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 About the book (from the publisher): Since 1955, Sheila Franklin, a talented musician, has perfectly performed the role of devout pastor’s wife, locking away her past as Sheba Alexander and Sylvia Allen. Her carefully constructed façade crumbles with a single phone call from a young Marine named Samuel, the illegitimate son she secretly put up for adoption. Samuel begs Sheila to use her government contacts to get his fiancé, Mali, a Thai prostitute, into America. A dangerous mixture of love and guilt spurs her to help her only child even though it devastates her husband Edward and exposes her questionable past. After a quarrel with Edward, Sheila and Samuel board a C-130 for Thailand and then search Bangkok’s steamy streets for a Madonna-faced prostitute. The two whisk Mali from a brothel but are seized by a warlord who considers Mali his “number one girl.” In a teak “ghost house,” Sheila discovers God’s grace and gains the freedom she needs t o find her own identity—Sheila, Sylvia, and Sheba. A framed story, this novel has roots in the bohemian 1940s New Orleans French Quarter and spans three decades, including the turbulent Vietnam era.
About Patti: Baylor graduate, taught community college humanities until God called her to span seas and secrets in her novels, An Irishwoman’s Tale and What the Bayou Saw. She has two grown children and a dog named Laura. She and her husband can be seen jog-walking the streets of Normal, Illinois, an amazing place to live for a woman born in a car. For more information, visit Patti’s website at www.pattilacy.com, her blog at www.pattilacy.com/blog, and her Facebook daily Artbites. Patti’s longer bio here.
My thoughts: This story of love, loss, race, and music is a touching and frustrating picture of Post WWII era and Vietnam Era America. The struggles of poor Sheba Alexander because of social prejudice and a poor choice made in the heat of the moment touched my heart and I ached for her at times in this book. Being a lover of music, the musical theme threaded through the story really spoke to me.
You can purchase your own copy here.
Enter the Rhythm of Secrets NOOK eReader Giveaway:
Patti and her publisher, Kregel, are giving away a NOOK prize package worth over $150 to one lucky winner!!!!
Enter the Nook eReader Giveaway and you could win:
* A brand new Nook eReader with Wi-Fi
* $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble
To enter, simply click here to enter, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest. Oh, and enter soon! Winner will be announced on February 16th at Patti’s Rhythm of Secrets Facebook Party.
But, wait there’s more! Come to the Rhythm of Secrets Facebook Party on December 16th!
Patti will be announcing the winner of The Rhythm of Secrets NOOK giveaway at her Party on FB February 16th! She’ll be hosting a book club discussion of The Rhythm of Secrets and giving away other fun prizes! (signed copies of her books and gift certificates to Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, & iTunes!). Don’t miss the fun at Patti’s FB Author Page on February 16th at 5pm PST ( 6 pm MST, 7 pm CST, & 8 pm EST)!
Read more reviews by following the blog tour here.
I received a copy of this book in order to provide a review.
Ah, love…it has inspired marvelous works of art, musical compositions, sonnets…it also inspires some crazy things. People seem to do almost anything for love. It is amazing what love can inspire.
To me, the beauty of love is not in the grandiose actions, meant to not only impress the loved one, but to impress everyone else around. The beauty of love is in the little things. Small actions that, while probably not natural to the one performing them, show a true affection.
Here are little things that I have done for love (of my husband and/or children)-
-Watched golf, football, basketball…… on TV…even prepared Super Bowl Snacks (I am not a big sports on TV fan)
-Sat in a park four nights a week with five children, all by myself, watching little boys swing a bat at a flying ball (baseball is my most un-favorite sport)
-Spent my vacation last summer camping…
-Spent my anniversary one year at a golf course, resulting in probably the worst round of golf EVER played (mine, not his)
-Watched my body stretch, contort and expand, sag, etc to bring five children into the world
Here is a list of things my husband has done for me that I love the most-
-After years of conditioning, he finally converted to Country Music (He grew up the 80′s in California ladies…Country is so NOT cool in his mind)
-He helped the kids make signs to cheer me on in my half marthon last spring. Those signs were amazing and just what I needed at a tough part of the race..and they probably only took a few minutes.
