A Glimpse Into Jonah

I'm not ready to call it OCD, but Jonah LOVES to line things up. Particularly his animals. While Ruthie is interested in laying out her clothes, Jonah is interested in lining up his animals. 

See exhibit A. (And note in the background the legos, another thing that Jonah loves.)

We love our Jonah Man! 

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas with your family. We are having a GREAT time! 

Here is the picture in Christmas jammies that I wanted to post - Isaiah looks like a real person in this one, as opposed to the one I just posted about here. I love matching jammies! 

And here is the aftermath of our Christmas morning. Hope yours was a fun, relaxed and messy as ours! 

A Glimpse Into Ruthie

I'm sure your kids (if you have them) crack you up, too. But sometimes, the things our kids do are just plain hysterical.

For example, almost every night, Ruthie lays out her clothes for the next day. I mean, is her life hurried and busy? Does she actually have any where to be the next day? The answer is, of course, no. But it just goes to show how important fashion is to her. 

In this picture, you can see that she even lays out her accessories - head band, bracelet, necklace, and shoes, all laid out with her dress and underwear. And that's exactly how she lays them out, too. Just like she's going to wear them - everything in the exact spot it goes. She is nothing, if not thorough. And she brings so much joy to our lives. 

Take Two (or Three, I guess)

I'm attempting to pick this blog back up again. I really do like blogging; I've just been busy with 3 pre-school kids and the other blog I'm working on, which debuts on January 1. You can take a sneak peak here! It's been an exciting and busy project and I'm really stoked about launching it in a few days.

Speaking of a few days, it will be Christmas in THREE DAYS! Are you ready? We are. We've celebrated my birthday and Ruthie's and so now we are on the countdown for Ian to be finished with school and for the Christmas celebrating to begin. All of our gifts are wrapped and under the tree (thank you Netflix, for entertaining us while we wrapped and wrapped and wrapped); tonight we are celebrating with our neighbors with a Christmas Cookie Open House at our place; Saturday we go to the Marshes for Christmas Eve with the whole family (including David's family flying in from TX) and Sunday we'll have stockings, Christmas breakfast and gift opening at our house, then a big family dinner at my parents' place. It's going to be a great few days, followed by two weeks of Ian being off a school. I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating - I love being married to a teacher!

So what is your family doing for Christmas?

Here's a quick picture of the kids from a year ago. We've got the same jammies this year, in the next size up, so I'll repeat the picture and post it here when I can.

Merry Christmas!

Making My Life Easier

This is what my typical Monday afternoon looks like. After I get home from Trader Joe's (where I shop every Monday), I compile the various items that I put in Ian's lunches throughout the week. 

Exhibit A: cut veggies, containers of yogurt (so much cheaper than the individual servings!) and bean and cheese burritos that I freeze. On the days that I don't have enough of dinner left overs, I just grab one of those babies out of the freezer and I have my "main" dish for Ian's lunch.

This weekly ritual makes my life a lot easier. You know what else makes my life easier? 

SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After Ian goes to work tomorrow and turns in his grades by midnight tomorrow night, we are free and clear for some summer fun. We. Can't. Wait.

Reupholstering My Chairs

I have been wanting to do this for years. Literally years, I'm not exaggerating. When my grandma passed away about 9 years ago, I got her dining room table and 6 chairs. It's a beautiful set, all the more special because I remember so many meals at it myself when I was growing up. When I first got it, I reupholstered the seats, since they were pretty dated. I loved how they turned out at the time and have enjoyed the fabric through the years. But after 4.5 years of kids eating in them and general wear and tear, I was ready for a change. Plus, I just love change. Plus, we're renting our house out soon and the renters looking at those dirty chairs was just the impetus I needed. If you know me, then you know that I. Am. Not. Crafty. But this is a super easy job that can be done in about two hours (that includes a trip to Home Depot and the "help" of a 3 year old boy).

Here's the chair before I started:

The first thing you do is unscrew the seat from the chair. Easy, peasy. 

Then you remove the staples (I sort of just pull the fabric up and it rips the staples out) and discard te old fabric.  Next you lay down (obviously, face down) the new fabric you want.

