Lots of Helpers

Our family's life in New Zealand

January 2026 Photos Part 1

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I’m not going to attempt to organize these pictures into categories. I’ve had enough trouble getting anything posted that I’ll just put them up in a few posts.

We finally threw this old foam mattress out, after it hadn’t been used in many years and was just taking up valuable space. The girls had fun with it for a couple of days, and then Mr. Imagination cut it into pieces for archery targets.

Some friends from Australia came to visit one evening, and the girls appropriated the man’s hat and sunglasses for a little while!

The cat got dressed up, too. Think she liked it?

One of Mr. Imagination’s knives.

One Sunday we had lunch with and spent the afternoon with some friends at Maruia. They have an outdoor aviary with a number of budgies, and the girls enjoyed seeing them.

This is the view from their deck, as one storm after another rolled through the mountains.

We did a lot of puzzles with Mom. That was a great way to spend relaxed time together! This first one was Miss Joy’s; the others were a group effort.

We had another hatch of chicks in January. After I took them out, while the unhatched eggs were still in the incubator, Princess took a nap with them. As soon as I started picking them up, to take them outside and open them to see what went wrong, she was wide awake. She knows that they will be her snack!

Book Review–Induction

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About the Book:

Book: Induction (Prequel to The Agency Files)

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release Date: November 10, 2023

Someone wants her dead. Not happening on his watch.

When Roman Simon goes missing, the small town of Fairbury burns with rumors hotter than the sidewalk in July. They’re certain he’s either left his wife, or she killed him (not that they’d blame her). As the weeks pass and the police fail to find answers, things heat up more when Anna Simon disappears, too. If that’s not strange enough, the chief of police orders his officers to leave Anna out of their investigation.

As a new recruit into a secret protection service known only as The Agency to the few who know it exists, Keith Auger doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he’s determined to do his new job well. But when he finds himself guarding a woman before he’s fully trained, he already begins to doubt the wisdom of this career path.

Pressure mounts as Keith tries to stay one step ahead of the men out to kill Anna and another step ahead of Anna who is determined to find answers no one will give her.

Keith can’t help but wonder: will his first assignment with The Agency be his last?
Induction is an introductory novel to The Agency Files.

My Thoughts:

I read this book and wrote this review a few years ago, when the book was first published. One of these days, I plan to read the entire series again, now that it is complete. For now, here are my thoughts from my first read:

What a story! As with all of Chautona Havig’s books, I loved the interactions between characters in Induction. I was immediately drawn into the story and did not want to put it down until I was finished, although I had to because I had other things to do than read. I did end up staying up late one night to finish it, though.  If you enjoy suspense, you will want to read this book. There is more romance in it than in most of the other books in the series. Personally, I could’ve done without that part of it, but I really enjoyed the story anyway. 

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours, and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona:

Way back in the dark ages of my writing career (you know, around 2009…ish), I had an idea for a couple. She was a plain woman in many ways—a good student.  He was the star quarterback for a college football team.  And one day, while goofing around with his teammates, he bumped into her and caused her to drop everything, ruining a library book.

She wasn’t happy.

Did several chapters follow with him trying to make it up to her?  Yep. Did she cave?

Eventually.  And a couple of years later, the day before their wedding, his mother begged him not to marry someone so dull and uninteresting.

But all this came out about a quarter of the way into the book.  The first chapter opened with her eating lunch with her husband, who ordered her least favorite dish because it’s good for her. Employees scowled, and the rumors of how awful he was to her flourished.

If only they knew. No one loved anyone more than Ramon Simon loved his Anna.  Abusive?  Never. Not even a hint, but no one in Fairbury would ever believe that.

But that was my problem.  That’s all I knew.  I called it “A Man and a Mouse” while waiting to find out what their story really was.

Twelve years later, I finally knew.

See, I had this character from one of my favorite series. The Agency Files is a suspense/romantic suspense series focusing on protecting people from “the bad guys” until law enforcement can round up those bad guys and it’s safe to go home.  They’ll do anything they have to in order to keep you safe—even kidnap you. The best of the best?  Keith Auger. And well… he wasn’t born an agent, was he?

