Look! It's Coptic Dad and Mom!

Look at that! It's us!People always joke that February is the cruelest month (that's April!). I can understand that the chill at the end of a (northern hemisphere) winter is especially unlikable. Though we've had unseasonably warm weather now and then, we've faced some icy high winds down here as well (and lots of snow for my friends to the north).But February is my birthday month, so it has a special place in my heart. I thought I would treat the blog to something fun and light and adorable as we stare down winter blues. So I asked Stephanie Simpson (stephsimpson.ca) for a family portrait to use on the blog.[Side note: Isn't her work just delightful? Wouldn't her pop-colored arctic creatures make fantastic nursery decorations? No, haha, I'm not getting paid to say that. I daydream of using these as a focal point in a play room!! Can you imagine the furnishings that would go in it? I did (see my Pinterest board for it).]I'm also playing around with the idea of starting a book club. I'm reading this amazing book called When Mockingbirds Sing (affiliate link--see below). I'm dying for some smart friends to talk about it with.Let me give you some back story. Many months ago, I discovered BookBub. It's a service where you sign up for daily e-mails of books going on sale on Amazon (or the bookseller of your choice) within the genres you love. From there it's a two-click process to purchase. I signed up for several genres, including Christian fiction. I wanted to see if there was room in the market for stories besides the Amish romance. I used to work in Barnes & Noble and the Christian fiction aisle was a dismal block of Amish romance. I'm a sci-fi/fantasty/action adventure/crime/mystery kind of girl, so I was really looking for something a little outside Amish country.This book (put out by Thomas Nelson publishers) has kind of hit the spot while also potentially being very controversial. How is this not a movie yet? Hollywood should be all over this! If you pick up a copy (through my link or not, or even from the library) and read it, contact me so we can agonize over it together!Oh and there's no lock screen this week because we're my lock screen :D! Expect this illustration to find a permanent home on the blog... If you'd like your own family illustration, contact Stephanie! Have a fabulous week!*I've signed up to be an Amazon affiliate, meaning that when you purchase something through certain (marked) links on this site, I receive a percentage (you are not charged extra for this). It's something that I am trying out. I will never share something that I don't 100% love (or in the case of thought-provoking books, more likely love-hate).Please note that while I consider all books I mention totally kosher, in the case of religious-leaning texts, a certain spiritual maturity is required. If you don't have a firm understanding of church theology and/or of literature, then please exercise caution. If you are not an adult, please get your adult's permission before reading.

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