Let Me Introduce You

This weekend I am staying with my four grandchildren-in-love. They are grandchildren that we chose with our hearts. We have been a part of each others lives ever since they were born. Their mom and dad went away for a much needed anniversary weekend celebration and so I was put in charge. Or they were put in charge of me. I'm not sure which.

This is Jeremiah:
He is 10 years old and is one mean bar-b-que griller. He made us all hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner and we agreed that he can grill for us anytime. Jeremiah likes to play GameCube and DS. He is a really good Bible Quizzer at church and he has many, many medals to prove it. His favorite movie is Avatar and his favorite food in the world is a big hamburger. With Cheese. He would love to play the guitar and be in a band someday. Jeremiah is a fine young man.


I would like you to meet Chloe.
Chloe is 8 years old. Chloe is the only sister and she has three brothers. I recently taught Chloe how to knit and she is doing a very good job. She practices her knitting for 10 minutes every day. It won't be long and she will be an awesome knitter. Today Chloe and I spent some time knitting and one of her younger brothers wanted her to come play with him. Chloe said, "Boy's, we're knitting, you'll just have to deal with it." Ha! I loved it! Chloe loves to do all kinds of crafts. When Chloe grows up she wants to be a mom. I know she will be a good one. Chloe loves all the stories in the Bible and she can't pick a favorite. Her favorite movie is Tinkerbell. Chloe loves her little dog Molly and she always takes good care of her.


This is Jordan.
Jordan is 5 years old. Jordan likes to paint and draw with markers. When Jordan grows up he wants to be a rock star. He also loves to play ring around the rosie. His favorite movie is Alvin and the Chipmunks - the Squeakual. Jordan is full of energy and he keeps everyone entertained. Those are good qualities for rock stars. He tells me his favorite Bible story is a secret and his favorite song is Jesus I Know You Died for Me. That is a song he will be singing in the Easter program.

And finally, meet Josiah.

Josiah is also 5 years old and tells me that he loves candy most of all. I think he is telling the truth. His favorite super hero is Batman. His favorite Bible story is when Jesus died on the cross. He is learning how to play Badminton and he is doing pretty well. He loves to play on the McDonald's playground and he always orders chocolate milk and apples.

So this is a busy weekend. I'm pretty sure I will have to go to work next week so I can recuperate. There's nothing like living with four little ones to make you feel your age. Which right about now is feeling pretty old indeed :)

Another Week

Whew! It's been so busy around here. I think last time I checked in my husband had left for Peru. He was gone for two weeks. Two weeks is a long time for a husband to be gone. Everything went surprisingly well. Nothing broke. Nothing bad happened. And the alarm company from the church only called in the middle of the night once. I told them to call the associate pastor and went back to sleep :) No way am I going on a walk through of the building in the middle of the night.

The Peru trip went well other than most of the team ended up getting the flu. They were all pretty sick by the time they got back. But they said they would do it again so I guess that's a good sign that it went well. My husband said he thought he had been back to boot camp - they worked them pretty hard. And at 11,000 feet altitude it was hard to breath. They were all happy to be back in America again.

In the mean time, I was busy with this project:

I offered to make Ava Claire's Easter dress this year. I should say I offered to knit Ava Claire's Easter dress this year. I have decided that I don't like knitting on a deadline very much. This is my first adventure into knitting any kind of a garment. And it's also my first try at knitting lace. I re-did the lace section three times and I have done the skirt section twice. Whew! That's a lot of knitting. But I'm on the homestretch now and I think it's going to be just adorable. I am using Blue Sky Alpaca Skinny Organic Yarn which is a yarn comprised of many strands of cotton twisted together. The result is that it is really "splitty" and fussy to knit with. I love the feel and the look of the finished project but I don't think I will make any more big projects with this yarn. I have spent a lot of time correcting stitches that have split. As soon as I get this project off the needles I am going to start a smaller, simpler toy project. I love knitting toys. And I like instant gratification!

