Bountiful Baskets

I have been meaning to share this for a while. There is this crazy food co-op in Utah called Bountiful Baskets. I think it is produce from Arizona or something. It only makes sense to buy fruits and veggies with BB instead of at the grocery store if you have a drop off really close to your home otherwise it is a waste of gas. Luckily mine is just down the road about three miles without any stoplights.

Every 2 weeks (some drops are weekly) we make a mad dash to register for a basket online. The area I am in it fills up in less then 20 min. so I usually miss it. BUT luckily my visit and teacher sits at her computer and as soon as it is open to register for our area she buys a basket for herself and one for me!

Here is what we got the first time around:

We Loved the strawberries! And the huge Pomelo's were pretty good! They are a Thailand citrus fruit.

This is what we got the second time:

My kids were excited about the asparagus. We had Salmon and the asparagus spears with potatoes and fresh lemon squeezed on eat bit.

I liked the food co-op we did in Berkeley when we lived there. It always had weird veggies to add to a stir fry. And with this Bountiful Baskets co-op I also had some weird things to make a stir fry with. My kids of course make a lot of noise about this but most of it gets eaten. This time we had Swiss Chard. I would have never bought this from a store but since it came in the box, it went in the stir fry!



Yes we did use chop sticks and this makes a stir fry tons of fun. I spend half the clean up time picking up the rice on the floor but that is okay.

Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Fantastic, which honestly was a surprise to me.
Tarzan was a little more savage then the old television shows portrayed. He ate raw meat and murdered cannibals mercilessly. The girl part had a bit more the the story too. I always thought she had taught him to speak English but he actually doesn't speak English but French and was taught by a guy he rescued in the jungle.
Some of the story just doesn't add up. Like teaching yourself to read and write but never hearing the language before. I don't think so. And then the whole going to
America thing...well that was a bit much. Anyway the book did have a bunch of interesting things about the jungle and a whole lot of adventure.

Healing book

The View From The Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts

oohhh, a mystery! I haven't read one of these in a while. This one was scary and better then a Nancey Drew! (I loved her books when I was little.)
My sister recommended this book. I think she has good taste in murder mystery books. My son liked this one too, he is 12.
So how would it feel to be the only witness of a murder and NO one will listen to you or take you seriously when you try to tell. The boy in this story is smart and always overlooked, except by the old lady neighbor. His sister is getting married and he has had enough of wedding planning and stressing. He hides in the cherry tree out of the way and his cat is his only friend. I like that he keeps his head in the end and the jar of spiders came in really handy.

This was a short read and a page turner!

Healing Book

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

This was a fast read and very suspenseful. A girl is just minding her own business eating lunch at school and looks down at the little milk carton. The girl pictured there was kidnapped and it is herself! She is about age three wearing a little spotted dress. She remembers the dress and all kinds of memories in tiny pieces start coming back to her. Yikes! What would you do? She doesn't know who to believe. Are her parents really her parents or just lying to her? Should she call the hot line and ask about the little girl?
She has a neighbor boy that she falls in love with and sadly this is where the story goes downhill. She is only 15 and he is 17 but they can't get sex out of their heads. Really the story could have been so much better if they weren't so fixated on this during the whole mess she is going through. Luckily he was a true friend and helped her to the end.
oh and talk about the ending! I hated it! Still the story was hard to put down and it was an enjoyable book to read despite being a bit juvenile and girlish. My son hated it.

broken, healing book

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This was an amazing book! I loved the way the author told the story in the voice of a colored women in the 1960's. She brought the whole mess in Mississippi to new light. This was such an inspired story about Blacks and Whites living in the same town yet living in two different worlds. Their is an an imaginary line drawn between most of the people in Jackson Mississippi and a few courageous women attempt to erase that line.
The best character in the book is Minny. A 50 year old colored lady that has been taking care of white peoples babies for years. When they get older she finds a new family because she loves the babies. She is a Maid and like the other Maids in the story she usually has to walk on pins and needles and do everything right or she will simply get fired. In the story she helps a little girl that has a mama that doesn't love her very much feel important and loved.
I also liked the one White lady, Miss Skeeter that puts her whole life on hold to stand up for what she believes is an injustice. She writes a book that crosses the line but makes a powerful statement about how we are all just people and need to get along.
The book really made me think about the past that wasn't so long ago and prejudices that I never have had to deal with in my life. It is hard to imagine a time when colored people had to use separate bathrooms and weren't allowed to eat at the same places as whites. It is hard to imagine people thinking it is just normal to talk down to someone or think of themselves as superior to another human being just because of color. It is ridiculous to me. But it really did happen and really does happen and I think it is evil.
I couldn't put this book down for three days it was so intertwined with the story of about a dozen women all living in the same place yet all having a different perspective as their lives intertwined.

Whole Book, Healing Book

Letters From Rifka by Karen Hesse

This book won the National Jewish Book Award. It was well written and had great details from a little girls perspective of her family fleeing Russia. It is written in small letters to her cousin literally in a poetry book on all the empty pages and on the edges. So it comes through like a journal.
The girl Rifka doesn't get to board the ship to America so her family has to leave her while she recovers from her sickness. She is very compassionate and makes friends easily. She is also gifted with language and learns to speak a few different ones including English. She has so much courage and perseverance despite all the hardship a little immigrant girl has to go through.

Whole Book, Healing Book

Speaker For The Dead by Orson Scott Card

This was a complex Science Fiction book written as a sequel to Ender's Game. This one isn't for children because it has a few more adult themes. (Really adults don't want to read about these things either!) Anyway despite it being a bit graphic when it comes to "murder" in the alien part of the book it was interesting to imagine the world Card creates for our reading enjoyment. Where does he come up with this stuff?

So in this book, without giving much away, Ender is thousands of years old but because of space travel is only 35. He travels to different worlds populated by humans to Speak the truth for the dead. He finds out everything he can about a person that died and then spells it all out, the good, the bad and what the person could have been but didn't. This is in place of a eulogy.

He wrote a book about the Hive Queen (the alien leader whose world he blew up without knowing he was really doing it or destroying a whole alien race). This story is the truth and people all over the Hundred Worlds in the universe read it and kind of start a following or religion. They don't know Ender wrote it because he just signed it Speaker For The Dead. Anyway, he gets invited to a planet that has another alien race and saves the day! (can't give away the story here). He also finds another alien and becomes friends with her.

Overall the book was complex and mysterious. I think it should have been called Ender Holmes Science Fiction Mystery. But it is just classified SF. I think it would be really weird to live on a planet other then Earth.

HEALING BOOK

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

A Story of Comfort in Desolation - Copyright-1948. This was a very good, old book, but a true feel for the place and time it was written. The author is African. It is hard at first to read because of the Zulu words and the broken English yet it still flowed enough to keep reading. I am glad I did. It is full of religion, culture and tradition. The feeling you get right from the beginning is of mourning and sadness. It doesn't get better for a long time. A man, a humble priest, takes a journey to gather his family and finds heartache around every corner, not only for his family but for his nation.

