The Rent Collector

Yes, I am still alive. Yes, I know that I have fallen off of the Blogosphere and haven't posted anything in 7 months. It's not that I haven't had anything to write about...because sheesh a lot has happened. It's just that I forgot the importance of the written word, the value of writing things down, and the impact that stories can have on others. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that my words are important, valuable, and make an impact on all of you who still read this (thanks for hanging in there). What I am saying is that I realized that it is important to me. I like to share my stories, recipes, failures, and successes so that my family and I can look back on them and remember the good along with the bad. I stopped writing because I lost sight of my word's worth. Thanks to this FANTASTIC book, I remembered that my opinions, values, thoughts, and beliefs do matter and that I need to write them down.
So I'm baa-aaack. Not everyday, maybe not every week or even month. Just when I have something worth writing about. The Rent Collector by Camron Wright is worth writing about and definitely worth reading!
The Rent Collector is about a young mother who lives in the largest waste dump in Cambodia. It is not about where you live, but how you live. It is about finding hope and rising above your circumstances. It is about the value of literacy and the written word. Even in a dump where worthless things are thrown out, treasures are found and seemingly worthless people are befriended and treasured as well.
It helped me to see that amid my posts that I see as being worthless and garbage because of my imperfections and insecurities, there are treasures to learn and that I need to write them down and share. So in the next few posts I will try to catch up on the last 7 months.

Heaven Is Here

Stephanie Nielson is one of my heroes. I follow her blog - nieniedialogues.com and just finished her book, Heaven is Here. I found so much hope, strength, inspiration, and self introspection from this book. Stephanie is an amazing woman and mother. After a devastating plane crash in which she was burned over 80 percent of her body, she writes about her struggles and recovery. She writes how she puts her total and complete trust in the Lord and the divine help that she receives. She writes how she comes to accept and appreciate her new scarred and painful body. She writes about the everyday joys in life that I take for granted and how she finds fulfillment in the sometimes mundane day-to-day things. She writes about deep physical and emotional pain and how she found piece and hope and even joy....It's a GREAT book!

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this book:

"At first I thought stubbornly that the only thing that would make me happy was for life to look like it did before the accident. But no one could give that to me, and no one else could make me happy. Happiness was my choice, and though it is hard won, I am the only person who can stand in the way of it. As I gradually accepted my responsibility to choose happiness every day, I rediscovered the beautiful life I had always wanted. I still have to remind myself to choose happiness almost every morning when I wake up in pain, and I expect I will need reminding throughout my life, but the amazing thing is the more I make the choice to see and feel joy, the more joy there is to see and to feel."

"I know, now, without a doubt that the true source of happiness, self worth, and authentic beauty doesn't come from the outside. Women and constantly being persuaded to want something unachievable, to look younger or thinner and above all to fit in because being different is too painful and embarrassing. I have accepted myself in a world that does not accept me, because I have learned--and more than any of the lessons of my accident, this is the one I wish I could teach everybody--that our hearts matter most. Your heart matters most, so be gentler and more patient with yourself, and their hearts matter most, too, so be kinder and more compassionate to others. It's a beautiful heart, not a perfect body, that leads to a beautiful life."

"I do think that insofar as heaven is a joyful place fulled with people you love, and where you feel peaceful and genuinely happy, then it's true. Heaven is right here."

Let It Go

 

I just read an incredible book about a man's true story of tragedy and forgiveness. Let It Go by Chris Williams is how Chris was able to move on, forgive, and be happy after a drunk driver hit his family's car; killing his pregnant wife and two children and seriously injuring another child. It is so inspiring how Chris' faith and trust in Christ gets him through this tragedy.

"Since the crash, I've had many conversations with people searching for peace and forgiveness in their lives, earnestly desiring to know how I was able to let it go and rely wholly on the Savior's grace in my life...We have an advocate who has been given the power and authority to carry all of our burdens, and yet I have met so many people looking and praying for the strength to carry their own burdens. Mine is yet another story of the enabling, healing, and enlightening power of Jesus Christ. He is everything, and I am nothing, and yet "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13). "

Here is Chris' story in his own words:

Unbroken

Wow! What an amazing true story. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is about Louis Zamperini and his spirit that could not be broken. Louie was a former Olympic runner. He joined the Army Air Forces. His bomber plane crashed on the ocean where he endured 46 days on a small raft. 46 days of heat, thirst, starvation, and sharks constantly swimming around them. When that ordeal was over, he was taken as a prisoner of war to several Japanese POW camps. For 2 1/2 years he was beaten, starved, enslaved, and deprived of basic human needs and dignities. What happened to those POW's is heartbreaking. Louie's resilience and drive to survive is inspiring. For him WWII did not end when he was released; his war ended when he was able to forgive those who tried to take everything from him. They almost succeeded, but his unbreakable spirit could not be taken from him.

