Family, Reviews, Healthy Living, Photography and More!
April 22, 2014
I don’t know about you but we have huge Lego fans in our home!
Our boys can’t get enough and to be honest neither can we! I love creating castles, houses, farms and so much more. So the boys were super excited to visit Legoland Discovery Centre at Vaughn Mills, Toronto.
Lego is the theme of this week’s Wordless Wednesday post (review to come!). Check out the teaser of our visit to Legoland.
Don’t forget to link up below so that I can visit you too! Have a lovely day!
April 18, 2014
Maybelle in Stitches by Joyce Magnin is the story of Maybelle Kazinki whose husband is serving in World War II. Maybelle is a strong young woman but so unlike her mother – she can not sew. She was the only girl in her seventh grade Home Economics class to sew the zipper in the neck hole of her A-line dress. After her mother dies leaving her alone she finds an unfinished quilt in the attic of the house and she decides that the quilt needs to be finished. She gathers a group of friends to help her fill her loneliness and bring hope to each one of them.
The quilt is a “crazy” quilt made with scraps of material from Maybelle’s mother and grandmother’s childhood. She decides to add Holden’s (her husband) stripes to the quilt. Suddenly life changes quickly when she receives harsh news from overseas. Maybelle’s faith falters and it is the quilting group that help brings back her hope and faith.
Maybelle in Stitches is a wonderful story of faith and friendship. Maybelle’s story was probably quite common during this era and I can imagine how many of these women and families felt alone and scared. It is only through their friendships and faith in God do these women make it through day to day. It is the power and hope in the quilt that helps them keep moving forward until they meet their husbands again. The story was believable, open and honest – I loved every moment. Each character was very real with normal faults and shortcomings. You kept praying for everything to be okay for Maybelle! I had a hard time putting the novel down because I just wanted to know what happened to Maybelle and her Holden
You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour here.
Rating: 4/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
April 17, 2014
Cathy from Cathy Thinking Out Loud has been at it again!
This time she has created cute Easter Pop Up Cards for your kids to send to family. Our boys made cards for both of their grandparents and their Aunts and Uncles. Their Mom kind of failed at making the beak pop up but you can always do the craft without making the beak move.
Materials
Instructions:
And Voila! Enjoy!
Happy Easter!
April 17, 2014
Betrayal, power, politics and religion. Powerful topics that are examined in the backdrop of the historical time period that brings Cleopatra and Herod in to play in The Queen’s Handmaid by Tracy Higley.
The Queen’s Handmaid takes place in Alexandria, Egypt 39 B.C. and the story of Lydia. Lydia was orphaned at birth and raised as a servant in Cleopatra’s palace. She works hard to please those around her while keeping everyone at arm’s length. She has been rejected and left with a broken heart too many times.
When her mentor dies and entrusts her with the secret writings of the prophet Daniel and charges her to deliver the scrolls to those watching for the promised King of Israel. Lydia must leave the only place she has called home and flee to Jerusalem. Once in the Holy City, she attaches herself to the newly appointed King, Herod, as a handmaid to Queen Mariamme.
Trapped among the scheming women of Herod’s political family – sister, wife and their mothers – and forced to serve in the palace to protect her treasure, Lydia must deliver the scrolls before dark forces warning against the truth destroys all hope of the coming Messiah.
This was an incredibly interesting novel in a very intriguing time period.We have all grown up learning of the powerful political figures during this time period, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Herod and eventually Jesus Christ. It is with these great figures that this story unfolds and it is extremely interesting to see how each of these figures played a role in the lives of each other. With all the betrayal and mystery in this novel it keeps you turning the page wondering what will happen next! I still find it shocking all of the events in history and how people were treated and Tracy Higley gives an excellent portrayal into life during this time period especially through the role of Lydia. The idea of human life being disposable is still so shocking to me but that is life in those times.
Rating: 4/5
You can find more reviews on The Queen’s Handmaid here. You can purchase a copy of the book here.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
April 17, 2014
With spring comes the melting of snow and occasionally mixed in precipitation. Over the past couple of days we have seen an increase in our area with flooding risk alerts. The Canadian Red Cross is prepared to help communities but we should all do our part and prepare as well as protect ourselves.
The Canadian Red Cross has given us three simple steps to prepare for potential flooding:
Check out the Canadian Red Cross website for more helpful information on flooding.