I am also still doing a lot of couponing. I just don't know why anybody wouldn't do it. I got all this for about $27 this weekend. I just love finding a good deal. And besides with all the money I save on groceries, just think of the yarn I can buy!


And just look at these two:
I can't believe how much they are growing. They are the joy of my life and every moment spent with them is just so wonderful. They provide tons of laughter and fun and even lots of work. But I wouldn't have it any other way. They are such blessings. They are both beginning to talk so much and they absolutely love each other. Tyler is about as "boy" as you can get and Ava Claire is all girl. They love to play together and they especially love to get into trouble together. Michelle calls them Thing One and Thing Two. They are quite a pair. It will be interesting to see how the equation changes when Thing Three arrives on the scene late this summer. The blessings just keep raining down.

I just love how the days are longer now and the leaves are starting to appear on the trees. I spent some time yesterday raking up what is left of last year's leaves. I'm starting to think about what flowers I will plant this year and whether to do another salsa garden or not this year. I want to keep it simple, whatever I do.

Time to get ready for another week. I sure do wish the weekends were longer.

Unscheduled Hiatus

I'm still here. Just crazy busy. Between knitting on an Easter project, writing assignments, a new Bible Study I'm facilitating and a husband just home from Peru, well, there's just not much time for blogging right now.

But I do have some things I want to share so I will be back real soon. I promise.

In the meantime, all is good at the Nest. God is good. All the time.

Thank You Dr. Dobson

Because of my working schedule I am not able to listen to radio broadcasts of Focus on the Family. But I do often download episodes on my iPod and listen to them at my leisure, often while I am sewing. Just today I listened to the episodes that honored this fine and Godly man who is leaving Focus. He has been such a major part of my life. As I listened to people who called in to share their sentiments, I wished I had been able to do that. Instead I am going to share my sentiments here on my blog and share a story I have never shared before.

I began listening to Dr. Dobson when we were in seminary and living in Kansas City in the early 1980's. We had two young daughters at that time, one quite strong-willed and the other very compliant. I remember listening to those broadcasts feeling like I had found a life-line. Somebody understood the situation I found myself in as a young mother and helped me understand my daughters. I listened faithfully every day and subscribed to the free issues of Focus on the Family magazine that came every month. I devoured those magazines from start to end and often read them over and over again.

I needed to hear that my job as a mom was full of value and honor and that the strong feelings I had to stay home and raise my children were natural and right. Even though I always had to work some outside the home, I felt encouraged as I found jobs that worked around my husband's schedule so that our children were always with one of us.

I learned and applied the disciplining techniques taught in The Strong Willed Child, Dare to Discipline and Hide or Seek. Our children were raised in love and discipline and while certainly not perfect, we knew we could take them out in public and be proud of their behavior. Dr. Dobson taught me how to tell the difference between childish irresponsibility and willful defiance. I loved how he taught me how to "shape the will without breaking the spirit" of my kids. I learned so much from listening and reading the words of this very wise and Godly man. More than anything I took from him the challenge to "Be There" , meaning that there is nothing more important that being There all together, a family unbroken, when we go to Heaven. It is the deepest desire of my heart to this day.

This brings me to the story I have never shared. It was 1989 and I learned that I was pregnant with my fourth child. We were pastoring a very small church that included a very small salary, my husband was bi-vocational, we had three daughters who were growing and demanding things we found hard to financially supply and I was exhausted and discouraged. The thought of a fourth child was simply overwhelming to me and to be quite honest, I did not want this baby. I felt much guilt over feeling this way because I knew that life was a gift from God, but I could not imagine how we were going to make this all work. After going to the doctor on my initial maternity visit we were handed a bill, the amount the insurance would not cover, and told it had to be paid before the baby was born. It was a few hundred dollars, but it may as well have been a million. There was no way we could come up with that much money.

