Now on sale . . . Muffins & Mayhem: Recipes for a Happy (if Disorderly) Life by Suzanne Beecher, and when you purchase it, request a free autographed bookplate, by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/Muffins-MayhemPO
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Dear Reader,
It was a glorious weekend, my son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons, Paul and James, moved back into their home that caught fire on September 26th. Life can be sad and yes it's complicated sometimes, but even in the midst of despair I discover joy.
It wasn't supposed to be there; a little baby fern poking its head through the brick floor on my screened-in front porch. The fern belongs in the flower garden in front of the porch, but for some reason this off-shoot, this new growth, decided it wanted to find a different home. Or maybe the fern decided that its job was to be a reminder of the new life my family and I are experiencing because of the fire.
Sometimes I discover joy in the most unlikely places. For the past five weeks my husband and I have been looking for bargains, shopping for furnishings to replace the things lost in the fire. Such a sad journey in the beginning, but this past weekend my husband said, "You know Suzanne, it's strange, even though the fire was a tragedy, I could make a list of blessings we've experienced the past few weeks because of it." And so we did. My husband and I made a list of all of the nice things people said and did to help our family, and these are the memories and stories that we'll carry with us when we remember the fire.
Moving day was just in the nick of time for our grandson's birthday. "Home, home," James has been repeating over the past five weeks and this past Sunday, before he even blew out the candles his wish was granted--James was back home celebrating his 2nd birthday in the back yard.
My husband and I had a lot of fun finding bargains and decorating our grandsons' bedrooms. James loves cars and trucks and three-year-old Paul is crazy about dinosaurs, so those were the themes we chose. A yellow VW Bug bed we discovered on Craigslist, a chalkboard headboard in the furniture clearance rack, colorful tables and chairs from IKEA, including a big green leaf hanging from the ceiling, take a look at the finished rooms. We had so much fun putting them together. Go to: http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/node/55449
Thank you all for the prayers, emails, clothes, toys and gift cards that you shared with my family. Blessings to you and your family from mine.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]
http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/
AUTHORBUZZ: A bottle of wine, an art poster and lots of signed books, books, and more books are up for grabs this week at AuthorBuzz. Say hello to four authors and these intriguing new releases:
Mary Volmer, Crown of Dust
Jennifer Erin Valent, Catching Moondrops
Walt Schnabel, Blood Club
G.G. Vandagriff, The Last Waltz: A Novel of Love and War
Bill Peschel, Writers Gone Wild: the Feuds, Frolics, and Follies of Literature's Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts, and Misanthropes
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
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