We've Given Up the Easy Life for the Good Life
Monday, December 31, 2012
2012 Book Reviews
I thought it would be fun to do a monthly book review. We'll see how
consistent I am, but I at least want to start writing a little more
about the books I'm reading. These are in reverse order of when I read them.
My rating symbols are ^^ = 2 thumbs up, vv=2 thumbs down, ^v = one of each.
Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians ^v
Well, I read this for our sisters' weekend. It was a fun easy read, and I am actually interested in reading the sequels. But it was kind of a waste of time because it didn't really have any earth shattering messages or inspiration. The author talks directly to the audience a lot, which is hard to get used to. There are some very weird things. But it is young adult fiction so it is fun and clean and worth a read if you just want some brain candy. I did like the idea that whomever controls the information ultimately has the power. It was interesting to think of the idea that the world is only how we think it is because of what we've been taught. In the book there are actually extra continents, super powers, etc. It was also interesting the idea that a person's weakness can also be a strength.
Listening is An Act Of Love by the Story Corps^^
This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be all about why listening is a good habit. Really, it is a collection of amazing stories from ordinary people. Fascinating. Everybody has a story and everybody's story is important. What a neat project the Story Corps has undertaken. It really helped me get into the heart and head of people who are extremely different from me.
A Love That Multiplies and The Duggars: 20 and Counting by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar^^
I LOVED these books! They were so inspiring for a homeschool mom who is trying to raise a family and lead a Godly life. I am so inspired by the stories they tell from their own lives and experiences of how God works in their life. I love that they have taken on the seemingly impossible task of raising such an incredibly large family with so much faith and optimism. They made me want to be a better mom, a better homemaker, but mostly a better daughter of God. Will read them again and turn to them as a reference for sure!
When Queens Ride By by Agnes Sligh Turnbull ^^
An essay recommended by my mother. It was not actually the story she was thinking of when she recommended it, but I found it a good read. It is very old, and contains some controversial gender role themes. I found it refreshing and important to remember how to build up a man.
John Adams: Reluctant Patriot of the American Revolution ^^
I was surprised that Brandon liked this one as much as he did. It was a little dry and boring so I thought he would tire of it. I found it interesting, though, and a nice little readable biography. It was a good introduction to the story of a good man. It was also some good background information on the Revolution.
The Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jang ^^
This book had a big impact on me. It is a true story of a girl living during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It was amazingly eye-opening. It was told simply enough for me to read it to Brandon. It provoked many important discussions between us. It helped me realize that some of these things are happening in subtle ways in our own government and school system. It made me want to hang on tight to my kids and work harder to teach them the truth about liberty and God.
The Year Of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs ^^
This was a delightful book. Dallin read it to me. We had a lot of laughs about the agnostic author trying to live the bible as literally as possible. It was fun to see his spirituality emerge as he followed prayer routines and other rituals. We learned a lot about the bible and the many faiths that follow and interpret it. We disagreed with a lot of his conclusions, but were thankful for the chance to think about it. We were mostly thankful for a thoughtful yet lighthearted way to end many tiring days.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner^^
This was my first time reading this classic. I read it to the kids and we all adored it! So similar to things I used to make believe when I was a kid. Though they are orphaned and afraid of being split up, they have wonderful adventures trying to survive on their own and of course everything turns out just right in the end.
The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
I find myself coming back to this time and again. I wish I could just remember from baby to baby! I love the gentle approach to helping your baby get on a schedule and eventually sleep through the night. It has only taken a few days each time to get my babies on a sleeping schedule. I love that she respects both the parents and the child and recognizes that it doesn't have to be either sleep deprivation or crying it out.
How To Get Your Baby To Sleep by Dr. William Sears ^v
I picked this up at the library with the others. I've read and appreciated Dr. Sears' approach to parenting for the most part. The only thing I didn't like is that he makes sleeping with your baby sound unrealistically pleasant. I have had a few good cosleeping periods in my life, but they weren't the magical bliss that he describes them to be. I love to snuggle down and sleep with my baby in my bed, but I've found it isn't safe in our family if Dad is in the bed. He sleeps too soundly and has giant elbows that can come down hard in his sleep. This is the first time I haven't felt safe sleeping at night with my baby. I get too tired to stay aware of where he is. So I'm all for cosleeping, but I don't think I sleep better the way he describes and I don't do it right now. Sulley doesn't actually like it that much anyway.
The Sleep Easy Solution vv
I didn't finish this book. I can't stomach books that promote letting small infants cry alone in their cribs. When I got to the part that said I should NEVER let my baby fall asleep in my arms, I was done. There are few things as blessed and joyful as having a little one fall asleep in your arms. I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING!
Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley ^^
She was charming, she was witty, she was cheerful, she was uplifting, she was real.
I want to be just like her.
I lost track of when I read the rest. I'm just going to review them.
June 2011
A Banner Is Unfurled ^^
I really enjoyed this first in the series based on my ancestors Julia Hills and Ezekiel Johnson. Notes at the back of the book describe which events actually took place and documents sources. I have been surprised at the license taken with some actual people that the authors have very little information on. I wonder what those people are thinking in heaven! I wish that more of the emotions and personal experiences had more backup evidence, but the authors have done a great job of telling the story with what background information they had. They did a good job of filling in holes in an interesting way.
Living In But Not Of The World by Sharlene Wells Hawkes ^^
I'm not quite finished with this book, but it didn't take me long to form a favorable opinion of it. I always love real stories. I will be sharing this book with my older kids. It could easily be used as a handbook for how to deal with situations in the so-called "real world". Written by a woman who has been there as Miss America and as a sportscaster for ESPN, she has had more than one experience to illustrate how to cope with being part of a "peculiar people". Great examples and great advice.
May 2011
Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective?^^
This book gave me lots of food for thought and inspired me to study the issue more. I liked the amount of data presented.
April 2011
This may be a first for me. I don't think I read anything. I rested and took care of my babe and watched movies.
March 2011
Persuasion by Jane Austen^^
A good girl who tries to do her best by her dysfunctional family and friends finally gets the man of her dreams. What's not to love?
Do Hard Things^^
I started reading this with Nathan. Dallin picked it up and got interested and started reading it with both of the boys. I've missed a lot of it, but I loved what I read. The fact that it is written by young adults to young adults makes it interesting and inspiring for the kids.
At this point I took a huge reading break. I watched lots of movies instead.
February 2011
Emma by Jane Austen ^^
I have a love/hate relationship with this book. It bugs me that the heroine is also the villain. Yet I always get drawn into the characters and the story. Sometimes I think things turned out a little too well for Emma after all of the trouble she caused, but she was very repentant and also very young. Past readings of this book have caused me to skip entire pages where certain characters were speaking (Miss Bates and Mrs. Elton). For some reason they didn't bother me nearly as much this time.
January 2011
Same Kind of Different As Me^^
My sister bought me this book for Christmas. I read it in just a couple of days, and I was really touched by it. I am always intrigued by true stories. In this story, the authors took turns writing the chapters. It is always enlightening to get a view of the world from such a different perspective. It is about a homeless man who left the slave-like lifestyle of sharecropping and ended up on the streets in big-city Texas. It is also about a wealthy art-dealer whose wife feels a calling to help the homeless and how much the two men learn from each other after they meet. There are some very beautiful lessons about what it is to be a true Christian and how to love people without judging them.
Life's Lessons Learned by Dallin H. Oaks ^^
This was Dallin's gift from my sister. He always appreciates reading things written by the man he is named after. I picked it up as something nice to supplement my scripture study and found it very enlightening. I loved hearing the stories from his life and the profound lessons he learned. Some of them were very simple. The chapters were short and easy to get through, but I still learned a lot. Some of my favorite principles were the difference between preference and principle. Sometimes I get really confused by varying standards of different people in the church. This article shed some light on the experiences I was having. He suggested that many of the rules we set for our family are matters of preference. I do try really hard to have my preferences goverened by principles, but I think it is a good thing that we can each do this in a different way. Another thing that I appreciated was his discussion on real intent. He said that sometimes the reason we do not get answers to our prayers is because we do not ask with real intent. His definition of real intent is asking with an intention to act on the information we receive.
Discipline Through Virtue by Thomas Morley ^v
I chose to begin my study of parenting books with this book because I've owned it for a long time and never read it. We got it as a gift from a friend many years ago, and it wasn't during a time where I was reading a lot of non-fiction. I knew it was a discipline approach based on the Book of Virtues. Dallin and I listened to these stories when we were newlyweds, and I really enjoyed them. The idea seemed really great. I was even excited as I cracked the book to see that the beginning was written in story form. I quickly found out, however, that it was poorly written. Cheesy and hard to keep reading. I forced my way through it, hoping to get to the good part. You know, the part where it tells you how to do it. Apparently the author thought that his tacky story was instruction enough, but not for me. I would have much rather read his approach and the data supporting it. The last half of this book gets a thumbs up, however. He has listed common discipline problems with references to several stories from Book of Virtues that can help put a powerful point across to your children without nagging or lectures. The stories also provide great topics for family discussion. I purchased the audio version of Book of Virtues to listen to in the car. I'm glad this book inspired me to use those stories more. They really are a great teaching tool.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen ^^
Every few years it is just time to re-visit The Complete Works of Jane Austen. I have the giant hardback version that my sisters gave me many years ago. I found that I could get it on my Kindle for only $2, and I'm glad I did. It is much easier to hold without the bulk of the huge volume and I can set the type bigger for much more comfortable reading. I think Sense and Sensibility is my favorite Jane Austen story, but whenever I say that I wonder if Pride and Prejudice should be my favorite. I think I love Sense and Sensibility so much because it was my introduction to Jane Austen via the Emma Thompson version of the movie. So, so good! Until it became such a poplular name, I wanted to name one of my kids Elinor because I think she is such an amazing character. This story is such a great example of how much choice we have about how to deal with our trials, and how when we are choosing our reactions, we are also choosing how much regret we will feel down the road. I do get a kind of sick feeling when reading these books about the aristocratic lifestyle. I don't agree with people who have no profession putting themselves above people who work. I am impressed, however, with the character traits, manners, and values upheld by that society. One of the great things about this as a story is its ability to tug at your heartstrings and take you on quite a roller-coaster ride right up until the end when everybody finally ends up with the right person.
