I have been reading Karen Kingsbury for a long time now. I got sucked right into the Baxter family "Redemption" series. I honestly think that is her best series to date!! It delved into some hard issues that many many people face. I know those books made me look at myself more in depth and certainly strengthened my relationship with Christ.
So, out of the many Baxter family series was born the Flanigan family series. When the Flanigan's first showed up on the scene they were a black family that seemed like they were mostly going to stay in the background. You could tell right away that they were modeled after Karen's very own family. They were friends of the Baxter's.
Right away though this family took on a life of it's own, and their very own series, and even a few spin off series, were born.
This family mirrors the Kingsbury's real family in almost every way. The parents have a wonderful marriage, 3 biological children and 3 adopted boys from Haiti, 5 boys and one girl, family life centers around Christ, dad coaches sports and boys are all involved in sports and several of the kids are all involved in Christian theater. At some point the family even went from being black to suddenly being white. I've gotta admit that sort of bothered me.Why the change? Anyways, The relationship between the mom, and the daughter Bailey has always been an important part of their stories. We have gotten to watch Bailey, and my guess is Kelsey (KK daughter), grow up through these books.
Bailey even got her very own spin off series. Which KK has admitted loosely mirrors her own daughter's life. That's even her beautiful daughter on all the covers. So, the last book in the Bailey series was released on Wednesday and guess where I was Wednesday night? That's right!! Barnes and Nobles:) Usually I just wait my turn to check these books out from the library, but, I just so happened to have a gift card from Christmas and I really really wanted to find out which boy Bailey ended up marrying :). So yeah...I bought the book.
I really like KK. Her books are Christ centered and full of scripture. I think she now owns the term "life changing fiction". I think she has what seems to be a really wonderful family and certainly a gift for writing and being an impact on others!!
I gotta admit though, as much as I like them, her books, for me, have gotten a bit fluffier and I don't know what word I'm looking for here. There are some inconsistencies that are sometimes hard for me reconcile...ie the Flanigan family's race change. Sometimes, through this series (Bailey's), I have felt like she was telling the same story over and over again. It was very reminiscent of Dayne and Katie's story to some degree. Sometimes the books seem rushed and other times they seem to drag out. I can't really explain it other than to say I think she may be cranking out too many books one right after the other lately. Or maybe I'm just tired of Bailey because she has been the main focus for so long now? I still love her, well them, Karen and Bailey. I will definitely continue reading the books. I just hope they go back to being more in tune with what she was writing through the original Baxter family "Redemption" series. And I can almost guarantee that when the next Baxter book "Coming Home" is released later this year...I will be at Barnes and Noble picking up one of the first copies. I love the Baxter family that much:) I adore the Flanigan family too. I just think we've had way too much of Bailey and it seems a little indulgent on KK's part.
So I can't comment on this book too much because it is the result of many many books based on the Flanigan family. There is just too much history to share. And I don't want to give too much away in case any one of you decides to read the series. I will say the book made me cry. Most of Karen's books do. The Bailey series also makes me strive to have a better relationship with Maia. Not that we don't have a good one now but there's always room for improvement. And I know there's tough years ahead with the whole teenage thing coming up. I want Maia and I to enter that stage in the very best possible place. I want Maia to know that she can trust God, and trust me to always be there for her. So that's what I'm taking away from this particular series. The desire to be a better mother to my girl:) To continually pray for her and be her anchor in the storms that are sure to come. To show her kindness and compassion. To always teach her God's words and truths. Those are all pretty great things to take away:)
Friday, March 30, 2012
Books 10 & 11
So book number 10 was "The Paris Wife". I picked this book up because I liked the cover. I wish I could say it was because I was excited to learn about Hemingway or maybe even Paris--But no, it was simply the cover that drew me in. Yes, I am that shallow.
