*Free* Christmas Book ~ Christian Reading

 

 

This free short story e-romance is an exclusive bonus from The Pebble Creek Amish Series by Vannetta Chapman. Fans of the series will enjoy this chance to briefly revisit Pebble Creek, and new readers will be introduced to an Amish community that is more deeply explored in the three full novels, A Promise for Miriam, A Home for Lydia, and A Wedding for Julia. As a bonus, this free eBook also includes Amish homestyle recipes for chicken and dumplings, green beans, and fresh bread. Heavy snow blankets the southwestern Wisconsin Amish community as nineteen-year-old Grace Miller closes the schoolhouse for Christmas break. She’s looking forward to having extra time to help the family prepare for the holiday, and she is hoping to get a few more drawings in of the beautiful, snowy Pebble Creek landscape. Her courtship with Adam Lapp is going on six months, and Grace can’t wait to give him his present: a blue-and-brown buggy blanket she crocheted for him. Yes, this Christmas is going to be especially joyful. Yet, amid the cheer of snowshoe outings, church potlucks, and holiday festivities, Grace is given a bittersweet reminder of the Christmas story. Grief is present with celebration, and though the future is rarely certain, she is given a heartwarming glimpse that God knows our needs before we do and will provide.

 

 

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Where Do YOU Get Your Chicken Information?

As a "newbie" to the chicken world, I have searched high and low for all the information I can find about raising chickens. Call me an "information junkie" if you will, but I am just like that. Not just about chickens but about everything. I read, I surf the net, I listen, and I read some more. I currently have almost 300 books on my Kindle with over 1/2 of those being what I deem "reference material". So yes, Information Junkie Julie... that's me!

Where have I found the majority of my information on raising chickens? Well, two places actually. The first place I stumbled upon that had any "meat" to it, was BackYardChickens.com. This neat website & their forum has given me information for everything from choosing our breeds, building our coop/run, to picking out feed and more. Now I am sure that all of you that are in the chicken world have heard of BYC, but this site is just awesome to me! Of course, as with anything or any site, there is going to be bad advice or misinformation, but if you use your brain and don't go on just one person's advice you pretty much cant go TOO wrong. Right?

The second place I get the majority of my information, I actually learned about from the people on the BYC forum: The book Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow. I bought my copies from Amazon (see the link) but I have also seen it in our local Tractor Supply Co and our local bookstore. Like BYC it is a wealth of GOOD information and "must know" things about having chickens. Not only do I have a paperback version, I have the Kindle version as well **insert** Information Junkie Julie **here**! Yes, I want my information at my fingertips!

To me, raising our chickens is just like raising children or taking out a second mortgage..... Not something to be taken lightly. We (I) spent months researching what it would require, cost involved, longevity, breeds, etc. I needed to know what I was getting myself into.

It's been almost a year since we got our "girls" and so far so good. We haven't lost one yet **knock on wood**. We have had a few bumps along the way, but with referring back to BYC and Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens we have managed to hold our own.

There have been other blogs I have found wonderful information on too. As well as the help of some of our local farmers. I never realized how many people had "back yard chickens" until we decided to get some of our own. And oh brother, when people hear you have fresh yard eggs to sell.... well, 30 chickens doesn't seem nearly enough to meet the supply & demand we face here locally. However, for now, we are going to stick to what we have and enjoy them.

Enjoy them? Yes! Enjoy them! More on that another time!

Hope you all have a Wonderfully Blessed Day!