Everything's a Competition!!

This little boy just LOVES to make everything into a competition.  From walking up the stairs at night to eating dinner to getting dressed...it is so funny because neither his father or I are the competitive type.  At least not in this way.

We've had to make a schedule for who walks up the stairs first at night.  We've had to remind him that if you race while eating, you may choke.  We've had to let him know that he's not racing to get dressed with himself.  (As the only child, he can't race with anyone else...)

So my question for today is:  Where does it come from?

Book Review Coming Soon!!

The stirring narrative of Unsinkable tells 16-year-old Abby Sunderland’s remarkable true story of attempting to become the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world.
More people have flown into outer space than have sailed solo around the globe. It is a challenge so immense that many have died trying, and all have been pushed beyond every physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual limit. In Unsinkable, readers follow Abby Sunderland into those depths. This biography delivers a gripping and evocative firsthand account that starts prior to her departure, travels through her daring (and sometimes near-death) encounters on the open sea, to her dramatic rescue in the remotest corner of the Indian Ocean, and the media explosion that happened upon her safe return to dry land.
Along the way, readers discover what it means to boldly face any challenge, to strive after something great, and to plumb the depths of faith, fear, and desperation only to emerge changed, renewed, and emboldened. In this day and age, when the most productive thing a teenager may do is play videogames, Abby’s ambition and tenacity is a real-life parable of what can happen when we choose to exceed our own limits and strive after what all the naysayers say is impossible.

Book Review: Lilly's Wedding Quilt

From the publisher: Handsome, headstrong Jacob offers Lilly his hand in marriage, but his heart belongs to someone ese. While Lilly Lapp has loved Jacob for years, she wouldn't compete with Sarah King, the woman Jacob was determined to marry. But when Sarah marries another, Jacob spontaneously agrees to wed Lilly.


Lilly divides her time between teaching the local Amish children and caring for her widowed mother who suffers from depression. Lilly's faith comforts her, but her heart still longs to be the sole object of Jacob's affection. As the days slip by, Lilly decides that hoping is too risky and vows to protect her heart. But God is subtly as work, and as winter turns to spring, their hearts awaken.
The furthest thing from Lilly's mind is her Amish wedding quilt, a traditional gift for new brides. And the person she'd least suspect is the one making it. Like stray pieces of fabric quilted into a new design, Jacob and Lilly's marriage begins to bind them together in ways neither expected.
My review: Lilly's Wedding Quilt is the second in the author's "A Patch of Heaven" novels (Sarah's Garden being the first). I haven’t read Sarah’s Garden and I don’t think it would be necessary to do so before reading this selection. There are some characters that are the same but the stories are entirely different. I consider myself to be a lover of Amish fiction. I have always enjoyed hearing stories from my Amish family and their lives. (It doesn’t hurt that I’m a teacher like Lilly and a quilter, too!) I loved the story of Lilly's Wedding Quilt. I couldn’t put this book down – the characters are easy to follow, the story is enticing and the obvious love the characters were building toward each other was great. Of course, there is the common ground of God and his guidance in their lives (and ours) throughout the book and the characters’ belief that He is in charge of the way their lives turn. I loved the ending, too, when the readers see just how strong Jacob’s love has gotten for his wife, Lilly!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

ZOO in January?

Mom and I decided to take advantage of some beautiful weather in January to take Eli to the Dallas Zoo.  We chose to ride the DART train to and from the zoo.  A couple of days later, it was snowing!

Eli LOVES giraffes!  That was our first stop and he got to feed them!  So much fun!!

He was also able to get 'up close and personal' to the jaguars!!

having trouble downloading the rest of the pics...ughhh!  back later!