...the Bible.  It makes SO MUCH SENSE, and yet I have really gotten sucked into so much of the modern ideas.  I am one of those guilt ridden, stressed out, hovering mamas...and I don't have to be!  As I have read this book, my eyes have been so opened...what do I want for my children?  I want them to be God fearing, Christ centered, service oriented men and women.  So why do I spend so much time teaching them to excel in academics, why do I stress myself out over getting an A, why do I hover when they do their work?  I want them to be self governing, but I am teaching them that they can't be successful unless I am inching them along each step of the way.

SO...this week, I have stepped back.  I have given them instruction, and then let them go.  If they fail, it is their fault and they learn they have to work harder.  If they succeed, they are proud because they did it ON THEIR OWN!  I have had less stress this week than I have had in fourteen years and it feels great!  AND...I am not even done yet.  More changes will be coming, I just need time to finish reading, praying and figuring it all out!  I just wish that I would have started this several years ago because I have a lot of bad habits to break now...we will all be grateful for it in the end, however...I really believe that.

Anyway, this weekend we will be doing some "honey do's" around the house.  We have our in home Home Study visit this week so we want to be prepared.  We also will celebrate Dancer's ninth birthday and Tigerfan's ? birthday, so we will be enjoying LOTS of celebrating.  I will TRY to add some pics next week...if I can get my act together.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend and I look forward to visiting with you!  Be sure to head over to Home Sanctuary for more Coffee Talk!

Book Review: Resurrection in May

I finally finished reading my second Booksneeze book. I really chose it just because it was one of the only few available and I drug my feet a little getting started. I won't be so slow next time. This book was amazing. It was provided for me free, by Thomas Nelson, in exchange for a review.

Wow! That is the first thing that comes to mind after reading Resurrection in May by Lisa Samson. I am not sure what I expected. Maybe a light love story, easy to read while sitting by the pool. What I didn’t expect was to be so emotionally drawn into the lives of Claudius and May and Eli. This book is POWERFUL. I laughed and I cried, and I might have sobbed once or twice!

I love that this book, set on a little farm in Kentucky, was totally unpredictable. The characters were real. The emotions intense. The faith story profound. It is story of struggle and friendship and the love of a savior that never gives up on us, never forgets us, never leaves us even in our darkest times. It is a book I will not soon forget.

Love On a Dime by Cara Lynn James

Being a lover of reading, especially during the summer, I was thrilled to discover Booksneeze. It is a book review website that will send you FREE books in exchange for honest reviews about them. I couldn't resist the lure of free books and so, I got onboard. I recently received my first book and read it in two days while we were on a little weekend trip. If you need a little summer reading suggestion, read below:

Love On a Dime is a novel about a young, society lady in 1899 who hides her writing to avoid the judgement of the wealthy crowd she is a part of. Set in Newport, Rhode Island, the story sends you back to an era of propriety, balls, and social luncheons. Cara Lynn James has done a wonderful job of describing the plight of Lillian Westbrook as she deals with the repercussions of her decisions.

Being a lover of historical fiction, I found myself drawn into the descriptions of times past. I loved the contrasts between the social elite and the “working class” that were so prevalent during this time. The characters fit well and I found myself drawn into their stories. I tend to stay away from these christian romances because I often find the heroes of these stories too perfect, however, Jack was a great hero in his humanness. He was imperfect, and I like that.

This book was a great, light, summer read. Not only was it a fun, entertaining story, but the spiritual lessons that were woven throughout have really challenged me in some areas of my own life. If you enjoy a historical romance, I would recommend this novel.

This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for a review.