Review: Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberly

Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley by Sharon Lathan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book is the second in the series extending the story of the Darcy's after their marriage. My complaints about the first are the same for this one, with one more ... the author cruelly leaves the reader hanging in a big way with this one. I really expected Lizzy to have the baby in this book, and she doesn't. Now I have to read book 3, but I think I'll put it off for a bit ... I can't stomach much more of Darcy's love talk right now. But again, a nice fluff read for my vacation, hence the 3 stars.

2010 Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

Well, it's December 30 and we're about to close out this year and begin a new one ... I thought I'd take a minute and take stock so to speak on how I did with the various book challenges I "signed up" for this year.

The first challenge I took up was the Christian Historical Fiction Challenge sponsored by Margaret over at http://chf.creativemadnessmama.com/.  The challenge was to read 24 Christian Historical Fiction books throughout the year.  I felt this one would be easy to accomplish since it is my genre of choice most of the time, and I was right.  I did pretty well on this one, and ended up reading a total of 27 books that fit this category.  Here's a list of what I had intended to read and what I ended up reading ... I will be adding the ones I didn't get to to next year's list!

The second challenge I entered was the Chunkster Reading Challenge put out by caribousmom@ http://chunksterchallenge.blogspot.com/, a chunkster being a book for 450 or more pages.  There were three levels in this challenge and I initially thought I would probably only do the first level.  Much to my surprise I ended up reading 9 books that were over 450 pages, which means I exceeded the number for the top level of the challenge.  Click here to see what I read in this category.

The third challenge was the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge.  This one was set up by J. Kaye @ http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/  I thought this would be a piece of cake.  I have to say that although I've exceeded 100 (112 to be exact), I'm a bit disappointed in myself, I really thought I would have read far more than I did, especially since 47 of what I read I categorized as "children's books".  I intend to do something similar again next year and I'd like to see if I can read closer to 100 YA/Adult books.  Last spring I was taking a Children's Literature class, so perhaps that is why there are so many children's books (and the sad thing is, I read a lot of books at work in preparation for my media classes that I didn't log on this list) ... this spring I am taking a YA Literature class, so that should help some.  Of course, it would probably help lots if I weren't taking any classes and could just read, read, read!  :-)  Here is the list for this category.

The last challenge I took up during 2010 was the 2010 Christmas Christian Fiction Reading Challenge -- another challenge from Margaret over at http://chf.creativemadnessmama.com.
I ended up reading 6 books that fit into this description, and another 8 books that were Christmas related for a total of 14 Christmas books!

All in all, not too bad ... it's been fun keeping track of what I read, something I've been doing for a while now on Goodreads to a point, but joining these challenges and starting this book blog  have made me more aware of what and how much I read ... I find this stats page from goodreads interesting as well.
~Kati

Review: Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan

Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is the continuing story of Elizabeth and Darcy. It picks up right after their wedding and moves through the first 5-6 months of their marriage. It is good, although perhaps a bit too sugary at times ... there are times Darcy seems too good to be true and also too saccharine -- I always pictured him as loving Lizzy completely, etc. but in this book there are times when he was portrayed a bit too sweetly, it doesn't match his character. I've also never read a book where the main characters have sex quite so much. Although it's all written very PG, there are times it seems to be all they do ... Those two things being said, I still give it a 4 out of 5 stars as it was a nice easy read, great for my vacation!

Review: 1022 Evergreen Place by Debbie Macomber

1022 Evergreen Place by Debbie Macomber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The latest in the Cedar Cove series finds us visiting once again with old friends. This book focused on the stories of Mack McAfee and Mary Jo Wyse, and Bruce and Rachel Peyton and their struggles as newlyweds facing his daughter Jolene's distinct irritation at them now being married. There were also bits and pieces of Linc Wyse and his new wife Lori's (Bellamy)story and Shirley Bliss and her daughter Tanni also struggle with finding someone special. It seemed like this installment had a few more things going on, and there were quite a few more strings left hanging at the end than the last few have had. This is not necessarily a bad thing, although I don't like that I have to wait a year to find out what happens.

Happy Holidays!

We hope everyone has been having a great holiday season, that you have all gotten the chance to spend some time with family and friends and also get in some relaxation time.  We had a great time visiting everyone on Christmas day and the day after.  The boys got lots of great gifts (as you can see by the picture of the tree below) ... and so did mom and dad.  We've spent the past few days being extremely lazy, which is good ... and bad, as there are of course things that we should be doing.  One of the things we did yesterday was put together the model cars the boys got.  Well, I'm off to work on some of those things I should be doing while on vacation :-)  ~Kati

Our tree after Santa had visited!

David w/his '57 Chevy Bel Air

Jonathan w/his '63 Corvette Convertible

Review: A Door County Christmas by Key, Melby, Phillips, and Ruchti

A Door County Christmas: Four Romances Warm Hearts in Wisconsin's Version of Cape Cod by Becky Melby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a nice collection of four Christmas stories. The stories are connected, yet independent of each other. Connected in that they all take place in Door County, Wisconsin, and one of the primary characters from the first story is mentioned in all of the subsequent stories. Other than those two facts, the stories are stand alone stories. I really enjoyed the first three stories -- I found the last story a bit confusing at the beginning, and although I did finally "figure" it out, I still didn't find myself liking it as much as the first three. Overall, an enjoyable Christmas read.

