Turning the Pages: 2013

Books that are highlighted pink were books I read with my book club buddies. The purple ones were books I read either with my kids, to my kids, or to discuss with Will as he read it, too. The books that are with blue text are nonfiction reads -- and there were a lot of those this year. The gold highlighted books were read on my Christmas gift from Allen -- a Kindle.

Somewhere around September I just got tired of reading. I picked up and started about a dozen books that month, but just couldn't get into any of them. By October, I was working on skimming some home school and teaching books, but not any worth writing down as "read completely." November, was more of the same, but I did really enjoy our book club pick. By December, I was back to my normal reading, but I did find myself reading books meant for kids -- it IS fun to have a mini-bookclub with my oldest son! We both read I Funny by one of my favorite authors. Now he is also reading some of Grisham's novels for kids, so we will have more stories to talk about. School time with the younger three is always full of reading, and all four of us have enjoyed reading novels aloud during school time. One night last week, Will stayed up late reading and came down at 10PM to ask if he had to turn off the light yet. Evidently, he couldn't stop reading because the story was at a scary part -- he wanted to get through it so he wouldn't have nightmares. Yes.... he is my child :)  It thrills my heart to have a home full of children who love to read as much as their parents do!!

So what's on my reading list for 2014? I have a few more Mary Poppins books to read, a biography about P.L.Travers to finish, a memoir that Ema gave me for Christmas, some more parenting books on my nightstand, and lots of books to read with my kids.  I have another Grisham book to read to catch up with Will, and I'd love to find more of James Patterson's Private series.  Allen got me a Francine Rivers book that will keep me reading, and I picked up a few more of Margaret George's bible-length stories. All of these are "real" books, but I am excited to read lots of free classics and author's firsts on my Kindle, too. As big as many of these books are, I may not actually finish 50 books next year, but I have plenty of great reading ahead!

January

1. A Light Between Oceans (M.L. Stedman)

2. Made to Crave Devotional: 60 Days to Craving God, Not Food (Lysa TerKeurst)
3. A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer (John Piper)

4. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)

5. Not A Fan (Kyle Idleman)

February
6. Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
7. Kisses From Katie (Katie Davis)
8. The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds (Julie Zickerman)

March

9. Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri)

10. God Forgotten (Francis Chan)
11. Nickel and Dimed (Barbara Ehrenreich)

12. The Sisters (Nancy Jensen)

April
13. Little Sugar Addicts (Kathleen DesMaisons)
14. Blue Shoes and Happiness (Alexander McCall Smith)

15. Random Family (Adrian Nicole LeBlanc)

16. Casual Vacancy (J.K. Rowling)

May

17. The Story of the Treasure Seekers (E. Nesbit)

18. The Gilded Chamber: A Novel of Queen Esther (Rebecca Kohn)
19. Prayer Warrior Mom (Marla Alupoaicei)
20. The Power of a Praying Wife (Stormie Omartian)
21. The Power of a Praying Parent (Stormie Omartian)
22. Small Plot Big Harvest (Lucy Halsall)

June
23. 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess (Jen Hatmaker)
24. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself (Brian Fikkert, Steve Corbett and John Perkins)

July

25. Call Me Zelda (Erika Robuck)

26. 11th Hour (James Patterson and Maxine Paetro)
27. Don't Blink (James Patterson and Howard Roughan)
28. The Litigators (John Grisham)

29. Rooms: A Novel (James L. Rubart)

30. Guilty Wives (James Patterson and David Ellis)

August
31. Mary Poppins (P. L. Travers)
32. Postcard Killers (James Patterson and Liza Marklund)

33. Westing Game (Ellen Raskin)

34. Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (John Grisham)
35. The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare)
36. The Upstairs Room (Johanna Reiss)

September
37. The Hallelujah Lass: A Story Based on the Life of Salvation Army Pioneer Eliza Shirley (Wendy Lawton)

October
38. Alex Cross, Run (James Patterson)
39. Bones Are Forever (Kathy Reichs)

November
40. Smart But Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential (Peg Dawson and Richard Guare)