During this time I received in the mail one of the monthly letters from Dr. Dobson. It often told news of what was happening at Focus and in our country along with much appreciated parenting advice. But this letter was a bit different. It was a letter from the heart of Dr. Dobson as he and Shirley were facing the empty nest. Their children were moving away from home and they were struggling with the feelings and emotions that were occurring because of it. Something in that letter pierced my heart like an arrow and God used those words to help me stop looking at our situation in terms of dollars, to have faith that He would provide and to look forward with joy and anticipation the birth of our fourth daughter. An amazing transformation took place inside of me and I sat down and wrote a letter of thanks to Dr. Dobson. I told him my story and I thanked him for helping me to accept what God was doing in my life.

It was just 3 or 4 weeks later, about 4:30 in the afternoon when the phone rang. I picked it up and it was a man's voice that I did not recognize. He asked for me and then proceeded to tell me that it was Focus on the Family calling. I did not believe it and thought that my husband was playing a trick on me. After the man finally made it clear that he was not my husband and indeed worked for Dr. Dobson he told me a most remarkable thing. He told me that Dr. Dobson had read my letter and been very touched by it. He was sending me something in the mail and I was to be sure to look for it.

I was so excited! What would it be? One of his books perhaps, and I even dared to hope that it would be autographed. Maybe it would be a set of his cassette tapes. I went to the post office every day eagerly looking for my package. Finally, just a few days later a letter appeared in my mail box from Focus on the Family. I must admit my excitement was just a bit deflated as obviously I was not receiving a book or even a tape. I took the letter to my car and opened it and a check fell out of the letter. A check for the exact amount of money we needed to pay the doctor before our baby was born. Tears filled my eyes and I could hardly read the letter from Dr. Dobson that asked me to accept this gift from Focus as though it were a gift from the Lord. And it had to have been because in my letter to Dr. Dobson I had never mentioned any amount of money at all.

God used that incident in my life to grow my faith. I am so grateful to Dr. Dobson for what he did for us. Years later, after we were more financially secure, I began giving a monthly donation to this great ministry and I still do to this day. We have given way above and beyond the dollar amount we received that day, in faith believing that this money has gone on to bless other people as it had blessed us.

I will never be able to repay the debt of gratitude I owe to Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family. I can't imagine how my kids will raise their kids without hearing his kind and comforting voice on the radio every day. But this I know, God will make a way.

Thank you Dr. Dobson for being a man of honor, integrity, faith and wisdom. You have blessed my life.

Two New Book Reviews and a Giveaway

And the winner is . . . . . Julie from Journal for Women. I'm so happy you won - I have enjoyed your blog for a long time.

Thanks for playing everyone - I always think it is so interesting to get emails from people I had no idea read my blog. Fun!

Relationships. We all have them. Some are easy and some are hard. Some go up and down and all around. Waterbrook Press sent me two books to review and they are all about relationships.

The first one is called Mother-Daughter Duet and it is written by a mother-daughter team, Cheri Fuller and Ali Plum. I was born the oldest of five daughters and I am the mother of four daughters and now the grandmother of a precious granddaughter. I know a little bit about how complicated female relationships can be. Every mother of a newborn daughter holds that bundle of pink and dreams of ribbons and bows, dance recitals and girl scouts. We don't think of all the times ahead of us that are filled with tension and strife. We can't imagine being anything but the best of friends with our little girls. But growing up is hard and this book is full of good advice on how to make it through the challenges that often occur. As a daughter, mom, sister and grandmother I highly recommend this book.

The next book is called Dancing With My Father written by Sally Clarkson. This is a beautiful book that concentrates on the pure joy in our relationship with God. It's about taking the time each day to spend in the presence of our Creator. It's about setting aside all the "stuff" in our day and intentionally choosing to be with the One who finds so much joy in us. It is refreshing and encouraging and a very good read. Sally's writing style is like sitting with a good friend and listening to her share. This book is a true delight.

If you would like an opportunity to read these books, be the fifth person to email me at rgryan(at)nnu(dot)edu. Include your mailing address and I will mail these to you right away. If you would like to buy one or both of them, click on the titles above.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Becky had a great post this weekend on what some of her favorite things have been in her life lately. It was such a good post that I decided to copy her. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all!

