The Hope of Refuge

Jesse and Mia have been planning a date night together all week, but unfortunately the weather has other plans. It was to be a repeat of last summer's date night: stargazing on a blanket outside, just the two of them with snacks. Jesse loves to look at the stars, and he wants to introduce Mia to that love as well. We're supposed to get an inch of rain from an especially fierce thunderstorm tonight, so sitting outside to look at the stars isn't going to work.

So tonight I'm picking up a movie from the library about space (we're thinking E.T. or Flight of the Navigator), plus a book from the library with great outer space pix. I'm still stocking up on snacks, and they will have an indoor date tonight, and then if the weather cooperates, they'll watch the stars tomorrow night. Mia is so excited about getting to spend time with her daddy. Just the two of them, one on one, with no distractions. It will be a terrific night for both of them.

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall is the first book in the Ada's House series about the Amish community of Dry Lake, Pennsylvania. Cara Moore is on the run with her daughter Lori from New York City and the stalker who has haunted her life for years. With fragments of a memory from her childhood and an address in her mother's diary, she makes her way to an Amish community hoping that she will find safety and a chance to start over with her little girl. Instead she stumbles into secrets and wounds forty years old with only Ephraim Mast willing to stand up for her at the expense of his position within the community and his family. I thoroughly enjoyed this Amish lit novel because it refuses to be cliched. The Amish, well-known for their forgiveness, are not portrayed as flawless, but as real humans struggling with the consequences of living in a strictly structured society. While much of the story revolves around Cara and Ephraim, Deborah, Mahlon, and Ada are also introduced adding rich texture to this novel and building a foundation for future books in the series. I will definitely be looking forward to the next book!

The winner of The Hope of Refuge was Kathy Henne. Congrats to Kathy! I'll be starting a new contest on Monday for a book women just won't want to pass up.

Today's pic is the last one I'm putting up from our camping trip. It's Jesse and I returning from a relaxing trip in the raft out on the lake. I could have stayed out there for hours!