The Last Bride {Review}

The characters of Home to Hickory Hollow are back, and by now they seem like old friends.  Tessie Miller is the last of her sisters to marry, and while she's in love with Marcus King, her father has forbade them to marry.  So they secretly go behind his back and get married. While they continue to live with their parents, Tessie and Marcus carry on this secret marriage.  Till Marcus tragically dies and Tessie is thrown into a deep mourning that no one understands.  And it's only compounded when Tessie realizes she's pregnant.

As Tessie's world unravels, she's trapped holding on to multiple secrets and juggling who she is.  Will she find the strength to expose these secrets before she's shunned?  Or will she be stuck in mourning and miss the opportunities in front of her?

I love Beverly Lewis' style of writing and Home to Hickory Hollow has become a favorite series.  You don't have to read the books in order to follow the story, but it is fun to watch past characters play minor roles as the books evolve.  I found myself pulling for Tessie, at times pleading with her to reveal the truth, and in the end, relieved that she finds resolution.  Lewis delivers again with an amazing story and I'm happy to recommend this book.

*Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

2014 April Bookmarks

*Bookmarks is an online book club hosted at Creative2xmom. Here we discuss the books we've read in the past month as well as the suggested reading. Our suggested reading for April was I Have Loved You: Getting to Know the Father's Heart by Cynthia Heald.

These are the books I read this month:

The Kissing Bridge by Tricia Goyer-- See review here.

Book I read with the kids this month:

None-Started one, haven't finished--

Our suggested reading for April was I Have Loved You: Getting to Know the Father's Heart by Cynthia Heald-- These daily devotionals start with a real life example, delve into a Biblical example, and wrap up with an application.  Having grown up in the church, I've always heard "The Lord loves you," "You're loved like a child of God," "He love you like a Father."  But Heald said it in such a refreshing, real way... I actually heard it.  I don't know if it's where I'm at in life, but this book was deep for me, transforming,... real.  I love it!

So what are your bookmarks this month?

Tell us in the comments about the books you're chewing on. Or link up a review from your own blog. Let's share the books we're finding, good and bad. And give us your thoughts on I Have Loved You, Getting to Know the Father's Heart.

And join us for our next bookmarks post coming May 30th when we discuss The Values Driven Child: Parenting with Purpose by Larry Shealy.

*Linked to these Parties

A Peek into our Homeschool Week

Homemade Scale for Comparing Weights

10 Goals This Week

Here's how I did last week:

Parenting:

• Take a kid on a date?
• Start a new chapter book

Blogging:

• Record 2-3 vlogs
• Start review book

Homemaking:

• Try glow in the dark bubbles
• Finish up Easter baskets
• Put up new kids' beds
• Make Peanut Butter eggs

Personal:

• Get 8.5 hrs sleep/night
• Workout 4-5 days/one day of yoga

These are my 10 Goals for the Week:

Parenting:

• Take a kid on a date (have to do this)
• Field trip, 2 dentist appointments, 3 baseball games

Blogging:

• Record 2-3 vlogs
• Start review book, continue in book club book

Homemaking:

• Try glow in the dark bubbles
• Purge kids' rooms
• Work in backyard
• Try 1 new recipe

Personal:

• Get 8.5 hrs sleep/night
• Workout 4-5 days/one day of yoga

What are Your Goals for the Week?

Easter Baskets 2014

Easter Bunny Playdoh {Pinterest Inspired}

I love adding extra little surprises to my kids easter baskets so when I came across this idea for Easter Bunny Playdoh, I had to try it.  What a cute idea!  It's one of those super easy, economical ideas that makes me shake my head and say, "Why didn't I think of that?"

So I whipped up a batch last night and packaged up three: one for little man, one for my niece, and one for my nephew.  It's your basic homemade playdough idea, but packaged in a cute way.  My only word of caution is to make sure you have gel food coloring or use a packet of kool-aid.  I used gel coloring and it took quite a bit of yellow to get the orange color that I wanted.

Fill treat bags from Wiltons and tie them off with some pretty green ribbon.  And you have a wonderful addition to your child's easter basket.  Or a great spring party favor.  Enjoy!

