Catbird Singing

I love, love, love, LOVED this book! I was so excited when I heard that book two came out in the Amish Horses series by Thomas Nye! The first one, Under the Heavens, left me wanting more so badly, and it definitely did not disappoint. Thomas Nye is by far one of my favorite authors, and I have fallen for his characters so much it's like they are real.

We catch back up with the main character, Lenny Gingerich. Lenny is an English kid who happens to come from an Amish family. He found himself and his roots a few summers past when visiting his father's family.
He was supposed to have came back to help on the farm, but never made it back getting caught up in college and time. Missing his Amish family he decides on his way home from college to pass through, but did not plan to stop. However, a storm takes place and causes Lenny some car trouble and even more unexpected situations take place causing Lenny to have to stay on with them after all. While trying to figure out where his life is headed, and waiting on his car to get fixed, Lenny stays on with his uncle Noah. He has some serious thinking to do on where his life is headed, and meets back up with Leah again. Leah is an Amish girl who Lenny was quite taken after the last time he spent time in the area. They were great friends and had a little romance going. We were left on the edge of our seats with these two in the first book! After two summers spent away when he promised to come back sooner, Leah is now cold towards Lenny. He can't help but feel like she is just not the same girl that she once was. He misses that girl and wants her back. But now a new girl pops up that also seems to be taken with Lenny! Not to mention an English kid named Justin that isn't making things very easy. Lenny was advised to not cause any trouble while he visited with his family, but trouble seems to find him regardless!

This is definitely a page turner! As always Thomas Nye has me hooked! I just did not want to put this book down! I am definitely left wanting more! I sure hope there is a book three to come in this series! I can't say more on that subject because I don't want to spoil anything by giving too much away. I definitely want you to feel the same suspense that I experienced while reading it. It is a very exciting book. Just when you think you know what is going to happen next you will find yourself surprised and on the edge of your seat. This book has a bit of everything, and I loved this book even more than the first! Lenny definitely matures in this book, but there is definitely more to see with him I think.
Even though this is book two in the series it can be read as a stand alone book. The author does a fantastic job of catching you up so you wouldn't feel lost at all if you haven't read the first book. Even so, I definitely encourage you to read the first book because it introduces many characters more in depth and it is a page turner just like this one.
It was nice to see Lenny back in the place where, in my own opinion, he belongs. He just fits so much better in his Amish life rather than his English life. Also seeing him working with horses again just felt so right. I loved that so many of the characters from book one were in this book as well. Plus there were new interesting characters, and lots of surprises.
I definitely rate this book five stars, and cannot express my love for it enough! So far this is my favorite book of the two in the series!

::Product Details::

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: CrossLink Publishing (January 26, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1633570134
• ISBN-13: 978-1633570139

Check this book out!    ~Kindle~    ~Print~     ~Nook~

Check out Book 1 in the Amish Horses series Under The Heavens too!



Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book as a BookCrash reviewer in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions expressed are solely my own!

Happy Homemaker Monday ~ 10/05/2015

Hello all! I hope you are all having a fantastic day so far, and here is to wishing you all a fantastic week ahead! :) 

I am happy to be participating in this week's Happy Homemaker Monday! It has been a busy morning so I know I'm joining a little late. Still better late than never! 

Happy Homemaker Monday is a weekly feature hosted by Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. If you want to join in please visit her blog HERE, comment, and link up! :)

Photo Credit: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

The weather in my neck of the woods:

It's 60 degrees and sunny outside. We are supposed to reach mid 70s today which will be nice. It is beautiful outside! Not too hot and not too cold with a bit of a breeze. I am loving this weather! All my windows are open letting in that fresh crisp air!

Things that make me happy: 

Spending time with my kiddos and hubby. The kids are on fall break for the next two weeks, and I love having them home with me. 

Book I'm reading:

I am still reading Catbird Singing by Thomas Nye. It is Book 2 in the Amish Horses Series. I am in love with this series, but I just have not had as much reading time as I usually do lately. Still I'm hoping to have it finished up this week, and will post a review once I'm done.

What's on my TV today: 

Not sure if I will get to watch much TV today. So far I've watched Paw Patrol with my kiddos. Later I may watch either some episodes of The Middle or Gilmore Girls. Both are two of my favorite series. Later me and hubby will watch Gotham.

On the menu for dinner:

Sliced Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Peas

On my To Do List:

• Laundry - wash, dry, iron, put away
• Dishes 
• Organize Bathroom Drawers (I had them done, but recently it has become chaos in there, and I can't take it anymore lol)

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:

I tried a new Cornflake Chicken recipe for the family. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures. BUT we weren't a big fan of this recipe anyway. Needless to say regardless of adding in spices the cornflakes taste still mostly was overpowering. 

Still I'm glad we gave it a try. It was something interesting to try, but not something I would make again. 

In the craft basket:

Nothing at the moment. Hoping to make a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics this weekend. :)

Looking forward to this week:

• Getting some extra time in with the kids. 
• Getting things organized around the house. Around this time of year I like to go through stuff and purge things. Especially toys and clothes because we have birthdays and Christmas coming up.

Tips and Tricks:

Take some baking soda and sprinkle it in windowsills, door cracks, patio door tracks, etc. Then spray some white vinegar on it. It will bubble up and make all the yucky dirt that has turned to gunk easier to remove. You just simply wipe it away. I did this with my patio door tracks and I was so excited by how well it worked! I didn't even have to scrub much at all!

My favorite blog post this week: 

I haven't got a lot of blog reading done in the past week honestly. We have had so much going on, and my oldest is just starting to get over this yucky throat and sinus infection he had. Thank goodness the medicine they gave him has helped so far! :)

We have all battled a cold over the last two weeks. It has seemed one of us gets sick and then as soon as that person gets well another person gets sick. Hopefully we are now all done with that.

A newly discovered blog or youtube channel you would like to share with the readers:

I haven't came across any new ones exactly since my reading time has been limited the last couple of weeks, but I hope to remedy that this week! I want to check into some vlogs! :)

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:

Time flies by and we have to enjoy it. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the day to day stuff. Take a little time out each day to appreciate everything around you. I find myself often looking forward to the next day, or getting in bed at night because I'm so exhausted. Sometimes the kids will be so hyper and crazy and so much will be going on I find myself getting stressed or feeling overwhelmed and looking forward to bedtime. But then I have to remind myself these are the good years! One day they won't be hyper and they will be out of the nest and I will long for these crazy scattered days! I love these years of them being little, watching cartoons, going for walks, playing games, going to the park. Seeing them get so excited over the little things like worms on the ground, pretty flowers, leaves changing colors. Hearing their little laughter which brings me so much joy. They are all 3 already getting so big! Goodness how time flies. Let us always appreciate and be thankful for the here and now. Enjoy the present, and don't let stress take your mind off the important things. It's easier said than done, but something I'm constantly working at.

On my mind:

• My kiddos
• Josh's work schedule. He had a schedule change due to a promotion which means he doesn't have as much time at home with us and is gone longer. On one hand it's a job he loves to do and he is happy with it. Plus there isn't as big of a risk of him getting laid off like his old position would get sometimes. But on the other hand we don't get as much time together as we would all like. He is often on call and like the other night he just came home and we sat down to dinner only to have him called away again because he was on call. He didn't get home until we were all in bed, and then by the time the kids were up he was already back at work. (He leaves very early before the sun even rises). Still we are grateful. There are other employees in his position and they all take turns being on call so it won't be an all the time thing. He has worked hard over the years, and deserves this promotion. It's just a huge adjustment for our family.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses: