Thomas atte Bridge was a man hated by many in the village of Bampton, but did hatred lead to murder? Master Hugh, surgeon and Bailiff to Lord Gilbert is on a mission to discover the person behind the mysterious hanging death of atte Bridge. Staged to look like a suicide, Hugh must discover which one of his friends is guilty of the crime. Who was motivated to end atte Bridge's life?

 This fourth chronicle in the series continues the story of Hugh and the people of Bampton. The author, Mel Starr, does an excellent job of transporting the reader to medieval England. When I finish reading his books I feel like I've learned something - whether it's an archaic word or an insight into how people conducted their day-to-day lives. The reader benefits from the author's research (and the handy glossary at the front of the book).

Unhallowed Ground is a well-written and interesting mystery. As a reader, I felt like I was solving the mystery right alongside Master Hugh. The plot is well-developed and the characters are interesting. All in all it was an enjoyable read. This is an author that I look forward to reading again.

 

If you've been entering blog giveaways over the last several months, I'm sure you've come across the Rafflecopter widget. It has made entering (and managing) giveaways infinitely better. To celebrate their public launch, Rafflecopter is giving away and iPad and TWO Kindle Fires. Entry is super easy. Just use the form below. Just enter "Sarah Brooks" as the person who referred you. That way, we both can win <3.

Best of luck to all who enter. The giveaway is open to US and Canada and will end on Feb. 9, 2012 at 12:01 EST.

You know how everyone sends out Christmas letters about their families talking about everyone's special accomplishments and achievements during the previous year?  I've been tempted to write an every-day "real life" Christmas letter for my family. It would go something like this:



Merry Christmas from the Brooks Family!

Sarah, former valedictorian and summa cum laude graduate with a double major in Mass Communications and Christian Studies/Missiology emphasis, spends most of her time wiping bottoms and preparing meals (although not necessarily in that order). On special occasions she takes a shower before noon AND fixes her hair and puts on make-up.

BJ works full-time and takes masters level classes part-time in the evening. He is also an amazing dad to two little boys, which means he is super busy from sun up to sun down.

Ben loves to eat cookies and candy, spin in circles, and color on the wall behind mommy's recliner. Sometimes he listens to mommy and daddy, and sometimes he doesn't, it depends on whether he wants to or not. He has a fun personality and is full of energy.

Andrew is our newest arrival. He gets a kick out of watching Ben run around. He dislikes every green vegetable but loves sweet potatoes. He has a sweet smile and laid back personality, a perfect balance to Ben's exuberance and strong will.

All kidding aside, I have the world's most precious family, and I am blessed beyond words to get to be a full-time parent. I just love my Brooks boys. We may not have a whole lot of accomplishments to speak of, no big honors to brag about, but I'm thankful for this stage of life.

Maybe one day I can say that my children are all on the Honor Roll and are the star athletes in their sport of choice, that I have a novel on the bestseller's list, and that my husband just received a doctorate; But, the things we do right this second are special too. They may not get a lot of "glory," but they matter (trust me, people would notice if I stopped changing diapers). They may not be impressive, but they are important.

I have to remind myself regularly, that what I do as a stay-at-home mom is significant. I'm investing in my children's future; I'm providing a safe place for my husband to rest and be renewed; I'm making our home a place of refuge and security.

Sometimes I have to put some of my own dreams and ambitions on hold for a while to tend to other people's needs. I may not be teaching orphans in a foreign country, but I can teach my sons that God loves them. I may not reach a broad audience with my writing, but I can share my thoughts through my blog and through Facebook. I no longer have any impressive accomplishments of my own -no prestigious awards or sought-after titles . . . I take that back. I'm a Mom, and if that's not a well-earned and accomplished title, I don't know what else is.

Each November we gather as a family to share what we are thankful for. Tonight as I was tucking my two-year-old into bed we talked about what we could thank God for. He listed off the expected things: mommy, daddy, books, friends, and then he caught me a little off guard. He said, "Dear God, thank you for God. I don't see Him, but He's nice." My little boy is just learning how to put sentences together. Each day his vocabulary grows a little bit more. I love to see the boy he is becoming. He's no longer the same little baby I brought home twenty-seven months ago.

 What am I thankful for? My family, my friends, my home. I'm also thankful for a God who is nice, even though we can't see Him. My little boy mentioned that God doesn't fall down either. It's a good reminder.
The Give Thanks Wooden Caddy is a visual reminder throughout my day to give thanks. Even though it's intended for cutlery, I've actually decided to use it to store my family's remote controls. It sits in a prominent position on our entertainment stand.


It's nice and sturdy and is quite beautiful. I'm super excited to use it this Thanksgiving. I love that the handles on the side make it easy to transport the caddy from the kitchen to the table or buffet. It will be great when we have our friends and family come over and visit.

If you order it by Nov. 28th you can actually save 60%, making the caddy only $9 (it regularly retails for $29.99). You can definitely use this piece all year long in a variety of ways (both silverware and remote controls).

