A Treasure Concealed by Tracie Peterson

I have never met a Tracie Peterson book I didn't like. She writes wonderful historical fiction. I live vicariously through her characters, and become enchanted with each new location she introduces us to! I received this book from Bethany House as part of their blogger program! If you'd like to check out more, and read an excerpt, be sure to click the title below.

A Treasure Concealed
Sapphire Brides #1
by Tracie Peterson
Publisher: Bethany House
ISBN: 978-0-7642-1324-3

About the story:

Emily Carver wants a home where she can put down roots instead of following her gold-hungry father from one mining camp to another. She also longs for tenderness and love, both of which are missing in her life. Yet when she realizes she’s losing her heart to the intriguing new man in camp, she fiercely fights her feelings, afraid that love will only result in disappointment and heartache.

Caeden Thibault, a young geologist, comes to Montana to catalog minerals indigenous to the state. He’s a serious and guarded young man trying to escape the pain of his past. He has avoided all romantic entanglements, fearing he might become like his abusive father. But something about Emily Carver has caught his attention, something he never expected. . . .Will these two broken souls allow God to bring healing and hope to their hurting hearts? 

My review:

When I first started the book, I wasn't sure I'd read any stories based in Montana. That's what I enjoy about Tracie's books. They take us to unexplored territories.

We meet her main characters Emily Carver and Caeden Thibault. Now, we're told his last name is said "Tee-bow" but for the life of me, every time I saw his last name I'd sound it out and remind myself of how it was supposed to be said. Every. Single. Time. Not kidding. Talk about adding a new element to your reading experience. lol

If you've read mining stories before, you know how hard their life is. That's very clear from the very beginning of the story. I couldn't even imagine having lived through that time, especially as a woman like Emily. All of these men around panning for gold, hoping to strike it rich, and they're lonely.

What I enjoy most about stories is when you become invested in a character emotionally. It was easy to do because you can grasp the hardship Emily has had to endure. There's frustration, excitement, sadness, and pain.

Do you ever feel like shaking a character, but then realize that it would do no good. Well,  not because it's just a story, but because you understand the character wouldn't listen even if they were real. I felt that way about Emily's dad. Oy!

Caeden was a character I really enjoyed, although there were moments were he made me think, "He's such a dude." Then the next minute you're thinking, "Awwww he's such a great guy."

Of course, we can't have a story in the wilderness without the bad guy. Kirk Davies is definitely that man! Tracie captured a lot of vileness in one man. Well, more than one man, but you'll have to read the story to find out more about that!

I liked the extra characters in the book like Millie and Jake. They're the ones who, aside from the main characters, remind us that not everyone out in the mining towns were cold, disconnected, and drunk.

I'm already looking forward to the next story in this series! I can never read just one.

I joined Mama Kat's Wiring Workshop! I love that her Book Review prompt always shows up in time for the next book I have to review!

The Prompts:

1. Write a blog post that ends with the line: No one ever asked me.
2. Book review!
3. Create a recipe that incorporates mint.
4. 8 things you’d like to accomplish this Spring.
5. Share your favorite photo you posted on Instagram last month and give us the back story.
6. Show us what Spring looks like in your neck of the woods!

What author do you always look forward to reading?

Fun Finding Dory Activity Sheets

So many fun Disney movies are coming out this year, and one of the movies I'm really looking forward to seeing is Finding Dory! I've got some adorable activity sheets for you to print with your kids!

First is a fun Finding Dory Maze!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwDihzqVx08Db04zOG5NSXVZWDA

Next is a set of Finding Dory Connect the Dots

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwDihzqVx08Db04zOG5NSXVZWDA

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwDihzqVx08Db04zOG5NSXVZWDA

 And last is the Finding Dory Coloring Pages!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwDihzqVx08Db04zOG5NSXVZWDA

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwDihzqVx08Db04zOG5NSXVZWDA

If you'd like to print these off, be sure to click on the collages, and you'll be taken to a Doc where you can download them!

Disney•Pixar's “Finding Dory” welcomes back to the big screen everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang Dory (voice of Ellen DeGeneres), who’s living happily in the reef with Marlin (voice of Albert Brooks) and Nemo (voice of Hayden Rolence). When Dory suddenly remembers that she has a family out there who may be looking for her, the trio takes off on a life-changing adventure across the ocean to California’s prestigious Marine Life Institute,
a rehabilitation center and aquarium. In an effort to find her mom (voice of Diane Keaton) and dad (voice of Eugene Levy), Dory enlists the help of three of the MLI’s most intriguing residents: Hank (voice of Ed O’Neill), a cantankerous octopus who frequently gives employees the slip; Bailey (voice of Ty Burrell), a beluga whale who is convinced his biological sonar skills are on the fritz; and Destiny (voice of Kaitlin Olson), a nearsighted whale shark. Deftly navigating the complex inner workings of the MLI, Dory and her friends discover the magic within their flaws, friendships and family. 

