Welcome 2015!

 

Ring in the New Year!

Well, not quite yet, but I don't know if I really want to wait until midnight to post this. I guess there is always next year to do it. ;)

 It's hard to believe how 2014 has flown by.

So much has happened, so much has changed.

There's been weddings and funerals of dear friends, joys and heartaches.

This spring marked the end of Becca's high school education, and this Monday was the last day of my job at our local library. We said goodbye to our rabbits and saw them off to new homes.

School is on the forefront of our minds, but after those first four months of the year are over, we have yet to see.   

What other things will 2015 will hold? Only God knows, and we trust He will reveal His plans with His perfect timing, as He always does.

Does it help to worry about any of this? Of course not, even though I have to keep reminding myself of this.

It does help, however, to remember this, wherever God has placed you at this time in your life:

Happy New Year!

~The Clever Bunnies

 

Dreaming of a White Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Monkees. :)

It's very rare that we don't have a white Christmas where we live, but this year things are looking a bit brown. After a recent heatwave, a heatwave for December, that is; our yard was even thinking of turning green again.

Love Has Come

For the past, oh, eight years or so, our church has hosted a ladies Christmas tea as an outreach to our community. Becca and I usually do special music for it, and over the years, we've done our favorite Christmas songs that share the message of Christ's birth without being your ordinary Christmas hymn.

Well, this year when it came to picking out a song, we just couldn't think of one we hadn't done before.

So, we asked for help from our family music professor, aka Grandpa, to give us some ideas.

He taught us this beautiful little song, and since Christmas is fast approaching, we'd like to share it with you!

Mission: Mod Vinyl

No, not that kind of vinyl. 

What I'm talking about is my newest upholstery project of three vinyl chairs.

Beautiful Books Linkup #3: Let's Talk Editing || Becca's Story ||

Hello! 

I am excited to particapate in this month's Beautiful Books Linkup.  

Now, I did't do NaNoWriMo (congrats to all who did!), but I did finish my first draft of "Into Thornwood".

(What do you think of that title? It's new, just trying it on. Thoughts please!)

So "Let's Talk Editing" is just what I needed. 

Paper Fury Blog Party

Even though Becca and I don't read much in the way of current YA fiction, we still have so much fun reading Cait's posts over at her old blog, The Notebook Sisters, and participating in her Beautiful People link-up.

Well, The Notebook Sisters has now changed to Paper Fury, and we're helping spread the word!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving!

-Bethany & Becca

What Thou Need'st Update

My novelette has been out for about two months now, and I wanted to do an update on how sales are going.

They aren't going.

So far, I've sold one copy, which I am very thankful for. I had no expectations of selling millions of copies or anything, but still, as a first attempt publishing a story, it's not very encouraging.

What more can I do?

My main problem, I believe, is marketing. 

I can share on my blog, and that reaches the followers I have, but I would like the word to get out further.

So I'm asking you, our dear readers, for help.

 If anyone would be interested in posting about my story, and/or doing an honest review, I will give them a promo code to get a free copy of the book!

Let me know at bpc(at)itctel(dot)com.

I would be very much appreciative!

("What Thou Need'st" is available at the Snippets Store for only $1.99. If you have any questions about purchasing through Snippets, let me know, and I'll be happy to help!)

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

“Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!”

-Lewis Carrol

When I sold my old bedroom set last year and replaced my bed with a wrought iron one, I began the search for a new desk.

I wanted something old, with character, and I didn't mind if it needed a little fixing up.

Then this spring, I found an antique waterfall desk at a garage sale!

Beautiful Books || November Edition || Bethany's Story

This month's questions look great, so let's get to right to them!

Beautiful Books Link Up || November Edition || Becca's Story

By Becca

Hello there!

Last month, Beth did this link up with the Notebook Sisters.

And this month's questions were great too, so I decided to jump aboard.

