CHRISTMAS.....

When the kids came downstairs Christmas morning, Bella picked up the package she wanted.  The started shaking it and saying " I know what this is".  What did she pick up?  You guess...

You can just see a lid....any ideas yet...

You probably have it figured out now.....

This is Bella's favorite....P R I N G L E S.......

CLUTTER.....

Christmas morning was a little on the cluttered side.  I kept picking up as the packages were unwrapped, but it seemed to go faster than I could pick up.

BALL(S)......

For Christmas, Luke got a ball, he loves playing with balls.  Once he opened the balls he didn't want to open anything else.  He was happy with the balls.

BOOK REPORT....

Odd Apocalypse - Dean Koontz

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Once presided over by a Roaring ’20s Hollywood mogul, the magnificent West Coast estate known as Roseland now harbors a reclusive billionaire financier and his faithful servants—and their guests: Odd Thomas, the young fry cook who sees the dead and tries to help them, and Annamaria, his inscrutably charming traveling companion. Fresh from a harrowing clash with lethal adversaries, they welcome their host’s hospitality. But Odd’s extraordinary eye for the uncanny detects disturbing secrets that could make Roseland more hell than haven.  Soon enough the house serves up a taste of its terrors, as Odd begins to unravel the darkest mystery of his curious career. What consequences await those who confront evil at its most profound? Odd only knows. 
Series: Odd Thomas 
Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages 
Publisher: Bantam; Reprint edition (April 30, 2013) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0553593099 
ISBN-13: 978-0553593099

My Thoughts:  This is the 5th book of the series.  I was a little weird, but once I started getting into the book it made so much sense.  Odd and Annamaria have traveled to Roseland.  What they find is beyond Odd's idea of normal.  Creatures that shouldn't be here, a little boy that died 97 years ago, and yet is still alive.  Odd has to figure out what is going on and save the boy.  Really good book!  Mr Koontz gave such descriptions as to what was going on I could almost see it happening and even worse, seeing it really be real. 

CANDY CANE.....

Tommy went to a friends to visit and he came home with this.....

HAPPY HOLIDAYS......

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.

NEW QUILT......

I was over at Prairie Moon Quilts looking around.  I visit Prairie Moon Quilts a lot.  She has some beautiful quilts at her place.   I found a beautiful quilt she was using as a quilt along.  I really liked all the pretty colors in this quilt, I also liked the idea of it.  It's a Strip Quilt.  I found a great tutorial on Strip Quilts.  You can check it out.   Anyway, she called this  the Happy and Scrappy Quilt.  

Well, I had a problem with this, I don't piece blocks.  It's a personal thing with me.  I get really frustrated when the seams don't match up.  So I do needle turn Applique.  But I really wanted to make one of this strip quilts.  Well, why not an applique strip quilt....so I figured out the patterns I wanted to use and started cutting.  This my strip quilt.....

There are lady bugs, snails, birds, flowers and circles.  This isn't the best picture.
This is the top half of the quilt

This is the bottom half of the quilt

Now I have a dilemma,  I'm not sure what color of border to put around the quilt.  I've tried several colors, red, brown, black, purple and unbleached muslin,  but do not like the choices I have.  So I'm throwing this out to see if anyone else has some suggestions. 
I'm also linking up to Heather's Needlework Tuesday, hop over and check out her sewing project she has worked on. 

BOOK REPORT.....

Odd Hours - Dean Koontz

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Odd is drawn onward, to a destiny he cannot imagine. Haunted by dreams of an all-encompassing red tide, Odd is pulled inexorably to the sea, to a small California coastal town where nothing is as it seems. 
Series: Odd Thomas 
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages 
Publisher: Bantam; Reprint edition (April 28, 2009) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0553591703 
ISBN-13: 978-0553591705

My Thoughts:  This book has Odd headed to a small town called Harbor View.  He has a dream of red skies and a major happening at this town.  Once Odd gets there he lives with an eccentric movie star.  He also meets the woman in his dream, AnnaMarie.  She is as mysterious as the dream and also is 7 months pregnant.  What Odd finds is a lot of men that are planning something catastrophic...that will change the way you view the world.  Odd has to stop them and save AnnaMarie.  

