Rhonda's Doings !

 Review of A Christmas Home by Greg Kincaid  Todd McCray, hero of  A Dog Named Christmas , is now twenty-four years old and working at a local animal shelter, where he meets and quickly becomes best friends with Laura, a young volunteer. Laura, like Todd, has disabilities of her own, but her struggles are more physical than developmental. Their friendship is sealed when Todd—with the help of his trusted companion, the tenacious Labrador retriever named Christmas—trains a beautiful dog named Gracie to help Laura with the day-to-day life tasks that are difficult for her.              Life seems good for Todd, but all is not well in his hometown. Struggling families unable to make ends meet are abandoning more and more dogs, and the shelter is swelling to capacity.  The local government is struggling to meet its obligations too, and in early December, on the cusp of another holiday season, Todd’s bo...

Review of Healing Love (The Amish of Webster County) by Laura V. Hilton                             and GIVEAWAY Winner:                Karen Schulz  is the winner of copy of Healing Love Congratulations!   You will receive email--please send mailing address!   Welcome to the Blog Tour for Healing Love, the first in the new series, The Amish of Webster County, by Laura V. Hilton.  To celebrate this tour, Laura is giving away a basket of goodies, on her blog, all comments left on this blog or on her blog during the blog tour (November 1 -22nd) will be entered for the drawing of the Grate-Fall Basket.  Click on the picture below to go to Laura's blog to learn more about the participants and to enter the giveaway.  Don't forget a comment here also will give you an entry.  This book was provided by Whitaker House for review purp...

Review of An Amish Gift By Cynthia Keller From the author of  An Amish Christmas  and  A Plain & Fancy Christmas  comes a heartwarming novel of marriage and family, new beginnings and poignant homecomings—just in time for the holidays.   After her husband, Shep, loses his latest job, Jennie Davis is grateful to be in a car en route to beautiful Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Shep has inherited a house from a distant cousin, along with the cousin’s long-established bicycle shop. The move gives Jennie, Shep, and their two children a welcome chance for a fresh start.   While Shep dives into his new venture at the bike shop, Jennie carefully restores their broken-down house. She loves being a stay-at-home mom but yearns to find some fulfillment outside of her family—particularly as they struggle financially. On morning walks, she forges a friendship with her Amish neighbor, Mattie Fisher, who opens up about her modest way of life. Mattie’s unswerv...

Healing Love book giveaway!     by Laura V. Hilton  Enter now by leaving a comment with your email.  For extra entries, follow my blog, share on facebook, or twitter.   You can leave one comment telling me what you did to enter.  Good luck!    Contest ends at 12:01 a.m. on November 18, 2012.  Review will follow announcement of winner!!!    Life gets a lot harder for Amish midwife Kristi Lapp when a buggy wreck lands her in the hospital and leaves her with a pronounced limp. Among her biggest concerns is the well-being of her dog, Chinook, as she is no longer able to keep up with the high-energy Siberian husky. Adding insult to injury, she fears she’ll never marry for love, for what man would willingly wed a woman who needs help with even the most basic of household tasks?   Shane Zimmerman moved to Seymour for a fresh start. The veterinarian is still reeling from the loss of his young wife, who died in childbirth—an ...

Review of The Amish Family Cookbook  by Jerry & Tina Eicher From the home of bestselling author Jerry Eicher (more than 350,000 books sold) and his wife, Tina, comes this warm and inviting peek into an Amish kitchen, complete with.... Amish recipes: Hannah Byler's Pecan Pie Beat on low speed slightly or with hand beater:  3 eggs 1/3 cup butter, melted 1 cup light corn syrup  ? t. salt 2/3 cup sugar  Stir in: 1 cup pecan halves.  Pour into: 1 pie crust Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes. Amish proverbs: It takes seven to cook for to make a really happy wife. and Amish humor: The Englisha visitor suffered through a three-hour Amish wedding service, sitting on the hard backless church bench.  "Why does it take so long to tie the knot?" he asked afterward. "Well," the bishop said, stroking his long white beard. "So that it takes ?em a lifetime to untie it." Readers will laugh, pray, and eat robustly with The Amish Family Cookbook at their side. ...

Days 7 & 8 of NHBPM  Day 7:  Redesigning a doctor's office:   wow, could I really redesign the doctor's office?   There should be some really comfy reclining massage chairs in here!   Two of them--one for the patient and one for caretaker.    There should be soothing colors on the walls, lovely paintings or murals.    How about a television or computer to use while waiting?   Let's have videos/shows/computer games that educate us about the illnesses we are here to diagnose, discuss, and treat/cure!   This could alleviate a great deal of stress.  Music! Music! Music!  let's have some great music to choose from  to help us pass the time without stressing and our blood pressure going sky high.    I know you need all the medical things and that's okay.  Let's just have a few goodies in the room to make us less fearful and anxious.   It will make your job so much easier!   Day 8: ...

Review of The River                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ...

