Movie Review: Bennett's Song

This was a really cute movie.  Without giving too much away, it's the story of a widowed dad with 7 kids, meeting a divorced mom with 7 kids.  It's a tale of adoption, and the huge capacity to love that adoptive families have. 

Watch the trailer and see for yourself:

Bennett's Song made me laugh and cry (I cry at everything!).  I recognized some of the struggles of large family life and some of the biases against adoptive families from my own experiences. 

This sweet rom-com movie is available on DVD and VOD (affiliate links).  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 

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Late July

In the words of Richard Marx, "Summer came and went without a warning..."  Here it is September, and I haven't finished blogging July. 

My beautiful girls.  This was taken when we were visiting the town where Daddy works. 

Buddy sent Jack and Hannah a book from a new series to try out.  Similar to the Redwall books.  Both my kids gave it a thumbs up.  We actually read quite a bit this summer.  The kids and I tried to get to the library about once a week.  They were keeping track of their books for the library's summer reading program, so I entered mine while I was entering theirs.  Turns out, I read 23 books this summer!  And a couple more since school started. 

We see less and less of Wheelie these days.  He adopted our family when Brianna was 5, so he's been around us for 13 years now.  Lately, though, he spends a good deal of his time down the street at a neighbor's house.  So it's a treat when we do get to see him. 

Brayden came over to play while Heather was working. 

This was after he told me, "I'm not tired," at nap time.  I asked him to read books quietly for a little while instead.  Glad he wasn't tired. 

Eli went out for a yacht ride with Miss Adorable and her family. 

I like these sturdy little boxes, but I didn't want the logo showing.  A couple years ago, I won a massive haul of Mod Podge, so I got creative. 

Paint, sprinkle, paint, sprinkle, paint, sprinkle, let dry.  The next day, I went over the top with more Mod Podge (affiliate link) to keep the beads from coming loose. 

Close up while I was doing the over layer. 

I like how it turned out. 

Eli volunteered with Miss Adorable again this year at our police run Safety Town.  

Safety Town is a program for children going into kindergarten to learn a wide variety of safety topics, from gun safety to poison safety to traffic safety and more.  The teen volunteers lead small groups of children each day, which they get community service hours for.  (They also have fun when the kids aren't there!) 



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Psycho In Paradise #bookreview

After more than a dozen books in a series with the same characters, you might expect things to get boring.  Not in the Paradise series by Deborah Brown.  We gain not one, but two new members of the Fab & Madison clan this time around--one related to each of the girls.  Unfortunately, there are some dark flashbacks of characters best left forgotten by the family, as well.  At least one of those bad guys is dead now.  That should be a good thing, except that the body turned up in Brad's car. 

There was a bombshell ending to the last book, Blownup in Paradise, so I was eager to see how that would play out in the newest book, Psycho in Paradise.  You know those crazy family dinners where brawls break out and things go horribly awry?  That's how that unfolds.  There's still more to come in that particular part of the story line, so that's something to look forward to next time. 

While summer may be ending for some climates, you can hang on to that beach vibe by escaping into Psycho in Paradise for your mental Florida vacation, even after school starts. 

NEW RELEASE....
In the Florida Keys, you have to take the shady with the sunny. And Tarpon Cove has more than fifty shades of shady going on.

Shady No. 1: When Brad is caught with the dead body of his crazy ex-girlfriend—a body he swears was planted—the Westin family gathers to plan a strategy. That family now including Fab, Didier, and Creole by default.

Shady No. 2: Fab is having a hard time keeping her promise to go legit. It’s not her fault she tends to attract clients who want their problems solved without getting the cops involved. Trying to keep her reined in is a full-time job, and a thankless one, since Madison keeps getting roped in on “easy” jobs that wind up getting the kind of messy that require specialized cleanup.

Shady No. 3: Ferreting out the info needed to save Brad means using sources so deep in the friend-of-a-friend network they’re anonymous.

The only thing not shady is Creole’s love. Madison’s kept her promise never to lie to him. Mostly. But when the killer wafts like smoke through the cracks in the investigation, it reminds her she should’ve eaten dessert first more often.

The Paradise series, are Florida Keys mysteries, “great as stand-alone reads, but they're like chips in a can...you won't be able to devour just one!”