I decided to write his “induction” into The Agency, and what better way to do it than to introduce him to Anna Simon?  Her husband is missing, and someone’s after her.  So, after a crazy ride at his job interview, and a few weeks of training, Anna is his first assignment. Keep her alive until those trying to kill her are caught.  But that’s when things get complicated.

The series has grown a lot since Justified Means released.  From that one book to last month’s exciting conclusion to this “branch” of the series with Take Cover, we’ve seen human trafficking, a drug running biker gang out to kill an ex-member who met Jesus, a crisis of faith combined with bioterrorism, a guy running for his life—he just doesn’t know why, an office manager gone rogue, an unemployed woman hiding out from “goons” in a Michigan castle, a traitor in the agency, and a bad guy who just might be the only one who can help them thwart a hostile takeover.

It’s been a bit of a wild ride for The Agency, but with the series “complete” (there will be spin-offs), it seemed like a perfect time to introduce folks to the series prequel, Induction.  All of the series books are available in print, on Kindle Unlimited, and as audiobooks (they’re even FREE on Christa DelSorbo’s YouTube channel!).

Happy reading!  And I apologize in advance for Flynne’s slang.  That girl!

To purchase your copy, click here.

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To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Birds and Slime Mold

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Usually, we see many birds on the flax blossoms in December, but this year they didn’t really show up until January. Then, we enjoyed many different species. It was fairly easy to get decent pictures of the tuis.

The bellbird was a different story! These are not only shy, they move fast. Most of the pictures turned out blurry.

These birds are frequently photographed, too.

This bird is Little Miss’s pet. The girls had great fun one day when they let her out in the garden.

I walked into the greenhouse one morning to turn off the water and saw something very strange on top of the mulch. When I looked closer, I decided it was probably a slime mold, so when Mom got into the house I told her about it. We went and had a look, and she agreed with me. It had already started to disintegrate, just an hour after I first saw it! The first picture was taken about 8:00 in the morning.

This was about 2:00 in the afternoon.

3:00 in the afternoon.

Two days later.

This was a fruiting body, where many slime molds join together to reproduce. Look up slime molds–they are fascinating! They are not animal, or plant, or even fungi, but in a classification of their own. They move, and have intelligence–without a brain. Amazing creation of God!

New in the Library! February 2026

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I’ll start this post with a quote I loved from a book I recently read, Wilderness Treasure. It is about several botanists who traveled around Colonial America/the young United States, collecting specimens. The first man, John Bartram, loved reading. He had a number of books, But always he pressed Peter [an Englishman for whom he collected specimens] for more. His friend began to wonder if John were neglecting farming and plant hunting for reading. “Remember Solomon’s advice,” he cautioned, “in reading of books, there is no end.” John replied, “I take thy advice about books very kindly, although I love reading such dearly: and I believe, if Solomon had loved women less, and books more, he would have been a wiser and happier man than he was.”

Several of us went to most of the secondhand shops in our small town one day. It turned out to be a good day for finding books! I got quite a few picture books. Grandma’s Bill is a lovely story of a grandmother showing her grandson pictures of his grandfather throughout his lifetime, and finishing with pictures of the little boy himself. The Sky Soldiers is about World War II in Crete, and the New Zealand soldiers who helped to liberate the island from the Germans. Beautiful pictures and a lovely story!

I was delighted to find two more books in the Chronicles of Paki series. These are graphic novels that tell the story of New Zealand’s history in a fun way. Torty and the Soldier is a beautiful picture book of a tortoise saved and brought back to New Zealand by a soldier in Europe in World War I; the tortoise is apparently still alive today! I also found two more of the Rancho Cucumunga Kids series. These are stories told by a grandfather to his grandchildren, and then turned into picture books. They are rather far-fetched, but fun, and set in Canterbury in an area we often travel through. I bought Itchy, Itchy Chicken Pox and Night Animals because they are easy readers, and I am always on the lookout for more realistic books for that shelf. I like books like the Polar Animals one, too, for the Art shelf. Esther picked up this Curious George book on a different occasion, but it slipped through the cracks and didn’t get entered into the library until now.

