Happy Fourth of July!

We took our dog, Abby, to watch the parade today.  She loved meeting lots of friendly people and other dogs.  

We got there about 40 minutes early. I'm glad I brought a book along, Divergent.

When the Parma Animal shelter float went by, the lady threw a big dog biscuit to Abby so of course that was her favorite float. Here is a picture of the most patriotic dog we saw.

Abby found a flag along the way that she wanted her picture taken by. We all hope you had a very fun Independence day and thank all our servicemen and women who fought for our freedom.  After the parade, Gerard went to the gym, I cut out stuff for VBS and read some more, Gerard watched some TV and we played tennis. 

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Central Park Five" by Srah Burns

Spunky Doodle Likes the tree on the cover!

The Central Park Five by Sarah Burns tells the true story of a woman brutally attacked while jogging in Central Park in New York and the five people accused of the crime. This is the type of book I love, one that brings me up to speed on a subject I heard about but don't know all the details. This book filled in the missing pieces for me. Great investigating reporting makes this a good book, a quick read with only 200 pages that kept my interest all the way.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Nobody Don't Love Nobody" by Stacey Bess

I loved the movie "Beyond the Blackboard" which is based on Nobody Don't Love Nobody--Lessons on Love from the School With No Name by Stacey Bess, a teacher who taught homeless children at a family shelter, a school with no name. She shares about her experience and her love for the students.  Not only did she teach them, but they taught her as well about love and what it is like being homeless.  This book gives insight into the effects homelessness has on children and challenges the reader to get involved and take action to show love to others and make the world a better place.  Stacey Bess was put in a unique teaching situation and rose to the challenge.

Here is a quote that I think sums up her whole point of the book from page 96:

But we can't impose our own goals, wishes, or help on anyone. We can only teach, support, and love. We give them more opportunities, more choices. Then we love them regardless of the choices they make, hoping that they will learn to make better ones in the future.

I think any teacher would find this book inspiring and anyone who has compassion for the homeless would certainly find this interesting.  I liked the movie better though than the book, but the book is good too.  At the end of the book, she has an extensive list of different ideas on how people can get more involved by serving others. 
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

Help Heifer International By Commenting!

Last month we got 207 comments and donated $104 to Joni and Friends. We really appreciate all who commented. For July, we will donate 50 cents per comment to Heifer International, an organization I learned about through Ann Up North. What animal we can provide depends on the size of the donation. View this video to find out how this organization helps communities combat poverty.



$120 = pig or sheep or goat (we'll let our readers vote--just leave a comment)
$150 = llamba
$250 = water buffalo
$60 = rabbits
$20 = chicks or ducks

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. If you decide to donate per comment on your blog, please let us know and we'll include you in our special "comment for charity" blog roll.

"Home Again" by Kristin Hannah

Home Again by Kristin Hannah is about second chances. It's about Madeline, a single mom who is a cardiologist for her first love, Angel, who needs a heart transplant and how his brother the priest took care of Madeline and her daughter in his brother's absence. The daughter yearns to know her dad, the mother is afraid he will break her heart, the priest falls in love with Madeline but wants to do the right thing and Angel is a famous, rich actor living life in the fast lane until he has a third heart attack and winds up in the hospital back in his home town.

The heart transplant angle was very interesting in this book and it was fun seeing how the characters grew. I recommend this to those who like fairy tale romances or stories about single moms.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Could You Please Do Us A Favor:   Canine Lifeline, the dog rescue that saved our Abby, is in the running for $1,000 donation from Pedigree. Please go vote for Canine Lifeline over at dogtipper.com. Today is the last day for voting! They are currently leading, but it's very close!