Exciting Mail...

Coming home from a long day out shopping to find this in the mail...

I knew what it was right away! I hadn't been looking for it since my mind has been somewhere else these past few weeks, but looking at the writing and the name, I knew it was from Dee.

For those of you that don't know who "Dee" is, she is an incredible author in the Christian Fiction world. Her books are well written and her characters come to life off the pages. I've had the pleasure of getting to know her over the past couple of years and helping out in her chat room as a moderator. This package is sent to all three moderators as a perk for helping out. I think I have the better end of the deal for sure!

This is what was inside...


Her new book comes out in June, but she gets ARC's (Advanced Readers Copy) and sends them out and does a giveaway on her blog.

Now this will come as a shocker to all you that know how much I LOVE to read. I haven't read a fictional book since November! Gasp. Yes, November. I've been wanting to read and I have new books sitting on my shelf calling my name, but I was trying to finish a devotional book that was very deep, therefore it took a lot longer to read. I'm still not finished, but I made the "mistake" of opening and reading the first chapter of A Bride in the Bargain... and I was hooked.

I truly feel sorry for all the Dee fans that have to wait until June. I've already got a line forming for my ARC... It.Is.Good. VERY GOOD!

And one thing that just made me giggle right off the bat, there is a character that talks just like my blogging buddy, Becky's toddler son. What's even funnier... it's an elderly lady. You'll be laughing out loud!

So what did I think of the book? One of Deeanne Gist's BEST yet! And one of the BEST books I've read. GOOD STUFF!

My Wonderful Random Week

It's been a really great week... If Sunday was any idea of how the week was going to be, I was ready to stay in bed and cover my head until it was over. But, it has been wonderful! Very random, but great! The one thing that would have made it better... reading. That always lifts my spirits. But then again, maybe it was such a good week because I wasn't reading... who knows.

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This post is going to be a full of pictures today. I walked outside the Saturday before Easter and saw these poinsettias in full bloom... from Christmas! In my backyard! I don't know how it is anywhere else, but we don't see poinsettias around here until late November.

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Kids and Cell Phones

On Wednesday nights I work with the kids, ages 2 - 13 at my church. Every Wednesday we have to make an announcement, "Please turn off your cell phones.". Not just for the older kids, the little kids too! Here are two of our 11 year old boys texting away before class starts. Next thing you know the toddlers will have cell phones!

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Enchanted *sigh*
I had the itch to see Enchanted (click for trailer) after my Sister and Becky said that they saw this twice already. I have now seen it twice and wouldn't mind seeing it again. Such a great movie! I loved it! Family friendly, great music, funny, and sweet.

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Faith, Hope, and Love...
I came home late on Wednesday night, I go straight from work to the hotel where my church is temporarily at while we are in the process of buying our building, and there was a box waiting for me. I opened it, expecting Wives & Daughters DVDs that I purchased forever ago. This is what I found...



BOOKS! I had forgotten that I sent in an application to be a Judge for The Eighth Annual Faith, Hope and Love, RWA Chapter’inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest. I received four books, all signed by the authors! Best of all, I can keep them!

• Summer by Karen Kingsbury


• Black Ice by Linda Hall


• The Will of Wisteria by Denise Hildreth
  
• The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Rolling by Neta Jackson

I'm reading and judging these this month, I can't reveal my actual scores, but I will let you know about the ones that I really liked. I have never read any of these authors before, I know what you're thinking, Never read Karen Kingsbury? This will be my first one. I've been wanting to read her books for so long, I just didn't know where to start. Has anyone read Book 1, Sunrise? If you have, please let me know if I should read that one before Summer. Or fill me in so I'm not lost...

This is going to be very different for me, I don't usually read books like this, I tend to be drawn to the Christian Romance. We shall see...

Keep an eye open for a book giveaway this month... My bookcases are getting too full at this point.

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No Books for two weeks...
I can pick up a book and READ on Saturday! I thought that I would be able to read today, but I calculated wrong. When I wake up on Saturday morning, Deep In The Heart of Trouble and I have a date!

Deep in The Heart of Trouble

Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. Ooooooh my!

I had a bad day on Thursday... Work is crazy and I was in a plain ol' stinky mood. I got home and found a package sitting by the door... what could this be? I had ordered a book online so I got excited as I opened this up until I saw the return address... "Hmmmm".

I ripped the package open and guess what was in there?

I about fell over! That may seem extreme, but if you love books like I do and you saw this, you would have too. Believe me! I screamed like a 5 year old at Disneyland!

I have been waiting for this book for over a year! I won an Advanced Readers Copy of the first book, Courting Trouble, in February 2007. Deep in the Heart of Trouble hits stores in May 2008... I was counting the days.

Deeanne Gist is a phenomenal author who opened my eyes to a whole new world of reading! I "met" her a while back and became a moderator on her chat room with three other awesome women. Dee treats us so well and I don't feel like I'm really doing anything in return! I love being in the chat room talking with fellow book lovers and the highlight of it all is that I've made some great friends there.

Thank you Dee for spoiling us! I appreciate it so very much.

P.S.
I am putting away all books for two weeks, 8 days to go.... Oh, Lord help me! Do you think He's testing me? lol