God Gave Us Two
by Lisa Tawn Bergren is a sweet story about a polar bear family who is preparing their only child for the upcoming birth of a new baby. Little Cub is very curious when the new baby will come and what being a big sister will be like, but most of all she wonders why a new baby is coming. Mama and Papa Bear remind her that she is a special gift from God as well as the new baby. They keep saying over and over, "God gave us you and now He's given us two." The best promise was that no one would ever take Little Cub's place. At the end of the book there is a special surprise!I really liked this cute children's book about a family welcoming a new baby. We are currently at that stage in our life as I'm ready to give birth to our second within a week. I've been trying to find a book that expresses how I want to share about the coming baby to our two year old. I really like how this bear family constantly reminded their little cub of the love they have for her, but that both children are a gift from God. Everytime I read this to my son he lights up when he hears the special words, "God gave us you and now He's given us two." The artwork is also very appealing and shows the beautiful expressions of the bears as they interact together. What a great baby shower gift to give to someone expecting their second child!
*This book was provided to me free of charge by Blogging For Books for purpose of this review. This is my honest opinion of this book and no monetary compensation was received for my opinion.*
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by Jaclyn M. Hawkes is a sweet love story that takes place in the mid 1800's. Trace Grayson is a driver for a wagon train who also studied as a doctor. He decided to move away from the bigotry of the South after the Civil War and began taking wagon trains west. Giselle is a young beautiful Dutch woman traveling with her grandparents to make up the much needed last wagon of the train. Just as they are about to leave, Giselle is confronted by a low life named Filson who accuses her of stealing from him. He wants to have her put in jail which jeopardizes the departure of the wagon train. Trace decides the only way to save Giselle and the wagon train is to marry her. In name only, Trace and Giselle are united but as the journey begins, they encounter many tragic obstacles that threaten their lives. Trace begins to care for Giselle and she starts to fall in love with him. However, at the end of the journey, their advance decision was to have the marriage annulled so Giselle could live with the people of her Mormon background. Throughout their time together, Trace and Giselle become emotionally attached which makes the parting so much more sorrowful when they finally reach their destination. Will Trace and Giselle make a decision to sever their love?
by Kim Vogel Sawyer is that novel! Edythe Amsel worked her whole life trying to leave her family she was forced to raise to be an independent school teacher. She came to Walnut Hill with one goal in mind- to teach, and do it well. According to the townspeople, her teaching methods were unusual, but the students learned and enjoyed going to school for once. Despite many invitations from eligible young men, Edythe refused male attention so she could focus on her career. She wasn't prepared to meet Joel Townsend who was the endearing uncle of two of her students. They became good friends and secretly held crushes for each other until Joel finds out some surprising facts about Miss Amsel that alter his pursuit. Despite the misbehavior of a head strong student and her continued "radical" teaching practices, Edythe remains confident. It isn't until a tragic situation brings her to her knees before God and allows her to finally embrace Him and the attentions of a certain young farmer.
by Colleen Coble, Olivia Stewart travels west to California to uncover the mysterious death of her sister who was engaged to Harrison Bennett. Olivia, who comes from an elite family, is expected to marry well and possibly entertain a marriage to Harrison Bennett who she believes killed her sister. Olivia decides to arrive in Mercy Falls as Lady Devonworth. She encounters many near death experiences as someone is determined for her not to find out the truth about her sister. And as much as she hates and fears Bennett, she finds he is not the man she thought he was and begins to fall in love with him. Will Olivia discover what happened to her sister and what will happen when she reveals her true identity at the Lightkeeper's Ball?
by Tricia Goyer is a novel based on a true story. Marianna Sommer is a young Amish woman who dreams about love and having her own family. She is forever haunted by the tragedy that occurred on the day of her birth. On that day, the two oldest daughters of the Sommer family were killed and Marianna was born soon after. Her name was a combination of the lost daughters, Marilyn and Joanna. But more than that, for her whole life, Marianna thought that she had to make up for the loss and never accepted the love she was offered by her parents. She was the perfect Amish daughter who dutifully helped her family despite wanting to pursue her own dreams. She followed her family when they moved from Indiana to Montana, leaving behind an Amish man who she hoped to be united with in marriage. As she enters Montana, everything is different and she finds herself forming an uncomfortable, yet exciting friendship with a handsome English man. Through her interactions with Ben, she learns more about a personal relationship with God and eventually gives all her fears, hopes and dreams to the Lord.
by Catherine Hickem
by Lisa Whelchel (this is the second time I read it and I think it solidifies my decision to homeschool even after being a school teacher for so many years)
by Liz Curtis Higgs (I love all of her books)