Out of the Mouths of Babes ...

My mom is five feet tall, and my kids have noticed the difference between her size and that of other adults. Every so often, they make a comment that just cracks me up. Like today, for instance ...

5-year-old came running over to the couch. I boosted him up to sit on my lap, and I said, "You are growing so much."

"You're growing too, Mom," he said.

"No, I'm not. I'm as big as I'm going to get."

"Why?" he asked. "Is your grower broken?"

I chuckled over that, and then chuckled more when the 9-year-old chimed in. "Yeah, Mom. Is your grower broken, like Grandma's?"

Movie Review: To Save a Life (2010)

Jake Taylor has everything. He's the star on his high school basketball team and he has a scholarship to the college he's always dreamed of attending. He lives in a gorgeous house, he has a beautiful and popular girlfriend, and he's the king at every keg party. He thinks his life can't get any better. Until the day when his best friend Roger walks into school and shoots himself right in front of Jake. Suddenly Jake realizes that everything that mattered to him doesn't any more.

Roger liked to play video games. He walked with a limp, and he was black. Any one of these reasons would have made him the target of bullying at school, but you put all three of them together, and he had no chance. Rejected by his peers, and rejected everywhere else, Roger felt as though he was screaming for attention, and no one would listen. Shooting himself was the only way to get the attention he so badly wanted, and Jake took upon himself the blame. Jake had been so busy seeking the acceptance of the cool kids and the cute girls that he, too, had turned his back on Roger, despite how close they had once been.

Wracked with guilt, Jake seeks out the local pastor, who takes the time to talk with him about his feelings and what he should do with them. It was here that the movie took on a new depth for me, and I really started to think.

Jake told the pastor that he didn't just want to be some Christian, and the pastor agreed. God doesn't just need more Christians. He needs Christians who believe it and do it. Jake made it very clear that if he was going to change his life completely and become a Christian, it would have to be something that he did with his whole heart and soul. He was not going to be a hypocrite. He starts by seeking out the kids at school who were loners, like Roger had been, and inviting them to sit with him at lunch. One boy, Jonny, was in special need of friendship, and Jake was able to provide that for him.

Jake decides to get baptized, and shortly afterward, everything falls apart. His girlfriend comes to him and tells him she's pregnant, and his parents announce that they're divorcing. Jake wonders where God was through all this, and questions if it's worth it to try to follow Christ. But then he realizes that it's with God's help that he'll be able to solve these problems, that God didn't cause them. The wheels had been set in motion long before Jake converted, and the consequences had to be experienced. He then humbles himself and does what he can to correct his mistakes.

This film touched me on a lot of different levels. At first, I was deeply moved by seeing these kids as the victims of bullying and the very real effect it was having on their lives. Then I was taken on a spiritual journey with Jake as he made the decision to be a Christian, no matter what the cost. The same kids who had picked on Roger were now picking on him because of his new beliefs, and yet he stayed with the course. He had to fight for his right to worship, even butting heads with his father, but he hung in there because he knew it was right. In the end, he postponed his own dreams to take care of his girlfriend during her pregnancy, and was by her side as she delivered and gave the baby up for adoption. I asked myself the question, "What does it mean to be a Christian?"

It's one thing to say you are a Christian. But what does it mean to be one? "Being" describes what you are. It's not a mask or a pretense. It's your essence. Being a Christian means that you have made the choice to act in a Christ-like way, regardless of the cost. Jake was a total mess at the beginning of the film, but he made a choice and took the actions necessary to back up that choice, and by the conclusion of the story, he had changed his entire life. It was a series of deliberate choices to do the right thing, not a series of accidents or coincidences that just happened to land him in the middle of a happy ending.

Personally, I take spirituality for granted a lot of the time. I grew up in a Christian family, and I've never had to live without it. I've just assumed it would always be there, and there are times when I don't seek out things that will make my testimony grow. Other times, I'm seeking it diligently, but my efforts are not as consistent as they could be. Watching Jake take deliberate steps to change his life was inspiring to me. He wasn't just waiting for everything to work out all right - he wanted to be part of the solution.