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell ^^
I definitely needed this refresher on how to show unconditional love to my children. I spent a lot of time thinking about the language that each member of my family prefers. I also made a list of ways I could show each love language to each child. I think that by itself was a great activity. Sometimes the daily grind gets in the way of really showing our kids how much we love them. Often the things we already do for our families could be expressions of love, but we have to put the meaning into it. We have to really be doing it as an act of love. Ultimately, we really ought to be doing it all for the Lord so they feel His love through us. The five languages described in this book are: Touch, Gifts, Acts of Service, Quality Time, and Words of Affirmation. This book created some neat discussions with Dallin. He couldn't quite stomach the writing style, though.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ^^
I love this story because I never grow tired of it. I think it is great when both the hero and heroine have some character flaws that need to be overcome, but overall they are exemplary. Jane Austen has such a gift for creating characters that are so varied and so real, even within a family. Of course there are multiple lessons about pride and prejudice, but also parenting, dignity, virtue, and propriety. The A&E version of this movie is about as close a book/movie relationship as I've ever seen. Much of the screenplay is word for word from the book.
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen ^^
This is a story of enduring well. It is a story about integrity. Fanny Price is about as good a heroine as you could find in a book. She is humble and full of moral courage. And in the end, after she wades through a lot of suffering and heartache, she is rewarded. Another great thing about this book is that the "bad guys" all get their due. It is very rewarding as a reader to see them finally eat the fruits of their labor after mistreating everyone, but mostly Fanny with such disrespect. The only thing about this book is that it ends too quickly. She wraps everything up without much description or dialogue. Its like she was tired of writing and just wanted you to know it all turned out well. The only version of this I've seen on film had some very disturbing West Indies/Slavery scenes that were complete artistic liscence taken by the filmmakers. It was disappointing, to say the least.
Sadako and The Thousand paper Cranes ^^
I read this to my girls this month. It was a suggestion from the homeschool curriculum we currently use. It was a great story to get us back into our read-alouds because it was short but meaningful. We all stayed interested, and it touched on some important discussion themes like the atomic bomb, leukemia, and death. My sister's little boy is being treated for leukemia right now, so that made it even more meaningful. It helped us be so grateful for the advances in medicine that make his prognosis so much more hopeful than poor Sadako's. When we got to the chapter where Sadako was showing signs of the sickness, I found out that Ruby looked ahead and read the last page to Daisy! Cheaters! :) It actually says in the introduction that Sadako dies, but I don't think they were paying a lot of attention when I read that to them. I'm actually glad they knew, so they wouldn't have to suffer suspense and disappointment. It was my first time reading this book, and I'm glad we got to share the experience.
My rating symbols are ^^ = 2 thumbs up, vv=2 thumbs down, ^v = one of each.
Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians ^v
Well, I read this for our sisters' weekend. It was a fun easy read, and I am actually interested in reading the sequels. But it was kind of a waste of time because it didn't really have any earth shattering messages or inspiration. The author talks directly to the audience a lot, which is hard to get used to. There are some very weird things. But it is young adult fiction so it is fun and clean and worth a read if you just want some brain candy. I did like the idea that whomever controls the information ultimately has the power. It was interesting to think of the idea that the world is only how we think it is because of what we've been taught. In the book there are actually extra continents, super powers, etc. It was also interesting the idea that a person's weakness can also be a strength.
Listening is An Act Of Love by the Story Corps^^
This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be all about why listening is a good habit. Really, it is a collection of amazing stories from ordinary people. Fascinating. Everybody has a story and everybody's story is important. What a neat project the Story Corps has undertaken. It really helped me get into the heart and head of people who are extremely different from me.
A Love That Multiplies and The Duggars: 20 and Counting by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar^^
I LOVED these books! They were so inspiring for a homeschool mom who is trying to raise a family and lead a Godly life. I am so inspired by the stories they tell from their own lives and experiences of how God works in their life. I love that they have taken on the seemingly impossible task of raising such an incredibly large family with so much faith and optimism. They made me want to be a better mom, a better homemaker, but mostly a better daughter of God. Will read them again and turn to them as a reference for sure!
When Queens Ride By by Agnes Sligh Turnbull ^^
An essay recommended by my mother. It was not actually the story she was thinking of when she recommended it, but I found it a good read. It is very old, and contains some controversial gender role themes. I found it refreshing and important to remember how to build up a man.
John Adams: Reluctant Patriot of the American Revolution ^^
I was surprised that Brandon liked this one as much as he did. It was a little dry and boring so I thought he would tire of it. I found it interesting, though, and a nice little readable biography. It was a good introduction to the story of a good man. It was also some good background information on the Revolution.
The Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jang ^^
This book had a big impact on me. It is a true story of a girl living during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It was amazingly eye-opening. It was told simply enough for me to read it to Brandon. It provoked many important discussions between us. It helped me realize that some of these things are happening in subtle ways in our own government and school system. It made me want to hang on tight to my kids and work harder to teach them the truth about liberty and God.
The Year Of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs ^^
This was a delightful book. Dallin read it to me. We had a lot of laughs about the agnostic author trying to live the bible as literally as possible. It was fun to see his spirituality emerge as he followed prayer routines and other rituals. We learned a lot about the bible and the many faiths that follow and interpret it. We disagreed with a lot of his conclusions, but were thankful for the chance to think about it. We were mostly thankful for a thoughtful yet lighthearted way to end many tiring days.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner^^
This was my first time reading this classic. I read it to the kids and we all adored it! So similar to things I used to make believe when I was a kid. Though they are orphaned and afraid of being split up, they have wonderful adventures trying to survive on their own and of course everything turns out just right in the end.
The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
I find myself coming back to this time and again. I wish I could just remember from baby to baby! I love the gentle approach to helping your baby get on a schedule and eventually sleep through the night. It has only taken a few days each time to get my babies on a sleeping schedule. I love that she respects both the parents and the child and recognizes that it doesn't have to be either sleep deprivation or crying it out.
How To Get Your Baby To Sleep by Dr. William Sears ^v
I picked this up at the library with the others. I've read and appreciated Dr. Sears' approach to parenting for the most part. The only thing I didn't like is that he makes sleeping with your baby sound unrealistically pleasant. I have had a few good cosleeping periods in my life, but they weren't the magical bliss that he describes them to be. I love to snuggle down and sleep with my baby in my bed, but I've found it isn't safe in our family if Dad is in the bed. He sleeps too soundly and has giant elbows that can come down hard in his sleep. This is the first time I haven't felt safe sleeping at night with my baby. I get too tired to stay aware of where he is. So I'm all for cosleeping, but I don't think I sleep better the way he describes and I don't do it right now. Sulley doesn't actually like it that much anyway.
The Sleep Easy Solution vv
I didn't finish this book. I can't stomach books that promote letting small infants cry alone in their cribs. When I got to the part that said I should NEVER let my baby fall asleep in my arms, I was done. There are few things as blessed and joyful as having a little one fall asleep in your arms. I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING!
Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley ^^
She was charming, she was witty, she was cheerful, she was uplifting, she was real.
I want to be just like her.
I lost track of when I read the rest. I'm just going to review them.
June 2011
A Banner Is Unfurled ^^
I really enjoyed this first in the series based on my ancestors Julia Hills and Ezekiel Johnson. Notes at the back of the book describe which events actually took place and documents sources. I have been surprised at the license taken with some actual people that the authors have very little information on. I wonder what those people are thinking in heaven! I wish that more of the emotions and personal experiences had more backup evidence, but the authors have done a great job of telling the story with what background information they had. They did a good job of filling in holes in an interesting way.
Living In But Not Of The World by Sharlene Wells Hawkes ^^
I'm not quite finished with this book, but it didn't take me long to form a favorable opinion of it. I always love real stories. I will be sharing this book with my older kids. It could easily be used as a handbook for how to deal with situations in the so-called "real world". Written by a woman who has been there as Miss America and as a sportscaster for ESPN, she has had more than one experience to illustrate how to cope with being part of a "peculiar people". Great examples and great advice.
May 2011
Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective?^^
This book gave me lots of food for thought and inspired me to study the issue more. I liked the amount of data presented.
April 2011
This may be a first for me. I don't think I read anything. I rested and took care of my babe and watched movies.
March 2011
Persuasion by Jane Austen^^
A good girl who tries to do her best by her dysfunctional family and friends finally gets the man of her dreams. What's not to love?
Do Hard Things^^
I started reading this with Nathan. Dallin picked it up and got interested and started reading it with both of the boys. I've missed a lot of it, but I loved what I read. The fact that it is written by young adults to young adults makes it interesting and inspiring for the kids.
At this point I took a huge reading break. I watched lots of movies instead.
February 2011
Emma by Jane Austen ^^
I have a love/hate relationship with this book. It bugs me that the heroine is also the villain. Yet I always get drawn into the characters and the story. Sometimes I think things turned out a little too well for Emma after all of the trouble she caused, but she was very repentant and also very young. Past readings of this book have caused me to skip entire pages where certain characters were speaking (Miss Bates and Mrs. Elton). For some reason they didn't bother me nearly as much this time.
January 2011
Same Kind of Different As Me^^
My sister bought me this book for Christmas. I read it in just a couple of days, and I was really touched by it. I am always intrigued by true stories. In this story, the authors took turns writing the chapters. It is always enlightening to get a view of the world from such a different perspective. It is about a homeless man who left the slave-like lifestyle of sharecropping and ended up on the streets in big-city Texas. It is also about a wealthy art-dealer whose wife feels a calling to help the homeless and how much the two men learn from each other after they meet. There are some very beautiful lessons about what it is to be a true Christian and how to love people without judging them.
Life's Lessons Learned by Dallin H. Oaks ^^
This was Dallin's gift from my sister. He always appreciates reading things written by the man he is named after. I picked it up as something nice to supplement my scripture study and found it very enlightening. I loved hearing the stories from his life and the profound lessons he learned. Some of them were very simple. The chapters were short and easy to get through, but I still learned a lot. Some of my favorite principles were the difference between preference and principle. Sometimes I get really confused by varying standards of different people in the church. This article shed some light on the experiences I was having. He suggested that many of the rules we set for our family are matters of preference. I do try really hard to have my preferences goverened by principles, but I think it is a good thing that we can each do this in a different way. Another thing that I appreciated was his discussion on real intent. He said that sometimes the reason we do not get answers to our prayers is because we do not ask with real intent. His definition of real intent is asking with an intention to act on the information we receive.
