The Harvest of Grace by Cindy Woodsmall

The Harvest Of Grace is the third book in the Ada's House Series.  I did not realize when I got this book that I would be reading the third book of a series that I have never read before.  That didn't matter at all.  This is a great "stand alone" book and I am sure a great "3'rd installment" as well.   It drew me into the character's lives and I will be heading to the library ASAP to pick up the 1'st and 2'nd books of the series.  That is one of the things I loved about this book.  It captivated my interest so much and I became so attached to the character's that I want to know more about their history.  Beginning with the very first chapter it had my attention.  I couldn't put it down and to tell you the truth, it cost me a few hours of sleep. :)

One great thing about this book is that if you decide to read it without reading the whole series it has a nice summary at the beginning of the book.  It tells "The Story So Far" giving a brief description of The Hope Of Refuge and The Bridge of Peace (the first two books in the series).  That way you have a little history and a little knowledge of some of the characters you will be reading about.  It also has at the back of the book, a list of the main character's  and a description of each.  I found this extra helpful and found myself flipping to the back of the book a couple time as I began the story to see who they were and how they were related.

One of the main points of this book is God's forgiving grace, accepting that grace, and giving that grace to other's who have done you wrong as well.  It's not always easy but with a lot of prayer we can forgive those who have hurt us.   This book is such a pleasant reminder of that.  I would definetly recommend this book as it is a great read and an encouragement in your daily walk with Him.

**I received this book free of charge from Multnomah Books in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions I have expressed are my own.

Rate this review for a chance to win a free book!!!

What the World Needs...

Sometimes you run across something so good it just needs repeating.  One of my friends posted this tonight on their Facebook:

It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife than to be Miss America. The world has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need woman, and men, too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct. ~ Peter Marshall

1950's Birthday Party

Bethany wanted to celebrate her Birthday with a 1950's party!  What a blast we had!  We had 50's music, poodle skirts, ice cream floats, bubble gum blowing contests, drag races, 50's charades and to top it off we had each person write down a few sentences to Bethany using 50's "lingo" so we can put it in her scrapbook.   The party was a hit and Bethany declared it the best Birthday she ever had!  Here's a few pictures of our fun time.

My sweet Bethany all decked out in her 50's outfit!

My wonderful neice Katy!  Isn't she pretty!

The whole gang!  I absolutely love this photo!  I told the girls to look at Dakota like "he's so dreamy"  It took a while to get the right expressions.  Sister and cousins had a bit of trouble thinking that way. Hee! Hee!

Charades!

Bubble gum blowing contest.

More charades!

The Birthday cake!

Another one of my pretty girl!

Bethany and her cake!

Drag races with hotwheels and straws.

Dakota is so goofy!

The girls!

Who wants an ice cream float?

Bethany insisted that Daisy had a poodle skirt too. lol!

Happy13'th Birthday Bethany!

Sweet little Bethany Rose, the sweetest little Rose that grows and grows.  That's the song I sang to you as a baby as I held you in my arms.  You are still my sweet Bethany Rose, but no longer  so little.  I have been watching you grow, watching you bloom into the sweet young lady that you are becomming.  You are so beautiful inside and out and a mother couldn't be more prouder than I am of you.  You are such a special girl and I know that God has a great plan for your life.  Continue to trust in Him and walk in the light.  Momma loves you!!

Terrorist Groups in Churches

Beware of Terrorist Groups in Church.  Latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin. Their leader, Lucifer Bin Workin, trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy. However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell known by the name Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along. Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ. We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master, Jesus Christ to return. NO CHURCH IS EXEMPT! (However, you can spot them if you bin lookin and bin goin.)

:):):)A friend of mine recently posted this on Facebook and I just had to share it.  :):):)

Independence Day

I absolutely love the 4'th of July.  I mean really LOVE it!  There is just something about the BBQ's, the family get togethers, the fireworks, that just makes me so happy.  Tonight when we realized that most of our neighbors were setting off their fireworks we got in our suits and enjoyed the show from the pool!  Tomorrow night we'll set off ours and probably go for a night swim when we are done.  We are so enjoying our new pool!!  Monday we will be having a family BBQ and then head to one of the surrounding towns to watch a firework display. 

I've been searching the Internet over looking at some of the 4'th of July goodies and here are a few of my favorites!

Don't you just love the looks of these strawberries!  They are dipped in white chocolate and rolled in blue colored sugar.  I am thoroughly convinced that they must taste as good as they look.

And these ice-cream sandwiches are too cute for words!  Same idea here....dipped in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles.  I found both of these patriotic treats over at Simply Home and Family.

I was super excited about these patriotic jello snacks that I found over at Green Acres Hobby Farm and decided it was just what we needed at our family BBQ, but do you know I could not find blue jello anywhere. BOO! 

One last one!  Isn't this fruit kebab flag so fun!  One year I made red, white and blue fruit kebabs but never thought of arranging it to look like a flag.  I will have to try this. :):):)

My herb garden

My herb garden is flourishing.  I've been harvesting several herbs from the garden (along with other herbs in various places in our yard.

