Book Review: Simply Delicious

How to write a cook book review without drooling all over the keyboard!?! I enjoyed perusing through Simply Delicious: Amish Cooking by Sherry Gore. I'll share a little about the recipes and such in a minute, but first to describe the book itself. Before the book arrived, I thought it would be bigger - as in taller, but it is really a nice size to handle and look through. I love that it is spiral bound, because it lays flat when opened and you can even fold it back to just see one page. Many of the pictures are full color - great food photography. I do like a cookbook with lots of pictures. I would love to have a picture for every recipe, but with over 300 recipes that would be a very large book! I also loved that the author started the book of with an introduction to Amish and Mennonite culture - beliefs and such.

The recipes are great! In the introduction the author says, "...these recipes require only the most basic commonly available ingredients... These recipes, like the Amish themselves, are straightforward and plain, but never boring." This cookbook is like a collection of recipes from your favorite church ladies. And I love the many of the ingredients are, in fact, things you often have on hand. Such yummy comfort food! I'm excited about trying some of the recipes and spending a little more time going through the book to find my favorites!

Ok. Now I'm hungry!!!!

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Thanks to BookSneeze for this review copy. My opinions are my own.

Holding the Hurt

“The pain is still there, isn’t it?” I asked her. “You don’t forget.”

She looked at me like I had grown a second nose.

I dropped the issue.

You see, what she didn’t understand was that I was hurting and I desperately wanted to be understood.

 Infertility.

It affects 15% to 20% of couples wanting to have children. And yet so few people understand the pain that is there – missing someone you’ve never met. Once when someone asked me when we were going to have kids, I answered “Four years ago.” That was about two years ago.

Infertility is lonely. Infertility is grief. How can you grieve someone you've never met? Because, just as when you grieve someone you know and love, you also grieve the loss of the one you've never even had a chance to love.

But God has been healing me. The pain is still there, but God has shown my husband and I that He has another plan for building our family – through the miracle of adoption. The knowledge that someday I will have my own child to hold, nurture and love has brought a start to my healing. I don't plan to be "cured" of my infertility grief. Just as with any other grief, it goes through cycles. Some days I'm ok, other days I'm frustrated, or hurt, or angry. But that's ok. I know with each day that I can pick up and move on.

But I don’t choose to forget my pain – no, I’m not bitter. Infertility is just a part of who I am. I know that God has taken me – us – down this path for a reason, because now they come: Emails “We are going through infertility – I need someone to talk to.” Texts: “My friend is facing infertility. She doesn’t have anyone. Would you mind if she got in contact with you?”

That is why I chose to hold my hurts – like a gift. Because in remembering my hurt I can offer hope to others. How do I know? Because I did find someone who offered friendship, understanding, and hope to me.

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This week is National Infertility Awareness week. If you know someone who is dealing with infertility would you say a prayer for them, and give them a hug? Please know that coming up are some of the hardest holidays for those of us "Mommies in waiting." Mother's Day and Father's Day mark yet another year of not being in those "clubs." If they've been waiting six months or six years, the waiting really never gets any easier... you just get a little more used to it.

And thank you, dear blog friends, for all your support for us over the years. The love you've shown when I've shared my hurts and the support you've given us on our adoption journey. It means so much! 

Book Review: Intentional Parenting

Intentional Parenting... wow. where do I start? This book has soo much good in it. A friend (mother of a one year old) asked me recently if it was too early to read a book I recommended. I told her I had already read it and I don't even have a daughter yet! So is it too early for me to read parenting books? Well... I look at it this way, the more I read now, the more I will have in "reserve" for when I need it. And I'll have more resources that I already know about that I can pull from when the time comes! :)

This book had me at "Intentional." That's been a word that has meant a lot to me. I want to live intentionally, especially when it comes to parenting. I want to be intentional - maybe a good word would be proactive - to learn what I need to learn and be the best I can be. I don't underline much in books, but this book really asked for it - so many good things I wanted to remember! The purpose of the book is to help parents become more proactive - and not to parent out of fear.