Discipline Through Virtue by Thomas Morley ^v
I chose to begin my study of parenting books with this book because I've owned it for a long time and never read it. We got it as a gift from a friend many years ago, and it wasn't during a time where I was reading a lot of non-fiction. I knew it was a discipline approach based on the Book of Virtues. Dallin and I listened to these stories when we were newlyweds, and I really enjoyed them. The idea seemed really great. I was even excited as I cracked the book to see that the beginning was written in story form. I quickly found out, however, that it was poorly written. Cheesy and hard to keep reading. I forced my way through it, hoping to get to the good part. You know, the part where it tells you how to do it. Apparently the author thought that his tacky story was instruction enough, but not for me. I would have much rather read his approach and the data supporting it. The last half of this book gets a thumbs up, however. He has listed common discipline problems with references to several stories from Book of Virtues that can help put a powerful point across to your children without nagging or lectures. The stories also provide great topics for family discussion. I purchased the audio version of Book of Virtues to listen to in the car. I'm glad this book inspired me to use those stories more. They really are a great teaching tool.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen ^^
Every few years it is just time to re-visit The Complete Works of Jane Austen. I have the giant hardback version that my sisters gave me many years ago. I found that I could get it on my Kindle for only $2, and I'm glad I did. It is much easier to hold without the bulk of the huge volume and I can set the type bigger for much more comfortable reading. I think Sense and Sensibility is my favorite Jane Austen story, but whenever I say that I wonder if Pride and Prejudice should be my favorite. I think I love Sense and Sensibility so much because it was my introduction to Jane Austen via the Emma Thompson version of the movie. So, so good! Until it became such a poplular name, I wanted to name one of my kids Elinor because I think she is such an amazing character. This story is such a great example of how much choice we have about how to deal with our trials, and how when we are choosing our reactions, we are also choosing how much regret we will feel down the road. I do get a kind of sick feeling when reading these books about the aristocratic lifestyle. I don't agree with people who have no profession putting themselves above people who work. I am impressed, however, with the character traits, manners, and values upheld by that society. One of the great things about this as a story is its ability to tug at your heartstrings and take you on quite a roller-coaster ride right up until the end when everybody finally ends up with the right person.
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell ^^
I definitely needed this refresher on how to show unconditional love to my children. I spent a lot of time thinking about the language that each member of my family prefers. I also made a list of ways I could show each love language to each child. I think that by itself was a great activity. Sometimes the daily grind gets in the way of really showing our kids how much we love them. Often the things we already do for our families could be expressions of love, but we have to put the meaning into it. We have to really be doing it as an act of love. Ultimately, we really ought to be doing it all for the Lord so they feel His love through us. The five languages described in this book are: Touch, Gifts, Acts of Service, Quality Time, and Words of Affirmation. This book created some neat discussions with Dallin. He couldn't quite stomach the writing style, though.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ^^
I love this story because I never grow tired of it. I think it is great when both the hero and heroine have some character flaws that need to be overcome, but overall they are exemplary. Jane Austen has such a gift for creating characters that are so varied and so real, even within a family. Of course there are multiple lessons about pride and prejudice, but also parenting, dignity, virtue, and propriety. The A&E version of this movie is about as close a book/movie relationship as I've ever seen. Much of the screenplay is word for word from the book.
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen ^^
This is a story of enduring well. It is a story about integrity. Fanny Price is about as good a heroine as you could find in a book. She is humble and full of moral courage. And in the end, after she wades through a lot of suffering and heartache, she is rewarded. Another great thing about this book is that the "bad guys" all get their due. It is very rewarding as a reader to see them finally eat the fruits of their labor after mistreating everyone, but mostly Fanny with such disrespect. The only thing about this book is that it ends too quickly. She wraps everything up without much description or dialogue. Its like she was tired of writing and just wanted you to know it all turned out well. The only version of this I've seen on film had some very disturbing West Indies/Slavery scenes that were complete artistic liscence taken by the filmmakers. It was disappointing, to say the least.
Sadako and The Thousand paper Cranes ^^
I read this to my girls this month. It was a suggestion from the homeschool curriculum we currently use. It was a great story to get us back into our read-alouds because it was short but meaningful. We all stayed interested, and it touched on some important discussion themes like the atomic bomb, leukemia, and death. My sister's little boy is being treated for leukemia right now, so that made it even more meaningful. It helped us be so grateful for the advances in medicine that make his prognosis so much more hopeful than poor Sadako's. When we got to the chapter where Sadako was showing signs of the sickness, I found out that Ruby looked ahead and read the last page to Daisy! Cheaters! :) It actually says in the introduction that Sadako dies, but I don't think they were paying a lot of attention when I read that to them. I'm actually glad they knew, so they wouldn't have to suffer suspense and disappointment. It was my first time reading this book, and I'm glad we got to share the experience.
The 2012 Booklist
Wow! It seems like I just did this. I did not finish all of these books so some of them will be on the next year's list. It was not a big reading year for me, but I did find some gems! Quite a bit of self-help in there which says something about how much help I needed this year!
Books I've Read This Year
- The Mansion
- The Gift of the Magi
- Reading Now: Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers
- Reading To Kids: Swiss Family Robinson abriged
- Reading with Dallin: The Magesty of Calmness
- Reading Now: Raising Your Spirited Child
- Reading to kids: Tom's Midnight Garden
- Reading With Brandon: The Landing of the Pilgrims
- Reading Now: Lark Rise To Candleford
- Alcatraz and The Evil Librarians
- Reading Now: Easy Homeschooling Techniques
- Listening Is An Act Of Love
- The Duggars: 20 and Counting
- A Love That Multiplies
- When Queens Ride By
- With Brandon: John Adams: Reluctant Patriot of the American Revolution
- With Brandon: Red Scarf Girl
- Reading With Dallin: The Year of Living Biblically
- The Boxcar Children
- Reading Now: The No Cry Sleep Solution
- How To Get Your Baby to Sleep
- The Sleep Easy Solution
- Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley
- A Banner Is Unfurled Vol. 1-4
- What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations
- Living In But Not Of The World
- Vaccines: Are they Really Safe and Effective?
- Reading with Nathan: Do Hard Things
- Persuasion
- Emma
- Mansfield Park
- To girls: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
- Pride and Prejudice
- The 5 Love Languages of Children
- Sense and Sensibility
- Discipline Through Virtue
- Life's Lessons Learned (Dallin H. Oaks)
- Same Kind of Different As Me
Happy, Happy Holidays!
Way back at Halloween, we made things fun by having a Monsters Inc. theme for our family. Sullivan, of course, was the inspiration. I bought him some Sulley jammies online and crocheted him a cute little hat. I was Boo in pigtails and jammies, and Dallin was Mike. Daisy was Boo in her monster costume and Ruby was Celia. Nathan and Brandon made the best Smitty and Neeldleman ever! It was a great creative venture that cost only a few dollars for the jammies and yarn. Sarajoy and Simon were there own theme as a princess and a knight. I don't usually consider Halloween a part of the holidays, but this year it was so festive!
And as soon as it was over, I was searching for those radio stations that play holiday music all through November. I couldn't find them!
But once we got our first snow on November 9th, there was no holding back! The kids started watching the Christmas movies and I got out my music! I uploaded all of my Christmas CD's to itunes so I could listen to all of my favorites, commercial free. The kids helped, and having the music almost constantly playing definitely added to the Spirit of the season. It was wonderful!
I didn't want to take down the Thanksgiving decorations because I LOVE Thanksgiving and the fall colors, but we wanted a Christmas feeling for our holiday guests, too. We decided to leave the Autumn decor in the livingroom and put up our little tree in the family room. We got out the Christmas toys, kid nativities, and books as well. It was lovely.
Sometime in there I was reminded of a friend's idea to do a number of acts of service. I thought this went perfectly with the holiday season. We decided our gift to Jesus would be 1,000 acts of service checked off on a chart in the hallway. It was a wonderful way to bring the true Spirit of Christmas into our home. For several days, Simon would sneak into my room and clean it and even make my big bed!
Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had my sister Amy and her husband and 6 kids. They came Wednesday night and stayed until Friday night. Kim and her husband and 7 kids came on Thursday in time to eat and they brought the turkey. They know of a catering place that will cook, cut up, and make gravy of your turkey for a few cents a pound. Amy made loads of her marvelous rolls and it all turned out so yummy. I love Thanksgiving leftovers, too! We had cranberry jello salad, Ribbon jello salad, Frog-eye salad, spinach salad with poppyseed dressing, homemade cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and several pies. My parents and other siblings were in Las Vegas with my sister. It was actually nice to break up the crowd even though we missed them. My only regret is that people couldn't stay longer.
I got to do a little shopping on the day after Thanksgiving with Amy. It was great to get super good deals on gifts for the kids to get the cousins and a few stocking stuffers. We had gone on a spending freeze the beginning of November and I was being super careful not to blow it on Christmas. I had been picking up a thing or two with each grocery shopping trip the months leading up to November, so I had a few things for the kids. It was really uneven, though. A few people had jammies, a few others had books. We figured with what we had already purchased we'd have a fine Christmas and just do without what was missing. We had prayed for help with Thanksgiving, and some money came in the mail to help with groceries, and Kim bringing the turkey was a huge blessing.
The following weekend, Dallin's sister, husband, and 6 kids arrived for the Millington family party. It was nice to have it on Dec. 1st to kick off the season. We had great food, lots of cousins, and a great talent show. We were especially excited to see Sullivan's due-date buddy Amaya who we had never met yet. It was so joyful to have the Crandalls here for a couple of nights. The kids and adults were all in heaven!
I continued to pray for help to fill in the gaps at Christmas. I usually get my kids something to read, play with, wear, and something from Santa. They also usually get jammies from Santa on Christmas Eve. I felt strongly that we would be blessed, even if it meant just having less for Christmas. We knew we were still so blessed to have what we did. One day I heard my co-op friend talking about a family they were doing Sub for Santa for. They ended up providing basic things like pants and socks. I was shocked at how little this family had, and felt a little ashamed for feeling like I needed more than what I had.
