The Books of 2009

I know, I'm weird, but I love to keep track of what I read. It's fun to look back a few years ago, see which books really stuck with me, which ones didn't. I also try to challenge myself to read more every year. My husband thinks I definitely need counseling for this.

So here's a glimpse of 2009:

Contemporary Fiction -

Shelter Me - Juliette Fay

Loved Walked In & Belong To Me - Marisa de la Santos (I read these in the wrong order, but it was still good. I recommend doing Loved Walked In first.)

The Wednesday Sisters - Meg Waite Clayton

Mudbound - Hillary Jordan

The Help - Kathryn Stockett (Prediction: this book will be made into a movie with Oprah as the lead role)

Olive Kitteridge - Elisabeth Strout

Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - yup, saw the movie. twice. Ashley, have you forgiven me yet? :) But the book was better. Isn't it always?

Firefly Lane - Kristen Hannah

River of Heaven - Lee Martin

A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolick (Winner of the "Laundry Piled Up To The Sky While I Read This Book" Award)

The Turtle Catcher - Nicole Helget

Memoir -

This genre has really gotten a boost lately. I prefer memoir because it reads more like a novel than an actual autobiography. (like Glass Castle)

The Gift of an Ordinary Day - A Mother's Memoir - Katrina Kenison (Wanted to buy a box of these and give them away on street corners to moms pushing strollers!!!)

Jesus Land - Julia Sheeres (AMAZING. This book made me sad, no, outraged. Buckle your seatbelt on this one.)

Surrendering to Motherhood - Iris Krasnow

Where Rivers Change Direction - Mark Spragg (Great cowboy stories)

Through Painted Deserts - Donald Miller (yup, he's the Blue Like Jazz guy, but I liked this early book better about his journey across the country with a buddy)

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - Donald Miller (This is his latest, very honest and searching)

From Our Home - Lee Martin

Non-Fiction/Misc.

And here's a potpourri of everything else:

Wild Things - The Art of Nurturing a Boy's Heart - Stephen James and David Thomas (This is fabulous. I keep referring back to it as it goes through different phases of a boy's life)

The Lost Continent - Bill Bryson (Hilarious! Get it for your next road trip. He goes across the country searching for the perfect small town. I don't think a book ever made me laugh out loud so much.)

In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms - Dr. Laura Schlessinger (The good doctor doesn't mince words in this one.)

An Old Friend From Far Away - Natalie Goldberg (This was a memoir-writing handbook with lots of cool writing exercises)

Writing the Poetic Life - Sage Cohen (Pulled me back into the world of poetry writing. missed it)

Sailing Around the Room & The Trouble With Poetry - Billy Collins (This was during my "poetry" phase. I like Collins because he has a great sense of humor and a lot of his poems leave me smiling.)

Looking for God - Nancy Ortberg (I love John Ortberg's books, but his wife Nancy is a bit more challenging and a real straight talker!)

The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch (Alright, I got this at the library to see what all the fuss was about. Randy wrote this before he passed away from pancreatic cancer as a sort-of letter to his children, his wife. I was saddened by the complete absence of God in this book. He wanted so much to leave a legacy, and I suppose he did, but he had no trust in God, no hope of heaven.)

And the "Book I Wish I'd Never Read" award goes to: In a Perfect World - I forget the author. But it was this Target fiction pick I grabbed on a whim and it really pulled me in right away. Then, suddenly the book took this doomsday turn where a horrible "bird-flu"-like virus hit the country and the U.S. was a complete anarchy...it was ridiculous and I was so angry at the end of it!

What's on YOUR nightstand?

Nice, Mrs. Affleck!

Jennifer Garner: probably my favorite actress. She'll always be Sydney Bristow to me - the sweet, friendly girl next door by day, but international super-spy by night. The TV show "Alias" was my escape during the days when Greg and Daniel were tiny.