Now, I am not doing NaNoWriMo,

(Kudos to all of you who are though, I don't know where you find the will power.) 

But I am still working on my story for the Five Enchanted Roses contest.

So, here we go!

(And please ignore the numbering, I don't know what happened.)

"And the times, they are a changin' "

Look at that cute little castor.

The key word in that sentence is castor. As we said in our first post with this litter, we were expecting a mini Steve; an opal. However, as his fur began to grow in, we could see that this baby was brown, not grey.

We still love him. :)

Doctor Who Party || Games & Activities

 

All right, back on track!

We knew that we couldn't just sit in front of the television for the entire party (the Wire might get us), so Becca and I planned some games to do throughout the time of the party.

Brooklyn's Beautiful Baby Bunnies

We interrupt our Doctor Who Party blog series to bring you a very important post....

Baby Bunnies!

Our friend Brooklyn's rabbit Ariel and our buck, Simon, had a litter together the beginning of October. We got to go for a visit last week, and it was a fun chance for photos.

Brooklyn and her bunnies.

Doctor Who Party || Food, Favors, and the Event

Thursday and Friday were busy with house cleaning and food prep for the big day on Saturday. Most things were easy to put together ahead of time, leaving only the finishing touches to complete Saturday morning.

Doctor Who Party || Costumes

"You got me, I've been making outfits!"

-Hiccup, How to train your Dragon

Doctor Who Party || Invitations

"Now, are you sitting comfortably? Good.Then we'll begin"

-The Wire, episode: Idiot's Lantern.

For quite some time, Becca and I have wanted to have a Doctor Who Party.

But we had a problem.

Beautiful Books || Bethany's Plot

 The hosts of the Beautiful People link-up are doing something different for the next three months. With NaNoWriMo approaching (a rather crazy event, if I do say so), the theme for this month and next consecutive two will be about plotting, writing, and editing. 

Make Me a Blessing

This is a fun little hymn that we've always liked, but strayed away from singing because the chorus goes up pretty high. Well, all we needed to do was change the key, and there we had it!

It's a wonderful reminder of how we can use our daily lives to help others, and be an example of Christ's love

A Quartet of Rabbits

If there's such a term as a trio of rabbits, then four must be considered a quartet.

It goes to figure, right?

Well, that's exactly what Sarah Jane had yesterday morning!

Four baby bunnies!

Beautiful People || September Edition || Bethany's Characters

Another month has rushed past, and here I am, doing September's edition on the very last day of the month.

 Well, better late then never, right? :)

What Thou Need'st - Now Available in the Snippet Store

After (not very) patiently waiting this past month, I am very pleased to announce that the review process is finished, and What Thou Need'st has been published!

Hip, hip, hurrah!

Grandbunnies

Rember this pretty little lady? 

This is Daisy, from a litter we had last year. She went to the home of a friend of ours, Emma, who was also interested in raising rabbits.

Janeite Tag

Many thanks to Paige for passing along this lovely tag!

Paige blogs at Sunday Best and All the Rest, and if you've never been there before, go say hello!  Her posts are always so fun and encouraging.

Wait on the Lord

Last week after church our pastor asked if Becca and I would like to do special music during offering each week. We would do it occasionally, usually per request of Pastor Daniel a few days in advance, so it's nice now we can just add preparing for that into our schedule for the week.

The song we picked was from a Patch the Pirate songbook (anyone one familiar with him?). We grew up singing Patch the Pirate songs in Sunday School, and while most of them can be a little on the silly side, (example: Temper Tantrum Tilly, Poochie Lip Disease, etc) there are some more serious ones that have really beautiful melodies.

So, with no consultation with Pastor about what he was going to preach on, we chose a song called "Wait on the Lord".

What Thou Need'st || Adventures in (not) making a Music Video

Well, I have no update on how publishing is going, as Snippets hasn't given me one yet.

What's it been, two weeks or so now?

This is what their website says:

14. How long does it take for my Snippet to go live after publishing?

So long, Khan!