We usually do some kind of Christmas Jar or Sub for Santa thing. This year we gave our Christmas Jar cash to a summer event for childhood cancer, so we hadn't planned on doing a Christmas charity. I told my kids about this family. They were completely excited to help. Gifts purchased and wrapped for them had tags removed and names of this family placed on them. We found some games we had duplicates of and even found some nice things for the mom and dad. I pulled out the stocking stuffers and asked the kids what they thought about sharing. They were all for it! Daisy got so into it that she emptied her piggy bank and handed over the newly decorated Christmas plate she had just done for Activity Days.
The day of the delivery came, and we were all so excited! It was quite a drive to the home of this family. We parked in front of their townhome and turned off the lights to the car. The kids ALL wanted to be a part of it, so each one carried a gift quietly to the porch and ran back to hide between cars in the parking lot. Someone rang the doorbell and ran. We stifled our laughs as we heard them shout, "Holy shenanigan monkeys, more gifts!" After they had shut the door, we were about to drive away when the dad came around the back of the building and almost caught us! It was very exciting and a wonderful feeling was felt as we drove home.
Then someone started leaving things on our doorstep! We've never had the 12 days of Christmas before! How did they know we didn't have any turkey or special treats for our Christmas Eve dinner? And a package of socks for each family member! What family isn't always in need of socks? The little kids still sleep with the cute homemade sock-snowmen that were left. It was wonderful to have a special holiday meal and to eat snacks and treats on Christmas Day. No cooking for me!
One night after the 12 days of Christmas had already been dropped off, we got another knock. Someone had Secret-Santa'd us! A big gift for mom and dad and stockings for all of the kids. Plus some gift cards that allowed me to fill in the gaps. What a blessing! It was extra special for the kids because they'd been on the giving end.
Another project was writing an arrangement of O Holy Night using our keyboard and some software I downloaded onto my laptop. Our family has been singing our favorite arrangement of this song for years, but we have no record of who arranged it. It appears to be copied from a hymnal. It has been written on, copied, re-copied until it is mostly a messy blur that nobody outside the family will even touch. This becomes a problem when I'm asked to sing it every year in my own ward. Nathan told me he would like to learn to play it for me while I sing. That inspired me to make a readable copy. It took me a whole week of spare moments and a full day of letting everything else go, but I did it! It was so exciting to learn something new and have something wonderful to give to my family. A bonus was that it was so much easier to read that even I could play it! Hopefully Nathan will have it down by next Christmas.
Our Giving Day is always a highlight for me. I think it will get its own post, as will getting our van.
Next on the list was the trip to Idaho for the Porter Party. We got there early to help Grandma get ready. It was a thrill to show off the new van. The party started with a Christmas Brunch, just like the kind Grandma Brown used to host for us every Christmas morning. Egg souffle and whole wheat waffles with lots of choices of fruit and juice and syrup. The dads took the kids to the church gym to play games while the moms finished up preparations for the party. We had a nice dinner at Amy's and a talent show. The kids and adults exchanged gifts. I was excited to show off the arrangement of O Holy Night I wrote.
Sunday we attended my sister's ward so we could hear her sing. I always love the Christmas program Sacrament meeting. When we got back to my mom's we had a nice dinner and loaded up to beat the snow storm home. Late that night, Dallin and I made preparations for our Christmas Eve dinner before crashing into bed.
Christmas Eve Day was full of excitement so I put the energy to work! We wanted a clean and shiny space to have our special celebration. Normally we go out caroling on Christmas Eve, but the snow was falling thick and fast. The roads were not safe and I was not sorry. I was happy to stay snowed in! The kids worked hard to get the house nice and clean while I worked on the dinner. We sat down to a lovely turkey dinner. After the dishes were done, Santa-Daddy showed up with gifts for everyone. A few who needed them got robes or slippers with their jammies. Then it was time for our Nativity play. It was wonderful to sing the Christmas carols together and have little Simon and Sarajoy be Mary and Joseph. They were excited to all get locked in the girls' bedroom to watch movies and play quietly while Dallin and I prepared the gifts. We finished wrapping and stuffing stockings in record time! We didn't even make it through a whole movie!
I woke up excitedly at 7am and prepared Christmas breakfast. I tried to make a quiche with some old frozen spinach we had in the freezer. We also didn't have apples, but we had apricots so I tried an apricot crisp. Finally the kids got up at 8:00 and we did the lineup. We like to take it nice and slow and take turns opening gifts. It was lovely. All the gifts were just right. Then it was breakfast, which was a total fail. It was pretty much disgusting. Thank goodness for cold cereal! Sarajoy was feeling sick and feverish, and so was Daisy. After they had naps we opened stockings. Later that afternoon we went downstairs to see what the big gifts were! We were really sad that people were beginning to get so sick, but it was still a wonderful day.
The next 2 days were sick days. I don't know much of what went on except a bunch of us had fevers and slept a lot. The 28th Dallin and I were due to go to my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary in Arizona. Things were not looking good. Many of us had croup, and my case seemed to be the worst. Thursday night, I asked Nathan what he thought and he said he still wanted us to go. He was interested in having a crack at being Man of the house.
Oh, the misery. But I don't think I would have been any more comfortable at home. The car seemed soothing to Sullivan who slept for much of the 12 hour ride. Dallin and my dad took turns driving the big van with my mom, sister and 2 of her kids as passengers. We had all picked up the same sickness at the Porter party. I guess some sickness was already going on down in Arizona so it all worked out. Dallin and I stayed at my cousin's house while the rest of our party stayed at my aunt's. It was awesome to be with Debbie and Russ and see their fun house and cute kids. My sickness ebbed enough to let me stay up and visit for awhile when we got there. The anniversary party was for most of Saturday. We got together with the cousins and shared Christmas memories before guests began to arrive for the dinner and open house. There was a wonderful slide show that sparked lots of fun discussion. I was so glad to be there despite how horrible I felt. We stayed a night in Vegas at my sister's on the way home and got home at 7pm on Monday. I was greeted by 6 happy faces and a clean house! I love my kids! They were protected and happy and safe and well cared for by big brothers. What a blessing! Even with some of the kids not feeling really well they managed to have a great time together. Sullivan was so glad to be home around familiar faces! I forced on a smile and had some fun playing games before I crashed at 10:30. Dallin had to get back up and pick up Nathan from the stake dance. So glad he was willing to brave the cold and snow and let me stay in bed!
As you can see, I have much to be thankful this year. It has been a great one! We've learned and loved and lived so much! I am so thankful for seasons. I am so thankful that there is a time of year that is special in such a good way. It is the perfect way to end the year!
...
And as soon as it was over, I was searching for those radio stations that play holiday music all through November. I couldn't find them!
But once we got our first snow on November 9th, there was no holding back! The kids started watching the Christmas movies and I got out my music! I uploaded all of my Christmas CD's to itunes so I could listen to all of my favorites, commercial free. The kids helped, and having the music almost constantly playing definitely added to the Spirit of the season. It was wonderful!
I didn't want to take down the Thanksgiving decorations because I LOVE Thanksgiving and the fall colors, but we wanted a Christmas feeling for our holiday guests, too. We decided to leave the Autumn decor in the livingroom and put up our little tree in the family room. We got out the Christmas toys, kid nativities, and books as well. It was lovely.
Sometime in there I was reminded of a friend's idea to do a number of acts of service. I thought this went perfectly with the holiday season. We decided our gift to Jesus would be 1,000 acts of service checked off on a chart in the hallway. It was a wonderful way to bring the true Spirit of Christmas into our home. For several days, Simon would sneak into my room and clean it and even make my big bed!
Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had my sister Amy and her husband and 6 kids. They came Wednesday night and stayed until Friday night. Kim and her husband and 7 kids came on Thursday in time to eat and they brought the turkey. They know of a catering place that will cook, cut up, and make gravy of your turkey for a few cents a pound. Amy made loads of her marvelous rolls and it all turned out so yummy. I love Thanksgiving leftovers, too! We had cranberry jello salad, Ribbon jello salad, Frog-eye salad, spinach salad with poppyseed dressing, homemade cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and several pies. My parents and other siblings were in Las Vegas with my sister. It was actually nice to break up the crowd even though we missed them. My only regret is that people couldn't stay longer.
I got to do a little shopping on the day after Thanksgiving with Amy. It was great to get super good deals on gifts for the kids to get the cousins and a few stocking stuffers. We had gone on a spending freeze the beginning of November and I was being super careful not to blow it on Christmas. I had been picking up a thing or two with each grocery shopping trip the months leading up to November, so I had a few things for the kids. It was really uneven, though. A few people had jammies, a few others had books. We figured with what we had already purchased we'd have a fine Christmas and just do without what was missing. We had prayed for help with Thanksgiving, and some money came in the mail to help with groceries, and Kim bringing the turkey was a huge blessing.
The following weekend, Dallin's sister, husband, and 6 kids arrived for the Millington family party. It was nice to have it on Dec. 1st to kick off the season. We had great food, lots of cousins, and a great talent show. We were especially excited to see Sullivan's due-date buddy Amaya who we had never met yet. It was so joyful to have the Crandalls here for a couple of nights. The kids and adults were all in heaven!
I continued to pray for help to fill in the gaps at Christmas. I usually get my kids something to read, play with, wear, and something from Santa. They also usually get jammies from Santa on Christmas Eve. I felt strongly that we would be blessed, even if it meant just having less for Christmas. We knew we were still so blessed to have what we did. One day I heard my co-op friend talking about a family they were doing Sub for Santa for. They ended up providing basic things like pants and socks. I was shocked at how little this family had, and felt a little ashamed for feeling like I needed more than what I had.
We usually do some kind of Christmas Jar or Sub for Santa thing. This year we gave our Christmas Jar cash to a summer event for childhood cancer, so we hadn't planned on doing a Christmas charity. I told my kids about this family. They were completely excited to help. Gifts purchased and wrapped for them had tags removed and names of this family placed on them. We found some games we had duplicates of and even found some nice things for the mom and dad. I pulled out the stocking stuffers and asked the kids what they thought about sharing. They were all for it! Daisy got so into it that she emptied her piggy bank and handed over the newly decorated Christmas plate she had just done for Activity Days.
