1556 Pages Later

Time for a book review! As all of you know, I am a total book-aholic. I love to read. And I enjoy lots of different genres too. So I typically bounce around quite a bit and am usually up to read just about anything.

First off, The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.

I know I mentioned this one at the end of my book list, but I wanted to follow up since I hadn't finished reading it at the time. I... loved... it! By far, hands down, one of the best books I have ever read. One thing that some people may find strange about me considering I am a book lover is that I don't like to buy books. A. I am cheap. B. I don't re-read books. Unless I have to. I read Huck Finn multiple times for classes. Occasionally I will revisit a book that I really liked but forgot how it turned out. But in general, it's the same way with me for TV episodes. If I have seen it once, I don't want to watch it again. Why is it different with movies though? Anyway, back to the subject. The Hiding Place is a book that I would own in a heartbeat. One I would definitely read again. And one that I really want my kids to read. It is so beautiful, so moving, so inspirational. I am so glad I read it! I highly highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Next: Beyond Summer by Lisa Wingate.

First off - the story of how I stumbled on this one. After finishing The Hiding Place, I went to the Orem Public Library in search of a new book. I have a love/hate relationship with that place. I love the layout and the feel, and of course the location. However, they rarely have more than a few copies of each book - especially popular ones. This has always driven me crazy. I went with the intent of picking up one of the books some of you recommended on my last book post. However, I could only recall a couple of them off the top of my head and the few copies they had were all checked out. Go figure. So I wandered around aimlessly, trying to decide what I was in the mood to read. I stopped in front of the Staff Picks and browsed for a bit. I have found some great reads there before. Nothing really stood out to me though. That's when I noticed Beyond Summer.

My first impression? Gag. Horrible title. Horrible cover. I am sorry Ms. Wingate, but it's the truth. I know you are never supposed to judge a book by its cover - but I have to say I believe it's impossible. I always try to look past that, but my goodness. 9/10 times I have made up my mind about a book within seconds of seeing the cover. This one was no different. But, I picked it up anyway. Truthfully, I only did it to read the back and get a good giggle off the plot, which I assumed would be a horribly cheesy chick flick.

I was surprised. It was about embezzlement. Fraud. Home loan scandals. Foreclosures. You name it. Very real stuff told from very real perspectives. I was actually immediately interested. No, it didn't sound like an adventure or fast paced book, but it sounded real. Genuine. And interesting. So I got it. I have to admit I actually enjoyed. I thought the issues it addressed, the friendships created and tested, and the real life view it presented were really good.

One day while I was getting ready to leave work, my co-worker asked what I was reading. I had had the book faced down on the counter. He picked it up, flipped it over, and said, "Oh! Is this why you had it faced down?" referring to the cheesy cover and title. I burst out laughing and admitted, "Yes, yes it is." So unfortunately despite my liking the book, I was still a little embarrassed at the cover. Silly? Self-conscious? Yes. I know, I know. But I can't help. But despite the embarrassment, it was still a good read. I would probably give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next: Secret Speakers by KSR Kingworth.

My first impression? Awesome cover! Awesome title! This is kind of cover I like. This immediately had me intrigued. In fact, I had several people ask me about it based solely off the cover. So hats off to Ms. Kingworth and her cover designer. Although I just noticed something... The book that I read didn't have that lizard there. It had what I assumed to be more of a dragon hand/paw. What's the technical word for that? Either way its still very cool. But the lizard actually makes more sense...

I actually met the author at a fundraiser my sister hosted to buy enough Scentsy Buddies for each child attending MDA camp to have one. She lives in the neighborhood just north of my parents, and although she had never met anyone in my family, she saw a flier and stopped by. She is an amazing woman and I could have talked to her for hours. My mom of course set us up talking since she was recently published and that is my life-long dream. After a much too short conversation, she ran home and brought back two copies of her book along with the book on cd. She gave a book to me and to my little brother. I was super excited!

