January Highlights

January is gone. It's been a nice month and a great start to this new year. :)

--We have had snow on the ground for almost two months! We got some rain this month which melted some of the snow, but then it snowed again. At one point we had about 18 inches of snow on the ground! We have never had this much snow before!

--I started a book club! It's for girls 8-12. It's been really fun so far! :D

--I watched some good movies. Two of them were I'm Not Ashamed and Coffee Shop. I'm Not Ashamed is a movie that just came out on DVD and I just watched it a couple days ago. You can see my review of that movie here. Then Coffee Shop is a movie that I've been wanting to see for at least a year now. It finally came to DVD this month and I was super excited. :)

--I also came across this fun saying!

I was able to get quite a bit of reading done. I read:
The English Son by Wanda Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter
Tea Rose by Erin Keeley Marshall
Last Wish by Valerie Howard
A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher
The Stubborn Father by Wanda Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter
The Betrayed Fiancée by Wanda Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter
Sandy Toes by Robin Jones Gunn
The Missing Will by Wanda Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter
The Angel of Forest Hill by Cindy Woodsmall
The Divided Family by Wanda Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter
The Selfless Act by Wanda Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter
Where Tree Tops Glisten by Tricia Goyer, Sarah Sundin, and Cara Putman
The Disappearing Stranger by Lois Walfrid Johnson
Love Finds You in Calico, California by Elizabeth Ludwig
The Red Geranium by Janette Oke

All of these books were so good! I can't believe how much I read! Although a couple of the books I started last month and just finished them this month and some of the books weren't that big, but still. :)


I have some really super fun blog posts coming up in February, so please check back!! :)

I'm Not Ashamed // Movie Review

About the Movie:
I’m Not Ashamed is the inspiring and powerful true story of Rachel Joy Scott— the first student killed in the Columbine high school shooting in 1999. Devout teen Rachel Joy Scott shows compassion and love for her fellow students, until armed classmates enter Columbine High School on a fateful day that changes America forever. Her hopes and dreams seemed to end, but God was just getting started. 

You can see two different trailers to this movie here and here.

I’m Not Ashamed is a great movie about the true story of Rachel Joy Scott. Although it is a sad movie, it is also a touching one. I’d definitely recommend this movie, although not to younger children because some of the scenes are a little intense.
When I first saw the trailer to this movie I wanted to see it. Although, I wasn’t sure if it would be too much for me with the shooting and all, but it wasn't as intense as I thought it would be.
I enjoyed this movie and would probably watch it again sometime.

I give this movie 8 out of 10 R's

2017 Anticipated Book Releases

There are so many good looking books that are coming out this year! I can't wait!! :D


~January~

--Courageous Love is the fourth and last book in the Circle C Milestones series. The Circle C books are one of my top favorite series!

--The Newcomer is the 2nd book in the Amish Beginnings series. The first book is about how the Amish came to America, and this book continues the story. :)

~March~

--A friend of mine introduced me to Sarah Sundin's books last year and I've really enjoyed reading her great books. When Tides Turn is the last book in the Waves of Freedom series.

~April~

--Beverly Lewis is my most favorite author! The Ebb Tide is a stand-alone book. I also just love the cover!

--Salty Kisses is the 2nd book in the Christy and Todd: The Baby Years series. This cover is so adorable! (You can read my review of book 1, Sandy Toes, here.)

~June~  

--This book is the sequel to The Lopsided Christmas Cake. (You can read my review of that book here.)    

~August~

--This book is the 3rd and last book in the Amish Beginnings series.

--Gathering the Threads is the 3rd book in The Amish of Summer Grove series. I've only read book 1 in this series so far, and it wasn't my favorite, but it leaves at a bad spot so I plan to finish the series. I'm hoping to read book 2 sometime so I can read this book once it comes out.

~October~

--Sunset Lullaby is the last book in the Christy and Todd: The Baby Years series. This cover is so adorable too!! :)

So, those are some of the books that I'm looking forward to coming out this year. I'm sure that there will be more to come though! :)

Are you looking forward to any of these books? :)

Sandy Toes // Book Review

From the Back Cover:
A new season begins for Christy and Todd with a pregnancy test and a disillusioning visit to the doctor.
As they try to catch their balance, Todd's job swerves in a new direction; Aunt Marti overdoes her self-assigned role of preparing for the family's addition-to-come; and Christy's parents face surprising changes that might take them back to Wisconsin.
Christy misses Katie more then ever, and just when she thinks life will slow down, Alissa's daughter, Shawna, comes to visit and brings all her pre-teen charms and challenges with her.
A Mixture of excitement and anxiety carries Christy through all the baby-bumps. Her hopes and dreams are as many as the grains of sand that cover her sandy toes after sunset walks on the beach with Todd. Christy knows that everything is about to change when she steps into one of the greatest mysteries of life--motherhood.