Then you just work your way around the seat, stapling (with a staple gun) and gathering the fabric so it's cinched and taut all the way around.

Trim the excess fabric off (it will be covering the holes you need to access to screw the seat back in) then just screw the seat back in.

Nothing to it! Isn't it pretty? As with every home project after I've finished it, I'm asking myself why I didn't do it sooner!

Jonah and Grandpa

We went to Disneyland a few Sundays ago, as we often do, and my parents joined us, as they often do. It is wonderful; time with family, lots of live music, tons of sights and sounds that spark our kids' imaginations, yummy snacks - we love pretty much everything about. 

But one of my new favorite things is that Jonah and my Dad have the same "Disneyland outfit." Everyone in our family has a Disneyland outfit -Ian and I have Mickey t-shirts (mine also has Minnie, Ian's also has Donald and Goofy), Ruthie has about 10 different princess shirts to choose from, not to mention the costumes she is sometimes able to talk us into letting her wear, and of course, Jonah has Toy Story and Cars t-shirts. My mom also has several Mickey/Minnie themed shirts in her arsenal. 

We've always wanted my dad to join in the fun (this tradition extends to both my sisters and their families) so not too long ago, we got my dad a Disneyland button down shirt, knowing he would never wear just a regular t-shirt. And then in the 3T bin that was handed down to us from Sarah's boys, there was a little "old man" button down Disneyland shirt in Jonah's size. It is so, so, so cute. 

Here are the two of them, in their button down Disney shirts, their khaki shorts, their white socks pulled up high and their black shoes, holding hands on the elevator. I think my heart might burst. 

What Do You Do When You Have the Carpets Cleaned on a Rainy Day?

We had our carpets cleaned recently, something we do several times a year. We the guy (Mr. Robert) came to clean for the first time, he walked into our family room, took one look at our carpets and said, "Pet stains, huh?" Ah, no. Those are kid stains - spit up, pee, and I'm not going to lie, the occasional poop. Plus the coffee, wine, lemonade and a myriad of other things that Ian and I spill. Taking care of our carpets (at least preventively) is not our strong suit. Calling Mr. Robert? We are very good at that.

Anyway, so the weekend we ended up scheduling him this past time was rainy. We were only having him do the 3 main rooms (living, dining and family), so the baby was able to sleep in his room while the 4 of us hunkered down in Ruthie and Jonah's room for an hour or two.

Here are the three movie lovers, watching Tangled on Ian's computer. You got to love modern technology!

Backyard Camp Out

This is my final post from Spring Break. It's been fun reliving it and I actually feel a little sad that it is truly and officially over. Ah, well, summer isn't that far way!

Last summer we attempted a back yard camp out (twice) and only made it until about 8 or 9pm both times. So we didn't really have too high of hopes for this camp out. But the kids had been asking and we do want to be a camping family, so we thought we'd give it a try. We've got to build up our muscles, you know!

Here we are, setting up camp. Ruthie was very eager to help set up the tent.

We had hot dogs on our grill outside, as well as watermelon, grilled bell peppers, and chips. It wouldn't be a camp out without chips!

Then we had to have s'mores. Why is it that the world's messiest dessert is the one you eat while camping, when bathrooms and sinks are hard to come by? Obviously, we had our kitchen and bathrooms nearby but it does make me wonder about when we really go camping...

I love Jonah's face here - mustard from the hot dog and chocolate from the s'more. A face like this is how you know you've had a good camp out!

And what do you think - did we make it through the night? Jonah had to go in to go to the bathroom at 2am and asked at that time to go to his bed. I went in with him, since I had been listening on the monitor for Isaiah anyway, and Jonah and I slept in my bed together the rest of the night. But Ian and Ruthie made it all night! It gave us great encouragement for this summer, when all four of us might make it. (Though I am not going to lie - when Jonah said he wanted to go to a bed, I was secretly relieved and very happy to be heading to my soft, warm bed.)