It is a good read. It is young adult fantasy and has been compared to the Narnia series because of its Christian allegories. But the author is LDS, so this one had even more depth and beauty to it. There is a lot of doctrine in it, but it is told in such a way that you don't feel preached to. In fact, it is so beautifully done, with so many of the Gospel truths intertwined, you would never even know. It is light and for lack of a better word, pure. It reads quickly and I think it probably enjoyable for all ages. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

And lastly, The Reincarnationist by M.J. Rose

Talk about total opposite read from the previous one! After finishing Secret Speakers, I was back at the library in search of something new. I had a specific book I was after, and the computer said it was there... but it lied. So I stood in the aisle where the book should have been and decided that I would just wander that aisle and pick something up from there. I wasn't really even sure what I was in the mood to read, but I stumbled across this one and was immediately interested. Again - great title. Great cover. I had never heard of the book or the author before, but it is a mystery thriller dealing with some historic truths (kind of like Dan Brown). I really like this kind of book (historic thrillers). In fact, I am tempted to say it's my favorite... but it depends on my mood.

So a couple of days later while I was at work I told my friend, another book-aholic, about my find. At the time I was only a chapter or two in. So far, so good. He looked up a review and said that it looked like it was pretty interesting... although apparently the author is best known for her "naughty" thrillers. What?!?! I was shocked. I didn't even know what to say! There were no half-dressed women on the front and from the plot summary on the back, I didn't suspect a thing. I was unsure what to do. I decided to proceed with caution. And everything was fine - until bam! There is was. Ahhhh!!! Flip the pages, flip the pages! Why on earth is this thing taking a whole chapter?! It turns out that that "relationship" was indeed necessary to the plot - in fact a major driving force of it, but I didn't need the details. Ugh.

Aside from that chapter and unexpected paragraphs here and there, it was really good. I loved the plot. I don't believe in reincarnation, but the idea was fun, and I was impressed with the authors use of multiple layers to tie together the current story. The motivation was great. The mystery was great. The suspense was awesome. I felt the end rushed a little bit, and I am still a little unsure of what happened. But the story in and of itself was really good.

Plot wise, I would give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Other content - 1 out of 5. I really enjoyed the writing style. I would love to read more of her work, but knowing what I know now... I don't think so. It's just such a bummer! I hate finding someone that I really enjoy reading but that there is just too much crap to make it worth it. Unfortunately a lot of movies are that way too. I understand not every book will be as wholesome as Secret Speakers or the likes, but I just don't see the need to add a bunch of junk that doesn't serve a purpose. It's one of the things that I think about quite a bit as a potential writer. Trying to find an audience is really hard. I don't want to limit myself to just an LDS group, although sometimes that feels like it would be easiest. But a lot of publishing companies demand you add a certain amount of bedroom scenes, and I don't want to do that. I guess it depends on what genre I pick too though. And I am also equally as undecided on that. I want to be able to write what I am passionate about, but my passion for books, subjects, and genres changes so often!

Sigh. So this has been a reading adventure. I finished The Reincarnationist within a week of picking it up. I wandered the library in much the same fashion as before, hoping that some book would jump off the shelf. But everything looked the same. And as much as I really enjoyed the mystery of the last book, I wasn't in the mood for that. I was about to leave the library when I spotted a book on the bottom shelf of the Staff Picks. I had never even noticed the bottom shelf. Instantly I had two in my hand that I really wanted. I decided to just pick out one at a time though. I am about a third of the way through my current book and loving it. It is a biography of sorts, and every time I find one of these books I think to myself, "Now this is my favorite type of book!" Hahaha. I will give you the title and the full report when I am finished. That's my level of suspense for this post...

When Duck Tape Won't Work Anymore

Last May Ryan and I took a great trip to Goblin Valley and Moab. When we returned home, we were met by a horrible stench coming from the storage room. To our dismay, when we opened the door to the room, we saw that the pipe in the ceiling above our food storage had been leaking. This pipe connects to the kitchen sink above us and the garbage disposal... thus the stench. Eeeewww!!! We began dragging everything out of the back room into our kitchen for assessment and cleaning. Thankfully, although we did lose a few boxes, everything was in jars or cans and only needed to be washed off. I think the only food item we tossed was a bag of rice that soaked up quite a bit of the drainage. Once everything was cleaned and dry we stacked all the boxes and jars under, on, and around our kitchen table so that the storage area could be free for the plumbers to work on.