The day of the delivery came, and we were all so excited! It was quite a drive to the home of this family. We parked in front of their townhome and turned off the lights to the car. The kids ALL wanted to be a part of it, so each one carried a gift quietly to the porch and ran back to hide between cars in the parking lot. Someone rang the doorbell and ran. We stifled our laughs as we heard them shout, "Holy shenanigan monkeys, more gifts!" After they had shut the door, we were about to drive away when the dad came around the back of the building and almost caught us! It was very exciting and a wonderful feeling was felt as we drove home.
Then someone started leaving things on our doorstep! We've never had the 12 days of Christmas before! How did they know we didn't have any turkey or special treats for our Christmas Eve dinner? And a package of socks for each family member! What family isn't always in need of socks? The little kids still sleep with the cute homemade sock-snowmen that were left. It was wonderful to have a special holiday meal and to eat snacks and treats on Christmas Day. No cooking for me!
One night after the 12 days of Christmas had already been dropped off, we got another knock. Someone had Secret-Santa'd us! A big gift for mom and dad and stockings for all of the kids. Plus some gift cards that allowed me to fill in the gaps. What a blessing! It was extra special for the kids because they'd been on the giving end.
Another project was writing an arrangement of O Holy Night using our keyboard and some software I downloaded onto my laptop. Our family has been singing our favorite arrangement of this song for years, but we have no record of who arranged it. It appears to be copied from a hymnal. It has been written on, copied, re-copied until it is mostly a messy blur that nobody outside the family will even touch. This becomes a problem when I'm asked to sing it every year in my own ward. Nathan told me he would like to learn to play it for me while I sing. That inspired me to make a readable copy. It took me a whole week of spare moments and a full day of letting everything else go, but I did it! It was so exciting to learn something new and have something wonderful to give to my family. A bonus was that it was so much easier to read that even I could play it! Hopefully Nathan will have it down by next Christmas.
Our Giving Day is always a highlight for me. I think it will get its own post, as will getting our van.
Next on the list was the trip to Idaho for the Porter Party. We got there early to help Grandma get ready. It was a thrill to show off the new van. The party started with a Christmas Brunch, just like the kind Grandma Brown used to host for us every Christmas morning. Egg souffle and whole wheat waffles with lots of choices of fruit and juice and syrup. The dads took the kids to the church gym to play games while the moms finished up preparations for the party. We had a nice dinner at Amy's and a talent show. The kids and adults exchanged gifts. I was excited to show off the arrangement of O Holy Night I wrote.
Sunday we attended my sister's ward so we could hear her sing. I always love the Christmas program Sacrament meeting. When we got back to my mom's we had a nice dinner and loaded up to beat the snow storm home. Late that night, Dallin and I made preparations for our Christmas Eve dinner before crashing into bed.
Christmas Eve Day was full of excitement so I put the energy to work! We wanted a clean and shiny space to have our special celebration. Normally we go out caroling on Christmas Eve, but the snow was falling thick and fast. The roads were not safe and I was not sorry. I was happy to stay snowed in! The kids worked hard to get the house nice and clean while I worked on the dinner. We sat down to a lovely turkey dinner. After the dishes were done, Santa-Daddy showed up with gifts for everyone. A few who needed them got robes or slippers with their jammies. Then it was time for our Nativity play. It was wonderful to sing the Christmas carols together and have little Simon and Sarajoy be Mary and Joseph. They were excited to all get locked in the girls' bedroom to watch movies and play quietly while Dallin and I prepared the gifts. We finished wrapping and stuffing stockings in record time! We didn't even make it through a whole movie!
I woke up excitedly at 7am and prepared Christmas breakfast. I tried to make a quiche with some old frozen spinach we had in the freezer. We also didn't have apples, but we had apricots so I tried an apricot crisp. Finally the kids got up at 8:00 and we did the lineup. We like to take it nice and slow and take turns opening gifts. It was lovely. All the gifts were just right. Then it was breakfast, which was a total fail. It was pretty much disgusting. Thank goodness for cold cereal! Sarajoy was feeling sick and feverish, and so was Daisy. After they had naps we opened stockings. Later that afternoon we went downstairs to see what the big gifts were! We were really sad that people were beginning to get so sick, but it was still a wonderful day.
The next 2 days were sick days. I don't know much of what went on except a bunch of us had fevers and slept a lot. The 28th Dallin and I were due to go to my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary in Arizona. Things were not looking good. Many of us had croup, and my case seemed to be the worst. Thursday night, I asked Nathan what he thought and he said he still wanted us to go. He was interested in having a crack at being Man of the house.
Oh, the misery. But I don't think I would have been any more comfortable at home. The car seemed soothing to Sullivan who slept for much of the 12 hour ride. Dallin and my dad took turns driving the big van with my mom, sister and 2 of her kids as passengers. We had all picked up the same sickness at the Porter party. I guess some sickness was already going on down in Arizona so it all worked out. Dallin and I stayed at my cousin's house while the rest of our party stayed at my aunt's. It was awesome to be with Debbie and Russ and see their fun house and cute kids. My sickness ebbed enough to let me stay up and visit for awhile when we got there. The anniversary party was for most of Saturday. We got together with the cousins and shared Christmas memories before guests began to arrive for the dinner and open house. There was a wonderful slide show that sparked lots of fun discussion. I was so glad to be there despite how horrible I felt. We stayed a night in Vegas at my sister's on the way home and got home at 7pm on Monday. I was greeted by 6 happy faces and a clean house! I love my kids! They were protected and happy and safe and well cared for by big brothers. What a blessing! Even with some of the kids not feeling really well they managed to have a great time together. Sullivan was so glad to be home around familiar faces! I forced on a smile and had some fun playing games before I crashed at 10:30. Dallin had to get back up and pick up Nathan from the stake dance. So glad he was willing to brave the cold and snow and let me stay in bed!
As you can see, I have much to be thankful this year. It has been a great one! We've learned and loved and lived so much! I am so thankful for seasons. I am so thankful that there is a time of year that is special in such a good way. It is the perfect way to end the year!
...
Sunday, December 23, 2012
A Story About A Van
Deciding to have another baby is always a leap of faith.
Deciding to have a seventh baby is an extra big leap.
It means that my family will no longer fit into the standard or even extended sized minivan.
Baby #6 meant we needed another seat. It was remedied fairly simply by someone giving us an extra 3 passenger seat for our van to replace the 2 passenger bench.
Baby #7 meant we needed a new car. A big one.
Buying a new car seemed as much a possibility for us as getting a good night's sleep (heh)
We've been blessed to never have a car payment, and our budget has no wiggle room for a car payment. Our old minivan has over 150,000 miles on and seems to keep going on love and prayers.
(We say a prayer of thanks every time the blinker comes on and blinks the right way)
So we couldn't count on any kind of a trade-in.
But I KNEW the Lord would provide for our needs. He always has. I've been taught to keep the commandments and a way will be prepared.
So I just expected our van to show up. It was as likely as anything. Sometimes I'd jokingly check out front to see if it had shown up.
We looked on KSL now and then. We talked to friends about what vans they liked. We debated whether to go for a 9 passenger Suburban, or a 12 or 15 passenger big van.
We wondered if we were supposed to use our tax return toward a new van. We ended up needing it and all of our savings for the landscaping project.
We still had our little new car savings account that we hadn't touched for years. It had seen small but steady growth, but the total was a pittance compared to what we needed.
Baby came and still no van. Ours was working. We rarely went anywhere all togehter. Nathan was occasionally sitting in the rear cargo area. I made him move up to the less comfortable space behind the driver's seat. It seemed less dangerous.
Summer vacations came and went. Somehow we managed to double buckle or have someone ride with a relative or sit on the floor or even sitting in a makeshift carseat I latch-belted to the floor of the van. It seemed ridiculous, but I felt we were doing the best we could and the Lord was watching over us.
By the end of summer we had decided we wanted a Chevy Express. It has an extended wheel base that makes it less likely to roll in an accident. We were hoping to get one with bi-fuel so we could dissolve some of the extra gas expense of driving a lower mpg vehicle by paying $1.40 for natural gas. We were pretty sure we needed the extra space a 15-passenger would allow. Taking out the rear seat of a 12 passenger would leave us with only 8 seats: not enough.
I began praying specifically for this kind of van. I tried not to think too hard about how it would happen. I didn't want my ideas getting in the way of a miracle.
By December, I was beginning to doubt if I was going about it the right way. Maybe I was being ridiculous to think the Lord would provide us with a van. I cast those doubts aside and kept being grateful that the van we had was meeting our needs.
One day, I saw a navy blue Chevy Express on the freeway. I have never seen that color, and I have always loved that color of car.
I jokingly said, "Dallin, there's our van!" The doubts started to crowd in, but I shoved them aside.
My next day's prayer: "Help us to afford a Chevy Express 15 passenger bi-fuel van. I even know the color now. Lord, please help me know if there's something else I need to be doing to get us into a van."
A Thursday days later, I hear my friend talking about how low the interest rates are and that she's thinking of refinancing. "I should look into that," I thought. We could use a lower mortgage payment right now.
I can't remember if I was just drifting off or just waking up, but I related the refinancing story to Dallin and asked him what he thought about it. As I was speaking to him, the thought came to my mind that it might be the way to get a van. He told me to go ahead and look into it.
Monday I called our mortgage broker and he gave me the options.
I looked on KSL. There was a whole fleet of navy blue ones!
By Tuesday evening, we had all of our papers and documents in to the loan officer.
I tried to just go on normally with life, tried not to get my hopes up and know that the best thing would work out.
The following Tuesday we got our appraisal back so we knew how much cash we could take out to buy the car.
The loan wouldn't close in time to get us the tax incentive for buying an alternative fuel vehicle. We decided to look into getting a car loan for a short period of time.
Wednesday I got pre-approved and began the process of a car loan over the phone. I spoke with the dealer and found out as much as I could. I added up what the bank would give us and what we had in our little savings account. It wasn't enough. I offered it to the dealer and he said no.
"Phew!", I thought. Now I can just focus on Christmas!
