Crossing Over-One Woman's Exodus From Amish Life

•  This is a great read if you are interested in the inner workings of Amish family and faith.It is about Ruth Irene Garrett,who was a member of the Old Order Amish from the Kalona,Iowa area who left the church in 1996 for a three time divorced man,who was 400 lb and twenty years older than her that drove a van hauling Amish.She married Ottie Garrett and became English.It tells of the inner workings of the Amish faith and the Bann(shunning).Irene struggled with being shunned,and thought she was damned to hell if she died in the Bann and was not right with the Amish church.It shows a lot of the indoctrination of children into the Amish faith starting at a very young age,and how emotionally and mentally hard it is to leave the Amish faith.
• This book breaks through the stereotype a lot of people have about the Amish culture from reading Amish fiction novels(which I love to read) and sheds light on a lot of the misconceptions people have of the Amish culture.

A Letter From My Amish Friend...

I received a Christmas card and a very nice letter from my Amish friend Amelia and Dan Wengerd the other day.They used to be our next door neighbors until they moved a few miles down the road a few years ago to the "GrossDawdi Haus" at their daughter and son-in-law's house a few years ago.They gave their house to their youngest son Noah and his wife Naomi when they married last November.I am going to share the letter,and it is worded very different than the way we write letters....hope you enjoy!

Dear Friends near Christmas
                             Cheery greetings from our house to yours.How are you all?I hope doing ok.We can all find hobbys,or books to read,or yard to rake huh?Leaves are near gone.It is raining,not?Well well,Dan got some Christmas orders for door mats.Did you do Christmas shopping?Do you know what all,you give to your children?John and Sarah's oldest son Thomas was born same year as Justin he is getting so tall.he never was a stout but able to work nicely.Mattie and her bros measure the children when we are together for Christmas.36 grands when we are together for Christmas.You can guess that takes a little time.But is very fun to see how much,each grows in a year?Some have growth spurts at different ages.We gather for Christmas on 17th at this house.We also plan Noah's come then.There are half boys and half girls in our grands now.I hope you realize my efforts on getting this letter on its way!This week I made moon pies and Carmel pie to sell.I also made Raisin crumb and the lady said it was the best pie she ever ate!I'm anxious to sew more,when Christmas is over.Or maybe we cut up beef or pig?I hope to go to scholars program of poems and lot singing,etc.The grands want me to.I hope you also,have some cards or cookies?Wishing yoy and yours a lot fun,etc and a Happy New Year.We all wish for a different year,next year....
                                                                            Sincerely,Dan and Amelia Wengerd and family

Bill Coleman Photography

http://www.amishphoto.com/

Here is a link to a wonderful photographer Bill Coleman,who takes photos of the Big Valley,Pa Amish community.It is a very secluded Amish community about a half hour from State College Pa.It is a wonderful glimpse into a community that is not bombarded by tourism.The Nebraska Amish community that Mr.Coleman photographs is one of the strictest Old Order Amish groups.His photography is for sale on his website.Enjoy!

The Valley Newspaper

http://issuu.com/the-valley/docs/december2011-thevalley-online?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

The Valley - December 2011

This is a link to a local newspaper that is published in the Big Valley,Pa area.If you are not familiar with the Big Valley area,it is home to one of the oldest and strictest Amish settlements in Pa-the Nebraska(white top)Amish.It is also home to the Renno(blacktop)Amish and the Blyer(yellow top)Amish.

There is an article on page 27 titled "Grosze Thal Nachbaren" which means " Big Valley Neighbors" It is wriiten by a Nebraska Amish man,and is in German and English.It is about all the going ons in the local amish community-very interesting,and I hope you enjoy!

Trailer for The Christmas Signing by Cindy Woodsmall

 http://bit.ly/vvg9mc 
This is a link to the trailer on Youtube-very nice video promotion for her book!

This book was a very quick read that is a wonderful short story of love and forgiveness. Mattie is a baker who is facing life challenges.She must return home to Pennsylvania,where she must face Gideon,who broke up with her three years ago on Christmas Eve. This is a very short novella that will have you wondering if Mattie and Gideon can mend the past and find love,forgiveness and eachother again. Cindy Woodsmall had done it again with a wonderful story that will put you in the Christmas spirit.I received this book through  Walterbook Press Blogging For Books program,and my opinions are my own.

Hello!I wanted to let everyone know that there is a Wanda Brunstetter book giveaway on http://austenitis.blogspot.com/2011/11/birthday-party-interview-and-giveaway.html There is a wonderful article about Wanda's books also.I hope you all enjoy the article and good luck!

This Week on FBF:

This Week on FBF:
This is a link to a website called Free Book Friday,where they give away free books every Friday!Who wouldn't love to get free books?
They have four categories which are Fiction,Teen,Romance and Indie.Sign up on their site and they will send you an email every Monday letting you know what you can enter for that week.Happy looking and good luck!

Hello!

Hello!My name is Jennifer and I am a stay at home mom to three children-Justin 10,Hannah 7.and Joseph 6.I live in Central Pa in the country and we have chickens,ducks,two cats,fish and two parakeets named Romeo and Juliet.
I love reading Amish fiction,yard sales,knitting and gardening.My hope on this blog is to share book reviews, life stories and thrifty ideas.Please feel free to comment or share my blog.Looking forward to meeting new friends!
          Jennifer