BOOK REPORT....

Gator Bait - Jana Deleon

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Things are starting to look up for Fortune Redding. Even though her life was at stake, the CIA assassin had balked at taking on a new identity in Sinful, Louisiana. But instead of hating it like she’d thought she would, Fortune now has friends she cares about and just finished up an incredible first date with the sexiest deputy in the state. Sure, there’s been a murder or two that she’s gotten mixed up in since she arrived in town, but she’s hoping all of that is behind her.
But when someone almost kills Deputy Carter LeBlanc, Fortune tosses her dreams of peace and quiet into the muddy bayou and shifts back into being the deadly trained professional that she is. With the help of Ida Belle and Gertie, Fortune launches a manhunt, intending to find a killer before he tries again.  
File Size: 3074 KB 
Print Length: 208 pages 
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1940270197 
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

My Thoughts:  This is the 5th book in the series.  Fortune has to get into CIA mode for this one.  Someone has tried to kill Carter, Fortunes new boyfriend.  So Fortune, Gertie and Ida Belle have start an investigation.  Carter is the hospital and has temporary amnesia to to almost drowning.  And to make it even worse, the ATF is there investigating and they don't share anything with anyone.  Carter has wondered into one of the ATF's investigation of gun runners and now Fortune has to find them.  Really good series...looking forward to the next book, due out in 2015.  Can't wait! 

SHADES OF GRAY......

with a little color....This little guy was sitting on a post eating.  I kept waiting for him to turn around, but he never did.   He finished up what he was eating and scampered off.

FATHER

Bella loves making dumplings with her dad.  But they both often have flour all over the place, including them.

2015 READING CHALLENGE.....

I was blog hoping and found a new reading challenge.  It is over at Yvonne's place, Socrates' Book Reviews.  The name of the challenge is I Love Books Reading Challenge and it is being hosted over at Book Dragon's Lair.

Since 90% of my books come from the library, I thought this would be the perfect reading challenge for me.  Here are the rules.

• choose a level - you may move up as needed, just not down.
• read books you checked out of the library
• books may overlap with other challenges
• any format allowed (print, ebook, audio)
• reviews are not necessary but a list of books read is. (post with review linky is coming in January)
• a blog is not necessary, just comment that you want to join in or link up another way
•  
• Levels:
  
• board book - 3
• picture book - 6
• early reader - 9
• chapter book - 12
• middle grades - 18
• Young adult - 24
• adult - 36
• just insert IV - 50 
•  I'm going for the level.....just insert IV - 50

BOOK REPORT.....

Brother Odd - Dean Koontz

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature.  
Series: Odd Thomas 
Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages 
Publisher: Bantam; Reprint edition (April 24, 2012) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 034553302X 
ISBN-13: 978-0345533029

My Thoughts:  This is the third book in the series of Odd Thomas.  Dean Koontz leads you on a merry chase through a monastery of monks.  Odd Thomas has gone there to get some rest, but he runs into an entity that is trying to be God.  Or I should say a man who is trying to be God.  His creation is made by super computers and is after a child that is at the monastery, being cared by the nuns.  Odd Thomas needs to find out what this entity wants and take it down before the children are harmed.  Wonderful book!  I read this book in 4 days, I just couldn't put it down for long.  Now I'm off to the library to get the next one.  As this book left me wondering where Odd Thomas is headed. 

BOOK REVIEW......

Forever Odd - Dean Koontz

Product Description(Amazon.com)
I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it. Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He’s just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that’s why he’s won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope.    
File Size: 2092 KB 
Print Length: 386 pages 
Publisher: Bantam (June 29, 2007) 
Sold by: Random House LLC 
Language: English 
ASIN: B000SEI5CI

My Thoughts:  Really good book as expected.  Dean Koontz is a master at scary and mystery.  Odd Thomas is up against woman that wants Odd's soul.  She also has 2 goons that seem strange to Odd Thomas.  They follow her orders without question.  But Odd's mission this time is to save his childhood friend who is ill.  But Odd Thomas has a lot to figure out and keep from getting killed while doing it.  All this takes place in an abandoned Casino that has survived a fire and earthquake.  It also has a few spirits to contend with.  Will Odd Thomas survive this one?  You'll have to read the book to find out.

