September Highlights // I forgot my own blogiversary // Farewell

Time is flying by so quickly! I mean, it’s only 3 months away from 2017!!! :O 

Talking about time flying. . . my blog turned two years old. Ten days ago. I COMPLETELY FORGOT about it. *bangs head on desk* It’s been so busy lately *sighs* But more on that later. Onto this month’s highlights, shall we? 

So...you see all this stuff? ALL of this was under my bed. I have a loft bed, so there's kind of like a living space underneath, complete with desk, chair, and bookshelf. And this whole entire mess was crammed into every nook and cranny of my bed. I'm a packrat, in case you couldn't tell *guilty grin* 

Anyway, Mom started reading this book on cleaning, and there's this method called konmari. It includes throwing away a LOT of stuff. So I got under my bed, took all this out, and then started sorting through it. It hurts to get rid of so much stuff, but there were some pretty useless items there ;P I ended up throwing away two-thirds of that pile. My bed is now very clean. Excruciatingly clean ;) 

Dad had this weird idea that the cleaning method was called cuneiform. CUNEIFORM (you homeschoolers know what cuneiform is, right? ;) If you don't, go look it up!) When he mentioned that, Mom and I just stared at him in blank confusion. And then it slowly dawned on us what he meant and I simply died laughing xD 

Also, Tiger Lily and I had a little dispute over the word "prologue". Will someone please tell her it's pronounced "Pro-log" and not "pro-LOO-gee"?! 

Oh yes, and I did an Anna photo-shoot with a friend of mine. She made the dress herself, and it's absolutely gorgeous! Had sooo much fun taking pictures! :D 

My absolute favourite picture! :) 

Dad and Mom celebrated their 20th anniversary this year!! In honour of the occasion, they both went on a mini-vacation together and left Tiger Lily and I to man the house.

The first dinner we children all had together alone, we played Where No One Goes from How to Train Your Dragon on the speakers. We all LOVE that song so much! It was on repeat for quite awhile. But it was so much fun ;) (also while Mom and Dad were gone, coyotes came, two chickens died, I got a fever, and we thought Toblerone had caught measles. But that's another story. . . )

Our grandparents brought Tiger Lily and I on a hike, and it was so much fun! The walk was beautiful, and spending time with grandparents is always awesome :)

 Some of the girls from church also hosted a fundraiser for the church. Bake sale/craft sale, it was AMAZING. All of their hard work was so beautiful and delicious (the snacks, not the crafts ;))

And I bought a dress from Skylark Clothing! It's so pretty and I'm absolutely LOVING it. Just wish the weather would stay warmer a little longer so I'd have more time to wear it ;) 

We went to the amusement park again for the sixth or seventh time this year. And we got to go with our friends, which was SO. MUCH. FUN!!! :D

And of course, there was the blog hop/Literary Lodge/FFF/Book party this month! Which was SO much fun and absolutely amazing and fantastic! I added a LOT of books to my to-read list ;) 

Books Read

Martin Hospitality 
The Royal Ranger
A Rose Remembered
Halt’s Peril
The Battle for Skandia 
Dare
The Icebound Land
The Sorcerer in the North
Erak’s Ransom
The Graham Quartet and the Mystery of the DayMaid
The Siege of Macindaw
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
Knight’s Fee
The Outcasts 
Letter of Love 

Journey to Love 
Betsy Was a Junior
Betsy and Joe 

The Tournament at Gorlan 

19 books. I honestly have no idea how I managed to do that. *silence* Okay, so maybe I do. Lots of midnight reading. . . But still. 19 books and they weren't all exactly that SMALL either :/ 

Blogging News

My friend Holly has started a blog! You can see her cute blog here: Holly's Berry Patch 

Let's give her a warm welcome to the blogosphere, shall we? :D 

Olivia is hosting a fun little giveaway at her blog!

Amanda released her new novella Befriending the Beast just last week! I haven't read the book yet, but I realllllyyyyyy want to!

