We kicked off our new year of book club events with a fantastic story:
Building a nest on the rocks of faith and family
“The Mistress of Tall Acre” by Laura Frantz
The American Revolution is finally over, and Sophie Menzies is starved for good news. When her nearest neighbor, General Seamus Ogilvy, finally comes home to Tall Acre, she hopes it is a sign of better days to come. But the general is now a widower with a small daughter in desperate need of a mother. Nearly destitute, Sophie agrees to marry Seamus and become the mistress of Tall Acre in what seems a safe, sensible arrangement. But when a woman from the general’s past returns without warning, the ties that bind this fledgling family together will be strained to the utmost. When all is said and done, who will be the rightful mistress of Tall Acre?
The Mistress of Tall Acre: A Novel
Frantz’ characterization of Sophie and Seamus is excellent. The pair make a great couple. Their romantic longings are clear and yet modestly described. Despite it all, their ties are not physical but are based on much deeper reasonings, making this book rank far above most romantic stories. The great lessons and historic research only up this ranking.
Having been in Williamsburg, Virginia, only last week, another aspect of the setting excited me. Several specific historical places were named in the story that I saw last week. Raleigh Tavern and Bruton Parish Church are still on the Duke of Gloucester Street, where it’s easy to imagine how life must have looked and smelled and been all those centuries ago. Reading about those places in this story brought it all to life again and made the story that much more exciting for me.
Hearts for Home Blog Hop – September 23, 2015
A Nest in the Rocks is now one of the co-hosts for the weekly Hearts for Home Blog link-up, which means that every Thursday you’ll find lots of great tips, recipes, and other family-friendly ideas listed throughout this post. If you’re a blogger, we’d love to have you link up your posts and join us. You can find information about the other co-hosts of this hop here.
The most clicked posts from last week were DIY Elsa & Anna Costumes.
Some of my favorite posts from last week were:
– Methods for Integrating Writing
– Natural Ways to Treat Migraines » Just Another Mom
– Creative Girls Gift Basket Giveaway
If your post is listed above, please grab one of our ‘Featured Blogger’ buttons! Congratulations, and thanks for writing such inspiring posts.
Link up your family-friendly blog posts below. Please add our button to your post to link back to this one. Happy hopping! 
Learning Spanish with Foreign Languages for Kids – Review
When we started homeschooling, one of the biggest benefits I anticipated was the opportunity to study a foreign language at an elementary age. My education professors in college drilled into us the many benefits of doing so, but they’re not taught in our local public schools. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to make this happen, however.
That’s why I’m so excited that we’re learning Spanish with Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids. This video-based, immersion curriculum is both fun and easy. The kids and I are learning new words together every day without stress, struggle, or tears (like in other programs we’ve tried).
We log onto the website each morning at breakfast. I put our laptop at the end of the table, and we start the video while we eat. Each one is an average of 5 minutes long, so sometimes we watch more than once or go back and watch earlier ones if we feel the need.
The videos are expertly made. I love that they begin with a review of recently-learned material before moving on to new concepts. The format is reminiscent of ‘Sesame Street’ for big people. Each video features kids as they go about their day. After a short verbal exchange, the screen changes to show the new vocabulary words. Sometimes there are funny skits involved to demonstrate the meaning of the words being used.
My kids both love the videos. They walk around throughout the day, singing the words and phrases to themselves. They talk along with the videos as they play, and they anxiously await their turns to use the online workbook.
After not quite three weeks, we’re on Lesson 8. The kids are picking up the vocabulary quickly and they’re eager to learn new words. When we watch a new video, we watch it for several days in a row until both kids are confident in their ability to remember the new vocabulary and concepts. Because the videos are so funny, even I’m picking up new words.
The program includes an online workbook and quizzes. Both kids took the first set of quizzes last week and aced them. The new information that they’re learning is definitely being retained.
I’m glad that we’re using Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids this year. If you want to check it out, click on the banner below. It’s definitely worth a look!
I received free access to this curriculum in exchange for an honest review.