Today is Khan's 6 week birthday, and tonight his new family came and picked him up.

 It's been strange having only one baby rabbit, but we've enjoyed our time with him and will be a bit sad to see him go. 

Knight in Shining Sweatshirt

by Bethany

 It began one day while conversing with our friend, Liam, on Pinterest.

Becca found this photo,

we all agreed the sweatshirt was very cool, but quite a bit out of our price range.

"You should learn to make them," Liam said, "You'd make a killing in our HS (home school) group."

"I'll tell Beth," Becca replied, "The money will go in our castle fund :)"

The Firm of Girdlestone || A Review

All right listen up, BBC.  No more Jane Austen or Charles Dickens adaptations, the next mini series you should make is The Firm of Girdlestone by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!

Do you think that will work? 

I don't know what's up with me, but it looks like I'm going to do another book review!  I never thought I'd be much good at them, but "The Beatles, God, and The Bible" was fun to write, so why not give it another go?  Especially since it's a book I've just finished, and absolutely adore.

Beautiful People || August Addition || Bethany's Characters

I wasn't sure if I was going to do Beautiful People this month, but I think it would be fun to do one more character from "What Thou Need'st" before it's (hopefully) published.

So, say hello to Prince Bartholomew of Rovisland!

What Thou Need'st || Adventures in Cover Design

by Bethany

Well, I finally sent "What Thou Need'st" in for review, so now all there is to do is wait...and post a cover reveal with behind the scenes pictures!

Here's the cover!

Beautiful People || August Addition || Becca's Characters

Hello there!

I'm introducing Cecile's older brother, Dax Bellerose.

Three week birthday!

It's been two weeks since we've shared pictures of Sarah Jane's only child. 

He has grown into a fat little chunk, and had his first taste of grass today.

(And it's not completely official, but we are pretty sure it's a boy)

He had lots of fun running around and jumping over mommy.

As you can see, he wasn't very pleased to be taken from playtime.

The Beatles, God, and The Bible

I know some of our readers are fans of oldies music and groups like the Beatles, so when I finished this book, I thought it would be really fun to share it on the blog.

The author, Ray Comfort, is the founder of a favorite ministry of our family's, Living Water Publications. Our mom was ordering gospel tracts online from them recently, saw this book, and thought Becca and I would enjoy it.

Back Cover:

"I'm a most religious fellow... I was brought up a Christian and I only now understand some of the things that Christ was saying in those parables."

-John Lennon

In The Beatles, God, and The Bible, international evangelist and best selling author Ray Comfort exposes the theological side of the world's most famous music group, offering unique and fascinating insight into the spirituality of the Fab Four.

The second book in a series of cultural and religious exposes, Comfort takes a trip down Abbey Road with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, showing the evolution of the group's spirituality from the very height of their fame in 1965, when all four Beatles professed to be atheists, to later on down the road when the Liverpool group started singing a much different tune. The Beatles, God, and The Bible is an in-depth look at the role of religion in shaping the lives of the most influential band in history.

 The Beatles' music is iconic to the 60's era, and I've always enjoyed their early music, but I didn't know very much about them as people. 

This book starts with a history of the band, how the members met, their rise to fame, and the break up of the group, and then has a more personal focus on each of the Beatles, beginning with John Lennon, and even John Lennon's murderer, Mark Chapman.

Ray Comfort is very frank about what the Beatles did and believed, but always brings it back to the Bible, and has personal applications for the reader as well.

Overall, it was a very good and fascinating read. I definitely would recommend it to anyone interested in The Beatles. It answered some interesting questions too, like: What did John Lennon mean when he said 'The Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ"? Who is "Mother Mary" referring to in "Let It Be" ? And is "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" really a reference to LSD?