We actually bought some brand-new books, too! I added Cornmeal Samaritan and Fitting In, Frankly to an order of school books. The first is a picture book about how an Amishman saved the lives of six elderly Native Americans in Indiana in the 1820s. The second is written for third-culture children, those caught between the country of their citizenship and that of the country in which they live. I found it absorbing, and could relate in a lot of ways to Francisco (Frank) and the way he couldn’t fit in completely either in Guatemala where he was born, or in Canada where his grandfather lived. Several of us went together to buy The Grace Stories for my daughter for her 11th birthday, after she devoured three of the books in the series and was desperate to find out what happened next.

I had the chance to buy both of The Gift of Values books. I love Rosie Boom, both as a friend and as an author, so I knew I wanted them when I saw them. These go on the Junior Devotionals shelf.

Esther lived in Timaru for several weeks, and had the chance to go secondhand shopping a couple of times. She brought a number of books home with her, which I’m working on previewing. Summer Pony and The Valley of the Ponies are great for middle-grade horse-loving girls, and Shark Lady is for children who have graduated from easy readers and want true stories.

I bought a few beautiful nature-study books. Want to learn about Ants? What about New Zealand Insects and Other Creepy-Crawlies? Or maybe all the small creatures that inhabit gardens, the bush, or other areas of New Zealand? Look no farther!

This was an unexpected find! About a year ago, we read The Story of the Trapp Family Singers together and loved it. When I saw Around the Year With the Trapp Family, I knew I wanted it on the shelf. It has a very Catholic slant, of course, but I love the way Maria talks about the feasts and other special days of the year. There are many songs sprinkled throughout this book, too.

I’m working on the backlog of books waiting for previews! This month I read Gordon Korman’s Everest trilogy. These three slim books must be read together; the story is not complete without that. It is the story of four teenagers who won a contest to climb Mount Everest and what they learned about life and themselves along the way. I struggled to put these books down.

The Radical Book for Kids was one of the books I brought home in August, and I decided to use it for part of our morning homeschool routine. It talked about many different topics relating to the Bible, and we enjoyed it. Esther bought The Blue Castle not long ago, and read it, and loved it. She recommended it to my mom, who read it and loved it, so I read it, and loved it. The ending is funny!

My brother came to visit, and of course I sent some books for him to bring us in his suitcase. Here are some of the picture books. Planet Earth is an easy reader for the young readers who want something scientific. A Child’s Book of Art is a beautiful, large-format book. A couple of years ago, I found it online and enjoyed it with my little girl, but it’s much better when it is a physical copy (and be sure to look at the page of the senses; the “smell” picture is hilarious). Guess Why God Made the Rainbow was a book sent me for a review; it joins the others in the same series with the Christian picture books we have.

I received Plague of Lies for review. (Notice the Not for Resale banner across it?!) It turned out to be very good–see my review here. Homer Price was a bargain book I bought. Such fun stories!

We managed to read aloud a few of the books that have been on the shelf for a long time, as well. Ho-Ming Girl of New China was in a box of books handed to us by an elderly neighbor who was clearing everything out of her house about four years ago. We moved on almost all the books, but noticed that this one was by the author of Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, which we had, so we kept it. It turns out that “New China” is the 1920s or 1930s, around the time of a massive flood on the Yangtzee River, and it basically tells, in story form, what life was like for rural families at that time, and especially for girls. Justin Morgan Had a Horse has always been a favorite of mine, and I was delighted to get to read it aloud again. We also all found South Pole fascinating. The chapters in this book alternate between telling the story of Scott and of Amundsen, as they raced to be the first to reach the South Pole. This meant that we would enjoy one chapter, and the next would make us very sad. It was quite well done, and I recommend this for people who like to read about exploration or Antarctica.

