Chari Tree Chat: Birthday Celebrations!

Many of you may remember that this time of year is very busy for my family. My sister, dad and myself all have birthdays within one week's time! (She has said that it is a bit harder than Christmas in some ways... Everyone wants their own celebration!) :)

Angie starts us off at the end of August. Of course, with her back at Bible college, we celebrated a bit early.

For my birthday, I kind of invited us over to visit some friends in the DFW area... Ok, so maybe "kinda" isn't the word... I DID invite us over... Isn't it wonderful to have the kind of friends that let you do that? We visited the Perot museum and really enjoyed touring that!

Loved the bird section and the gem and mineral section!

One of my favorite parts was the musical staircase! (I would love to return some day when we have kids old enough to enjoy it... Preferably not on Labor Day weekend...)

Then we had a lovely lasagna dinner with baked Alaska for dessert! Yummy!! 

Sunday, my actual birthday - the 1st - we had dinner at another dear friend's home! 

And Sunday night, mom surprised me by inviting yet more friends over! So much fun to celebrate with so many close friends and family!

The next Tuesday was my dad's birthday. We surprised him by arranging for several friends to meet us at a local barbecue place! Fun times! 

So yes, busy times!! But very fun!!! Thanks to all of you who made my birthday special!!! And a big shoot out to my Mom for making sure each of us has a special birthday. Every. Year!! 

We have found a bit of time to sneak in a little project.... Come back Friday! (And yes, FOF WILL be on time... The post is already written and scheduled!! ;) 

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Last but certainly not least, please pray for my friend Erin. She had brain surgery Wednesday to remove a tumor. Thankfully the doctor is "99%" sure it isn't cancer! She is having some difficulty after such an intense surgery. I know she will appreciate your prayers! 

Book Review: Sherlock Holms and the Needle's Eye

Yep, another book review... Now that our house is sold (less upkeep - especially keeping it "show ready") and we are put in our temporary location, I have a bit more time to read and catch up. (I don't even have a whole house to care for! Just doing my share in cooking and cleaning here at my parent's home.) :) Most of my reading has been minimal and usually just fun and relaxing with all the craziness that is life right now... :) Sooo... you get another reveiw!

Growing up I read a lot of mysteries. Inhaled them, really! I also listened to a lot of stories - including some Sherlock Holmes (I can't remember if they were old time radio, audio drama or just an audio book - I think I got them at our local library.) Anyway. I cultivated a love for Sherlock Holmes - his deductions and humor. In Sherlock Holmes and the Needle's Eye, Holmes has acquired an invention created by Moriarty that allows him to travel back in time. Holmes, usually accompanied by Dr. Watson, travels back into Bible times and with each trip finds a question to be answered about the story. 

This book was so neat in that it combined the iconic "Holmes" with researching the mysteries of Scripture. Each chapter was dedicated to a different "mystery" in Scripture. Some of them were familiar to me (the question along with the solution.) Then some of them completely blew me away - I had never made that connection! Several times I found myself laughing out loud. Definitely a fun and thought provoking read!

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Thanks to Booksneeze for the review copy. My opinions are my own.

Book Review: Into the Whirlwind (Plus a small life update!)

Yes, I have thought several times that the title of this books is quite appropriate for this season of our lives! It does feel as though we are living in a whirlwind, but we are hanging in there!! We closed on our home and are living temporarily with my parents until our apartment is ready for us in just a few more weeks. :) We are so happy for answered prayer in selling our house. It does seem very strange not to be living there, but we do sense God's leadership and working through the process. Below is a picture collage I made up that chronicles our move.

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Note: Per Bethany House Book Reviewer guidelines, the book review can be found in it's own post here.

Book Review: Into The Whirlwind

Mollie Knox has inherited her family's watch crafting business. She has a brain for business and for managing the company. Life turns chaotic when the Chicago fire destroys her home and her business. The 57th Illinois Watch Company isn't just a family business, it also provides jobs to many veterans who served with her father in the Civil War. Zack Kazmarek is an attorney for the main purchaser of her watches but has fallen in love with the beautiful business woman. Mollie has to figure out if it is all business with him or if he really has her best interest at heart. 

Not very often do I go out on a "limb" and try a new author. I tend to review books I know I will enjoy! I am very glad to have tried this author!!! I will be reading more of her books! (And am always excited to find an author who puts so much research and time into historical fiction as well as being a page-turning read!)

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Thank you to Bethany House for providing this copy for review. My opinions are my own.

Finished Object Friday... but not really

I should have posted this sooner... but y'all would probably get worried about me if I actually posted on time!! heehee!

Nope. I haven't been very crafty recently... too busy doing this:

Whew!!!

Thankfully, we've had lots of help!

Impossible to get a non-blurry picture of this... she was moving tooo fast!

(Yes, this little "Love" is walking!!! Those sisters sure walk early... my sister and I were cautious. We waited until we were well past a year before we ventured forth on two feet!!) ;)
Speaking of sisters....

(I'm probably SO dead after this one....) But might as well have some fun while we are working!!

We had a wonderful crew last Saturday and got a big bunch packed away!!!

(and with more help coming tomorrow, we hope to pretty much finish up!!)

So a big thank you to all who have helped and are going to help!! :)

And yes, we did sell our house! I would say "finally" but I know that there are others who have their homes listed a much longer time. It has been an eventful summer - one I hope we don't have to repeat for a long time. On July 3rd, Angie and I were in a fender bender:

Fortunately, we weren't hurt much at all (just a tad stiff...) but it did total our car. (Paid off... cold air... ran good - we weren't ready to let that one go!) But we got a new ride! (New to us, anyway...) And are really thrilled with it!

 

Anyway... with all the mess/paperwork/phone calls that come with a wreck, within a week of that we had a contract on our house!! wow!

So where to now? We don't have a house lined up yet. We need a little time to save a bit. So we will be in an apartment for a few months. Not the optimal way to move (especially since we will be staying with my parents for a little while until our apartment is ready for us to move in.) BUT we are rolling with it. The good thing about being in an apartment is it will (hopefully!) give Mark the chance to finish up his Master's work without the worry of a house or yard. "All things work together," right? ;)

Sooo... maybe some of you have had a chance to do some crafting! I hope everyone hasn't had the roller coaster of a summer that we've had over here! :) I'm going to put Mr. Linky up, so enjoy sharing! :)