WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays is hosted at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…



• What are you currently reading?

Left Neglected by Lisa Genovia, The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg, Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast, The No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers by Elizabeth Pantley (we have been struggling with Sweetpea for a few weeks now and I am desperate - have you read this? Can you recommend a good gentle sleep book for toddlers?)

• What did you recently finish reading?

If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long, Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long (review)

• What do you think you’ll read next?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett, God's Wisdom for Mother's by Jack Countryman (review), The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini (if it comes in the mail)



What about you? What is on your bookshelf right now? Please leave a comment or a link to your own WWW Wednesday, I would love to hear from you!

Thank You God for Mommy by Amy Parker

Thank You God for Mommy is a sweet children's board book about a young panda who is thanking God for all the wonderful things that his mommy does.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone with small children, it was a lovely read  and my girls both loved this book (they are 2 and 3 years old, it was perfect for them, even though it is listed for the 4-8 year old crowd).

The illustrations are absolutely adorable and we loved the story. I chose to receive this book as an e-book, rather than the print form which is a board book, and I think that I would have preferred this as a board book. When we read it together on my computer we were able to really see the beautiful illustrations, however on my gray-scale e-reader it lost a little bit of its charm. Obviously that is an equipment problem of my own and not a problem with this book. Regardless I am still happy to have a sweet book on my e-reader to read to the girls when we are out and carrying an actual board book would be a bit cumbersome. 

Off to read it again, I can hear their requests getting louder!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Next Up :: Pie Crust Pile-Up

I'm feeling like I need a bit of an instant gratification quilting project right about now so I decided to make up this pattern using these fat quarters that I bought for myself ages ago. I wanted a nice simple, girlie lap quilt for reading. Considering the amount of baking that I have been doing lately I think the "Pie Crust Pile-Up" pattern is just perfect! I bought these fat quarters ages ago and I just love them because it goes so well with the woodwork in our bedroom and it also picks up some of the tones in the wedding quilt that Nick's mom made for us.

Before I get started I'm going to have to make a trip down to my local quilting store to pick up some fabric for the boarder. Or darn, I have to make a shopping trip!

Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long

From Goodreads:

When Sarah realizes that she has fallen in love with an Englisch doctor, she must choose between loving a man and losing her family.

Deep in the heart of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains, shy Sarah King is happiest when working in her vibrant Amish kitchen garden, but new family responsibilities lead her into the confusing world of the Englisch.

Sarah finds her life turned around when she encounters the community's new Englisch veterinarian, Grant Williams. His blue-gold eyes and his obvious concern for her people attract her immediately. Sarah seeks solace and direction from the Lord as she creates a quilt pattern which details her struggle between two worlds.

The Lord is guiding Sarah to follow His will, but will she listen?

My Thoughts:
When I picked up this book I expected another predictable Amish fiction love story – don’t get me wrong I love Amish fiction, but sometimes the love stories can be a little unsurprising if you know what I mean. I was really happy to find that Sarah’s Garden did not follow the typical formula. The love story in this book was more of a struggle, and also about the development of Sarah’s love for the Lord and for herself.

I was happy to find that as the novel progressed Sarah developed into a strong, capable and rather independent woman. She was strong enough to understand herself and her needs and was able to turn down a life that would have been comfortable, and what was expected of her in order to wait for the life that she truly desired. She had enough faith in the Lord and in herself to know that she did not have to settle for second best.

There were actually a few shining examples of female strength and independence in Sarah’s Garden that are not always seen in this genre and I really appreciated these themes and the ways that Long developed the stories around these women. I am immediately starting in on the sequel Lilly’s Wedding Quilt by the same author.

I give it 4*s / 5!

Heirloom Baking and a Recipe

Grandma taking care of the apples

There is nothing like baking to bring a little joy and warmth to our home but pair it with a baking day with grandma and well, it's just bliss! Today we did just that, we picked my 91 year old grandma up after breakfast and brought her home to bake some pies and teach this mama how to make her butter tarts.

These two will go in the freezer

Sweetpea was thrilled that she was old enough to help with the pies. First thing this morning she was practising - she put on her apron, grabbed an oven mitt and had her own apple pie in the oven before I even drank my tea.

The girls filling their second pie

I have been trying to learn how to make grandma's apple pie for about the last 6 years. I'm not terrible, but I just haven't been able to get the hang of working the dough by myself yet. Today I finally did it (and of course I tasted to be sure and... yep! I did it!).

The girls were excellent pie fillers... although if I'm being perfectly honest Ladybug did more eating than filling but that was to be expected (even Sweetpea told grandma "probably we will give Ladybug a bowl of apples to muck in but I will make the pie).

Ladybug eating more than filling

I've never tried to make butter tarts and I didn't realize how easy they were to make. Now I think I am in trouble! We called them heirloom butter tarts because we had 3 generations baking today and we were using my great grandma's tart cutter (so really, there were 4 generations present). Grandma still has all of her mom's baking supplies and we use them every time.

Great grandma's tart cutter circa 18?? Well over one hundred years old - crazy!

Tarts, pre-filling

Whats that? You want the recipe? Ok, well its a grandma recipe which means there aren't exactly measurements but I'll do my best.

Try to eat just one... I dare you!

Heirloom Butter Tarts
Makes 12 tarts
Using your left over pie dough roll and cut out 12 tart shells and gently fit them into muffin tins
Place 1/2 a crushed pecan and a few raisins in the bottom of shells

In a small mixing bowl melt aprox 2 tbsp of butter, combine with about 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 egg, a dash of vanilla and some corn syrup (there is where the recipe fails me, I used about 2 1/2 large 'globs' - which I think would translate to a bit less than 1/2 a cup). (You could also use fresh maple syrup for maple tarts)

Spoon the syrup mixture into the tart shells. They should be just under 1/2 full.

Bake at 425 for 8 min, then turn down to 375 and bake another 10 min, until shells start to turn golden brown. Allow to cool before removing from tins.

What makes your home warm and cozy? Did you make these butter tarts? Please let me know how they turned out, I love to hear from you!

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

From Goodreads: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...


A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

My Thoughts: I devoured this book within a 24-hour period of time. Once I started reading I could not stop. I would take breaks to change a diaper or feed my kids but as soon as possible I just had to have it back in my hands. After a horrific car accident Mia is left to make the impossible decision, to stay or go. Throughout this book Forman parallels significant moments in Mia’s life with her current reality of watching over her family, and herself, as her body is lying in a critical care ICU.

I had such a visceral response to this book. I found myself verging on tears as Mia spoke of what she saw and what happened to her after her accident. I felt her joy when she talked of her life before her accident, from her first real date, to afternoons with her grandparents, to her solo practice time with her cello. Mia was such a tangible character for me, she was so real and I think that is why I responded the way I did to her story. The people close to Mia waiting in the hospital for news, any news, were also unbelievably authentic. I could feel their pain and desperation. This book took me on a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

I finished this book with a renewed appreciation for the extraordinary, everyday moments in my life and I am really looking forward to reading the sequel.



I borrowed this book from the library.

WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays is hosted at Should Be Reading. To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…



• What are you currently reading?

Left Neglected by Lisa Genovia, The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg, Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long (review)

• What did you recently finish reading?

Virgin River by Robyn Carr, An Amish Christmas by Cynthia Keller

• What do you think you’ll read next?

The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini



What about you? What is on your bookshelf right now? Please leave a comment or a link to your own WWW Wednesday, I would love to hear from you!