Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Unseen by T.L. Hines - My first Thomas Nelson book review
The Unseen is the first book I've read by T.L. Hines, and I look forward to reading more! The plot twists and turns keep you guessing until the very last page. When the book begins, you start to get an idea of just who Lucas, the main character is...then you very quickly learn that there is more to him that you imagined. Little by little, throughout the book, Hines pieces together Lucas' past. He gives you hints, but he still completely caught me off guard with the ending. The plotline was very original and kept my glued. As you progress through the book, you wonder how the author is going to pull what seems to be several different plot lines together, but once they all tie in, it whole story comes together wonderfully. I got so involved with the book and so caught up in the storyline that I wanted to check every ceiling, closet and crawl space in my home and office as I was reading - you'll understand what I mean after just a couple of chapters! After reading The Unseen, I would love to pick up more books by T.L. Hines. If you are a fan of suspense and mystery novels, I would definately recommend this book!
To find out more about this book, visit Thomas Nelson at:
To find out more about this book, visit Thomas Nelson at:
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Perfect Job - Reviewing Books!
I was so excited to find an awesome new program from Thomas Nelson recently...if you agree to read a book and post a 200 word review on your blog and on a major book review website, you can get free copies of new books sent to you for review. I'm so excited about this! I am working on my first book, a novel called The Unseen by T.L. Hines. I was also offered the chance to review (via email) the bestseller The Same Kind of Different As Me. So I am currently working on two books for review. My husband thinks I'm crazy...I don't have loads of free time! But taking some "me" time is cheaper than therapy! The downtime to read - and feeling obligated to read! - is great.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Cost of Kids
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That’s a mere $24.34 a day. Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice says don’t have children if you want to be rich. But, it is just the opposite. What do your get for your $160,140?
Naming rights. First, middle, and last.
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up.
You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, and catch lightning bugs.
You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect handprints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat in history to witness the first step, first word, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS!
But $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That’s a mere $24.34 a day. Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice says don’t have children if you want to be rich. But, it is just the opposite. What do your get for your $160,140?
Naming rights. First, middle, and last.
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up.
You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, and catch lightning bugs.
You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect handprints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat in history to witness the first step, first word, first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRAND KIDS!
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