He discovers his sister is without her husband and has a child. She is involved in prostitution and making illegal alcohol. Her friends are not good for her or her child. He talks her into leaving that life and letting him take her and her son back to his tiny village. (She doesn't end up going but the child does.) Then he tracks down his son but in the process finds sad realities of poverty and crime all around. They are in Johannesburg, South Africa and to this man, who is getting old it is a very big city and full of confusing new things. Really nice people along the way go out of their way to help him on his quest. The city has so many people living there that houses are not made fast enough so people live in shacks and near the sides of railroads. He finds his son finally and an unmarried girl with child. The son gets arrested for murder and the child that he got pregnant (she was only like 13 or something) goes with him back his village and his sweet wife so he can help her and the unborn grandson. Before they leave he arranges with friends in the church to have his son marry her. But the story now gets more complex because the man's son murdered coincidentally the son of a rich white man that lives near their village. They know each other. This is when the story really gets good because we see how lives can change and the power of forgiveness in each person, when given the opportunity to make something right, can make a difference. Despite prejudices and broken hearts healing can take place. The rich man is touched by some of the writing his dead son had been working on and had a dream that the rich man tries to make a reality. He helps the people in the humble village and tries to help his grandson see what South Africa is really like not what other white children learn. He wants to show compassion and love through serving all men not just white men but black men too.

I really liked this story. I think the author did a great job making us understand individuals and choices that connect us together despite being strangers in the same world. We are all connected and children of God, white, black, rich or poor, uneducated or learned. We also see how the consequences of an action have effects on generations to come. They can't be fixed overnight but take time and love. Also it takes people to speak out and take a stand when they know something is wrong or right.

The book was written at a time of great political problems...There was no equality between white and blacks in South Africa, boycotts on buses and strikes in the mines were attempted. Shanty Town was erected and gold was found in Odendaalsrust, which made the economy turn upside down for a while. Also people were out of work and schools were not big enough to hold all the children that needed an education. Gangs were started. There was no common belief or bind to hold the people and families together after they left their small villages ruled by a chief and drifted to the cities that were too full to notice another hungry person. A complete break down in society right under everyone's nose. The jails were full and times were hard. BUT their were churches and Christians trying to make a difference. Followers of these faiths and missionaries continued to try to make a dent in the lives of God's children. They put aside color. They reached out to the poor and lifted the hearts of the people they touched. Even though I am not catholic I was impressed with the change in others when they found Christ.

This is a WHOLE and HEALING book. I recommend it for reference if you are studying Africa or apartheid or interested in gaining a testimony of the atonement of Christ.

Degas

We studied a little bit about Degas. He sure liked ballerinas! It was fun using the oil paints and cotton balls to blend and smear.

I know it is nothing like the master painter but the kids had fun. That is what I call a successful lesson on art. Where else will they get to do this?


Of course the little beggar boy always has fun! He is so smiley lately. Sometimes he just starts cracking up at the littlest things. His laugh is of course contagious and then everyone is having fun and is happy!

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

This is the third time I read the book, only I didn't read it this time. I listened. We got it from the library on CD. It was very very well read...had the voices and stuff. I loved it again! I think I understood a few more parts this time because when reading it in my head I get everyone all mixed up sometimes. The different people reading made them different people so it was much more entertaining and understandable to me.

My daughter listened too and we made Hemp Bead Bracelets and ignored the little kids. She didn't get everything and said there was way too many bad words. I think there was bit too much potty humor but they were little boys so what do you expect.

I think I will read, Speaker of the Dead. It is the sequel or at least the second book. There are so many I am not sure which ones I already read. And since we are talking about it...I think I might read Empire again. That was a really good one that recently came out by Card.

Ender's Game: Almost Whole and Healing book

Monet

I sure learn a lot when I teach a class about something I didn't know anything before I started. Thursday I taught a little class on Monet and Impressionism. I have looked at all kinds of websites and checked out a bunch of books and now my dreams are filled with reflection of light and waterlilies! I really have not ever had a chance to study the great artists before. I always pursued singing and sports over drawing and painting. The more I learn the more fascinating it all is to me.



These are a few of the finished products. We used sponges and taped off the bridge, that is why it is so white. It would be fun to try this again with what we learned from this first time attempt. The kids of course painted as fast as they could and then ran off to play.

The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

My 12 yr. old son read this book the other day when he ran out of things to read. He said it was so sad and he cried. So I finally got around to reading it. Each time I took a break from reading to get a snack he reminded me how sad it was. Okay, It was Sad! I cried too but there was also this really important happy part about the book...forgiveness and love. So just because it is sad don't pass on this book...just like life work through the sad parts and get to the happiness just on the other side of the cornfield! AND never treat homemade gifts lightly.

Agent In Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston

This was a really good book! I wasn't sure at first because it was LDS Fiction but I was happily surprised at how fun it was to read. In fact I couldn't put it down because it was quite suspenseful and a bit scary. It also had a little romance in there too.
The story starts out with a kidnapping, which alone was really scary and makes you take a look at your own life. Today I even looked around suspiciously at people in the Wal-mart parking lot wondering if they were following me or going to stuff me in their car at gunpoint. I also thought through some made up scenarios in my mind on getting away from a bad person. I wondered if I would be able to keep a cool head and not just panic or freeze out of fright. In the book the lady that was kidnapped, Shannon, does keep her cool and she is scared but still is able to escape. She has a lot of trust in God and prays that she will be able to get through some tough parts and be inspired to know what to do. She remembers things that she has read or learned about what to do in case of the type of danger so she is prepared. Most of the things didn't work but she doesn't give up and eventually something works.
I really like Shannon because she isn't like the oh so popular Belle in the Vampire books which everyone can't seem to get over lately, who is so helpless and silly relying on someone else to always save her. Unlike her Shannon in Agent In Old Lace is self confident and smart. She does what she has to do and keeps her head. Yes she does have a handsome guy that saves her a few times but it doesn't cripple her or the story. He even teaches her some self defense moves so she can even feel more empowered just in case she needs to fight off a sociopath of course.
The story moves right along, it is a bit predictable yet it is written well enough so you get caught up in the story and you don't spend time second guessing the mysteries too much. When I was close to the end I gave a great sigh of a relief when a part came together yet it wasn't the end yet...there was a few more chapters clearing up a few left over details that were intertwined throughout the story from the beginning. It was a like a little bonus.
As for the author doing her homework on the Utah gun laws, well I'll have to give her credit for coming a long way to know what a clip and a magazine were but I am pretty sure you don't need a permit for a shotgun or even to use a firearm on your own property, especially in self-defense. I could be wrong but anyway, minor detail. The FBI in the story sure aren't very professional sometimes also.
Like I said, this was a fun, easy and imaginative book to read. I am looking forward to reading more books by Tristi Pinkston. She has a few historical fiction books out. They look really interesting and I will let you know when I read them!

Whole Book, Healing Book

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

Wow, this was a good book about the Civil War. It was told by a small boy's perspective but it was far from simple. I learned a bunch from reading this about the war and about Pres. Lincoln and what the people thought of the leadership of Generals making good and bad decisions. So many people died! It is a good crash course in American History-Civil War era. The book was written from old letters and researched very well, it is a bit of family lore and historical fiction all together. It covers what communities and families went through as their sons and husbands were sent off to fight. Sometimes they fought against each other, one brother on the Confederate side and a brother on the Union. The political and economic mess was really intense. Five years is a long time to fight a war. Unlike today the news sometimes takes a long time to get to families and into the papers. Most of the people waited and waited for letters or word from someone, anyone, telling how their loved was were.
The young boy in the story is really very intelligent. He is too young to go to war but he grows up really fast as he takes on the farm work left by his brothers. His dad gets sick and he has to take on even more. He has learned to read and takes an interest in following the war through the newspapers. He tracks the war on a map and can explain things to his mom and family.
The book was a bit hard to get into because of the authentic dialect from down Illinois back in the 1860's but it was worth getting over that and reading to the end.