Band Concert Video

The video of David's 1st band concert is now available on the videos page. 
Enjoy,
~Katrina

Jonathan's Christmas Program

There is a new video on the videos page of Jonathan's portion of the Elementary Christmas program.  Jonathan is in the front row, to the right of the center.  Enjoy!
~Kati

David - Basketball

David has been attending the mini basketball clinic offered for a few Saturdays, and as part of that, he gets to play during 1/2 time of a couple of games.  Tonight was the first night he got to play (during 1/2 time of the JV game).  He did really well -- he even made a basket!!

Review: Engaging Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

Engaging Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This sequel to "Finding Father Christmas" was just as heartwarming as the first book in the series. The first novel had Miranda searching for her father and finding not only her earthly father, but also finding her Heavenly father. This novel has her returning to Carlton Heath to her new boyfriend, in hopes that their relationship is about to become more permanent. There is also a strong theme of forgiveness woven throughout this book, and as with the first book, the title is a bit of a play on words. This was a very enjoyable quick Christmas read.

Review: Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

Finding Father Christmas: A Novella by Robin Jones Gunn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Miranda heads to London on Christmas eve following the only clue she has to try to find her father ... the name of a photography studio. She doesn't know who her father is, doesn't even know his name. She was raised by her single mother "Eve Carson the actress" and then by a family friend after her mother dies when she is only 11. The photography studio is long gone, its place now occupied by a tea shop, "The Tea Cosy". Little does she know, when she ducks inside to ask for more information she will end up finding what she's looking for and so much more.

Review: Unwrapping Christmas by Lori Copeland

Unwrapping Christmas by Lori Copeland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like many of us Rose Bergman thinks she needs to do it all. She is on too many committees, volunteers for everything and has herself convinced that it's her christian duty to do all these things. Unfortunately, her excessive volunteerism is causing her to neglect her family. When a slip and fall on the ice on Christmas Eve puts her out of commission, she realizes she needs to slow down and focus on a smaller number of activities, and in the process she unwraps the true meaning of Christmas.

Review: The Christmas Clock by Kat Martin

The Christmas Clock by Kat Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this novel, which actually tells 3 or 4 different stories within its pages, yet they all tie together. Sylvia (Syl) and Joe were in love years ago and now need to decide if they want to give their relationship a second chance. Teddy has lost both his parents and is about to lose the only other adult who has cared for him due to Alzheimer's ... will he find the family he longs for? Doris and Floyd Culver are married, but don't really feel in love anymore. Can they find their way back to the way things used to be? A heartwarming story! This book takes place in Dreyerville, MI -- there is no such place -- yet since I'm from MI, I could easily plug in any number of other little towns from our beautiful state and picture the story taking place there.

I Love Goodreads!!

I discovered the website Goodreads almost 3 years ago, and can't imagine how I ever lived without it.  I love that I can keep track of what I've read and what I want to read -- no more rogue pieces of paper floating around with lists of things that I think will interest me.  I also love being able to connect to other fellow reading "addicts", although that is a double-edged sword in that I then see many many more titles that I want to try to read (which is why my "To-Be-Read" list has over 550 items on it :-(.

One other thing I love about Goodreads, is that when they "upgrade" or change things, it's always something that is extremely useful!  Today I read about about a new feature they are adding to Goodreads that I'm really excited about -- readers will now be able to compare prices of books (including eBooks) at various vendors through Goodreads.  If you want to read more about it, you can here.

Review: Grace by Shelley Shepard Gray

Grace by Shelley Shepard Gray

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a nice story that really reminds the reader that life isn't all about us, and when things don't go the way we had hoped we need to look beyond ourselves and remember there is always a greater meaning to everything.

Katie is rather upset when guests come to her family's bed and breakfast so close to the holidays unexpectedly (they normally don't host guests during this time of year), but soon realizes that both Melody and Levi need people around them who can help them to deal with issues from their past, give them hope and the ability to move on in life.

The copy I read was an ARC (electronic) obtained through NetGalley ... I of course don't know all changes that may have been made before the final publication, but I can tell from reading the excerpt given on Goodreads, that the name of Katie and Jonathan's baby was changed. In my edition, his name was Eli, the excerpt lists his name as "Stefan".

I enjoyed reading this book and will check into other things written by this author.

Review: The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cassie Beaumont wants desperately to get married ... or to be more exact, she wants the "perfect" life. The perfect husband, perfect kids, a perfect Christmas. After giving up hope of ever meeting Mr. Perfect on her own, she decides to hire a professional matchmaker. Throughout the process of showing Dr. Simon Dodson, the matchmaker what she's really made of, she loses her heart to him ... can she get him to realize he loves her in return? Debbie Macomber has a flair for telling a story that warms your heart and keeps your interest. This was an enjoyable, quick read, but yet at times, thought provoking as well.