September Goals 

Guest post on a couple of blogs, nope actually did not do that! I did write a guest post though, it will be coming out later this month :) 

Write reviews and post interview for Rebekah Morris' new short story Fitting In- check! Fitting In has now been released, so if you haven't read it yet, you totally should!!!!
Look into finding a job - check! Haven't gotten a job yet, but Tiger Lily and I cycled to town a couple days ago and I dropped into a few places. Now just have to get my resumé (or is it resumè?)  written ;) 

Participating in the Five Fall Favourites party! - done! It was, as I said above, amazing! And SO much fun!! (I don't think I can say that enough). If you weren't able to participate, that's ok. You can still see our Top Five books from the 12 genres from the party. You can see the links below to go to the hostesses' blogs or our Goodreads shelves: 

My Five Fall Favourites

Rebekah's Five Fall Favourites

Kate's Five Fall Favourites 

Sarah's Blog

Amanda Tero

Kellyn's Blog

October Goals

Ok, so now it's probably time to tell you all some news. I will be taking a break from blogging for a little while. I'm finding it hard juggling over 6 school courses without adding blogging to the list. I've tried it for as long as I could, but my school is beginning to suffer and my blogging is getting kinda lax. When I DO write a post, it takes longer than I'd like, and it steals time from school and chores and stuff. So, I'm going to take a small break for about a month or so. Re-prioritize! 

I'll still be reading all y'all's blogs, but I'm not sure if I'll be commenting. But even if you don't see any comments from me, be assured, I AM reading your posts! :D 

The "Counting Our Blessings" series will be put on pause, but it will start up as soon as I get back, promise! Same for any other series of posts that hasn't been finished (Liv!!! We gotta finish Adventure Camp!!!! xD) 

For those of you whom I have agreed to beta-read for, DON'T WORRY. I'll still be reading your lovely, crazily-awesome stories and I will get it back to you before the deadline :) 

And a shout-out to the people who have recently followed my blog! You are all so awesome! :D Thank you so much for joining me. I am SO sorry that I have to pause my blogging right after you joined, but I will try to make it up to you all when I come back! :) 

To all of you who have been following my blog for awhile, THANK YOU for your support throughout the past two years. I simply couldn't do it without you all! ❤️ 

Farewell for now! I look forward to catching up with all of you when I get back :)  

Five Fall Favourites // Day Six

Well, today is the end of Five Fall Favourites :’( But only for this year, right? Let's try to do this again in 2017, shall we? If you think we should do this again, please let us know! And there’s the survey you can take too ;)  

Now let's get onto the two very last genres of this party.

Christmas 

The Nutcracker is a Christmas story about a little girl named Maria and her wooden doll, the Nutcracker, who becomes alive to fight the evil seven-headed Mouse King.

I loved reading the Nutcracker. I think I saw the play for it years and years ago, maybe when I was four? so I didn’t remember it all too well ;) But the story is SO fun! :) 

Add to Goodreads

Aurelia Wilde is cruelly selfish and downright miserable—a victim of her mother's desperate attempts to place her delicate “prized possession” on an unreachable pedestal. But her glory is only surface deep. Aurelia's complaining spirit is a stark contrast to that of her servant-girl, Doris, who knows that in spite of life's troubles, she will one day “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Her many talents and cheerful disposition cause her to be loved and appreciated, even by the notable residents of Waverly Manor. How jealousy swells within Aurelia's vengeful mother! She'll get even yet…

So, this is technically not a Christmas book. But the theme of forgiveness and love always made me connect it with Christmas. This is an absolute favourite of mine, and would be one of the first books I’d recommend to you if you ever asked me what book you should read ;) 

Add to Goodreads

Annette and Lucien are enemies. After Annette gets Lucien into trouble at school, he decides to get back at her by threatening the most precious thing in the world to her: her little brother Dani. But tragedy strikes. Annette is so filled with rage that she sets out to alienate and humiliate Lucien at every turn. As Lucien seeks to repent and restore, light floods both of their dark hearts and Christ proves that He makes all things new.

This book is simply amazing. The characters are very relatable and even if the book looks like it’s more for a younger age, it’s not. The message inside this book is something everyone should know! 

Add to Goodreads

This is the delightfully warm and enjoyable story of an old Parisian named Armand, who relished his solitary life. Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was better off without them.