41. Red Sails to Capri (Ann Weil)

42. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)

December
43. Bringing Up Boys (James Dobson)

44. The School Story (Andrew Clements)

45. Private London (James Patterson and Mark Pearson)
46. The Railway Children (E. Nesbit)

47. I Funny (James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein)

48. Twenty-eight and a Half Wishes (Denise Grover Swanky)

49. Private (James Patterson and Maxine Paetro)
50. Private: #1 Suspect (James Patterson and Maxine Paetro)

Resolutions: Wrapping up 2013

Each year I try to check something off my lifetime bucket list. Each year, I also consider changing some of the 101 things ON the list, but I still haven't. Here is what I am checking off for 2013:

#4 - Go on an African safari with Allen. Okay, this one is extreme enough I am half-checking it off. I went on a safari in June when I was in Uganda. The reason I can only HALF check it is that Allen didn't go... but Ellen did!

 #15 - Feed a hungry family. I've decided I can check this one off even though I don't remember the names of the families I helped feed. I volunteered at St. Paul food pantry weekly from the end of January until the end of May. I took the kids to help at the pantry a few times in the summer, then I volunteered again once school started until October. When I worked there, I stocked shelves some, but usually I filled orders and handed boxes of food to those who needed help. I loved the time I spent with the volunteers, staff, and families at St. Paul, and I hope to return soon!

#95 - Go on a trip planned by Allen. I know I checked this one off before, but last week, Allen planned a weekend getaway for us. I enjoyed it so much, I'll just check it off again and put 12/2013 next to it.


I think this will be called my "seven year" for awhile. My three friends who did the challenge with me still call it the same, and all of us came away from it changed for the better. I know the experiments have all done a lot of good for me and for our family. Look at all I gained (or lost) this year because of Seven!

• I ate healthier foods (usually) and learned that some of what I HAD been eating made me feel cruddy
• I volunteered at and really enjoyed working at the food pantry
• I lost 11 pounds
• I volunteered for Parental Care Ministries 
• I was inspired to go on my first mission trip
• My friends helped me raise funds to go to Uganda when we sold all the things we didn't need
• I went to Uganda
• I was fairly comfortable packing light and eating little while in Uganda
• I lost another 5 pounds
• I found compassion for underprivileged and joy in serving others
• I discovered a new confidence in my faith and in sharing it with others
• I saw God do many miracles this year -- for others, for me, and with my heart
• I have relaxed a bit (but still have to learn to chill out a bit more) with parenting 
• Stuff and money don't mean as much to me -- God blesses us so we can share it
• I realized that God gives each person different gifts and they are all meant to be shared for His glory. I had been taking mine for granted and minimizing the value they really had.

So, what's up for 2014? I like the idea of smaller projects -- with each of the Seven experiments being only a month long, it was a nice taste of how life could be different if I wanted to keep going, but I don't have a plan for the whole year. I plan to start 2014 with my seven foods again, though. I think I'll aim to stick with those seven for a week, then start introducing other whole foods slowly enough to figure out how each food makes me feel. I plan to eat only unprocessed foods in January, and I'll take what I learn into February and figure out what I can eat then. I probably SHOULD make plans to exercise, but it's not on my list... yet. 

I'm also planning to do the Love Dare for Parents in 2014. I have a few more hours to decide how to do each of the 40 dares for each of my four kids. Should I do each dare once per kid then move to the next dare? Or should I do all forty for one child, then start all the dares again with the next child? Or should I read a few, do a few with each kids, then continue? Or maybe I'll do a mix of those... I just don't know yet. But I DO know, I want to do a better job of loving each of my children as they need to be loved, and that's going to be my focus for 2014. As much as I changed with 2013's challenges, I am really excited (and a bit nervous) about this next challenge!