HISTORY CLASSIC - WHOLE BOOK

The Promise by Chaim Potok

Well, this 2nd book is nothing like the first book (The Chosen). I did enjoyed it but not as much as the first. So if we don't compare them then I would say it was a good book, not great but educational and interesting. The Promise helps you understand Jewish culture more and psychology. Yep, therapy and the mind...all in a story about Jewish boys growing up in the USA (Brooklyn) right after WWII. The characters are older and going to college now. They have to make choices that effect their lives but also their families and surprisingly their communities. They take a look at their own standing in the religion they grew up in to make some hard choices about the future! I think this is a good book but not exactly on my classics list like the first one.

HEALING BOOK

The Dred Scott Decision by Bonnie Lukes

I picked this book up at the library after reading about the ridiculous way British parliament went about abolishing the slave trade in Britain. Well, seems the court systems in America at the time was just as ridiculous. It took 11 years for Dred Scott to finally get his freedom and it wasn't from a court decision but because he changed owners and was set free.
This book was from the Famous Trials series. The authors take a case and go over the history, include newspaper clipping, time lines and pictures to help it make more sense. Then as you walk through the case step by step. After all of that I conclude that it is a fact that America has a really shoddy history when it comes to common sense and equal rights. Sure it wasn't anything new but to be reminded of stupidity always makes me mad all over again.
The Supreme court was full of wicked greedy men and the lawyers were biased because of being from the South. So many people suffered and yet everyone drug their feet. Sad, very sad. Happily the Civil War was full of courageous people willing to step forward in the name of Freedom for everyone, not only the whites but all colors. Sadly the Civil War was full of death. Happily we can look at history and not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Whole Book

Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas

If you liked the movie then this book is the rest of the story! The movie really down plays Wilberforce's relationship with God and the influence it had on the decisions he made in life. It also leaves tons of interesting things out but the book helps fill in the gaps. One thing I didn't like was how all the other people that helped Wilberforce like the Champlain group, they were kind of skimmed over. I bet they each have an inspiring story to tell all by themselves. Abolishing the slave trade in Britain was a group effort. Wilberforce was a key player but he wouldn't have got far without his connections and the hard work of so many others.

The Book takes you all the way from Wilberforce's childhood, schooling, friends and then helps you understand why he didn't just give up on his life long pursuit of abolishing the slave trade in Britain despite a lot of defeat and disapointment. He literally changed the world by his actions, letters and speeches. He rallied countless people to good causes and changed the way society thought not just changing a law here or there but actually changed a way of thinking and the old wicked traditions around him. He didn't only go after slave trade but also prison reform, animal rights, and really gross things like hangings, burnings and public dissections.
His faith was strong and unshakable. He truly wanted to walk in Jesus footsteps and found that he could do this best by serving in politics at a time when parliament was dirty and self promoting. He changed this too!
This book wasn't just interesting historically it was also makes you really look at your own life and realize maybe you could be a change for good in your own community. He never lost sight of the goal and even to the last he hoped that he had done enough to make it to heaven.

Whole Book, healing book

The Chosen by Chaim Potok

This was a great re-read! Potok is such a good writer! I enjoyed the book all over again and learned new stuff about Jews and the history.
The novel takes place in Brooklyn. Too boys of different Jewish sects meet while playing baseball. World War II has just begun. The boys should have been enemies but they become BEST friends. They are almost opposite when it comes to home life. Their dads both love them but raise them so differently it is hard to imagine. They both love to read but one does it in secret and one does it without a second thought. The story takes you through the tough times in each of their lives and brings them together through their education and the study of the Torah. I highly recommend this book for a new perspective on Jewish life in America.

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My 2009 completed books!

My goal is to read 50 books each year. Here are all the books I read in 2009. I wanted to make sure I didn't just read children books but a few hefty classics and politics/history/biographies... Well, I got a few of those in but still read a lot of great children books! I also really enjoy the book groups I belong to. They help me to get some variety into my reading too.
Last years list.2008

This Years...
2009 Reading list

1.A Town Called Charity by Blaine and Brenton Yorgason
2.Forest Born by Shannon Hale
3.Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
4.Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien
5.Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
6.We The Living by Ayn Rand
7.Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by June Chang
8.The Quiet Little Woman: A Christmas Story by Louisa May Alcott
9.Lessons from the Varsity of Life by Robert Baden-Powell
10.re-read: Pride and Prejudice by Austen
11.re-read: An Assembly such as this by Aidan
12.Bullies in the Headlights by Mathew Buckley
13.Chickens in the Headlights by Matthew Buckley
14.The Blue Sword by Robin Mckinley
15.HOST by Stephanie Meyer
16.Julie of The Wolves by Jean Craighead George
17.The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour
18.5,000 year leap by Skousen
19.re-read: Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
20.Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
21.Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
22.The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
23.Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
24.I Don't Have to Make Everything All Better by Gary Lundberg and Joy Lundberg
25.The Law by Frederick Bastiat
26.A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana by Haven Kimmel
27.The Case Against the Fed by Murray N. Rothbard
28.Empire by Orson Scott Card
29.History of Hyde Park in Utah's Cache Valley, 1860-1990 by Dale Z Kirby
30.These Three Remain: A novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
31.Duty and Desire: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
32.Sarah by Orsen Scott Card
33.The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread DiCamillo, Kate
34.Daddy Long Legs Webster, Jean
35.The Hero and the Crown McKinley, Robin
36.For One More Day Albom, Mitch
37.Hush Woodson, Jacqueline
38.The Littlest Angel Tazewell, Charles
39.The Walking Drum L'Amour, Louis
40.Jonathan Livingston Seagull Bach, Richard
41.The Redheaded Princess: A Novel Rinaldi, Ann
42.Princess Academy Hale, Shannon
43.The Omnivore's Dilemma Pollan, Michael
44.The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
45.The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
46.Christmas Oranges retold by Linda Bethers
47.One Special Star by Anita Mcfadzean
48.The Littlest Christmas Elf by Nancy Buss
49.One Snowy Night by Nick Butterworth
I am still reading the last book but should have it finished before the New Year!
50.The Chosen by Chaim Potok

A Town Called Charity by Blaine and Brenton Yorgason

This was an interesting book of short stories about making decisions. I found a few of them to be very profound and thought provoking. I picked up this book at the DI for my son but read it before I passed it to him.
The last story in the book was about a Town Called Charity. You would have thought a town with a name like that would be very charitable but when a "tramp" comes to town we learn what is really in everyone's hearts and minds. The town learns a lesson and in the end Charity is found again.
I like books with moral lessons and things that make you take a look at your own life. Even thought these were simple and very LDS they all were unique and interesting.

Whole Book

Forest Born by Shannon Hale

This is the fourth book in the Goose Girl Series. I liked it a lot! It wasn't as dark as the one before. It also had all the characters from the books before but this one was written from the perspective of a new character, Rinna. It was also pretty humorous in some parts. It was also very unpredictable.


Whole Book

Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

I thought I already blogged this book but I guess I didn't. It was a good one for Christmas month. I liked the fact that Mitch wrote about his thoughts on being a Jew and his ideas about Christian faiths from the point of view different then mine. I also liked that he wrote about a man that changed his life around, completely around and became a priest helping others that were just like him before he changed. It was also interesting to find out more about the Jewish faith.

Whole book.

The Christmas Spirit

The Christmas Spirit

Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien

Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien



This one is a page turner! It was so scary! The end of the world and you don't get to pick who you are stuck with, or do you? I don't want to give anything else away. If you like reading about the end of the world -- well this one is a good. It is written from the prospective of a teenage girl. She is very innocent and naive.