“Tiger Heart” Giveaway
There’s a new book on the market, and it has a most important message. Check it out:
In TIGER HEART: My Unexpected Adventures to Make a Difference in Darjeeling and What I Learned About Fate, Fortitude, and Finding Family Half a World Away (October 2015), Katrell Christie tells her remarkable story – how an impromptu trip to India inspired her to house and educate the country’s displaced young girls. Katrell never intended to visit India. In fact, her dream getaway involved a tropical beach and a margarita. But when this former art student turned roller-derby-rebel-turned-tea-
While in Darjeeling, Katrell learned that the girls in this orphanage would soon “age out,” without any place to go and that the fate of many of them was bleak. At 16-years-old the girls are “evicted” from the orphanage and left to fend for themselves in a society where one’s family is the vital support network. Many of these girls faced grim futures as laborers or domestic servants. Some might have been relegated to lives of sexual exploitation. When Katrell learned about these “throwaway” girls, she couldn’t walk away. Instead she moved forward–on a mission to help in any way, and once back in Atlanta, founded The Learning Tea, which today has offered scholarships to 11 young women in Darjeeling. By selling tea, cupcakes, scones, and other items, Katrell raised enough funds to provide life necessities for the girls, providing them with life necessities — a safe home, an education, uniforms, medical care, as well as music lessons, tutoring, computer classes, and other extracurricular activities — all because of one unlikely hero and her tea shop.
TIGER HEART recounts Katrell’s riveting adventures in India, through the chaotic streets of Mumbai, to tiny villages with roadside tea huts and hot samosas, to elephant crossings and snow-capped mountain switchbacks of the Himalayas–an unexpected backdrop where Katrell fell in love with a country that was gorgeous and heartbreaking all at once, where tragedy, humor, resilience and kindness were inextricably bound. Katrell has readers sipping tea with her at roadside tea huts and tasting hot samosas. The smells from small villages waft from the pages as readers accompany her on her riveting and sometimes hilarious adventures across the globe in her mission to empower the young women who have become a part of her family. Katrell dodges feral monkeys, slams shots of whiskey to win acceptance at a local Rotary Club, and forges lasting friendships with the people who step up to help her cause. Katrell will inspire readers as she shares her story and her mission to make a difference through the power of educating girls. Fate may have led Katrell to a tiny spot on a map, but it was a kinship that brought her back home a half a world away.
Tiger Heart is not only important, but it’s life-changing. That’s why we’re giving away three copies of this book! Enter by September 27 using the widget below. Good luck!
“A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn” by Shelley Shepard Grey
Emma Keim was heartbroken when her husband, Sanford, passed away, leaving her to raise three young daughters alone. Though several years have passed, her relatives have made it no secret that they expect Emma to remain a widow, mourning Sanford indefinitely. But when she meets Jay Hilty—a handsome widower with three young sons of his own—Emma is delighted to have a new friend who understands her struggles. Still, she is dismayed that her family is so opposed to their friendship—and the idea of it ever becoming anything more. She honors her husband’s memory every day, but is she destined to be alone forever?
Emma’s gentleness with Jay’s boys stirs something in his heart that’s been quiet for far too long. But when his oldest son becomes engaged to a local woman, suddenly Jay, Emma, and their children are swept up in wedding preparations. Witnessing his son’s joy, Jay wonders if it’s time for him to move forward, too, and find happiness again.
Once again, love has come to Pinecraft. But can these two parties of four become a happy, healthy family of eight?
The Orange Blossom Inn has never been so beautiful – and the old-fashioned romance so appealing. There’s more than one romance in this story, too, which only makes it better. Emma and Jay have big, adult issues to work through, while Tricia and Ben are caught up in the bloom of young love. The contrasts are appealing.
Emma’s ties to her old life are strong, and her family doesn’t want anything to change. She’s ready to move on, however, and I love the way that she honestly and kindly speaks with those concerned. She’s much more patient than I could be, and her emotional struggle add both spice and sweetness to the plot.
Frankie is pure fun. A beagle with a penchant for pizza, he adds his own brand of humor to the story at all the right moments – and sometimes the wrong ones. I love the way that Gray takes a serious emotional story and keeps it so approachable with episodes like Frankie’s escapades.
A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn is fun, and like the other books in the series, the characters are close and realistic. I can’t wait for the next installment in the series!
Click here to read other reviews on this bloggy hop or here to purchase your own copy now.
Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
Find Shelley online: website, Facebook, Twitter
I received a free copy of this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.
“Gone Without a Trace” by Patricia Bradley
It’s been more than two years since homicide detective Livy Reynolds’s cousin disappeared from Logan Point. Unlike most people in her hometown, Livy has never believed that Robyn left voluntarily. When Dallas private investigator Alex Jennings contacts Livy concerning a missing senator’s daughter who was last seen in Logan Point, she notices eerie similarities between the two disappearances. But with self-doubt plaguing her and an almost instant dislike of Jennings, Livy is finding this investigation an uphill battle. With her future in law enforcement on the line, can she find a way to work with a man who is her polar opposite?
Gone without a Trace: A Novel (Logan Point)
Straight from 
