Good afternoon!  Do you love to read good books??  I know a writer who has been on the scene just a few short years but it really a great author.  Her name, you ask?  Miralee Ferrell!  She has decided to begin writing a  monthly newsletter to share her thoughts, stories, and ideas...but also a way to spiritually uplift her readers.  What more could we want!?  If you're interested, go over and check her out...sign up for the newsletter...or at the very least, read her books!!  :)

Happy January!

I was fortunate enough to review these for LuxuryReading.com. Here are my reviews:

Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers

Reviewed by Amanda S.

In Her Mother’s Hope, Francine Rivers lays out the first two generations of a family that emigrated from Europe in the late 1800’s. Marta comes from a family that was abusive, strict, and hard-working. She vows to live a different life than the one she’s been dealt and sets off on her own at a very young age. Her mother kept telling her to “fly,” and so fly she did…all the way to Canada.

In Canada, Marta sets up her boardinghouse and meets her husband, who then moves her to America, but not without a fight. Marta doesn’t like the idea of doing what her husband tells her to do and so she fights it with all she has. Following the move, Marta gives birth to their second child, Hildemara Rose. Weak and ill from birth, Hildemara is a special child. But Marta refuses to coddle Hildie and is harder on her than on any of her other children. Rather than take these criticisms and turn them into a positive, Hildie internalizes the hurt and feels unwanted and unloved by her mother.

As Hildemara grows, she is determined to not allow her mother to bring her down and to live her life the way she wants to live it: serving others. Hildie becomes a nurse, marries, and starts a family of her own…only to become ill, forcing her to ask her mother for help. Will Marta come and help Hildemara or will she only push Hildie away like she’s always done?

Francine Rivers weaves another beautiful tale for us that comes partially from her own family history. We see the pain each character goes through, their joys, their triumphs, and their sorrows. In many ways we can see ourselves in the different characters. Have we been harder on one child than on the others, especially if it’s for their own good? Or have we coddled one child over another because they were weaker or needed more help? Have we, like Marta, been so adamant not to relive our childhood that we pushed ourselves to the opposite extreme, and became almost hateful in our dealings with our spouse or children?

Her Mother’s Hope ends rather abruptly and with a huge cliffhanger, much like Voice In The Wind (from The Mark of the Lion series by Rivers). The main character is on the brink of death, and we have to wait until the next book to find out what happens….which is months in coming! While not liking the cliffhangers in Francine River’s books, I will never turn down the opportunity to read one of her works! The second book, Her Daughter’s Dream, comes out in the fall of 2010.

For more information, please visit Francine Rivers’ website.

Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers

Reviewed by Amanda S.

In Her Daughter’s Dream, Francine Rivers continues the family story of Marta, Hildemara Rose, Carolyn, and May Flower Dawn. Hildemara, Carolyn’s mother, returns home from the sanatorium to continue healing from tuberculosis, while Marta, the grandmother, moves in to take care of the family. Carolyn attaches herself to her Marta and the chasm between Hildemara and Carolyn begins. Over the years, the lack of communication causes that chasm to grow larger and larger. As Carolyn grows into adulthood, Hildie sees that her relationship with her daughter is getting worse, not better, but does not see a way to fix it.

When Carolyn comes home pregnant, Trip and Hildie do what they think is best for Carolyn, but end up hurting her in the process. Hildie takes it upon herself to be May Flower Dawn’s (Carolyn’s daughter) caretaker, thus creating another chasm between Dawn and Carolyn.

In her younger years, Dawn says and does some very hurtful things to Carolyn, but Carolyn is determined to have a better relationship with her daughter and keeps trying to improve it. After Carolyn marries Mitch, they move Dawn to a new home further away from Hildie, which causes Dawn to act out even more against her mother. Over the course of time, Mitch helps Dawn to become aware of the long standing family feud. When Dawn is married and on her own, she struggles to keep things in perspective where her mother and grandmother are concerned, but she’s determined to bridge the gap between them. With God’s help, she is able to do that, but at a very high cost.