I think there is a movie out too...anyone seen it?

Healing Book

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Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

This book had a lot of flaws when it came to planned home birth with a midwife in this century but it certainly had a page turner story to tell.

The events are laid out by Connnie, an OB/GYN Doctor and daughter of Sibyl Danforth, the midwife who is on trial. She is remembering what happened when seh was 13. The event was to be a normal home birth of Charlotte Bedford's second child. A few things in the birth process changed for the worst, and Sibyl, unable to get to the hospital due to a snow storm did an emergency cesarean section to save Charlotte's baby. Charlotte's husband, and Anne, the inexperienced assistant were present during the unfortunate incident but had different opinions to what happened. The jury must now decide if Sibyl Danforth performed the cesarean section while Charlotte was alive, thus killing her because of a massive hemorrhage or if she was already dead before she saved the babies life. Hero or manslaughter?

I think the author did a good job trying to tell what it was like to give birth and from a girls perspective too, but he failed to knock out some stereo types. Midwives and their clients are not all hippies wearing long dresses and hugging everyone. In fact most now days aren't at all like that. Not all teenagers smoke weed behind their parents backs and they don't all drink, smoke and think about sex all the time! I guess he just doesn't think very highly of that age group or women that don't follow the crowd to the hospital.

The trial was interesting because it kind of helped me get a sense of the different strategies lawyers use to stack the jury and time things just right for psychological dramatic effect in the courtroom. So many small details go into each trial. The lives of the people on trial are changed or destroyed by what seems like powerful people...the lawyers. They are either defending or prosecuting and if they make a mistake lives are changed forever. The lawyer in this book seemed really on top of things but so did his opponent. I really didn't know who would win until the very very end of the book. Suspenseful!

For fictional light reading I think the book was okay but to learn about midwives and home birth, I think I would stick to the real thing. The truth about birth goes much deeper then a murder trial or a teenagers perspective on the world. I have used midwives with three of my babies births and have found the whole experience to be enlightening, peaceful, and educational. I was very thankful for the wonderful midwives that have passed through my life and helped me find joy in the process of getting my little ones here. I wouldn't have done it any other way despite the pros and cons that can sometimes seem scary. I think the risks would have been greater for me to have my babies in a hospital. Thank goodness we live in a time where Medical professionals and midwives have so much technology at their fingertips. Birth is a natural thing!

Healing Book, Broken Book

We The Living by Ayn Rand

Another communism book but one worth thinking about. I think the whole love triangle thing was a bit much but I found her political views to be very enlightening. She not only goes after the Communist but all dictatorships, socialist schemes and fascists in the world. It is a book about Man against the State. I am always so surprised how much was hidden from the rest of the world, especially Americans, when the communist parties came into power. They sure got away with a lot of evil things in the name of something supposedly grand and better. I think through books like these we can remember the past and be prepared not to fall into the same traps in the future.

Leonard Peikoff gives an excellent introduction to the book. Here are a few ideas that were interesting. The three forms of destruction that Ayn Rand gives to the characters in her book are: The higher and stronger individual is broken, but not conquered. The one with less resistance is broken and untouched. Those who believed in the ideal are broken by the realization of what that ideal really means.
One character gave his life to a lie and commits suicide. One lives for his values but in the end his life is so unendurable and he can't find the balance between mind and force. He ends up drowning in his mind and doesn't care or know what is being done to him. That is like a living death, a drawn out suicide. The third is to flee. This is what the main character eventually is able to do just as the author did in her own real life. (she imigrated to America from Russia in 1926.)

I also loved the way the plot was twisted, usually the virtuous girl sells herself to the villain in order to save the hero. Ayn Rand thought: Wouldn't it be interesting if the man to whom the girl sells herself is not a villain but a hero and the man for whom she makes her sacrifice is a villain in the end? hmmm, very unpredictable when reading along then wham that isn't how you think it will be. BUT I would like to add that Ayn Rand's standards are not the highest nor does she have a reputation for Christian morals or anything like them so what I find even more ironic is the fact that the virtuous girl isn't even virtuous but in Rand's world maybe she was. In my real world she is way below the virtuous mark and I wouldn't have put her in that category or even used that word to describe her. I certainly wouldn't want my girls to aspire to be like her. So my point...the book is a bit on the BENT & BROKEN side. Bad is good and good is bad.

Ayn Rand said that she wrote the book so that it "might do it's share in helping to prevent a socialist America".

Broken - Bent-- Healing

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by June Chang

I can not stop thinking about this book. It was very well written and it was organized in such a way that you can get a bigger, more complete picture of the History of China back three generations. There is this really powerful awful leader called Mao Zedong that is worse then Hitler! Why doesn't the world know this? He is responsible for over 70 million deaths during peacetime in China. He did some really horrendous things in China and was a master of brainwashing an entire Nation! I didn't know this until I read this book. What is even more surprising is that I was alive while this was happening in China or at least my parents were.

I never really understood Communism and how people could fall for such a bad plan but from the insight in this book, it helped me understand that there can be something worse then communism and that would make it seem better then whatever there was to choose from at the time. Communism was better then what they had! What a weird thought! Oh, and if you didn't know of anything better then communism then you could completely embrace it and feel no guilt. That is what her father and mother did but in the end it turned completely around and bit them on the tail, so to speak. This is awful! I can't comprehend so much evil and hope I never experience it in my lifetime.

I have never starved. I have never worn the same outfit because I didn't have anything else to wear. I have never lived in fear of all my neighbors. I have never been tortured or even had a gun pointed at me. I have never been denied medial attention. I have never been married to a stranger. I have never been hated by others or spit on because of the class my family is labeled in. I have never been afraid to speak my mind or write a story or even read any book I want. I have never had to walk really far and I have never planted rice. I have never seen someone tortured or killed. I have always had clean water and clean food. It was never rationed. I take so much for granted!

This book gives a very good and honest portrayal of China in the 20th Century. I thought it was worth reading. It is long but worth it to understand History a little bit more and the world around us.

Whole Book

The Quiet Little Woman: A Christmas Story by Louisa May Alcott

This was actually three short stories about Christmas by Louisa May Alcott! They were just right to get me thinking about Christmas...it snowed today even thought we haven't had Halloween yet.

I like her stories because they always treat children as real people. Children have hopes desires and sorrow too. In these three stories even thought he main character is always poor in a bad place they rise above what could have brought them down and make the best of things. They are honest and hard working. They demonstrate charity for others despite not being treated the same way. Anything can be overcome by following Jesus example and trusting in His love.

I thought the stories were sweet and educational. Makes me want to give something more for Christmas then a toy from Walmart...I hope our family can do something really nice for someone that really needs it this year...and everyone does need love.
Whole Book

Lessons from the Varsity fo Life by Robert Baden-Powell

This was a great book! I was surprised. The autobiography of Robert Baden-Powell the founder of the worldwide organization Boy Scouts. (22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) He is British and some of his words are unfamiliar but if you imagine Monty Python it kind of makes it come together for me. 316 pages of his sketches, a few photos and his take on his childhood through military service, to being an old man touring the world organizing Boy and Girl Scout clubs! Surprisingly only 90% of the book is about Boy Scouts and the rest is what he calls, "life number one", all about his time in the military or before that just growing up. Scouting was "life number two" and he was getting on in years by then yet he fit so much into this part of his life. (He also wrote a bunch of other books about the scouting part of his life so I think he didn't want to repeat all of them here.)

