ChristmasTime is here

Hopefully I am out of my blogging funk. Hey its Christmas time, no yucky attitudes around. Having a blast with LynnMarie. She has seen Santa Clause (check out www.thechristopherfamily.blogspot.com ) and is getting used to the Christmas tree in the house. She loves the stuffed Christmas toys that move and sing and just finds joy in everything.

One of the things I dreamed about while waiting to become a mom, was Christmas time and all the things that you can do and all the things that Christmas is about and sharing that with my child. It makes my heart smile to know our little girl is home this year and is going to be showered with love ( gonna get some presents too.

Just checking and thought I would ask a Christmas question?

What is your all time favorite Christmas movie? My husband might say Die Hard (ha) but feel free to get as cheesy as you can!

Christmas Traditions

I want to hear yours. I am a Christmas fanatic, although I have really been holding out on listening to Christmas music. But I want to hear your traditions to help us develop a few of our own. We really want to bring the real meaning of Christmas in our house and want our house to be full of memories for sweet girl!!

So bring em on!

this week

We are leaving next Tuesday evening for our trip to FL for Thanksgiving. This will be our first trip home for a holiday since we have been married, over 8 years ago. I am very excited and anticipating this wonderful experience with Michael and sweet LynnMarie!

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions, what do you do leading up to CHristmas? I have to figure ours out. I have so many planned but would like to really simplify things as its not about all the things you do for the Holiday, but remembering what its all about and that is the one thing I want LynnMarie to remember!

Keep praying for us! LynnMarie has had a nasty cold/cough/congestion for 7 days now and Michael is sick as well!

catching up

I swore I would not get sucked into facebook and neglect my blog which is what has happened. Its so sad since I love blogging and getting to know bloggers and whats going on in their lives.
Nothing new to report here although if you ever want to see pics of the most precious little girl, find me on facebook or head over to the family blog at www.thechristopherfamily.blogspot.com

Loving the weather, loving my family and my little girl. I have already experienced many of the things I have dreamed about and had other surprises. 2 weekends ago, LynnMarie got sick. It was not as bad as it could have been, but the nurse in me started guessing what was wrong. She woke up one night crying so hard she threw up all over me..After getting us cleaned, we first rocked in her nursery and I tried to sing almost every song I could remember. Just some sweet praise music along with some old 80s music that I cant forget the words..I bet we rocked well over an hour and you could tell she did not feel good. But we rocked and her eyes closed and every few minutes, she would smile. She was getting comfortable. But no sleep.

SO we went downstairs and watched the Mickey MOuse Clubhouse movie and other cartoons and even played until almost 6am. Still worried, I went ahead and took her to the doctor who tested her for stuff and found out she had a virus that caused some sores in her throat which is why she had been crying.. 2 days later she was back to herself. Man, I love this little girl

Did I tell you that for the first time since we have been married, we are going home for Thanksgiving? I am so excited to be around all my family for almost a whole week. And when we get back, its Christmas time baby!!!!!! Yippee!

Fall

We have had some really nice weather in Atlanta this week. Makes me want to be outside all of the time. I want LynnMarie to experience all of God's creation. We had a perfect zoo day yesterday and looking for more fun things to do tomorrow.

So what are some of your fall traditions? Are there recipes that you must make every year? Any projects that you try to do? We hit the Apple Festival in Elijay a few weeks ago and also visited a pumpkin patch at a local church that is always fun..

I love the fall but I am still excited about the fact that Christmas is coming.

Nothing new here, just enjoying life with hubby and baby girl. Enjoying facebook and I am still reading blogs, so if you have new ones that are must reads let me know.

Book Review The Swiss Courier

I'm once again thankful to have been given this book in exchange for a review.I wil be honest, Im usually not one for mystery/suspense but this book was good. I totally recommend reading this or getting it for a friend. The book takes place in the 1940 and involves a character whose job is to collect suspected enemies of the Third Reich. This book took me to another time and another place and the characters were so real. I could very well see this done as a movie.

Wait until you get to meet Gabi and learn about the decisions she has to make!!! If you do get this book, please let me know. I would love to chat with you about it..

