What am I Reading?

I finished Stephanie Bond's Baby, Don't Go. This was my favorite in the Southern Roads Trilogy. She says she is going to have at least one more book in the series, so I am looking forward to reading that in the future.

I also got to be a Beta Reader for another Stephanie Bond book called "Stop the Wedding". It was a book that she wrote many years ago, but never published. On her blog she was looking for beta readers, so I contacted her about it. Stop the Wedding was a cute, funny romance on par with many of her others. I really enjoyed it.

I read Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson. A good friend of mine recommended this, so I had to give it a try. It was about a woman who has amnesia. She forgets everything when she goes to sleep, so she writes notes and journal entries to help her get through the days. It was full of suspense and the ending was totally unexpected. It was definitely one of those books you just can't put down. Thanks, Robyn, for the recommendation!



Being in the holiday spirit, I found several free and cheap Christmas themed books to read. The first one I read was A Cowboy for Christmas by Kristen James. It was okay. The cowboy started off as brooding and angry, but he did a 180 degree turn a little too quickly and unrealistically. I just didn't buy into the transformation. It was a quick and easy read and I was entertained, but not wowed.

I read A Superstitious Christmas by Tonya Kappes. This book was about a very superstitious family. A lot of the superstitions were a bit silly. However, I kept reading it and was beginning to enjoy it when it ended abruptly. It turns out that this more of a prequel to a book that is coming out in a couple of months.

I also read Sandra Hill's A Dixie Christmas. This book was actually 2 short stories. The first one was Blue Christmas and took place in Memphis with lots of Elvis references. The second one was about a Nascar racer who was trying to get back with his ex-wife. They were both quick reads, but I enjoyed the first one a lot more.

And finally, I read Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay Sands. This is the second book in the Highlander series. I read the 3rd one over Thanksgiving. Although it is the 3rd in the series, it stands alone and did not cause any difficulties reading it out of order. I got this one through the library for my Kindle, so I am going to have to see if they have the first one now. There's something about Scottish historical romances.....

Happy Reading!

Happy Birthday, Beatrix!

Today is my niece, Beatrix's 3rd birthday. Happy Birthday, Beatrix!


Here's a multi-generational picture of the women in our family with Beatrix at about 2 months.

Isn't she adorable??

 And here she is this fall all ready for the first day of preschool.

Happy Birthday, Beatrix! We love you!

Christmas 2011

The kids woke up around 7am on Christmas morning. However, because they were up late the night before and we're mean parents, we told them that they couldn't come downstairs until 8. So at 7:59 this we heard them come downstairs. They are not allowed to touch anything until I take pictures, so here is a picture of the undisturbed Christmas scene at our house. 

We cut back on Christmas this year because of the kittens. There have been some Christmases in the past where we went a little overboard. But this year, Santa & I showed some restraint.

Santa brought Lego sets for both kids as it was on the top of both of their lists. Here's Hannah with her winter Lego set.

And James with his Alien Encounter set.

The kittens had fun with the wrapping paper. Here's Scout playing hide and seek.

After breakfast, the kids moved their Legos downstairs to the basement.

And most of the sets were assembled by lunch time.

Our day was pretty low key. We called family in Indiana and Skyped with family in Las Vegas. We played some new video games and just took it easy. In the evening, Hannah & I finished watching White Christmas which we had started a few days earlier. The dog and both cats climbed up on my chair to cuddle during the movie.

A Look at Christmases Past

I thought it woud be fun to stroll down memory lane and look at some past Christmases.

Christmas 2001

Christmas 2002

Christmas 2003 - Indy

Christmas 2004

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2006 - Indy

Christmas 2007 - Las Vegas

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Lights

Last weekend we went out to dinner with friends, then we went to see the "Lights of Life". Here are a few of my poor quality pictures that I took of the lights.

There's a place to park and walk around. You can visit Santa, roast marshmallows, and see some cute Christmas displays.

Some of Santa's elves taking a sledding break.

And more elves.

Chris and me

Hannah & James sharing a funnel cake with Jeannette in the background.

Rachel and Harry enjoying the seasonal snacks.

Eric, Tyler, & Sue

Looking at the Christmas displays. These displays remind me of the ones that the department stores used to have in their windows many, many years ago in downtown Indianapolis.

Usually we go to Krispy Kreme for some "Hot Now" donuts, but it was getting late and the kids had school tomorrow. The month had been so busy that we were having troubles finding a time to go look at the lights.