Sneak Peak

I'm working on a new blog project this year that I'm really excited about. My sister, Sarah, had the idea to start a blog based off the One Year Bible. Both my sisters and my mom and I have read the One Year Bible (off and on) for many years and so she invited us to join her. It's been great doing a little more writing, and being a part of something so special with my sisters and mom. I'd like to preview a few of the posts here, since we won't be launching our blog until January 1 of next year.

So here's a sneak peak of what I wrote for March 31:

I am a celebrator. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, the first day of Spring – you name it, I like to celebrate it. And I love that God does, too. In today’s passages, we see several instances of God’s party-lovin’.

In Deuteronomy 16, God tells his people to keep the Feast of Weeks – seven weeks after the first harvest they are “rejoice before the LORD your God” (16: 11); just a few verses later, we read about the Feast of Booths, during which they spend seven days where they also “rejoice in feasting” (16:14) so that they “will be altogether joyful” (16:15b). Did you notice that? Seven days of rejoicing, feasting and being joyful. That sounds like a great party, if I’ve ever heard of one! I’ve thrown some big shin-digs in my day but never one that lasted a whole week! I love the lavish, abundant celebration God plans for his people, “because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands” (16:15a).

As we keep reading we find in our New Testament passage the feeding of the 5,000. We’ve already read an account of this story in both Matthew and Mark but reading it again today I’m once more struck by the hugeness of this miracle. The throngs have been waiting for Jesus and when he comes down from the mountain, they are crowded around, anxious for him to teach and heal them. All day they are with him, listening to him teaching about the kingdom of God and seeing him restore health and wellness. As the day comes to an end, the disciples tell him to send the people away to get food. But Jesus wants to bring abundant blessing (a party!) to these people he’s been with all day and so he takes five loaves of bread and two fish and feeds thousands. Incredible! The text says there were 5,000 men – if each of those men had a wife and even just two kids with them, then Jesus is actually feeding 20,000 hungry people by multiplying two fish and five loaves. If each person eats (modestly) 1/3 of a fish and 1/3 of a loaf, we’re talking about almost 7,000 fish and 7,000 loaves – that’s a lot of fish and bread!! Again, what a demonstration of the abundant and lavish way God provides for his people. And you’d better believe those 15,000 folks were celebrating at an unexpected and miraculous dinner!

What ways does your family celebrate the lavish goodness of God? Do you have a specific time of year where you “rejoice before the LORD your God” and where you spend dedicated time “being altogether joyful?” I’m reminded of our family tradition to spend a week each summer in Mexico, basically partying all week long. My parents rent each family unit a condo right on the water, in a gated community that has two pools, tennis courts and a grassy area of the kids to run and play (no one is paying me to say this, but if you’re looking for an affordable getaway, can I just recommend Mexico?). Every morning my dad makes an abundant breakfast of pancakes with syrup and whipped cream or breakfast burritos with 10 different toppings or waffles with fresh peaches sliced on top. After breakfast each day we play in the sun, lathering babies in sunscreen and hitting the pool or beach. In the afternoons, we walk from condo unit to condo unit, rounding up people for a game of Settlers of Catan or Rook, while we snack on lavish treats like mini Twix bars and fruit roll ups (can I get an amen for vacation snacks?). In the evenings, after a delicious dinner that we take turns cooking, we round everyone up for family activities, like a game of charades or “Grass Olympics” or kick ball or our now famous Talent Show. If I haven’t convinced you yet, let me just say, it’s a non-stop party. And throughout the whole week, we are reminded of God’s goodness and we consistently take time to thank him for his lavish gifts.

If your family doesn’t have a “Feast of Booths” in place yet, let this year be the year you start. It’s never too late to celebrate what God has done!

Here's a photo from our 2015 Mexico "Feast of Booths."

Abalone Cove

It is hard for me to overstate the beauty of this place. If you live in So Cal and haven't been to Abalone Cove, go. You won't regret it. We have been here twice now and both times were magical and breathtaking.

We went over Spring Break, one of our many wonderful day trips. I carried Isaiah in the Moby (love that carrier!) and the older two walked. They did such a great job; I could even see progress from the first time we did the hike in late December.

