Category Archives: Lauren

Disney World Guidebooks: A Kirkus Review

My kids and I are leaving this afternoon for our favorite place: Disney World. We first visited as a family in 2004, and this will be our eighth trip since then. Not only do I love to visit Disney World, but I also enjoy reading about all aspects of the parks and history. Because of…

On Reading: Books that Inspired Us as Mothers

I well remember that fateful day when I stared in disbelief at the home pregnancy test, the small pink line indicating a positive result. Although I had always known I wanted to have kids, although I’d been married 4 years at that point, I was still petrified. Surely I wasn’t really grown-up enough to be…

Ditch the Joneses, Discover Your Family: How To Thrive on Less Than Two Incomes

I majored in education, but I always knew I wanted to be home when my kids were little. Thankfully, I married a very frugal man. Even though we we married right out of college, my husband was wise enough to suggest that we live on one income. For six years, we lived on one income…

How To Be God’s Little Princess, Review and Giveaway

I was never much of a princess as a little girl. I wasn’t quite a tomboy, but I didn’t really care for frilly or pink. My daughter, on the other hand, has loved all things girly since birth. While she can get dirty and play hard, she prefers to do it while wearing a pretty…

Beside Still Waters, Review and Giveaway

Over the past few years, I have enjoyed many of Tricia Goyer’s novels, particularly her historical fiction. In her new series, Tricia is exploring a new genre: Amish fiction. In Beside Still Waters, Tricia tells the story of Marianna Sommer. Marianna lives in an Amish community in Indiana with her family. Because she was born…

Angel Sister

Families can be the source of great love, support and blessing. Unfortunately, family situations can also cause some of life’s greatest sorrows. In her new novel, Angel Sister, Ann Gabhart tells the touching story of an American family living in small-town Kentucky during the Great Depression. Although better off than many, the family of young…

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

I take so many things for granted: freely leaving my home when I want, pursuing interests and education, communicating openly with friends and family. I don’t give activities like these a second thought, but in many parts of the world, women can only dream of these freedoms. In The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, former ABC…

My Name Is Not Alexander

In 2008, I reviewed My Name Is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry. This book is a delightful picture book geared toward young girls. I enjoyed it so much that I named it a 5 Star Read. Jennifer Fosberry now has a book titled My Name Is Not Alexander for young boys. The format of this…