Only the plumbers never came. We called and called, but they never showed. The leak mysteriously stopped leaking and we were able to dump the bucket we put under it and go back to our lives. Well, sort of. We never moved the food storage back in for fear of the leak starting up again. We haven't seen our kitchen table since.

Last week Ryan was on the phone with his dad discussing some things that should be fixed before we find new renters upstairs. Ryan was standing under the pipe talking about how he would still like the pipe fixed even though it hadn't leaked since. He was poking it with his finger, moving down along the line of exposed pipe to the area that looked most solid, and least likely in need of any attention when...thunk.... his finger went through the pipe.

"Uh dad," he said, "I think we need to call the plumber. If the location of the last leak was unclear, it's pretty obvious now." Within seconds the water began trickling through. And though it wasn't a gushing leaking, that water brought with it the worst smell I have ever encountered from a pipe of any sorts. Ryan and I both began gagging involuntarily. If we didn't know it was coming from the kitchen sink, I would have thought for sure we had direct access to the sewer line. We put a new bucket under the leak and made a mad dash for anything that smelled good to try and curb the horrid stench. It was awful.

Ryan's dad placed a call to the plumber that was supposed to fix it 10 months ago, but like last time, there was no response. He eventually found a plumber in his neighborhood area and sent him our way the next day. It has been an ongoing process since the plumber has other jobs to attend to and has only been able to stop by here and there, but at least the pipe has been replaced, the smell is gone, and soon we will be able to move our stuff back in. We learned that what started the problem was that once upon a time, who knows how long ago, a magnet got washed down the drain and eventually got stuck. From there things began to build up on both sides causing the blockage, the stench, and the deterioration of the pipe. Who would have guessed? All that is left now is putting up new sheet rock on the ceiling. Thank goodness for good plumbers - starting with ones that actually call you back!

My Wish

A few weeks ago, my family had the opportunity to drive up to Make A Wish in Murray to support my little brother, Asa, as he officially made his wish.

For those of you that don't know, Asa, who is the youngest of the 10 siblings, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. In a nut shell, his muscles are deteriorating from the limbs inward. He has been completely wheelchair bound for the last year or two and in the last few months, he has lost considerable strength in his arms. He can now only lift them a few inches. Most people who suffer from MD die from heart or lung complications. And although MD is pretty much always fatal (unless the Second Coming happens first) the length of life varies from child to child (teens to 30s). Asa is turning 13 next month and is still thriving. He has a great little motorized scooter that allows him to continue as close to a normal life as possible. He is a smart boy who loves to read, play the Wii, and hang out with friends.

We really didn't know what to expect from our trip to Make A Wish, but it turned out to be an amazing experience.

We met with two wonderful women who gave us a tour of the facility and taught us a little about the foundation. (One of the women was actually in the group that went into Kazakstan after my parents to adopt. How cool is that?!) We were able to wander around and look at pictures of children and their stories. They even have a giant wish board where they post the pictures of children and their wishes that are waiting to be granted. Some take longer than others - like kids that want to meet movie stars or athletes. It is incredibly humbling to stand in front of that board and look at so many wonder and deserving children.

As part of the tour we were all given a wishing token which we could either keep or toss in the wishing pool out side. As a family we walked out to the pool and one by one tossed our coins into the water.

After that we went upstairs and gathered around to answer some questions about little Asa. Just fun trivia things that I think they may use to spotlight him when they grant his wish. We were then each given a piece of paper to write a wish we had for Asa. It could be realistic or totally out of this world - it didn't matter. Asa also wrote down his official wish. He asked for voice recognition software and an iPad 4g. Since this was technically two wishes and they can only grant one, they decided to make his wish a "shopping spree" and then he can get as much as he wants with the money they give him. It's not a standard amount. It depends on the child, their age, abilities, and other factors. Asa took his slip of paper and put it in a metal cyclinder tube.

The woman giving the tour then asked Asa if he brought his special key. Each Make A Wish child is given a skeleton key (the old school cool ones) that opens the Wish Room. Asa pulled his out and went over to the door. With a little help from mom (since he couldn't lift his arm high enough) he got the door open.