Christmas Day

Christmas day was a busy day of fun and family. We told the kids they needed to stay in bed until 7AM and not to wake Allen and me before the sun was up. At 6:57, Allen shook my shoulder to wake me up for my favorite part of Christmas. "The magic is about to happen," he whispered as I rolled over so my good ear was up and able to hear the kids. They went in the living room quietly, but we could tell they were all together. Their whispers started softly, but they escalated to louder voiceless talking as they explored the small piles of gifts around each of their stockings. It didn't take long before Will came to wake us up -- he was really excited about some joke-teeth (Bubba-style) that Santa brought. Allen and I got up and got ready then started breakfast. We all opened our stocking gifts from Santa and started playing while breakfast was cooking. The savory casserole and sweet cinnamon monkey bread finished cooking just about the time Nana and Papa arrived for the day. After a yummy breakfast, we took turns opening presents.

As we've done the last few years, the six of us swapped names for a gift exchange.
Daddy got Ben a trapeze-type swing with rings and a bar (somehow that didn't make it into my favorite photos.)

Ben got Will and remote-controlled vehicle.

Will got Mama got a Yankee Candle plug-in and car fresheners.

Mama got Jon the game Sorry.

Jon got Maddie a Lego Friends set and a soccer outfit for her American Girl doll (another favorite photo.)

Maddie got Daddy the game Forbidden Desert.

Everyone was excited about their new toys (kids and adults) and the rest of the day was spent playing, assembling, swinging, gaming, shooting, resting, eating, and reading new books. We spotted a new bird in the backyard, too. This is the Cooper's Hawk that was sitting on the swing-set and fence for a little while.

His Perspective

This morning, Will asked if he could use the camera while Allen and I were working on building houses for the kids to decorate. He wandered through our home and took pictures of everything he considered "Christmas." These are Will's pictures:

He ended the day telling us he wanted to be a photographer when he grew up. I wish I had thought to mention he didn't really have to wait so long.

Candy Land Housing Development

Last year, we attempted to make "gingerbread" houses out of graham crackers. The activity was so much fun to do as a family, we planned to make a tradition of it. This year, we started construction on Christmas Eve morning, and it didn't take long to realize that with two boxes of crackers that had a bit of curve, we wouldn't be able to make the fancy shapes we did last year. Every time I cut into a cracker, the curve caused the whole thing to break. This time, we were still able to be creative, but we had to do it all with squares and rectangles. Will and Allen and I shared the photographer's duties, but, in the end, all three of us preferred playing with the houses than the camera.

Introducing the new housing development for Candy Land:
This long house by Ben has simple lines, but the roof is decked with minty dark chocolate M & Ms and round sweet tarts. The home is surrounded by green cobblestones and has a colorful patio to entertain guests.

The square home by Will has a colorful stone M & M entryway, and the yard is covered with star-sprinkle flowers. Two candy-canes form a ladder so Santa can easily climb to the marshmallow chimney.

Another long house was designed by Jon. This unique home was designed Pueblo-style with a rooftop entry. The home is ascended via a colorful ladder so that only invited guests may enter the colorfully-tiled roof. The property is surrounded with colorful gardens and sweet stones in intricate patterns.

This merry little cabin, designed by Maddie, is the only peaked roof in the neighborhood. The gable is peaked with a peppermint stick and matching pieces frame the doorway. A beautiful stream and waterfall surround the home, and beautiful blooms shine even in the winter. The home comes pre-decorated for the holidays with shining lights and Merry Xmas on the shingles. This sweet home won't last long -- see your realtor today!

For the homeowner who believes less is more, we have a cozy, open-floor plan tent by Allen for you! This home with simple lines is surrounded by nature! Keep warm by the chocolate chip fire circle with butterscotch-pecan fuel and cranberry embers. The first snowfall never seemed so sweet!

This custom-designed abode was created by Sarah. The rainbow patterns on the roof attract a lot of attention, but this fancy spot is too small for living. The home has bright doors and windows, but there is no room inside for the baby and lambs. (In reality... the designer started with one thing in mind, but changed her mind part way through the project when she discovered the stale rice noodles and marshmallows in the pantry.)

I am praying today that all my loved ones have their homes ready for Christmas and that their hearts are ready for the sweet babe to come shine His light. I'm praying that His light shines through the windows of your hearts today and everyday... that you taste and see that the Lord is good! Merry Christmas!