Anne

A Christmas Homecoming – Book Review

December 22, 2012 By Anne

Looking for a sweet Christmas story? A Christmas Homecoming is a sweet and short Christmas story.

I received it via email. Not my favorite way to read books. I prefer a good old hard copy. I thought A Christmas Homecoming was very touching. I liked that it was a short story although it contained all you need for a great read! If you like a good heartwarming book, check it out!

A Christmas Homecoming is a bout a young woman, Jody who left home right after high school and never told her family what she was doing or where she was going. She wanted to find adventure and travel. But her family paid the price. Her died of a broken heart. Here brother became a different person and her mom is trying to hold it all together.

It’s been seven years. Jody’s husband left her and their twins, she lost her job and now she thinks it’s time to go home. But will they forgive her?

It’s Christmas Eve when Jody finally returns home. How will her family receive her and her children?

More about the book…

Seven Christmases have passed since Sonia Pettit last heard from her daughter Jody. Since Jody’s departure, Sonia’s world has been turned upside down. Her husband has died of a broken heart, and her son, bitter over his sister’s destructive actions, has become rebellious.

Her greatest desire is to have her family together at Christmas, but after what Jody has put them all through, can Sonia truly forgive her daughter?

Jody Pettit O’Dair ran away to experience a life of adventure and excitement, but since her departure, her world has been turned upside down. She’s been abandoned by the man she met and married, lost her job, and is unable to care for her two children. With nowhere else to turn, this prodigal daughter begins the long journey home and prays she will be welcomed after walking away so long ago.

Will Jody find forgiveness in the arms of her family as easily as she received it from God?

Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/fKkNc ;

Dr. MaryAnn Diorio loves God, people, children, and dogs, in that order. She also is passionate about story and its power to transform the human heart. Dr. MaryAnn, as she is affectionately called, writes compelling fiction that deals with the deepest issues of life. She is Adjunct Online Professor of Fiction Writing for Regent University and coaches writers on their journey to publication. MaryAnn and her husband Dominic are the blessed parents of two wonderful daughters and a fantastic son-in-law. Find out more about MaryAnn at http://maryanndiorio.com/. ;

I received the above book to review. Opinions are my own.

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

Mrs. Smith Pies, Perfect for the Holidays

December 21, 2012 By Anne

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Mrs. Smith’s for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Keeping in touch with family and friends is easier with e-cards. I still like to send regular cards, but I do send a few e-cards to some of my friends. I found a cool new site to send holiday e-card. With Mrs. Smith’s Holiday microsite, you can create and send holiday e-cards. The best part? When you send a card, you and the receiver will get a coupon for Mrs. Smith’s pies! Also, a portion of the all pie sales will donated to Operation Homefront. For the months of November and December, $1 will be donated for every pie sold. For Thanksgiving, pies were provided to Operation Homefront.

I checked out the Mrs. Smith’s microsite and send an e-card. It was super easy and no need to sign up or add a bunch of personal information. Just your name and email and the receiver’s name and email. Then add a message. You can even send to several recipients at once. Then hit send. I love that you can send to multiple people at once.

Mrs. Smith’s has some great looking pies. I want to try the Cherry , but I would be the only one in my family to eat it. So we will mostly try the Dutch Apple Pie. With ice cream on top, of course!

Mrs. Smith send me a coupon to share with one of my readers!! To enter, leave a comment on which pie you would like to try.

Anne

Have a “Green” Christmas

December 21, 2012 By Anne

(Reposted, from last year.)

Wow – Christmas is almost here. But it’s not too late to be green!

But wait!! Before you go buying all those fancy boxes and wrapping paper to a minute and think of a more green way to do Christmas.

Save any and every box you have around the house. I’m lucky enough to have plenty of boxes from review items and I save different sizes at work too. But- you can save cereal boxes, food boxes, tissue boxes, really any box can be used. Last year I did not “buy” any boxes and I won’t have to this year either. I have boxes of boxes I started collecting last month. Cereal boxes will make nice clothes boxes. I used one for mailing gifts before.

Wrapping paper – now this one’s a little more tricky. You can use newspaper or cartoons. These make fun and interesting presents. You can use the kids artwork for smaller gifts. You can use leftover materials to wrap your gifts. You can even use cloth to make a gift bag. These can be used from year to year.

Last year I saved some brown paper from work and folded it nice and neat and kept it flat. Then I used stamps and placed holiday stamps with glitter on the paper. I really think the presents wrapped in this paper was my absolute favorite!!

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What will you do this Christmas to be “green”?

Anne

Wedding Planning for Dummies

December 20, 2012 By Anne

It’s not secret that my stepson is getting married in May! Savannah and I went Wedding Dress shopping a few months ago. And she said yes to the dress! It is such an exciting time in a couple’s life.

I remember all the fun I had preparing my own wedding. I had a special book to write ideas and plans down in. I had coupons ready, simple ways to do big ideas.

Now you can get all kinds of ideas from Wedding Planning For Dummies. Expert wedding planner Marcy Blum walks you step-by-step through everything you’ll encounter as you plan your wedding, from choosing a reception site to picking a photographer—and everything in between.

You can keep track of expenses with a wedding budget. This is really important. Finds ways to negotiate contracts and surf online for wedding deals. Learn how to throw a great reception. And great tips on the latest trends on wedding registries, rings, photos, and the honeymoon.

One tip I found in the book is one I just told my stepson. Your cake does not have to be huge. You can have a nice sized cake for display and for when the couple cuts the cake. Then have a sheet cake in the back for guests. We did this in my wedding and it really does save money.

The Wedding Planning For Dummies is a great book with tons of information in it. Anything and everything Wedding is in there.

I would definitely recommend checking it out. You never know what you forgot or you may find other ways to do things.

I received the above book to review. Opinions are my own.

Anne

Why your children want you to have life insurance

December 19, 2012 By Anne

This is partnered guest post.

If you want to do something for your kids, in most cases you’ll probably go through with it. You might want to organise a party for them or maybe take them on a day trip when they’re young, but what about when they reach adulthood? As the whole family gets older, the time to think about what the future holds comes into view. You might want to leave something behind as a legacy for them, especially if you worry about how they’ll cope financially if you or your spouse were to pass away.

Life insurance helps to put all those questions at bay, but how? If you or your partner dies for whatever reason, the life insurance policy pays out a cash lump sum, benefitting whoever’s named as the main beneficiary/beneficiaries. You could ask for the money to go your kids, which could be a form of parting gift. It doesn’t cost too much either, as you only have to make a small regular payment on a weekly or monthly basis in order to keep your policy going. If you compare life insurance with Choosi, you could save money.

Any pay-out from a life insurance policy could pay for so much. It could meet the cost of a funeral service; go towards any basic living costs or even towards any repayment of outstanding debts that you have left behind. There are even specific life insurance life insurance policies that can help to pay off the remainder of a mortgage or provide regular payments which can help young children cope financially over a certain amount of time.

As with health insurance, it’s important to have some form of back-up plan. You want to make sure that your kids will be prepared for the worst happening, and if they have the finances to meet any costs involved in your passing, they will be able to get on with the process of mourning your death and remembering you for everything you did for them during your lifetime. Life insurance can also provide you peace of mind, knowing they can afford your funeral and any other expenses if you depart.