Happy Labor Day!

I hope you get the chance to take a break from everyday life today and spend some time with your loved ones.

In anticipation of my upcoming WWII release, Where Treetops Glisten, I’ve teamed up with my co-authors of the book and some other author friends of WWII fiction for a blog tour and giveaway! (Details are at the end of this post.)

Here is a fictional diary entry from Helene, one of my characters in From Dust and Ashes. This World War II novel was published in 2003 and I continue to get letters from readers who love this story. You can read Helene’s full story in From Dust and Ashes.

Many years have passed, but I remember September 1, 1939 more than most days. Hitler’s armies had invaded Poland, and Friedrich, my love, left for training. We’d been married a little over a month and the future looked bright. I was a wife, and our country Austria was once again united with the motherland Germany. The autumn weather nipped my nose, but excitement caused my limbs to warm. Our country would be victorious. Our future would be bright. And my love was off to do his part in seeing that our future children wouldn’t live under that same shame and defeat that our parents and grandparents lived under.

My father didn’t seem as excited. It’s almost as if he heard the pounding of Nazi books crossing borders and shrunk back in dread. He’d grown up in the village of St. Georgen. What did he know? Father had looked at the building of the great stone fortress with dread, but I saw things differently. I saw it as proof that our enemies would soon be defeated.

Years passed and I believed destiny had been kind to us when Friedrich was sent home, to work in the place they called a “concentration camp.” How lucky we were that we could live in one of the new cottages just outside of the new camp, Gusen. It had been easy to ignore the rumors of what was happening behind the stone walls of Mauthausen. It was easy to look away when the prisoners walked down the streets of St. Georgen on the way to the quarry. I witnessed cruelties, but those are the effects of war, aren’t they not?

But when the camp Gusen was built just beyond my door I could not always look away. The prisoners matched right past my door, and I was shocked and dismayed. These were not enemy soldiers, but young men and old men. Teachers and doctors. They had not fought on the front. Most were considered enemies for the fact they were Jews.

I tried to talk to Friedrich about what I saw, but the pain in his eyes was too great to bear. My tender lover became an animal. Not overnight, but day by day. Atrocity by atrocity.

He started drinking then, too. There was hardly a day he didn’t come home drunk. The man I loved was gone. The innocence of my devotion to the Nazi regime was crushed. As I saw skeletal men fighting for one more day, I knew I had to do something. Those poor, poor people drew my pity, and I made an oath to myself that if given the chance I’d do what I could to help them.

The day the Americans came to liberate the camp, I offered my help. I had no idea then that when they opened those camp gates that the path to my personal liberation had begun.

Friedrich abandoned me that day, but the witness of compassion, after destruction, started a healing in my heart. It was then my life, my eternity, was forever changed.

Helene

World War II Anniversary Blog Tour

For a chance to win ALL EIGHT novels featured on our blog tour, please visit each blog, collect the answers to the questions, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the BLOG TOUR PAGE. The contest closes September 6, 2014, at 11 pm PST, and winners will be announced on Monday, September 8, 2014.

To win the prize of ALL EIGHT books, you must collect ALL EIGHT answers. The winner must be prepared to send ALL EIGHT answers within 24 hrs of notification by email, or a new winner will be selected.

You can enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the blog tour page once each day! The more often you visit, the more entries you receive! However, you only need to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway once to be entered. But don’t forget . . . to win, you must have collected ALL EIGHT answers. Good Luck!

Also, don’t leave the answer in the comments. Save them! Then, if you are chosen, you’ll be asked to provide the answers via email.

Are you new here? You might want to subscribe to my email updates, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, or Instagram.

Want some family fun for Labor Day? Consider Branson, Missouri!

Looking for a fun family getaway over Labor Day? Consider Branson!

Branson, Missouri is one of our family’s favorite places to visit. In fact, after spending at TON of money going to Disneyworld earlier in the year my husband and I agreed, “Why did we spend all that money in Orlando when we could have just gone to Branson?”

There are a few reasons why we love Branson:

1. Old fashioned values.

Everywhere you go in Branson there is wholesome, family fun. Most of the shows are great for families. The service people there are friendly and courteous. And there’s a special, patriotic flare to the city that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

2. Awesome activities.

In Branson the question isn’t, “Is there anything to do?” Instead, we always ask ourselves, “What should we do this trip?” We previously enjoyed the Titanic Museum, shopping at Dicks Old Time 5 & 10, and visiting the Amish Country Store. Most of the time we just visit Silver Dollar City and then head back to Little Rock, but on our most recent trip we decided to enjoy a few more attractions. We also chose to stay in the hotel we’ve been looking at with longing since our first trip to Branson. (More below!)

3. Amazing lodging.

We’ve never had a bad stay in Branson. There are many places to stay at reasonable prices. We’ve enjoyed the The Suites at Fall Creek, and most recently we stayed at our new favorite place: Chateau on the Lake.

4. Price.

The hotels and attractions at Branson are a lot cheaper than Disneyworld, and personally we find them just as much fun!

Want to go for Labor Day? (Or anytime?) Here are my recommendations:

Chateau on the Lake

We fell in love with this Cinderella castle the first time we drove by Table Lake. The kids were so excited when they found out we were finally going to stay there!

