Discovery Cove

Wow this was a fun day.

We got there and they met the buses. We got these badges on a Discovery Cove lanyard. The badges had our names and the times and places to meet for our Dolphin Swim. Since it was later in the day, my niece and I decided to take a stroll and figure out where everything was. That lasted until we found the Coral Reef, lol.

I had never snorkled before. When we arrived they had us all get a neoprene vest or wetsuit (since my swimsuit had a skirt attached, I knew if I got a wetsuit, I'd walk around with a roll all day so I opted for the vest-it was too big, but the older fella helping us out was flirting with a lady of his age that was a chaparone in our group, so he didn't notice the fit of my vest wasn't as good as hers. I thought it was cute.) Then they gave us a mesh bag with a snorkle kit in there.

So we waded out in the water and fixed our snorkle stuff. The water was COLD! An orange and blue fish immediately greeted us. He looked just like he was grinning. Very friendly. We were instructed not to touch the fish, but we could touch the rays. (Manta rays, not sting rays.) I put my mask on and put my face in the water. Only I held my breath. I remembered I could breath, but tried to breath through my nose and sucked the mask to my face. I breathed correctly at last. I could hear myself breathing. It was creepy.

So I let my feet come off the ground and floated over a deep area filled with fish. I was not comfortable and I could hear my breathing increase to a panic. LOL. I swam back to the shallow water and practiced until I had it. It's amazing, you think you'd know how to do this immediately, but you really have to train yourself to do things differently. Finally I was ready. So I swam back to the deep drop off where I'd seen some Manta Rays. It was so peaceful. A huge Manta Ray as big as my son's car swam under me, going the same direction. I was so enthralled. I looked up and let out a shriek (that could be heard through the snorkle-I know because my niece said, "Auntie, are you alright?"). A school of rather large silver dollar looking fish were quickly heading my way! It was like a video game dodging them. I didn't miss them all, the kept hitting me. Then I looked up and a huge gorgeous blue fish had stopped right in front of me. He looked at me and I looked at him. Then he swam at me and rubbed all over my legs. I freaked because they told us not to touch the fish, but they didn't say what to do when the fish touched you.

I finally came up from air because I ended up laughing so hard I had to find a place to stand. So my niece and I planned to go around the coral reef. She had to keep stopping and fixing her mask. She never did get to enjoy it as much as I did since she couldn't get her mask to fit to her satisfaction. I'd go under for a while, and every time I looked, guess who swam along side me? The blue fish. He followed me everywhere. My niece even noticed. She started calling him my stalker!

We took a break and ate a delicious lunch. The neat thing about our Passes was all the food was free. We just went in and told them what we wanted. We went to the snack bar and ordered. There were packs of chips and cookies. We were early for our meeting to swim with the dolphins.
(It was pretty fun, and I'll cover it in the next post with a picture (maybe a video of my swim if I can figure out how to do that). We fed the birds too.

Then we swam in the tropical river. Oh it was so nice and warm after that cold dolphin water (even colder than the coral reef). It would have been extremely relaxing, but my niece tried to wear her mask and it caused her just as much trouble in that river as it did in the coral reef so we spent a lot of time fixing her mask. (That must have been so frustrating for her.)

Then we went back to the coral reef. The same orange and blue fish met us. I asked the life guard if they'd trained him and he said no. Just a friendly fish. Back into the quiet world of the manta rays and pretty colorful fish. I looked beside me and you'll never believe who'd found me. The stalker fish! He followed me this time too. There is a picture of him above. There is a picture of the huge Manta Ray and a picture of me under the water that some guy obliging took for me after I took one of him and his wife.

I told my husband I could keep track of where the huge manta ray was by the screams coming out of the snorkles as he moved along, lol.

I'd say definately worth the money.

Sea World

Above we have the dolphins-a great attraction at Sea World. Not only can you feed these guys (for an exhorbant fee), you can watch them perform. The acts sure have changed since I went as a kid. Now there is more interaction between the trainer and animal. They are well trained and talented (both trainer and mammal). Also above is a picture of Shamu (I can't remember if I'm spelling it right.) and one of the main trainers. A word to the wise, don't sit in the front six or seven rows (I sat in the third) with your mouth open and taking pictures with your camera phone. You will get DRENCHED! And just so you know, that water is salty. ICKY.

The next picture is one of the few pictures where I was in front of the camera. Some stranger was kind enough to take a picture of me petting the dolphin. Of course it made a quick get away right before the lens clicked, but there I am anyway. They really do feel rubbery. But they're a lot like my cat. If you don't have food, they ain't interested.