Inside was very... magical. Peaceful. Beautiful. It reminded me of being inside a lighthouse (even though I have never been in one.) The room was circular with glass tile flooring which allowed for soft glowing lights to shine up through the glass and onto the walls. The colors would change periodically from blue, green, orange, yellow, and others in between. About 2/3rds of the way back through the room there was an opaque waterfall with plenty of room to walk around behind. I think I could have stayed in that room for a long time. It was very tranquil.

Once the whole family was inside, we went around the room each reading the wish we put down on our card. I had no creativity when it came to mine and stuck with a very basic, but honest wish - That he would have a long, happy, health life filled with family and friends that love and care about him. And of course I blubbered like a baby when I read it. I hadn't meant to, but the reality of that wish got the better of me. I saw Asa nod his head in agreement as I read it. The other wishes ranged from hot air balloons and catching the biggest fish ever, to getting a handicap accessible bathroom on the main floor so mom won't have to sponge bathe him on the toilet anymore.

At last it was Asa's turn to submit his official wish. The assistants asked if Asa could see anywhere his cylinder might go. Just in front of the waterfall was what looked like a metal caution cone - top chopped off with a hole in the top. That was for the cylinder. Once Asa slid it in place, they asked him if it looked complete, or if he might be able to find something in the room to go on top of the cone. He drove around the waterfall and found an upside down cone that looked like it would fit on top. With some help, they were able to lift the cone from its holder and help Asa place it on top of the bigger cone.

Once complete, they told us that it was a wizard's hat and that Asa had just officially submitted his wish to the Wishing Wizard and that when the wizard had decided if he could grant his wish, he would tell his helpers, and the helpers could tell my mom and dad. It was very cute. I also thought it was cool because once the cap was on the hat and the wish submitted, the lights grew bright and cheery. It may have just been excellent timing in the rotating lights, but it was pretty neat.

(The Knight envelope he is holding has all our wishes in it.)

We filed back out of the room where they gave Asa a bunch of presents including a hat, blanket, teddy bear, and other fun things. They also had fresh baked cookies to eat while mom and dad filled out paperwork.

Just before it was time to leave, they told us they had a special surpise but that we would have to be really quite. A man came up the stairs with a huge, beautiful hawk. They were coming as part of another child's wish granting ceremony, but since they had a few minutes to spare, they came upstairs and let us have a peek. It was really cool.

Since Asa's wish is much more simple than many other requests, they guessed that we would be able to have his wish granting ceremony around his birthday. They would have loved to have done it on his acutal birthday, but that's a Friday and half the family works. So the goal is the day after. It sounds like it is a great celebration with family and friends. They give each child a scrapbook page or two on the day of their party where everyone can write a note to them or put in pictures.

But the thing I am most excited about is the star raising. Each child has a unique stained glass star that has their name on it. Once their wish has been granted they are able to help literally raise their star to the ceiling with the help of a pully system. There are already hundreds of starts lining the ceiling in a rainbow milkway figuration. It is so beautiful and so symbolic. I can't wait!

We heard just a few days ago that the Wishing Wizard did grant Asa's wish, so we are set for the great celebration in about a month. It will be wonderful. I am so grateful for the Make A Wish Foundation and for incredible people who makes things like this happen. But beyond that, I am thankful for my parents. They are the most amazing people in the world! Little Asa couldn't have found better or more loving parents anywhere in the world. :)

The Thought That Counts

Speaking of hearts and roses, here's one more quick V-Day story before I catch up on other things.

Last month for Activity Days, we decided to focus on love - appropriate. We first had the girls create a paper chain with Valentine themed paper. On each slip they would write down something they could do to show love around the house. (Hurray for service!) They had to come up with 10 different things as there were only ten days left until Valentine's. They struggled a bit to come up with 10 different ways of serving, but we finally managed to get it done with things like doing the dishes, reading a story to siblings, clean their room, etc.

With that accomplished, we put together two bags of chocolates and a handful of paper hearts with the intent to "heart attack" someone in the ward. The initial idea was to heart attack some widows or single women in our ward, but we let the girls decide, and they chose two families that had young kids - one family with two or three kids, and one young couple who had just had their first baby. The girls made little cards addressed to the family with a short "Happy Valentine's! From Cupid" message inside.

