2011 Reading List

For several years now, as new year's resolutions come around I've contemplated the desire to read more books.  This year I think I may succeed.  This is my ongoing blog with the books I've read in 2011.


1) The Choice - Nicholas Sparks
2) A Walk to Remember - Nicholas Sparks
3) Fearless - Max Lucado
4) Indivisible - Kristen Heitzmann
5) Halos - Kristen Heitzmann
6) The Negotiator - Dee Henderson
7) The Guardian - Dee Henderson
8) The Truth Seeker - Dee Henderson
9) The Protector - Dee Henderson
10) The Healer - Dee Henderson
11) The Rescuer - Dee Henderson
12) Daddy Dates - Greg Wright
13) A Rush of Wings - Kristen Heitzmann
14) The Still of Night - Kristen Heitzmann
15) Danger in the Shadows - Dee Henderson
16) A Time to Dance - Karen Kingsbury
17) A Time to Mend - Angela Hunt
18) Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks
19) A Time to Embrace - Karen Kingsbury
20) The Chocolate Diaries - Karen Scalf Linamen
21) Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks
22) Even Now - Karen Kingsbury
23) Enemies of the Heart - Andy Stanley
24) The Blessing - John Trent and Gary Smalley
25) Secrets - Kristen Heitzmann
26) Shadows on the Sand - Gayle Roper
27) A Wedding Invitation - Alice j Wisler

Little Princess: Nose Extraction #2

There have been a lot of sneezes and sniffles around the Magruder home this past week.  Our Little Princess has been feeling pretty good, but none the less requires a Kleenex before bed each evening.  Little Princess is definitely a product of her mother and finds her 8:30 bedtime to be too early.  We often hear her talking, singing, and occasionally the pitter-patter of those little mischievous feet.  Saturday night was no different - that is until the Little Princess began a whimper that I feared signaled something more than sleeplessness.  As I climbed the stairs and entered her room she informed me that she had toilet paper in her nose.  I tried to coax her back to bed, yet she continued to tell me about her nose.  Recalling the previous lip-gloss bead in the nose incident, I turned on the light and looked into her nose.  I noticed a small white ball inside her nose.  I went for the small flashlight I keep downstairs and also found the baby "booger" suckers.  I tried for several minutes trying to suck out the paper or to get Little Princess to blow the toilet paper out of her nose - neither seems to help any at all.  I went downstairs and woke up Daddy for assistance.  Daddy tried my tactics in addition to the Neti-pot technique trying to flush it out.  I "googled" the event searching for parents with similar problems to no avail.  I could not decide if this was an emergency room trip or if this was one of those wait and see moments.    Daddy wanted to try one last method of extraction.  Little Princess laid abnormally still for her busy body as Daddy took out a very small set of tweezers from a Swiss Army knife and I held her head and the flashlight.  After a few minutes of careful extraction, Little Princess was freed from her pea-sized wad of toilet paper and sent back to bed.  Given the increasing difficulty of these nose extractions, we wait and hope that there will not be a blog titled: Nose Extraction #3.

Book Review: A Wedding Invitation

How much can a simple wedding invitation change a person's life?  In Alice J Wisler's new book, A Wedding Invitation, it drastically changes the lives of many.  Main characters, Samantha Bravencourt and Carson Brylie share a past together that has the potential to impact their present and future lives if they are willing to see past the hurt and disappointment of the past to embrace a second chance for a future.  

I found this book to be an easy and enjoyable read.  The elements within this sweet romance lead you questioning the direction the story will end for much of its forty-eight chapters. The story-line moves between the present and the past as it lays the foundation for Samantha and Carson's history together.  Throughout the book the author introduces many characters that provide a positive and encouraging support system to Samantha even in the midst their own individual struggles. The book includes some recipes that were alluded to throughout the story and also includes some questions for conversation.


If you are looking for an enjoyable, romantic read that will leave you believing in the endless possibilities of love and how our days and our lives can be altered by one small event then I suggest you take a look at this book.

I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers for the purpose of this review.

One Less Tooth

This morning while eating corn pops for breakfast, Rockstar discovered that her front bottom tooth was very loose.  It had been loosening for a few days now.  She first discovered it hurting at breakfast on Thursday morning.  I encouraged Rockstar to wiggle it back and forth and reassured her that there was little pain in pulling a tooth as loose as hers. She ran off to the mirror and within moments returned with much excitement as she held her tooth in her hand.  She literally jumped, danced and sang with joy and promised to tell everyone at church tomorrow that she had lost a tooth.