Parenting With Love and Logic

It's too bad kids don't come with an owner's manual because I could sure use one. I just read a book that comes pretty darn close; Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay. I have noticed a huge difference in the frustration levels in our home (in both the kids and Eric and I) as we implement what we have read. Love and Logic is all about teaching kids responsibility by letting them make their own choices and living with the natural consequences of those choices.

"Effective parenting centers around love: love that is not permissive, love that doesn't tolerate disrespect, but also love that is powerful enough to allow kids to make mistakes and permit them to live with the consequences of those mistakes. Most mistakes do have logical consequences. And those consequences, when accompanied by empathy--our compassionate understanding of the child's disappointment, frustration, and pain--hit home with mind-changing power."

 Here is one of my favorite examples from the book about teaching kids to keep their rooms clean:
Parent: "Would it be reasonable for you to have your room cleaned by Saturday morning?"
Child: "Aw, I don't want to clean my room."
Parent: "Well, that's okay. You don't have to. You can hire me or your sister or your brother to do it. We'd love some extra cash."
Child: "But I don't have any money."
Parent: "You know, when adults don't have any money, they sell something."
Child: "Sell something?"
Parent: "You don't have to decide now what you're going to sell. You can tell me by Saturday. If you can decide by Saturday, that means you get to choose what to sell. And if you can't, that means I choose. So you have a choice of who chooses. That's up to you."

And another funny example from a parent:
"I never knew if the Love and Logic principles were sinking in with my husband until one day, in the car, when we were driving together and the kids were raising low-grade heck and high water in the backseat, he said, "Guys, it's going to be a lot quieter in this car the last mile home because your mom and I will be the only ones in here!"
There was a moment of deafening silence, and then our ten-year-old son, in a slightly challenging and snarky voice, said, "You wouldn't do that!"
Quick as a wink, my hubby said, "That's what Tommy said."
Again a moment of silence. Then one of the kids asked, "Who's Tommy?"
My husband replied, "Your older brother!"
A mile from home, the kids got out and hiked home, and, of course, we never had to use that method again. But the cute and wonderful thing is now that the kids are grown and travel with their families on trips, they write us and sign it, "Poor lost Tommy." It's the family joke. Wandering Tom is still out there somewhere, wandering the highways and byways of the world after being kicked out of the car and becoming lost on the way home."

I am excited to use some of these techniques and to see my kids squirm a little as they face the consequences of their poor choices.

In My Hands Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer

I just finished an amazing true story about a small Polish girl who made a huge difference. In My Hands, Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke is Irene's incredible story of courage to help those in need no matter the cost. Just 19 when WWII started, she rose above her own hardships to help her Jewish friends. She wrote:

"You must understand that I did not become a resistance fighter, a smuggler of Jews, a defier of the SS and the Nazis, all at once. One's first steps are always small: I had begun by hiding food under a fence. Now I was making plans to get a wagon to transport in secret the Morris brothers and their sisters."

The stories of WWII are horrible, but from them also come stories of hope, miracles, and love. This is one of those stories.

The Help

I really enjoyed The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is set in Jackson Mississippi in the 1960's during the civil rights movements. It is about the relationships between African American maids, or "the help", and the white families that they work for. It was troubling, touching, funny, and thought provoking. The only thing that I disliked was the occasional use of foul language.

Here is a quote from Kathryn Stockett about The Help:
"I don't presume to think that I know what it really felt like to be a black woman in Mississippi, especially in the 1960s. I don't think it is something any white woman on the other end of a black woman's paycheck could ever truly understand. But trying to understand is vital to our humanity. In The Help there is one line that I truly prize:

Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separated us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.

