Monday, October 31, 2011

Love You More by Jennifer Grant

' "She knows she was adopted," I said. "We talk about it. And, you know what, I am the lucky one.  I'm lucky to be her mother." ' (pg. 183, Love You More)  So says Jennifer in her poignant and realistic book, Love You More. In this heartwarming account, Jennifer tells of her initial desire to adopt a child into her already full, happy family of five and takes us through her life from before her desire to the fruition of her desire in the form of Mia, her adopted Guatemalan daughter.  This is a precious book.  Very down to earth and engaging, easy to read, you feel as if you've stepped in the lives of the Grant family and into Jennifer's own heart and thoughts all at the same time.  You feel as if you're chatting with her over a cup of steaming coffee in her kitchen, with the sound of happy kids playing in the background.

This is a beautiful real-to-life story of how adoption truly should be.  And what a wondrous world it opens!

Thanks to BookSneeze for my review copy of this wonderful book for free in order to write a review.  Please note that all opinions expressed are my own. 

Friday, October 28, 2011

Where has Autumn Run Off To?

Dearest Friends,

Happy Happy Autumn! And Happy October (what is left of it that is!) I am so sorry for such a prolonged absence.  I have been very busy but really, my internet was just being a beast and for some reason would not let me work on my blog, respond to comments, etc. for a very long while.  It seems to be working finally today, so now that I'm thinking of writing a blog, I'm giving it a try!

Autumn is almost over already.  For our region, it will likely still be around another month or so. Maybe a bit less.  But I recall many Thanksgivings when it was hotter outside than inside....and we felt we were roasting ourselves instead of the turkey!  ;-)  Haha! But seriously, it can be very warm on Thanksgiving day. Personally, I like a crisp, cool fall day for Turkey Day because it just feels right to me, and makes the warm, savory dishes and scrumptious turkey and steaming hot mugs of cocoa, cider or tea just that much better. Can you tell I am anticipating Thanksgiving? Yes! I am. I admit, it is probably my favorite holiday of all, though it is tied with Christmas. Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal of all. Has been long as I can remember.  Thankfully, when I attempted my first full-blown Thanksgiving dinner as a newlywed all by myself, it was a fabulous success! Just as my husband!  :-)  We had enough leftovers to feed an army and most of it freezes quite well so we had work lunches to last us several days, too.  So yummy! I'm getting hungry now.....

I haven't read much lately just for fun.  Rather sad I suppose. But I do read a ton in cycles, really.  I love to read and just read and read and read until I can hardly stand to see a book . . . then I read some here and there. Then I start the process all over again.  :-)  I have enough reading with my full time Masters program just starting up, that in my free time I'd rather do something unrelated to reading or writing usually!  However, I will finish the books I started in due time. And will do so gladly!

What's up in your end of the world? I have missed reading the blogs of all my dear bloggy friends. I've really only read one here and there and have such a lot of reading to do! But it's delightful! They are all so good!

If you care to leave a comment or just a nice "hello," please do! It's reassuring to see you are all still "out there" and that you have noticed that I've posted again and am back on the grid! ;-)  Have a lovely fall day!