This film was rated PG-13 for scenes with drinking, cutting, and some sexuality, but while I found it a little gritty, I found none of it disturbing. This is a film I'm going to watch again, and it's a film I'm going to show each of my children as they hit the age of twelve. I want them to understand the consequences of bullying so they can know how to reach out to those around them who may feel like outcasts. I also want them to see positive media images of a teen who decided that he didn't want an ordinary life.

This movie will be released on August 3rd, and it's one I'll be recommending again and again.

I received a copy of this movie free in exchange for my review, but that did not influence my thoughts.

Book Review: Chocolate Roses by Joan Sowards

When I first learned that Joan Sowards had written an LDS romance novel based on the novel "Jane Eyre," I was immediately intrigued. I remember reading "Jane Eyre" when I was seventeen and had my wisdom teeth out. Swooning over the dark and brooding Mr. Rochester was the only thing that made my recovery bearable. And Timothy Dalton did a very good job in the movie, much better than Orson Welles did, and ... well, this review isn't about Timothy Dalton, so we'll save him for another day.

"Chocolate Roses" is the story of Janie Rose Whitaker, a young lady who has devoted her life to building the success of her chocolate shop. She thinks about romance and marriage, but those things just don't seem to be in her stars. But she certainly does look forward to the one day a week when Mr. Roger Wentworth comes in to buy a chocolate rose. Her heart starts to pound, her breath quickens ... well, can't really blame her, when he's as good-looking as he is.

When he moves in to the apartment next door, along with his cute little daughter, Janie has the chance to get to know him a little closer up. She likes what she sees, but his mood swings are off-putting, and when she learns his deep, dark secret, she suddenly understands why he acts the way he does.

I enjoyed this light-hearted parody. I did wish that the ending had been drawn out a little more and didn't conclude so quickly, but all in all, this is a nice summer read and I'm sure you'll find plenty of opportunities to sneak a handful of M & M's while reading it. It would be almost wrong not to ...

A Note from the Publisher:

Love chocolate? Then you're going to love this blog tour!

We have two great prizes up for grabs. Win either a copy of the book (2 winners) or this fabulous apron created by Joan!




All you have to do is leave a comment(along with your email address if it isn't on
your blog profile) and answer the following question.

What's your favorite type of chocolate: white, dark, or milk? The more blogs you comment on, the more entries you'll receive. All comments must be left by midnight MST on August 8 to be eligible.

Visit these blogs to enter:


July 26:
Nichole Giles--Random-ish by Nichole

Joyce DiPastena--JDP News

July 27:
Deanne Blackhurst--Annie Speaks Her Mind
Tristi Pinkston--*Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author

July 28:
Taffy Lovell--Taffy's Candy
Alison Palmer--Tangled Words and Dreams

July 29:
Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen--The Write Blocks
C.S. Bezas--For the Love of the Written Word

July 30:
Sheila Staley--Why Not? Because I Said So!
LDSWomen's Book Review

August 2:
Kerry Blair--Now & Here

Marsha Ward--Writer in the Pines

August 3:
Kaylee Baldwin--Kaylee Baldwin

Amy Orton--Amesbury Reads

August 4:
Anna del C.--Anna del C. Dye's Blog

Laurie Lewis--A View from the Other Side of the Hill

August 5:
Valerie Ipson--Of Writerly Things

Anna Arnett--Insights and Ramblings from Anna Arnett

August 6:
Lynn Parsons and Danyelle Ferguson--Queen of the Clan

Chocolate Roses can be purchased from Deseret Book, Amazon.com, and of course your local LDS bookstore.

I received my copy as a gift in exchange for this review. This did not influence my feelings toward the book.

Book Review: Becoming Kate by Dixie Owens

Liz is happily married, with two children. She has her life down to a routine, and on this particular day, her routine includes running errands. Construction work has been taking place in their neighborhood, and her vision is blocked as she pulls out into traffic. Unable to stop when she sees a large truck, she is in a terrible collision and dies.