Another fun thing was feeding the manta rays. Okay, don't freak out. I said MANTA rays, not STING rays. They are cousins, but the manta rays are the peaceful cousins to the sting rays and sharks. What a shame to have such killer cousins, eh?
Anyway, you take a minnow looking fish and you stick it between your pointer finger and your middle finger, then you lay your hand flat on the bottom of the tank. They come by (their mouths are on the bottom of their body) and suck the fish out of your fingers. One accidentally sucked my finger off the bottom, but they don't have any teeth, so other than weirding me out, no harm was done. :D

Dinner was extremely interesting. Between the squirrels and birds, I'm surprised we got any food. Those animals (wild ones) can get aggressive and they don't care how much you paid for that food! We had to shoo the birds away. They were roughly the size of chickens and had long curved beaks. The little squirrel was just too cute but I still didn't feed it.

Sunburned and tired (and wet twice over-which made my shorts bleed blue on my legs making me thing for a few short seconds that I'd really hurt myself) we had a good day and went back to the hotel to swim. I know, MORE water, lol.

Back from Florida

The trip was great. I'll try to touch on the highlights through the next few blog posts. It will be easier if I get my pictures back. Then I can post some for you as well. I had to underwater cameras and two regular.

Last Tuesday was the day of departure. It was hairy. I went ahead and went in to work, hurried through my day trying to take care of email and any dangling problems. Went home and tried to get the last minute touches on everything (you know, stressing that I'll forget something). Made it to my mil's and we drove in. The kids all rode with us to wave Shelby and I off.
When we got to the airport on the school buses, that's when the chaos actually started. But with that many people I have to agree that things went well. When we got to Atlanta we barely had time to go to the restroom and run (and I do mean run) to our connecting flight, but even with a few snags, we got everyone on board. The stewardesses on the airline were stressing that we needed to sit in our assigned seats, but that we needed to hurry and there was still more people filing in. I think they got a little rude, but we were doing the best we could. They even threatened that if everyone didn't sit down (mind you there are still some not even on the plane, but waiting in the line to get on) that "this plane will not be going to Orlando".

After that things went well. The bunch of kids we had were so well behaved. I mean, yeah, they were loud at times, but they respected people and their things. We didn't leave trash all over the place, they obeyed and didn't go rushing off where they shouldn't, they didn't cut in line, ect. I was proud to be with such a great group of kids. Even the amusements parks noticed.

I'll cover Sea World tomorrow. Maybe I'll even have pictures.

God bless your day today.

May Releases

We've got 20 new Christian novels this month - the perfect accompaniment to backyard lawn chairs and glasses of iced tea. I hope you'll find one or more (more is better) from this list to suit your reading fancy. And don't forget to check out my new Spotlight on author Cheryl Wyatt!.

1. Anathema by Colleen Coble from Thomas Nelson. An Amish woman who fled after a murder is drawn back to her peaceful community--and a spiraling danger.

2. Bayou Judgment, Bayou Series book 3 by Robin Caroll from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Crisis hot line counselor finds herself in the midst of murder and mayhem, and tough-guy preacher must fight to keep her safe.

3. Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky from Multnomah Books. A woman going blind, a man who loves her but can’t tell her so, a crash, a hospital room, and an ending that must be experienced to be believed.

4. Blood Brothers by Rick Acker from Kregel Publications. Sibling rivalry, black market deals, and a dangerous new wonder drug interrupt Ben Corbin's plans for early retirement in this riveting sequel to Dead Man's Rule.

5. Controlling Interest by Elizabeth White from Zondervan. Matt Hogan and Natalie Tubberville compete to find a missing mail-order bride, with Matt's detective agency in the balance--or is love the ultimate prize?

6. Deadly Exposure by Cara Putman from Love Inspired Suspense. With a stalker closing in, will television journalist Dani Richards trust her former love and police investigator Caleb Jamison to help her and God to rescue her?

7. Divorcing the Devil by Dwan Abrams from Urban Christian. Drama, heartbreak, violence, and redemption. Will anyone be spared when trying to divorce the devil?

8. Flame From Within by Shirley Kiger Connolly from Vintage Romance Publishing. Amethyst Rose, inflamed by the devastating war flees her beloved Vicksburg and becomes entangled with two passionate and enamored Yankee warriors and a deceitful Frenchman determined to steal her heart...perhaps her soul.

9. Fossil Hunter by John B. Olson from Tyndale House. A Christian paleontologist makes a dangerous discovery -- a fossil that doesn't seem to fit current evolutionary theory.

10. It's All About Us All About Us book one by Shelley Adina from FaithWords. Can a Christian teenager stay true to her faith and still get the most popular guy in school?

11. Journey to Judah "Born for India" series Book One by Eileen Rife from Capstone Fiction. In an exotic culture of 7.5 million people and over 3 million gods, one woman resolves to follow her heart.