"I'm pretty sure I can say that no one in my family ever asked Demetrie (our family maid) what it felt like to be black in Mississippi, working for our white family. It never occurred to us to ask. It was everyday life. It wasn't something people felt compelled to examine.
I have wished, for many years, that I'd been old enough and thoughtful enough to ask Demetrie that question. She died when I was sixteen. I've spent years imagining what her answer would be. And that is why I wrote this book."

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was an amazing read! It takes place in the middle of Nazi Germany and is about the importance of words. Hitler used words to destroy and brainwash people. In the midst of the ugliness, a young girl learns the opposite power of words. Through books she befriends those who are overlooked and judged by others, including a Jew. She learns that words can calm people down in bomb shelters and amid personal grief. And she uses words to write her own story to give people hope that there is goodness in the middle of Nazi Germany.

I loved this book, I loved the unforgettable characters, I loved the message, I loved Zusak's style of writing. I loved reading from the perspective of a German and seeing the other side of Germany where people were kind to Jews and didn't support Hitler (risking their lives). I loved that Death is the narrator of the story. However, I did not like all of the swearing.

Here is a little taste of the book, this is part of a fairy tale written by the girl's Jewish friend:

"There was once a strange, small man. He decided three important details about his life:
1.He would part his hair from the opposite side of everyone else.
2.He would make himself a small, strange mustache.
3.He would one day rule the world.
The young man wondered around for quite some time, thinking, planning, and figuring out exactly how to make the world his. Then one day, out of nowhere, it struck him-the perfect plan. He'd seen a mother walking with her child. At one point, she admonished the small boy, until finally, he began to cry. Within a few minutes, she spoke very softly to him, after which he was soothed and even smiled.
The young man rushed to the woman and embraced her. "Words!' He grinned. "What?" But there was no reply. He was already gone.
Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words. "I will never fire a gun," he devised. "I will not have to." Still, he was not rash. Let's allow him at least that much. He was not a stupid man at all. His first plan of attack was to plant the words in as many areas of his homeland as possible. 
He planted them day and night, and cultivated them.
He watched them grow, until eventually, great forests of words had risen throughout Germany...It was a nation of farmed thoughts."
It goes on to tell how a young girl plants a seed of a different kind which changed the thoughts of some people in the forest of hatred.

This was a great book! If you love to read about WWII like I do, I highly suggest The Book Thief! Just have some tissues nearby.

Faith Behind the Fences

Faith Behind the Fences by Kelly Dispirito Taylor is the true story of Hanny Londt-Shultz and her family while they were imprisoned in a Japanese prison camp in Sumatra during WWII. Despite the starvation, disease, and forced labor in the camps, the family finds hope and faith and recognizes many small miracles that get them through the 3 1/2 years of captivity. I loved this book. It was very inspirational in that you can find faith and hope anywhere and anytime...just pay attention to the small, tender mercies that the Lord blesses us with.

"You know Peggy, the first few months we were in Palembang, I prayed every day to be released from that godforsaken place, sometimes several times a day. I was starting to feel kind of discouraged, thinking that maybe God wasn't answering my prayers. Then one evening it dawned on me. Sometimes our big problems aren't taken away, but, instead, little blessings might come along to ease our burdens and help us remember He is still watching over us."...I guess some of my Mammy's faith had rubbed off on me, because as I stood there sawing, I couldn't imagine there not being a God to watch over us or to listen to our prayers. Some might say it is ironic to hear such thoughts come from a prisoner of war, someone who had lived in captivity for more than three years and experienced deprivations of all types, but that was how I felt as I stood there pushing the saw back and forth with my sister under the thick tree canopy in a remote prison camp in the jungle of Sumatra.

5 Spiritual Solutions for Everyday Parenting Challenges

5 Spiritual Solutions for Everyday Parenting Challenges by Richard and Linda Eyre was a great book! It had tons of practical ideas to add to the spirituality in my home and gospel centered principles to help conquer everyday challenges. "Every LDS parent should read this book! It is a truly unique and new kind of parenting approach, written on a spiritual level for parents who know what the world knows not." - Stephen R. Covey
The Eyre's show how basic beliefs can be used in everyday applications with our families. As I was reading this book, I took notes of what I want to implement in my family and I ended up with 2 pages full of ideas for Family Home Evening, and goals that I want to start working on with my family.

