"Alone Yet Not Alone: Their faith became their freedom"--review and giveaway! *winner*

Sophie drew the winner's name for me...and the winner is: *AMY*

Thanks so much to both Melanie and Amy for commenting!  And thanks for reading!

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"Alone Yet Not Alone" by Tracy Leininger Craven takes place in the wilderness of the northeastern United States and leads us westward into Indian Territory as the story progresses.  It is the 1700s and the Leininger family has purchased a piece of land from the local Indian tribe so they can start fresh.  They had lived in Germany, but the poverty and oppression they suffered there led them to a better life in America.  A new log cabin, hard work in the fields, and a hearty crop brought happiness to this family of six.  Barbara and Regina were the young daughters in the family.  One morning as mother and one of the older brothers left home for a day trip, the rest of the family experienced a fearful and devastating attack.  What happened after that would change the Leininger family forever.  Barbara and Regina had to depend on God and their faith to make it through the hardships that lay ahead of them.

This book is written for teens and tweens, but I found it very interesting and enjoyable.  In fact, I read it all in one night!  I thought the book was well written and understandable for a younger audience.  The novel focused mainly on Barbara's experience as a captive of the Iroquois indians.  This is also a true story, which made it even better.  Barbara was dedicated to protect those who God had entrusted to her, especially Regina.  Her unwavering faith in God in the midst of very difficult circumstances is a message that I want my children to hear.  It is rare to have good quality books with a plot that can hold the reader's interest. The various circumstances Barbara faced....separation from her family, death of loved ones, starvation, submission, faith...can be used as a springboard for some good spiritual conversations with your children.  And, again, this isn't fiction.  It would offer some good opportunities to talk about United States history and geography as well as what life was like among different Indian tribes.

Inside the book there are also pictures of the movie which is based on the novel.  I can't wait to see it!  

Here is the trailer:

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And now for the GIVEAWAY!  If you make a comment on this blog post you can receive a copy of "Alone Yet Not Alone" for yourself!  Just tell me why you would like to read it and I'll put your name in the hat.  The drawing will be on Friday...just a few days away!  Look forward to reading your comments!

~God bless~

Back to Blogging!

 So much has been going on lately....it's hard to know where to start.  I haven't been posting very often because....my computer died!  I'm hoping it'll be fixed soon so my blogging can get back to normal. Some of the highlights of recent weeks are:

~A family photo shoot!!  Here are two of the pictures.  I absolutely LOVE how all of them turned out!  We mainly did this as a part of Seth's first birthday present.  We wanted to get some good pictures to celebrate him.  I have yet to put up pictures of him around the house like I did with the other two...I've got to get on it!  I was determined not to do less for baby #3...but it's hard to keep up when you've got two other little ones!  My goal before the end of the summer...pics of Seth around the house! : )

Love my family!  The verse on the frame in front of us says, "We love because He first loved us."  I can't think of any words that sum it up better than that!

~My birthday!  Yes...another year has passed.  I have to admit that this year seemed a little different to me.  I turned 36, and for some reason being closer to 40 than 30 made me feel kind of old.  I'm sort of realizing that it's true that I'm not in my 20's anymore.  I haven't been there in a while, but my mind kept reverting back to my 20's a lot.  Now that the 30's are heading towards the 40's...I don't know, there's just something different about it.  Another thing is that I remember being in high school when my mom was still in her late 30's!  Yikes!  When my kids are in high school I'll be....well, we won't go there. : )  It was a great birthday, though, spent at my parent's house and eating chocolate cake and homemade chocolate ice cream...yum!

~My first Iphone!!  It was all I wanted for Mother's Day.  Even though it was free with an upgrade, it was still a commitment to have one of these babies.  I thought I would really like it....and I've come to realize that I don't just like it...I LOVE it!!  It's awesome.  And it was perfect timing when I got it, too, because it came on a Thursday and my computer died on Friday.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to have the internet, facebook, and so many other cool apps at my fingertips!  And...confession time...I'm kind of addicted to Candy Crush Saga. ; )

~Seth's surgery.  Seth had ear tube surgery about a week ago.  Praise the Lord, everything went very smooth.  In fact, he has been starting to try to say more words (yay!), has been taking about 2-3 hour naps during the day and sleeping well all night.  I'm even able to just lay him down for naps and bedtimes without him screaming.  I hesitate with doing surgeries on my children...I just want to be sure it's right for them.  Now I know that this was definitely a good decision for Seth.  

There have been some good times and some hard times in the past weeks, but we can definitely say that the Lord has been with us.  We have definitely felt His presence.

I will be posting a book review and a book giveaway soon, so stay tuned!  Thanks for reading and I hope you're having a great summer!

God bless~