The authors are part of a a counseling program for parents and kids and have counseled many families which gives them a broad perspective on many families. They talk about being a consistent, patient parent. About giving kids a chance to "try again." I like that idea - it reinforces good behavior. (And goes along with what I have been learning from this DVD series that I have been watching.) I loved what this quote: "Discipline should never be about harming or shaming our children." They enforce that discipline should be done out of love and not out of anger. It seems that I observe so often parents responding to their children out of frustration (And I know, what room have I to talk when I don't have kids yet) but many times what I have observed seems so extreme. I don't think the parents realize that they are doing more harm then good when they humiliate their children. (ok... off the soapbox now...) ;)

Well, I could go on and on! I have more than just one quote underlined!! I love how they talk about the importance of playing with your children, but also balancing that play with the fact that the parent is to be the parent and not primarily just a "buddy." Intentional Parenting is an excellent resource to add to your parenting library! :)


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Thanks to Book Sneeze for providing a copy for me to review - my opinions are my own.

Finished Object Friday: It's in the Jar!

Hmm... I'm thinking that I should rename this "Finished Object Weekend!" Or maybe work a little earlier in the week to get posts set to publish... Thursdays are always busy for me, and by the time I get sat down, I don't always feel like writing. BUT... It is still Friday, so I'll share! ;)

WAY back in August I made a little something that I planned to share. However, I wanted to be sure that my little project would work out ok before I shared it with you. Good thing that I did! But you'll find out about that in just a minute. I made one of these:

I'm sure you've seen them around quite a bit. They are nothing new in the blogging/Pinterest worlds. :) I snagged a jar out of my mom's cabinet and used a pump we didn't need from a new bottle of hand sanitizer, so the project cost me basically just a bit of time.

Oh, and I made it to give my mom, so she did get her jar back! ;) The trick for me was drilling the hole. I ended up making a bunch of little holes with my little hand drill. Really there has got to be a better way to do it, but I'm sure it requires differnt tools than I had on hand. Here's what I ended up with - with the addition of some hot glue to try to seal it. (and that's where the time comes in...)


Nope. It didn't work so well... the lid ended up rusting from the water that got trapped under the pump and the glue fell off inside. Yuck. So a few weeks ago, I brought it home for a repair job - I just used some silicone calk we had on hand and sealed it up really good - both sides of the lid, and I even sealed it a bit where the ring meets the lid. And, I'm glad to say, even though I didn't get a new lid, it seems to be holding up really well! So the trick is to calk it - no hot glue. Live and learn. :)

Glad it works now! I think it's pretty with the blue dishsoap - my mom's favorite color! ;) Has anyone else made one of these? Maybe you did better than I did the first time around! I'd love to hear what you did! And I'd love to see any other projects you've been working on!

Book Review: The Tutor's Daughter

In the book, "The Tutor's Daughter," Emma Smallwood accompanies her father to a grand estate in the country to help him tutor the two youngest sons of the baron. But the large country estate is shrouded in mystery. There is mysterious music playing in the middle of the night and at least one uninvited visitor in Emma's room. Emma also remembers the baron's oldest sons from their time at her father's school, but have they changed since she remembers them. When her life is in danger, who can she trust?

Wow. I am always so excited when Julie Klassen comes out with a new book! Then once I get my hands on it, I take a while to actually start reading it. Why? Because I know once I start, that I will have a hard time putting it down. This book was no different. It has a little more "gothic" intrigue than some of her other novels... a little more suspense, but of course everything turns out ok in the end. Julie keeps her readers questioning and wondering until the last chapter.

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Thank you to Bethany House for the review copy. My opinions are my own. :)

Book Review: A Change of Fortune

What a fun novel! In "Change of Fortune," Lady Eliza Sumner has lost her fortune. In an effort to recover it and bring the perpetrator to justice, she has followed him to America and taken on the persona of a governess. Her attempts at investigation lead her to join up with a Mr. Hamilton Beckett. Together they seek out the truth and recover what has been lost as well as finding love.

This book was a fun read! I choose books to review with care. Normally I choose an author that I am familiar with. Change of Fortune is Jen Turano's first published novel. When I read the synopsis, I thought it looked like a fun read. I was right! Eliza ends up getting into all sorts of scrapes - most of them quite humorous. There is also enough action to keep you turning pages. It's not especially deep or heavy but an enjoyable book for light reading. I look forward to reading her second book!

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Thank you to Bethany House publishers for the review copy - my opinions are my own. :)