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White Picket Fences

by Susan Meissner

When her black sheep brother disappears, Amanda Janvier eagerly takes in her sixteen year-old niece. Tally is practically an orphan: motherless, and living with a father who raises Tally wherever he lands– in a Buick, a pizza joint, a horse farm–and regularly takes off on wild schemes. Amanda envisions that she and her family can offer the girl stability and a shot at a “normal” life, even though their own storybook lives are about to crumble.

Susan Meissner is the multi-published author of The Shape of Mercy, named one of the Best Books in 2008 by Publishers Weekly the ECPA’s Fiction Book of the Year. She is also a speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. A devotee of purposeful pre-writing, Susan encourages workshop audiences to maximize writing time by mapping the writing journey and beginning from a place of intimate knowledge. She is the leader/moderator of a local writer’s group, a pastor’s wife and the mother of four young adults.  A native San Diegan, Susan attended Point Loma Nazarene University . When she’s not writing, Susan directs the Small Groups and Connection Ministries program at The Church at Rancho Bernardo.

You can purchase White Picket Fences at Amazon

And read an excerpt here

You can visit Susan at her web site

Creating dough ornaments ~ 
I told my friends at Reach FM—Morning Show with Anitra and Bob that’d I’d post this dough ornament recipe on my site. This simple recipe is a great way to start a new tradition at your house. A year from now—as well as ten or fifteen years from now—you can still pull these ornaments out with the rest of your Christmas ornaments and enjoy a wonderful trip down memory lane.
Dough ornaments: 

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 ½ cups warm water

Mix flour and salt. Slowly add warm water. Press them to about an eighth of an inch thick and use cookie cutters. Add the ornament hook into the top before baking. Bake at 325º until they’re tough or hardened. Cool. And Decorate. Some people use shellac on them as the final coat to help preserve them. I’ve never done this, so I’d suggest looking that up on the Internet and doing a little research first.
Making dough ornaments was great fun in our household year after year, but it lost its “fun” edge a little too soon for my tastes. My sons were teens when they no longer looked forward to Christmas craft time. My solution to holding onto their joy of making something Christmas-y for as long as I could was to allow them to decorate their own Gingerbread cookies—sometimes it’d be a demolition Gingerbread man, with a jackhammer in it’s hand and buried in chocolate chips. Another trick I used (sometimes gathering those teens together in order to make a memory takes a bit of creative thinking) was to make gingerbread houses and allow them to create their home however they wanted…and then they could munch on it as the days passed. Be creative and free spirited. They’ll love you for it…eventually.

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Soldier Daddy

by Cheryl Wyatt

About the book:
U.S. Air Force commander Aaron Petrowski leads pararescue teams, yet can’t find one nanny for his three-year-old twins?  The widowed father is returning to duty, but not without the best care for his beloved boys. So when Sarah Graham applies, the young woman surprises everyone by passing inspection. Until Aaron discovers Sarah has a secret tied to a tragedy in his past. He can’t keep her in his employ—or in his heart. Until his brave little soldier boys teach him a thing or two about love.

Soldier Daddy-4 Stars-Romantic Times

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Born Valentine’s Day on a naval base, Cheryl Wyatt writes military romance.  Her Steeple Hill debuts earned RT Top Picks plus #1 and #4 on eHarlequin’s Top 10 Most-Blogged- About-Books, lists including NYT Bestsellers.  Visit her web site.

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Book purchase link: Amazon

Cheryl Wyatt www.cherylwyatt. com
15-author blog!  www.seekerville. blogspot. com
Soldier Daddy-IN STORES OCTOBER FIRST