A Separate Country

I was ready for a good non-fiction book since I just finished Love & Respect.  I knew that I wanted one I couldn't put down...  well this was a good one!  I grabbed it at Target one day because I love Civil War area books about the South.

This is the story of General John Hood and his life with his wife Anna Marie in New Orleans after the war.  It was a story about love and redemption.  I had to make myself get through the first chapter, but after that I was hooked!  The story is told from the view of 3 people:  Eli Griffin, General Hood, and Anna Marie.  It was such a neat way to write the book.  I would highly recommend this book if you like books from this era.  I will say that I am not sure how historically accurate it is, but I never really care about that.

If you read and liked The Reliable Wife you may enjoy this one as well.  It had really similar themes.  I thought a lot about it while reading this one.

Read: end of December 2011
Pages:  448

Love & Respect

A good friend gave me this book in January or February after a church retreat.  I read a little of it at first... then life got crazy...then I got on a fiction/book club only kick.  Finally after my latest round of books and being caught up for book club in December, I told myself there was no starting another fiction book until I finished this one.

Now don't let that fool you... this was an amazing book.  It is just hard for me to sit down and read any nonfiction book quickly.  I always have about 3 books going when I read nonfiction.  Even when I love it.  I am so glad that I finished this jewel though.  It just got better and better with each page I read.

Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has been in marriage counseling for years and give conferences based on this book.  The premise is simple.  Women need love, men want respect.  It all comes from Ephesians 5:33 "Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."  Wow, this simple little revelation blew me away.  It got me thinking a lot about previous relationships and the lack of respect I had...

The beginning of the book talks about The Crazy Cycle that many marriages are in, then the middle is about The Energizing Cycle, and finally the best part is The Rewarding Cycle.

 I have to tell you I loved the part about The Rewarding Cycle.  It was all about how even if your spouse doesn't give you what you need, give them what you should.  Know that God sees what you are doing and will reward you.  I think that really resonated with me because of where I am in my spiritual journey.  When we love and respect our spouse, really we are loving and respecting Jesus.  That really got me thinking beyond just my marriage to family and friend relationships.

I think for a long time I didn't read this because Aaron and I have a pretty darn good marriage.  But you can always improve and gentle reminders are always good.  Sometimes I have a bit too much pride.  I felt like if I read this, it must mean I have a "bad" marriage.  Don't let pride get in your way!  Y'all I really, really, really encourage you to read this book.  Even if you have a great marriage.

Read: mostly December 2011
Pages:  303

Gamble in the Devil's Chalk

This is kind of a random one....  I did not actually read the entire book.  I never intended to.  You see Gary Bryant, my father-in-law, was interviewed for this book before he passed away in March.  This book has been such a gift from God.  I loved getting to read stories about Gary from his early days....  Gary was a man who kept his cards close to his chest, so there was so much that I never knew about him. He was an awesome man and truly the best father-in-law a girl could ask for...

This book is about some of the men who were drilling for oil in central Texas (between Austin & College Station) in the 70's.  If you are interested in reading about Gary specifically he is in chapters 32, 33, and 49.

Read:  November 2011
Pages:  571

101 Things You Should Do Before Your Kids Leave Home

I got this book recently when I needed to spend a few more dollars to get free shipping at Amazon.  This book is not exactly what I thought that it was going to be...  it was very Christian centered.  Which I appreciate, but maybe some wouldn't.  

It had lots of fun ideas of things to do with your kiddos from a young age all the way to their teenage years.  I would say get this soon rather than later even though you won't be able to do many of them early....  you will want to know what to plan for.

Some of these I already had thought of...  swimming with dolphins, Laundry camp....

Some it reminded me of what we want to do... go camping, camp inside!

Some where new ideas... teddy bear hunt in the house...

I liked this because each idea was one page.  So I could read it for just a few minutes before bed or just after James had pottied and I knew I had a few minutes before I had to be on accident patrol.  ;)

I want to leave you with a great quote from the back...

The soul is healed by being with children.  Fyodor Dostoevsky


Pages:  213
Read:  December 2011

Favorites of 2011

I think that 2011 was a pretty good reading year for me!  It was really, really hard for me to decide...  I could have added a couple more...  There are way worse things!!  Number one was far and away the #1 though!

Here are my top 5 favorites!

Honorable Mention:  Reason to Believe

5.  The Help

4.  Heaven is for Real

3.  Water for Elephants

2.   Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

1.  The Hunger Games series

Free Spirit's Best Behavior Series

Now as you may know sweet James is a little over 2.5.  At times he tests boundaries like all two year old.  When the needs arises Aaron and I talk to him about using gentle hands, etc.  But when I saw this one the other day at the library, I thought a little reinforcement couldn't hurt {a certain someone may or may not have been in time out numerous times at school for unkind touching recently...}

The first book in this series that I found at the library was Diapers Are Not Forever.  It is still one of my favorite potty training books.  {We have read TONS of those lately!}  I wish I knew about Pacifiers Are Not Forever when we were getting rid of the paci!

Anyway this is another series that I think is great!  We may or may not need the Tails Are Not For Pulling edition around here....

Begin Smart Series

I don't always write about specific series for kiddos books, but this series of books has really grown on me.  They offer books for all age ranges of little ones.  This is awesome for anyone {including a former Reading Specialist!}  Sometimes I am not exactly sure what James should be expected to know/do since I was not an early childhood person....

When James was little we had quite a few of the black and white ones for birth-six month olds.  Those were really some of his favorites!  At the library recently I found the book pictured above {along with 2 others in the series}, and after reading these I can say I think they are great!  I loved all of the fruits and vegetables in the book.  The pictures were great and really gave us a lot to talk about.

Talking about the pictures and not just reading the words in books can be really helpful for little ones.  It can really help improve their vocabulary.  Sometimes I just want to read what it written, but in these sorts of books you just feel like you should do a little more talking.  Exactly what James' speech therapist wants us to do!

If you run across these book, I highly recommend them!