The Lightening Thief

Aaron got Percy Jackson & The Olympians; The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan for his birthday and I quickly snatched it up and read it before him. I loved it. It is a fun book about Greek mythology with a modern twist. Percy Jackson finds out his true identity as one of the Greek God's sons. He must prove himself and prevent a war between the Gods in a seemingly impossible quest. It was a very fun book to read and I am sure Aaron will love it too!

An End To The End

Nathan loved The End by David LaRochelle that I got from the library. He wanted Eric and I to read it every morning and night. Out of the huge pile of fresh library books he would always resort to this one. We all had the thing memorized...including Nathan. I got so sick of reading it one day that I told Nathan that he needed to read it to me...hoping that he would move on to another, less annoying book. Surprisingly he picked it up and "read" it almost word for word. From then on,every morning and night Nathan would "read" this story to us. I sure got sick of this weird, backwards story and was very happy to take it back to the library and put an end to The End, but I could never get sick of listening to Nathan tell it in his cute little voice:

Sarah's Key

 Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay is about the importance of remembering history. The history of this book takes place in Paris in 1942. 10 year old Jewish girl, Sarah, along with her mother and father are arrested as part of the Vel'd'Hiv' roundup. Before they were arrested, Sarah told her little brother to hide in a secret cupboard in their house. Sarah locked him in to keep him safe, thinking that she would be back to get him. Sarah carried that key, trying to get back to her brother locked in the cupboard, thinking of him as she endured one of the worst times in Paris' history. It is this history that helps a woman, Julia, 60 years later as she researches about the Vel' d'Hiv' and discovers that Sarah's family lived in the same apartment that her husband grew up in after Sarah was forced to leave. Sarah's key unlocks a dark secret that brings these two families together.
I know, another book from WWII...I am just fascinated with that time period. It is in these books that I read about the very worst and the very best in people. I even have another one on hold at the library. This was a good book. It was sad because of the time period of WWII. It does have some strong language, which I hate. I also thought that the ending was too drawn out...but a good book nonetheless.

Super Stories

Here are my favorite books that I have read throughout the year. So find a nice quiet place, pull up a comfy chair, grab one of these books, wrap up in a blanket, and have your favorite snacks close by, and enjoy a nice long break as you read....ok, maybe in a dream world...but if you have a minute, you should really read these books!

Can You Cuddle Like a Koala - my favorite children's books by John Butler
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything - my favorite story that Aaron wrote
Fablehaven - my favorite read aloud that I read with my kids
Pioneer Heritage - my favorite story from my family history
The BFG - another fun read aloud...LOVE Ronald Dahl books!
Even in Australia - my favorite tweak that I wrote from a story
Grandpa's Stories - the stories that Grandpa told me as a little girl
The Hiding Place - my favorite story...very inspirational!!
Stephanie's Story - my favorite blog to read
Book of Mormon - my favorite book!

Lemon Tart

Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack was a fun and easy culinary mystery. It combines two of my favorite things - a good read, and good recipes. It is the story of 56 year old Sadie who loves to cook and loves to keep busy. As she is busy making applesauce, she soon becomes entangled in solving her neighbor's (Anne's) mysterious murder that started with a lemon tart left in her oven.
This was a great book with a totally unexpected ending. I even bought the ingredients to make the lemon tart recipe. Hopefully mine does not turn out as disastrous as Anne's :)

A Love Story

My Grandma and Grandpa S. are together again after being separated for 7 months when Grandpa died. My Grandma just passed away and they are now reunited and in each others arms again. There's is a true love story. They met in Washington D.C., were engaged 2 days later, got married and stayed married for 64 years.

Right after they were married, Grandpa went off to fight in WWII. During this time they wrote each other love letters. This is a poem that my Grandpa wrote to his bride during their separation:

To That Girl Of Mine

As another day has passed, 

And I'm home again at last,

In my heart I'm thinking of a girl so kind, 

Of my darling LaPriel I left behind.

As I sit here without a letter,

I can't think of anything better,

Than to sit down and write,

Of how I'm thinking of her tonight.

In this big world of toil and woe,

What people are doing, they do not know.

For it matters not to all of them

What the Lord has forbidden unto men.

Today the news says Hitler is dead,

The news is good, someone has said.

Peace on the earth is near at hand,

Were freedom again will rule the land.