Kate is an eleven-year-old girl who has barely had a chance to live. Stricken with a horrible illness six years before, her chances of survival are slim, unless someone can perform a miracle. Perhaps Dr. Jamison will be that man.

When Liz is brought into the hospital and pronounced dead, the hospital staff notes that she has agreed to organ donation. It’s a huge risk, something that has never been done before, but Dr. Jamison performs a brain transplant, taking Liz’s brain and giving it to Kate. What he never dreamed was that Liz’s memories would remain intact, and she would wake up a grown woman inside a child’s body.

“Becoming Kate” by first-time author Dixie Owens follows Liz on her journey through denial, terror, bargaining, and then finally accepting as she comes to understand that she’s been given a second chance, and she should take it to the fullest.

This novel is a mixture of “The Host” and a Robin Cook novel, although the tension in “Becoming Kate” isn’t as high. I could also describe it as “sci-fi meets family drama.” I found the cover to be misleading, as it depicts brightly colored balloons rising into the sky. While there are balloons in the book, it’s not a brightly colored story, and the two didn’t mesh well for me. However, aside from some editing gaffes, I found the story compelling, the characters believable, and the conclusion satisfying. This book will stay with you long after you turn the last page, making you ask the question, “What makes a person truly alive, and to what extend should science interfere in the process?”

"Becoming Kate" was published in 2010 by Bonneville Books.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for the review, and my opinion was not based on the receipt of this gift.

We Interrupt This Program ...

This just in. Tristi Pinkston's smash hit "Secret Sisters" is now available in electric format for your Kindle, Nook, and other e-reading devices. Click here.

Adventures in Purseland

The other night, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was forced to go purse shopping. I was getting out of the car to go meet my critique group and the strap on my purse broke. Now, I'd had that purse for about eight years, and it's not like I was madly in love with it or anything. In fact, I'd been toying with the idea of getting a larger one so I could carry a notebook with me for when inspiration strikes on the bulk food aisle, because we all know how inspirational bulk food can be. But I'm the kind of person who tends to wait until there's an actual need before I'll buy something ... unless we're talking about scrapbook paper or ballet flats ... but that's a blog for another day.

So. Where was I? Oh, yeah. The strap broke.

After critique, I went over to Walmart, the nearest retailer, and began to inspect the selection. The very, very limited selection. I need a purse I can sling crossways around my body - when I go shopping, I have to hold the hands of two of my children as we cross the parking lot, and so carrying a purse with handles doesn't work for me. Plus, my mom's purse was stolen right out of her hand once, in a Utah grocery store parking lot, so it stands to reason that I should never have a purse with handles, right? Well, it makes sense to me.

There were three kinds of purses to choose from. 1 - the kind with handles. No go. 2 - purses you could sling across your body, but were even smaller than the purse that broke. 3 - denim hobo bags.

I went with the denim hobo bag.

It's not the most elegant purse in the world. If I get called to go have dinner at the governor's mansion or at a Hollywood producer's house, I'd need to stop off somewhere and pick up another purse more suited to the occasion. But it's big enough, it holds a notebook (hooray!) and I can sling it across my body (take that, opportunistic purse grabbers!)

So then came phase two - moving things into the new purse.

I've moved a lot in my life, and one of the things I've always enjoyed is unpacking and deciding where things should go in the new digs. Of course, then you have to remember where you put what. It's the same thing with a purse. Should the pens go in the front pocket, or the back? Does the calculator want to go here or there? As I sorted through my purse's contents and made these crucial decisions, I paused and wondered at some of the things I found in my purse ... and some of the things I did not find. Who but a mother can purchase four packs of gum every time she goes to the grocery store, and yet never have a single piece on hand when she reaches for one?

But I digress.

I found pens that were great for critique group but not so much for signing checks. I found two tubes of lipstick, which would be great under ordinary circumstances, but it turns out they were the same shade, and so that's not altogether helpful. I found a sucker stick and wrapper ... oh, yeah. Five-year-old handed them to me when he couldn't find a trash. At least he's not a litterbug. I found no Band-Aids, which really are a staple in a mommy's purse, and I found no cash. Yes, I do have to use my debit card to buy a .99 item.

