New Release: Broken Ground by Karen Halvorsen Schreck

When a young oil rig widow escapes her grief and the Texas Dust Bowl, she discovers a surprising future—and new passion—awaiting her in California in this lyrically written romance by the author of Sing for Me.

Newly married to her childhood sweetheart, twenty-one-year-old Ruth Warren is settling into life in a Depression-era, East Texas oil town. She’s making a home when she learns that her young husband, Charlie, has been killed in an oil rig accident. Ruth is devastated, but then gets a chance for a fresh start: a scholarship from a college in Pasadena, CA. Ruth decides to take a risk and travel west, to pursue her one remaining dream to become a teacher.

At college Ruth tries to fit into campus life, but her grief holds her back. When she spends Christmas with some old family friends, she meets the striking and compelling Thomas Everly, whose own losses and struggles have instilled in him a commitment to social justice, and led him to work with Mexican migrant farmworkers in a camp just east of Los Angeles. With Thomas, Ruth sees another side of town, and another side of current events: the forced mass deportation of people of Mexican heritage, including U.S. citizens, during the repatriation campaign initiated by the Hoover administration.

After Ruth is forced to leave school, she goes to visit Thomas and sees that he has cobbled together a night school for the farmworkers’ children. Ruth begins to work with the children, and establishes deep friendships with people in the camp. When the camp is raided and the workers and their families are rounded up and shipped back to Mexico, Ruth and Thomas decide to take a stand for the workers’ rights—all while promising to love and cherish one another.

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Howard Books (May 3, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1476794839
ISBN-13: 978-1476794839

Order at Simon & Schuster, Amazon, BAM!, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound.

Cerebral Palsy Infographic: Stats and Facts

Cerebral palsy is a neurological conditions caused by brain injury or brain malformation that occurs during the developmental stages of the fetus, during birth, or soon after birth. Although it is considered as a neurological birth defect but a child might not start showing symptoms well after being born, going undetected for Months or year. Science cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition, children surviving into adulthood suffers from a wide range of social issues. Recently UKS Mobility has come up with an infographic that shows some facts about Cerebral palsy.

For Review from FishFlix.com: The Bible Stories: David

FishFlix.com was gracious enough to send the following movie for me to review. Look for my thoughts soon.

The Bible Stories: David is another film in The Bible Stories series that tells the complete story of David from the Old Testament. Chronicling the entire life of David from start to finish, you will witness as David is called by Samuel to lead the people of Israel. While they already had a king, King Saul, Samuel chose David to be his successor. In this film, you will see as David rises in power from a simple shepherd boy all the way to the king of a nation. After his incredible underdog victory over the giant Goliath, David became very famous and well-known for his remarkable battle skills and unshakable bravery.


As David becomes king, you will see his struggles and learn about all he did when he was king, both the good and the bad. This film attempts to summarize the entire life of David and simultaneously show God’s divine hand in his life. You will see David’s highest points and his lowest points in The Bible Stories: David. He was an incredible man that was known for being a man after God’s own heart, but this movie does not attempt to hide his faults and failures. With a star-studded cast featuring Nathaniel Parker, Jonathan Pryce, Leonard Nimoy and Sheryl Lee, this 3-hour Biblical epic will excite and amaze you while also informing you about one of the most incredible men of the Old Testament.

Release Date : Apr 12, 2016
Run Time : 190 minutes
Cast : Nathaniel Parker, Jonathan Pryce, Leonard Nimoy, Sheryl Lee
Director : Robert Markowitz
Languages : English

Things I Miss as a Busy Mom

Ins't this clip art great? While my breastfeeding days are far behind me, I am pulled in twenty different directions each day. Here are some things I've really been missing lately:

• Time to read. I used to read every night. Now I am lucky to finish one book every few months.
• Time to blog. My blogs are being abandoned, which kills me because I worked so hard to grow them. 
• Time to write. I can't remember the last time I sat at my desk to write a few lines. 
• Time to cook. It used to be home-cooked meals around here seven days a week. Now I'm lucky to make a meal once a week. Not only that, I have been eating lunch out more lately too.
• Time to clean. Doesn't that sound silly? I'm just sick and tired of my house always being a mess. 

What I feel I am doing right is making time for the kids despite how busy I am. The Lil' Diva will be 15 this August and the Lil' Princess is turning 13 in November. Time is short to take advantage of them being home and I plan to spend every moment with the girls that I can.

What are some things you miss as a busy mom?

Mailbox Monday - May 9

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

As always, it's busy around here. Lots of work and a little bit of play. I was blogging about motherhood and the passage of time Friday at Christian Children's Authors. You can check it out here.

I hope all of my fellow moms had a lovely Mother's Day. This year was especially hectic around here because the hubby's birthday was Saturday. Two celebrations in one weekend--yikes!

After treating Paddy (that's what the girls call him) to a nice dinner and his own extra large cupcake, we gave him a Bruins mug (his old ice coffee mug got cracked last year) and a picture frame for his office with the quote, "To the world you are a dad, but to us you are the world."

Sunday we started out with the Lil' Princess making me breakfast. Then we went to church and Paddy taught Sunday school so I could sit down and hear the message. The family got me a cute little plaque that says "Good moms have sticky floors, dirty ovens, and happy kids" and a lovely necklace with my initial on it. I goofed off and played lots of Cookie Jam and read a book. Then we picked up pizza for supper and went over to the in-laws' house to celebrate Mother's Day with Yia-Yia.

Last week was also our annual Friends of the Library Book Sale, where I picked up these four audio books for only $1.

Info here

Info here

Info here

Info here

Totally unexpected came this book from Hatchette Book Group. It sounds interesting, but at this point, I rarely read books sent to me without my permission--way too busy.

Info here

What was in your mailbox? 

Remember Mom: 62 Ways to Express Your Gratitude From FTD

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8th. It's the day we do our best to let our moms know how much we appreciate all they do for us. If you're looking for ways to express your gratitude, check out this recent post from FTD Fresh titled, "Thank You Mom: 62 Ways to Express Your Gratitude." Numbers 10, 19, 40 and 60 are my favorites. What are some of your favorites from this list?

Wishing all my fellow busy moms a wonderful Mother's Day!

Mailbox Monday - May 2

Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles, and humongous wish lists.

It's been a while. How is everyone? Life is one crazy mess right now. Simply overwhelmed with work, family, and trying to fit in a bit of me time.

Two clients closed on their homes this past week, which is always sweet. Four more between now and the end of May, so not sure how much I will be around but I'll do my best.

I picked up a copy of this one after reviewing another of the author's books. It was a freebie when I grabbed it. I've been reading it here and there between other things. It's interesting. 

What was in your mailbox last week?