The first part of the hike is up on some bluffs, overlooking the ocean. Then as you descend down, it opens up into a rocky beach filled with cool little tide pools, and lots of rocks for little boys to throw.

Here's Ian and the kids, exploring.

And here we are, stopping for a lunch break. Don't you love Ruthie's hiking outfit? Gold sequence shirt, Cinderella shirt and a crown. But she's tougher than she looks! 

Speaking of throwing rocks, see Exhibit A. Doesn't Jonah have impressive looking form? And do you see his rock in the far left hand corner? This kid's got an arm! 

I love this photo because Jonah is wearing Ruthie's princess hat. Ian and I were both wearing hats and Ruthie had brought this one and Jonah really wanted to wear a hat like everyone else. So sister shared with him. And truth be told, Jonah does love princesses! You should hear how he pronounces the word "Rapunzel." It's pretty much to die for.

It was a wonderful day, exploring with the kids and enjoying the out of doors and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. And not to add unicorns to an already incredible day, but a group (school?) of dolphins played and jumped about twenty feet from us, playing in the waves for 15 minutes while we watched. The kids were ecstatic, calling out "I see one. I see another one!" It was awesome! Yay for Spring Break! 

Chocolate Fountain Party

We really lived it up this past Spring Break. I've already shown you a little of what we did and there is plenty more to come. One of the fun things we did was a Chocolate Fountain Party night with my sisters and their families. I bought a chocolate fountain off Groupon and was dying to try it out, so we got a bunch of yummy foods to dip in there, invited them over and fired that baby up!

When Mary's family arrived at the party, her five year old Abbie called from the car, "But where's the fountain?" Ah, poor girl. Her expectations were really high. A front lawn fountain that spewed chocolate would be something indeed!

Here's Mary's oldest, Sam, enjoying some treats:


And here's Abbie, who clearly reconciled herself to the true size of the fountain and still quite enjoyed herself:

And here's Clare, a little timid but eventually won over by strawberries and marshmallows coated in chocolate:

I realize now that there are no pictures of Sarah's family (well, that is Eric's hand holding a Madeline cookie about to dip it in the chocolate) and I'm sorry about that. They were there, too, I promise! In fact, when everyone was in the dining room enjoying the fountain I made a comment about how maybe this should become a spring break tradition and Sarah's oldest, Caleb, said, "How about an every other week tradition?" Now there's a boy after my own heart.

Don't be surprised if this fountain makes its way into many more parties!

Spring Break Joys

Last week was Ian's spring break. We had SUCH a great spring break, filled with fun family time. We relaxed, slept in, ate big breakfasts, went on day trips (or more like two hours trips in between nap times) and even had a camp out in our backyard.

We started the week off with a trip to Lighthouse Park to fly our kite and then head over to the Aquarium. The kids had never really flown a kite before, just seen other people do it, so it was super fun watching their excitement. They looked up at that kite flying like it was magical. I guess in a way it was! 

This adventure led to much signing of "Let's Go Fly a Kite," which is one of Ian's favorite songs. So it was a great morning, to say the least.

Easter

We had a lovely Easter. We went to our church in the morning and then headed over to my parents' house in Brea. Easter is always a great time because we have a fun crowd of friends and family and a huge Easter egg hunt, as was previously mentioned in this post.

An egg hunt of this size definitely takes some coordination. So after a delicious lunch and a nap for the babies, the kids are all sent to front yard (with an adult or two to supervise) to draw with chalk and play around while the dads and older cousins/kids hide the eggs.

Then everyone four years old and younger is sent to the backyard to collect their baskets, which Grandma has labeled and set out on a table. Those kids get about 5 minutes to look around before the older kids come and find the more strategically placed eggs. 

Here's Jonah and Isaiah, each with their basket. Jonah had such a great time this year looking for eggs. He definitely understood the point of the hunt! 

Here's a shot of all the "littles" as they get read to begin their hunt.


And thankfully, we were able to snag a decent shot of the five of us, which is a good thing because I think the only other photo of all of us is a hospital one, where someone (I won't say who) looks very puffy and swollen.