I loved this book from the start. I'm gonna be honest here and admit that I didn't know one single thing about Ernest Hemingway before starting this book. The book was about his first marriage and their time in Paris. By the end of the book I loathed Ernest Hemingway and was completely fascinated by the 1920's and the so called "Lost Generation". And by fascinated I mean obsessed:) I wiki'd just about every "star" from that time period. I even researched their children.
I think I was so enthralled for 2 reasons 1) my great grandparents would have been coming of age right around this same time period. I liked reading about what was going on in the world when they were young. It gave me a connection to them that I can't explain. And 2) We always think of the past as so much better than the current. We idealize it in some ways. At least I know I do. I think of past times as more simple, moral and family focused. After reading this book and doing hours upon hours of research, I now know that's not really true. This particular generation had access to lots of drugs, dealt with alcoholism and abounded in sexual sin--just like today. It may not have been as widespread, but it was out there.
Did I mention that by the end of the book I thought Hemingway was a scumbag and that I wanted to kick him in the teeth? No? Because that is exactly how I felt. American icon, genius, literary great, whatever you want to call him, doesn't change the fact that he was a womanizing idiot. Not a lot to respect and admire in that.
My 11th book of the year was "The Art of Racing in the Rain". Again, I really enjoyed this book!! It was the first book of the year that brought tears to my eyes:) The story is told through a dog's vantage point. His owner and best friend goes through many many trials and tribulations, Enzo the dog is always by his side. At times Enzo has great insight into human relationships. Lots of fun little tidbits that made me think deeper. Now, Enzo does think that when he dies he will come back as a man. That was a key point to the story and a point that obviously I strongly disagree with:) But, the book is fiction so I could get passed that. The book kept my interest through the whole thing. It kept me rooting for the main character all the way through. And it made me miss my Shiloh even more than I already do. I think it may have even made me a little more empathetic towards Willow. Which is saying a lot because normally Willow just gets on my nerves:)
I loved this book from the start. I'm gonna be honest here and admit that I didn't know one single thing about Ernest Hemingway before starting this book. The book was about his first marriage and their time in Paris. By the end of the book I loathed Ernest Hemingway and was completely fascinated by the 1920's and the so called "Lost Generation". And by fascinated I mean obsessed:) I wiki'd just about every "star" from that time period. I even researched their children.
I think I was so enthralled for 2 reasons 1) my great grandparents would have been coming of age right around this same time period. I liked reading about what was going on in the world when they were young. It gave me a connection to them that I can't explain. And 2) We always think of the past as so much better than the current. We idealize it in some ways. At least I know I do. I think of past times as more simple, moral and family focused. After reading this book and doing hours upon hours of research, I now know that's not really true. This particular generation had access to lots of drugs, dealt with alcoholism and abounded in sexual sin--just like today. It may not have been as widespread, but it was out there.
Did I mention that by the end of the book I thought Hemingway was a scumbag and that I wanted to kick him in the teeth? No? Because that is exactly how I felt. American icon, genius, literary great, whatever you want to call him, doesn't change the fact that he was a womanizing idiot. Not a lot to respect and admire in that.
My 11th book of the year was "The Art of Racing in the Rain". Again, I really enjoyed this book!! It was the first book of the year that brought tears to my eyes:) The story is told through a dog's vantage point. His owner and best friend goes through many many trials and tribulations, Enzo the dog is always by his side. At times Enzo has great insight into human relationships. Lots of fun little tidbits that made me think deeper. Now, Enzo does think that when he dies he will come back as a man. That was a key point to the story and a point that obviously I strongly disagree with:) But, the book is fiction so I could get passed that. The book kept my interest through the whole thing. It kept me rooting for the main character all the way through. And it made me miss my Shiloh even more than I already do. I think it may have even made me a little more empathetic towards Willow. Which is saying a lot because normally Willow just gets on my nerves:)
Spring Break
Spring is really kicking into gear around here. The kids had a fantastic Spring Break!!! The weather was gorgeous and we had so much fun hanging out together that I didn't want to send them back to school the following Monday. I have decided that I am much much happier when my kiddos are home with me:) Anytime they are home for an extended period my depression lifts and joy abounds.
We went to t-county for the day on Thursday. We had some serious GS cookies to deliver!! It was very nice to catch up with family. We had a lovely lunch with Aunt Jackie and Grandpa Tim at Red Lobster. It always amazes me how much my kids have grown whenever we go out to eat. They were so polite and well mannered. Isaac was witty and did a great job carrying on a conversation with our waiter. Asher shocked Aunt Jackie and my dad both with his reading skills. I think sometimes people think my kids are suspended in time at the ages and maturity levels that they were when we first moved. The truth is they have grown up so much!! I miss their younger selves like crazy but at the same time I am so proud of the people that they are becoming. And I must admit that this lunch was so much nicer than lunches past with Aunt Jackie. I didn't have to cut anybody's food up, chase anyone around a table or deal with any tantrums like times past. It was just a nice peaceful meal. No stress at all. I know my kids impressed their great aunt and their grandpa:)
We also spent a few hours at the Dover (baseball) park with Sue, Noah and Rees. That was a wonderful, much needed time for me. I miss hanging out with friends!! I got some much needed girl talk in and I got to spend some time with my wonderful nephews:) I can't believe what young men they have become!! And so handsome!! My kids aren't the only ones growing up. Noah and Rees were both polite and funny:) It was just altogether a great evening!! We spent so many years playing baseball there. It just all brought back some wonderful memories for me and I'm sure Isaac too.
And then we spent a few hours at Grandma Ruth's house. Aunt Cathy was in town visiting so seeing her was an added bonus. There is just something wonderful about going to Grandpa Bud's and Grandma Ruth's. As soon as I walk in the back door I always feel like I'm home. And their house always always always smells the same:) There is something extremely comforting in that. The kids were thrilled to find the fridge full of Pepsi and the cookie jar full of E.L Fudge cookies. They were in Heaven:)
The drive home was not as great:( I didn't even leave town until around 11pm. I debated if we should make the drive at all because I knew we wouldn't make it home until after 1am. But we all sort of decided that it was important to us that we wake up in our own beds. About halfway into the drive exhaustion took over. The kids did a good job being chatty so that's what kept me awake for the long haul. I don't think I was ever so excited to pull up into our driveway as I was that night.
With Spring here we are getting ready to enter baseball season. Both boys, especially Isaac, are ready to swing a bat!! Nothing makes that boy happier. They are both anxiously awaiting calls from their coaches!! Baseball season means lots and lots of running for this mama. Between both boys, we will probably have practice at least 4-5 times a week and probably 3 games, sometimes even 4 a week. Things are about to get crazy around here:) I think I'm up for the challenge though!!
Other things we did during the week included a GS trip to the zoo for Maia. She got to study animal habitats and even get up close and personal with a few zoo residents. The star turtle and the lizard were fun and exciting. The possum? Not so much!! That thing showed all 50 of it's nasty little teeth and hissed at me like it wanted to come in for the kill. I was so glad to see that nasty thing locked back up in it's crate. Maia had Claire, Morgan and Brianna all over at some point.
Isaac had a Boy Scout merit badge thingy on the first Saturday but other than that he just chilled. Him and Asher built castles, played LOTRO and made some stop motion films. It was all just very low key and relaxed. The weather was nice enough that they all played outside quite a bit. We all needed it:)
And now? I'm looking forward to spending a fabulous weekend with my little clan:) Andy doesn't work this Saturday and I can't wait to spend some time hanging out!!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Book numbers 8 and 9
So, I swear that this blog hasn't turned into only book reviews:) Really, I promise that is not the case!! Even though it certainly seems like it.
We have been hibernating quite a bit this Winter. We've led extremely boring lives. Nothing blog worthy has been going on around here. Unless of course you want to hear about me taxiing kids around or Andy working excessive hours. So excessive that we barely remember what he looks like these days. Perhaps you would like to hear about the boys playing Lord of the Rings online? Or maybe Maia and I watching The Voice, American Idol or Dance Moms? Or just maybe I should share my obsession with Pinterest? Yeah, I didn't really think anybody wanted to hear about those things:)
Spring is coming though and when nicer weather return, our lives will be much more exciting. I promise. So until then...you get boring book reviews:)
Book number 8 for the year was Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I enjoyed this book. It was set in WWII era in Seattle's International District. It was about a little Chinese boy, Henry, and his very traditional parents. The boy "scholarshipped" at a very American school. Basically that just means that he was the only ethnic student there and that he had to work in the kitchen to earn his keep. He hated it!! He was made fun of and had no real friends to speak of. Until an American girl, of Japanese descent shows up. She must also work in the kitchen. The two form a very sweet friendship. A friendship that eventually turns into first love. Everything is interrupted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The girl's family, all of whom were born in America, was sent to internment camps. I always knew that this sad piece of American history existed but I had never really explored it before I read this book.
It was interesting to me, that we were imprisoning people based on their heritage here in America, while at the same time we were fighting so hard to release the Jewish people from the same thing on another continent. Granted we didn't starve, torture or kill the people we encamped like the Nazis did. I'm not comparing us to the evilness of Hitler in any way. But, we did tear them away from their families, businesses, communities and homes. They lost many many precious possessions. Pictures and family momentos that could never be recovered. We forcefully took a large mass of people and made them sleep in horse stalls, behind barbed wire fences while armed guards stood watch to ensure that no one could escape. I understand the fear, panic and hysteria that was running through our nation after Pearl Harbor. I have lived through 9/11 so I really do get it. But it still makes me so very sad to think that we did this.
This book made me think and challenge myself. Just because someone looks a certain way or even believes a certain way--doesn't make them a bad person. Before we moved to our current city I will admit that ALL Muslims scared me to a certain extent. 9/11 had left that legacy for me, along with many other Americans. Now I realize that a lot of Muslims ARE Americans. Born and raised here just like you and me. Most do not want to see their country terrorized. The truth is that not all Muslims are extremists. We have Muslim neighbors and classmates. Yes, we have very different beliefs. I'm not willing to sway from mine just as I'm sure they're not willing to be swayed from theirs. But knowing that there are many good Muslim people here in America, I am very very glad that we didn't send them off to camps after 9/11.
Next up was Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. This book had rave reviews and was recommended by a Christian friend. It was supposed to be about a beautiful, lifelong friendshipor a loatong, between 2 young girls. I'm gonna be honest here...I HATED this book. It was set in an 1800's remote Chinese village. The first several chapters went into great detail about the ancient "art" of chinese footbinding. Talk about positively painful to read. I mean who in the world first thought this sick, disfiguring and disabling practice would be a good idea? And reading about it just wasn't enough for me. Noooo, I had to go and google images of a "golden lilly" because I just couldn't fathom what a 3inch foot looked like. Well, now I know. It looks disgusting... and painful!! By the end of the book I was certain that the footbinding practice was simply a way for men to keep women locked up. The only thing women were really valued for was their ability to birth boys, the much coveted sons. Honestly, I haven't read anything that makes me believe the Chinese culture has ever placed any value on girls or women:( How sad is that? I'm sure that there are many Chinese families that love their daughters. But you certainly don't hear about it. Instead you hear about baby girls abandoned, left to die or aborted...simply because they were girls.
I thought once I got through the chapters that mentioned the footbinding that the book would get better. I was wrong. The book did keep me intrigued enough to finish it but I sort of wish I hadn't. The characters just weren't likeable to me. At all. I was glad when this book was finally finished.
I may have more exciting things to blog about later in the week. We are expecting very special company on Tuesday:)
We have been hibernating quite a bit this Winter. We've led extremely boring lives. Nothing blog worthy has been going on around here. Unless of course you want to hear about me taxiing kids around or Andy working excessive hours. So excessive that we barely remember what he looks like these days. Perhaps you would like to hear about the boys playing Lord of the Rings online? Or maybe Maia and I watching The Voice, American Idol or Dance Moms? Or just maybe I should share my obsession with Pinterest? Yeah, I didn't really think anybody wanted to hear about those things:)
Spring is coming though and when nicer weather return, our lives will be much more exciting. I promise. So until then...you get boring book reviews:)
Book number 8 for the year was Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I enjoyed this book. It was set in WWII era in Seattle's International District. It was about a little Chinese boy, Henry, and his very traditional parents. The boy "scholarshipped" at a very American school. Basically that just means that he was the only ethnic student there and that he had to work in the kitchen to earn his keep. He hated it!! He was made fun of and had no real friends to speak of. Until an American girl, of Japanese descent shows up. She must also work in the kitchen. The two form a very sweet friendship. A friendship that eventually turns into first love. Everything is interrupted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The girl's family, all of whom were born in America, was sent to internment camps. I always knew that this sad piece of American history existed but I had never really explored it before I read this book.
It was interesting to me, that we were imprisoning people based on their heritage here in America, while at the same time we were fighting so hard to release the Jewish people from the same thing on another continent. Granted we didn't starve, torture or kill the people we encamped like the Nazis did. I'm not comparing us to the evilness of Hitler in any way. But, we did tear them away from their families, businesses, communities and homes. They lost many many precious possessions. Pictures and family momentos that could never be recovered. We forcefully took a large mass of people and made them sleep in horse stalls, behind barbed wire fences while armed guards stood watch to ensure that no one could escape. I understand the fear, panic and hysteria that was running through our nation after Pearl Harbor. I have lived through 9/11 so I really do get it. But it still makes me so very sad to think that we did this.
This book made me think and challenge myself. Just because someone looks a certain way or even believes a certain way--doesn't make them a bad person. Before we moved to our current city I will admit that ALL Muslims scared me to a certain extent. 9/11 had left that legacy for me, along with many other Americans. Now I realize that a lot of Muslims ARE Americans. Born and raised here just like you and me. Most do not want to see their country terrorized. The truth is that not all Muslims are extremists. We have Muslim neighbors and classmates. Yes, we have very different beliefs. I'm not willing to sway from mine just as I'm sure they're not willing to be swayed from theirs. But knowing that there are many good Muslim people here in America, I am very very glad that we didn't send them off to camps after 9/11.
Next up was Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. This book had rave reviews and was recommended by a Christian friend. It was supposed to be about a beautiful, lifelong friendshipor a loatong, between 2 young girls. I'm gonna be honest here...I HATED this book. It was set in an 1800's remote Chinese village. The first several chapters went into great detail about the ancient "art" of chinese footbinding. Talk about positively painful to read. I mean who in the world first thought this sick, disfiguring and disabling practice would be a good idea? And reading about it just wasn't enough for me. Noooo, I had to go and google images of a "golden lilly" because I just couldn't fathom what a 3inch foot looked like. Well, now I know. It looks disgusting... and painful!! By the end of the book I was certain that the footbinding practice was simply a way for men to keep women locked up. The only thing women were really valued for was their ability to birth boys, the much coveted sons. Honestly, I haven't read anything that makes me believe the Chinese culture has ever placed any value on girls or women:( How sad is that? I'm sure that there are many Chinese families that love their daughters. But you certainly don't hear about it. Instead you hear about baby girls abandoned, left to die or aborted...simply because they were girls.
I thought once I got through the chapters that mentioned the footbinding that the book would get better. I was wrong. The book did keep me intrigued enough to finish it but I sort of wish I hadn't. The characters just weren't likeable to me. At all. I was glad when this book was finally finished.
I may have more exciting things to blog about later in the week. We are expecting very special company on Tuesday:)
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