-When we were first dating, he came in to Relief Society (the women’s meeting at our church) to hear me sing. There were NO other men in the room.
-He tells me he loves me and that I am beautiful pretty much every day. Even when I look my worst.
Sure, nothing you see on those two lists are huge, grandiose actions, sure to change the world. But each action does change a world. They change my world; they change my family’s world.
With Valentines Day around the corner (ok really, where HAS the time gone. Christmas was yesterday, right?), you may be thinking of ways to show your love for your spouse, children or others around you. Tiny Prints has many options for cards, invitations, stickers, gift tags and more. They also carry photo gifts, including photo books, canvas mounted prints, and calendars.
 Tiny Prints provides simple, modern and unique stationery from Valentines Day cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards, business cards, and even custom wedding invitations. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch! They offer perfect party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts like notebooks, photo books and calendars.
This post is part of a Global Influence Campaign in collaboration with Tiny Prints. I am being compensated for this post with free product from the sponsor.
Back in December we took some photos of our family (we just went across the street to the jogging trail where there is a nice bridge and took them ourselves). As many of you who read Sticky Fingerprints are family and friends (heck, if you are reading this blog…I consider you my friend whether we have met in real life or not!) I thought I would share some photos of my little cuties. I can’t believe how quickly they have grown. Here’s a photo of each and a little bit about them:
 This girl is in the middle of the tween years (she will be 11 next month) and so much fun. She loves to sing, dance (she is on the dance team at a local dance studio), talk with her friends on the computer and listen to Taylor Swift on the new mp3 player she got for Christmas. She is a great big sister and helps with a ton with her younger brothers.
 Here’s the oldest of my fabulous boys. He loves to play sports (he is a fabulous soccer player),draw, build with his legos, and hang out with all of his friends in the neighborhood. He also loves to learn new things and is always looking up facts online (like what is the largest dog ever, what is the smallest building, etc).
 Ah, what can I say about this cutie? He is so much fun. A sweet boy who can be super quiet or rowdy, depending on his mood. He will spend hours playing alone with his horse figures or run across the street to play with his friends. I got to be his soccer coach this year and that was definitely an adventure (you see, #3 here would rather roll around in the grass and pick the flowers than focus on the ball…but he keeps saying he wants to play when it is time to sign up again).
 Ah, this little guy is four and FULL of ENERGY. Seriously, if I could figure out how to bottle up just a portion of his energy I could make a killing in the edurance sports market! In the same minute he makes me want to smile and scream. He is very loving and doesn’t deal well with change. He usually needs someone to love and cuddle him when he is upset, and he will usually be fine as long as he gets some love 
 Can you all believe that this is my baby?! I know, I am in shock. My baby is now THREE years old and get this, POTTY TRAINED. Yes, I, after almost 11 years straight, am done with diapers. This little man is so fun. For a while we were concerned about his speech, but over the summer he took off and will now talk your ear off if you let him. He has a little bit of a lisp, but it is adorable and I am told it is very normal for his age.
Here is a photo of the whole crew:
Don’t I have cute kids? (I am not biased or anything  )Thanks for indulging me in a mommy moment. I sure love these kids and they are the inspiration for this blog.
I know you are wondering where you can get ties like the one my boys are wearing…well you can make them for yourself using this pattern from YouCanMakeThis.com. They have tons of great, easy to follow patterns (especially for me, the complete sewing novice).
I received no compensation for the links in this post. However, I do participate in the You Can Make This affiliate program, purchases made by clicking links on this post may result in compensation .
 Just before Christmas I received great news: I was selected to be a Purex Insider. As part of my welcome kit I received a sample of Purex Crystals, a brand new fabric softener product from Purex.