I hope you and your family had a great Easter!

Dying Easter Eggs with Grandma

We had a great week leading up to Easter. In addition to the Good Friday service I already shared about, we participated in our church's Maundy Thursday meal and foot washing, which is one of my favorite services of the year.

The kids also got to dye Easter eggs for the first time. And who better to do that with than Grandma? My mom boils, dyes and hides (with the help of the older cousins) 100 eggs every Easter. As you can imagine, it's a big production. And this year, my kids got to participate in the dying. They were so excited. 

Here's Ruthie, showing her very blue egg. 

And here is Jonah, showing his pink one.


They were amazed at the process of the eggs changing colors. It was very fun to watch them enjoy the time with Grandma, who had a ball herself.

I have to share one quick story on a related note about my 3 year old niece, Naomi. We had them over for a Chocolate Fountain Party last night (you didn't know there was such a thing, did you? Well, stay tuned, more on that to come) and Sarah told this very funny story of Naomi's response when asked what she did with Grandma, "We killed Easter eggs." Looks like she needs a little word clarification between died and dyed. =)

Good Friday

I'm helping lead the Good Friday service at our church tonight. I've been thinking and musing about the time all week and wanted to share here what I'm sharing with the folks who come tonight.

This evening can be a difficult time. It’s hard to slow down our minds from a busy week and focus on today’s significance. It’s hard to be comfortable in the silence. It's hard to sit in the darkness. It’s hard to find some way to relate to the events of today’s history. 

But I think what’s even harder is to enter into the horrific details that we will be reminded of tonight. A betrayal from a beloved disciple; a trial where the most righteous person in the world is falsely accused; a choice of a thief over the Savior; a beating with a whip lined with bones and metal, ripping through the flesh of the perfect lamb; a purple robe and crown of thorns that taunt and mock; strangers who spit in the face of Jesus and beat him over and over; and finally, a brutal crucifixion.

These are not easy things. And it’s difficult to allow ourselves to enter fully into the story of tonight. This is perhaps because if we truly allowed ourselves to be present, to imagine what it was like, to put ourselves in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, we would break under the despair and sorrow of it. Our souls would be crushed by the searing pain of abandonment and agony Christ suffered. And so it’s our default, perhaps even our coping mechanism, to bypass the horror that the gospels narrate on this Friday. Perhaps we would rather fast forward to the power and victory of the resurrection. We’re more comfortable with that Jesus, than the one depicted on this day they call Good. 

However, let’s challenge ourselves tonight to be in this moment. To walk with Jesus through the betrayal, through the trial, through the pain. To allow ourselves in some small way to experience what he experienced. For it’s in this pain and the journey through it that we really understand what our Jesus did for us. It’s through the utter awfulness of Good Friday that the triumph of Sunday is made glorious. But we cannot get to Sunday without Friday. 

As we begin tonight, I’d like to pray for us. 

Lord Jesus, 

We confess tonight that we’re not comfortable with the events of this day. When we really sit with them, they are terrifying and horrendous and give us cause for despair. We don’t understand how you bore up under this. Help us, Jesus, to be present to the events of today’s history. Help us to know that we are part of this story; help us to acknowledge that all of this – all the pain and rejection and sorrow – was for us. You endured the darkness to end all darkness for eternity. On this night, when we sit in the depths of what you endured, your cross reminds us of what is coming. Help us to not give up. Help us not to give in. Help us to be here. 

Amen.

At Home Date Night

Ian and I have two monthly date night tradition - the regular date night where we get a babysitter and do something out on the town (usually eating, but we do try to mix it up) and then we also have a stay at home date night. On our "out" date nights, we have 4 questions that we ask each month, usually one over appetizers, two over dinner and one of dessert (not because we actually plan it that way, just because it works out that way timing-wise). In case you're wondering, the questions are: 1) What's something you're enjoying about the stage of each kid; 2) What's something you're looking forward to in the next month? 3) What's something you're not excited about in the next month? 4) What's something you feel like God has been saying to you recently? 