12. Leave it to Chance by Sherri Sand from David C. Cook. After three long years of single motherhood, Sierra Montgomery can finally stand on her own two feet—until a gift horse threatens her finances, her family, and her budding relationship with a handsome landscaper.

13. Ruby Among Us by Tina Ann Forkner from Waterbrook Press. Sometimes the key to your future lies in someone else's past. Ruby Among Us is a stirring story about faith and mother-daughter love.

14. Sandhill Dreams, Book 2 Nebraska Brides by Cara C. Putman from Heartsong Presents. With her dreams shattered, will Lainie Gardner allow God and a soldier at Fort Robinson to breathe life into new dreams that will bring her more joy than she imagined?

15. The Black Cloister by Melanie Dobson from Kregel Publications. When Elise Friedman travels to Germany to research her family's mysterious past, she uncovers a chilling secret and a man who threatens to destroy her.

16. The Duchess and the Dragon by Jamie Carie from B&H Publishing. A passionate duke meets a lovely Quaker girl and finds it was worth losing everything to have her.

17. The Taste of Good Fruit by MaRita Teague from Walk Worthy Press and Harrison House Publishing House. A tragic loss, a devastating secret, and a seductive mistake are insurmountable challenges that take close friends, Sydney, Chanel, and Sherese, on a journey towards self-discovery, strengthened friendship, and renewed faith.

18. Trion Rising, Book one in the Shadowside trilogy by Robert Elmer from Zondervan. What would it be like if Jesus had come to another planet?

19. Wagered Heart by Robin Lee Hatcher from Zondervan. Bethany Silverton can’t resist the challenge of charming a rough cowboy, but when she makes an innocent wager, unexpected results could turn a little flirtation into a lifetime of love.

20. With Endless Sight, Crossroads of Grace #3 by Allison Pittman from Multnomah Waterbrook. When disaster strikes her family, fourteen-year-old Belinda finds herself alone until God delivers her to the unlikely sanctuary of a brothel in the Wyoming mountains.

Happy reading ~
~ Jill ~

Jill Eileen Smith
ACFW New Releases Coordinator

Free book winner

The winner is Aimee.

Hey guys, I have a problem and you can help.

I have too many books. So many I can't possibly read them all. Some are older books read, some older books not read, some are newer gently used, some are newer, not read. The problem is, my husband is having a cow over the amount of books and more arriving all the time. (Which reminds me I need to go pick up Courting Emma by Sharlene MacLaren at Borders. I had to order it since they didn't have it in stock and I talked to the lady there about the size of their Christian Fiction since Christian Fiction is one of the hottest selling genres.)

I need to get rid of some of these books. I don't want to throw them away. I guess I could take them to a book store. But, I thought you all might like them. So after I get back from the Science Club trip to Florida, I decided to give a chance to win one book a week on this blog. I'll just reach in an pick a book and then when you comment, your name goes in the hat. I'll draw a name and send you the book.
My shelves get lighter, my hubby is happy and the book blesses someone else.

I'll be leaving for my trip in a few days. We're swimming with the dolphins! I'll be sure to post some pics when I get back.

Have a blessed weekend.

Win a free book- A Mending at the Edge

by Jane Kirkpatrick

A Clearing in the Wild: A community searching for refuge, A woman finding her voice. The people of Bethel, Missouri, seek to live with simplicity and generosity, existing in the world of the 1850s but remaining set apart from its distractions and vanities. Rather than finding peace in this would be utopia, spirited young Emma Wagner chafes at the constraints of a culture that values conformity over independent thought, especially in women.

A Tendering in the Storm: A story of tender truths about a woman's desperate efforts to shelter her family. Determined to raise her children on her own terms, Emma suddenly finds herself alone and pregnant with her third child, struggling to keep her family secure in the remote coastal forest of the Washington Territory. With loss and disappointment as her fuel, she kindles a fire that soon threatens to consume her, making a series of poor choices that take her into dangerous relationships. As clouds of despair close in, she must decide whether to continue in her own waning strength or to humble herself and accept help from the very people she once so eagerly left behind.

A Mending at the Edge: "Of all the things I left in Willapa, hope is what I missed the most." So begins this story of one woman's restoration from personal grief to the meaning of community. Based on the life of German American Emma Wagner Giesy, the only woman sent to the Oregon Territory in the 1850s to help found a command society, award winning author Jane Kirkpatrick shows how landscape, relationships, spirituality and artistry poignantly reflect a woman's desire to weave a unique and meaningful legacy from the threads of an ordinary life. While set in the historical past, it's a story for our own time answering the question: Can threads of an isolated life weave a legacy of purpose in community?

