Veterans Day & A Book Sale

 

I've been thinking a lot about the sacrifice and dedication that our military men and women make every day. This is the picture my grandpa had with him when he was wounded during the Korean war. It's of his two little baby sons who were waiting for him to come home safely. While he was away, this picture was one of his most prized possessions and it touches my heart whenever I see it because I know every soldier probably carried a similar picture and reminder of home with them and some didn't make it back. (Thankfully my grandfather did.) 

I hope that this Veterans Day and every day those families know how grateful we are for their loved one's sacrifice.

As a writer I have been so honored to have met military men and women who have read, commented, and/or helped me keep my stories plausible. I'm so grateful to all veterans for their sacrifice and dedication to the cause of freedom.

To honor them, I am offering my Christmas military romance, Truth or Dare, that features a veteran and his dog, for only .99 cents today.

Get your sale book HERE

Here's the back copy:

After a year of recovery, wounded war veteran Jonah Harrison comes home for Christmas. No longer the outgoing high school track star, he just wants to be left alone, away from well-meaning friends and neighbors. But when a blizzard strands him with Kami Jackson—the girl who once knew him best—he can’t hide anything from her, no matter how much he wants to. Kami has a wounded heart of her own, though, and it might take a miracle---or at least two matchmaking dogs---for them to find the healing they both long for and the courage to reach for a chance at love.

Puppy Themed Birthday Party

I've been having a little too much fun lately planning my little girl's puppy themed birthday party.  It is finally over and I'm dying to show you all the pictures!

The Decorations

Puppy paws on the balloons

Adorable puppy cake!

I got brand new dog bowls from the dollar store for the treats and found cute little tags with dog themes on Pinterest.

The "Pup" corn was a bit hit!

Doesn't that really look like puppy chow? LOL It's just chocolate puff cereal.

Scooby snacks.  :)

Paw print sugar cookies, aren't they adorable?

Drink station and "chew" toys.

Doggie bags for the kids to take home. Included in them are: a ball, a "best in show" medal, puppy chow, scooby snacks, and a Snoopy fruit snack.  

The Fun

So when each child got there, they picked out some puppy ears and a tail, (I found fabric remnants and hot glued them to head bands for the ears, then sewed simple tails and put them on elastic) then we started working on their "collar" which was foam beads with a larger one in the middle for the "dog" tag.

then I face-painted simple puppy faces on them.

then each person got their own dog bowl for their snacks. (Also from the dollar store and washed thoroughly of course.)

We played games like obedience school (where they learned to roll over, howl, chase their tails, sniff for bones, play dead, and wag your tail) and then played "Simon Says" to show off their skills.

We also did a puppy obstacle course where they jumped through a hula hoop, pushed a ball with their nose, balanced a dog biscuit and dug for bones in the sandbox.  The fun one was "guess the smell" and we had a pickle and some fruity shampoo in paper bags that they were trying to guess. LOL

We couldn't find a poster for Pin the Tail on the Puppy so my son hand drew one for me. It was fun!

We made a simple dog house to take pictures of our puppies in front of and show off their puppy faces!

Then, my neighbor brought over her two month old toy Pomeranian puppy to show everyone and talk about dog safety (never approaching strange dogs, asking owners first before you try to pet a dog, that sort of thing) and then everyone got to play with the puppy. After that we did presents and cake and ice cream, then everyone went home with their ears, tail, dog bowl, and a doggie bag. I think it was a success! I know my little girl loved it and we had a lot of fun planning it together.