Review: A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta Chapman

A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta ChapmanMy rating: 5 of 5 starsThis was a really good story ... The Amish community described in this book is more accepting of "Englisch" ways than many of the other Amish books I've read. I liked the way the main character was able to return to her Amish home, yet still use the knowledge she had learned while living with her aunt in Philadelphia.View all my reviews

Review: Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne

Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Part of the "Magic Tree House" series, this book has Jack and Annie traveling to Camelot where they find things are not as they should be. Jack and Annie agree to go on a quest to the "Otherworld" to try to get find and bring back some water from the cauldron of memory and imagination. Will Jack and Annie be able to get past the keepers of the cauldron and safely bring the water of memory and imagination back to Camelot to restore the joy before it's too late?

View all my reviews

Jonathan's Turkey

No, Jonathan is not a turkey (well, maybe sometimes) ... he had to make a turkey.  His assignment was to have his family help him decorate a turkey for homework last week … we were quite proud of how it turned out!!

Review: A Prairie Christmas Collection

A Prairie Christmas Collection: 9 Historical Christmas Romances from America's Great Plains by Tracie Peterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really nice collection of Christmas stories. A couple of the stories felt a bit rushed in the "climax", but I think sometimes that's just the way short stories are, they have to pull things together a lot faster due to their shortened nature. Each story was about 50 pages long, which was nice -- I could read one or two in a sitting, and not have to remember what was going on in the book when I was able to pick it up again, which this week was nice, since I haven't had any large chunks of time to read. I think my favorite story in this collection was "Circle of Blessings" (Raney).

View all my reviews

2010 Christmas Christian Fiction Reading Challenge

This is another challenge from Margaret over at http://chf.creativemadnessmama.comChallenge Requirements:1- Challenge will start Monday, November 15 and will end Friday, December 31.2- You can read anywhere from 1 to 5 books for the challenge and, of course, if you’re like me, you are more than welcome to surpass that number.3- And now, here’s the clincher… they must be Christmas Christian Fiction related books.4- The size of the book does not matter, nor does the genre. It is also okay for the book to overlap with other challenges. YA is okay. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, and other formats are all allowed. As long as the book can by purchased it counts.I'd best get to work if I'm going to be able to start this one on the 15th.  I have a stack of Christmas books just waiting to be read ... they include:

1. The Sound of Sleigh Bells (Woodsmall) (oops ... just realized I read this one last year.  I'll have to find something else.)
2. Christmas at Harringtons (Carlson) -- I can't get my hands on a copy of this one, I'll  put it on next years list!
3. A Prairie Christmas Collection (Peters, Bateman, Raney ...) -- 11/22/10
4. A Simple Amish Christmas (Chapman) -- 11/25/10
5. Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball (Paul) -- I can't get my hands on a copy of this one, I'll  put it on next years list!
6. Grace (Gray) -- 12/4/10
7. Finding Father Christmas (Gunn) -- 12/5/10
8. Engaging Father Christmas (Gunn) -- 12/8/10
9. A Door County Christmas (Melby, et al.) -- 12/16/10

Here are some other Christmas books I also plan to read, but I don't think they will fit this challenge as they (probably) aren't considered Christian fiction.

1. Home for the Holidays (Macomber) -- 11/15/10
2. The Perfect Christmas (Macomber) -- 11/29/10
3. A Cars Christmas (Lagonegro - a Step Into Reading Ready to Read book) -- 12/8/10
4. Christmas in Camelot (Osborne) -- 11/24/10
5. The Christmas Clock (Martin) -- 12/7/10
6. Auntie Claus (Primavera) -- 12/13/10
7. Ernest's Special Christmas (Barnes ) -- 12/13/10
8. Christmas at the Candle Factory (Johns)-- 12/13/10

1st Day of School

Hard to believe, but summer has come and gone ...
We all had a great 1st day, which hopefully is an indication of a great year to come.

We hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend.
Hold on to your hats (it's been extremely windy here the past couple of days).
We'll write more soon!!

Take me out to the ballgame ...

We went to our first ever West Michigan Whitecaps game this afternoon. I had won tickets to the game back in April, and we were excited to go. We had great seats (right behind the opposing team's dugout) and it was a good game ... the Whitecaps won 10-7! Check out the "Whitecaps Game" photo album listed to the right to see some pictures from our afternoon at the ballpark.
Enjoy
~Kati

Practicing the Saxophone

Here's a little video of David playing a song he's taught himself out of his book. Honestly, this isn't the best he's played it, but I thought this was still pretty good, and lunch was almost ready, so I didn't have him play it again.
~Enjoy, Kati

Mommy's New Ride

Isn't it pretty :-)

1st Saxophone Lesson

Chris had asked Mr. Hansen to set aside a saxophone for David and we'd come get it when school got out ... well, Mr. Hansen decided to do one better and brought it to Chris about a week ago, so David's already had a lesson on how to put it together, etc. He actually has been getting it out everyday and "playing" it ... he's playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and it doesn't sound too bad -- I don't know if he's really playing the right notes or not, but he's managed to pick out some notes that work regardless.