Happy Autumn!

Happy autumn everyone!!! It is truly the best season! 

 How did you celebrate?

Hilarious and Lively

Aren't they darling?? They had a great time at their little table. ;) I am so grateful for my little sisters and my nephews! They certainly keep life hilarious and lively! 

Good Days

Summer is leaving, and I'm not very sorry at all. Next comes good weather, our church's family camp, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. What's not to like? Still, these days have been good, and there is plenty to be grateful for...

I'm grateful for...

• The weather. I already mentioned it, but it's worth saying again. This Northwestern girl isn't quite done acclimatizing, so the cool(er) weather is a welcome relief. ; )
• Birds. I peeked out the window the other day and saw pigeons and some little brown birds (yeah, I don't know their name...) gathered together in our front yard. I had never realized before that there are beautiful birds even here! I'm just used to seeing gray mourning doves and nothing else. ; )
• Old pictures. The other day I was working on the huge project of putting eight years' worth of pictures on a USB drive. It was so wonderful to remember the times we've been blessed with. I found I had even forgotten some of the things we had done earlier this year, and it was very nice to be reminded. It also amazing to see how much my wonderful nephews have grown!
• Books to read... I've been reading so much lately it's been a ton of fun! Reviews coming when I can. ;P
• I've also been doing a lot of reading for our history studies. We are learning about Egypt right now, and I'm so excited to see how the Exodus fits into everything. 
• Christian movies. It seems like there have been a ton more good ones coming out lately than ever before. I got to see "War Room" earlier this month and absolutely loved it!!! It was very encouraging and inspiring, and I can't wait for the rest of my family to see it so we can discuss it. ; ) My dad bought "Polycarp", and the older ones in our family watched it together. It was a slower movie than I am used to, but it was very good!
• Nephews! Since their little family moved out, we haven't gotten to see them as much; but Perry sends enough pictures and hilarious stories to keep us alive until their next visit. ; )
• How much faster chores are lately. That sounds really weird, but now that I'm a "big girl" chores that were painfully slow to do in that past get done in a snap. So much more free time... ;P
• Shortbread--three flavors--plain, spiced, chocolate. 'Nuff said.
• Music playing all over the house. Sometimes three different songs at once because everyone has their own mp3 player. ; ) Walk into the kitchen--encouraging Christian music that we all love. Walk into the girls' room--very lighthearted and slightly romantic. ; ) Walk into the boy's room--inspiring, majestic, heroic movie music. Yeah, it's pretty fun. ; ) My favorite song right now is "After the Last Tear Falls" by Andrew Peterson. (The version from 2014 is awesome, but so is the older one too. Pick your favorite.) ; )
• Ants. Yeah, really, I'm grateful for our ant invasion! It gave Buddies a project to do when she ran out of schoolwork, and she was so cute and "adult" doing it. She had me help her handle the vacuum a bit, but she mostly did it all by herself. She found where they were coming in and was full of ideas to block the hole, get ED (she meant DE for diatomaceous earth) or poison for them, etc. After a while, she decided she needed a break, and we had popsicles together. ; )
• Inspiration. The little people in my family (soon I'll have to call them "medium people" because they are only getting bigger) are so hilarious and inspiring. Together we discussed what it would be like to have a world completely made of chocolate, or bagels, or noodles. ; ) I made them a pretend newspaper the other day using some of their ideas, and it was so much fun.
• Direct access to my Maker. Anytime I need to talk, He's there!

Today, what are you grateful for?

The Deacon with the Toffee

When I was little, at least younger than six, my family went to a Southern Baptist Church. I remember very few things from that church—random Sunday school memories, the way my classroom looked, and names and faces here and there. (One of my classmates works at a local Chick-fil-a. It surprised me a lot when I first recognized him! That’s off topic though…) One of the things my brain chose to remember though is a dear, old Southern Baptist deacon who kept toffees in his pockets to give to little children. He may have only given me one once, but I still remember it and still love that candy. I’ve never seen him again—he’s probably with the Lord—but in his own small way he blessed a very shy little girl.

In my post "In the 'Out'" I mentioned that everywhere you are there are always people to minister to who are in the out with you. I often find it hard to figure out who to talk to at social events. I don’t always exactly fit into one of the “categories”. I’ve discovered that the categories I work best with (not to say I shouldn’t try with all of them) are those of the little children and the lonely strangers.

Sometimes the little children are running around so fast there’s no time to have a conversation with them, and sometimes the strangers are so shy (or move on after a while) that it’s hard to find ways to be good friends with them.

Then I remember my Toffee Deacon. I remember the lady who smiled at me as we passed each other on the way to the refreshment table at a wedding reception (mostly stranger there—I was a fish out of water). I remember the young man who asked me out of the blue how my stories were going. I remember the young lady who introduced herself at a conference of 3,000 people and was my heaven-sent friend for the next two days. I remember the girls I’ve randomly met and been pen-pals with for a few years. All small instances that made those days better, influenced my life for the better, and gave me friendships if only for a few moments.

So, I’ve decided to smile. To listen. To be their friend as much as they will let me. It hurts a little when one of the ones I was closer to moves on. It hurts a little to think that the little children may not remember me as well as I remember my Toffee Deacon. But I am blessed to know that this is doing the work of love by being the best friend I can.

MercyMe’s song “The Generous Mr. Lovewell” (one of Daddy’s favorites) pretty much sums it up for me. (I suggest looking it up, but please remember that YouTube is a secular website so be careful to guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.)

Have a beautiful day!