My new purse is now ready to go. I have a half-size notebook in there, along with pens in many different shades, and I replenished the Band-Aid stash. I have some suckers in there, for those emergency moments or instant rewards. I have one tube of lipstick and one of lip balm. I need to replenish my Ibuprofen, and there's still no cash ... oh, well.

I think it's interesting to take a closer look at what we choose to carry around with us all the time. Some things make perfect sense - like the Band-Aids or fingernail clippers. Other things make no sense to anyone but us, and that's okay. We're the only ones who really know what we need to have with us at all times. And I think being mysterious is fun.

Zynga Games on Facebook

Anyone who has a Facebook account has seen them - games, games, everywhere games! Some choose to ignore them, some choose to play them, some make them a lifestyle. Out of curiosity, I decided to try some of the games and explore just what makes them so addictive to some and so ... ignorable ... to others.

Farmville The first game I tried was Farmville. You'll recall my post on it, here. I started playing it because my sister was having fun with it, and I needed a way to distract myself for a little bit.

The basic premise - you are a farmer with land to cultivate. You plow the land, plant a variety of seeds, and harvest them as they ripen. You can obtain animals, build houses, coops, and barns, and visit the farms of your friends to fertilize their crops. You send gifts back and forth to strengthen everyone's farms. The higher in level you rise, the more opportunities you have to earn prizes. My favorite out of those I earned: The Spaghetti Sheep.

I enjoyed interacting with my neighbors, rearranging my buildings, and having something to look forward to. I harvested rice while I sat at my father's bedside during his last battle - it helped me through some pretty rough moments. But after I expanded my farm to its biggest possible size, I realized that I had done pretty much everything I had come there to do, and I shut down the farm. I had played it for about a month.

Country Life Country Life is like Farmville Lite. The premise is the same, but it's much simpler. I confess, my attention was not held and I only had my Country Life farm for about three days. In that game, you really need to have a lot of friends to start out with, as it's hard to accomplish anything without them. The graphics are a lot better than Farmville's, though - it's fun to start a farm just to see how cute everything is, and then you can shut it down.

Cafe World In Cafe World, you are the owner/chef of a cafe. You start out with a couple of stoves and a couple of counters, and people come in to buy the food you've made. You can choose what to cook from a list, and each dish takes a certain amount of time to prepare. You need to determine what you need to cook to be ready by when so you won't run out of food, and so you won't have food rotting on the stove while you're waiting for room on the counter. You can only serve food from the counter, and if it's full, well, you're out of luck.

When I first started my cafe, I admit, I didn't get it. Cook food? Okay ... but as I established my business, I really started to enjoy it, and I liked the challenge of timing the food so I never ran out and so food didn't spoil. I wasn't always successful, but it was fun to try. I wish Facebook provided recipes for the food made in the cafes - some of it sounds really good. I played this game for about three weeks before shutting it down, which I did because I needed to concentrate on other things.

Baking Life Baking Life is like Cafe World Lite. I started my bakery, looked around, became bored, and shut down my bakery in the space of about fifteen minutes. I probably didn't give it enough of a chance to make a well-balanced evaluation, but it wasn't grabbing me.

Frontierville Frontierville has the same basic structure - you have goals, you ask for neighbors, you attain points - but it has some fundamental differences, too. You have to build up energy points in order to function. If you run out of energy, you essentially have to stop until you can get more. You can't visit all your neighbors in one day - you are limited in how much visiting you can do. You are also given tasks to perform in the course of your other chores. In this game, crops aren't the object. They're helpful, but ideally, you're only planting a few at a time, as it takes energy to harvest them. You earn coins for each task you perform, so you aren't dependent on those crops for your survival, like you are in Farmville.

It's a very fast-paced game. One minute, you're chopping down a tree, and then you're faced with a snake you must defeat. Once you've done that, you go back to the tree, only to be told that you need to go find a lost sheep. You come back from that to finish the tree, and then you're told you need to build a cabin. You can honestly spend all your time flitting from chore to chore without really accomplishing anything because of all the distractions. I played this game for about a week. I enjoyed it, but I felt I had enough of a feel for the game to responsibly blog about it and didn't necessarily feel the need to continue.

