Sunday, April 30, 2017

April Highlights

April has been a great month! The weather has gone back and forth between beautiful sunny days and rainy days. We have some flowers coming up which is really fun!



--On April 18, I got my braces off!!! I had braces on for just a little over 3 years. Now I can finally have stuff like caramel popcorn and certain candy.



--My mom and I went to the movie theatre and saw The Case for Christ. We both enjoyed it.

--When Calls the Heart! Season 4 ended and it was another amazing season!! :D I really, really enjoyed it. Also, it was announced that there will be a season 5!!!!! I am SO super excited!!!



--I had a When Calls the Heart season 4 marathon with three of my friends. It was so fun! We've been doing these marathons since season 2.



The books I read this month were:
Crosswords and Chamomile by Elizabeth Adams
Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho by Angela Ruth Strong
Brides of Alaska by Tracie Peterson
The Newcomer by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield
The Seekers by Wanda E. Brunstetter
Thick as Thieves by Susan K. Marlow


How was your month?
Do you have pretty flowers coming up?


Thursday, April 13, 2017

The Liebster Blog Award Tag

My friend, Faith, over at Chosen Vessels  (she also blogs at Stories by Firefly), tagged me for the Liebster Blog Award Tag. Thanks, Faith! I had fun doing it. :)




1.) What made you want to start a blog?
Well, around July of 2015 I started reading a couple of different blogs and started to think that it would be fun to start one. So in October of 2015 I ended up stating this blog.

2.) What does your first name mean?
Rebekah means captivating.

3.) Did you know when you were younger what you wanted to be/do when you grew up? Do you know or have any idea now what you want to do?
When I was younger I had a lot of different things that I thought be be fun to do when I got older. One of those things was to be a violin teacher. I actually now am a violin teacher.

4.) If you could see yourself from someone else's perspective, who's perspective would you choose and why? (It could be a family member's, a friend's, your local librarian's, etc.)
Hmmm...I think I might choose my book club girls. I really enjoy spending time with all of them and I think it would be fun to see myself through their perspective.

5.) What was the last book you read? What was your opinion of it? Did you like it, or not so much?
The last book that I read was Brides of Alaska by Tracie Peterson. It wasn't my most favorite book, but it wasn't terrible either. You can read my review of it here.



6.) What was the last movie you watched? What was your opinion of it? Did you like it, or no?
The last movie I watched was Hailey Dean Mystery: Deadly Estate. It's a Hallmark Movies and Mystery movie. I enjoyed it.



7.) What is your favorite movie adaptation of a book?
This movie adaptation is very different from the book, but I do like the book The Redemption of Sarah Cain by Beverly Lewis and the movie Saving Sarah Cain. Like, I said they are very different. Usually if I like a book and the movie is somewhat the same, but it does have some bigger things different then I don't like the movie as much. This one was different enough that I liked both. They're kind of like their own stories. ;)
The movie adaption that I've seen that is closest to the book is Love Finds You in Sugarcreek Ohio. The book and the movie are very close and both are good.

8.) What quote (from a book, movie, or YouTube video) do you find yourself saying often?
I find myself quoting stuff from the TV series When Calls the Heart a lot. :)
One that I say a lot is something that Lee said to Rosemary in season 3. She gives him a list and he says, "This is not a list, Rosemary, this is the Magna Carta!" I just replace Rosemary's name with someone else's. ;) So, I always enjoy if people give me a list, so I can say that. ;)

9.) If you could live in any other previous time period, which one would you choose?
I would definitely choose the mid 1800's. The Oregon Trail and the pioneer days have always fascinated me. I just love the forms of transportation in those days and the clothes they wore back then.

10.) What would you consider your favorite thing to do in your free time? What do you 
ACTUALLY end up doing in your free time? 
Usually I consider reading and that is what I end up doing most of the time.

11.) What is one thing that you always want people to remember about you after you're gone?
I would say that I'd want people to remember me as being a kind, sweet person. Most people it's really easy to be kind to, but there are sometimes people that don't make it as easy, so I still need to work on it a little, but that's what I'd like people to remember me for.



Saturday, April 8, 2017

Brides of Alaska // Book Review

About the Book:
Surviving the rugged frontier of Alaska is a daunting task. But even in that hostile wilderness God allows the tender flower of love to bloom. Follow the adventures and Romances of Julie, Beth, and Rita, women of different generations who share a common home.

Nurse Julie Eriksson cares for the victims of the 1925 diphtheria epidemic while Sam waits quietly, willing to give anything to see her save their own struggling relationship. Where is hope when they need it most?

Beth Hogan loses her beloved husband in World War II and returns to Alaska with her two sons only to find their remote village overrun by soldiers and civilians coming to build that Alcan Highway. Will she find a second chance at love when she meets August Eriksson?

Confident, independent Rita Eriksson travels to her hometown of Tok, Alaska, to enter the dogsled race. Her coach, Mark hopes and prays against all odds that he’ll become part of her dreams, too. Can their relationship survive the Iditarod race?


Brides of Alaska was the first book that I read by Tracie Peterson. It was not my most favorite book, but it wasn’t my least favorite either. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would.
This book has three short stories in it that are all set in Alaska and are woven together in some way.
So the first story, A Light in the Window, is about a nurse during the 1925 diphtheria epidemic. I didn’t really care for the main guy character which made it a little harder to enjoy the story. The thing that I liked the most about this story is the historical facts about the diphtheria epidemic and the Great Serum Race.
The second story, Destiny’s Road, was probably my favorite story. I also thought that the salvation message was well done.
The last book, Iditarod Dream, was the story that I was most looking forward to since I really enjoy learning about the Iditarod and following it each year. Well, I didn’t find this story to be quite as good as I’d hoped. The main character was quite annoying through the first half of the book. The thing that I did like was the Iditarod facts. They were very accurate for the time. Some things have changed with the race since the book was written in 1994, but it was very accurate for its time.
So, I did somewhat enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t my favorite.


I give this book 7 out of 10 R's