But the children who lived under the bridge recognized a true friend when they met one, even if the friend seemed a trifle unwilling at the start. And it did not take Armand very long to realize that he had gotten himself ready-made family; one that he loved with all his heart, and one for whom he would have to find a better home than the bridge.

Armand and the children's adventures around Paris -- complete with gypsies and a Santa Claus -- make a story which children will treasure. 

Mom read this book to me and my siblings a long time ago for school, and we all fell in love with it. The relationship between Armand and the children is so precious, and their ‘journey’ together is quite memorable. Slightly random, but the one scene that I always remember when I first think of this book is the one where a man is making crepes. I seriously can imagine myself standing in front of a vendor on the sidewalk, watching a man pour batter onto a hot griddle and flip golden cakes and smelling that absolutely delicious smell and ohhhh, I’m hungry now ;P

Add to Goodreads

In one of the most exciting Advent stories you will ever read, follow ten-year-ld Jotham across Israel as he searches for his family. Rejoice in his encounters with wise men, shepherds, and inkeepers until at last he finds his way to the Savior born in Bethlehem.

My family read this a few years ago on the days leading up to Christmas. It was so much fun, and yes, it is indeed on of the most exciting Advent stories! 

Add to Goodreads

(classics)

"She'll have to go back." Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert had decided to adopt an orphan. They wanted a nice sturdy boy to help Matthew with the farm chores. The orphanage sent a girl instead - a mischievous, talkative redhead who the Cuthberts thought would be no use at all. But as soon as Anne arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever. And the longer Anne stayed, the harder it was for anyone to imagine Green Gables without her

Anne Shirley - one of my favouritest characters ever!!! And Gilbert. And Diana. And Marilla. And Matthew. Ahhh…love every single one of them! I think I watched the movie first, when I was like 4 or 5. Then once I could read fairly well, it was straight to the books! ‘Course, I didn’t read the sequels until I was in my teens ;) But I enjoy each and every one of them SO much! 

Add to Goodreads

Armed with only his wits and his cunning, one man recklessly defies the French revolutionaries and rescues scores of innocent men, women, and children from the deadly guillotine. His friends and foes know him only as the Scarlet Pimpernel. But the ruthless French agent Chauvelin is sworn to discover his identity and to hunt him down.

One of THE best books EVER. Baroness Ocrzy’s writing really surprised me, as I was NOT expecting it to be like it to be so good. And not only the writing is great, the plot and characters and yeah, pretty much everything is amaaazzzinnngg!!!! And the movie’s pretty awesome too. It’s one of the books that I’ll be able to read over and over and NEVER get tired of ;) 

Add to Goodreads

With two sons of her own, and twelve rescued orphan boys filling the informal school at Plumfield, Jo March -- now Jo Bhaer -- couldn't be happier. But despite the warm and affectionate help of the whole March family, boys have a habit of getting into scrapes, and there are plenty of troubles and adventures in store.

Sooo…strangely enough, I think I prefer Little Men to Little Women. They are both really good, but the antics of the little boys (and girls) and playfulness of the entire story made it surpass its preceding book. But if I could, I would put pretty much all of Louisa May Alcott’s stories on here, because I LOVE her books! 

Add to Goodreads

Polly Milton never questions the way she is - until she goes to visit her cousins in the city. Her cousin Fanny looks too glamorous to be Polly's age, and wouldn't be caught dead playing in the snow. Will Polly ever learn to be like the other girls? And does she even want to? Sometimes being old-fashioned is right in style.

Yep, another Louisa May Alcott book. Had to add this, because it’s really one of my favourite books ever (I’ve said that a lot, haven’t I? :P) 

Add to Goodreads

When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.

I really wanted to add another Louisa May Alcott book here, but decided to give you all a bit more variety. So I added Pride and Prejudice, the one and only Jane Austen book that I really enjoy. Apologies to you Jane Austen fans. I tried my absolute very best to enjoy reading her books, but they just don't click for me as well as others do! :) 

Add to Goodreads

To find more books in these genres, you can go to these lovely blogs here: 

Some of us will be putting up a Top Five Favourites shelf on Goodreads for you all to look through in case you wanted to look over the books again. Save you from scrolling through a ton of posts ;) 

I just wanted to say thank you all SO much for your participation. It's been simply amazing meeting you all, finding new books, and just having a ton of fun! 