Treasure Isle You go to an island, dig, find stuff, and then go to another island, dig, and find more stuff. When you get tired, you eat fruit, and when you get really tired, you go back to your own island to rest. Then you go dig some more. I know several people who really like this game, but I didn't develop an affinity for it. I played it for two days.

The game which only saw five minutes from me was Petville. You design a pet, you dress a pet, and you decorate the pet's house. I think it would be a really fun game for kids, but for me - not so much.

I didn't try all the games, not by a long shot. There are tons to choose from, and if I were to play all of them, it would become a life-long occupation.

Ranking my favorites:

#1: Farmville

#2: Cafe World

#3: Frontierville

The rest were also-rans, but didn't make the cut for me.

So ... why do people play them? Here are my thoughts.

Playing a game takes you out of reality for a little while. There are times when you need to shut down your brain and allow it to cool off before presenting it with life's next huge challenge, and that's something I badly needed. However, the danger that exists in that is the temptation to shut the brain down altogether. It's very, very tempting ...

It's a way to feel like you're accomplishing something. Moving up to the next level, becoming a master chef, earning the bi-plane - it's progression when you might otherwise feel like you're not accomplishing anything in your life at all.

There's a feeling of community with your online friends and neighbors. You're working for a common goal, you're sending each other gifts to reach those goals, and you understand where everyone is coming from. The danger there is in becoming more focused on your online friends and paying less attention to the people right next to you.

Final thoughts: online games are fun. They're the most fun when you can keep them in perspective and not allow them to take over your life. I got upset with my husband one Sunday afternoon - I had a new puppy on Farmville and you're supposed to feed your puppies at regular times for two weeks. I needed a nap, so I asked my husband to feed my puppy, and he forgot. I was genuinely upset at him, and I realized that I was taking my game way too seriously. But then, I have a naturally addictive personality, so it's good for me to learn how to balance my activities.

I'm glad we have ways to de-stress when life gets overwhelming. But if we use games as a way to hide from life, we then begin to resent life for interrupting our games, and that's how we know we're getting off balance.

A Bad Mommy Moment

Have you ever just had a day when something happens with one of your kids, and you find yourself saying stuff that your own mother said to you, and they're things you vowed you'd never say, because you know how much it hurt you, but then you're saying it, and you feel guilty and you wonder if your child is going to end up on Oprah, and you realize that you didn't end up on Oprah, but you wonder if maybe you should have, because therapy is really good sometimes, and maybe some therapy would have gone a long way, and if you'd had some, maybe you wouldn't be as messed up as you were, and you wouldn't turn around and wig out on your own child, and then you apologize, and then you realize the apology wasn't quite good enough, and then when you do it again, you realize just how much you really were in the wrong, and how much you blew things out of proportion, and you wish you could go back and react appropriately, but the opportunity is lost and all you can do is promise that child you'll try harder, and explain that you're fundamentally flawed, but that you'll never give up and never stop trying, and she says she forgives you, and everything seems to be back to normal, but you know it's not, because now you're hurting because of stuff that happened twenty-five years ago, and you don't want to unleash that on your own daughter, but you're absolutely clueless how to break patterns from the past because no one ever showed you how?

Yeah, that's the kind of day I'm having.

The Biblical Roots of Mormonism by Eric Shuster and Charles Sale

There has long existed the belief in this world that Mormons don't believe in the Bible. It is true that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we do talk quite a bit about The Book of Mormon and to some smaller degree The Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, three pieces of scripture that are unique to us, but we have always revered the Bible as being the word of God. In the new release "The Biblical Roots of Mormonism," we are given the opportunity for three things:

1. To show our friends of other faiths that we do, indeed, believe in the Bible

2. To strengthen our own understanding of the things that are taught in the Bible

3. To come to a greater understanding of just how the Bible is the foundation of our LDS teachings and to see how truly interconnected it is to our other scriptures

I have always been interested in learning more about the gospel, but have never been nor claimed to be a theologian. This book was written at the perfect level for me, intelligent enough to teach me, but not so far over my head that I felt intimidated. Rather, I felt as though I'd been taken by the hand by two kindly Sunday School teachers and taken on an interesting journey through history.