 I was familiar with listening to Ray Comfort on a favorite radio show, Wretched Radio, but had never read one of his books before. His writing is really enjoyable, and I had his Australian accent in my head the entire time I read it. :) 

It certainly makes you think, not only about the lives of the Beatles, but also about your own spiritual life.

One question my mom asked me when I finished reading the book was, "Were the Beatles Christians?"

Honestly, I don't know. The book doesn't answer that for sure.

What I do know is that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Mark Chapman as well, were/are sinful human beings in need of God's gift of salvation, just like everyone else; like you, and like me.

Did John Lennon and George Harrison repent and put their faith in the salvation God provided when He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross before they died? Only the Lord knows, but the more important question is-

Have you?

The Beatles, God, and The Bible is available at the Living Waters website, here.

Note: I am not a paid affiliate of Living Waters Publications. 

Beautiful People || July Addition || Becca's Characters

Oh my goodness gracious! 

In two hours it won't be July anymore and I promised myself I'd do this one after I missed the last one.

So, here we go.

I'd like to introduce Cecile Bellerose, the heroine in my retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

She looks rather tired doesn't she? Quite like myself right now....
Via Pinterest

It is for the Five Enchanted Roses contest, not that I believe I'll even finish it in time... but it is a very interesting writing prompt. 

1) What’s their favourite food? (Bonus: favourite flavor of chocolate!) 
Cream Puffs, she has a weakness for cream puffs. :) She also likes dark chocolate.

2) What do they absolutely hate?
Shallow people fluttering around; flattering and gossiping about each other. She hates how so many people she knows are just pretty shells and inside there is absolutely nothing.

3) What do they enjoy learning about? 
People, real people who did things that mattered. She loves the Bible and how God uses such everyday people for extraordinary things.

4) Who is the most influential person in their life? 
Her mother. She was always calm and kind in any situation, thinking ahead and very practical. Now that she has passed, Cecile sees how unbalanced her family has become, and she tries to fill that role.

5) What is their childhood fear? 
Monsters in the dark.

6) What is something they have always secretly dreamed of doing, but thought impossible? 
 Cecile has been surrounded by a whirl of high society, high-class "friends" and high expectations for her future: marry money and continue the cycle. She wishes for a quiet life, a large garden and a true love.

7) What is something they are impractically afraid of? 
Monsters in the dark. Yeah that's cheating, but I really want to go to bed.  :)

8) Are they a night owl or morning person? 
Morning. Which make the late night balls all the more intolerable in her eyes.

9) Do they say everything that pops into their head, or leave a lot unsaid? 
It depends on who she's with. She speaks freely with her brother and used to have long talks with her mother, but keeps her thoughts to herself otherwise.

10) What are their nervous habits?
She watches, silently, and just observes. It really bugs her older sister.

Yay! I can go to bed now.

 Good bye July, hello August. 

Beautiful People || July Edition || Bethany's Characters

I love my novel Long Road From Canaan, I really do, but there's something fun and satisfying about writing short stories. Just a little something you can write in a couple days or a week or two,  go back and edit and tweak, and then finish.

Maybe this is simply because I've never finished a full length novel. But I do like to write short stories, and the character I'm going to introduce today is from one I'm getting ready to publish.

A novelette might actually be a better term for it, because it's about 16,000 words. I'm going to try an e-book format called Snippet, which I learned about from Go Teen Writers. There's just a few more things to do, but hopefully I'll be sending it in for the Snippet review process soon.

What Thou Need'st

Synopsis:

Kendall Thatcher, a dutiful squire, thinks he's seen the worst of his master, the irascible Prince Bartholomew. However, things can indeed get worse; much worse.

When the Prince runs away, a princess from a neighboring kingdom vanishes, a dragon takes up residence in an abandoned castle, and two kingdoms near the brink of war; all this can be resolved only when Kendall and the Prince discover "what thou need'st"

  I'm going to do this month's questions about Ruth, who is somewhat of a side character, but a favorite of mine. 

