The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

This book, Breath of Dawn, was a great read! It has so many different elements in it (suspense, romance, history, etc) and a large cast of believable characters! It is a long-ish book, which is great, because once you begin reading it you hope it'll go on and on!

The book focuses on a young woman, Quinn, who is terrorized by an ex-prisoner she helped send to jail. She is trying to make a life for herself but soon finds that she cannot run from this man's reach.

There is another kind of tragic figure, Morgan--a highly successful businessman who has lost his wife in an accident and is devoted to his baby daughter.

The story is not, however, just about these two individuals (who of course end up together--it is partly a romance, remember?!) There is also a loving family, some not-so-loving family members, a marriage of convenience, a growing love, the overcoming of a huge problem in one of the characters' history, and so much other extraneous stuff that ties in to the story.

I want to be careful to not give too much away, as it is so enjoyable to discover it through reading this story!

I would certainly recommend this book to the fiction reader. There were a few things which I thought were a bit unrealistic, but they added to the story. The only thing I REALLY disliked about this book is the cover--really weird, and what on earth do the boats have to do with the story? And the girl's face/shoulder on the cover--very odd looking, I thought. So--superficial, but truthfully made me put this book on the bottom of my reading pile. Glad I finally got to it though! So just overlook the cover and read the book!

I received this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review. I just liked the book!

running. . .running still!

Running, who'd have thought it? :) Last year I (for some reason? Don't know why, must have been a push from God maybe?) started running. Now, I have always disliked running. I began with using a Couch to 5K program (you can see my first post about it here). I did mention it again another month into it here. But guess what? I'm still running! I cannot believe it myself. :)

Now, I'm not a great runner, I'm not a fast runner, I'm not even a distance runner! I just basically run between 1.5 and 3 miles three times a week. But HEY!! I'm still running! I'm not thin, I'm not athletic, but I RUN!!

I have a sister who runs, she began a little before me, and this fall she ran in and completed her first marathon; she's also a thin little thing who always looks good and. . .and. . .and. . .

I think that Satan uses these thoughts in my mind to compare with myself and make me feel bad, but you know what? Nope! I am running because I LIKE to :) and because it's healthy for me, and because my legs are now super-strong (hahahahaha--maybe not super strong, but I do notice when I hike with my kids I can hold out a lot longer than them before needing a rest!!)

SO -- let me encourage you -- if you have any inclination to run or begin a running program -- give it a try! I really liked the couch to 5K way of easing you into it, with mostly walking and a little running at first, enough to make you not get too easily discouraged. Give it a try!!

*****and as a sidenote to a previous post about running, I did not like running in the summer better--felt like I was dying (!) well kind of -- for me it's SO much more comfortable running in 20 degree weather with a bit of bundling up!

So--what do you think? Do you run? Are you thinking of it? Go for it!! I'd love to hear about your running in the comments section here!

Knitting inspiration!

Knitting! I've been inspired! I know I already wrote a post about knitting a couple of months ago (here) but I'm still keeping up with it! I have made several really cute hats (kind of limiting myself to hats to this point!)

I'm not a great knitter, I knit very loosely, and don't take the time to do the gauge thing of knitting a square to see if it's the right size -- so far I've just used a couple of sizes smaller needles and they've come out okay :)

So to show off a few of my cute things. . .

The fish hat!! SOOOO cute and not too hard! The instructions came from this site-- (fish hat) and here's my "finished" picture

This next one is really cute too and can be worn a couple of different ways.

the pattern for this one came from ravelry HERE.

And now I'm working on this. . .

just a random, no-pattern hat, knitting on these teeny little size 3 needles, since I can't find my bigger ones. Oh well, it'll stretch!

:) So what have I learned so far?

1--I prefer to work stuff (well, hats at least!) on 4 or 5 double pointed needles rather than on circular needles.

2--I cannot figure out circular needles!!

3--for hats, loose knitting doesn't matter SO much because you can always line them with polar fleece!! (and that makes them warmer and more wind-proof!)

So--I'm definitely in a hat rut. Not sure what else I should try -- I don't need to make mittens, since I already have a system for making mittens (see my post HERE. Feel free to leave ideas in comments! :)

(joining up with Downhome Blog Hop found here!!)

Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn

Interesting, fun, uplifting, encouraging!

:) Great book! I enjoyed reading this one! Sisterchicks in Gondolas is the story of two women from the US and a trip they took to Venice for a week to serve ministers and to laugh and enjoy the area together. I don't want to give away any of this book! Read it! It's great!

I WILL give you a little info about it -- Sue, who is the wife of a recently paralyzed husband, accompanies her sister-in-law Jenna (herself a divorced single mother of an adult daughter) to Venice -- to cook for a small group of ministers/missionaries from various places around the world. They both relax, release guilts which are holding them, and develop hope and lightness for the future. They move through quite a process of self-discovery and spiritual growth and freedom in this week overseas.

There are funny parts, touching parts, interesting trivia, and an all-around entertaining story. The woman Jenna discovers that "I'm not done!" and that there is still a lot of her life left to live, enjoy, and serve. Sue regains a whole new look at herself and her life and a new devotion to the Lord.

This book is not only a sweet story, it also makes you think a bit about your life, where you are, and what you have yet ahead of you. It gives hope that the Lord still can use you!