BOOK REPORT.....

The 13th Gift - Joanne Huist Smith

Product Description(Amazon.com)
After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children--especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their "True Friends." As the Smiths came together to solve the mystery of who the gifts were from, they began to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family. This true story about the power of random acts of kindness will warm the heart, a beautiful reminder of the miracles of Christmas and the gift of family during the holiday season. 
Hardcover: 224 pages 
Publisher: Harmony (October 28, 2014) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0553418556 
ISBN-13: 978-0553418552

My Thoughts:  This is my book clubs choice for the month of December, to be discussed at our January meeting.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  I couldn't put it down as I wanted so see what the gift was for the day.  I also wanted to find out who was doing this wonderful gift giving for the this family.  The presents they received weren't  expensive gifts, but simple ones that are needed for Christmas.  A Poinsettia, Christmas wrap and bows, Christmas plates and cups and some bells are just a few of the 12 gifts this family received.   It came at a time when they needed a little nudge into the Christmas season.  To help the family to come out of their grief and see Christmas for what it was, being with family and friends.  Truly a great book for the holidays.

BOOK REPORT.....

Swamp Team 3 - Jana Deleon

Product Description(Amazon.com)
What’s a little arson between friends? Undercover CIA agent Fortune Redding spent her first three weeks in Sinful, Louisiana dodging insults, makeup advice, guard dogs, bullets, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc, both professionally and personally. But just when she thinks things are going to settle down in the small bayou town, someone sets her friend Ally’s house on fire. Carter, who’d just started pursuing Fortune on a personal basis, goes back into cop mode and admonishes her to stay out of his investigation. This time, he swears he won’t issue any warning before arresting her. But with her friend’s safety hanging in the balance, Fortune can’t resist taking matters into her own hands and calls on her partners in crime fighting, Ida Belle and Gertie, to help. This is a mission for Swamp Team 3. 

File Size: 785 KB 
Print Length: 270 pages 
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1940270146

My Thoughts:
This is book 4 of 5.  One more to go.  I am really enjoying reading this series.  This one is all about Fortune's friends.  And a little romance for Fortune with the deputy, Carter.  While Fortune's friend, Ally, is staying with her after Ally's house is burned, they notice a person creeping around.  Fortune tries to catch them, but doesn't get a good look at them.  Carter finally tells them Ally's was a case of arson.  This calls out the "gang". to investigate, Fortune, Ida Belle and Gertie.  They have to find out who set Ally's house on fire and who's creeping around Fortune's house.  What follows is a lot of mishap for the team.  Plus their prime suspect if killed.  Which leaves them confused.  Do they find the arsonist and the creeper?  You will have to read the book to find out.  

READING CHALLENGE.....

I got an e-mail from Brianna over at The Book Vixen.  She is hosting the Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge.  I'm going to sign up for Out of Breath(read 6 - 10 books) level.

BOOK REVIEW......

Swamp Sniper - Jana Deleon

Product Description(Amazon.com)
In the two weeks CIA assassin Fortune Redding has been hiding in Sinful, Louisiana, she’s been harassed, poisoned, and shot at…and that was the easy part. But now, she’s about to face her biggest challenge since setting foot in the tiny bayou town.

When mayoral candidate Ted Williams is murdered, everyone is surprised. Ted was a blowhole and a Yankee, but those usually weren’t good reasons to kill someone. When Sinful Ladies Society leader Ida Belle becomes the lead suspect in the crime, Fortune knows she’s got to solve a murder and save one of the only friends she’s ever had. 
File Size: 1672 KB 
Print Length: 266 pages 
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1940270103 
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

My Thoughts:
This is the 3rd book in the series.  I've got attached to these characters.  I'm not sure how the author is going to end this series, but I hope none of the main characters are killed off.    In this E Book, Ida Belle is accused of murder.  Gertie and Fortune have to find the killer before the sheriff sends all his info to the prosecutor.  Ted Williams was poisoned by gopher poison and it matches the poison found in Ida Belle's shed.   This is a really good book, as were the 2 previous ones I've read.  Wonderful series to read.  I'm now reading book 4 in the series.  If you want to check out the author and her books.....go here.