So What are Purex Crystals and how are they different from what is currently available on the market?
Purex Crystals are a 92% natural fabric softener in a crystal form that penetrates fabrics to reduce
fiber entanglement and smooth frayed fibers providing a naturally soft feel and infusing the fabric with long lasting fragrance. Traditional softeners coat fabrics with and oily residue.
How do you use Purex Crystals?
Simply add Purex Complete Crystals Softener directly with your laundry at the beginning of every wash cycle to infuse fabrics with long lasting freshness.
My thoughts:
At first I wondered how to use them in my HE front load washer (the original sample I received was a smaller sample size and didn’t have all of the usage information listed) but it is super simple to use. In either an HE or a traditional washer, simply add the crystals (measured using the cap) to the drum of your washer before loading your clothing. And there is nothing else to do. I have been a user of dryer sheets or a dryer bar for my fabric softener needs for a few reasons: 1-I don’t like to use liquid products when I can avoid them, 2-I wash my running clothes, and you can’t use traditional softeners on running gear (the coating messes up the moisture wicking properties of the fabric) 3- I basically never thought to use liquid fabric softener…LOL
Now my problems are solved…no liquid and it doesn’t coat my fabric so it is SAFE to use on my running gear (this is probably my favorite aspect of Purex Crystals)
I love the fragrances. I am a fan of my clothing smelling fresh and pretty, and Purex Crystals are a fabulous way to infuse your laundry with fragrance! I received the Fresh Spring Waters in my welcome kit and used used a free product coupon (also provided for me) to try the Tropical Splash scent and both are fabulous. I have yet to try Lavendar Blossom.
Here are the 6 sides of Purex Crystals (from Purex):
Win some for yourself!
Now that you have heard about new Purex Crystals, I know that you want to try them for yourself. Three of you will get a coupon for free Purex Crystals! Here’s what you have to do:
Rules-US Entries only. Leave a comment for each additional entry earned. Mandatory Entry must be done for any bonus entries to count.
1. (Mandatory) Tell me your favorite feature of Purex Crystals and which fragrance you most want to try
Bonus Entries:
2. Join this site through Google Friend Connect (make sure you are a current follower, I had a GFC crash and all of my followers disappeared). This will give you two bonus entries (leave two comments)
3. Follow Sticky Fingerprints on Twitter
4. Blog or tweet about this giveaway (one entry each…only once per media type)
5. Add Sticky Fingerprints to your blog roll.
Contest will run through 11:59 PM Mountain Time on January 30th. Winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected (this time by me, I might reward a loyal commenter, or chose a clever comment).
I received free product as a part of the Purex Insiders program. No further compensation was received.
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Welcome to Sticky Fingerprints! As a mom to five active, young children, sticky fingerprints are simply a given: on walls, on windows, on faces, on my heart. Each day our children leave their fingerprints on our lives (and walls, of course). May we learn to embrace the joys of parenthood and try not to get caught up in the difficulties.
Thank you to Online-Sweepstakes, Prizey, and Mom Giveaways for allowing me to list my giveaways on their sites.
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About the book (from the publisher): Since 1955, Sheila Franklin, a talented musician, has perfectly performed the role of devout pastor’s wife, locking away her past as Sheba Alexander and Sylvia Allen. Her carefully constructed façade crumbles with a single phone call from a young Marine named Samuel, the illegitimate son she secretly put up for adoption. Samuel begs Sheila to use her government contacts to get his fiancé, Mali, a Thai prostitute, into America. A dangerous mixture of love and guilt spurs her to help her only child even though it devastates her husband Edward and exposes her questionable past. After a quarrel with Edward, Sheila and Samuel board a C-130 for Thailand and then search Bangkok’s steamy streets for a Madonna-faced prostitute. The two whisk Mali from a brothel but are seized by a warlord who considers Mali his “number one girl.” In a teak “ghost house,” Sheila discovers God’s grace and gains the freedom she needs t