I'm praying the day to come to me

That soon again I may cross the sea.

For the thought that I have in mind,

Is to get back to that girl of mine.

Their love story is only beginning as they are together now, never to be separated again. 

The Bridge

There once was a big turntable bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river parallel with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come alone, and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river allowing the train to cross. The bridge was just wide enough for a train to cross it.

A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train passed. One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight, and caught sight of the train's light. He stepped to the controls and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position for the train to cross, and moved the lever to lock the bridge into position, but to his horror, he found the locking control didn't work. If the bridge was not locked securely into position it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard.

He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever which he could use to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train passed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength.

Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold!-----"Daddy, where are you?" His four--year old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run! Run!" but the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left the lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety, but he realized he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die.

He took just a moment to make his decision. The train sped swiftly and safely on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny, broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of a sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locked lever long after the train had passed. They didn't see him walking home more slowly than he has ever walked----to tell his wife how he had sacrificed their son.

Now if you can comprehend the emotions which went through this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of our Heavenly Father when he sacrificed His son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. Can there be any wonder that he caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died? And how does He feel when we speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done for us through Jesus? When was the last time you thanked Him for the sacrifice of His Son?
 -Author Unknown

Shiloh

The kids and I just finished Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. It was a little difficult to read out loud because of all the back-woods country folk wording and phrases, but other than that, it was a great book. Shiloh is about a boy named Marty who finds a beagle that ran away from his drunk and abusive owner. Marty falls in love with the dog and will do anything he can think of to keep and protect Shiloh.

This is a great book to teach kids about being honest and making right choices - even when the right thing seems so wrong, and the value of hard work.

Travis' Journal

It was time once again to pull out a journal and add another year. This time it was Travis's. He just turned one so here is some of his story so far:

Birthday - "I am sitting here with my beautiful baby boy Travis. You were born at 1:32 pm, weighing 8 pounds even and 21 inches long. You are such a good little baby and SO cute with chubby cheeks and lots of golden-blond hair. You are perfect and I am so grateful for a healthy beautiful boy!
The only complication was with Daddy. He wasn't feeling good this morning. Then during my epidural, Dad almost passed out. He got very dizzy and pale and had to sit on the floor and drink some juice...luckily he is ok.
It has been a very snowy, cold "Spring" day. I guess the weather is playing an April Fools joke on us. Right after you were born we took a picture of you with a pink birth announcement and emailed it to all of our friends and family saying that you were a girl - followed by another email 30 minutes later saying "April Fools!" Most people knew that it was a joke, but we did fool some of our friends :) I hope that you have a good sense of humor because I am sure that you will have a lot of jokes played on you with a birthday on April Fools Day.
Kaylee, Aaron, and Nathan came to see you today and they were very excited for their new brother (although Nathan was more interested in the buttons on my bed). We are so happy to have you in our family!"

 

 6 Months - "You are a tough little guy. Nathan loves to pull you, poke you, lay on top of you, and squeeze your cheeks and you usually laugh and smile - only encouraging him to continue. You are an excellent sleeper (thank you). Travis, I love you so much! You bring so much happiness into my life each day with your adorable smiles and giggles."

"Today you and I were grocery shopping and President Eyring (1st counselor in the First Presidency) was there shopping with his wife. We were both picking out bananas and I was brave enough to say "hello" and shake his hand. Then he saw you and said "There is that blue-eyed baby that we saw on the way in. I was wondering who was so lucky to have such a beautiful baby." It was such a nice compliment - and yes...I am sure lucky to have you! So now you can say that an apostle loves you beautiful blue eyes and blond hair."

The Seventeen Second Miracle

Seventeen seconds can change a life...forever. The Seventeen Second Miracle by Jason Wright is about how a man turned a 17 second tragedy into a lifetime of seventeen second miracles...by recognizing the kind deeds of others and taking the time to make someone's day with a simple act of service.

"Love is a verb, boy. Seventeen seconds to thank her for dinner. Seventeen seconds to buy a bouquet on the way out of the grocery store. You can save your marriage, a life, a friendship, just seventeen seconds at a time."

I really enjoyed this book. It is a great reminder that we need to look around us to see the kindness and beauty of life and to look for opportunities to create a little miracle for someone else...it may just take seventeen seconds to brighten someone's day and even change a life!