IT’S OFFICIALLY FALL SEASON Y’ALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!🍁

*Clears throat and pretends to have some dignity*

Okay, so not officially, but come on, it’s September, it’s Autumn to me. And I will have you know, I loved fall before it was a fad, so let me enjoy myself 😊 Not even kidding, I’ve already decorated my house for fall, that’s how excited I am 😉

Anywho! Let’s get to this monthly wrap-up, shall we? And don’t forget to share your recaps of August in the comments section!

Well, this was a big month for me mentally and emotionally. I’ve struggled with some postpartum depression and anxiety in the last few months, so it was a huge deal to me that last month was the best I’ve felt since Dixie was born! Praise the Lord!💚

Physically, I have more energy, even with Dixie dealing with sleep regression, lol! She’s 13 pounds now and 24 inches long! She says “Hey!” and “Mama!” now, which just melted me into a little puddle. 🤗She can roll over now and is in 3-6 month clothes! Growing like a weed! She loves her rattles, her toes and her swaddles. And she’s a true southerner with her obsession with plaid patterns!

I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with my mother-in-law, had bubble tea with one of my besties before she left for college and have rediscovered our local library! Don’t leave me alone in there without a responsible adult! 📚

Hands down, Beyond Her Calling by Kellyn Roth. People. This book is so…oh man I still can’t find words to explain why I love it so much. It’s in my top five for the year I think. I’m so looking forward to reading the next two books in the series and trust me, reviews for the whole series are coming to the blog soon!

10, not counting books of the Bible! Counting those, it’s 18! I’m 15 books behind for my books in a year challenge on Goodreads (52/100), but I am confident I can reach my goal!

Jeremiah 29: 11— For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thought of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Y’all are gonna think this is funny, but it’s from one of the first Barbie movies, Rapunzel! The main theme to be exact 😊

Well, there’s not much to report. I did get TSAL back from the formatters, but there’s still a little work to do. She’s doing an amazing job and I’m so grateful God led me to work with her! I hope to do a post in the future about the amazing people behind the scenes on this book baby! 💚

This month, our book of the month is Stop the Rain by Kassie Angle! Our alternate is Falling for the Farmer by Hannah Foster! If you would like to join us, but don’t have IG, there will be a Slack Group and more in our Subscriber Emails! So be sure and join our mailing list!
 
How was your August? What are your goals for September? Share the scoop below!

Have a blessed day and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello and welcome back to Life of Heritage!

I am so excited to review Pride and Prejudice, my first classic of 2022! I don't know why I put off Jane Austen for so long!

Recommended for 16+ 🦚|| Content Meter: 4/5 🦚|| Quality Meter: 10/10 🦚|| Personal Enjoyment: 10/10 🦚|| Overall Rating: 9/10 🦚

I always thought this book was a romance. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was not that at all. Not in the typical sense at least! No talk of anything remotely sensual! It was a breath of fresh air. 🦚

I would not call this a love story either, for only one of the couples truly loved each other. The last couple in the story might as well, but it was hard to tell. Seemed to me more like they just respected each other 🤣 But such was the times they lived in. 🦚

The best way to describe this masterpiece is as societal satire. It exposes the stupidity and flippancy with which Regency English society regarded marriage without coming right out and saying it. Anyone could see Austen’s brilliance in tackling the subject! She had me laughing for the first half of the book and nearly in tears for the second half. 🦚

One thing this book emphasized for me? Communication is key. Just come right out and say what you mean! Then all this back and forth could be avoided! 🦚

My favorite character was Elizabeth even though she frustrated me more than once 😅 Darcy grew on me 😉 I despise Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins. If you don't know why, you haven't read the book 😁Oh, Lydia and her excuse for a husband too. 🦚

Overall, I adore this book and will be reading it again! 🦚

Content || Mention of a couple living together prior to marriage but not that anything happened besides that. Basically, they stayed in the same house. Still wrong!

Have you read Pride and Prejudice?

Have a blessed day and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn and Dixie Cross😉
Jude 22

Wow. I did NOT intend to be gone for so long! I’m not apologizing though because I have been living in the moment with my wonderful husband and baby girl! I am loving being a mom and I wouldn’t trade it for the world! But all that said, I am so happy to be getting back on the writing train!

Right off the bat, I’m gonna ask how you are doing! Please let me know in the comments below so we can catch up on all the things!

Okay, I know you don’t actually want to read more of this intro. We all know you are here for the baby 😉

April 11th, 2022 will go down in annals of my life as one of the best days of my life. Our 7 pound 15 ounce baby girl made her debut at 5:44 pm via induction after 7 hours of active labor. God was so merciful to me. I did have to have an episiotomy and she needed suctioned once but we both came through just fine!

