The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartime

Three siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories, filled with the wonder of Christmas

Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America’s involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana.

In White Christmas by Cara Putman, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements—until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help.

Abigail’s brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theatre in Sarah Sundin’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete’s friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he’s no longer the bully she once knew?

In Tricia Goyer’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, “Merry” to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that’s precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart.

The Turner family believes in God’s providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ’s birth and God’s plan for a future?

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I've had the delight in reviewing books by at least two of these authors in the past so when I saw that they had come together to write, I couldn't resist putting my name down to review and I am so glad that I gave in to temptation. Each story, in this book, has its own feel and yet, without a doubt, these three authors did an amazing job of tying their stories in with each other. By the time that you reach the end, this family feels as if they're your neighbors. Set during WWII, it shows just how tough times back home were while still showing you the love and hope that shined forth. If you're looking for a holiday read that is broken into the perfect pre-bedtime cuddle with a book, this one will keep you reading while still leaving you with enough energy to read the next novella the following night. Or, you could be like me and grab a blanket and a mug of something yummy and curl up on the couch for a bit of a holiday reading binge. Either way, you won't regret it.



I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review.  All thoughts, comments and opinions are my own.

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Did y'all know that it's only 6 weeks until Christmas? I suddenly realized that last night when I was looking at scheduling some posts over at Geekorama. Then, I had a moment of pure panic. I am just not organized about the holidays this year. Losing my grandma has thrown me all out of whack when it comes to anything that we used to spend with her. I don't even have my Christmas card list made let alone addresses collected or anything like that! Ahh!

Then I realized, treat.com may just save my hiney this year. I can go to the site, create a unique and personalized card and they can send it for me. No time standing in the store or waiting in line at the post office. Whew!

How about you? Are you set for the holidays? If not or heck, even if you are, why not head over to treat.com and try out the site? Create a card and then using the code TREATBLOGR, send off that card for Free*. Give them a shot and when you're done, come on back here and tell us about your experience. We would love to know!



*Free card offer only valid 11/19 and 11/20/2012.

This post is brought to you on behalf of treat.com. All comments, thoughts and opinions belong 100% to me.
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I know! I know! It's October! None of us want to hear about Holiday Cards, yet! Well, believe it or not, while some of us are cringing at the Santa Claus' in the stores, others are already planning out their holiday cards. They're browsing through all of the options and planning their family photos.

No matter which category you fall in, you cannot deny that Shutterfly has some of the greatest card choices for making personalized holiday cards. Every single year, I go there and I look through them, wishing that this year I had just a little extra money so that I could send out something like this instead of my dollar store selections. Do you guys feel the same way? If so, I have a bit of a treat for you...are you ready? How would you like the opportunity to win $50 off an order from Shutterfly? Now, I warn you that it won't include shipping and cannot be combined with other offers, but still, that's pretty awesome, right? I just love being able to bring things like this to you! Check out the Rafflecopter below and once you're done, why not browse the site a little and maybe even pick up a little something off their Special Offers page?


a Rafflecopter giveaway


This post brought to you by Shutterfly. All content is 100% mine because I wrote it. ) 

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I know that a lot of you are familiar with Tiny Prints. They have the nicest cards that you can get. This year, I was delighted when they asked me to write about their 2011 Holiday Card Line. Without a doubt, there is something there for everyone.

For me, I fell in love with the card you see to the left. When I saw the saying, all I could think about was my two boys doing the ToothBrush CanCan last Christmas Eve. Even though they're 10 and 11 (and growing up fast according to them), they still take such delight in the little things to do with the holidays.

Today, it snowed for the first (and absolutely not the last!) time this season. Roger was trying to catch the snow clumps (trust me, they weren't flakes!) and Ben was giggling and laughing as we "frantically" tried to get him into his new winter coat (thank goodness for sales!). Every year, they eagerly open up their pajamas that they get on Christmas Eve. I actually asked them this year if they were too old for that tradition and heck no, they most certainly are not they told me. They take as much delight in watching Christmas movies as they do in opening presents. It's all of the little things that add up into a great holiday season.

So like I said (How long ago was that? I think I've been rambling!), when I saw this card, I thought about how they take such joy in the little things that we do as a family. Without a doubt, this would be the card for my family this year. I think your cards should somehow reflect your family and this one really would. So, hip hip hooray for Christmas Day and for Tiny Prints.



This post was written in exchange for product from Tiny Prints. All thoughts, opinions and ramblings are 100% mine.


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Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Happy almost 4th of July, everyone! If you're like our family, you're going to enjoy the holiday and all of the fun that it entails. If you're also like our family, you want to add a bit of the "Going Green" philosophy to your holiday, so here are some tips:

1. If you're going to attend the fireworks, see if there are any within walking distance or find some friends and family that you can carpool with.

2. Add some locally raised veggies to the menu. Check out your local farmer's market for deliciousness!
3. Skip the paper and styrafoam plates. More often than not, these end up in the local landfill.
4. Make sure you turn off all burners and flames once you're done with them. Grilling is fun but hot grills are also dangerous when you have kids running about!

Since Corinna asked...I'm gonna tell!

SUPPLIES:

• Clear Glass Ornament
  
• Dye Re-inker (Stampin' Up! ink used for these - I do not know how other types of ink will work with this as I've only used SU Classic re-inkers)
  
• Paper Towel
  
• Fine Glitter (I use SU! Dazzling Diamonds Glitter for these or Martha Stewart super fine glitter -- the Dazzling Diamonds works better bc it's super sparkly but I couldn't find mine.)
  
• Small Powder Pal OR scrap paper shaped into a funnel
  
• Small container (I used dixie cups, but if I'd had any I would have used an empty plastic film container)

STEP 1:

Remove the top and hanger of the ornament (be careful as you're doing it as sometimes the glass is very thin and the hanger pops open as it's pulled out)

STEP 2:

Drip 18-20 drops of your ink into the ornament.




STEP 3:

Gently swirl the ink around until the ornament is fully covered. Once you get towards the top of the ornament, make sure that you cover the hole with paper towel, otherwise you'll have ink everywhere!

**DON'T shake the ornament w/ the ink - this creates a lot of bubbles and makes it look splotchy.**

Step 4:

Place ornament upside down over the small container to drain any excess ink.




Step 5:

Place the ornament onto paper towel and rotate it a bit to drain more of the ink (it tends to pool slightly at the opening and on the lip and if you don't drain the excess ink it will run and create streaks when you add the glitter).

Step 6:

Pour about 1 1/2 teaspoons of glitter into the ornament.

Step 7:

Place paper towel over opening and SHAKE the ornament until the glitter has fully covered the inside.

**If you can no longer hear any glitter hitting the inside and you don't think that it's covered enough, add more glitter and keep shaking.**

Step 8:

Turn your ornament over onto your Powder Pal (or scrap paper) and *gently* tap it to remove the excess glitter. When using darker ink colors the glitter will get dyed using it this way - you can save it to use w/ more ornaments of the same color - or you can store it in an empty film container/ziplock bag etc to use in other projects.

Note: these ornament use a LOT of glitter - I used an entire (small)container of Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter and had to break into a container of Martha Stewart Carrara marble glitter just to do 6 ornaments. So make sure you have plenty on hand for the amount of ornaments you're doing!




Step 9:

Gently put the topper and hanger back on to the ornament (I found the hanger sometimes scraped a little of the glitter off the inside but it's not noticeable). That's all there is to it. :)

Note: If you want to dye the ornaments without adding the glitter, just stop at Step 5. I will warn you though that without the glitter, these do take 2-3 days to dry fully.

My list:
1. Print out extra credit.
2. Put together and mail out Abby's package.
3. Buy book of stamps.
4. Finish dishes
5. Put out recycling.
6. Finish reading 1st chapter for close relationships
7. Study for Biopsych test.
8. Blog post from flickr pics.
9. Put batteries in charger.
10. Sign Christmas cards.

Okie, first things first! An update on last week's challenge. I got an email last night from Julia who let me know that the mystery object is actually a sugar holder! Who would have guessed?!? Certainly not me. I did a google image search and look what I found over on the Crafty Passions blog! It's the very same one, except it has the little shovel with it! Amazing! Thank you, Julia for letting me know about the treasure that I found!

Now, on to this week's challenge:
Being that it is December 1st, I'm sure that most of us are preparing for Christmas. This week's challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to get your Christmas/Holiday cards ready to go out in the mail. This means:

Make your list
Buy/Make/Steal..erm...ok, just buy or make your cards
Get them all written
Get those envelopes addressed
Put stamps on them

If you make your cards, I would totally love to see them! Post them on your blog and then post a link back here so we can all appreciate them. Either way, be sure to leave me a note letting me know that you've participated! You never know when I might decide to randomly RAK a participant!

I did! Yay me! I actually made this pretty ornament. I'm going to be making a whole bunch more of them for Christmas gifts. Who knows..maybe I'll actually list a few of the extras in my "someday I'm gonna use this" etsy shop. Until then, I hope you all enjoy these pics!