The book starts out with an apology. He didn't want to write about himself but someone convinced him saying, it might be helpful to young fellows (including girls) in aiming their lives. So he didn't make it a formal biography starting from baby to whatever but he rather wanted the book to be a "sort of hotch-potch or plum-pudding". Then he says something like good luck finding the plums but they are somewhere in the stodge! So right from the beginning you are put at ease and you start to chuckle. He has a good sense of humor and never really gets full of himself. He just tells stories about the things he remembers, the places he has been and how he got there.

His education was traditional only he didn't fit the traditional mold. He gives his mother a lot of credit. He said, "It was her influence that guided me through life more than any precepts or discipline that I may have learned at school." He didn't get very good marks from his teachers and he wasn't very good with mathematics. He hated learning Greek and Latin and still thinks it is a waste of time for young people. He has some pretty strong opinions about the public school system too. He said that his biggest education came from a variety of things, home, school, sports (like big game hunting)and traveling... He said, "The secret of sound education is to get each pupil to learn for himself, instead of instructing him by driving knowledge into him on a stereotyped system."

BP loved theatricals. A teacher encouraged the boys his age to do "play-acting". and they learned public speaking and self-expression. All this helped later in his career as a spy. Also he would sometimes hide from his teachers out in the woods and trap rabbits and climb trees. He would learn to be really quite and creep around to get close up to a bird or squirrel. All of this without knowing it was an invaluable education for later in life.

BP loves the sea. His brothers did too. They were always having some adventure cruising round the coast of Scotland and England at all seasons of the year. They were always getting in to trouble but this helped them gain useful experiences for life. He learned discipline, endurance of hardships and faced dangers while at sea.

BP was very talented. He performed in quite a few plays and he liked to draw. He even tried a bit of sculpture but said he just didn't have enough time to pursue this pleasure. He played the flugel horn and violin. He could also sing. He also like to make others laugh, or what he called, "giving amusement to others".

He liked to fish and shoot. He tells some really good stories about some of the adventures he goes through chasing after Pigs and killing them with a stick. Very dangerous! He always said this about Pig Sticking, "Don't knock it till you try it." I think I will pass. My favorite stories are the ones about the elephants and the Hippos. He has a great respect for Elephants and is always in awe at their abilities and intelligence. One time he was hunting a hippo in Africa. The Natives were very hungry, in fact near starvation. When hunting hippos you need to be very patient. They always come up in the same place for a breath of air. He was lying on his back to get a steadier aim and so the natives gave him the nickname "M'hlalapanzi", which means - the man who lies down to shoot. Anyway he got it right in the eye and the bullet went straight to the brain. The hippo sinks down to the bottom but eventually bobs to the surface dead. First the natives "cut a square hole in his side, just big enough to admit a man, and one man accordingly went in with a knife and fetched out all sorts of tit-bits in the way of chunks of liver, hear, etc., which he handed to his friend." He was covered with blood from head to foot. They then chopped out large chunks of raw meat and hundreds of natives came to get their piece. Many were to hungry to wait and cook it so they ate it raw. Blah!

Hunting isn't as popular now as it was back then, luckily later in life BP enjoyed Big Game Kodak-ing, for taking a picture of the animal was a very recognizable form of sport too. I like this also. Now the big game hunter can be a naturalist and can still learn invaluable lessons in the jungle. You need to be just as sneaky and quiet and patient to get the best shot on film.

BP was a scout (spy). While in the Army he would go out ahead of the main body and gain information about the enemy. To be a scout you need to be plucky, hardy, resourceful and rely on your own ability to make your way without help from others. You also need to be be courageous, energetic, cheery, hopeful, trusted and never really seeking applause for your work or service. It was very dangerous for BP to do this. Most of his scouting career was in Africa and India. He loved disguise, and learned about this in his short acting career.

One time the American press put out a story, "BADEN POWELL SHOT AS A SPY". 1916 - shot to death by English soldiers on his return to England as a German Spy. He got a big kick out of reading his epitaph. He had such a great sense of humor even about this!

Spy's need to notice the small things and reading a meaning from them: Observation and Deduction. He had a lot of fun as a soldier working as a spy. He proved to be so good at this that it helped in his career in the Army. He learned valuable lessons that he later was able to teach to others and also to young boys in the Boy Scouts program. Observation and deduction can come into use in all sorts of times in ones life.

BP records in this book all kinds of great stories about the natives and fighting or working with the people in Africa and India. He talks about the wonderful leaders he served under and how he learned something important from each one of them. He is considered a national Hero for his actions during the Siege of Mafeking in Britain. He later becomes a Inspector General of Calvary. This was a great honor and only those that work really hard and are well rounded get this position. He was in a position to make changes and help soldiers have better skills and even living conditions. He made a huge difference in many lives. After his retirement he starts the Boy Scouts and with the blessing of the King Edward VII, who thinks he can accomplish a lot more serving the young people of the world when staying in the military, he makes an even bigger impact on the world.




So in his Life Number Two the Boy Scouts are organized. There was a need, like there is today, for the youth in our nation to have Character Training. He said, "He had young men and women that could read and write and were well-behaved and smart looking in a parade but without individuality or strength of character, utterly without resourcefulness, initiative or the guts for adventure." These typed of youth would not be ready to really be good citizens of any nation. Too wimpy. "Civilization is driving Nature farther and farther out of reach of the majority, until realization of its beauties and wonders and our own affinity with God's creations, is becoming lost in the materialistic life of the crowd, with is depressing conditi9ons of work and hectic search for pleasure among man-make squalid surroundings of bricks and mortar...our sons will grow brains instead of brawn." This realization inspired BP to write the book, Aids to Scouting and then Scouting for Boys.

The Aim of the Boys Scouts is: to improve the standard of our future citizen hood, especially in Character and Health. The Attraction: Plan it around principles of being an educational Game. An education in which the boy would be insensibly led to educate himself. The Code: The Scout Law- Honor, trusted, loyal, useful, friend to all, courteous, friend to animals, obey orders, smiles and whistles under all difficulties, thrifty, and clean in thought, word and deed. The Promise:Do his duty to God and King, Do a good turn daily, Obey the Scout Law. Organization: Troops the Patrols and Packs for Cubs. I find all of this very inspiring and hopeful for our boys today too! He talks about the uniform and the Garters and the scout Badges. The Motto "Be Prepared" and the significance of the fleur-de-lys, all very facinating.

The Scouting movement just took off and Scout Troops were forming on their own all over the world by 1920's. Also BP got married and his wife was a great help in the Scouting movement. I learned that an organization was also started for girls called Girl Guides, which later becomes what we know today as the Girl Scouts.

Baden-Powell said and I paraphrase it here...that he was so lucky to live in the most interesting evolutionary epoch in the world's history, with its rapid development of motor-cars, aeroplanes, wireless, Tutenhamen, the Great War and the World convulsion and so on...and he has met with a remarkable amount of kindness everywhere, not only from friend but strangers as well. Also to have the luck to live two distinct lives, one as a soldier and bachelor and the second as a pacifist and a paterfamilias both having the common attribute of Scouting, and both intensely happy. That doesn't mean that he didn't have difficulties and trials to face, but those have been like the sprinkles on top of the icing on the cake.

Overall I have found this book surprisingly fascinating. I haven't thought about the era he lived in and the wars he fought in. I didn't realize there was so much done by British Soldiers in Africa and India so far away with such different cultures and traditions. Baden-Powell had such a rich life because he was happy. He made the best out of every situation and found the humor in situations that others would just be overcome with. He had a vision to help the young people in the world and he was in a position to make a difference so he did, despite being very old, slightly crippled and retired. He could have just sat down and drank tea but he got up and went!

