Book Review: Face of Betrayal

A few weeks ago, I joined Thomas Nelson's "Book Review Bloggers". You can choose from a list of books, they will send it to you and then you agree to write a review of it on your blog.
The first book I received was Face of Betrayal by Lis Weihl. Face of Betrayal is a gripping mystery filled with realistic characters, real danger, and a shocking yet satisfying final twist. While home on Christmas break, a seventeen-year old Senate page takes her dog out for a walk and never returns. Three women who are life-long friends race against time in an effort to find the girl alive. Though authorities think she might have been kidnapped or run away, those theories shatter when they discover she was having a relationship with an older man, possibly a U.S. Senator.
I'm often skeptical of reading new authors, just because I never know what to expect. I really enjoyed this book and author, however! Mystery novels are my favorite genre of reading and while I wouldn't call Face of Betrayal the best I've ever read, it definitely kept my attention and was an enjoyable read. It's one of those books that keeps you turning pages late at night to see what's going to happen and how it ends. I will be looking for more books by this author, I'm sure.

A Week in Pictures

The days always start out with a snuggle with mom:



It was time for a summer hair cut......what a big difference!


Hanging out in the new swing daddy put up and reading the mail. (I don't know why he looks so grumpy)


We planted some new flowers in the flower beds in front of the house:



Then we had to come inside to cool off and get a big drink..........


Ahhhh......feels good sitting under the fan. It was hot outside!


Hey! There's a button on my tummy.....I wonder what it does?


Time to do some housecleaning:


Such a big helper!


Finally, the days END like this:


Life is good! :-)

Daddy's Truck

"Just" a mommy

Some people may think I am "just" a mommy. What am I really contributing to the world, or even to my community? I'm not earning an income, so what is my time really worth?
But for me, I am a MOMMY. I have THE best job in the world. I went thru a lot to get this job; I longed and prayed for this child for 2 years. I worried through 9 months of pregnancy, swollen ankles, carpal tunnel, not sleeping, not being able to breathe right, and then: 18 hours of labor, a C-section that knocked me out, and a painful recovery.
But today, I have this beautiful, sweet, loving, smart, angel baby as a reward. I am "paid" every day in smiles, hugs, kisses, snuggles, and sweetly whispered "mamma's". *I* am the one who sees my son's first smile, first words, first steps, watching him grow and change and develop quirks and tricks and personality. I don't hear those things second hand from the daycare teacher. I am the one who he sees when he wakes up, who plays with him all day long, feeds him, reads to him, sings to him, and rocks him to sleep at night. I am the one he wants when he is sick, hurt, or scared.
I am contributing to the world another human being: a boy who (I hope) will grow up to be Godly, strong, honest, kind, hard working, and a blessing to others. And he will grow up with a mommy (and daddy) who is there for him every day, who he can count on and who loves him very much!!! Of course I will not be a perfect mom, I will make mistakes, and some day he will hate me (though hopefully it won't last long! ;-) ). But again, I will always *be there* for him. To ME, that is what's important. I wouldn't trade any amount of money in the world for this chance to be my son's full time mommy. :-)

It all started.....

It all started yesterday when I decided to get out my summer clothes and put away most of my winter stuff. Easy, right? It would have been if I would have stuck with JUST doing that. Ever get one of those crazy urges to do some major cleaning/organizing and you get a little carried away? Yeah....happened to me yesterday. :-D My bedroom ended up looking like this:




I didn't get a good picture of the closet but it was looking pretty wild too. See all the hangars, shoes, blankets, etc in the photos? Remember, I was only supposed to be getting summer clothes out. ;-) LOL. Anyway, I ended up spending 2 1/2 hours in my room and had 2 1/2 bags of trash along with 2 bags of stuff to donate to the thrift store. I also added a few things to my garage sale pile.
It was a big job, made bigger by the fact that Levi woke up and was "helping" (he kept throwing stuff from my trash pile back into my "keep" pile!) BUT my closet is nice and organized now, as are my drawers and the clothes in our storage room. I feel very accomplished. :-)

My thoughts exactly

OK, I guess this isn't showing up quite right but if you click on the picture you'll be able to see the whole cartoon.

Bits and Pieces

I'm back from an unintended super long blogging break! Aren't you excited?? :-p Sorry, I've just been lacking inspiration and motivation to blog!
So, what's been going on in my life? Most recently, I took a fun filled vacation to beautiful Arkansas to hang out with my wonderful sweet mom. (how many adjectives can I use in one sentence?? Yeesh) Levi got sick the first night we got there, but quickly improved after a trip to the pediatrician. While he wanted nothing to do with Grammy while he was sick, once he was feeling better he quickly fell in love and she was *almost* as good as mommy. :-)





While in Arkansas, I did lots and lots of shopping, since in my mom's area there are endless thrift stores and resale stores. A bargain hunter's heaven!! I finally found some place mats and a table centerpiece that I've been looking and looking for. I'm really happy with what I found, and you can't beat this: I paid a whopping $4 for the centerpiece!! What a deal. :-D




In other news, I can now say Levi is walking!! Here he is, showing off a few steps for ya: You'll see at the end he still prefers scooting as his fastest, main mode of transportation, but he's definitely getting the hang of walking. Way to go Levi!



In case you haven't followed the story of baby Stellan, from my previous post, he's finally home again after 5 weeks in the hospital and a major surgery. God is good!!
That'll do for now, I promise I'll blog more regularly now again!! (I hope)