These questions are great for helping us have meaningful conversation and we love this tradition.

For our "at home" date nights, we have a different tradition. We each plan one romantic thing for the other person. It can be really simple - a note, a bottle of champagne, dancing together to a romantic song, etc. Sometimes, it's more complex - one time Ian learned a Jason Mraz song that I like and played/sang it on the guitar for me. For our March date night, I made a jar filled with wooden Popsicle sticks, each saying something I love about Ian or something fun we could do together (like watching the baseball documentary he is always suggesting that I'm always shooting down).

We used to eat with the kids and then do these romantic exchanges after they had gone to bed but we recently discovered that we wanted to add a little something more to our at home date nights. So now we feed the kids something easy for dinner and then we eat cheese, crackers, salami and olives for our own dinner after they are in bed, usually with a glass of wine. 

It is so lovely and we enjoy the time so much. This past at home date night, the weather was perfect, so we were able to enjoy our dinner sans kids on the patio under our hanging white lights. It was very romantic and has already got me looking forward to April! 

If you've got suggestions (that are appropriate to share here) on romantic gestures, I'm all ears. I love new ideas! 

The Secret Is Out

I'm not a good driver. I think for several years, I tried to say that I was - that I was "efficient" and "effective." But the truth is, I drive too fast, follow people too close, am impatient and often distracted, and not just by my children. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I text while I drive. I know! It's illegal and dangerous and not worth it. But for some reason, I still do it. You'd think I'd learn, especially given...

That I rear ended someone a few weekends ago when I was checking emails on my phone. I was out running errands (alone! on a Saturday! so lovely!) and was sitting at a stop light. Being the multi-tasker that I am, I was using those few minutes to check my emails. When the light turned green, I stepped on the accelerator (with gusto, as I always do - I'm nothing if not consistent) and it turned out that it wasn't actually my light that had turned. So naturally, the car in front of me wasn't moving. I tried to slam on the breaks, but unfortunately, I hit her back bumper. Not too hard, but obviously this is one of those cases where that doesn't count. People kind of care every time you hit them, funnily enough.

So I did what only seemed right - I sped off in the opposite direction.

Just kidding. I hope you didn't believe me, not even for a second. How terrible would that be?!

We pulled over and she got out of her car and of course, I apologized. Even though the insurance companies say to never accept fault, I don't think there was any way to wriggle my way out of that one. We exchanged information but she said she didn't actually see any damage and didn't think she'd be filing a claim. I hoped that was true.

Then on Friday I got a call from a Mercy Insurance Claim Agent. She said her client didn't actually mean to file a claim but now that a claim number was open, she wanted to make sure I wasn't filing a claim myself.

I guess that should have been my first clue that something was a little off. If it was my fault (and I'm not even insured through Mercury), why in the world would I want to file a claim? What kind of claim would I even file? "I rear ended a lady; please give me all the blame and all the financial responsibility." Clearly not.

Then she began to ask me a bunch of questions. I was pretty annoyed, given that a claim hadn't even been made. Why do I have to say what happened? Why do I have so say where I was going? Seriously, with that question, I was pretty irritated. Why does it matter where I was going? But I suppose she is just doing her job, so I tried to be patient and answer the questions. (To my sister's house, in case you're wondering. But the wind was knocked out of my sails with the accident, so I never actually made it there.)

Next she asked me if there were any passengers. I told her no. Then she asked if there were any car seats in my car. I told her yes. Then she asked if anyone was in those car seats.

Didn't I just say I was alone? How could I be alone and there be people in the car seats? I wonder about this lady, I really do.

So of course, I reiterated that I was alone, so no, no one was in the car seats.

I was finally able to get out of the conversation and I truly hope that's the last time I have to talk to that Mercury agent.

But the real question is, did I learn my lesson? Have I sworn off texting and driving?

I'll never tell.

Why Is It Always Food?

Why is it always food the inspires me to take a picture and write a blog post? I guess I just feel that on top of being delicious, food is often so pretty. Just look at these tomatoes and that basil, asking to be swirled together with shallots, olive oil and salt. Don't mind if I do. Delicious! I love bruschetta and could basically eat it every night of the week. And I have to say, mine is better than pretty much anything you can get at a restaurant, fancy or otherwise. 