This book also helped me realize that even though this is 2009 we also have a need for Scouting in our Nation. Boys are surrounded by technology and things that make life easy. They can read and write but what do they do when something is hard or challenging? Are they prepared to lead and make a difference? Are they brave and creative enough to use skills to figure hard things out in times of emergency? Scouting helps them with the things they aren't learning in a public School, it gets them out in nature and it provides opportunities to stretch a little through camping, leading their patrol or organizing service projects and carrying them out they are learning what it will take to be be a good citizen and the leaders of tomorrow. They are our future and Scouting helps them prepare!


Whole Book and I recommend it to everyone that is raising children especially if you have boy that will be a Cub Scout soon!

Two re-reads: Pride and Prejudice by Austen and An Assembly such as this by Aidan

Oh I had fun re-reading these two books together at the same time. First I would read An Assembly such as This, it was from Darcy's perspective then I would read up to the same point in Pride and Prejudice mostly from Elizabeth's perspective. Back and forth. It was so fun! It was only the first book in the three part series by Aidan so after I finished that one I just read Austen's book to the end.
I even made a vocabulary list for Aidan's book. Do you know all the definitions for these words?
3
Malingerer
Askance
Dubious
Alacrity
Portentous
Divan
Chagrin
Elicited
Procure
Visage
Castigating
Bereft
Gambit
Inanities
Simper
Inveigling
Drollery
Indignation
Desultory
Tete-a-tete
Vituperation
Acquisition
Cockloft
Assiduously
Surfeit
Insouciance
4
obdurately
accolades
exuberance
judiciously
pricking
forbore
palavering
consternation
prevarication
nuances
veritable
caricature
chatelaine
in vogue
5
Gauche
Ameliorate
Riposte
Antithesis
Innocuous
Reticence
Timbre
6
Vituperation
Perfidy
Mercurial
Discomfiture
Remonstrated
perambulations

Lulled Into False Security

I was reading an article: Meridian Magazine It talks about how economists have said we are out of the recession. Which makes me laugh and the article continues telling us how stupid a statement like that is. The Nation is so far into debt and businesses are having a hard time, employment is bad and mortgages are on homes worth less than the amount of their loans. . .
It is quite a depressing sad realistic overview of where we really are despite the Pres. and the media telling us all is well in Zion.

At the end of the article it says this:
The Only Solution

The only real solution to this seemingly never-ending and suicidal disaster is for an honest and rigorous national recognition that we simply cannot afford an ever bigger and more costly government at every level. Until that happens, which won't be anytime soon, plan on higher taxes for your future. Plan on a shrinking economy. As the CBO points out, deficits penalize income, investments, and savings — so plan on that too.

In seeming desperation, our national government is selling record amounts of debt with a plan to borrow our way out of this economic crisis. Long term it can't work; it won't work. Prophets have warned us.

Several times in scripture is recorded the Lord's divine injunction to "Establish a house of order." While federal and state governments are unlikely to put their houses in order any time soon, we can put our own personal houses in order. We can protect our families from the intensifying economic storm clouds roiling all about us.

We can, we must, make our homes safe from the storms while we still have time. (End of Article)

WOW! How many times do we need to hear it and none the less from a Prophet! NOW is the time for us to get ready, even yesterday was a good time. We need to stop wasting time, money and resources and put it all in order.

What am I doing today? Well, just the usual. What could I be doing instead?

Bullies in the Headlights by Mathew Buckley

This is the sequel to the Chickens in the Headlights book! I think they should be together in the same book but then what would be the point of the "sequel"...and I guess the first book would be too long. The book pretty much starts off right when the last book ended.
This book was just as funny as the first one! I loved it! Little boys are always getting into so much mischief. This book was full of adventures, schemes and friendships. The character seems a little more mature then the last book...he is about a year older but he still is naive and curious like little boys are.
The egg drop is pretty funny! Who would have known what corn starch would do if it is was dropped out of an airplane, unless you tried it!!!
I love the teachable moments with the old guy Sunday School teacher. It was sad to find out that his friends family's home environment was so different from his own loving home.
I loved the Christmas Doorbell Ditching section. (one financially hard year our ward got us for the 12 days of Christmas too.)
I loved the bully's in spite of them being so mean in the beginning. I'm glad that everything came together in the end. (I'm a sucker for happy endings).

I highly recommend this book and the book before it by Mathew Buckley! My son read it 4 times and I lost track of how many times he read the first book but he still quotes from both of them when we do funny things in our family that remind him of the stuff the boys did in the book in their crazy family.

Whole Book

Where are the Seagulls?

The corn is being attacked by GRASSHOPPERS!!!!
They might look small but they are as big as my finger and there are millions of them.

As you can see they are hungry.

Caramel-corn ?

My brother in law makes the best caramel corn in the whole wide world. I thought I had the same recipe and I thought I could make it just like he does. I WAS WRONG! He must have a secret ingredient or a step that I am missing. My husband says his secret is not getting even one unpopped kernel in there but I think it goes beyond that. Don't you think?
I burned half the batch! Believe me it does not taste good burnt. In fact it tastes like medicine. Our popcorn popper, I got at a second hand store a few years back, died on us. Luckily I know how to make popcorn on the stove in a frying pan. (Just another useful thing I picked up while serving abroad.)
Well, maybe I will have to not multitask next time I am attempting to make Caramel Corn. I cleaned the kitchen gave one kid a bath, fed the baby and made dinner while having two or three kids help me. Maybe this is why none of my recipes have been turning out lately. Maybe this is the secret...make it alone in an empty kitchen and clean up afterward! Naaa that couldn't be it.

Chickens in the Headlights by Matthew Buckley

I haven't read a book where I laughed out loud in a long time! This one had me uncontrollably laughing so hard the baby, which was usually quietly eating next to me, would look at me like I had gone crazy. I really needed a good childrens book to start out summer. This book is written by one our our home school family's dad, he uses a pen name. They live here in Cache Valley. We got to meet him a few times and he is pretty quiet around strangers so I was surprised his book was so good and funny.

It is about a family of boys, they are LDS, they have a wild summer full of adventures and the one little boy telling the story learns a profound lesson for life. Yes there are actual chickens in the story. If you have ever seen the movie The Sandlot, this book has that kind of humor and uses that kind of voice...a little boy's perspective on life. I loved it and recommend it to anyone that wants to laugh while remembering their childhood lazy summers packed with Family vacations, chores, picnics, siblings and good old fashioned memories.

There is a sequel too...Bullies in the Headlights. I can't wait to read that one!


Whole BOOK

The Blue Sword by Robin Mckinley

This book was recommended for RS book group when we had to bump a rotten book off our list. I am glad we added it! I loved it! Lots of adventure and descriptions plus a new world not quite like ours. It is a Fantasy/fiction book but didn't have any aliens or dragons (only mentioned one, but that really doesn't count).
The main heroine is a girl! She starts out just being an orphan and was shipped to an uncles house in the desert. She was kind of restless and bored for a while. THEN she was kidnapped but wasn't afraid...just kind of went with it because the life she was leaving behind was boring and she wanted to see what would happen next. (that was the weird part). Well, there is magic and a war...there is also a lot about these special hunting cats and some pretty amazing large war horses. It was a good read and I especially like a book that doesn't end when you think it is the end but tells a little bit more just to cover all the bases, loose ends and stuff like that. Example: you get to the end of the chapter and think it is the end of the book and all those emotions and maybe a sigh happen but then you turn the page and hooray another chapter!
I think there is a sequel...but I haven't found it yet. Anyone know?