Like FINDING DORY on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PixarFindingDory

Follow FINDING DORY on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FindingDory

Follow Disney/Pixar on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PixarFindingDory/  

Follow Disney Studios on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/disneystudios/finding-dory/  

Visit Disney/Pixar on Tumblr: http://disneypixar.tumblr.com  

Visit the official FINDING DORY website here: https://disney.com/findingdory 

Finding Dory comes out June 17th!

Hanging Out With My Boss

The last time I saw my boss was almost 2 yrs ago. How many people can say that? Actually, it kinda stinks because I have a great boss.

She came out here a week ago, with her stepdaughter, to see her sister. and brother-in-law. She was only going to be in the area for a few days, and I was super thankful she made time for me! So, Sandy (aka boss lady by me) invited me to hang out last Thursday.

Hanging out with the boss lady, at her sister's house. Haven't seen her for two years, at our last @collectivebias conference! Can you tell I'm not a fan of my photo being taken? lol #sofab #cbias

A photo posted by Mimi N (@mimibakermn) on Mar 24, 2016 at 12:41pm PDT

I headed over to VA, and one of the things I was excited about other than seeing the boss lady was knowing her sister has Newfoundlands! I've never gotten up close and personal with them before, but always knew how beautiful they are.

When I got to Kathy's house, I was completely wow-ed! It was huge, and the tour was spectacular. What I loved most in her home was her antique furniture. She has a guest bedroom made up of furniture from her ancestors. Wish I would've taken a picture of it! Check out this incredible sculpture in the backyard...it's a DOG! It's probably 12' tall!

When I got there, like I mentioned, I got the grand tour of the house. I remember when Sandy was there last year, she took me on a video tour of the house. I was in awe!

Of course one of the first things you see when walking into the home is the dogs! They're so massive. Sandy told me to be careful because they drool...a lot! Oh my. I don't do well with drool. It totally gags me. Like Nutella gags me. Shoot, just the thought of it has my belly rolling. Ask my boss, she gets a kick out of it. Glad I amuse her.

So, the dogs drool, but they're still beautiful. Kathy shows the dogs. I believe they've done Westminster with one of them. I can't remember. Most of the pictures of the dogs were taken by Elise, Sandy's stepdaughter. Who knew taking a picture of such a big, lumbering dog would be so difficult. Let me tell you, it was mostly getting photos of blurs.

How crazy adorable are they? One of the older dogs even has the task of bringing in the mail. Peaches takes her job very seriously. Cute, right?

One of the Newfies is a puppy. Allie wasn't feeling well the day before, so she was taking it easy the day I came to visit. She's only 7 months old, but she probably weighs as much as I do. hahahaha Ok, not that much, but she was big.

You can see how much Kathy loves the puppy! Pretty sure I've never seen a dog with so many toys! Little Allie is very well loved.

After I'd gotten the tour, and met the puppies, Kathy decided that she wanted to make Oreo cookie balls. Well, ok, let's do it! I'd never made them, and absolutely love them. Oh man, her kitchen! I tell you what, it was amazing! She had two gas stoves. One large refrigerator on one side of the kitchen with a full length spice rack next to it. Then on the other side of the kitchen, was the full freezer with another full length spice rack. A couple of sinks. There was even a prep counter with butcher block. Oh, and the cabinets...you have no idea. Nothing fabricated in there.

Sandy and I kept both saying how neither of us would ever want a kitchen like that. Pshaw silly little kitchen. I didn't walk away drooling over it or anything.

Watching the three of these ladies work together to make these cookie balls was a kick in the pants. All trying to work together while trying to do different tasks. It was great to be a bystander. I did help roll the balls, but I just wanted to watch them.

Now, as a side note, while we were visiting, Kathy had people power washing her entire house. She also has a gal who helps around the house with all kinds of tasks. Now, here's the interesting part. The gal who helps is Lashawn. As she was talking, I looked over at her with a sense of familiarity. Of course, there was no reason for me to know her. I don't know anyone in VA. Then she laughed, and I felt like I had heard that laugh before. Strange, but ok. I just blew it off.

