EmpowerMoms

“Whenever You Come Around” is a Kings Meadow Christian Romance book. I read her other Kings Meadow romance book last year (Love Without End) and absolutely loved it.

This book can be read as a standalone but mentions characters from her previous book.

This story line is about Charity’s visit back to her hometown in Kings Meadow. She is house sitting for her parents for the summer while she tries to get inspiration for her upcoming book. She rekindles a friendship with her parents next-door neighbor Buck, who she knew in high school.

This story was very well written with lots of emotion and character development. I can’t wait to read more books by this author, especially set in the town of Kinds Meadow. I liked the underlining themes of forgiveness and God’s love throughout this book.

I received this book complementary from booklookbloggers.com in exchange for an honest review on my blog and social media. All opinions are my own.

Book Description
Just when Charity’s wild imagination failed her, a flesh-and-blood hero walked into her life.

Best-selling author Charity Anderson returns to her hometown of Kings Meadow to defeat a bad case of writer’s block. She imagines she’ll spend a lonely summer writing and then return to her home in Boise. She soon finds herself caring for Buck Malone, a wilderness guide-and the object of her unrequited teenage crush. But what else can she do? Her dog Cocoa caused the accident that left Buck with a broken ankle and wrist, taking him off the trail for weeks of prime tourist-season work.

Buck and Charity have gone different ways since high school, and at first it seems they have little in common. Buck loves the simple, low-key life he’s made for himself in the mountains of Idaho, and she’s a woman accustomed to the faster, bustling pace of the city. But spending so much time together has Buck hoping to change her mind about staying in the small town she thought she’d left behind for good.

It’s a summer for discovering that young love is a spark not soon extinguished.

About the Author
Robin Lee Hatcher is the bestselling author of 70 books. Her numerous awards include the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction, the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance, and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. Robin and her husband currently reside in Idaho. For more information, visit www.robinleehatcher.com.

You can buy it here:

This is a great informational article about Kids and Artificial colors.

http://jillcastle.com/2015/05/kids-artificial-food-colors/

My youngest has a VERY high sensitivity to all colors and dyes-specifically Red dyes in ANY foods. He has an immediate reaction even when he has just a small bite of something with artificial colors and dyes (behavior and hypersensitivity).

It is hard explaining that to others and you would be surprised how many things have dyes in them (food, snacks, even medicine!)
We have made a personal choice to not feed our kids sugary treats and foods with dyes for this reason. It’s okay to say NO to things when its for the health and well being of your kids and family.

**Let me know what you think about this article.**

I am a fitness and health blogger so I was very interested in reading this book about a woman and her daughter’s journey with child obesity. When I read the description of the book I was under the impression this would be a motivational book with the mom sharing what worked and didn’t work for her daughter.

I read 3/4 of the book and just couldn’t finish it. I had a hard time pushing through reading her story. I felt like it took WAY too long sharing what DIDN’T work, when personally I felt like if the mom had listened to the nutritionist years prior (and at the beginning of the book) things might have been very different for them.

It just didn’t make sense to me that if the mom did research for years about child obesity and diets etc. why she never found articles or made the correlation that exercising/movement and eating GOOD nutritious foods (like fruit, veggies, protein-no low fat and fad diets) helps to maintain or lose weight.

The mom admits they never stuck with any exercising or classes for her daughter; she didn’t want to tell her daughter NO about unhealthy foods and sugar because she didn’t want to be “the bad guy”; she hid bad food from her daughter because she continued to buy it to eat herself; she met with doctors and specialist trying to find an “easy fix” or medical issue to explain away her daughters obesity.

It was just so heartbreaking and depressing to read and the whole time I was reading I kept wondering why the mom did not see that she was a big part of the equation.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t at all what I expected so I personally can’t recommend it but it has good reviews from others online.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review on my blog and social media-all opinions are my own.

About the book:
Who’s the New Kid? shows readers how Heidi helped her daughter lose weight without the aid of fad diets, medication, or surgery and how other parents can do the same with their kids.

At nine years old, Breanna Bond weighed a whopping 186 pounds. Just walking up the stairs to her room was a challenge. Her legs chafed to the point of bleeding from rubbing against each other, and her school days were filled with taunts of “Hey, Fatty!” Breanna’s mom, Heidi, was devastated and wondered, How can I get my daughter healthy again?

In just over a year, Heidi’s plan worked! Breanna dropped 40 percent of her body weight and was transformed from a morbidly obese child who spent her days in front of the TV eating chips and chocolate to a vibrant, healthy, energetic little girl.

Filled with helpful diagnostic tools, easy-to-make recipes, eye-opening nutritional information, fun exercise ideas, and practical tips and advice, Who’s the New Kid? will not only show parents how to help their kids lose weight naturally but also introduce them to simple, yet effective lifestyle changes that will benefit the entire family.