I spent the last year and a half slowly going through Talking With Your Kids About God with one of my children. It brought up a lot of very important topics, which I was glad to get to discuss with her. We just read The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day, about William Tyndale, and enjoyed this perspective of him from the point of view of a smuggler who took the newly-translated Bibles into England. I chose The Mission and the Cross to fill a prompt for a reading challenge, and really enjoyed this glimpse into the Catholic missions in California in the 1770s.

In Grandma’s Attic has been a favorite of mine for many years, and I was delighted to get to read it to my youngest recently. When a young girl came to the library to borrow a few books, I recommended it to her, too. Another of my favorites is The Lewis and Clark Expedition, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it to my girls over the past month. Then there is The Bible Smuggler–one of the first historical fiction books I ever read, over 40 years ago!

To borrow any of these books or others, please go to our catalog. Find out how we loan books on this page.

Book Review–Guess Why God Made the Rainbow

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About the Book:

Book: Guess Why God Made the Rainbow

Author: Karen Ferguson

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Release Date: October 1, 2025

Come join Lucy and her Papa Joe on another exciting adventure into the Bible, this time going back to Noah’s Ark!

Lucy is afraid of storms. She hides under her covers every time the thunder roars. But Papa Joe calms her fears, and then he has an important question for her, “Do you know what the rainbow means?”

Follow along in this third book in the Questions for Kids series as Papa Joe shows Lucy how God is faithful to protect and keep His promises, even amongst the storms of life.

My Thoughts:


A few years ago I had the opportunity to review a beautiful picture book about Creation, and last year I got to review a sequel, about the Fall, when Adam and Eve sinned. Now, we were given a copy of the third book in the Questions for Kids series, called Guess Why God Made the Rainbow. As with the first two, this one is a gorgeous hardcover picture book.


I like the way Guess Why God Made the Rainbow begins, with a little girl and her dog, who are both afraid of thunderstorms. Her grandfather followed her into the bedroom where she was hiding under the blankets, and explained, in a way any child can visualize, what the Flood was like, why it happened, and what rainbows mean. I read this book to my 6-year-old, and she seemed to enjoy it. It is easily simple enough for 3-4-year-olds, as well. 

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Karen Ferguson is a writer, host of the 5-Minute Parenting podcast, and the author of the Questions for Kids picture book series. A lover of words, family, animals, and Jesus, Karen is a passionate advocate for truth that transforms lives. Her faith in God and background in K-8 education inspires her mission to share God’s unchangeable truths and His unchanging love with the next generation. She wants every child to know their life matters.

More from Karen:

Are you a dog-lover? I sure am. Have been since I was a child, often referring to my 110-pound silver-tipped German Shepherd as my ‘best friend’ in elementary school. I consider dogs the finest companions and treat our own like they are family. Because they are! Well, I am pleased to introduce a new character in the third book in the Questions for Kids series, and she is a special one. Meet Rosie, the spirited Golden Retriever puppy hiding under the covers with Lucy, scared of the summer thunderstorm rumbling outside. It made sense to bring Rosie into the series with this book, because animals are an important part of this story. Rosie is extra special because she’s modeled after my youngest daughter’s dog, who I helped care for in her first of year of life. Here she is!

Guess Why God Made the Rainbow takes young readers on another exciting adventure into the Bible, this time going back to Noah’s Ark. Children will encounter God as the Promise Keeper and understand why He made the rainbow.

My goal with this book series is to promote biblical literacy in this next generation. Helping young readers engage with God’s truth through some of the most foundational Bible accounts essential to building a strong faith in an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving God. Each adventure takes young readers into unique periods of Bible history, driven by curious Lucy’s earnest questions to her Papa Joe. It’s designed to captivate young readers and connect the Bible to their world. It’s also a great tool to spark spiritual conversations between kids and their parents, grandparents, caregivers, and teachers.

