Book Reviews

I finished the most delightful book last week: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It is set in England just post WWII. The main character is an authoress who is trying to figure out what to write about now that the war is over. For me it was a fascinating picture of what WWII was like in an aspect I've never studied before. The format was very conducive to my reading schedule - all letters, which made it easy, because of their length, for me to be able to stop and start whenever. And the romance woven into the storyline didn't hurt either! I'd definitely give it a "read again" rating.

I've also finished two other books since the beginning of the year. The first one was The Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson. Dad thought it was one that I needed to read (I can't imagine why!). It was really a great book. It was very insightful. He first explains about the will of a child and helps you understand what a strong-willed child is and why. Then he goes through the different ages/stages from toddler to teenager, describing what is going on in their mental development and how to best discipline them and help them. I need to remember to reread that one in a few years! I'd give that one a "buy and hilight" rating.

The second book was The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox. This one was given to all of us kids by my mother-in-law for Christmas. The best way to describe it is to say that Brother Wilcox teaches complex concepts the atonement in a simple way. It could be considered an easy doctrinal read (larger print, more white space on a page, chapters broken down into sub-topics, many stories to illustrate his points), but the concepts he talks about, with regards to the atonement of Jesus Christ, taught me how Christ did so much more than just suffer for my sins to enable me to return to Father in Heaven. He made it very real and accessible for me, the reader/regular, run-of-the-mill member of the Church. Definitely a "buy and highlight".

Wild Goose Chase!

I hate geese. Okay, maybe it's more like I'm terrified of geese. I think they are the meanest, orneriest things. Whenever we go feed the ducks the geese are the most aggressive and to a kid that's pretty scary to have something as tall as you, honking in your face and snatching bread from your hand. And the last couple of times I've gone running in the park I've been chased by one. I think they're male geese protecting a nest, but still! I give them a wide berth and they still chase me, honking, wings outstretched - it really freaks me out. So I changed my running route.

Me and My Ficus

Ric and I listed our condo this week (anybody want to buy it?) and we showed it twice yesterday evening. It was just to realtors both times, however. So they were really just trying to get our business (we've not listed it with a realtor yet). But Ric and I cleaned and organized all day, finishing just in time. Well, by the end we were just stuffing things places - mostly in the van.

I have too many plants huddled by my windows, so in an effort to minimize I am having my sister and my mother-in-law plant sit until we sell. Well I hadn't taken the plants to their houses yet, so last night they went in the van too. The kids and I left while Ric fielded the realtors. So I drove around with a van full of dirty laundry, four houseplants, and three kids - among other things! I'm sure I looked homeless - except what person living out of a van would keep a ficus on the dashboard?

I sure hope our place sells fast - I don't know how long I can keep up the facade of an immaculately clean and organized family!

A Momma's Drama

Two weeks ago I lost Creighton and got the police called on me. That was a rather traumatic experience. I had Keelian asleep inside and was playing outside with the boys. I went in to check on her and grab something and was gone only about two minutes. When I went back out I couldn't see Creighton. My first thought was that he'd ran down to the end of the condo property to throw rocks in the creek, so I jogged down to the broken gate but didn't see him - thank goodness he hadn't gone down there and fallen in! So then I started checking all of the stairs. By then I was starting to panic and had Stratton helping me too. I still couldn't find him and he wasn't answering. I saw a vehicle turn around in our condo parking lot and the thought crossed my mind that someone had taken him. I really started to worry.

Then I heard him crying. I could just hear it every few seconds or so. It was a serious cry. That made me really freak out. I had visions of someone hurting my baby and I could hear it but I didn't know where to look. I started heading out to go up the driveway and check the street when I saw Creighton come running down the driveway, followed by two women. One was on the phone describing our condos and location and the other one was Creighton's nursery leader.

What had happened was that this other lady was driving down Vine street and saw this little boy running down the street all by himself, so she pulled over (it was her vehicle I'd seen turn around in our parking lot) and went to get him. He freaked out and started crying, running away from her. At this point Carla looked out her window and saw Creighton being chased by a woman, looking too scared for her to just be a grandma playing with him. So Carla went out and talked to her, explained that he was in her primary class and I just lived back behind her, but the lady still insisted on calling the police, I guess.

I was surprised he had run up there. He'd never done that before by himself - only when we had taken walks together. He was good and scared by the experience though. I hope it traumatized him as much as it did me. We went in the house and sat on the couch and he just let me hold him for a long time while I sobbed out of relief. After a few minutes there was a knock at the door. It was a police officer. He was just there to make sure it wasn't a "drunken mother situation". How embarrassing! He got my name, date of birth, phone number, Cratey's date of birth, and asked how he got out, etc. I'm sure I now have a criminal record - negligent mother - down at the Murray police station. The whole thing was just awful - it ruined my whole day.