We got the snow tires on our other cars in preparation for our trip to Idaho. We'd gotten over a foot of snow and the roads were as bad as they've ever been since we moved to Elk Ridge. While we waited for the tires, we talked about whether we had explored all of our options. Our plan was to leave Friday morning, and the thought of not having everyone belted in this weather seemed downright careless.
The dealer called back, trying to give us some other options. He gave us his absolute lowest possibility on each of the vans we were considering. We were still just a little short. Could we put it on a credit card? He didn't take credit cards. "Call your dad." the thought came.
I explored that possibility and quickly decided against it. For sure Dallin wouldn't like it. Hmmm.
We had no choice but to go on with our family's festivities. That night was the biggest night of the season for us: Giving Day. It was wonderful.
I woke early the next morning, still thinking I needed to call my Dad. I was actually thinking up all kinds of crazy scenarios. Dallin came down to tell me goodbye and I told him what I was thinking. He didn't love the idea. He was off to work and we were out of time. I decided to take Brandon and do our last minute shopping. It was December 20th. The thought of Nathan not having a seat belt was still really bugging me, but I'd done all I could.
Just when we got down into Salem by the Krishna Temple (the place where my phone always loses service), the thought came again. "Call your dad, you're running out of time." I drove on until I got to the place where service was more reliable and had Brandon dial him in. There was his cheery greeting on the other end. "Dad, we're trying to buy this van and I just keep feeling like I should call you...." And I burst into tears.
The stress of the situation and the humility of asking for help was too much to hold back!
My text to Dallin a little while later: My Dad just wired us the money. When can you get off work?
It was back in the Lord's hands while I focused on getting the Christmas items on my list. Brandon and I had a great time. On our way home, I talked to my Mom for a minute. She said one of her Christmas wishes was to be able to help us get into the car we need. What a blessing to have such parents! We got back to the house just as our guests were arriving for our co-op Christmas party. I was a little bit distracted during the event. I still had Christmas to finish and a trip to get ready for, and I still wasn't sure if this was going to work out.
The van was in Bountiful, over an hour away. The bank closed at 6pm. The dealer was smart enough to encourage us to get a loan at a bank with a branch close to the dealership. Dallin got home late. We didn't leave until 4. The pumps at the stations we stopped at wouldn't work. It was rush hour. I called the bank and asked them what needed to happen to get things rolling on their end. A purchase agreement. Okay. So the dealer faxed them a purchase agreement for a car we had yet to see. The blue one. I just knew it was ours.
We got to the dealership at 5:40. Dallin hopped in the new van and drove it to the bank. They needed to inspect it. We finished the paperwork and got out of there sometime after 6. Then we looked at the van. We looked and looked. We looked at the other vans. But our loan was for this van. It was dark. It was cold. We couldn't even really see the color. We could come back tomorrow and start the process all over again if we wanted a different van.
But it was blue. And it had the lowest mileage, only 45,000.
It was our van.
We paid him and drove to a gas station. Dallin got the hang of the natural gas pump while Nathan and I got some dinner. It was late. 8:00. Nathan stayed with me in the old van to help with the baby. We got home first and waited on the porch in the freezing weather with the kids to see our van show up.
It did.
It just showed up!
The baby slept a nice long stretch that night. I woke up at 5:45 thinking of the van. Sulley hadn't even woken yet. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. I crept downstairs and looked out at it. It was still dark, but it was there! I tried again to sleep, but it was useless.
I decided to start my day. I had a lot to do to get ready for the trip. I went down to my sewing room where I study and pray. I have a card that I use to help me stay focused when I pray. It reminds me of the things I want to pray about. When I got to the part about Nathan, I broke down. I wept and wept - tears of joy, knowing that he would not have to ride on the floor anymore! He would have a nice comfortable belted safe seat.
Later the sun rose, and we all looked and looked at the van that showed up. It is beautiful. We loaded it for our trip. What a comfortable trip to Idaho we had! What a miracle!
In a matter of two weeks, the possibility of us getting the van we needed went from extremely doubtful to us driving one home.
President Monson recently testified, and I add my testimony to his:
"Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives."
...
Deciding to have a seventh baby is an extra big leap.
It means that my family will no longer fit into the standard or even extended sized minivan.
Baby #6 meant we needed another seat. It was remedied fairly simply by someone giving us an extra 3 passenger seat for our van to replace the 2 passenger bench.
Baby #7 meant we needed a new car. A big one.
Buying a new car seemed as much a possibility for us as getting a good night's sleep (heh)
We've been blessed to never have a car payment, and our budget has no wiggle room for a car payment. Our old minivan has over 150,000 miles on and seems to keep going on love and prayers.
(We say a prayer of thanks every time the blinker comes on and blinks the right way)
So we couldn't count on any kind of a trade-in.
But I KNEW the Lord would provide for our needs. He always has. I've been taught to keep the commandments and a way will be prepared.
So I just expected our van to show up. It was as likely as anything. Sometimes I'd jokingly check out front to see if it had shown up.
We looked on KSL now and then. We talked to friends about what vans they liked. We debated whether to go for a 9 passenger Suburban, or a 12 or 15 passenger big van.
We wondered if we were supposed to use our tax return toward a new van. We ended up needing it and all of our savings for the landscaping project.
We still had our little new car savings account that we hadn't touched for years. It had seen small but steady growth, but the total was a pittance compared to what we needed.
Baby came and still no van. Ours was working. We rarely went anywhere all togehter. Nathan was occasionally sitting in the rear cargo area. I made him move up to the less comfortable space behind the driver's seat. It seemed less dangerous.
Summer vacations came and went. Somehow we managed to double buckle or have someone ride with a relative or sit on the floor or even sitting in a makeshift carseat I latch-belted to the floor of the van. It seemed ridiculous, but I felt we were doing the best we could and the Lord was watching over us.
By the end of summer we had decided we wanted a Chevy Express. It has an extended wheel base that makes it less likely to roll in an accident. We were hoping to get one with bi-fuel so we could dissolve some of the extra gas expense of driving a lower mpg vehicle by paying $1.40 for natural gas. We were pretty sure we needed the extra space a 15-passenger would allow. Taking out the rear seat of a 12 passenger would leave us with only 8 seats: not enough.
I began praying specifically for this kind of van. I tried not to think too hard about how it would happen. I didn't want my ideas getting in the way of a miracle.
By December, I was beginning to doubt if I was going about it the right way. Maybe I was being ridiculous to think the Lord would provide us with a van. I cast those doubts aside and kept being grateful that the van we had was meeting our needs.
One day, I saw a navy blue Chevy Express on the freeway. I have never seen that color, and I have always loved that color of car.
I jokingly said, "Dallin, there's our van!" The doubts started to crowd in, but I shoved them aside.
My next day's prayer: "Help us to afford a Chevy Express 15 passenger bi-fuel van. I even know the color now. Lord, please help me know if there's something else I need to be doing to get us into a van."
A Thursday days later, I hear my friend talking about how low the interest rates are and that she's thinking of refinancing. "I should look into that," I thought. We could use a lower mortgage payment right now.
I can't remember if I was just drifting off or just waking up, but I related the refinancing story to Dallin and asked him what he thought about it. As I was speaking to him, the thought came to my mind that it might be the way to get a van. He told me to go ahead and look into it.
Monday I called our mortgage broker and he gave me the options.
I looked on KSL. There was a whole fleet of navy blue ones!
By Tuesday evening, we had all of our papers and documents in to the loan officer.
I tried to just go on normally with life, tried not to get my hopes up and know that the best thing would work out.
The following Tuesday we got our appraisal back so we knew how much cash we could take out to buy the car.
The loan wouldn't close in time to get us the tax incentive for buying an alternative fuel vehicle. We decided to look into getting a car loan for a short period of time.
Wednesday I got pre-approved and began the process of a car loan over the phone. I spoke with the dealer and found out as much as I could. I added up what the bank would give us and what we had in our little savings account. It wasn't enough. I offered it to the dealer and he said no.
"Phew!", I thought. Now I can just focus on Christmas!
We got the snow tires on our other cars in preparation for our trip to Idaho. We'd gotten over a foot of snow and the roads were as bad as they've ever been since we moved to Elk Ridge. While we waited for the tires, we talked about whether we had explored all of our options. Our plan was to leave Friday morning, and the thought of not having everyone belted in this weather seemed downright careless.
The dealer called back, trying to give us some other options. He gave us his absolute lowest possibility on each of the vans we were considering. We were still just a little short. Could we put it on a credit card? He didn't take credit cards. "Call your dad." the thought came.
I explored that possibility and quickly decided against it. For sure Dallin wouldn't like it. Hmmm.
We had no choice but to go on with our family's festivities. That night was the biggest night of the season for us: Giving Day. It was wonderful.
I woke early the next morning, still thinking I needed to call my Dad. I was actually thinking up all kinds of crazy scenarios. Dallin came down to tell me goodbye and I told him what I was thinking. He didn't love the idea. He was off to work and we were out of time. I decided to take Brandon and do our last minute shopping. It was December 20th. The thought of Nathan not having a seat belt was still really bugging me, but I'd done all I could.
Just when we got down into Salem by the Krishna Temple (the place where my phone always loses service), the thought came again. "Call your dad, you're running out of time." I drove on until I got to the place where service was more reliable and had Brandon dial him in. There was his cheery greeting on the other end. "Dad, we're trying to buy this van and I just keep feeling like I should call you...." And I burst into tears.
The stress of the situation and the humility of asking for help was too much to hold back!
My text to Dallin a little while later: My Dad just wired us the money. When can you get off work?
It was back in the Lord's hands while I focused on getting the Christmas items on my list. Brandon and I had a great time. On our way home, I talked to my Mom for a minute. She said one of her Christmas wishes was to be able to help us get into the car we need. What a blessing to have such parents! We got back to the house just as our guests were arriving for our co-op Christmas party. I was a little bit distracted during the event. I still had Christmas to finish and a trip to get ready for, and I still wasn't sure if this was going to work out.
The van was in Bountiful, over an hour away. The bank closed at 6pm. The dealer was smart enough to encourage us to get a loan at a bank with a branch close to the dealership. Dallin got home late. We didn't leave until 4. The pumps at the stations we stopped at wouldn't work. It was rush hour. I called the bank and asked them what needed to happen to get things rolling on their end. A purchase agreement. Okay. So the dealer faxed them a purchase agreement for a car we had yet to see. The blue one. I just knew it was ours.