The Twin Arrows: Chapter one

Chapter one: Father and the Sisters
“I am giving you this with the prayer that you will never need to use it.” The knight took a long parcel out of his saddlebag and gravely handed it to his daughter. They had paused a moment before the walls of the convent to talk a little before it was time to go in, and the sound of peaceful singing rose up from the white-walled commune.
The girl took the slender leather case from him and asked softly, “What is it?”

Her look of uncertainty smote him to the heart, and he wished his errand were an easier one. “Open it.”

She fumbled to untie the thong that held it shut and unrolled the something bright and shining. A sparkle came into her eyes; and she gasped with delight at the silver arrow. The shaft was not much thinner than her smallest finger, but the head was tiny and very, very sharp.

“In the other half of the case you will find a bow, equally as delicate but very powerful,” he added, watching her carefully.

She unrolled it again and fingered the light bow that was at that moment folded with the string lying ready by its side. Vines and flowers had been carved into its soft wood making it beautiful enough to match the silver arrow. “They are beautiful!” she exclaimed, looking up at her father with blue eyes that sparkled even more than the gifts.

Her father smiled a little at her words, then placed his large hand under her pointed chin and gently lifted it so that their eyes were on the same level. “These are neither playthings nor mere decorations, but instead they are something very rare and special. Ryla, my daughter, for your protection you have been given one of the twin arrows.”

“Twin arrows?” She echoed. Something in his tone told her his next words would be very important.

 

Click here to read more. Thanks so much, Holly, for making me such an awesome blog post header!!

Flashback

From left to right: Kate, Perry, and Aimee.

We were looking through old pictures the other day, and I came across this one. I thought it was pretty funny! Don't we just look like tiny versions of ourselves? Perry is such a little princess, Aimee is talking, and I'm grinning with all my might. Great memories! ; ) So grateful for my big sisters!!

Does it ever surprise you when you look at old pictures of yourself?

Book Review: The Green Ember!!!

"Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world.

Kings fall and kingdoms totter. Tyrants ascend and terrors threaten. Betrayal beckons, and loyalty is a broken road with peril around every bend.

Where will Heather and Picket land? How will they make their stand?" (Amazon synopsis)

Rabbits? That has to be something cute like Beatrix Potter’s stories, right? That’s what I thought when I heard about this book by S.D. Smith. I picked it up anyway since it looked all right and might be something my little sisters would enjoy. Rabbits, seriously? No, these rabbits are different—they have swords, and a war, and a lost king. They have a well-written, compelling story (good enough to have quotes out of it!) that surprised me with its depth of plot. The cover shows that it was probably intended for middle graders. Sorry, eight-to-twelve-year-olds, I claim it. It’s mine.

The Setting: Set in the fantasy world of Natalia—a world very much like our own—this book had a nice heroic and medieval feel. Since it’s told from the perspective of rabbits, that made the action quite different from your usual book; and it also made the regular dangers of the forest even scarier. Seriously, imagine being able to jump around like crazy while you are sword fighting or to give a wolf a hard kick with your hind legs.

The Story: The story was very good, better than some things I’ve read that are for older audiences! At first glance, it seems quite similar to all the other oh-wow-we’re-the-lost-heirs-of-wherever books. Not so in the least! Very surprising and satisfying.  There were also great lessons on forgiveness and heart-warming (even funny!) moments along the way.

The Characters: I loved Heather and Picket—they were so real. (I even forgot they were rabbits at some points.) Emma, Gort, Uncle Wilfred, and Smalls were also great favorites of mine. I found Kyle and Helmer intriguing and couldn’t wait to find out who they really were.

The Concerns: Parents should have caution in choosing this book for younger readers because of some intense, un-graphic action and some bad attitude that is later resolved. Also, SPOILER ALERT!!!! Heather and Picket’s home is burnt by some pretty scary wolves, and they don’t know what happened to their parents and baby brother. And because they are rabbits (that’s not important though, right?) when they are underground there is mention of creepy creatures chasing them and the wolves do threaten to eat them sometimes. And, SPOILER ALERT AGAIN!!! massive battle at the end does mention rabbits being dead or wounded.

So—read this book!!!!! I found it to be an awesome, well-written story! It is actually the second book, but it can pretty much stand-alone.

This review is getting dangerously long. You can drop off now, or you can stick around for some really awesome quotes. ; )

“Like the blazing branch they had only just escaped, the rain came down suddenly, with no pitter-patter of polite introduction.”

Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Locations 137-138). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.

“What do I always tell you? ‘Not enough salt is an in-salt,’ and ‘Too much salt is an as-salt!’”

Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Location 1432). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.

“This is from wisdom, child,” Mrs. Weaver said. “Growing up is terribly wonderful. But often it’s also wonderfully terrible. Ha, a riddle of words amounting to nothing. A stuttering cleverism that falls as short as my feeble steps. But this is true. A teacher could become rich if he ever perfected the art of helping mature students unlearn many awful things. Enjoy your innocence, my dear. Even if it only lasts the day.”

Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Locations 2386-2389). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.

“He turned to look at Picket, and there were tears in his eyes. “Picket,” he said quietly, “stay angry. It’s okay if it’s at me, for now. If you aren’t angry about the wicked things happening in the world all around, then you don’t have a soul.”

Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Locations 1017-1019). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.

And I, Lady Kate, leave you with this—the poetic Green Ember pledge. We nerds love it over here. ; )

“Picket smiled. “My place beside you. My blood for yours. Till the Green Ember rises, or the end of the world.”

Smith, S. D. (2014-12-12). The Green Ember (Kindle Locations 3366-3367). Story Warren Books. Kindle Edition.