Our Travels and a Memorial Day Giveaway!

The Queen of blooms, at least here in Idaho, is the month of May! Every day, new petals unfold to delight our hearts and senses with their beauty. May has been a busy month here! Let me tell you all about it... and read to the end where I will share about a giveaway I am doing! 

UPDATE! (June 10) WE HAVE A WINNER! I would like to announce that SHUG is the winner to LOVE, EMILY! I will email Shug and get the signed book on the way to her - thank you to each one who shared such wonderful comments and encouragement to Stacy! And if you want a copy of your own, you can find the book here!  Blessings :) 

Every time I walk into my garden, something new delights me. We have had lots of rain this May, which has been such a blessing for the garden! 

On those rainy days, it is wonderful to have our wood stove to keep the chill away. 

Because May 19 is my Dad's (heavenly) birthday, we made a quick weekend trip to Texas to spend time with my Mom, visit his grave, and see family. 

We always enjoy a good feed of Texas BBQ while we are there! 

We stopped by Dan's mom's grave as well.
Dan lost his Mom in October 2023 and I lost my Dad in June 2023. 

Dan's mom is buried close to Uvalde, so we stopped to see the memorial for the precious souls who lost their lives in that school shooting. It was so hard to see each of the faces and know the loss their families have suffered. 

We celebrated my Dad's birthday on Sunday with a feast, and many of the family came to Mom's home to enjoy a meal together. 

I made my salsa as well as my Taco Cream Cheese dip. 

Mom made her amazing apple pie - all these recipes can be found in my cookbook :) 

All of us who could make it gathered together. 

We made sure to have Dairy Queen ice cream cake - a favorite of Dad's! 

After the meal, we traveled out to Dad's grave and put some more solar lights and flowers on the grave. 

Saying goodbye to Mom at the airport 

The girls were VERY busy while I was gone! My daughter-in-love kindly washed them all for me, as she took care of all the animals and the garden too! 

Oh, it was so good to get back home out of the Texas heat (it was over 100+ while we were there!) and walk again in the morning when the temp was 40 degrees, with brilliant sunshine! 

The mountain views never cease to bless my heart! 

Our shop concrete has been poured! My husband and son are overjoyed beyond words. We have to let it "cure" or finish drying for about a month before we can begin the rest of the construction. But it is a huge project that we are very grateful to have on its way to completion! 

Spending some time outside with little Danika - she and Ryan are enjoying some snuggle time. She is my precious grand-darling, and soon (this fall) Ryan will have his own precious one to cuddle with! We can't wait! 


Now on to the very exciting giveaway I have for you today! 
I want to introduce you to a dear friend of mine who is a writer and has just published her first book. Stacy and I are part of a writing group, and we also recently traveled to a writing conference together. I am so excited that she has published her first book, and want to bless one of you - my readers - with a copy of her book, so I will be giving away a copy of her book! 

Meet Stacy St. George... 

I’m Stacy St. George, a writer from beautiful North Idaho.

My writing journey started in grade school. Growing up, my family moved frequently, and I found comfort in immersing myself in reading. Anne Shirley of Green Gables, the Pevensey siblings of the Narnia series, Trixie Belden, and Nancy Drew, were as real to me as my childhood friends. Now, while I still love to read, I am involved in several writers’ groups where we encourage and pray for one another in our writing journeys.

Living on the Pend O'Reille River with my husband, we have many opportunities to interact with nature. Hawaii is where we journey when we need a bit of sunshine in the winter. Our three young adult children are now pursuing their own dreams. Being grandparents to three busy grandchildren is life’s special reward for surviving parenthood.

Church fellowship, small groups, and mission work are passions I pursue to feed my soul. I have a BA degree in Business/English from Washington State University. I recently retired from Healthcare Administration after 15 years in the field. Having served in the military, my husband now assists couples and families in the process of purchasing their homes. He is my number one fan.

I wrote my debut novel, Love Emily, over the course of 16 years. Balancing duties as a wife and mother, I had limited time for writing. But when I eventually found a chunk of time, the story poured out swiftly.

Love, Emily is a story of God’s faithfulness in unlikely places, set in the tranquil and vibrant setting of Hawaii, where Kaitlyn Mohr is healing from unimaginable tragedy. Her path crosses with that of Nick Jordan, a father who is raising his daughter alone after cancer steals his wife. Nick and Kaitlyn’s cautious foray into a friendship that slowly turns to love has an unknown tie that binds their lives together. Are they brave enough to explore it and let love bloom?

I’ve always held a deep appreciation for the men and women who serve our country. We have a rich history of families who’ve been part of the armed forces, so it seemed natural to write about what I know: the separation, the sacrifice, the loss, the anxiety, and the deep pride.

Throughout the book, I wanted to instill hope in the characters. Hope for the future, hope for love, hope for our salvation. Please enjoy this story. 

For more information, please visit www.wordsbystacy.com to sign up for my newsletter and biweekly blog. 

Or drop me a line at stacy@wordsbystacy.com. Visit often. My goal is to share words that will inspire and bring hope to your day. You can purchase this book from Amazon or request a signed copy from my website.

May you abound in hope.

~Stacy St. George

All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment below. 

This giveaway is limited to USA residents only. 

I will conclude the giveaway and announce the winner two weeks from today on Sunday June 8! The winner will receive a signed book from Stacy plus a bookmark. You can also find Stacy's book on Amazon at this link HERE.  

If you read her book, be sure and leave a review, as reviews are very precious to us writers! 

To commemorate Memorial Day, please enjoy this patriotic video I made a couple of years ago!

Many blessings to each of you (those in the US) on this Memorial Day weekend, as we celebrate, remember and honor those who gave their all for us.  Stacy's book is a perfect giveaway for this weekend, as one of the characters in Stacy's book was in the military.  Remember to be safe while you enjoy the weekend together - much love to all of you! 

Happy Memorial Day! here!