Her Daughter’s Dream is just as good as the first book, Her Mother’s Hope. Rivers does a fantastic job weaving together multiple generations of a family to show us how we can hurt one another without intending to and how we struggle to deal with the ramifications. Simple words and simple misunderstandings left unresolved cause more hurt and sadness as the years go by; they don’t just go away.

I found myself relating to certain characters, laughing with them, and even getting mad and yelling at them at different points throughout the book. The characters are just so real that I was immediately drawn in and couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Knowing this was a story loosely based on Francine’s own family history, Her Daughter’s Dream takes on even more meaning. The research she did and the things she learned about her own family truly made this book (and the one before it) a labor of love. It’s very obvious how much of herself Rivers put into these stories. These are definitely a set of books to have on your “keeper shelf!”

Mamma Mia

Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, etc.

We watched this movie last Saturday at the suggestion of a friend. I was looking forward to the movie, simply cuz of all the ABBA songs on it. However, from the very beginning, DH was laughing and making jokes and comments about the story and how silly it was. I just glared at him, of course, but ignored him. However, the more the movie went on, the more I had to agree with him. LOL When Meryl Streep started singing....oh my. Not good. She and Pierce Brosnan should NOT be singers. Sorry. I like Amanda Seyfried, but the rest left alot to be desired. And the storyline was so hokey, it was laughable.

Sorry, Ruth! I just couldn't like this one! Perhaps I've been around my boys too long and they have corrupted me! ROFL!

Love Find You in Last Chance California

Fool's Gold

with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson

Rated PG-13

(Personal Rating: R)

Tess and Finnigan are a young married couple who are in the process of getting divorced. Finn is a treasure hunter who is looking for a lost Spanish treasure and Tess has gotten involved as well. After their divorce if final, they are able to get connected with a wealthy older man who is also interested in finding this treasure...but they must do it before the competition, who is only interested in the monetary value of the treasure, not the history. Of course they fall back in love in the process! Chick-flick!

We watched this movie last night and were totally flabbergasted by the language that was involved! (Hence my "personal rating" of R!) This movie should have been rated R due to the language alone. The violence and the nature of the movie (treasure hunting) was nothing to steer kids away from. But the language was. We were truly bothered by it. McConaughey and Hudson, however, were wonderful in this movie. They make a great pair! My kids didn't particularly like the part at the end with the 'kissing' LOL but I've determined that ALL movies are chick-flicks, regardless of how much bang-em-up is in it. (And no, the boys weren't in the room for all of the movie...they didn't pick up on the foul language, they just knew there were some bad words in it.)

The Apple Dumping Gang
With Bill Bixby, Don Knotts and Tim Conway
Rated G
From Walt Disney Pictures

A bachelor (Bixby), who enters a town to play poker, finds himself in charge of 3 children who have no home and no parents. He tries to pawn them off on other couples so he can be on his way, but no one wants them for various reasons. Finally he resigns himself to keeping them and of course, they get themselves into all sorts of problems that cost him a fair amount of money.

Meanwhile, two outlaws (Knotts and Conway) attempt to rob Bixby of any money he gets, but are always failing in their attempts. And failing hilariously. :)

When the children discover a large nugget of gold in a mine, they become well liked and famous in the town. The outlaws and Bixby try to protect the children and the nugget from other outlaws intent on stealing it.

And of course, there is an element of romance within the story...when Bixby falls in love with the stage-driver, Dusty (or Magnolia, as she is more properly called). They marry and care for the children and live happily ever after....

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We really enjoyed this movie. I hadn't seen it in a long time and the boys had never seen it. We really didn't think they would like it, but the boys laughed all the way through it. And at the end, during the gun-fighting shoot-out, Brent went in and got his "gun" and stood in front of the TV and shot with them. It was hilarious....when the horses were running and they were chasing each other on horseback, he starts jumping up and down with his feet close together, all the while still shooting at the TV. He was 'riding a horse' in the horse-chase. LOL Of course, not to be out down, Clayton got up and started riding the donkey in the movie. How'd we know it was the donkey? On leg kept kicking up and down. LOL

Obviously, this will be one we continue to watch when we need a good laugh.