As soon as the cookie balls were done, I had a couple, but then had to head home. Some of us have to work, ahem boss lady! I knew I could only spend a couple of hours hanging out because Kathy is an hour away from home, and I still needed to finish my work day. I actually ended up leaving a bit later than I'd planned because I just enjoyed our time together so much!

I had an absolutely wonderful time hanging out with the ladies, and was blessed to have human contact (other than my hubby) during the workday. Hopefully it won't be another two years before I see Sandy again. If it starts to get to that, I may have to road trip it to her place so we can have a "work" day!

As I was leaving, Lashawn had come outside, and she said, "I feel like I know you!" I was shocked. I had NO idea how we knew each other, and she didn't either. She's training to work for a dentist. She actually lives about half an hour from us. She doesn't go to our church. I don't go anywhere else to "socialize" other than church, so there was no other way for me to know her. The ONLY thing I could come up with was, I wonder if I randomly joked around with her at a grocery store or something. I have a habit of randomly starting conversations with strangers, and goofing around. I still have yet to place her, and it's driving me nuts. One day it will randomly come to me. It'll probably be at 3am two years from now!

What's the longest you've gone not seeing your boss?

New House New Perennial Garden

One of my favorite things at our home back in Minnesota was my perennial garden. I loved spending my free time out there pulling weeds and cleaning it up. It brought my heart a lot of joy. Not only that, it gave me some wonderful time in prayer!

When we went back home last July, I really wanted to bring some of the plants that were meaningful to me, back to Maryland. One of the plants close to my heart was my boys' great grandma's hosta. I'd gotten some splits from it when we moved into our first home in Annandale. That was 18 yrs ago! I also had some irises that I think were hers, too. The other ones that came with us were my Jacob's Ladder and peony.

Unfortunately, while we were still living in Fred's old house, my hostas started going bad. When I was finally able to plant them at the new house, they didn't make it. I believe there are still some hostas back at the old house, so I'll probably try getting one or two of them another time.

Now, that being said, it's been exciting watching the little garden come to life! It TOTALLY looks like my peony made it, and is starting to sprout! It's brought my gardener's heart a lot of joy. It's such a great plant!

I have a several bulbs coming up and I have NO clue what they are. I'm excited to find out what they'll bloom into. The irises are coming to life, and they are such a gorgeous flower when blooming. They're giant ones, so their blooms are fabulous!

Back home I only had 1 Jacob's Ladder. My sweet friend JoAnn split it into 4-5 containers, and they all made it! Sakes alive those are hardy plants! I'll have to either give them away or replant them around the house.

Then...I have some things that are coming up through the ground, and I haven't got a clue what they are. They're barely showing themselves, so it should prove to be an interesting spring, no doubt.

We went to Lowe's a couple of days ago because Fred had told me their garden center was packed! And packed it was! I have a lot of plants I want to get into my garden, but it's still a bit early to start trying to establish them. We're supposed to have a freeze this weekend. I'm actually going to have to cover my little plants! But, at Lowe's I got a couple of variegated hostas. I can't wait to get them in the ground. I'll definitely wait until next week.

In the next week or so, the electric company will be coming out to mark our yard for digging. We'll be putting in a fence, but even more than that, I'll be getting a spot ready for a vegetable garden! I've got a LOT I want to plant in there, too! So much exciting stuff going on outside our house this spring. I can hardly stand it!

What's your favorite flower?

The Prompts:

1. List 6 hot topics being discussed on your Facebook page right now.
2. Write a blog post inspired by the word: garden
3. You have one wish…what do you wish for?
4. Share 7 gifs that best express how you’re feeling today.
5. Write about the last thing that scared you.

Gifts For The Lady In Your Life Giveaway

If you've seen my posts the last two days, you know that I was getting ready for a giveaway! What's great is, the Lugz Zrocs and PJ Harlow pajama set are perfect to give as gifts to the ladies in your life: sister, mom, or friends! Don't you hate scrambling for a last-minute gift? We have the solution for you! You know what they all love, so if you have these tucked away ahead of time, you'll be ahead of the game.

Welcome to the Gift Closet Giveaway Hop, an event sponsored by Savings in Seconds. Each participating blogger wants to help you save time, money, and a little sanity by stocking your gift closet! Just hop to all the participating blogs for your chance to win great family-friendly prizes. Be sure to enter the Grand Prize giveaway, sponsored by Pfizer. Good luck!

I'm giving away a pair of Lugz Zrocs (RV $59.99) and PJ Harlow Set (RV $152) to one lucky winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure: The Gift Closet Giveaway Host & participating hop bloggers are not responsible for sponsors or self-sponsoring bloggers that do not fulfill prizes.