Ruth becomes a close friend to one of the main characters, and has been really fun to write. 

via Pinterest

1) What’s their favorite food? (Bonus: favorite flavor of chocolate!) 
   Ruth's favorite food is her aunt's raspberry tarts. She's never had chocolate, as its a rare thing in the medieval world, but she would probably like white chocolate best.

2) What do they absolutely hate?
Secrets. She doesn't like keeping them, and she greatly dislikes when other people keep them from her. Maybe hate is too strong a word, but she isn't really the kind of person to hate anything. This doesn't come out so much in this story, but more so in the sequel. Oh yes, I'm already thinking of a sequel!

3) What do they enjoy learning about? 
Anything her father will teach her. Her father is a scribe in their little village, copying manuscripts and writing and reading letters for people. He taught her to read, and now she reads whatever she can get her hands on, which isn't much for a poor peasant girl. She also loves learning about cooking and knitting.

4) Who is the most influential person in their life? 
Her father. Ruth's mother died a few years before the story takes place, but Ruth and her father have always been very close.

5) What is their childhood fear? 
Ruth had a very pleasant childhood, although her family was poor, so, I honestly can't think of anything for this one!

6) What is something they have always secretly dreamed of doing, but thought impossible?
 She has always wanted to live in a castle. 

7) What is something they are impractically afraid of? 
Frogs. She thinks they are nasty, slimy, despicable creatures.

8) Are they a night owl or morning person?
A morning person.

9) Do they say everything that pops into their head, or leave a lot unsaid? 
She is pretty quick to speak, and loves asking questions.

10) What are their nervous habits?
When Ruth is nervous, she tends to babble and stumble over her words.

And that's all! I'll let Ruth sign off with a quote from the story.

"I am sorry, my aunt is calling. I have to go," Ruth said with a smile of farewell, and dashed off.

Baby Bunny Birthday

It's Baby Bunny's one week birthday!

*cue the fireworks and confetti*

Ummm... yeah, that's a hollyhock. 

We have affectionately nicknamed him (we refer to Baby as a him, but we don't know for sure) Khan (from Star Trek), because each time we peek in on him, he freaks out, jumping all over and squeaking.

We imagine him saying: 

Can't you see the resemblance? Maybe it's just the teeth. :)

He does not like to be disturbed. He quite enjoys his peace and quiet with no brothers and sisters to bother him.

We even made a pie for this occasion, though, Khan can't enjoy it with us. :)

It's raspberry, picked fresh today from a friend's patch.

 Yesterday, after processing some cherries that had been chilling in the fridge, Becca decided we should make pie.

I found a recipe here, at The Candid Appetite , for a cherry pie with an almond crust.

Now, cherry and almond is one of my most favorite flavor combos in the world, so it was a quick decision to choose this recipe.

Let's just say it was so delicious, we had to make another one today, and Khan's birthday made a nice excuse. :)

The only thing was, we didn't have anymore cherries, so we decided to try it with raspberries.

It's rather rustic, but with a scoop of homemade vanilla or chocolate chip ice cream = Delicious!

Glad All Over

I've been on a Dave Clark Five kick recently, so that song is stuck in my head. Did you know they started their group to raise money for their football (american= soccer) team, and nearly surpassed the Beatles in popularity?
Surprisingly, Dave Clark isn't the main singer of the group; Mike Smith is.
 Dave Clark started the group, managed it, and played the drums.

But enough of my random trivia. :)

However,  "Glad All Over" serves as a pretty good post title, as Becca and I are both very glad that Sarah Jane had a healthy litter on Tuesday!

Her grand total of kits is...

One.

Yep, just one.

It was quite surprising, but everything else seems normal and both kit and mama are doing wonderfully.

I guess it will be a spoiled little bunny, getting all of Mama's attention and lots of hugs from us. :)

We also have a long overdo Liebster Award from Paige to post about, so onto that next!

Thanks Paige!