The book uses an interesting format I found particularly helpful. Each chapter is divided into topics - for instance, chapter one is focused on premortal life. We then read the biblical teachings on the subject, with the pertinent verses quoted, and then we read the Mormon understanding of those verses. This format allows the LDS reader to become more familiar with what the Bible says on those topics, and it allows the reader of another faith to understand why we believe the way we do.

I think this book is a valuable resource for any home. Each member should increase their familiarity with the Bible and know how to find the verses within it that are needful to explain our beliefs from a missionary standpoint. Friends of other faiths will find it useful in finding common ground with family members or co-workers who are LDS. Whatever your reason for reading it, you will find your testimony of the life of Christ strengthened and broadened.

I received a free copy of this volume in exchange for my review.

The Roots of Testimony

Last spring, our landlord brought around a small tree and planted it in our yard. He put tall metal stakes on either side and wove a rope around the trunk of the tree and through the stakes, lending the new tree stability it would need as its roots took hold in the ground. This spring, he came around again and removed the stakes, no longer needed as the tree had a year to mature.

A few months ago, a high wind came up and my two sons ran outside. They reached out and held on to the tree, which was bending back and forth in the gusts. They stood there for several minutes, trying to help the tree stand upright, but then it was time for us to leave home.

“But the tree will blow over,” they told me, worried that if they let go, the tree wouldn’t survive the rest of the storm.

I explained to them that the wind was actually good for the tree. For a year, it had been held up by the stakes. It saw wind, but wasn’t affected by it, as the brunt was taken by the supports on either side. But now that the tree was a whole year old, it was time for it to learn to stand on its own. The more the wind blew, the more the tree would learn an important lesson—it should send roots deep into the ground in order to stay strong. If the metal stakes were never removed, the tree would never have a reason to learn that lesson, and it wouldn’t live as long or as productively with a shallow root system.

Isn’t it amazing how life provides teaching moments at every corner? As I explained this scientific principle to my sons, I realized how very like our own journeys here on earth is the journey of a tree. We arrive as tiny babies, placed into the care of two supports, our mother and father. They do their best to keep us upright and protected as we send our first tentative little roots into the soil, and then the day comes when they must step back and allow us to experience the buffetings that will come our way. Because they supported us while we were small, we have learned what we must in order to stay upright, but then comes the true test. Will we dig down deep and develop our own roots of testimony, or will we choose to turn away from our parents’ righteous teachings and wither and die, spiritually?

I saw this analogy from two angles—that of the mother, anxious to teach her children the principles of the gospel they will need to start those tendrils down into the earth, and that of the child, seeking to grow and learn myself. Even though I’m an adult now, with children of my own, in my Heavenly Father’s eyes I’m still a child with much to learn. Every day, I try to plant more ideas, seeds of faith, in my children’s hearts, but every day, I also face my own challenge, that of relying on my faith and the guidance of the Holy Ghost to direct me, rather than allowing the winds and the buffetings of the world to sway me too far to the side, from where I might not be able to return to my former tall, upright shape.

As an addendum to the story of the tree, last month we experienced a windstorm stronger than those we’d previously had, and the tree did break. The children were devastated. They ran outside, picked up the branches, and worried that the tree would die. But then an amazing thing happened. The trunk began to send forth new shoots, which formed leaves. We can see a bright future for this tree. It was broken in half, it was pummeled, it was literally torn limb from limb, and yet it was not defeated. The depth of its roots gave it the strength to keep fighting.
The tree, leafing out and looking full of promise.

I’m very grateful for the roots I have, but I’m also grateful for the winds. Without them, I would never grow stronger, and I might be content to hang out in the rocky soil, not seeking the rich, fertile ground beneath. As we hang in there and seek strength through our trials, that’s when we learn the true measure of the Lord’s tender mercies over us. He is the Master Gardener, the Lord of the Vineyard, and He does know what each of His trees needs to thrive.