We climbed inside the car and headed to the first location. The girls decided they wanted to doorbell ditch the items, so we dropped them off, let the girls run to the door, and then we drove a little way down the street where we wouldn't be noticed. The first delivery went smoothly. In fact, we were impressed with how quick they were. Those girls sure can run! The second house was a little more difficult. They rang the doorbell and then ran to hide behind a nearby van where they waited and waited. No response. I rolled down the window to tell them to come jump in the car, but was "shhhh!"ed in chorus. They tried ringing the door bell again. Then waited and waited. Finally they gave up and came running to the car... just as the door opened.

Four giggling girls flew into the car and off we drove. They were like a band of monkeys chattering away, laughing, pointing, bouncing, retelling their roles with what so-and-so did, and what so-and-so said, as well as remember when this, and remember when that. The second old memories poured out in rapid succession. We laughed along with them, thrilled they had such a great time.

On the way back from dropping off one of the girls, my companion got a text. She glanced at her phone, tossed her head against the headrest laughing, and handed me the phone.

"Hi! This is Sister Lloyd. Did your cute girls just drop something off at our house? Cause the card says, 'To the Petersons." I just wanted to make sure it really was for us."

I burst out laughing. All that planning, running, and hiding - and we still got the cards mixed up. Not a single one of us - child or adult - actually thought of checking the cards before delivering them. Oh well. At least they knew they were loved. We told Sister Lloyd that yes, it really was for them but that we had just gotten the cards mixed up. As for the Petersons, well, no clarification was made, but I am sure they enjoyed the hearts and candy anyway.

Hearts, Roses, and Waffles

What family traditions do you have on Valentine’s Day? Every year my in-laws host their annual Valentine’s Waffle Dinner. It is so much fun! There is nothing specifically related to Valentine’s Day about it. The waffles aren’t pink or red or heart shaped. But it’s a tradition they have had for years and we all love it. The dinner consists of waffles, of course, fruit, elk sausage (new this year - complements of the mighty hunter Ryan - very delicious), mountain man (a potato, cheese, sausage, onion, pepper mix = delicious), and all the toppings you could want – including ice cream.

The first time I ever saw my father-in-law put ice cream on his waffle I thought he was crazy. Who puts ice cream on their waffles? This was before Ryan’s mission. A few months after Ryan left I did a semester at Nauvoo and one night we had a waffle night. And believe it or not, they served their waffles with all the traditional topping AND ice cream! Buckets of it too! I guess I was the weird one! (The general impression I got that night was, “Who doesn’t put ice cream on their waffles?!”)

During the years that Ryan was on his mission, and later when my brothers were serving their missions, the party always included filling out fun little Valentine's to send to them. Now the tables are decorated with themed table cloths, jars of Valentine's candy, and other cute decor. This year also included cheesy Laffy Taffy jokes and Valentine's/Love Themed trivia.

My in-laws have always been wonderful to include my side of the family, and each year the number of people attending continues to grow. This year between both sides of the family there were 38 people! I hope I counted that right. Lots of people either way.

We look forward to the V-Day Waffle Dinner with great anticipation every year, especially my little sister, Sabrina, who was so excited about it that it made its way to her Facebook status multiple times. And I quote, "Valentine's dinner tonight(: Oh the pleasure it brings to my heart. (:" and "Waffles with ice cream and chocolate sauce for dinner plus candy for dinner.."(: Best dinner ever."

It's always a little chaotic with that many people in one space, but its totally worth it. It's almost always on a Sunday so that as many family members can attend as possible, and therefore doesn't always fall on Valentine's Day. This year we did it the week after V-Day because the previous Sunday we were celebrating my little sister's b-day who is actually a Valentine's Day Baby! I told her that if she was going to be born on a holiday, Valentine's is definitely the best one cause it doesn't matter if she has a significant other or not. She will always have a reason to celebrate and pamper herself! I think that's good advice whether Valentine's is your birthday or not. Just a good excuse to treat yourself to something nice... like waffles and ice cream for dinner.

Does the Man with the Mullet Come With It?

Life has been crazy lately. Isn't it always though? But I do need to get better at keeping up on posting. It's always in the back of my mind, nagging at me to sit down and just type, but it's so difficulty to find the time. I will get caught up... but where to start? So many stories, so little time.