This book was so sweet! Sandy Toes is the first book in the series, Christy and Todd: The Baby Years.
This book goes along with all of the other Christy Miller books. When I first started to read Christy and Todd: The High School Years I wasn't too sure if I liked the books or not. I decided to read a little more and I slowly started to like them. Eventually they grew on me and I couldn't wait to read The College Years and The Married Years. So I was so excited when I found out that Robin Jones Gunn was writing The Baby Years. It was so fun to read more about Christy and Todd. If you've read the other Christy Miller books and enjoyed them, then you'll definitely want to read this new series as well! If you haven't read any of the previous books you could probably start with this one. There are some things though that are mentioned in this book that are mentioned briefly and may not make a whole lot of sense if you haven't read the previous books.
So yes, I really liked this book and can't wait for books 2 and 3 to come out! :)

Let it Snow!

I just love winter and snow! Snowy days are some of my favorites. We got a nice snow, enough to cover the grass, around December 8th. Since then it has just kept on snowing off and on throughout the weeks. It's snowing again today! :D We have well over 12 inches, which is unusual for us people here in the high desert of Idaho. :)
Here's two pictures that show the difference in the amount we've gotten over the weeks.

About a month ago.

Today. You can't even see the second flower barrel and the lights are almost covered in this picture!

Welcome 2017!

2017 is here! I am excited to see what this year will bring! :)

Today I will be sharing some of my goals for this year and some of the things I'm looking forward to.

~Goals~
--Read my Bible more in depth
--Grow closer to God
--Read at least 20 books of the Bible
--Read 100 books
--Write in my journal every day or at least every other day
--Put more time into my violin practice and become a better violinist

~Things I'm looking forward to~
--Lots of fun family time
--Spending time with my friends
--Reading lots of good books! I'm especially excited for: The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis, Courageous Love by Susan K. Marlow, The Newcomer and The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher, When Tides Turn by Sarah Sundin, Salty Kisses by Robin Jones Gunn, and The Farmers Market Mishap by Wanda E. Brunstetter.
--Blogging. I'm looking forward to another year of blogging. I hope to get better at this and write some posts that people will enjoy reading.
--When Calls the Heart! Season 4 come out this year!!

2016 is Gone, It's Time to Move On

2016 is now over and we're on to a brand new year. 2016 seemed to fly by for me. It was a good year, but it also had it's hard times. December was the hardest. The beginning of December started out with our 9 year old dog dying.

A week later my grandmother, who was 89 years old, passed away. It's been really hard on everyone, but things are starting to get back into a normal routine.

~Some of my special memories from 2016~

~In May, my family and I piled into our van and headed to the Oregon Coast for a week of fun, family time! It was just so much fun. If you want to read more about that you can see my post that I did on our trip here. 

~This spring I watched the 3rd season of When Calls the Heart!! For those of you who don't know, When Calls the Heart is my favorite thing to watch! :D My When Calls the Heart fun didn't end when the season did though. Late spring I had a When Calls the Heart season 3 marathon with three friends. Then in the fall another friend started watching When Calls the Heart for the first time. We discussed it together and I had a blast talking about it and hearing her thoughts on it! 

~In September I celebrated my 20th birthday! I don't feel old, but 20 just sounds old. ;) 

~Three friends of mine gave me a surprise birthday party! It was a really fun, special time!

~In June one of my cousins came out to visit for a couple days. It was really fun getting to visit with her.

~Throughout the summer I went to a water park twice, white water rafting, and swimming.

~I went to my first concert. I went because it was at a waterpark and I thought it would be fun to go with my brothers, not because of the group who was playing. It was Family Force 5. Not exactly my kind of music, but it was a fun night with my brothers.

~I was able to read 88 books this year. I know that in my book recap tag I said that I read 85 books, but I must have miscounted or something. ;)

I can't wait to see what 2017 holds!