Click here to visit yourLDSneighborhood.com, a fantastic resource for LDS families and individuals.

Book Review: The Silence of God by Gale Sears

When I was fifteen, I had the incredible experience of being able to go to Russia with a group of other teens on a tour designed to teach Russian teens about free enterprise. While there, we toured some of the huge cathedrals and learned the history of religion in the country, how many of the churches were destroyed or turned from their original purpose. Our tour guide explained how some of the churches were still operational as such, but not all. I was saddened to look upon these beautiful buildings, designed to glorify God, but instead, reduced to mere pieces of incredible architecture.

"The Silence of God" by Gale Sears very much speaks to this theme. Going back to 988 A.D. and the introduction of Christianity to Russia by Prince Vladimir and moving forward in time to the Revolution in the early 1900s, we see how important religion is to the lives and emotional well-being of these people who have been placed in some of life's most difficult circumstances. We meet the Lindlof family, the first LDS family in Russia, and follow them as they try to adhere to the tenets of their faith in the midst of harsh adversity, including time spent in Siberia. We learn of the Bolshevik theology and are shown the leaders of this movement in a more human light than we ordinarily view them. We are shown friendship and the power it has to preserve life.

Of necessity, Sears fictionalized many aspects of the Lindlof's story, while the basic structure is factual. It's impossible to know everything a person thought, said, or did when looking back at them through the lens of time. Sears did a remarkable job of keeping the tone of the country consistent through word choice and the structure of her dialogue.

I did wish that some sections had been fleshed out. This book could have been easily twice its length and I would have stayed with it until the last word on the page - the events depicted are fascinating and some were only given a mention where a full page or even a chapter would have done it more justice. That said, I give "The Silence of God" two big thumbs up and highly recommend it.

A free copy of the book was received for my review. This gift did not influence my thoughts in any way.

I'm a Lucky, Lucky Girl!

A little while back, I commented on Sandra's blog in the midst of a contest, and I lucked out and won the prize. Awesomeness! Sandra makes these really beautiful hand-painted bracelets that are literally works of art to wear around with you. The prize was one of her bracelets, but I have a problem. I love her work - I think it's gorgeous. But I can't wear stuff on my wrists. I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I was scared by a bracelet as a child. Maybe my nightmares were about watches. I don't know what it is. All I know is that having anything on my wrist drives me out of my bloomin' mind. I can't stand the feel of anything on there. I even got a little clip to go on my purse that's a clock so I still know what time it is, even though I can't wear a watch.

Sandra, bless her heart, didn't want me to be prize-less. Look what she made me instead:Aren't these gorgeous? I think what I like best is that they are so very me. That's the great thing about custom jewelry - it's so personal. What's even more awesome is that I only told Sandra a color - burgundy - and she did the rest. Now, I don't know if she reads everyone that well, or if she just hit the nail on the head with me because she knows me, but either way, I was really amazed at how much I identify with these earrings.

Now, I want you all to run over to Sandra's blog and look at all her pretties. Get 'em for yourself, for gifts, just for fun ... you'll be delighted with your purchase.

Disclaimer: Sandra didn't know I was writing this blog when she sent me the earrings, and she would have sent them to me even if I didn't write a blog, and I would love Sandra even if she didn't send me earrings. I think that covers all the FTC bases ...

My Honey Loves Me!

My kitchen window faces full west. In the evening, the sun cuts through like a laser and bores holes in the back of my brain. (Disclaimer: I'm sensitive to light.) Making dinner has become a total chore. (Maybe that's why I avoid it as much as possible.) But I live in a trailer, and the stores I frequent the most often (read: Walmart) don't carry blinds this size. I haven't had time to go on a full-scale hunt to find the right size, and so I've been suffering, but not in silence - very, very loudly.

Finally, last week I decided to just find some dang blinds, already. I went online and found Blinds Galore, a place that customs blinds to your exact specifications. I measured, I ordered, I paid a really reasonable amount, and the blinds came today.