I also love the fact that her yearbook photo looks like this:

But most of all, I love what she says about moms:

"I will tell you what I can't abide -- and I think the Internet has really created a space for it -- women criticizing other women and mothers criticizing other mothers. It just makes me crazy, whether it's staying at home, going to work, how long you breast-feed, if you use formula. I feel like we should just assume everyone is doing the best they can.

Women should take care of each other, not tear each other down. I would just really like to see a mother who really believes that she has done it all so right, you know what I mean?"(from Parade, Jan 24)

You tell 'em, Jennifer!!

I am excited to share a fun opportunity with you!

To celebrate the release of Hearts at Home’s newest book: Living With Less So Your Family Has More, by Jill and Mark Savage, the Hearts at Home blog is launching the Living with Less Contest.

Email Hearts at Home a story or money-saving tip that gives a peek into your daily experiences representing the humor, richness, or spiritual aspects of what it’s like to live with less.

Better yet, blog readers will benefit as many of the money-saving entries will be posted on the Heart’s blog throughout the month of February!

For contest details go here!

Now it's Time to Talk About What We've Learned Today!

The ever-fine Mr. Reid and I celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary this past December. I can safely say that while I've learned a lot about being a wife, I have soo much more to learn.

The biggest obstacle to a great marriage is simple: selfishness. I mean, it's at the root of every problem or fight we've ever had.

Just this past week I had to almost force myself to do a small act of kindness for him: fill the van up with gas. Especially in winter, I only fill up a vehicle if I really have to (so wimpy) and shrug it off as no big deal. But this time, my internal conversation went like this:

Aw, man, there's hardly any gas in this van.
That's OK, you're not going far and Aaron won't mind filling it up next time.
But I can see it's almost on E and it might be nice for him to find it filled up.
But it's COLD and....it's COLD!
Cold, shmold, be a woman and fill the tank.
I don't want to.
Grow up.


And while that might not seem like a big deal, those kinds of "internal conversations" have helped me grow up as a wife.

I just read a quote that stuck with me (and came back to me at the van incident): "Generosity is the signature of adult love. In supporting and encouraging each other, we learn the lesson generosity always teaches, which is that givers also, inevitably, receive." (-Kate Braestrup)

I pray I can live that out better the next fifteen years!

All Done

Okay, I've got Aaron's trip completely on Flickr now, and you can view the pictures if you click on "areidj photostream" next to my picture with Daniel.

A couple quick stories that I thought were funny:

When he introduced himself, they would pronounce his name "Hhhhair-in" (roll the "r") and had a hard time saying it. Finally, at the last church they visited, he said, "Okay, remember Moses in the Bible? Remember his brother? Aaron?" And they'd all nod and say, "AH! AHHHRAHHHN!" He really wished he'd thought of that the first day they arrived in Kenya.

Also, one man asked him, "You know David Beckham?" (International Soccer Star) Aaron said, well, yeah, not personally. The man responded, "You stand next to David Beckham, no one be able to tell difference. You look just like him!"

Must've been the sunglasses on his head and week-old stubble...

More Pictures

The link on the left should take you to a lot more pictures. I'm not done loading them all, but I got a good start.

I also included London, as he was able to sight-see there before flying to Kenya. Jealous!!

A Glimpse of Kenya

He's home! He's home! I don't know if I've ever been so happy to see the face of my husband. It's hard enough having him gone, but then not being able to communicate regularly with him just made it all the more difficult.
Here are just a few pictures, because I can't load 400 on a blog. I will do my best to look on Flickr or another website where I can load a big pile of them. This first picture is Aaron's group. The five of them had a guide and a driver who took them to various schools, orphanages, and slums where they could evaluate how they could help in the future.

This is an example of "stick/dung" building. We can't even comprehed extreme poverty, but this is it. Using cow dung and sticks to build a structure.

This is Jennifer from his group, being lovingly mobbed by children at an orphanage. They knew the English phrase, "How are you?" and would yell it over and over until you responded, "Fine!"