I've been drying most of them for future uses, but I have made some comfrey salve, some wild violet and plantain salve, along with the dandelion salve that I made in the spring.  Right now I have some basil vinegar steeping that I am going to use to marinate venison and I am also trying a home made herbal bug spray.   I'll let you know how it works.  It should be done steeping around the 4'th of July and I'll be able to test it out then.

Me and Bethany recently got poison sumac and we discovered that aloe from our aloe plant helps stop the itching!  Tea tree oil was another thing that helped!

Hello Summer...

...and the longest day of the year!  Now I think I'll just sit back and watch the garden grow.  Oh, if it was really that simple.  Not that I am complaining!  I love working in the garden and getting my hands dirty.  Which reminds me of a little gardening tip that I read today.   If you are a gardener you probably are familiar with "permadirt"  you know, the dirt that won't come off a gardener's hands no matter how long or hard they scrub.  I hate wearing gloves in the garden.  I feel restricted, but the price I pay is dirty hands and fingernails.  I can't help but think of Scarlet O'Hara saying "momma always said you can tell a lady by her hands".  I don't have to worry about what my momma thinks.  She's a gardener too, but according to the tip I read today, if you run your fingernails over a bar of soap before going out to the garden, (get the soap down in your fingernails) it will keep the dirt from getting in there and will wash right off when you come in and suds up!  I think it's definitely worth a try!

I thought I'd share a few pictures of how my garden is growing.  Remember those seeds I started indoors back in March?  To my surprise they have turned into some awesome plants!

Here is one of the tomato plants that I started.  They are doing so much better than the store bought plants that I purchased.  If they produce well I will definitely be starting seeds again next year.

And so far it looks like they are going to produce great!  Here are some cherry tomatoes!  I just can't wait to get my first ripe tomato!

Another plant that I started from seed.  The marigold!  I planted them at the end of some of my rows in the garden.  They are such an easy plant to care for.  I plan on collecting the seeds from the plants themselves this year!

Corn!  After a poor year of corn last year I am really hoping and praying for a bumper crop this year!   Don't ya just love my little wooden signs! 

Tomatoes!!  This year I found some old wire fencing that I used for tying up the plants rather than having to stake each plant.  We still had a lot to stake.  I know where some more wire fencing is and next year I'll use more.  I kinda like the looks of it!

I planted basil in between some of my tomato plants.  It is supposed to repel aphids, mosquitoes and flies!  I have so much basil that is so lush this year I am going to try a pesto recipe, but I'll save that for another post.

We've been picking plenty of cucumbers!  Yummo!

I planted Nasturtium in between my squash plants this year to help repel squash bugs.  Did you know you can eat nasturtium?  Even the flowers?  Haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to. :)

Green Beans!  I noticed this evening that the plants are full of blooms and some of them already have teeny tiny beans on them.  It won't be long!

You can't really see in the pictures, but I always plant a row of Sunflowers on the edge of the garden. 

So far we have been blessed with rain when we need it and everything is looking great!  I've been picking plenty of lettuce for the bunnies too! :)

18 Years Ago...

...God blessed me with a beautiful 7 lb. 4 oz. baby boy.  He's not so much a baby anymore, but still such a blessing. 

As this day was approaching I began asking myself "How do you go from having a child to having an adult?"  It actually weighed heavily on my mind.  Last night the answer came.  You don't do anything different.  From the day your child is born you begin the preparations.  From the time they let go of your fingers to take that first step, to the time they stop running to you every time they get a scrape or a "boo boo".  As they grow they began to make decisions on their own.  It starts out small, like perhaps the clothes they will wear for the day, I still remember the times I just smiled at the mismatched outfits that he chose.  Just like that,  the decisions he may make in life may not always be the choice I would have made, but I have to trust.  Trust in God, trust in the raising and the guidance I have given him thus far in life, trust that the foundation that he is standing on is firm, and trust that even though he is embarking on a new chapter in his life that he will always have a place for his mother. :)

Dakota, 

As I look at the man you have become I couldn't be more proud.  I take no credit.  It has been God.  A merciful God, who has taken our messed up, broken lives and turned them around for his glory.   If there is anything that I would want you to remember, to carry with you throughout your adulthood it would be to trust in the Lord.   Hold fast to your faith, hold fast to God.  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  He has all the answers, He wipes away all the tears.  He is there when you feel alone, He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.  Remember to always praise Him, in the good times and in the bad.  Rejoice evermore and pray without ceasing.  God has all the answers. Never forget where He has brought you from and trust in Him to lead you where He wants you to go.  I love you more than words can describe.  Happy Birthday! 

Love, MOM

A Bright Sunshiny Day

We have so enjoyed the break in rain this week. 

Yesterday we finished planting our raised beds. 

I can almost taste the yummy strawberries and cannot wait to use my herbs for cooking and medicinal purposes!!

 Our ducks - Mac, Quackers, Ginger and Dorothy enjoyed the day too!

I think they were posing for this shot.

 We got all 8 bunnies out and let them hop around.

 Daisy loved playing with the bunnies!

 Doesn't she look like she's having fun!

This is Basil - our only steel out of the bunch.