There's a survey you can take here: Five Fall Favourites Feedback (you'll also get a free short story too!) 

And don't forget to go to Rebekah's blog to find out the winners of the door-prizes and the grand prize!!! Which reminds me...

WE HAVE OVER A 100 PEOPLE ENTERED IN THE GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY!!!!!!! 

Thank you all SO SO SO much!!! I'm completely blown away by how many people we were able to reach, and ahhh....this is just so awesome! *squeals* *throws confetti* *sings a happy song* *gives a hug to each and every one of you amazing people* 

And of course, we can't forget the hostesses of this blog party! Rebekah, Kellyn, Kate, Sarah, and Amanda: THANK YOU. It has been so much fun working with you and planning the party and reading your posts, and you all are just amazing!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

Your work behind this party is greatly appreciated, thank you so very much! :D 

How many books did you add to your TBR list this week? 

Did you enjoy the party? 

What was your favourite part of Five Fall Favourites? 

Five Fall Favourites // Day Five

*gasp* Last day of the party!!! Nooo....how did time go by so fast?! It seems like the beginning of the party was just yesterday!! Where did the week go?! 

Oh wait! There's still Saturday. Whew. But today will be the last official day of the party. Tomorrow there'll still be two more genres and the winners will be announced to at Rebekah's blog. So I hope you'll be able to stick around for one more day ;) 

There will also be a survey that you can take to tell us what you thought of the survey! I'll attach a link at the bottom of the post :) 

Now let's get onto the books, shall we? 

Middle Grade 

Ohhhh….I read SO many wonderful books in my younger years, it was excruciatingly hard narrowing down this list. I will let you know now, there are waaaay more books that I would have loved to add here. You’ll have to be satisfied with just these five! :) 

The Aldens begin their adventure by making a home in a boxcar. Their goal is to stay together, and in the process they find a grandfather.

One of my absolute favourite childhood books ever! You won't believe how many of these books I read in this series. It was only after years of reading Boxcar Children that I realized that Ms. Warner had actually only written the first 19 or so books :P But I still enjoyed the others as well :) 

Times are tough around the little brown house! The widowed Mrs. Pepper has to sew all day long just to earn enough to pay the rent and to feed the five growing Peppers. But she faces poverty and trouble with a stout heart, a smiling face, and the help of her jolly brood: blue-eyed Ben, the eldest and the man of the house at the age of 11; pretty Polly, so eager to cook for the family and make everyone happy and comfortable; and the three littlest Peppers, Joel, Davie, and baby Phronsie.

A favorite of children, parents, and teachers for generations, this heartwarming classic first appeared in 1880. Since then, it has inspired countless young imaginations with its tender tales of the ways in which courage and good cheer can overcome adversity.

Polly used to be my role model for the longest time!! She still kind of is ;) Her cheerfulness and willingness to help everybody and anybody was infectious. And the family love between the Peppers was so amazing and all the characters were so loveable and ahhh....I just love the Peppers so much!! And Jasper. And Mr. King! A classic in my mind. The books (yes...it's a series!!! ^_^) are really clean too, not like most of the books of nowadays :/ 

Pieces of Magic 

Remember when you were a child—when all the world was new, and the smallest object a thing of wonder? Arleta Richardson remembers: the funny wearable wire contraption hidden in the dusty attic, the century-old schoolchild's slate that belonged to Grandma, an ancient trunk filled with quilt pieces—each with its own special story—and the button basket, a miracle of mysteries. And best of all was the remarkable grandmother who made magic of all she touched, bringing the past alive as only a born storyteller could.

Here are those marvelous tales—faithfully recalled for the delight of young and old alike, a touchstone to another day when life was simpler, perhaps richer; when the treasures of family life and love were passed from generation to generation by a child's questions...and the legends that followed enlarged our faith.

If she told her new family what she saw, would anyone believe her?

Her Irish father having died in a construction accident, Kate OConnell and her mother are left to struggle alone in the Minneapolis of 1906. Deciding her mother needs help, twelve-year-old Kate goes to pray with their pastor about getting her mother a new husband.