10 Goals This Week

Here's how I did (23weeks ago):

Parenting:

• Finish chapter book
• Take second kid on a date

Blogging:

• Record 1-2 vlogs
• Make March DIY project

Homemaking:

• Try a new recipe
• Try glow in the dark bubbles
• Work on MM party details

Personal:

• Get 8.5 hrs sleep/night
• Workout 4-5 days/one day of yoga

These are My 10 Goals This Week

Parenting:

• Take a kid on a date?
• Start a new chapter book

Blogging:

• Record 2-3 vlogs
• Start review book

Homemaking:

• Try glow in the dark bubbles
• Finish up Easter baskets
• Put up new kids' beds
• Make Peanut Butter eggs

Personal:

• Get 8.5 hrs sleep/night
• Workout 4-5 days/one day of yoga

What are Your Goals for the Week?

Brownie Batter Dip (Pinterest Inspired)

Really?  Really?  Who can possibly see "Brownie Batter Dip" on Pinterest and not click on the photo?

I can't!

So when we had company a couple of weeks ago, I pulled out this recipe for a yummy dessert.  It had fruit so that makes it healthy right?

Brownie Batter Dip

(from Crumbs and Chaos)

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 c. butter

2-3 c. powdered sugar

5 Tbsp flour

5 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp brown sugar

3+ Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1. Beat together the cream cheese and butter.

2. Add 2 c. powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp milk until combined.

3. Add flour, cocoa powder, brown, sugar, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp more of milk if needed to thin.  Beat until smooth.  Add remaining powdered sugar and milk until you reach desired consistency.

4. Serve with fruit, pretzels, vanilla wafers, and graham crackers.

Over all, I really liked this.  It was an easy way to serve a fun dessert for family or company.  The dip was a little sweet and I'll play with the sugar in the future.  But it was good.  And I'll definitely make it again.

Have you tried any good recipes lately?

10 Non-Candy Items to Fill Your Easter Eggs

Easter's coming up quick, quick, quick.  Here I am thinking it's great that Easter is so late this year, giving me extra time to think and plan.  But wait!  It's now the second week of April and Easter's almost here.  So if you're looking for an alternative to the standard candy filled egg hunt, here are some ideas to help get you started:

Money--This one's my favorite.  A few rolls of quarters, dimes, and nickels and the kids will love hunting for some change.

Trail Mix--You can pick up some ready made mix or make your own.  I love making a mix of cranberries, white chocolate, and pumpkin seeds.

Stickers--The Dollar Tree carries a huge variety of stickers from seasonal to character.  And they make a great filler for Easter eggs.

Cheddar Bunnies--My little ones love goldfish and cheddar bunnies are a fun seasonal treat.  Plus they're not loaded with sugar.

Legos--My eight year old is obsessed with Legos and they make a great addition to an egg hunt.

Balloons-- Punch balloons, water balloons, party balloons... they're all great ideas for filling Easter eggs.

Bracelets--My daughter loves getting little bracelets, rings and jewels so they make a fun addition to Easter egg hunting.

Playdoh--Homemade playdoh or small containers... what a fun idea!

Bubbles--Dollar Tree carries small containers of wedding bubbles that fill perfectly in an Easter egg.

Cars--Again, dollar store has a great selection for little boys.

Really I'm probably going to pick up a variety of all of these for Easter this year.  We have a variety of ages and genders and it should be fun to see the surprised looks on their faces.

What are your favorite Non-Candy Items for Filling Easter Eggs?

Weekend Links

Vintage Circus Birthday

Neon Tween Dance Birthday Party

Play-doh Themed Birthday Party

Monster Themed Baby Shower

Ice Cream Shoppe Birthday Party

The Kissing Bridge {Review}

Rebecca Troyer is determined never to feel helpless again.  But in order to do that, she must leave her Amish community, risk the shunning, and travel far from home to earn a nursing degree.  Not just for herself, but also for her family.  On a whim, she stops on her journey to visit a friend in Montana and discovers a world where Englishers and Amish work and live alongside each other.  But she also discovers a young man who takes a quick interest in her sense of adventure.

Caleb is running from his own past and grief.  Hiding behind his grandfather's words, he loves his Amish roots, but craves more.  Can any Amish woman satisfy his need for adventure?

Spending one week together in the wilderness, they just might find that running from their pasts won't get them where they want to go.  But it might also lead them to each other.

This is actually the first book I've ever read by Tricia Goyer.  And although I liked the story, it wasn't all that I had hoped for.  Rebecca and Caleb came off as believable humans, but some of the things they said and did didn't line up with their Amish background.  Rebecca, in particular, didn't come across as believable.  Her human emotions where real, but her background lacked in her actions.  And that did eventually affect the story.

I don't know how I really feel about this book.  Eliminate the Amish character, and it's a good story.  Try to make the characters Amish... I just didn't buy it.

*Disclaimer: I reeeived a free copy of this book for review.  All opinions are my own.