PAMMER HERE: All three of these books are based on a true story. It amazes me how Ms. Kirkpatrick can take a historical story and weave it into such an interesting story that you don't want to put it down. I noticed someone called her writing lyrical and I would have to agree. I love history, but I daresay, because of Ms. Kirckpatricks vivid portrayal, I am more interested in that particular time period and the behind the scenes type of look into the building of our great country.

WIN A FREE COPY and see for yourself how beautifully woven this story is. I am giving away a free copy of A Mending at the Edge. I will draw from all the posts left in my blog comments this week and announce the winner next Saturday, May 3, 2008. Leave me your email address in such a format pamngreg (at) sbcglobal (dot) net so that I can reach you but those nasty little spiders can't sweep up your addy. :D

One Holy Night

by J. M. Hochstetler

As on that holy night so long ago. . .in a world torn by sin and strife. . .to a family that has suffered heart-wrenching loss. . .there will be a baby. . .

Frank McRae stared at the television screen, raw images of war exploding in his head long after the news had finally ended, replaced by an inane sitcom. the grainy black-and-white video of battle-weary troops slogging through the sodden rice paddies and shadowy jungles of Viet Nam ate away at his heart like sulfuric acid.

There was nothing left of his life now but the business and the pain that were tearing him apart. The silence in this house that had once been a cherished home, rich with happiness and love, was deafening. Always another war. Always more puposeless killing, senseless dying, and fractured relationships that couldn't be put back together again. Where was God in all of this? What kind of God would tear from a man those dearest to him? The Bible spoke of a God of love and mercy, but for all Frank could tell, God remained indifferent to suffering. When one needed help the most, God turned his back. Surely the Bible was nothing but a hollow myth. . .

What Frank didn't know was that God had in mind a miracle. Once more, as on that holy night so long ago, a baby will be born and laid in a manger-a baby whoe will bring forgiveness, peace, and healing to a family that has suffered heart-wrenching loss.

Pammer here: I will admit, I was a little leary of this book. I don't like anyone to mess with that miraculous birth of Jesus. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I read this emotion filled book. The birth was not miraculous, but the results could only be brought forth by the little gift from God, along with a strong dose of His Healing power. You see, the baby brought things to a head like nothing else could.

This one will tug at your heartstings.

___________________________________________________________-_

J. M. Hochstetler is the author of One Holy Night, a modern-day nativity story set during the Vietnam War that retells the story of Jesus’ birth for today’s readers. Her previous books are Daughter of Liberty and Native Son, books 1 and 2 of the American Patriot Series set during the American Revolution. Book 3, Wind of the Spirit, will release in January 2009.

Hochstetler graduated from Indiana University cum laude, taking a degree in Germanic languages. In the mid 1990s, she worked for The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, assisting with the development and production of Freedom Speaks, a weekly television program devoted to First Amendment rights, broadcast nationally on PBS. She was subsequently an editor with Abingdon Press for twelve years before founding her own small press, Sheaf House, in 2006 to publish extraordinary fiction by fresh new voices.

Born and reared in central Indiana, the daughter of Mennonite farmers, Hochstetler currently resides near Nashville, Tennessee. Her interest in the American colonial and Revolutionary War eras grew out of the experiences of her Anabaptist ancestors who immigrated to America from Europe seeking religious freedom. With her cousin, author Bob Hostetler, she is writing a novel titled Northkill that is based on the massacre of three of their Amish Mennonite ancestors on the Pennsylvania frontier during the French and Indian War, the Indian captivity of the attack’s survivors, and their eventual return home.

The content of this article is the property of J. M. Hochstetler.
Permission is granted to copy all or part of this information
for media publicity purposes.

Taming Rafe

by Susan May Warren

Two-time World Champion bull rider Rafe Noble had no idea how quickly his world could end.

In less than eight seconds, he lost his title, his career, and his best friend-all on the dirt floor of a noisy rodeo arena.

Katherine Breckenridge just wants to make a difference by running her mother's charity foundation. but the mysterious disappearance of half a million dollars has forced it to the brink of bankruptcy. Her last chance to save it is the annual fund-raiser, and event that's destroyed by an out-of-control Rafe Noble.

Desperate to rescue the foundation, Katherine heads to the Noble family ranch to enlist Rafe's help in raising the money he cost her in lost donations. What she doesn't know is that Rafe is broke-in cash and in spirit-and helping her could end up costing him his life.

Pammer here: Susan has done it again. She's put wonderful flawed and hurting-real-characters on the page and held us hostage to see how the story unfolds. At times so tense it was hard to stand it, hoping against hope that it would turn out well. The setting is so alive and real it seems like a character itself. Now I have an urge to visit Montana. And I wouldn't mind running into Rafe and Kat while I'm there.

And for you writers that would love to write like Susan does, you should the blog she and her friend Rachel Hauck host called My Book Therapy.

http://susanmaywarren.typepad.com/booktherapy