The first three books in the Questions for Kids series cover the Creation account, the first family in the Garden, and Noah building the Ark, with at least four more coming soon! I pray this new book and series is a blessing to you and your young reader.

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To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Hokitika

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One Sunday in January we couldn’t get through to Reefton where we have been attending a small Baptist church. There were some culverts that had to be replaced in the road, and because of the narrow valley at that spot it was not possible to create a detour. The only way to get to Reefton from here on that Sunday and Monday would have been to drive to Greymouth, up the Coast Road to Westport, through the Buller Gorge to Inangahua, then to Reefton–a 3-hour drive rather than our normal 30 minutes. We decided to go somewhere else for church! We chose a small Church of Christ in Hokitika (an hour away), and packed a picnic lunch. One person in the family was deep in a conversation when almost everyone else had left church, so we filled our car and part of the family went to locate a place to eat our picnic. While we were waiting, the girls played in a very unusual pohutukawa tree with aerial roots, and we investigated a cannon. Elijah studied it, found a number of markings and formulated a hypothesis about how those markings were used for aiming the cannon, then looked it up online to see if he was right. He was–partly!

We also enjoyed the view up and down the Hokitika River–what a gorgeous day!

After the rest of the family joined us, we ate our lunch, then drove back through town a little way to a wood-chopping competition we had seen. A man who works with Simon was there, but we didn’t quite stay long enough to see him chop. On the way, Mom wanted a picture of this clock tower in the center of town.

These men are sawing through logs.

These 13-15-year-old boys were chopping through logs; each one had an older man coaching him.

After watching the wood-chopping for awhile, we went out to the beach. First, we stopped at the sign made of driftwood (probably the most-photographed item in the area!).

Then, we walked down the beach to the end, at the mouth of the Hokitika River, to check out the driftwood sculpture contest that was being held.

The titles given to the sculptures were very entertaining. This one is “In the Moment,” although we’re not sure what that was supposed to mean.

Pardon the language on this next sign. We sympathize with the sentiment, however–wekas are a major problem for gardens in this region. Can you see the “weka” digging up the garden (just behind the right-hand label)?

This one is “Questionable Pet.” Most of us agreed that this was our favorite.

Burl-o-pus

When I see creations like these, I marvel again at the creativity God has built into every person on earth–I love it, even though I didn’t like some of the ideas expressed.

December 2026 Photos

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Here are the rest of December’s photos! For some reason, we end up with a lot of pictures of Princess. One would think she’s a popular pet?

My animal-lover was delighted to find this hedgehog in the garden one afternoon. We told her she had to put it back out there, so the little girls found it a lot of slugs and watched delightedly as it slurped them down.

Jenga blocks rarely get used for the game….

We enjoyed watching the birds on the flax blossoms, as usual in the spring.

Our summer holiday project this year was to replace the lower part of the garage wall in the carport. It was pretty rotten. They ripped off the old weatherboards and dug out a trench for a footer, after propping up the roof. When they were digging, they broke into a cave we didn’t know about, which, at some time in the past, had been formed under the floor of the garage! We don’t know for sure what the purpose was, but based on some paraphernalia found in the attic of the garage when we moved here we have some suspicions. It is filled in now.

The carport was quite a mess for awhile. It was a good thing we didn’t have much rain for that time! I hang laundry in there when it rains.

The flower garden before it turned into a jungle!

This was one of our favorite visitors to the flax–a tui!

Another hatch of chicks. We’ve had very good percentages with the last two hatches–so fun!

One evening, we went to the Domain for a cookout with Elijah’s LandSAR group. One woman brought these balls on strings, and taught Maria how to swing them rhythmically. It’s a Maori game.

We’ve done a number of puzzles with Grandma; this was the first.

The girls created this one afternoon on their bedroom floor with thumbtacks!

We end up with a lot of photos of the birds, too. They are also popular pets.

Half-grown chicks–I think this was the batch in the incubator in the earlier picture.