THANKSGIVING......

Hope everyone has an awesome Thanksgiving!!

SNOW......

We had our first accumulating snow last week.  Bundled up the twins and they went out to play in the snow. 

Bella scooping up snow for a snowball to throw at mommy.

BABY......

I was cleaning out some of the pictures on my computer.  I've got 3 or 4 of the same pictures, so have been cleaning them out.  I came across these three and thought I'd re-share. 

This is Bella....

This is Luke....

This is both of the twins.....

Looking at these pictures it's so hard to remember them being this little.  It's so good to have the pictures to remind me. 

BEACH.....

since we don't really have a beach close by, this is our beach.  Thought some warm weather would be nice after all this cold and snow.  These pictures were taken in August.  We had an exceptional hot summer and the twins had lots of fun with their Slip N' Slide.  They didn't actually slide, but just liked playing in the water.

Mom even got in on water play with the twins.

BOOK REVIEW......

Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Odd Thomas, who narrates, is odd indeed: only 20, he works contentedly as a fry cook in a small fictional California town, despite a talent for writing. The reason for his lack of ambition? A much rarer talent: Odd sees and converses with ghosts, the lingering dead who have yet to pass on, a secret he has kept from nearly everyone but his girlfriend, an eccentric author friend and the local police chief, whom he occasionally helps solve terrible crimes. Odd also has the ability to see bodachs, malevolent spirits that feast on pain and whose presence signifies a likelihood of imminent violence. The proximity of bodachs to a weird-looking stranger in town, whom Odd dubs "Fungus Man," alerts Odd that trouble is brewing; breaking into Fungus Man's house, Odd discovers not only hundreds of bodachs but a shrine to serial killers that helps him deduce that somehow Fungus Man will wreak widespread havoc very soon-so Odd is caught in a classic race against time to deter catastrophe. Series: Odd Thomas 
Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages 
Publisher: Bantam; Reprint edition (April 24, 2012) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 0345533429 
ISBN-13: 978-0345533425

My Thoughts:  I love reading Dean Koontz books......but they scare the heck out of me.  I can't read them when it's dark out, it has to be broad daylight out.  I know it's just a book but they are really scary sometimes.  This one wasn't too scary.  More like a mystery to me.  I wanted to find out what the heck was happening and where the havoc was going to be.  So now I've got to read the next book in the series.  To see how Odd Thomas is getting along.  If you like mystery, scary books and a little romance this book will be just for you.   Head over to Amazon to check it out.  I've linked the book to it's page so you won't have to search for it.

BLUE......

Luke is sitting on a picnic table looking into their playhouse... but Bella calls this the "Castle".  Not sure why she calls it that. 

BRIGHT......

It started like this.....

and ended like this....

a bright beautiful sunset.

READING CHALLENGE.......

I was over at Bev's place, My Reader's Block and found this reading challenge.  The reading challenge is What An Animal and I thought I would join in as I like reading about animals.  The reading challenge is hosted over at Socrates' Book Reviews and here are the details.

The challenge will begin on January 1st. Read on for more details...
1. Read at least 6 books that have any of the following requirements:

a. there is an animal in the title of the book

b. there is an animal on the cover of the book

c. an animal plays a major role in the book

d. a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like).

Level 1 - Read at least 6 books

Level 2 - Read 7-12

Level 3 - Read 13 or more 

BOOK REPORT

Lethal Bayou Beauty - Jana Deleon

Product Description(Amazon.com)
No one in Sinful liked Pansy Arceneaux, but who hated her enough to kill her?
When aspiring actress Pansy Arceneaux returns to Sinful, Louisiana to head up the beauty pageant portion of the Summer Festival, CIA assassin Fortune Redding knows she’s in for trouble. Her undercover identity as a former beauty queen makes Fortune the perfect choice to chair the event with Pansy, but Pansy’s abrasive personality makes it impossible to get through a single rehearsal without a fight.
When Pansy turns up dead, Fortune is the prime suspect. 
File Size: 2932 KB 
Print Length: 274 pages

My Thoughts:  This is an Ebook, second in a series.  Fortune is in trouble and the ladies from Sinful come to the rescue.  They have to find the killer before the deputy and the towns people pub Fortune in jail.  Really great series, I'm really enjoying this.