Now, what does this have to do with my husband loving me?

Check this out.This is husband, literally sitting in the kitchen sink so he can reach the window casing.
This is husband literally doing a back bend so he can put the drill in the right place.This is husband expressing absolute glee at helping me.A studly picture of husband blowing smoke off the drill.

And not only that, but he gave me permission to take pictures and blog about it! He really does love me!

Note: Husband does have a name. His name is Matt, or, after that feat, Matt the Mighty. But I thought it sounded more dramatic to call him husband. And we all know that when it comes to blogging, the more drama, the better.

Book Review: Rebound by Heather Justesen

Lily Drake is the mother of a toddler, is pregnant with her second child, and lives in a beautiful home with her successful husband. She's never had to worry about finances, and can pretty much buy whatever she wants. She's not a big spender, but if the yen were to hit, she knows the money is there. With financial security and a darling family, she has everything.

But then one day, nearly everything is stripped away.

One afternoon as Lily returns home, she pulls up in her driveway to find her property surrounded by strange cars. She is informed that her husband has been stealing identities and running up huge debts in other people's names to finance their lavish lifestyle, and everything will be taken as part of the investigation. Lily is given a deadline by which she must leave her house and most of her belongings. This doesn't really matter to her - she never really was into the whole Richie Rich thing - but what breaks her heart is the fact that her husband is a crook, and a crook who has used her, left her, and said he never loved her.

Now on her own, Lily must find a way to support her son, her child on the way, and figure out how to piece her life together from the scraps left behind. She's not ready to think about trying the romance game again, but when Curtis comes along, she realizes that maybe love - real love - is just what she needs to glue all those scraps together.

I enjoy Heather Justesen's writing style. She doesn't rely on the old cliches to put her meaning across - instead, she uses words that are unique to her own voice, and this sets her apart from other authors we see. She is deeply interested in adoption and what happens to families when the adopted member seeks out their biological parents, and this theme continues through in Rebound. With as many adoptive families as we currently have in our society, I think that exploring this timely issue in fiction is a great way to help those adoptive families know they are not alone and to find tools that might help them keep their families strong, even though they are being tested.

Hats off to Heather for another job well done. To order your copy, click here.

I received a free copy of this novel because I'm in Heather's critique group and she loves me. This free copy didn't influence my review.

Forks Road Trip and Girls' Day Out

You guys should all start hanging out with Inksplasher, Karlene Browning. Throughout the month of June, she held the most awesome blog contest ever, a virtual road trip to Forks, Washington, to celebrate the release of Eclipse. We had some serious fun. Here's me with Suan at the top of the Space Needle.We went shopping for prom dresses to go to a Twilight prom. I think I look divine.
And we went cliff diving - yes, indeed we did - and I bought this fab-u-lous T-shirt.Then Sarah Eden and I went up to the Cullen's house, but they weren't home. Stupid unpredictable vampires.We even went to a Twilight convention and Sandra and I posed with Jacob. I wanted to pose with Carlisle, but he was busy.

Then last Saturday, we went to see the movie together as a group of ten. No, we didn't go at midnight on opening day - we're not that looney - but we had a lot of fun going at the perfectly sane time of 11:45 am.

The movie was pretty good - they've improved their special effects and make-up quite a bit, and I liked how this one was put together.

After the movie, some members of the group had to leave, but the rest of us went to lunch. Left to right: April, Cassidy, Megan, Ryan, Suan, Me, Sandra, and Karlene. (A charming and somewhat technologically challenged waiter took our picture.)

Karlene sent us home with great goodie bags full of Twilight-related stuff, including this great fork (Get it? It's set in Forks?) theme candy, a Twilight bingo game, and sorts of other cool prizes.Thanks for hosting such a fun party, Karlene, and I'm definitely in for the next one.

Overheard at the Fireworks

11-year-old Son: Whoever invented fireworks must have been a genius.

Me: I think it was the Chinese.

9-year-old Son: I'm loving China right now.