One Saturday just before Christmas, the boys went on an overnight kayak trip on the Ahaura River. They started in the Haupiri, which flows into the Ahaura, and ended at Jim’s Hut. James met them there with their food and camping gear (he couldn’t go on the water because of a badly-cut hand), and they all spent the night. They had planned to kayak the rest of the way to Ahaura on Sunday morning, but decided instead to load up and come out for church, which decision I was quite happy with. Mr. Imagination found this beetle at the hut.

The river just below Jim’s Hut.

Book Review–Plague of Lies

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About the Book:

Book: Plague of Lies

Author: Marbeth Skwarczynski

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction

Release Date: January 6, 2026

Plague of Lies

The man who taught him how to live was living a lie.

Scott Andrews was content to be a rule-follower, happily attending church and youth group while planning a future with his beautiful girlfriend, Cindy. He and his friends planned to change the world. But when his mentor is exposed as a fraud, Scott’s life turns upside down. He’s forced to grow up, but unlike the man who betrayed him, Scott is determined to live honestly.

Lauren spent her life believing she was a mistake. Then, on her eighteenth birthday, a letter arrives from the father she’s never met. It seems out of character for a deadbeat dad who wanted nothing to do with her. But with the letter in hand, Lauren’s life suddenly has a purpose. She’ll confront the man and demand to know why he abandoned her so many years before.

It’s time for the truth to come out.

My Thoughts:


I often end up requesting review copies of books just because more reviewers are needed, and often I find myself disappointed with them. Then, once in awhile, I get one that makes me continue to take chances! Plague of Lies was one such book. I got started reading it—and didn’t want to stop! By the time I was about halfway through, I was thinking about the book when I had to be doing other things.

Plague of Lies is a good book. (Now I wish I had signed up for the other book I saw available once from this series! Too late now.) This is a clear picture of what happens when people lie, when sin is covered up, and when people live a double life. The fall-out in the church and community after a trusted person did the opposite of what he taught the youth group, and did not suffer any consequences for his betrayal, sounded all too familiar. 

This book is a split-time novel. Part of it is set in 2018, and there are frequent flashbacks to 1999. The parts from 2018 are in first-person, present tense; when Scott’s memories from 1999 are being shared, the point of view switches to third-person, past tense. That made it quite easy to know the setting and characters for each part. I couldn’t make up my mind which time period I liked better. Of course, I knew the outcome for the 1999 story, but the author did a great job of making it suspenseful. I didn’t know what would happen in 2018, and there was one situation that I completely misunderstood for awhile, just as Lauren did—that was done well!

Scott’s church and youth group, in 2018, seemed almost too perfect to be real. He learned from his and his parents’ and church’s mistakes when he was a teenager, and seemed to be doing everything right in his own youth group. I liked the good example that was set, but it just didn’t seem quite real. Also, the changes that Lauren made in her life happened almost too fast for real life. Overall, though, this was a great book, and I would love to read more in the series.


WARNING: Potential triggers: Cutting, premarital sex (off page, but no doubt about it and one time it was discussed openly between the couple, though not graphically), abortion (fairly graphic), verbal abuse.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Like many writers, I began as a reader. My favorite authors were those whose styles were realistic and relatable, so when I began creating my first novel in my thirties, I knew that, above all, I wanted my stories to connect with readers.

My first foray into writing was a book about the biblical character Ruth. I spent years rewriting and shelving the book before finally submitting it to Elk Lake Publishing. They loved the book, and helped me prepare it for publication. Now, my work of biblical fiction, Princess of Moab: A Novel of Ruth, is finished and ready to find its readership.

I also have a contemporary Christian fiction series called The Rose Collection. These timely novels spotlight healing after spiritual abuse. I keep my characters grounded in the real world, so while they grow, learn, and seek solutions, they must also confront the detritus of the past. I write what I know, whether firsthand or through close observation, infusing the joy, happiness, and humor that come with spiritual freedom and love. The Rose Collection goes further than the deconstruction of broken spirits to the reconstruction of rescued souls.