Available to buy from.....

Amazon.com    Amazon UK   Paperback   Barnes & Noble

"South Florida author Deborah Brown books are infectious." 

"My love for these quirky characters grows with every book! Hope they never end!"

"Deborah Brown has done it again. I don't think I could ever get tired of Madison, Fab, and the rest of the gang. These books are always laugh out loud funny and this one is no different. Psycho in Paradise has plenty of twists and turns that kept me turning pages. It's filled with adventure, suspense, thrills, and fun characters. It's impossible to put down." 

Above reviews from Amazon


Read an excerpt HERE

Also available in the Paradise Series

      

      

    

    

    

About the Author

I've been writing, in one way or another for as long as I can remember; poetry, sappy short stories (my best friend made me swear that I’d never show anyone until I changed the names), and a romance novel shoved under my bed.

I wanted to create books with a wide-range of unforgettable characters, with heat and romance, and lots of guns. It wouldn’t be complete without a slice of humor and charm.

I live with my family and demon children aka rescue cats in South Florida.

Find the author on the following sites...

Website  Facebook  Twitter  Pinterest  Google+  Goodreads  Amazon Author page  Bookbub

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I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, I have volunteered to share my review and all the opinions are 100% my own.

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Early July

Summer is half over, can you believe it?  Where did the time go?

Tuzi bunny enjoys knocking things over when the kids build them.  He also likes dried kiwi treats.  Unfortunately, bunnies have a well deserved reputation for chewing cords, and when he was out, he got the DSL cord.  I'm glad we had a spare on hand. 

Packing up the girls to spend a week in Nevada was a good excuse for me to use my handy packing cubes (affiliate link).  I seriously love these things.  They've been great for my China trips and my vacation to Hawaii.

This year was the first summer in quite a while that the whole family did not go to Nevada.  Paul drove Jack, Hannah, and Katie to meet up with family there, and they stayed without us.  He then continued on to visit a friend in Las Vegas for a few days, while Josiah, Eli, and I stayed home.

Since it was just the 3 of us, we took all the leaves out of the table and impersonated a small family.

One day, we decided we wanted pizza for lunch.  But not just any pizza.  Special pizza, only available in another city.  So we hopped in the van and drove and drove to get it.  When we got into Dixon, there were all these gorgeous sunflowers, and I couldn't resist getting a picture.

The pizza was amazing.  And we stopped at a little farm stand and got fresh saltwater taffy and alligator jerky before heading back home.  We got a little sidetracked on the way and ended up at Ikea.  I was shocked to discover that the last time my boys had been to Ikea they were still little enough for Play Care, and they'd never actually wandered the store before.  We had a blast together!  I always feel very safe when I walk between my two big, tall bodyguards boys.

Eli has taken up grilling.  For 4th of July, he made bacon wrapped hot dogs, and I threw on a couple of cute little steaks and some corn.

I think Paul was a little concerned about the boys and I being unsupervised on 4th of July, but we didn't burn anything down, so all's well that ends well.

Eli was really happy to not have to compete (much) to light off fireworks.

And we could even see some sky pyrotechnics from our house.

Josiah lit off a few things, but mostly he and I sat in the driveway and watched Eli enjoy himself. 

The fireworks didn't seem to bother the bunny, which was nice. 

Picking up the kids in Reno, after their week with the grandparents. 

The Donner Lake potty stop on the way home. 

Miss Hannah got her Summer Reading Program medal.  Not a lot in the way of prizes this year. 

Saw a dreadful video on Facebook showing people's total lack of geography skills.  Was horrified enough to pull out a map puzzle and spread it on the table, thinking I'd have the girls assemble it for some low key summer practice. 

Jack completed the world puzzle, and then went on to do the North America one, as well. 

School starts in like 5 weeks.  I recently went through Jack, Hannah, and Katie's school uniforms, pulling out anything too small for them.  Old Navy had polos on sale for $3 bucks, so I filled in some gaps there.  Primary is one of my favorite resources for Hannah & Katie, so I filled in a few more gaps there, and now the younger 3 kids are all ready for BTS.  Eli is in man sizes, so his stuff doesn't really go on sale.  ...I wonder if he can make it through the first 2 weeks of school on what he already has, so I can use my September Super Cash to get his uniforms? 


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