To start things off, lets go back a couple of weeks. I heard an advertisement on the radio for an RV show at the South Towne Expo Center. I have always wanted to go to one of those just for kicks and giggles, so I thought, why not? Ryan was all for it too, but I bought the tickets and off we went.

It was a total blast! When we first walked in the door, I was almost overwhelmed. I have never seen so many RVs in my life! They were wall to wall squeezed in as tight as possible, sometimes only a few inches between them. We began wandering aimlessly at first, in and out of various RVs that caught our attention. Before long we ended up in the "Presidential Suite" on wheels area. Seriously, those things are insanely nice. Way too nice if you ask me. I guess it all comes down to why you are getting one. Someday Ryan and I would love to have one to make camping easier with kids and family. We are both big campers, and though we have nothing against a tent and sleeping bag, there is no denying that a nice warm bed and place to get cleaned up has its perks. So for us, we would probably want something that has a little bed or two, a small fridge, and maybe a tiny little bathroom. And even all that isn't really necessary. After all, it's camping! But if your purpose in getting one is to cruise the USA with all the comforts of life including granite counter tops, full size refrigerators, tile floors, huge flat screen TVs, and a fire place... and if you have a couple hundred thousand to spare - well, they have got something for you too.

(Yes, that's the inside of one of those super nice ones.)

It was actually kind of fun to start at the "posh" end and work our way down to the little pop out trailers and campers. It was amazing to sit in the lap of luxury for a while, but then work our way down to the basics. There were moments when I found myself thinking, "But it doesn't have an extra sofa," or "It doesn't have much counter space," and then I think, "What on earth do you need that for?! It's a trailer!" I am not knocking people that do get this super big nice ones. They are, after all, quite amazing. But for us - it's nothing that we want or are interested in. It's just fun to see what they offer.

The show brings out as much a variety of people as it does types of trailers. We saw young couples like us, some with kids, some without. We saw lots of older couples looking for their retirement adventures. We saw lots of high maintenance women - fake nails, hair, skin, and chests. But we also saw plenty of the complete opposite: men with long braided hair, mullets, cut off jean vests, and their women looking eerily similar - all carrying around Budweiser cups of foaming beer. Yes, you could purchase beer from the tap at the concession stand. As we passed our first group of men dressed and groomed this way, I smiled to myself, and then started giggling as I realized some extremely twangy country music was playing overhead. The picture was perfect. I actually don't mind country music - but in that particular moment, all I could do was laugh. Judgemental, yes. I'm sorry.

In one particular trailer we stepped into, we met two young kids - a boy probably about 6 years old, and a girl who was probably 8. No sooner had we stepped inside when the boy looked up at us and started up a conversation.

"We're not gonna buy this one," he began.

"Oh yeah? Why not?" we both replied.

"It doesn't have enough beds. And we have lots of kids, so we need more beds," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh I see," I said sympathetically.

His sister turned on him, clearly miffed. "Don't talk to strangers!" she reprimanded.

"They aren't strangers!" he argued. "They have kids!"

I bit my lip and tried not to laugh as Ryan and I made eye contact. First of all, the logic was... a little unusual. And although it's fairly sound, it's not necessarily the best advice. And second of all, what kids?! I am sure he assumed we had kids or we wouldn't have been talking to him.

His sister quickly ushered him out the door where they found their mother just outside.

"Mom," she whined, "he was talking to strangers and he said they weren't strangers cause they had kids." Tattle tale.

"If you don't know their names or where they live, they are still strangers even if they have kids. Okay?" the mom instructed.

"Okay," came the defeated reply.

Ryan and I sat on one of the couches inside and laughed and laughed.

We wandered the showroom for several hours, most of the time unsure of where we actually were, and I think we probably only saw about a 1/3 of what was there. We meandered through the outer hallways to check out all the other fun outdoor stuff and buy some food. We finally headed home exhausted, but happy. It was a really fun - just for kicks and giggles - type of date. The number one thing I learned is that most of those trailers aren't nearly as expensive as I thought they would be. Sure there are still the ones that cost $200,000, but the majority of them cost less than our car. It was interesting to see how some that barely had any amenities were often priced much higher than the nicer ones. You just never know. There is so much to learn! And I don't know how anyone ever decides on which one to get. But thankfully, we won't have to make that decision for a very long time.