More about the book


About the book!
It is August 1944 and the Gestapo is mercilessly rounding up suspected enemies of the Third Reich. When Joseph Engel, a German physicist working on the atomic bomb, finds that he is actually a Jew, adopted by Christian parents, he must flee for his life to neutral Switzerland. Gabi Mueller is a young Swiss-American woman working for the newly formed American Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner to the CIA) close to Nazi Germany. When she is asked to risk her life to safely "courier" Engel out of Germany, the fate of the world rests in her hands. If she can lead him to safety, she can keep the Germans from developing nuclear capabilities. But in a time of traitors and uncertainty, whom can she trust along the way? This fast-paced, suspenseful novel takes readers along treacherous twists and turns during a fascinating--and deadly--time in history.

About the authors:
Tricia Goyer is the author of several books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance. Goyer lives with her family in Montana. To find out more visit her website: www.triciagoyer.com
Mike Yorkey is the author or coauthor of dozens of books, including the bestselling Every Man's Battle series. Married to a Swiss native, Yorkey lived in Switzerland for 18 months. He and his family currently reside in California.To find out more visit his website: www.MikeYorkey.com






CONTEST (and this includes CHOCOLATE!)
Pst...pass it on! Help Spread the word about #SwissCourier on Twitter and enter to win a signed copy & Swiss Chocolate!

Just tweet this: The Swiss Courier by @triciagoyer fast paced and suspenseful! Don't miss out! http://tr.im/Ahjs RT #swisscourier and we'll enter you into a drawing for 1 of 5 SIGNED copies of The Swiss Courier!


Dont forget to visit the others on the blog tour, there are more great blog to read.

Head here to visit the other.

Book Review Pearl Girls

I was so thankful to be given this book to read and review..Please make sure you read the book info the publisher provided and don't forget to follow the book tour, that's always fun! For those of you who have a heart for Africa, read what buying this book can do for the kids in Uganda!

Loved this book. Not my usual review, but this is a book full of honesty and encouragement.. Its a book full of short stories and essays from many Christian authors.
So whats a Pearl Girl? Head over to the website and learn what you are and join in on the fun!

This is the kind of book you take everywhere with ya, because you just want to finish it and see what other encouragement you will find..Check the book out, if not for yourself, it would make a sweet gift

About the book:

With His love and grace, God covered the unexpected pain in my life of becoming an adult orphan and transformed this pain into a pearl. We are all Pearl Girls. Each of us has been touched by God's gift of love and grace, and it's a gift that I want to share with others. That's why I am launching Pearl Girls.



Actually, my very first gift from my parents was a pearl. The gift of my name. Margaret means "precious pearl." So perhaps this is what I was always supposed to do. My heart's prayer is that Pearl Girls will be a blessing to others - to the women who contribute their literary talent to the Pearl Girls projects; to the readers who are inspired and comforted by the life experiences shared through these projects and to the women and children who will benefit from the proceeds given by Pearl Girls to various charities. This is a win-win for everyone, and each of us has a special part in making the Pearl Girls projects "blessed sellers."



After the first Pearl Girls tea in Atlanta, I went to my brother, Claude's home to help sort through our parents' boxes in his basement. It was an emotional experience and tedious process to discover what was in each box, to decide what to do with each item and to discard those belongings which we needed to let go. After several long hours of sorting, I received an incredible hug from heaven - a confirmation that Pearl Girls is something that is meant to be. I discovered a three strand necklace of painted pearls belonging to my grandmother from the early 1900s! Isn't that amazing?
Press Release: http://www.mpnewsroom.com/?p=602

Excerpt: http://www.mpnewsroom.com/images/excerpt/PearlGirls.pdf

Click above to read a free excerpt from the book!

It’s about Connecting Hearts and Souls to Impact the World.

As you know Margaret doesn’t keep a penny of any proceeds. When getting the word out about Pearl Girls, please let people know that 100% of the royalties go directly to two charities:

WINGS (women in need growing stronger). The proceeds will help fund a Safe House in the Chicago suburbs. It costs $50 a night to provide safe shelter for a woman and her children. During this economy, WINGS is receiving even more phone calls for a safe place to stay. Already, the Pearl Girls have provided 60 nights with the advance royalties. www.wingsprogram.com

Hands of Hope. The proceeds will help build wells in Uganda for school children. Can you imagine a child at school without a water fountain in the hallway where he or she can grab a quick sip of water in between classes on a hot day? These children have to drink from puddles and other water sources which carry diseases and parasites. It costs $12,000 to build a well in Uganda. Already, the Pearl Girls have provided funds to build ¼ of a well. www.handsofhopeonline.orgFirst and foremost Margaret would like you to highlight above all else that 100% of the book’s royalties go to Charity.