Happy Thanksgiving

May your day be blessed with

close family,

 wonderful friends,

plenty to eat, and 

help in the kitchen.

God Bless you Everyone.

Jettie

Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks by K D McCrite

Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks

Confessions of 

April Grace

by

K. D. McCrite

Published by

Tommy Nelson

a division of 

 Thomas Nelson Publishing

April Grace Reilly and her family live in Northwestern Arkansas, on aptly named Rough Creek Road.

New neighbors from California bought the house just down the road, which needed lots of work to be livable, so her parents ask them to stay with them, until the house is fixed. 

The first day of school, the new neighbor, Isabel has an accident on the rough road, which means that they'll be living with them even longer.

Soon April's mother becomes ill, and scares her to distraction, afraid her mother is dying.  And Lily, April's mother,  won't be able to direct the Christmas play at their church.  Isabel is recruited to direct the play.

Even though this book is directed toward young teens, I found it very interesting, and it kept my attention all the way through.  It has a great message about tolerance and acceptance.  When I first started reading,being from the northern part of Arkansas,  I have to say I was a little disconcerted to find that the book was set in Arkansas, and was afraid it would portray us as 'Hicks', but it does not, and for that I am very glad.  

I received this book to read and review, from Booksneeze.  No other compensation was received.  I am not required to give a positive review, all opinions expressed here are my own.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R35WYQVVOQ2DLX

HOUSE OF SECRETS by Tracie Peterson

Bethany House publishers
Contemporary Fiction

Imagine 3 little girls on a stairwell landing, watching their father mix medication for their mentally ill  mother, while crying, and saying he's doing it for the children. Then their mother is hauled away in an ambulance, and dies.
Can you imagine their thoughts?

 Then raised in boarding schools and  by nannies while their father works.
Fast forward about 15 years, and their father wants them to all go back to the vacation home where they were staying when their mother died.  He tells them he has news for them.

On top of all this, Bailee has been offered a job in NY, with Mark Delahunt, who she feels more than a bit of attraction to, but she isn't ready for romance.

This is what faces Bailee Cooper and her sisters, Geena and Piper, as they head for Washington state, and a meeting with their father, and his surprise.

I received this book from Bethany House to read and review.  No other compensation was given.  All opinions expressed here are my own, I'm not required to give positive reviews.

My opinion of this book is it scores  4 out of 5 stars.

Someone knows me well...

A few weeks ago, I found the lantern at a 'big box store', and I just had to have it, though 

hubby wasn't so sure I needed it.

It is a candle holder, but I didn't have candles that showed well in it.

Today, a box came in the mail, that had the 3 oval boxes inside, and when we opened the last one

SURPRISE

5 small orange candles, that fit perfectly into the holder.

(I say we, because my 8 year old grandson, Jd, is here, and you know how it is with kids and packages')

My 'sister' knows me well, she knew I loved 'trinket boxes' as I call them, and those beautiful candles are the perfect thing.

  She also my shoulder to cry on, whenever I'm blue, the one who makes me laugh, when I need a big chuckle, we almost share a birthday I'm about 3 1/2 weeks her senior, and that makes me the 'big sister',

and though we aren't sisters by blood, we are sisters ..

 very special Sister in Christ.

Thank you 'TRose' for the birthday gift.  

Veterans Day

God Bless all the men and women who have served, and are still serving, to keep our country free.
This is to my Nephew, Tim, who leaves soon for Afghanistan.  Great Uncle Oscar, and my Grandfather, Luther, who fought in WWI. For my father, Troy, who never left American soil, during WWII, got his back broken while on training maneuvers and spent 13 months in a hospital halfway across the country from his family.  For my Uncles, Arlie and Hervie, my great great grandfather, Joseph, and his father, Gamliel, who served in the Civil War, Gamliel gave his life, and Joseph gave his health for the Union.  And for my GGG Grandfather Abner, who fought to help free this country from the British.

Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling

After her father's death, Cassie Lockwood discover that her 'Uncle Jason' has made bad investments, and has disappeared with what little cash was left of the Wild West Show, that was owned by her father. When she learns that what little is left of the show, will go to the bank that holds the lien, she and a few of the other members of the show, along with some of the beloved animals, head out to South Dakota, to find the land her father had owned, and was now hers. The only trouble, there were no real directions. Caught in a blizzard, will they survive to find the land?


This is the first of a series, and I hope to get to finish it, when the rest are released.


I received this book to read and review, from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing. No other compensation was given, all opinions expressed here are my own. I am not required to give a positive review. 