As usual, Becca's answers will be blue and mine (Bethany's) will be purple.

1) What is the long term goal for your blog?
To keep sharing what we are doing with friends and family.
Ditto :)

2) What have you enjoyed the most about blogging so far?
Meeting so many like minded young ladies.
Ditto :)

3) Peanut butter + chocolate or mint + chocolate?
Hmmm...Peanut butter + chocolate
mint + chocolate = Yummy!!

4) For your birthday, would you rather have your mom or sister 

cook you special meal or go out to eat?

Oh, that's hard! Maybe, going out to eat. Then no one has to wash dishes!

I'll have to agree and skip the dishes. :)

5) Series or stand alone books?
I don't know if I can choose! 
Oh dear! Both, both favorites! :0

6) What version of the Bible do you prefer?

We use a few different versions in our house; New International Version, New King James Version, and English Standard Version, so it's difficult to say. Most of what I've memorized from the Bible is NIV, but for just reading and studying, I really like my NKJV study Bible.
I really like the ESV.

7) Do you journal your studies in scripture?

I should, since I've been journaling more, but not really. If I have my Bible time in the evening, then I'll write down a verse or two that stood out to me.

Ummm... no.
  I like the idea of journaling but I am terrible at actually taking the time to do it.

8) If you were to host a period costume event, what era would it be?
Victorian would be fun; a big victorian ball.
Oh yes! yes yes yes! We could dance the polka :)

9) Do you spend your day in bare feet, socks, or shoes?
Barefoot in the summer, otherwise, socks.
Ditto :)

10) If you could have a gift card to any clothing store, including online, what would it be for?
Modcloth. I love their vintage inspired styles!
Either Modcloth or eShakti.

11) If I were to visit you in your hometown, what would be the first place you'd want me to see?
Well... there's not much to see in our little town. 

You could come to our house. 

Eleven random facts about Bethany:

1) I like making up my own crochet patterns. 
 2) I want to learn how to play the lute.  
3) I greatly dislike mushrooms. 
  4) Before our family decided to homeschool, I went to kindergarten twice.   
5) Sometimes my eyes look more green than brown.  
 6) I have a bad habit of starting a book before finishing another. 
This goes for both reading and writing.  
 7) My middle name is Paige.  
 8) My favorite classic book is North and South.  
 9) I love random historical facts. 
10) Ten is my Doctor. ;) 
11) I have the same personality type as MacGyver.

Eleven random facts about Becca:
1) I was afraid of getting contacts, but now I love them! 
2) I have a wedding dress in my closet. 
3) I have a pet monarch caterpillar named Rudy.
 4) I was in kindergarden for two weeks. 
5) I love to make movies (but it's hard to find the time and people to be in them.) 
6) I sing whenever I can. 
7) I am a perfectionist. 
8) I don't like Jello, but I love gummy bears/worms. 
9) I love to make people laugh :) 
10) He's mine too ;) 
11) I am the smoothie maker. 

Our questions:
1) If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
2) Do you ever read more then one book at once?
3) Who is your favorite superhero?
4) If you do daily devotions, do you prefer to do them in the morning, or before bed?
5) What is your favorite day of the week, and why?
6) Smoothies or milkshakes?
7) What is your favorite summer activity?
8) If you could spend a day with a fictional character, who would you spend it with, and what would you do together?
9) Skirts or shorts?
10) Do you have a nickname?
11)What would you name a black baby rabbit? (Really, any suggestions would be great!)

We nominate:

Abbey, Dolls, Books, And Things That Matter.
Eowyn, Captured By The Word
Sereina, Ribbons Down My Back
Jack, However Improbable
Hope, Writing in the Light
Joy, Blogging With Joy Schmidt


Sorry it's not 11 people, but I think 6 is a record for us! If you would rather not do an entire post about it, you are welcome to answer the questions in the comments too.
In fact, any one who wants to answer one or all of our questions in the comments are very welcome to as well.