Have you ever wished you were "that" mom? You know, the one who appears to have it all together. Perfectly manicured nails, stylish hair, perfectly applied make-up. Fit and ready to face the day. Maybe your version of "that" mom prepares organic meals from scratch for her children. Or perhaps "that" mom has a spotless home and well-behaved children. I'd like to welcome you to a not so perfect place called "reality."

This is what my mornings would look like in my fantasy world:

• 6:00 AM - Wake up to a quiet house. Fix myself a cup of hot tea and nestle down in my sun room for morning devotional reading. Pray, reflect, relax and savor the moment.
• 6:45 AM - Exercise 
• 7:30 AM - Shower, get dressed, put on make-up, fix my hair.
• 8:00 AM - My delightfully cheerful children request permission to get out of bed. They happily eat what I put in front of them. And then read quietly for the next hour. 
• 9-12 AM - Fun activities with my children: crafts, reading books, playing at the park.
• 12:00 - I would serve a highly nutritious lunch, incorporating both fruits and vegetables.
• 1:00 -3 PM Ben naps
• 3-4 PM - More playing with the children.
• 4-5 PM - Prepare a delicious and nutrition meal for my family from scratch
• 5:30 PM - Serve dinner, get everything cleaned up. Enjoy an evening of family time. 
• 7:30 Ben and Andrew go to sleep
• 7:30-9:30 - Hang out with the husb
• 10:00 PM Go to Bed.

Reality:

• I wake up three times in the middle of the night to attend to a teething child.
• 6:00 AM - Husband gets up with the two-year-old in order to help with the sleep I lost getting up with the 6-month-old the night before.
• 7:30 AM - I am awakened by a two-year-old standing next to my pillow saying "Gick up Mommy, Gick up. ("Get up" for those of you not fluent in toddler speak).
• 7:45 - Change child's diaper, get him dressed. Turn on Netflix.
• 8:00 I lay on the couch in a groggy stupor (thanks to the 4 hours of sleep I had the night before) while my oldest watches PBS. 
• 8:15 AM - The baby wakes up and needs to be fed, changed, and dressed (I'm still in my pajamas.)
• 10:00 AM - I remember that I haven't eaten breakfast and that I'm quiet hungry. So I grab a handy packet of my son's gummy fruit snacks (They have 10% fruit juice in them, so that should count as a serving of fruit).
• 11:00 AM - Surf around the web on Facebook or Pintrest while Ben plays happily with his toys.
• 12:00 - Heat up a hotdog for Ben. (Ketchup is a vegetable, right?) Son refuses to eat what I fix for lunch and demands cookies instead.  Cookies are denied resulting in a kicking and screaming tantrum.
• 1:00 - Lay Ben down for nap.
• 1:30 - Take a shower if Andrew is content and finally get dressed for the day (which usually entails a t-shirt and jeans). If I'm lucky, I'll have enough time to blow dry my hair. I don't even bother with the make-up since I won't be leaving the house today. 
• 2:00 - Surf the web while Ben continues to nap.
• 3-5: Watch Super Why, Sesame Street, or Fireman Sam
• 5 PM Heat up a frozen dinner.
• 6 PM Pile the dishes by the sink with the promise that "I'll clean them later"
• 7 PM Bathe the kiddos; get their jammies on.
• 7:30 Lay Ben down 
• 8:00 Try to find the motivation to do the things I've put off all day long. 
• 9:00 Facebook or Pintrest while hubby does schoolwork
• 12:00 - stumble into bed around midnight depending on when I'm able to get Andrew to sleep. 
• 1:30 - Wake up and attend to an upset teething child.

Rinse and Repeat.

I suppose the frustrating thing for me is that my "Fantasy" is full of obtainable goals and activities. I feasibly COULD do all of those things in the day, but most of the time I don't. It's not that I don't have the time or opportunity, it's that I lack the motivation. I often choose to do "other" things, usually things that are of no value or worth.

At this stage in my life, sleep is as valuable as gold, primarily because it's such a rare commodity. So the likelihood of waking up before my kids get up is slim to none. I'm not going to wake up at 5 AM especially since I don't go to bed until 1 or 2 AM.

I'm just not "that" mom. I don't have it all together all the time. My house is routinely in a state of disorder. I don't always take care of myself physically or spend a lot of time on my appearance. Most times I forget to pluck my eyebrows until I'm in the car and get a good look at myself in the rear-view mirror.

The majority of the time, I'd rather spend an hour on Pintrest than clean out my closets or wash my dishes. I guess I'm normal, but there's always that temptation to compare myself to other moms. I like to think that they have it all together, but I have the sneaking suspicion that there is no such thing as a "perfect mom" or a "perfect wife."

My main thing is that I know that there are things that I can do better. As a recovering perfectionist, I've learned that it's OK not to do everything perfectly. I don't have to be a perfect mom, but I'd like to do better. I'd like to do a better job of taking care of myself, both physically and spiritually. I'd like to do a better job of taking care of my house and family. It's a gradual process which will take a lifetime to improve on.

I think I'm going to try to find just ONE thing to work on this next month. To try to change everything at once would not be realistic. So, I've decided I'm going to eat breakfast every day. I'm going to sit at the table with my Bible and enjoy some tea and toast. Slowly but surely my fantasies can become reality.

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