A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander

This is the 2nd book that I have read, that was written by Tamera Alexander, the first, I dearly loved. This one is even better, if at all possible.


Claire loves painting, and wants to paint something to bring acclaim to her name. Instead she is forced to paint forgeries of other artists work for her father. 
After he dies, she escapes to Nashville TN, which is still in turmoil after the Civil War. 


I recieved this book from Litfuse to read and review, no other compensation was given. 
I am not required to give a positive review, all opinions expressed here are my own.

THE ENCOUNTER BY Stephen Arterburn

Thomas Nelson Publishing

Jonathan Rush was given up for adoption when he was 4 years old.  He went to an orphan's home in Fairbanks Alaska, where he spent several years, before he was adopted. He has since become a wealthy businessman and along the way, married 3 times, all of which have failed.  His anger at his birth mother for not loving him, and giving him up for adoption has grown so much that he's even attempted suicide.  His minister has suggested he go to see if he can find anything about his mother, and if she had a reason for giving him away, and try to find forgiveness.
He arrives in Fairbanks, unprepared for the winter climate, and is met with the rumor that he plans to move his business operation to Alaska.  He meets a young reporter who asks questions, for which he refuses to give answers.  Before long, she convinces him to let her help look for information on his mother.
They find Mercy, a woman who knew his mother, but refuses to give him information other than his mother loved him, which he is unwilling to believe.

This is a short book, 167 pages, and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Though it is written as fiction, and the characters are fictional, I'm sure at some point, this story has it's base in truth.  The author, Stephen Arterburn, is the founder of WOMEN OF FAITH, which I am sure you have heard about, at some point.

I received a copy of this book from Booksneeze, to read and review.  No other compensation was given.  All opinions expressed here are my own, and I am not required to give a positive review.

The Mercy by Beverly Lewis

Rose and Hen are sisters, raised Amish, though Hen never joined the church, and married an 'Englisher'.
She and her husband, Brandon, are separated, and she moves back near her parents.  Her husband was in a car accident, lost his sight, and had other injuries, so he moved to the farm and Hen is caring for him.

Rose broke up with the man she was engaged to, because she just didn't feel it was a good match.  Her brother,  sets her up with another guy, who is related to his wife.  Rose thinks she can love this one, but then he begins showing that he doesn't follow the Amish way, and has never been baptized.

Nick, who was raised by the Petershiem family, but left when an accident took the life of their son.  He has returned, and decided to be baptized into the church, and want to set things straight about the cause of the accident.

I enjoyed this book, but wish I had read the 2 that came before it, before reading.  I kind of felt as if I'd come in at the middle of a movie.

I was given a copy of this book to read and review, no other compensation was given.  All opinions expressed here are my own.

THE CROSSING by Serita Jakes

Published by Waterbrook Press

Ten years after the murder of a beloved high school teacher, BJ Remington, on the way home from a football game, on the bus with the players and cheerleaders, Claudia is having flashbacks and panic attacks, reliving that night.  Her husband, Vic, an assistant DA, decides to investigate, to see if the cold case murder can be solved.
Casio Hightower was also on the bus that night, and had been shot in the arm, ending his season, and the hopes for scholarships to college, and hopefully a pro career. He's become a policeman, following in his father, Gabe's, footsteps.  Gabe is the one who had investigated the murder originally, and Vic and Gabe hope he can remember something that might help solve the case.  But how many lives will solving this decade old murder impact?  How many others might die, because of the investigation?

This is a murder mystery, love story, and more, rolled into one book.  I read a lot of books, but this one is special.  You actually feel you are on the bus, during the flashbacks, and are trying to see who pulled the trigger.

I received this book free to read and review.  No other compensation was given.  All opinions expressed are my own.

THEY HAVE THE BEST HAMS AND BACON IN THE WORLD.
THEY HOSTING A GIVE AWAY, AND I'M ENTERING
http://pjmeats.blogspot.com/2011/11/dishwasher-ham.html

The Bakers Wife by Erin Healy

Audrey's husband, Geoff, was the pastor of the local church, until he was fired after being accused of paying for an abortion for his son's girlfriend. He and Audrey opened a bakery, and all was going pretty well, until the girl's mother disappears, after Audrey hits her motor scooter in the fog. Then Ed, the husband accuses them of hiding her body.

This is a very well written book, lots of side tracks, which make you have to pay attention. I really enjoyed it, and think that anyone who likes a mystery would make short work of the book.

I recieved a copy of this book to read and review from Litfuse. No other compensation was given. All opinions expressed are my own