We got to the dealership at 5:40. Dallin hopped in the new van and drove it to the bank. They needed to inspect it. We finished the paperwork and got out of there sometime after 6. Then we looked at the van. We looked and looked. We looked at the other vans. But our loan was for this van. It was dark. It was cold. We couldn't even really see the color. We could come back tomorrow and start the process all over again if we wanted a different van.
But it was blue. And it had the lowest mileage, only 45,000.
It was our van.
We paid him and drove to a gas station. Dallin got the hang of the natural gas pump while Nathan and I got some dinner. It was late. 8:00. Nathan stayed with me in the old van to help with the baby. We got home first and waited on the porch in the freezing weather with the kids to see our van show up.
It did.
It just showed up!
The baby slept a nice long stretch that night. I woke up at 5:45 thinking of the van. Sulley hadn't even woken yet. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. I crept downstairs and looked out at it. It was still dark, but it was there! I tried again to sleep, but it was useless.
I decided to start my day. I had a lot to do to get ready for the trip. I went down to my sewing room where I study and pray. I have a card that I use to help me stay focused when I pray. It reminds me of the things I want to pray about. When I got to the part about Nathan, I broke down. I wept and wept - tears of joy, knowing that he would not have to ride on the floor anymore! He would have a nice comfortable belted safe seat.
Later the sun rose, and we all looked and looked at the van that showed up. It is beautiful. We loaded it for our trip. What a comfortable trip to Idaho we had! What a miracle!
In a matter of two weeks, the possibility of us getting the van we needed went from extremely doubtful to us driving one home.
President Monson recently testified, and I add my testimony to his:
"Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives."
...
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Giving Day
What was different about this year's giving day than the past few that I've recorded? Mostly just the gifts. But as the highlight of my season, I still think it is worth mentioning.
Not every person is willing to take on helping with over 60 handmade gifts.
Did I consider doing something differently? Definitely. I was thinking once again it might be nice to have the kids each draw one family name to make a gift for. Why not make it more simple?
Because this tradition is the essence of Christmas for our family. It is about giving. It is about spending quality time with each of my kids. It is about each child spending time thinking about each member of his family and creating something special for them.
Neighbor gifts, Christmas cards, Gingerbread houses, seeing the light displays...these things are all nice and I have every intention of doing them every year. But I usually don't get to them. It is okay because we do giving day.
We do very little homeschooling during the month of December. It is okay because we are learning other things when we do giving day.
Learning to think of others.
Learning new skills: poetry, sewing, crocheting, drawing, cooking to name a few.
Learning to care for the home and family so mom can help someone with their gifts.
Learning how exciting it is to put love and time into something and anticipate giving it away.
Learning that their ideas can become real with some hard work and help from mom.
Having hours of one-on one time with mom--something hard to come by in a big family.
What Nathan gave:
Last year Dallin appliqued initials onto Christmas blankets for all of the kids. Nathan wanted to return the favor. I had a big huge piece of grey fleece that Nathan sat and blanket stitched around with red yarn. For me he gave a coupon to help me clean up my sewing room. I always need this gift after Christmas. It looks like a bomb went off in there. He made Brandon a nice plush pillowcase. Ruby and Daisy got little Santa hats for the kittens. They have bells on the ends and they are hilarious. Simon got a truck pillowcase and Sarjaoy got a princess one. Sullivan got a cute polka-dot blanket.
What Brandon gave:
This year it was extra fun to see how much more Brandon could do on his own. He crocheted Nathan a set of juggling balls as Nathan has recently discovered he can juggle. Ruby got a big heart pillow with her name embroidered on it and Daisy got a flower one. Simon got a BYU shirt for his favorite little stuffed monkey, Lucky. Sarajoy got an amazing princess cape done almost completely by Brandon. He also saved a princess crown from a youth activity to go with it. Sullivan got a colorful cloth ball with jingle bells inside. He worked really hard on a great surprise for me: a heart-shaped stand to hold my earrings. He designed and engineered it all in secrecy and it turned out awesome! For Dallin he made a chapstick/nail clipper holder so his chapstick doesn't roll up into the lid while its in his pocket.
What Ruby gave:
Dallin and I got poems she has written. I was moved to tears by the sweet little talent that is secretly developing. She usually doesn't like to show me her writing. Nathan got a pencil/chapstick case for his string sack. Brandon got a BYU pencil holder for his desk. Daisy got a carrying case for her My Little Ponies. Simon's gift was similar, but meant for toy cars and one side of it was a little road with a car wash and a gas tank. Sarajoy's was made for ponies or cars and had a road and a bed and a table. She designed and helped sew a gingerbread boy to hang from Sulley's carseat. Very cute!
What Daisy gave:
We found a wonderful idea online of little marble mazes. They are made of fleece with the marble actually sewn into the fabric. We had a great time designing mazes for each person. Nathan's and Brandon's were more difficult mazes; polka dot and BYU. Ruby's was a heart. Simon's was a snail. Sarajoy's was a rainbow. Sullivan's didn't really have a maze. We just sewed two marbles into some fabric. We added some ribbon tags and cut a bit of a mylar blanket to go inside to make a nice crinkle. It is a great baby toy! I got a coupon to do a project with her and Dallin got a homemade handkerchief with a heart that has love stitched into it.
What Simon gave:
I was so grateful that Brandon was willing to help Simon with this at almost the last minute! They made a card for each person and glued candy canes on in the shape of a heart.
What Sarajoy gave:
Sarajoy helped me make, wrap, and give the family photo ornaments for the year. She was very good at putting the tape on the packages just right.
Sullivan is still young enough to give smiles!
I made each of the kids a crocheted hat similar to the one I made for Sullivan for Halloween. Nathan's was black and pink to match his new hot pink skinny jeans. Brandon's was a raccoon. Ruby's had a horse on it. Daisy's was a cute ruffly flower one. Sarajoy's was ruffly with a butterfly. Simon's was a penguin.
When Dallin was trying to come up with something, he saw T shirts on sale at Jo-Ann's and started thinking of fun things he could do. The first idea was to make Nathan a black shirt with a hot pink tie sewn on. So as we talked we ended up making matching shirts and hats. Brandon's shirt has a raccoon mask on it. Ruby's is blue with a brown horse shoe. Daisy's has a flower and Sarajoy's a Butterfly. He even made Sulley a really cool Sullivan Monsters Inc shirt.
I was finishing Sarajoy's hat as we started the evening, but I got it done just in time. It took us 2 hours to give our gifts and share what we love about each person. It was a rare time where each member of the family was engaged and contributing. There was no ruckus and no fighting. We were all just enjoying being together and reveling in the spirit of giving. It was beautiful. Dallin and I sat for quite some time afterwards, basking in the glow of the christmas lights and the warm feeling in our hearts and home.
...
Not every person is willing to take on helping with over 60 handmade gifts.
Did I consider doing something differently? Definitely. I was thinking once again it might be nice to have the kids each draw one family name to make a gift for. Why not make it more simple?
Because this tradition is the essence of Christmas for our family. It is about giving. It is about spending quality time with each of my kids. It is about each child spending time thinking about each member of his family and creating something special for them.
Neighbor gifts, Christmas cards, Gingerbread houses, seeing the light displays...these things are all nice and I have every intention of doing them every year. But I usually don't get to them. It is okay because we do giving day.
We do very little homeschooling during the month of December. It is okay because we are learning other things when we do giving day.
Learning to think of others.
Learning new skills: poetry, sewing, crocheting, drawing, cooking to name a few.
Learning to care for the home and family so mom can help someone with their gifts.
Learning how exciting it is to put love and time into something and anticipate giving it away.
Learning that their ideas can become real with some hard work and help from mom.
Having hours of one-on one time with mom--something hard to come by in a big family.
What Nathan gave:
Last year Dallin appliqued initials onto Christmas blankets for all of the kids. Nathan wanted to return the favor. I had a big huge piece of grey fleece that Nathan sat and blanket stitched around with red yarn. For me he gave a coupon to help me clean up my sewing room. I always need this gift after Christmas. It looks like a bomb went off in there. He made Brandon a nice plush pillowcase. Ruby and Daisy got little Santa hats for the kittens. They have bells on the ends and they are hilarious. Simon got a truck pillowcase and Sarjaoy got a princess one. Sullivan got a cute polka-dot blanket.
What Brandon gave:
This year it was extra fun to see how much more Brandon could do on his own. He crocheted Nathan a set of juggling balls as Nathan has recently discovered he can juggle. Ruby got a big heart pillow with her name embroidered on it and Daisy got a flower one. Simon got a BYU shirt for his favorite little stuffed monkey, Lucky. Sarajoy got an amazing princess cape done almost completely by Brandon. He also saved a princess crown from a youth activity to go with it. Sullivan got a colorful cloth ball with jingle bells inside. He worked really hard on a great surprise for me: a heart-shaped stand to hold my earrings. He designed and engineered it all in secrecy and it turned out awesome! For Dallin he made a chapstick/nail clipper holder so his chapstick doesn't roll up into the lid while its in his pocket.
What Ruby gave:
Dallin and I got poems she has written. I was moved to tears by the sweet little talent that is secretly developing. She usually doesn't like to show me her writing. Nathan got a pencil/chapstick case for his string sack. Brandon got a BYU pencil holder for his desk. Daisy got a carrying case for her My Little Ponies. Simon's gift was similar, but meant for toy cars and one side of it was a little road with a car wash and a gas tank. Sarajoy's was made for ponies or cars and had a road and a bed and a table. She designed and helped sew a gingerbread boy to hang from Sulley's carseat. Very cute!
What Daisy gave:
We found a wonderful idea online of little marble mazes. They are made of fleece with the marble actually sewn into the fabric. We had a great time designing mazes for each person. Nathan's and Brandon's were more difficult mazes; polka dot and BYU. Ruby's was a heart. Simon's was a snail. Sarajoy's was a rainbow. Sullivan's didn't really have a maze. We just sewed two marbles into some fabric. We added some ribbon tags and cut a bit of a mylar blanket to go inside to make a nice crinkle. It is a great baby toy! I got a coupon to do a project with her and Dallin got a homemade handkerchief with a heart that has love stitched into it.