But when God answers their prayers, even Kate is not prepared for the changes. Her mothers remarriage involves becoming part of a Swedish family with two brothers and one sister on a farm in northwest Wisconsin. Such a big change is made harder when Anders, who is also twelve, gets mad at Kate and seems determined to make her life miserable.

As conflicts erupt with Anders, strange occurrences begin to happen around the farm. Kate is convinced she sees someone lurking about, but why? Are their lives in danger?

It was hard enough for Mr. Popper to support himself, Mrs. Popper, Bill and Janie Popper. The addition of twelve penguins to the family made it impossible to make both ends meet. Then Mr. Popper had a splendid idea-the talented penguins would be a sensation on the stage. And so they were....

A classic of American humor, this story of a gentle house-painter and his high-stepping penguins has delighted children for generations. 

Picture/Children

 

If a hungry little traveler shows up at your house, you might want to give him a cookie. If you give him a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. He'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache, and then he'll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim....

The consequences of giving a cookie to this energetic mouse run the young host ragged, but young readers will come away smiling at the antics that tumble like dominoes through the pages of this delightful picture book.

In a great green room, tucked away in bed, is a little bunny. "Goodnight room, goodnight moon." And to all the familiar things in the softly lit room -- to the picture of the three little bears sitting on chairs, to the clocks and his socks, to the mittens and the kittens, to everything one by one -- the little bunny says goodnight. 

 

James Herriot's Treasury for Children collects all of the beloved veterinarian's delightful tales for young readers. From the springtime frolic of Oscar, Cat-About-Town to the yuletide warmth of The Christmas Day Kitten, these stories—radiantly illustrated by Peter Barrett and Ruth Brown—are perennial favorites, and this new complete edition will make a wonderful gift for all readers, great and small.

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter.

E. B. White's Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come

One of the best books ever. So far I haven't met a single person who hasn't liked it. (and now I'm gonna meet such a person today, aren't I? ;)) Love the movie for it as well! 

 

"Guess how much I love you," says Little Nutbrown Hare. Little Nutbrown Hare shows his daddy how much he loves him: as wide as he can reach and as far as he can hop. But Big Nutbrown Hare, who can reach farther and hop higher, loves him back just as much. Well then Little Nutbrown Hare loves him right up to the moon, but that's just halfway to Big Nutbrown Hare's love for him. 

My dad used to read this to me over and over and over and over again when I was little. He would pretend to be Big Nutbrown Hare and I was Little Nutbrown Hare. I loved it and he loved it, and we just loved sharing this special book together. So of course I was going to list it among my Top 5 ;) 

Brrr.....it's cold today! How's the weather at your place? It's about 10 degrees Celsius here (about 50 degrees for you Fahrenheit users ;)) Could definitely use a nice, cozy blanket right now! Flannel sounds good. I would go into my bed and cuddle under my thick comforter, but then I'd be tempted to go to sleep and I absolutely can not do that! Got school to do ;)                            What about you? 

Don't forget to these gals' blogs for more books!! AND the Book Room is lurking around on one of these blogs. Have you found it yet?

And the grand prize!! It ends today at midnight, so if you haven't entered yet, GO DO IT!!! :) 

As you can see on the progress bar at Rebekah's blog, we are currently at 84 people entered!!! You know what that means, right?? Yep, we're going to have a 2nd place winner!!!! Yippee! Do you think we can get another 16 people entered before midnight? Then we can get a 3rd place winner too. And I'm sure you all want that, right? *winks*  

There is a survey that we're having to get some feedback from you all. Thoughts on the party? What did you like? What did you not like? Anything you think we should add? Questions like that. And as a thank you for participating in the party as well as for taking the survey, you will get a free short story. So go take that survey. You know you want to ;) And we would absolutely love to hear from you!!! ^_^ 

You can find the survey at Rebekah's blog or you can just go here: Five Fall Favourites Feedback

It's all a matter of which link you prefer to click. Very hard decision, you all ;) 

How many books have you added to your TBR list? 

Have you taken the survey? 

You're coming back tomorrow, right? ;)