I'd definitely recommend this book! Read it~~Give it as a gift~~enjoy it and let God speak to you through it!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through their Blogging for Books program. I was not required to write a positive review.

Betrayal by Robin Lee Hatcher --Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

Are you looking for a new series of fiction/historical/romance books to read? This book, Betrayal, by Robin Lee Hatcher is the second book in a series (see the end of this post--I'm giving away book 1 and 2!!) that focuses on adults who were orphaned and separated as children in the 1800's and who long to be reunited. The first book (Belonging) focused on Felicia, the middle daughter. This book, Betrayal, takes a look at Hugh, the eldest brother.

Betrayal is the story of Julia, recently widowed from an abusive husband, running a ranch alone, and intimidated by her ex-brother-in-law who wants her land. Hugh enters the picture randomly, as he's traveling through the area and his horse becomes injured. He takes a position as a temporary ranch hand and, hey, it's a historical romance, so you can probably guess what happens :). . .

The book is a nice story. It IS part of a series, and as such, mentions a little bit about Hugh's past and his search for his sisters. It kind of abruptly throws that in at the end and jumps--boom--into life with his newfound sister and her family (without addressing how he found her,etc) I kind of wished they had put that part into the book. I did not really like the title, Betrayal. I think it was named that because of huge betrayals that had happened in the pasts of Hugh and Julia, but not so much what the book was about.

The book was a nice read. A kind of predictable historical romance with details about ranch life. It's a Christian book and as such is a very "clean" story, which is good. I read the first book of this series and I honestly liked it a bit better than this one. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this book for a little light reading! And I'm looking forward to book 3 in the series!

*******************************GIVEAWAY***************************************

I have a copy of book 1, Belonging, and book 2, Betrayal to give away! I'll plan to draw a name on Friday, Dec. 28.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below (and make sure I have your contact info!)

******************************************************************************

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review.


WINNER!! The winner of the giveaway is the number 2 comment, Jan! Hope you enjoy the books! :)

Jack Frost nipping at your. . .fingers? No more!

I'm sharing with you a double winner today! :) The mittens that we use to keep our fingers toasty (usually!) and also the Craft Fair products that I have people coming back to buy year after year.

These are my felted wool, fleece-lined mittens! They're made from old wool sweaters which I've felted (shrunk down) in the washer/dryer then cut mittens out of. I make the fronts/backs of the mittens twice, once from the wool and once from fleece (yeah, I'm a recycler! I usually use fleece from pj's or outgrown or yard sale sweatshirts, etc). The cuffs are either from sweaters or else (especially for the kids' mittens) I just purchase (!) ribbing and make the cuffs from that. The ribbing cuffs are nice and long to keep the mittens inside sleeves and to keep the snow out of sleeves!

I have been outfitting my kids for years in this type of mitten--they are used to the things I make :) and have enjoyed them for sure. The mittens are nice and thick and keep their fingers warm and cozy -- even when wet they tend to retain a bit more heat, thanks to the wool.

Also -- for the past 3 years I've been making these to sell at the local holiday craft sale and have almost sold out of what I've made each year. I know people elsewhere sell them for much more than I do (or so I've been told), but I sell them for $10 a pair and do pretty well, enough to help with the seasonal bills.

So -- if you're in need of some new mittens, give it a try! Be inspired! Or, if you're not a sewing type person, email me if you'd like to purchase some!

'Tis the season! Don't let Jack Frost make those fingers uncomfortable! :)

Oliver Twist Audiobook

WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So. . .as far as my review, you can tell it's going to be a positive one, right? :) This Audiobook presentation of Oliver Twist put out by Focus on the Family and provided through Tyndale (here) is a wonderful way to read/listen to the great Dickens classic Oliver Twist. Now, my review is not of the text (review Charles Dickens' work? I think not!) but rather of the audio version. It is wonderful! The Focus on the Family Radio Theater produces such quality presentations!

Oliver Twist, the classic story of an orphan boy's sad life in London in the 1800's, is dramatized with different actors' voices and with great sound effects. As an American, it took just a tiny time to get used to hearing the English accents, and they definitely added to the listening experience! My family and I listened to this audiobook in the car, on our regular travels. We were all captivated by this classic story and looked forward to trips in the car to hear the next installment of the story (truthfully, a few times we sat in the car in the driveway for a few extra minutes of listening!!) The back cover of the case lists it as for 12 years and older -- my children are 8, 10, and 12 and I was fine with them hearing it -- there were a few harsh parts (such as when Bill kills Nancy and when Bill dies) but we were listening to it all together as a family, so we paused it and discussed a little bit (and I also turned the volume down a little to diminish the dramatic effect a little at those parts). The story was well done, the sound quality was great, and the listening experience was very enjoyable. The dramatization made it sound as though you were watching a movie with your eyes closed, better than a movie, because your mind was able to imagine.

No surprise, I definitely enjoyed this audio presentation and would recommend it highly. It is not for little children, but it's a great rendition of Dickens' classic work. It's a little over 5 hours and you'll look forward to listening to it!

I received a copy of this audiobook from Tyndale as a part of their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review.

There's a little more info about this on this website as well as a little video showing behind the scenes footage from the recording of it.