Boys Will Be Boys

He's been asking me all morning to put his nerf gun in his underpants, like a holster. His underpants, by the way, are superhero. You can't teach this stuff!

Banned Books

There's been a lot of talk about banned books in our house recently. One of the books that Ian chose for his 8th graders this year has been met with quite a bit of concern from the parents at his school. The book is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. At first I was sure all the fuss was for nothing, so I starting reading the book. (I thought perhaps I had read it in school myself but as I'm making my way through it, it doesn't seem at all familiar.) Now that I have passed the controversial pages, I have to admit - I can see why some of the parents were upset. But I can also see why Ian chose this book. She has a unique, beautiful voice.



When Ian was working on the letter that he would eventually send to all the 8th grade parents explaining his choice, he had me look over it. In the letter, he included a section about banned books, as Why the Caged Bird Sings has been on the list for many years. When I was reading it, I literally stopped and turned to him to say, "People still ban books? I thought that was just for the 60s." So then I was curious about other books that had that distinction. I was amazed at what I found - and how many of them I had read in school myself!

Here's a quick survey of some of the books on the Top 100 Most Frequently Banned Books from 2000-2009, in no particular order:

Of Mice and Men
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (#14 - who could object to this book?!)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Harry Potter (this was the #1 most commonly banned book - that surprised me!)
A Time To Kill 
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Bridge to Terabithia
Catcher in the Rye
To Kill a Mockingbird

And Ian's book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, coming in at #6.

But I guess I should mention that he also taught To Kill A Mockingbird, which was #21.
Curious about the whole list? Check it out here: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

So then I was curious about books that were commonly banned before 2000. If books that used to be banned were now commonly read in school, might the same thing happen to the books from recently banned lists?

Here's a few of the top ten most frequently banned books:

1. Brave New World - I didn't read this in school, but I read it afterwards out of curiosity, as my teacher in school said that Brave New World was sort of the opposite side of the mirror to 1984. If 1984 is a story about the things we hate and how they can kill us, Brave New World is about how the things we love can also destroy us.

2. The Grapes of Wrath - I did read this in school and I have to say, I wasn't a fan. But not because of anything controversial; I think I'm not a Steinbeck fan.

4. Slaughter House Five - I was surprised this was on the list! I know it's disturbing but that's history, right?

8. American Psycho - I haven't read this, or seen the movie. What say you? Should it be banned?

If you want the full list of the Top Ten Most Banned Books of All Time, check it out here: http://www.shortlist.com/home/10-banned-books

Very interesting stuff, at least to us. For now, it seems that the meetings and phone calls and emails have settled down and Ian is back to the business of teaching. And I'm squeezing in moments to read, so I can know more about his life (and also use my brain a little bit more than I have in recent months. I have to confess that all I've read recently, aside from the Bible and some spiritual formation books, is Teen Literature. But it's just so entertaining!)

Anyway, happy reading to you, whatever you might be reading as well, banned or not.

And We're Back

Almost a year to the day and I'm finally ready to pick my blog back up. Thought it'd never happen, didn't you? I'm not gonna lie, me too. I've been ready for a while but there's just been so much to get caught up on that I haven't quite had the energy or time to dive back into all of it. And you know what? I'm not going to. No one really likes reheated left overs. So I've decided just to move on from today, except for summing up the last 12 months in few photos:

First, in February of last year, this happened:


And then a lot of this happened:


While that was happening, there was no energy for anything, let alone blogging.

And then this amazing, wonderful thing happened on November 6th:


And since then, there's been lots of this:






And we've been happy. We're so grateful to be a family of five and love our new little addition, Isaiah Donald.

That brings me to today. Ready to see the thing that finally pushed me into blogging again?



That's right, party people. Cookies. You know I love cookies. And aren't these so pretty? The kids and I made a new recipe and it resulted in these beauties. Yummy and good looking - that's my kind of Friday afternoon activity!

More to come...