What Simon gave:
I was so grateful that Brandon was willing to help Simon with this at almost the last minute! They made a card for each person and glued candy canes on in the shape of a heart.
What Sarajoy gave:
Sarajoy helped me make, wrap, and give the family photo ornaments for the year. She was very good at putting the tape on the packages just right.
Sullivan is still young enough to give smiles!
I made each of the kids a crocheted hat similar to the one I made for Sullivan for Halloween. Nathan's was black and pink to match his new hot pink skinny jeans. Brandon's was a raccoon. Ruby's had a horse on it. Daisy's was a cute ruffly flower one. Sarajoy's was ruffly with a butterfly. Simon's was a penguin.
When Dallin was trying to come up with something, he saw T shirts on sale at Jo-Ann's and started thinking of fun things he could do. The first idea was to make Nathan a black shirt with a hot pink tie sewn on. So as we talked we ended up making matching shirts and hats. Brandon's shirt has a raccoon mask on it. Ruby's is blue with a brown horse shoe. Daisy's has a flower and Sarajoy's a Butterfly. He even made Sulley a really cool Sullivan Monsters Inc shirt.
I was finishing Sarajoy's hat as we started the evening, but I got it done just in time. It took us 2 hours to give our gifts and share what we love about each person. It was a rare time where each member of the family was engaged and contributing. There was no ruckus and no fighting. We were all just enjoying being together and reveling in the spirit of giving. It was beautiful. Dallin and I sat for quite some time afterwards, basking in the glow of the christmas lights and the warm feeling in our hearts and home.
...
Friday, November 30, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Words To Live By
The other night, I asked Dallin if he had some favorite quotes written down. My sister wants a calendar for Christmas with our favorite quotes. The request made me realize that I don't have a place for favorite quotes. I know I've heard some great ones--things that have helped me. But since I don't write them down, I forget. I've been journaling along with my scripture study for a couple of years, but I would be difficult to sift through those journals and find my "favorite quotes". I read a lot and I have books that I just adore, but it is usually while I'm eating or lying down with the baby. Not exactly the best time to jot down my favorite quotes from the book. It is kind of sad. What treasures I've lost! It made me realize I want to change that.
Especially when I saw Dallin's quote books. They are awesome. He writes quotes from everything: Newspaper, pamphlets, books, movies. And he's read some books that I haven't seen, but reading through the quotes makes me want to read them!
It makes me excited to try harder to give myself time for real study.
Reading the quotes was valuable in another way as well. I've heard Dallin talk about reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren years ago. I had no idea what it was really about. I was truly impressed at some of the material:
"It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. You have just enough time to do God's will. If you can't get it all done, it means you're trying to do more than God intended for you to do (or , possibly, that you're watching too much television)."
Quoting George Bernard Shaw: "This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."
Ouch, I'm afraid there have been times that I've been the clot...
More from TPDL: "You were planned for God's pleasure. God did not need to create you. But he chose to create you for his own enjoyment. You exist for his benefit, his glory, his purpose, and his delight. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life."
"Bringing pleasure to God is called worship. Worship is not for your benefit. We worship for God's benefit. When we worship our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves. There are benefits to worship, but we don't worship to please ourselves. Our motive is to bring glory and pleasure to our creator. Worship is not a part of your life. It is your life."
"Every human activity except sin can be done for God's pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise."
"Service is the opposite of our natural inclination. Most of the time we're more interested in 'serve-us' than service. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, 'who's going to meet my needs?' and starts asking 'Whose needs can I meet?'"
Wow. That was a lot for me to take. It was a wake-up call to how much the self-centeredness of our culture is still influencing me. How far I am from true devotion!
So the next day I decided I was going to try my hardest to ask God what I could do for him instead of thinking of what I wanted to do.
I'd been dealing with a super cranky sick, teething baby for a few days. Not sleeping much. Him needing me all day and night, etc. I got up that morning for scriptures, but I didn't wake the younger kids. I was too tired. Sulley was super fussy after being up for just a short time. I asked what I could do to serve God. The thought that came into my mind was to go back to bed and cuddle with my sick boy.
Sweet! I definitely wanted to do that one, but there was still the subtle difference in doing it for Him.
On my way back to my room, I stopped by the girls' room where they were waking. I told them I would like to make it a day of service. I wanted them to think about ways they could serve the family and serve God. I told them one way was to help the younger kids be happy while I rested with the baby. Daisy's response: "So we don't have to do our jobs today?" Oh boy. I told her that that was actually a wonderful service she could do for our family but I wanted her to choose. I snuggled up, hoping to get some sleep while I comforted my sad baby.
We have a loud house. Nearly all of our floors in the house are wood laminate. Only the very bottom basement has carpet. I can hear everything from my bedroom. Lately the kids had been playing loudly right near my bedroom door when I was trying to soothe the baby to sleep and they got in trouble. So I was hoping they'd play downstairs quietly.
It wasn't long before I was awakened by the pitter-patter of lots of little feet going up and down the hall. I could hear voices. My first instinct was to get angry. I had just gotten the baby to settle down, and I did not want him to wake up. But I quickly caught myself and said, "this is okay. whatever happens is okay. those are the people I love. If I don't get sleep, it doesn't matter as long as I remember that I am here to make Sullivan comfortable. I am doing this for God." I quickly calmed down and dozed a little. The pattering continued and I wondered what they were doing. Then I heard their morning chore music and I realized that the older girls were helping the little kids complete their chores. I was so glad I stifled the anger and I was filled with love. Once the music was over, the house became quiet enough for both me and the baby to sleep soundly for quite awhile.
When I awoke, I found the kids playing quietly. They had all done their chores and schoolwork, including doing some preschool activities with the little ones. How precious!
As I continued my day, I found that many of the things I felt prompted to do for Him are things I already do and enjoy.
By day's end, I felt humbled by the privilege it is to serve God by being a mother. It can hardly be called a sacrifice.
Especially when I saw Dallin's quote books. They are awesome. He writes quotes from everything: Newspaper, pamphlets, books, movies. And he's read some books that I haven't seen, but reading through the quotes makes me want to read them!
It makes me excited to try harder to give myself time for real study.
Reading the quotes was valuable in another way as well. I've heard Dallin talk about reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren years ago. I had no idea what it was really about. I was truly impressed at some of the material:
"It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. You have just enough time to do God's will. If you can't get it all done, it means you're trying to do more than God intended for you to do (or , possibly, that you're watching too much television)."
Quoting George Bernard Shaw: "This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."
Ouch, I'm afraid there have been times that I've been the clot...
More from TPDL: "You were planned for God's pleasure. God did not need to create you. But he chose to create you for his own enjoyment. You exist for his benefit, his glory, his purpose, and his delight. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life."
"Bringing pleasure to God is called worship. Worship is not for your benefit. We worship for God's benefit. When we worship our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves. There are benefits to worship, but we don't worship to please ourselves. Our motive is to bring glory and pleasure to our creator. Worship is not a part of your life. It is your life."
"Every human activity except sin can be done for God's pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise."
"Service is the opposite of our natural inclination. Most of the time we're more interested in 'serve-us' than service. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, 'who's going to meet my needs?' and starts asking 'Whose needs can I meet?'"
Wow. That was a lot for me to take. It was a wake-up call to how much the self-centeredness of our culture is still influencing me. How far I am from true devotion!
So the next day I decided I was going to try my hardest to ask God what I could do for him instead of thinking of what I wanted to do.
I'd been dealing with a super cranky sick, teething baby for a few days. Not sleeping much. Him needing me all day and night, etc. I got up that morning for scriptures, but I didn't wake the younger kids. I was too tired. Sulley was super fussy after being up for just a short time. I asked what I could do to serve God. The thought that came into my mind was to go back to bed and cuddle with my sick boy.
Sweet! I definitely wanted to do that one, but there was still the subtle difference in doing it for Him.
On my way back to my room, I stopped by the girls' room where they were waking. I told them I would like to make it a day of service. I wanted them to think about ways they could serve the family and serve God. I told them one way was to help the younger kids be happy while I rested with the baby. Daisy's response: "So we don't have to do our jobs today?" Oh boy. I told her that that was actually a wonderful service she could do for our family but I wanted her to choose. I snuggled up, hoping to get some sleep while I comforted my sad baby.
We have a loud house. Nearly all of our floors in the house are wood laminate. Only the very bottom basement has carpet. I can hear everything from my bedroom. Lately the kids had been playing loudly right near my bedroom door when I was trying to soothe the baby to sleep and they got in trouble. So I was hoping they'd play downstairs quietly.
It wasn't long before I was awakened by the pitter-patter of lots of little feet going up and down the hall. I could hear voices. My first instinct was to get angry. I had just gotten the baby to settle down, and I did not want him to wake up. But I quickly caught myself and said, "this is okay. whatever happens is okay. those are the people I love. If I don't get sleep, it doesn't matter as long as I remember that I am here to make Sullivan comfortable. I am doing this for God." I quickly calmed down and dozed a little. The pattering continued and I wondered what they were doing. Then I heard their morning chore music and I realized that the older girls were helping the little kids complete their chores. I was so glad I stifled the anger and I was filled with love. Once the music was over, the house became quiet enough for both me and the baby to sleep soundly for quite awhile.
When I awoke, I found the kids playing quietly. They had all done their chores and schoolwork, including doing some preschool activities with the little ones. How precious!
As I continued my day, I found that many of the things I felt prompted to do for Him are things I already do and enjoy.
By day's end, I felt humbled by the privilege it is to serve God by being a mother. It can hardly be called a sacrifice.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
October Pictures
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| Autumn Views in Elk Ridge |
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| No idea. |
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| Enjoying Halloween Sugar Cookies! |
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| Happy 5th birthday, Simon! |
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| Boo and Sulley |
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| Monsters Inc for Halloween! |
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| Handsome Knight (not Monsters INC) |
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| You couldn't convince her to be anything but a princess! |
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| Boo in her monster suit! |
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| Sulley and Mike |
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| One of the Janitor guys. Don't know his name... |
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| Celia! Notice the 3 legs! |
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| Both the Janitor guys. |
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| Why can't I delete this picture? |
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| Silly creatures |
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| crazy hair day |
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| matching penguin jammies! |
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| Sarajoy has some, too! |
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