We stayed for two nights and spent one whole evening in the pool. The water was perfect and the view was amazing.

The pool at Chateau on the Lake, Branson

The resort is just as beautiful in the inside as it is on the outside. The room with the double beds had plenty of room for us and our three little kids. (We had one bed and they had the other!)

My kids’ favorite part was the cookies and milk that was waiting for us in the room. We weren’t there when Mr. Teddy visited, but the kids were so excited about the treats!

Mr. Teddy delivers cookies and milk to children staying at Chateau on the Lake.

We had a busy day ahead of us in Branson, but with a view like this I found myself dawdling just a little. If only I could wake up to this every day!

The view from our hotel room was heavenly!

Our family highly recommends Chateau on the Lake. We didn’t get to enjoy the kids play area or the spa (yet!), but we want to make sure we do that next time we return.

Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City is an amazing theme park. To me it’s Mayberry come to life, with some thrill rides thrown in for fun!

Silver Dollar City is comparable to Knots Berry Farm, but it has more unique details such as artisans who blow glass and who demonstrate how to make a log house. SDC has the same level of darling details as Walt Disney World, and it also has some amazing roller coasters that my husband and older kids love. (I love them, too, but I’m usually hanging out with the little ones.)

Silver Dollar City: The “American” experience you’ve always wanted

The lines at Silver Dollar City are FAR shorter than Disneyworld, especially if your visit starts in the morning. There is free parking and a shuttle, but we pay the minimal cost to park closer. (It’s a short walk from the paid lot.)

There are a half-dozen areas around the park that have kids rides and play areas, and we’ve never been able to do them all in one day. This is perfect place for those with kids of varied ages, like us. Our favorite things to eat are the ice cream with strawberries and the Barbecue was great, too!

Silver Dollar City has attractions for even the most reluctant riders

At Silver Dollar city the big ones don’t get bored either! They have some amazing roller coasters. There is even an app that you can download for your phone that will give you the wait times for the rides before you get in line.

Roller coasters ROCK at Silver Dollar City

We bought season passes to the park. Branson is a three hour drive from where we live in Little Rock, and we’ve discovered that if we go twice it pays for the passes!

Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede

Have a group? Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede is a great place to visit! It’s a dinner theater full of great food, exciting action, humor and fun!

I have to admit I was blown away by the amazing horsemen and women at the Dixieland Stampede. I was expecting some prancing and dancing, but it turned out to be so much more! (Rings of fire! Aerobatics!)

For days (weeks!) after going to the Dixie Stampede my kids talked about the horses, the fire, and the races. They waved their flags and cheered on their favorites during the show and mimicked that when they got home. I was impressed by how much of an impression the show made!

Of course while we were watching the show we were also EATING. Below is a picture of all the food you get! There is far more than one person can eat, and they do pass our doggie bags for you to take your leftovers home.

Also, if you’re on a limited budget, small children can sit on their parents laps. With our group we had 5 adults and 5 lap sitters and everyone was happy and full!

New food shot — Food at the Dixie Stampede is delicious!

Also, before you go in to the show, you get your family photo photo taken. I love ours! I was also pleasantly surprised that the photo package wasn’t too expensive ($30). I gladly bought ours.

Even though we’ve been to the Dixie Stampede twice already, our kids can’t wait to go back!

Ride the Ducks – Branson

Our last trip, we wanted to do an attraction that we’d never done before. We picked Ride the Ducks. I like the idea that we’d be riding in an old WWII vehicle, and I knew my kids would love that their “bus” could go into the water.

Starting off, we bought all the kids a duck whistle ($3 each), and they loved them.

The kids smiles were huge as we rode through town. They loved waving and “quacking” at all the cars that we passed. They felt like we were in a parade.

Bella enjoyed “quacking” at the cars as we drove through Branson.

Before we went to the water, we went to a special exhibit of WWII vehicles. I’ve only included a few photos here, but they were cool! There were at least two dozen types of old military vehicles. Our driver was fantastic, too. He shared a lot of history about the various vehicles, with a touch of humor. No one was bored!

A WWII history buff, Mom’s favorite part was the antique vehicles from WWII!

After seeing the military vehicles it was time to head to the lake.

The view of Table Lake on our trip down to the water was amazing!

But as pretty as the view was, the best part was seeing my daughter’s glow as she drove the Duck in the water. In fact each of the children had a chance to be “captain” of the vehicle during our ride. That was a nice touch! And they were even able to print up a Captain’s certificate at the end of the ride.

There was also an awesome museum of military history when you disembarked. Because I had the little ones I didn’t get to look around as much as I would have liked. I’d love to go back!

If you’re looking for a place to go on Labor Day weekend–or another time during the year–I highly recommend Branson. In fact … we’re planning on heading up there over Labor Day weekend. Maybe we’ll see you!

For more information:

Visit the Explore Branson website

and like them on Facebook.

Labor Day Weekend Specials

See you there!

*This post was sponsored by Explore Branson, and I was provided compensation for this blog post. Thank you for supporting all my blog collaborations.

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