Mable Riley - Marthe Jocelyn

Product Description(Amazon.com)
Set in Canada in 1901, this gentle tale relates the adventures of a 14-year-old who accompanies her older sister to the small town where she has been hired as a teacher. Mable discovers that very little happens in Sellerton, other than her frequent spats with her sister. Most of her days are spent assisting Viola at school and doing chores on the farm where they are boarding. Her only release is found in her journal entries or in spinning her fantasies into stories that she includes in letters to a friend back home. Wanting to have someone with whom to share her feelings and desires, Mable turns to a town outcast, an eccentric woman who leads a secret group of suffragettes. As she learns more about the injustices carried out in this small rural town, she ignores her sister's warnings and puts herself in the midst of a strike at the local cheese factory. 
File Size: 454 KB 
Print Length: 289 pages 
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0763632872

My Thoughts:  This book is one of my Victory Garden books.  I've had this book for some time now, but haven't read it.  I got it a library book sale a few years ago.  The book is in diary form and is very well written.  I really enjoyed reading this book and following the life of Mable for the summer.  Really loved her stories that she sent home to a friend.  Mabel finds herself in a bit of trouble when the suffragettes draw her into their cause.  The lady she admires gets hurt during the rally and Mabel steps in.  They all get taken to jail, but her friend tells the police that Mabel was just a bystander.  But in the end Mabel is the one who solves the problem at the Cheese Factory.  Loved this book.

VICTORY GARDEN......

this isn't the kind of victory garden most people think of.  This is a victory garden of books.  I was over at Bev's place, My Reader's Block and saw this.  So I followed the link.  Which sent me to The Beauty of Eclecticism.  This is what she said about this.

"My Victory Garden is a place where I finally lay to rest the books that have defeated me so often in the past.  Surely, most readers have these.  The book you have picked up time and again, determined to actually make it through it this time, either because you feel you should in order to be a well-read person (like War and Peace), or because life has interrupted it every time you start it, or maybe because you liked it but it was too mentally or emotionally challenging for your mood last time you attempted it."

My books are going to be the ones on my shelves.  I have lots and lots of them.  Haven't picked any of them up in ages, so I will be reading them now and planting them in my victory garden.  I've put a tab at the top of my page for this purpose.  Each book will be linked to my review.   If you want to try this out head over to The Beauty of Eclecticism and check it out.

TUESDAY.....

When the twins are not outside or playing in the house, they are on the computer.  They sometimes have disagreements on who gets to control the mousse.  That's where I come into the picture as my computer is in the same place as theirs.

AUTUMN......

We have lots of trees around here.  So when Autumn come the leaves come too.  Hubby usually just mows them, but I don't think that's going to happen this year.  But Heather and the twins try to keep the leaves off the play area.  Luke is getting really good at sweeping the leaves.

BELLA AND LUKE.....

Luke is in disguise with his "Mustache". 

NEEDLEWORK TUESDAY....

Heather over at Books and Quilts is the host for Needlework Tuesday.  Got a project you want to share?  Hop over to Heather's to check it out.

I've been crocheting since the weather has turned a little chilly here.  Been working on the Ugly Afghan.  It's a little bigger now.

I've also started making hexagons for an afghan.  Using some of the yarn from the big tub my hubby got at a rummage this past summer.  I got this pattern over at Attic 24.  She has a tutorial on how to make these.  The tutorial is on the left hand side of her blog.   I made one a couple years ago.  They are really easy and work up fast.

As for quilts, I finished the quilt top of my Calendar Quilt.  Billy decided he wanted to model the quilt.  He is usually laying on the quilt, but I nudged him off so I could get a picture of it.

I've also started a Christmas Quilt.  Haven't gotten very far on this one, just started it yesterday.

Don't forget to go visit Heather.  She has some really cute Scrubbies  to show off over at her place.