Many have asked about her name, so here’s the story!

I have always loved the name Dixie. Y’all know that, haha! But I wasn’t sure how Jacob would feel about it. But when a friend said they almost named their child Dixie, but chose Carolina instead, I decided to mention it.

Jacob loved it. He picked Cross for her middle name. It’s his mother’s middle name and his grandmother’s maiden name! So a nice family tie in!

Now Burke on the other hand, that was a last minute decision that I am so glad we made. Pastor Travis Burke, a dear friend of my husband’s and a mentor to us both through his sermons, jokingly told Jacob Burke was a wonderful name. I was in the bed, dealing with contractions. Jacob looked at me, and asked what I thought of Dixie Cross Burke and instantly, that little piece that I felt was missing fell into place. It was perfect. I fell in love.

Then she was born and I knew we made the right choice.

Dixie is four and a half months old now and growing like a weed! She’s almost ready to start baby food and today, she rolled over for the first time on her own, while awake, lol! She’s been doing it in her sleep since she was two weeks old!

She loves bright colors, her first word was Hey! and her favorite person is Pop-Pop (Jacob’s dad!). She tries to sing with us in the car and is really working on saying I Love You, which is melting my heart. Jacob and I have been saying that to her since she was in the womb and hearing her try to match the syllables? It’s a moment I’ve lived for.

Life has been good! We’ve continued our work with our Junior church and are currently running a donut promotion for the kiddos! They are LOVING it and have been encouraging each other to be consistent in their attendance!

I’ve been working on organizing our office and I am trying to make the house cozier. After watching Little Women (2019), I knew that feel is what I want for my home. I want it to be cozy and inviting. A place we can relax and enjoy each other after a long day. If you have any suggestions, I’m open to ideas!

I will admit, I haven’t been writing much. Dixie keeps me on my toes, but since I am falling into a routine, I hope to be writing much more in the near future! To Save a Life is with my formatter, and The Battlefield is Silent is in the outlining stage! If you are one of my older readers, I would be pleased if you gave my Instagram, @lifeofheritage a follow! For my younger audience and those who chose not to use IG, I will be giving you peeks at my IG content in my subscriber emails! So you won’t be missing out! What are you writing?

I’ve been doing a lot of reading of late! My current binge is The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy by Kellyn Roth! They are so good and I am so excited to start book four! I am also beta reading Titan by Brian McBride and review reading Victory’s Voice by Erika Mathews! All indie titles! What are you reading?
 
Please comment below and tell me how you’ve been and what you’re up to! I’ve missed you all and can’t wait to get back in the writing saddle with you!

God Bless and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Welcome back to Life of Heritage Corner! A while back, I mentioned that I might do a post on the Lincoln Assassination in this series. It was met with requests, so I decided to go for it! The murder of the 16th president has long been of interest to me, because of all the stories and people involved and misconceptions surrounding motives and perspectives of the “main characters,” if you will. Today, I’m sharing some bits I find particularly interesting that aren’t usually covered. Let’s roll!

Not many people know that Lincoln actually died on the floor of the president’s box in Ford’s Theater. Dr. Charles Leale was the first to treat Lincoln, resuscitating him with mouth to mouth. Lincoln was then carried to the Peterson House across the street from the theater in an attempt to salvage Lincoln’s reputation. (The idea of the president dying in a theater on Good Friday was appalling to the general population. Funny no one seemed to care that he had been there in the first place…)

Mary Lincoln was understandably distraught over the events of that night, and, never being a lady of strong mental stability, was in a hysterical state of mind. This however does not justify Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in banning her from the bedside. She was not with her husband in his last moments because of him. Heartless, cruel and inexcusable.

Obviously inappropriate, but since the flag’s stars did not match the actual number of states in the Union at that time, I suppose I’ll let that slide *halo*

John Wilkes Booth’s father and mother were both from England. They later came to America and I will agree, Booth was an American citizen. But he was not a southerner. That’s not something you can change just by moving to a certain part of the country. That takes generations. Booth grew up in Maryland, another mark against him being “southern.” Sure, it’s south of the Mason-Dixon, but culturally, the south doesn’t consider them as a southern state 😉 (And don’t come telling me my baby is gonna be half yankee, lol! The Peterson clan might have the accent but not the culture, and they haven’t been in Maryland long enough to be yankees; they are from Tennessee 😉)

Tad was representing the Lincoln family at Ford’s rival theater, Grover’s, watching Aladdin and his Magic Lamp. A chaperone was with him. And how did he learn his father was shot? From a man who got up on stage and announced it to the crowd. All people could hear following this announcement was Tad, 12-years-old, screaming.

Booth had been planning for over a year to kidnap Lincoln and turn him over the Confederacy to use as a bargaining chip. This plan was not endorsed by any Confederate organizations and it’s very unlikely that President Davis was even aware of this proposition.

The Garrett family had housed Booth for a day prior to the showdown with federal troops. But it wasn’t until the soldiers showed up and surrounded their barn that they learned the identity of their guest.

A soldier from Mosby’s rangers, Jett was the one who introduced Booth to the Garretts and ultimately led the federal entourage to the farm.

The whole reason she was put on trial was because her son was a friend of Booth’s and they had held meetings in her house about the kidnapping scheme. Did she aid Booth in his escape? Yes, ultimately. Does that warrant a death sentence? No.

I cannot prove anything one way or the other. I personally believe it was Booth that was killed, but there is a lot of evidence about connections to the assassination that magically disappeared. And it’s interesting that no one came after Stanton, who put his stamp of approval on many atrocities committed by the Union, including the murder of civilians and torture and murder of Prisoners of War. Pages of previously intact diary entries in Booth’s date book disappeared after falling into Stanton’s hands. Postmortem photographs of Booth also disappeared. Some claimed that the dead man had auburn hair, not black and they were silenced. Booth’s body was hidden from the public.

Again, I’m not saying it wasn’t Booth, but we haven’t been told the whole story. Stanton wasn’t above hiding or destroying evidence that didn’t fit his narrative. He proved that by hiding the shawl that Jefferson Davis was wearing when he was captured so the public wouldn’t find out that the president wasn’t wearing a dress. Scientists and historians have been trying to get Booth’s body released for a DNA test, but have been blocked on every turn. Just saying, there’s more to this story that we may never know.

Don’t come after me, I’m just sharing both sides of the story XP
 

Which fact surprised you the most? Have one you would like to share? Interested in some resources on Lincoln, the assassination and the “Booth Conspiracy?” Let me know in the comments if I should do another post on the resources I’ve found!
 
Have a blessed day and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello everyone! It was really hard to pick my top ten books from last year 😊 I didn’t read a whole lot and while I read several good ones, there weren’t a whole lot of favorites. Even so there were some super good books that stood out above the rest, and I’m excited to share them with you! (PSST! I hit 33 weeks on Wednesday! How crazy is that??)

(All Book Images are from Goodreads)

Yes, this is a reread. Yes, I have harped on and on about this book and how good it is. Yes, this is one of my top favorite books ever. And yes, it technically rates higher than most of the books on this list. BUT. Sense it is a reread and I do talk about this book a lot, I decided to put it at the bottom and let the new books get some spotlight. Does that mean my love for it has diminished? Not at all *halo* and if you are a fan, comment below so we can fangirl! (Click here for my review!)

*Clears throat* Please reread the above paragraph. Still applies. (Click here for my review!)

This book is undergoing rewrites and hasn’t officially released, but I highly recommend it! I loved the unfinished version I read so much and can’t wait to read the revised edition! It’s the story of a boy named Jay and his journey through trial and triumph as he learns to love again and be loved by they family he never had but always needed. This book is written especially for those who deal with emotional and mental health issues and as someone who deals with mild forms of depression, I found it a balm for my heart. Highly recommend! (Click here for my review!)

When I found out that Victoria Minks had a new book out, I was elated! And to discover it was a series was even better! I’m not a huge fan of the regency-esque era, but this book made me second guess my stance. I decided, because of this book, to take a chance on Jane Austen and I’m not sorry! Some light romance in this story, even though marriage and such is the center of their lives, but it’s more in a comical light than a disgusting “oh, he’s a dreamboat!” fashion. It’s appropriate and well written. And the ending! I was on the edge of my seat! Can’t wait for Episode 2! (Click here for my review!)

This book ripped my heart out. If you ever need a good cry, go get you a copy of this little baby and lock yourself in your room for the afternoon. Tissues recommended. Y’all know I’m a softy for a good military read and this one…yeah, let’s just say I can’t wait to read the next book! (Click here for my review!)

And now, for the top book of 2021…
 

Surprise, surprise XD I predicted in my review post that this would make it onto my top ’21 list and it sure did! I want desperately to reread it, but I have to finish some other books before I can justify pouring over this lovely soldier to civilian compilation. If you get the chance, snag this book! (Click here for my review!)

What were your favorite books of 2021? Comment below and share your favorites!
 
Have a blessed day and God Bless America!
Ryana Lynn (and Baby Girl Peterson!)