About the author:
Heidi Bond has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, and The Biggest Loser. A sought after speaker, she has helped thousands of parents who are struggling with overweight, underactive children. Heidi lives in Clovis, California with her husband, Dan, and their children, Breanna and Nathan.

In a world of fast-food convenience and non-stop busyness, how do we keep our kids healthy? Heidi Bond’s debut book, Who’s the New Kid?, is here to help. Filled with helpful diagnostic tools, easy-to-make recipes, eye-opening nutritional information, fun exercise ideas, and practical tips and advice, Who’s the New Kid? will not only show parents how to help their kids lose weight naturally but also introduce them to simple, yet effective lifestyle changes that will benefit the entire family.

Celebrate the release of Who’s the New Kid? by entering to win a Fitbit and RSVPing to Heidi’s June 9th author chat party!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Fitbit
• A copy of Who’s the New Kid?

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 9th. Winner will be announced June 9th at Heidi’s Facebook party. RSVP here! Plus, participate in the #WhosTheNewKid conversation by pinning a family-friendly, healthy recipe (or two) to a Pinterest board!

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on June 9th!

Jessica Smith TV is starting a #5mileChallenge on June 1st. She explains that it’s just not about exercising daily, but also concentrating on daily movements as well. It is recommended to get 10,000 daily steps a day. Even though I exercise every morning, I have a hard time reaching that goal because I sit in an office and work all day. So I will be joining this challenge and aiming to get my 10,000 steps a day since I consider myself intermediate to advanced.

I have been doing Jessica Smith’s workout dvds and free youtube workouts for YEARS and love her! She is so motivating and a great instructor! I love that she’s done workouts for all fitness levels-beginner, intermediate and advanced.

Details here:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=kick_off_summer_with_a_fun_fitness_challenge

Here are 2 of her newest DVDS that will help you achieve your daily walking goal!

Walk On: 5 Fat Burning Miles Walking Exercise DVD

Walk On: 21 Day Weight Loss Plan

***Below I’ve attached 11 FREE FULL LENGTH walking videos that are from JessicaSmithTV free youtube channel. Isn’t that awesome? So even if you can’t buy a dvd right now, you can still participate in this June challenge!***

1 Mile Power Walk Full Length Walking Workout Video Low Impact

Indoor Walking Exercise – Full Length 30-Minute Power Walk (fat burning, walking workout)

Walking, Exercise for Beginners: Free Full Length 30-Minute Power Interval Walk

Walking Exercise – Free Full Length 30-Minute Indoor Interval Walk/Jog

Stride & Strength – Full 36 Minute Walking Workout with Dumbbells for Weight Loss

12-Minute Fat Burning Power Walk Home Workout

Belly, Buns & Thighs Walk – Full 40-Minute Indoor Walking Home Workout

30 Minute Sunset Barefoot Walk – Full Length Indoor Walking Workout for Beginners

Walking Exercise – Indoor Jogging – Full 40 Minute Fat Burning Cardio Home Workout

Walking Exercise: Stride and Step – Full Length 30-Minute Indoor Walking Workout With A Step

Stride & Strength II | Full 34 Minute Walking Workout with resistance band strength training

When Grace Sings: A Novel (The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy) by Kim Vogel Sawyer

“When Grace Sings” is a great book! To be honest, sometimes I find Amish Christian books to be a little boring, but this one kept my interest the entire time! I liked that each chapter was written in one of the main characters point of view. It made the characters story and emotions more real to me and easy to follow.

This book is part of The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy. I haven’t read book 1, and I think the characters and relationships would have meant more to me if I had read it before reading this one. But I was still able to follow the story line with just reading it as a stand alone book.

Nothing was “resolved” in this story, so it definitely left everything open to continue in book 3. I will definitely have to look for it when it gets published.

Great story lines, characters, and belief in God. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review on my blog and social media-all opinions are my own.

About the book:
When trouble roars into quiet Arborville, Alexa and Anna-Grace find themselves the target for discord and exposed secrets. Can they continue to seek the God of all grace amidst the fog of confusion?

Alexa Zimmerman wonders if the Old Order Mennonite community in Arborville, Kansas will ever fully accept her. Her family roots here aren’t what anyone thought when she first arrived, but she is hopeful that her culinary and hospitality skills will win the skeptics over. The bed-and-breakfast she’s operating needs to succeed so Alexa agrees to allow Briley Forrester, the hotshot reporter from Chicago, to stay as a long-term boarder not knowing his real motives for being amongst the Plain folk.

But when Alexa agrees to host her cousin Anna-Grace Braun, the presence of extended family brings out Alexa’s insecurities and sets Briley on the trail to uncovering a web of hidden truths.

Plans for a secure future and the sweetness of young romance hang in the balance when Alexa and Anna-Grace have to face that their secrets are interconnected, binding the two in ways they could not have imagined. They must trust in a loving, heavenly Father and His plan for their futures.

About the author:
Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of twenty-nine novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women’s fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and nine grandchildren.

When Mercy Rains: A Novel (The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy)