Joe & Leah's Wedding Shower

The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle

In The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle, Sarah Laden is a widowed mother struggling to raise her two boys alone while desperately missing her departed husband. When her closest friend, Courtney, is shockingly arrested for child abuse, Sarah finds herself welcoming Courtney's son, Jordan, into her home. Sarah and her children face difficult challenges as they deal with Jordan's quiet and withdrawn behavior. They attempt to care for and love Jordan in the wake of his ordeal and, in the process, discover in themselves a surprising strength and a growing capacity for love. As they bring healing to him, the Ladens find that Jordan has, in fact, finally made them a complete family once again.

I struggle to write about this particular book because there just aren't words to adequately explain The Kindness of Strangers. Told primarily from the perspective of Sarah, Nate (her oldest son), and Jordan, Katrina Kittle does a superb job developing each character in a way that is sympathetically unique and completely believable. I was absolutely absorbed by this story, and it sincerely touched my heart but, at times, it was quite difficult to read about Jordan's abuse. (In that way this book was quite similar to Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock.) I highly recommend this book.

Disclaimer: If you are a person who cannot stomach reading about children being abused (Erin!), this book is not for you!

Summing Up Taos

Nathan and I left Colorado Springs last Sunday to drive to Taos, New Mexico for a mini vacation. As we drove out of town, Colorado was experiencing summer-like weather. Sitting in the passenger seat of the car, the hot sun unrelentingly blazed through the window until, sweating, I finally succumbed to temptation and turned on the car's air conditioner for the first time this season. We arrived in Taos after dark and cautiously entered our $55/night hotel room, not knowing what we'd find. It was with small sighs of relief and the occasional giggle that we closely examined the sheets on the bed and the cleanliness of the bathroom. A little barren (no microwave or refrigerator) but the room seemed clean. Things were looking good! After a quick dinner at the Guadalajara Grill, we headed back to the room and to bed.

The next morning, we awoke in a dark room to the sight of tiny pinpricks of light seeping through the miniature holes where the curtains were worn through. Then, as I started preparing for the day, I grabbed the remote control, anxious to watch the news as I dried my hair.

I pushed the power button. Nothing.

I pushed again. Still nothing.

I checked to see if the remote control had batteries. It did.

Nathan headed to the tv set and pushed the power button. Nothing.

I guess, in the light of day, $55 will buy you holey curtains and an unresponsive television set!

After preparing for the day (without the news), we stepped outside and were greeted with a chilly wind and 30 degree temperatures... and realized we had forgotten our coats.

Sighing (and shivering), we headed across the street to Walmart and foraged for cheap warmth. We settled on $7 sweatshirts. We were finally ready to start our vacation!

For the next three days we traipsed through places like the Kit Carson museum and El Santuario de Chimayó, looking like middle aged tourists in our matching sweatshirts, ducking into tiny coffee shops adorned haphazardly with skeleton art and bright southwestern paintings to warm ourselves around mugs of hot frothy lattes. We enjoyed tasty Mexican meals and tried just a few margaritas! (FYI- The best appetizers and margaritas were at The Adobe Bar and the best Mexican breakfast food can be found at Michael's Restaurant.) We wandered around the Plaza more than once and purchased some authentic Chimayó chili seasoning to replace what we had only recently finished after our last trip to New Mexico (with friends, Nate and Liz) more than two years ago.

We returned to Colorado yesterday- the weather still chilly and the scenery breathtaking! We got back just in time. Today there is a blizzard blanketing our state and heading south.

(the view from the highway on the way back to Colorado)

Look Who We Ran Into in Taos!

(It's Mary Yoder!)

In a Cafe in Taos

At a small cafe in Taos where we were about to order our lunch...

Lady: "Nobody never listens! I ordered the smoked salmon, not all this other stuff!"

Waiter (flustered): "Well, the cook upgraded your meal and...."

Lady (interrupted loudly): "NO! I didn't order french fries. I don't eat grease!"

The waiter stood there patiently.

Lady: "And mixed greens are not the same as head lettuce!"

Waiter: "I'm sorry, Ma'am."

Lady: "It's not your fault. It's the chef's fault. Where did he go to school?"

Waiter (apologetically): "I couldn't answer that." He paused. "Well, I hope you can try to enjoy your meal."

Lady: "I won't. Just bring my check."

The waiter walks away and then the lady calls out a warning to us, the only other customers in the cafe, "You'll be sorry!"

When our meal arrived a few minutes later, Nathan looked at the waiter, grinned, and said confidently, "Thanks! This is exactly what we ordered!"

Taos Today

The Trip to Taos

We arrived just after sunset.

Moving Day at the Shanks

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #10

Please do not pray should a severe weather situation arise. Your priority is to actively monitor the test; a student might mark in the wrong section if you are praying instead of monitoring. Surely God will put war, world hunger, crime, and the economy on hold until after testing is over. He knows how important this test is!

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #9

When rescue workers arrive to dig you out of the rubble, please make sure that they do not, at any time, look at or handle the testing materials. Once you have been treated for your injuries, you will still be responsible for checking your materials back in. Search dogs will not be allowed to sift through the rubble for lost tests, unless of course they have been through standardized test training.

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #8

Should a funnel cloud pick you, the test administrator, up and take you flying over the rainbow, you will still be required to account for all of your testing materials when you land so please take extra precautions. Remember, once you have checked them out, they should never leave your hands.

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #7

If any student gets sucked into the vortex of the funnel cloud, please make sure they mark at least one answer before departing, and of course make sure they leave their answer sheets and test booklets behind. You will have to account for those.

The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

When Lydia Hoffman, a cancer patient in remission, opens a small yarn shop on Blossom street in Seattle, she doesn't yet realize that the three women who sign up to take her first knitting class will soon become her closest friends. Jacqueline, a soon-to-be grandmother, decides that knitting a blanket for her new grandchild might be a way to prove to her daughter-in-law that she will be the best grandmother in the world, even if she doesn't approve of her son's pregnant Southern wife. Alix is scraping to make ends meet when, on a whim, she throws down the $15.00 for the knitting class to meet a court-ordered requirement for community service. Carol and her husband have desperately tried to conceive a child for years. When she sees an advertisement to make a baby blanket in the knitting class, she believes it is a sign that her baby is finally on the way! These four women forge an unlikely friendship during their weekly knitting lessons and learn much more than just how to knit, they learn valuable lessons about patience, acceptance, and love.

I ordered this sweet novel from paperbackswap.com because I have been very curious about Debbie Macomber. I see her books all over the place- Target, the bookstore, the coffee shop giveaway pile, the grocery store and even in the pile of books we swap at school. I had never read anything by Macomber and wanted to see if she was any good. As I was reading this novel I found myself thinking about it in terms I would usually use to describe a person. The words that came to mind were calm, pleasing, and sentimental. It was a calm, pleasing, and sentimental book- the perfect book to share with your grandmother. I enjoyed it and will read more by the author!

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #6

Should gale force winds ensue, please have everyone stuff their test booklets and answer sheets into their shirts, being very careful not to bend them because bent answer documents will not scan properly.

Why Not?

Today in Children's Worship, we were discussing the idea of being sincere, or meaning what we say and do. I introduced the idea of sincere worship and things we can do to "sincerely worship" God. It was a tricky concept for the little ones and (as often happens) they amazed me with how much understanding they showed. We brainstormed some ideas and I wrote them on the board.

"So, what are some things we can do to sincerely worship God?" I asked.

"Take care of our pets!" one child suggested. ("Uh, Oh!" I thought. Not exactly the answer I had in mind!)

"Sure," I responded and jotted it on the white board. "God wants us to take care of the things we care about. What else?"

"Give money to God," another student spoke up.

"That's great!" I said. "If we give our money freely and with a sincere heart we are worshipping God!"

"Pray!" called out another kiddo.

"Absolutely! When we pray sincerely we are certainly worshipping God!" I answered.

Then the ideas began to flow....

"Be honest."

"Be respectful of others."

"Help people in need!"

"Care about others."

And then, the best idea of all from the quiet, well-mannered student across the room....

"Pretend we're super heroes and save the day!"

Amber's Baby Shower

Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon

In Promise Not to Tell, Kate Cypher, a school nurse in Seattle, temporarily returns to her childhood home in New Hope, Vermont to care for her ailing mother. When a young girl is murdered in the woods behind her mother's home on her first night back, Kate begins reliving the murder 30 years earlier of a childhood friend known as "Potato Girl" who had been bullied by her classmates. Already haunted by the memories of her own role in Potato Girl's torture, Kate finds herself consumed by the similarities of the recent girl's murder to that of her former classmate and eventually becomes determined to learn the truth of what happened to Potato Girl.

I give every book I read a rating on goodreads, but sometimes I feel like I shouldn't do it right away after finishing. It has been awhile since I completed this book (a couple of weeks maybe) and I've decided to change my rating. This book did not stick with me as well as I initially would have expected. I have difficulty (2 weeks after finishing the book) remembering the characters, events, or, more importantly, how I even felt about the book. So these are the thoughts on this book that I am left with: I enjoyed reading it, I liked the mystery of it, I finished it fairly quickly, and it was better than Island of Lost Girls by the same author. But, the experience of reading this book didn't leave me with much... not even a memory of reading it.

For my review of Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon, click here.

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #5

Should shards of glass from a broken window come flying into the room, have the students use their bodies to shield their testing materials so that they will not be damaged. Have plenty of gauze on hand to ensure that no one accidentally bleeds on the answer documents. Damaged answer sheets will not scan properly.

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #4

Should a flying object come through your window during testing, please make every effort to ensure that it does not land on a testing booklet or an answer sheet. Please make sure to soften the landing of the flying object so that it will not disturb the students while testing.

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #3

Should students notice an approaching tornado and begin to cry, please make every effort to protect their testing marterials from the flow of tears and sinus drainage.

Severe Weather CSAP Testing Protocol #2

Please do not look out the window to watch for approaching tornadoes. You must monitor the students at all times. To do otherwise would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.

Chloey...

...doesn't let our life get in the way of her sleeping.