Review of A Home for Lydia by Vannetta Chapman A Home for Lydia, the second book in a new romantic s eries from popular author Vannetta Chapman, centers again on the Plain community of Pebble Creek and the kind, caring people there. As they face challenges to their community from the English world, they come together to reach out to their non-Amish neighbors while still preserving their cherished Plain ways. Aaron Troyer simply wants to farm like his father and grandfather before him. But instead he finds himself overseeing the family's small group of guest cabins nestled along the banks of Pebble Creek. That also means he must work with the cabins' housekeeper, Lydia Fisher. Lydia is the most outspoken Amish woman Aaron has ever met, and she has strong opinions about how the guest cabins are to be run. She also desperately needs this job. Though sparks fly between boss and employee at first, when the cabins are robbed, nothing is more important to Aaron than making ...

NMBPM Day 5:  Three things I am thankful for, excited about or inspired by.................. Three things that I am thankful for, excited about, or inspired by................. wow, this is difficult because there are SO MANY THINGS I could choose to share!   I am thankful for God and His love for me!   I am thankful that this LIFE is not all there is.....that there is an eternity waiting that is even better! even more glorious than any thing I have ever imagined! I am thankful for my husband and daughters and all my family!   They brighten my life and bring so much joy to me!    I am thankful for all the difficult things that have happened in my life because they have formed me into the person I am today!   They have made me a stronger person.   They have forced me to accept some hard realities and admit the existence of death, sickness, and evil.   They have shown me that joy does come in the morning!   my son-in-l...

NHBPM DAY 4:  WHAT'S IN THE PURSE/CARRYALL? OH NO!  I remember as a child, seeing in my Granny's bag, and thinking to myself: "I will NEVER carry all THOSE things in my purse!"   and now, what do I find in my purse?  very similar items!  LOL  wallet  id cards driver's license insurance cards  business cards appointment cards for doctors/therapists hand sanitizer spray cologne Blistex lip balm with SPF 15 tissues wet wipes ink pen keys pads note pad cell phone pill box with all my "as needed" pills bottle of extra pills "just in case" coin purse very little cash!  :( checkbook postage stamps receipts eye glass case with prescription sunglasses to prevent migraines eye glass cleaning cloth spray eye glass cleaner solution eye drops for allergies oh no, I think I'm my granny!   

Review of  A Thin Film of Lies by C. S. Lakin The story tells of a homicide detective, Fran Anders, whose next case throws her into the lives of Mike and Alisa Jepson, a couple whose marriage is disintegrating fast. When leads coming into the precinct point at Mike Jepson as guilty of murder, Fran watches the damage wrought on this couple, yet is unable to ignore the incriminating evidence. When Mike ends up arrested and in jail, Alisa takes comfort in a friend—Dee Dee—who moves in with her but soon becomes her worst nightmare. Mike hires a PI who uncovers clues to who is setting Mike up, but Alisa is caught in a trap before Mike can protect her. Although Fran reaches out to Alisa during her crisis of faith, she is unable to stop events from barreling toward a crash. Yet, despite the tragedies to follow, Fran sees how God has used the Jepsons’ trials and pain to bring Alisa back into His arms, with hope that Mike might follow suit. Fran is a dedicated, no-frills cop who tak...

Day 3:  What it is like to travel with my condition: Ulcerative Colitis I chose one of the alternative prompts for today's blog as it is so much a part of my daily life.  I have to carry a bag with extra clothing, Depends, wipes, and medications.   I have to plan additional time as well in the event that I will have to stop somewhere for bathroom.  Many times, the stopping might be on the side of the road as there is nothing in sight when the URGE hits and others with this condition will know what I mean...when we gotta go, we REALLY GOTTA GO!    It creates a great deal of anxiety for me to travel.  I have to watch what I eat and I must take more medication to slow down my colon so that I don't have an accident!  That leads to pain.    Doesn't sound like much fun, does it?   It has indeed created some agoraphobia for me.  I am a very social person and love to travel and be with other people so this is not easy for me! ...

Day 2 Blog  I was talking to some friends today and we were discussing the depression we experience and how getting out and being with others helps to alleviate those feelings!!    Just the act of getting out of the house and sitting on a porch or taking a short walk can be helpful.   Physical health problems can keep us stuck.....stuck inside and stuck inside our pain-FILLED bodies.  It helps to have something else on our minds.   I also find that doing something to help someone else is really important to healing!    

Day 1, Blog 1:   WHY I WRITE ABOUT MY HEALTH:    I want to simply say that living with any chronic illness presents daily challenges for each of us.   It does not define us.   There is hope.    I write about my health as a healing tool.  I find that keeping a prayer journal or any journal helps.  Blogs can serve as a journal for folks in today's technological world.    It helps when we SPEAK things aloud or record them on paper or the internet.  We take the power away from the demon when we name it!!!   

Review of The Little Amish Matchmaker by Linda Byler Simon can’t stop thinking about the pretty Amish teacher at the local one-room school. But he’s ignored the sparks between them because he’s so shy. So Simon’s little brother, Isaac, takes matters into his own hands. He’s determined to give his brother the best Christmas present ever—a date with his favorite teacher. Amish novelist Linda Byler brings her tender humor and skillful observation of family relationships to this holiday story. “I love Isaac’s self-confidence and scheming as he prods his reluctant older brother,” she says knowingly about her characters. Byler takes her reader straight into the Amish world as Isaac is both charmed and annoyed by his too talkative, but quite bright, Mam. He can barely tolerate his little nieces and nephews, who substantially outnumber the grown-ups when the whole family gets together. And he loves his humble, circumspect Dat, although his father isn’t always pleased by how w...