My non-fiction book, The Women Who Set the Precedents: An Exploration of the Bible’s Bill of Rights for Women, is a deep dive into the prophecy of Bathsheba. Each chapter explores the life of a biblical woman as she embodies the principles of empowerment, intelligence, and spiritual maturity mentioned in the iconic, but often misapplied, last chapter of Proverbs.

More from Marbeth:

I wrote Plague of Lies during school holidays while teaching at my church’s Christian school and raising two teen boys. Some of the conflict in the novel was inspired by the sudden appearance of a youth pastor from another school (my sons played against that school in basketball and football). He joined our church and was immediately placed in leadership positions. Later, it came out that he was fleeing from a bench warrant.

My story follows the fallout after a beloved church leader and mentor is exposed as a fraud and shuffled off to another church. I wanted to explore what happened to one of the students left behind as he attempts to pick up the spiritual pieces of his life.

While the book contains some heavy subject matter, it also offers hope, encouragement, and relatable main characters.

Scott Andrews, a seventeen-year-old who is blindsided by his mentor’s moral failing, has a failing of his own. But, instead of running away, he repents and becomes determined to live his life with complete honesty.

Eighteen years later, the fallout of the lies and betrayal continues as Lauren Andrews-Gianni reconnects with her long-lost father and learns the truth about her birth, why Scott walked away, and how he remembered her during their forced separation.

The rebuilding of Scott and Lauren’s relationship is the crux of the book and serves as a picture of how our Heavenly Father is preparing a home for us

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Tramp to Cone Creek

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A couple of years ago, our boys heard a rumor that a hut they had tramped to twice had burned down. They were rather unhappy with this news, since it was a pretty nice hut. Elijah decided he wanted to know for sure whether it had burned or was still standing, and planned a tramp awhile back to find out. Other things came up and the tramp had to be canceled; this happened at least once, if not a couple of times. Finally, sometime in December, he and his two younger brothers were able to go up there and find out. They did just an overnight tramp, leaving late one morning and returning the next afternoon. This first one is a fungus on a tree next to the creek–I’ve never seen such a thing!

A creek partway up the track.

A blue duck, an endangered native species. Both of the pair are in the second picture.

The hut is still standing!

The track to the Lake Morgan hut is up the scree slope in the middle of this picture.

The blue ducks again, this time when the boys were on the way out.

The younger boys made these signs from scraps they found at the hut and posted them at the junction of two tracks.

Returning to the main track from the hot pools, which were across the river.

November 2026 Photos

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I have not been keeping up with posting photos of our life very well! I guess this will just be a photo dump from November. Can you guess who took the first one? Yes, the cat lover–Miss Joy!

I’m guessing one of the girls took this picture, too, of a snail on the lemon tree.

Little Miss climbed the tall tree in our garden one day and took a lot of pictures. Our parking area was almost empty that day! The pink house is ours.

I took this picture one day while we were preparing the garden for planting. It sure looks different now! It’s a jungle today.

We were pulling up self-sown parsnips in this area.

We had visitors one day and I grabbed a picture of the water-gun fight to send to the friend who gave them the water guns.

When the children came inside a little while later they were cold, so Miss Joy got a pan of warm water for herself, and shared it with her three friends!

The greenhouse blew apart in the big storm the end of October, so the boys spent a couple of Saturdays rebuilding it. It is very nice now, except that the end wall still needs covered.

Towards evening, we heard the ice cream truck come through our village. A couple of the boys ran out to buy ice creams for everyone–think they enjoyed their treat?

Elijah saw the Southern Lights on the way home from work one night, and was able to capture them with his phone.

I think these two pictures should actually have been in the October post. We had a big truckload of compost delivered, and it had to be dumped on the edge of the street, so we spent an entire afternoon working hard and fast to move half of it in order to clear off the tarseal. We were glad, a few days later, that we had done that when the ambulance came to pick up the lady who lives in that house beside our garden. (This is the end of the street–it just stops there.)

Another cat-lover’s picture?

Sighting in the slingshot rifle he built. He actually killed a starling with it!