The Bachelor Farmers

Details: A family from Norway comes to America groups of members at a time. When the last 2 brothers arrive in America the family is complete and wealth and prosperity are hard earned. When the Head of the family, the Father passes on and leaves the family his love and life. As the years go on, the younger brothers learn to be great business men, and discover if there is time for love and family or not.

My Review: This was a really great book. The story line was very intriguing because I have Norwegian blood in my family. Farming is always lots of risk, lots of time, lots and lots of hard tiring work. Hans and Jon are very interesting characters. They are strong as a family, but don't always see eye to eye. Brenda is a great author, she has enraptured the beautiful landscape, the love that a family who was broken apart, and brought back together. In the book there is a love scene, though from the book description one does wonder if something occurs or not between the brothers and the woman who stays with them as a cook. Brenda has captured what many movies have in this love that happens. It is very comparable to: Nights in the Rodanthe, Titanic, a Walk to Remember movies. There are no disrespectful descriptions or anything in this matter in the love scene. Simply put, this is a beautiful sad romance book, with surprising closure at the end.

Pros: very well written, a great sad romance book

Cons: sad romances are just that, sad, but that's why many women and men enjoy them

My Rating 

doTERRA Essential Oils

Details: David Hill, DC is a leading expert in the field of integrative medicine and essential oils.  Mr. Hill has dedicated his life and medical practice to empowering others to take control of both their own health and the health of their families and loved ones.  doTERRA's collection of essential oils represents the finest aromatic extracts available in the world today.  Each oil provides the living essence of its source botanical, gently distilled from plants that are nurtured and carefully harvested throughout the world.  These oils are certified pure therapeutic grade.

doTERRA came alive in the spring of 2008, as a group of healthcare and business professionals who shared profound personal eperiences with the life-enhancing benefits of essential oils.  Creating this company they decided to make this their mission, to share life-enhancing benefits of the essential oils with the world.

The introductory package of doTERRA oils gives you a pamphlet all about doTERRA the company, and what essentials are.  Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, and flowers of plants.  In the introductory package of doTERRA oils are 3 oils: lavender, lemon, and peppermint.  There are 3 application methods, and 3 sensitivities of skin.  These classifications help us to know how to use each oil for its use best.  

My Review: Receiving the doTERRA essential oil introductory package from a friend, my family has been able to enjoy the power of the oils for the past month and a half.  We used the lavender to help sooth our 2 year old's diaper rashes, the peppermint to open our sinuses and airways, the lemon to improve my moods (especially during those PMS times), and used it to sooth cold sores.  We've been able to use these 3 essential oils, but they weren't really important or very essential to our family.  But we're all very excited to see what else we can find through doTERRA and be able to use them for each of our family members.  We've heard so many great things about essential oils are excited we're using them now.

Pros: a little drop of oil goes a long way, great for health and wellness

Cons: these are expensive, MLM














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Though the Bud be Bruised

Though the Bud Be Bruised by Jo Wanmer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Details: Issy needed to tell her mom something very important but with house guests how would her busy mother make the time? She can't, she wouldn't, and won't. When Zara reads her daughter's letter she is segregated. Why didn't she see this? Why didn't she know before? Why has she failed at the one thing she has wanted her whole life? Why did this happen to her daughter, to her family? When will it stop? Does God even care about what is happening? Why didn't. He protect her Issue? As bad becomes worse and worse becomes horrible and continues to spiral out of control this little family is tested up to the breaking point by God. Then they are pushed; broken and left to see if they will rely on this Being who claims He loves all mankind.
Betrayed by her parent's best friends can Issy over come her confusion, hurt, and learn to love her mother and father once again? Will she rely on the Lord to help her over come her nightmares? Can God really help her stop ODing?

My Review: I feel for Issy. What a sweet girl and then she's forced into a never ending nightmare. A nightmare that affects her whole life and even affects her family, friends, and her future. I have never gone through this trial but any one who has gone through a trial that has given them experiences with betrayals, chruch members not helping or being concerned, family being hurt, physical pain, emotional pain, and spiritual pain can feel for this family. This is a graphic book of pain. We do not get the full extent of Issy's torture, but the after math is very graphic, potently charged with emotions, heart wrenching, soul searching, life changing lessons, hope and a failure of hope and faith. With everything in between exposed and questioned.

Pros: amazing details, great characters, wonderful well planned and thoughtout plot, I love all the God questioning and friend betrayals because it makes their story more believable. I love that this is based on a true story.

Cons: there was a section of story where it was just dialogue but I couldn't figure out who was saying what.

MY RATING: thumbs up and thumbs down. It was one of the most intence books I'ge ever read. But it may be too intence for some people. I love it. Just giving the warning for the intensity, immense pain and close to the heart trials.

I have received a complimentary copy of this wonderful book from Bookcrash!
View all my reviews

Autumn's Promise

Details:  How can an Englisher make Amish friends?  How can a recovering young woman's past help a troubled young man?  How can a widower move on in his life, learn to love and hope for marriage to a wonderful young woman?  How do two very different communities come together to bring two very special people happiness and love?  Shelley Shepherd Gray gives us a timeless love story full of learning to trust, learning to open up, heal, and grow, learning to be true to one's self.

Information:  I used to live within hours of an Amish community and even got to visit a special country community that had based their way of life off of how Amish live.  I have seen extreme plain Green living, and I have seen how people who aren't Amish give up worldly possessions because they feel they are following the will of God.  I personally know how it feels to be shunned because of mistakes (though not as hard a mistake as what Lilly Allen has had to go through).  I know how it feels to be thought of as strange and weird because of my religion, even though I'm Christian, most people don't see my religion as Christian because of how we dress, talk, and our beliefs.  I know what its like to be in "love" and then be rejected and eventually finding peace and learn to truly love again.  I know how to work on a farm, as I've personally grown up on 3 different small animal farms, where we had large vegetable gardens or small fruit orchards.  I can relate to so many of the characters in Autumn's Promise this book really spoke to me personally, about how different life is from what we imagine, what we dream and hope and how wonderful life is still with all those differences.  I highly suggest this book for books clubs, for a personal read, or for a challenge.  At the end of the book after the Author's note is a section of questions that help bring this book into your life!  I love it!

Extras:
Here is the website for Shelley Shepherd Gray: http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com/index.php
Her book is available at both Barns & Noble as well as Amazon.com
I bought my book in the used section of the Orem Public Library for 50 cents, but amazon.com sells it for between $2-$6.  Its totally worth it!

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