Whole Book, healing book

Dollars and Sense By Daryl Hoole

Meridian Magazine I couldn't let this article pass by without sharing it! Great ideas on how to be thrifty and practical with managing money on a tight budget!

Dollars and Sense
By Daryl Hoole

A clever magazine article was captioned, “How to Help Your Daughter Marry Money.” The answer: “Teach her how to manage money wisely.”

Financial security is more about how you spend than how much money you earn.
– Blaine Harris

Being a good steward in general has been addressed in this column a number of times, but this article is specifically about being a good steward over our financial resources. Regardless of our income, it is prudent to conserve our family's possessions through good financial management. That is the way to get ahead and also be able to share with those less fortunate. Following are a few reminders.

Be a smart consumer . Here are some ways to get the most from your money.

* Shop sales—and remind yourself: It is only a bargain if you need it.
* Shop quality. Quality usually pays off in the long term.
* Shop quantity. It is usually a savings to purchase items in bulk.
* Shop from a list and stick to the list to avoid impulse buying.
* Use coupons.
* Purchase only things you need and have room for.
* Charge no more on a credit card than you can pay off each month. A credit card should be used for convenience, not for credit.

Economize in the kitchen. An old saying asserts, “Some women can throw more out the back door with a teaspoon than their husbands can bring through the front door in a wheelbarrow.” An exaggeration, still the expression may contain a kernel of truth. Here are some thrifty ideas:

* Avoid waste
* Cover leftovers before storing in the refrigerator and use them within three days.
* Serve small portions to children (they can always have a second helping).
* Avoid feeding the garbage disposal.
* Do not tell your children things that are not true such as threatening them that if they do not eat, children in Africa will starve. Your children are smart enough to realize that what they do or do not eat has no direct effect on what children in Africa do or do not eat. However, it is true that there are hungry children in the world. Your children should learn to show thankfulness for their food and respect for those who earned it by not wasting it.
* Bake your own bread. Loaves of bread from your oven cost only about 35 cents each, and are generally enjoyed far more by those who eat them than purchased bread. Once you know how to bake bread and get the process down to a system, it doesn't take much time. (See “Leaning on the Staff of Life” for bread baking tips and recipes.)
* Serve cooked cereal as opposed to packaged cereals. A serving of oatmeal costs only 10 cents, plus the milk and brown sugar. Often the preparation is as easy as adding hot water.
* Can or freeze garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. Shop from produce stands along the road or farmers' markets in your community.

Be good stewards—take care of what you have .

* Keep possessions clean and maintained. If they are broken repair or dispose of them. Neglect can cause accidents. For example, house fires can be caused by accumulated dryer lint.
* After use, return possessions to their rightful places. Most things are broken, crushed, stepped on, run over, or lost because they are not where they belong.
* Avoid sun, rain, and wind damage to possessions by keeping them properly stored.

The old maxim remains true: A stitch in time saves nine.

Learn to do it yourself, depending on whether you want to save money or time. For example:

* Do minor household repairs.
* Maintain a vegetable garden.
* Make your own cleaning solutions.
* Cut family members' hair.
* Restore or refinish furniture.
* Make slipcovers, window treatments, etc.
* Specialize in handcrafted gifts.
* Create your own greeting cards.
* Make eating out a special occasion, not a default dinner.
* Learn to paint and wallpaper and even lay tile.
* Look for clothing that does not need to be dry-cleaned. You might want to consider washing and ironing shirts and blouses rather than sending them to a commercial laundry.
* Exchange services with others, such as baby sitting, in return for hair or nail care.

Many resourceful moms have discovered they can stay home and save more than they can go out and earn. There are no childcare or transportation expenses. There are fewer temptations for “lunching out” and shopping, and your taxes don't go up. Studies have shown that families who have two working parents eat dinner out more often. Both spouses are too tired to cook after a day at work.

Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

Beware of the power of advertising. There is a reason why advertisers are willing to pay large amounts of money for a brief spot on television, a small feature in a magazine, or an eye-catching display in a store—these ads are cleverly designed to whet consumers' appetites and result in a sale. It requires a strong resolve regarding needs and wants to resist being tempted to buy more than you need or can afford.

The practice of thrift is not outdated. We must discipline ourselves to live within our incomes even if it means going without or making do. The wise person can distinguish. . . between basic needs and extravagant wants. Some find budgeting extremely painful, but I promise you, it is never fatal.”
–Elder Marvin J. Ashton

Learn to be content with what you have. While it is good to be ambitious and industrious and try to improve our lot in life, it is certainly not good to be envious of others and thereby become discontented with what we have. The Tenth Commandment admonishes us, “Thou shalt not covet.” Closely related to coveting is being discontented, desiring more than we can have.

It can bring contentment in life to realize that we do not have to have “everything” to be happy. It can bring even greater contentment to accept the fact that we do not have to give our children everything--not even everything we had as a child. We can instead help them to have happy times through whatever resources are available to us.

Three women—a mother, her married daughter, and the daughter's friend—were chatting. The daughter was lamenting the fact that she wasn't able to provide a swimming pool for her children. Her life as a child had revolved around the family's pool. She loved to swim, and she felt her children were missing out on so much. Her mother said, “Do you know, all the time you were swimming I was feeling bad that you didn't have an orchard and a hollow to play in like I had as a child. My happiest hours were spent climbing trees and hiding in the hollow.” At this point the friend added, “What I enjoyed most as a child was riding my bike up and down the quiet street we lived on. But I've felt disappointed for several years; I can't allow my children to do that because the street running past our house is so busy. But just now I've come to realize how fortunate my children are. We have a wonderful backyard with an orchard and a hollow.”

In conclusion, please consider the following lines:

C B A's of Dollars and Sense

You may think that I have it backwards,
going from C to A,
But let me explain my reasoning
for managing money this way.

CONSECRATE one tenth to the Lord
And a portion to save and invest.
If you make these your priorities—
You'll be blessed to manage the rest.

Draw up a BUDGET and stick to you plan.
Be thrifty, be prudent, and share.
Don't confuse your wants and your needs.
Be grateful, be honest and fair.

AVOID DEBT as you would a plague.
Make interest your friend, not your foe.
Except for a home, education, or car,
Paying cash is the smart way to go.

Consecrate, Budget, and Avoid debt,
C B A—by way of review—
And when you take care of your money,
Your money takes care of you.

By Phyllis White

Daryl will be participating at BYU Education Week, August 18-21. For the time and place, please consult next month's column or the Education Week Program.

HOST by Stephanie Meyer

YIKES! This was a different book from her vampire series! Aliens, science fiction, suspense, romance and moral questions about life and death. It was a little broken but also healing type of book. I liked it and that is weird for me because usually I don't like books that are so twisted and sappy. Maybe I am getting a bit desensitized! So I have to be truthful, would I let my daughter read it? Well not yet, but maybe later and then talk with her about the tough questions raised in the book.
I thought this book was very imaginative and well thought out. It all comes around in the end and tiny pieces from the beginning are brought back up and resolved. Recommend it to late teens and adults by me the over sensitive mother of 5 ! Enjoy!

The Zoo, Renaissance Fair and weekend fun!

We had an adventure the other day going down to Salt Lake City. First we needed a plan...so we planned everything and crammed it into one day!
First we woke up earlier then early because we wanted to beat the crowds at the Hogle Zoo. (funny everyone and their stroller was there!) My sister-in-law had passes and needed to be used before the end of the month and luckily shared them with us! We saw giraffes, elephants, snakes and the red panda, plus the backside of a zebra. He wouldn't turn around.

