A Return Home

I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a book that a good friend of mine has just published.  I am honored to have the opportunity to review her work.  Hope Wilbanks is a talented lady who has created an inspirational book that is so needed in today’s world.

A Cup of Hope is an endearing collection of daily devotionals that well, fill you with hope.  I found this book to be a bright point to my day and I thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every devotion within its pages.  The inspiration that the reader receives is priceless.  The pages are filled with spiritual and personal insights and reflections that are masterfully weaved together.

If you are looking for just that perfect gift for someone who needs encouragement or would just appreciate receiving some inspiration and hope, then this is a book you will want to give this Christmas and anytime.  You can purchase A Cup of Hope at Hope’s website, www.hopewilbanks.com .

In the meantime, here is the video, A Cup of Hope to inspire you!  Enjoy!

As a professional writer, one of my favorite jobs to do is to write reviews on different products.  I enjoy using the product or reading the materials and then giving my honest opinion about them to share with my readers.  But few of these products have ever touched my heart the way that the e-book, Saving Christmas , did.  I am so glad I was given this opportunity to review it!

Saving Christmas: Magical Tips for Creating Lasting Christmas Memories is a collection of heartwarming stories, tips and practical advice to help you make the most of your Christmas season.  I appreciated the tips for reducing costs during this Christmas season due to the effects of the economy crisis.  I teared up at some of the stories that were shared.  I finished the e-book with a calm that wasn’t there before and several ideas running through my head of how to make this Christmas special in our home.

Thanks to Saving Christmas , our Christmas has just been saved.  I now know just what to do to make it special for my family despite our current tight finances.  This will take a little tweaking to some of our favorite traditions and the implementation of what I hope become new traditions in our family. I feel renewed and invigorated as I have been reminded what is really important during this season.  Check this e-book out, you won’t be sorry.  And you just may find yourself creating new Christmas memories and traditions.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their ideas on my little Santa problem. I appreciate the blog responses, twitters and e-mails with many great ideas. I decided to try many of the different ideas, hoping one of them would work and that my son would finally grasp the Santa game. As you know, it was kind of tricky since my son has Asperger’s Syndrome and everything is very literal to him.

Well, I am happy to say that although none of your great ideas worked, that his Grandpa, my dad, came up with the solution. He was finally able to explain it to him in a way that he understood and accepted. He is actually quite cheerful about it now and trying to think of how he wants to implement the Santa game for his dad and grandparents. All I can say is, “Whew!” and “Thank goodness for Grandpa!”

Photo provided by snowbear

If I knew twelve years ago what I do now about my child, I would have handled Santa differently. As it is, I now have a 12 year old boy who still believes in the jolly man in the red suit. While his child-like faith is endearing, I definitely am finding myself in a bit of a pickle this year.

I have been trying to explain the facts about Santa, but to his Aspergerish mind, I am just a great jokester. He refuses to believe the truth, because deep in his heart, and for sure in his head, he knows that Santa is REAL. I appreciate the spirit of Santa, but it would be so much more fun if we could all play Santa in our home.

The problem with Asperger’s is that to an Aspie, things are literal. Trying to undo something from the past can be a bit tricky. If I knew 12 years ago what I do now, I would have developed Santa as a game in our home. I always envisioned that someday we would all play a part in bringing Santa to our home. Trying to get there now is turning out to be trickier than I imagined. Any suggestions??

Photo by (c) johnnyberg, www.sxc.hu