Here's picture for my Dad and brother. This is how they dry the corn: they lay it on tarps on the ground and then move it around with their feet while dogs, cats, cows, etc., walk around at the same time. A little different approach, eh?

Aaron's still adjusting to the time difference and jet lag, but feels so blessed to have been given the opportunity to see how even small things can help tremendously for the people there. It's humbling to see Kenyans there who love Christ with great joy in their hearts, even as they just strive to survive day to day.

One more update from Aaron! (Home tomorrow!!)

Sorry for not writing for a while; we have been on some adventurous outings, sometimes not returning until late and there have been computer issues at the lodge where we have been staying.

My first subject for this post is driving in Kenya. Potholes. Big ones, small ones, medium ones. They are everywhere and almost all the time. You almost never have the luxury of driving in a straight line in Kenya. You are either dodging the myriads of potholes or cows, or donkeys, or motorcycles, people, dogs, bicycles, tractors, trucks, or you name it. About the only driving rule there is here is that bigger vehicles can go up to 80km per hour and small ones can go 100km per hour. I have felt like I have been riding an old wooden roller-coaster for 9 days.

Transportation of anything here is a challenge. I cannot imagine what the vehicle maintenance costs would be if you were to live here. For my steel co-horts, we have seen flat-bed trucks with 3 coils (about 120,000 lbs), so you can see how the roads do not last.

Through all of this cross country travel we have visited schools, orphanages, churches, widows, carpentry shops, hospitals, clinics, and private homes. We are always given the honored guest status wherever we go. It is amazing to watch the spirit of the people here. I have gotten sick to my stomach thinking that we are eating a feast prepared by our guests when there are so many hungry just a few feet outside.

The eyes and smiles of the people are penetrating; I am sure it is something I will never forget. The people everywhere we go ask when we can return and ask if we can stay longer.On of the highlights of the week was worshiping with about 100 people on Sunday. They cut the service short after 3 hours due to our need to visit another group in the afternoon. I am thankful that Jesus Christ is being preached here. I shared that although the miles between us are many we both serve the same God.

This part of Africa is very colonial and everyday is like stepping back in time....until from the middle of a cow dung-mud hut a Kenyan pulls out his cell phone to answer a call.

Thank you to all for your prayers and support.
Aaron Reid

Remember Christmas?

It feels like this all happened MONTHS ago, instead of a few weeks...but here's a glimpse of Buckeye Christmas: The unwrapping (while you could still see the carpet :)

Hope and Grandma

New baby doll!

Having a spot of tea with Daddy
My favorite cheeseheads

The Guy in the Orange Sweatshirt

Last week, Mom and I drove the 14+ hours from Ohio back to Minnesota. Can I just say, there is nothing more frustrating than layers of STUFF on the floor of a vehicle.

"MOM!!! Where's my socks?"

Well, they're gone now in the black hole of the Suburban floor, baby. Just let me carry you into McDonald's and never leave your seat.

Nah, it didn't get that bad.

We stopped at one of those groovy Oasis' in Illinois. If you're not from the Midwest or have never driven through Chicago -- it's this huge structure built right over the interstate with gas stations, food, bathrooms, etc. Wonderfully accessible for those wanting to get right back on the highway. (I'm sure a man invented it.)

Anyway, we stopped for lunch and the kids were enjoying themselves, begging for money to play stupid games that give junk. Hope especially loved chasing her brothers and walking around like a big girl.

A man near us sat alone, on his cell phone for the most part. As he was getting up to leave, he walked over to me and smiled. He pointed to Hope. (I though, Great, he's gonna give me some sort of parenting pointers or something and I'm REALLY not in the mood...)

He said, "My girls are both in their 20s now. But watching your little girl today, that pink barrette in her hair...well, it just brought back some great memories. You enjoy her. Every minute."

So at this point, I'm just nodding and smiling, trying not to cry because I've been up since 5am and I'm a little frazzled. But I was able to eek out:

Thank you, sir. I will.