I like the Giraffes the best.

My two year old was the happiest to be at the zoo but she was the one that had the hardest time seeing the animals.



My camera ran out of batteries before we finished half the morning! I might have to add other pictures I never blogged about yet as I tell this story. Here is one that has nothing to do with our adventure. The double rainbow from last week, posted for the Birthday girl!
From the zoo we had to rush off to my sister's house for lunch and a birthday party. My parents met up with us and my other sister in law plus my other sister! That was a lot of people to feed and party with. I wish we could have stayed longer and helped clean up after. Sorry to my best sister in the world!

THEN we rushed off to the Renaissance Fair in Ogden. My magic uncle Ralph's magic show comes down every year from Seattle for this one! I glad I finally got to see him perform after like 10 yrs. We didn't get to see the famous saw the person in half magic trick but the ones we did see were awesome!

We also saw a bit of jousting. Or at least a few horses warming up for the joust. The girls liked playing with the goats more then anything. They were babies and very tame. We saw lots of cool things to buy but luckily I didn't have any cash so we didn't buy all those cool things. It was hot and we then had to rush back up to Logan so we could pick up the lambs and get them to the fairgrounds. They had to be registered and tagged in person for the County Fair in Aug. 2009's 4-H events. That was a circus... the lambs just don't follow yet so we had to pull and push them and everyone else did too. Imagine 30-40 lambs all going the wrong way with a small child attached to their halter ropes. It was really hard not to just sit there and laugh but I was pushing a sheep instead. Here is another random picture. Yep big sister is reading to little brother. ahhh so cute.

Then Saturday Mike took off for something in SLC and I decided to try mowing the lawn. So every time the baby fell asleep I would eventually get the mower started and push it as hard as I could. Thanks for letting us borrow it, you are the best sister in the world! It is so loud that you have to wear ear thingers and eye protection (all kinds of things are being swooped up from the ground, rocks sticks and pine cones). The lawn is so overgrown that it gets all caught up and the mower tries to stop but doesn't if you lift it a bit and stop, very temperamental but better to mow now then later...it is a jungle out there! I am glad we are getting the yard under control. We also worked on the dandelion invasion and we started a mulch pile. FUN! Achhoooo! Allergy season is here and I have a sinus infection. I lost my voice and it just barely came back on Sunday. I feel like Kim (another best sister in the world!)

Sunday finally came and I love the day of rest at the end of busy weeks. Anyway I missed most of church because of the tiny innocent baby. He was so squirmy and noisy!
Then off to choir and Cub Committee meeting after church. I missed most of choir because of tiny fussy baby and the squawking parrot that scared him silly.(Parrot was at choir directors house and is really loud while we practice.) The Cub Comm meeting was good but I had to hold fussy baby and conduct. We are going to have a fun Pack meeting next week outside at a very cool park! I need to get all kinds of things ready for that this week, luckily I am learning to delegate!

When I got home the kids were scattered throughout the great outdoors so after rounding them up and feeding them something from the freezer, it was time for bed. Whew. Nothing like a good long day of rest!

I really can't wait for another week to start! We are going to have beautiful weather for a few days! I want to get the garden area rotor-tilled. We got tools on craigslist Saturday night! Now we can all work work work together. Oh and has anyone seen the movie The Tale of Despereaux? Very funny. I heard the book was better and can't wait to read it with the kids.

AND finally getting around to posting this...I will add...
Today was so hot we actually played in the sprinklers and washed the mini van. The long winter is OVER! Right, it is over? Yippee!!! I love winter but Spring should not be intermixed with other Seasons!
He loves this action shot!

If you got through this long post you deserve a prize! Get up and go to the kitchen. Get down a large cup and fill it with cold water from the faucet! Drink! Congratulations!

Julie of The Wolves by Jean Craighead George

Yep she is the same person that wrote My Side of the Mountain. I really liked that book but this one...well it was well written just a bit...I don't know. The best part was all the Eskimo lore. The worst was the broken home story.
Julie was a very brave girl and she learned a lot from her dad about the wilderness. When she decided to run away from home and join a wolf pack...that is where it got interesting. She survived in the coldest place all on her own by keeping her wits and using her instincts, brains and heart. I didn't know wolves would be kind to humans. I thought they were like the Jack London's White Fang wolves. These are actually nice, when you figure out how to talk wolf.

Healing book

The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour

I really thought this would be a western. I was very surprised to find it far from the western cowboy books he usually writes. Where did the Pirates, the Arabian horses and princesses all come from?

Historical Fiction always seems so choppy to me. This book was choppy. Mainly because he had to keep telling us all the history and dates, places and people instead of just getting on with the story. But the story wasn't what he was trying to tell it was the history so it came out choppy.

His Lonesome Gods book will always be my favorite. This book doesn't really come close to that one. I might still be in shock though that The Walking Drum wasn't a western? Who would have guessed? I just assumed the drum was American Indian or something. NOPE it is something like gypsy but not...it was a merchant group walking together and the drum kept them in step. It wasn't mentioned till you get way past the middle of the book. The drum was actually only referred to maybe three times...I would have had a different more relevant title for this un-western book. OR developed the walking drum idea a bit more in the book.

The main charactor is a boy and his family gets massacred so he escapes and jumps on a ship...he has to be a slave on the ship even though he knows more about being a sailor then everyone on the ship because he went to sea with his dad before. He escapes and set out on a quest to find out if his father is dead or needs saving. He is always seeking knowledge and eventually goes to all these places and reads a bunch of books, has experiences and seeks revenge. He also isn't such an innocent guy...he is always running into some maiden in distress but never marries her after his grand rescue. He also makes allies and enemies in every stage of the stories course. He is also very lucky.He is a scholar but also a soldier. His knowledge also gets him out of a few scrapes and his quick talking and riding.

Overall I didn't really like the book but I might just have to give it another chance. It is a classic like no other classic I have read. The time period is post Caesar, after viking area and takes place in old Europe and middle east.

Healing book

5,000 year leap by Skousen

This was an incredible book for getting back to the basics of the Constitution. What did the founders really mean and want when they went to all the trouble to write this inspired part of Americans living history? This book had some great insight. I loved it and recommend it for everyone that values your freedom in this great country!

Whole Book

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

We just read this book for the North Logan 5 pillar Book group. It was just as good the second time around as the first time I read it. There is nothing like a good end of the world book, complete with nuclear explosions.

What I really liked most is the detail of what you need and what you thought you would need but ended up being completely useless to you. I have had dreams about running out of salt. In my dream I had to walk all the way to the Salt Lake to get some but it was contaminated because of all the factories that are around it. Salt is really cheap right now and it is the next thing that is going into our food storage in a larger quantity then we currently have.

I also have to remember my sister's advice, not to put too much in the large freezer because when the electricity is out all will be spoiled in a few days.

Food, candles, fuel, shelter, arms and food are all on the top of the list too. Did you ever think that books would be important again. I take it for granted the info accessible and in seconds, right at the tips of my fingers? Google will no longer be there because no electricity no computers. Bye bye cell phones...and you better be in shape because you will be walking everywhere.

I liked this book because the hero was a guy named Randy. He was a bum and had no goals in life despite serving at one time in the army and running for mayor but when met with the challenge he rose to the occasion and took charge. He was a natural leader. The second favorite person was Alice the librarian. She tried so hard to get people to read but they watched TV and went to movies but after the disaster everyone came to learn things from the library.

Slightly broken book, healing book