So some of my favorite things lately have been. . .

My friend Wendy, who's husband happens to be in Peru with my husband, brought me a gift bag of sunshine to church on Sunday. She didn't even know she picked my favorite scent of all - Coconut Lime Verbena - YUM!

The days are getting longer which can mean only one thing: winter is almost over! I can't wait to eat dinner on the patio again!

This is my new favorite knitting blog. I absolutely love the exquisite knitting Alana does - she is amazing. I have downloaded some of her podcasts and have enjoyed them so much. It is so much fun to challenge myself with new projects.

My next knitting project involves this luciousness that came in the mail today:

Today was a good mail day. These came too:

I will be leading this Bible study on Wednesday nights for the next 6 weeks. There's nothing like a brand new Bible Study. I love to leaf through the pages and wonder what truths it will hold.

I also got this book this last weekend:

Don't you just love that title? Looking forward to the words in these pages too.

And today my most favorite thing was . . . .Skype! Because for the first time since last Thursday I got to speak to him:

Ain't No Sunshine When He's Gone

Tomorrow morning at dark thirty o'clock, my husband is getting on a plane and flying to Peru for two weeks. He is going with a group of people from our church to build buildings and relationships with people. It is a good thing.

But I am staying home. Without him.

And that is always hard.

I won't be alone because how can you be alone with a daughter, son-in-law and an almost two year old in the house? Not to mention three dogs and some horses to care for.

I will just feel alone.

I never like the feeling that it is my responsibility to hold down the fort. My husband does that much better.

I don't like knowing that something is going to go wrong in the next two weeks. Because something always does when he is gone.

I don't like knowing he will be not only in a different country, but a different hemosphere as well. That feels much too far.

I don't like night time without him.

I will miss our coffee/prayer time in the morning. Although I will drink coffee and pray and he will do the same - it just won't be the same.

I will miss him at church. Although I never, ever, ever walk through the doors with him or sit with him or hardly even talk to him on a Sunday morning, the building will just not feel the same because he won't be in it. And my heart will feel that.

I will miss hearing him preach on Sunday. I love sitting in the second row watching him preach. I always think to myself "You are the best thing that ever happened to me".

I will miss eating popcorn together. Even though I can now add extra salt, it still won't taste as good.

I will miss talking with him on the cell phone as I drive home from work. I don't know why we do that because we get home about the same time and we talk then too. I guess we just always use that time to "de-brief" before we are together.

I will miss the little yellow low-dose aspirin he always, always puts on my sink for me every morning because I can never remember to take it on my own.

I will miss his snoring. Okay, I will miss his snoring just a little bit. I wonder if he will miss mine?

I will miss him when I have to let his dog out in the middle of the night. And I will miss him again when I have to get back up to let him in.

I will miss him when the alarm clock doesn't go off in the morning because I have never figured out how to set it - that's his job.

I will miss him every time Tyler calls "Poppa? Poppa?" I swear I have never heard such adoration uttered in one single word before in my life.

I will miss him at Sunday dinner when our family is all around the table. His chair will be empty.

I will miss the everydayness of life - because now it is all going to feel weird and strange and different.

Hurry home babe. I need you here.

Away For the Weekend

So this weekend I will be here. With about 60 ladies from my church. Listening to God speak through her.

No alarm clock. No cooking. No cleaning. No laundry. No dishes.

Ahhhhhh.......... It's gonna be a good couple of days.

No More Puppies

You may or may not know that for the last 11 years I have bred Yorkshire Terrier Puppies. My decision to breed dogs was about as ignorant as it could be - I didn't know a single thing about it. It was born from the need to put our daughter through college and after trying a paper route for 6 months - in addition to our day jobs - we determined that raising puppies had to be easier.


Well, yes and no.

We did get much more sleep which made us much more pleasant to be around, but dog breeding certainly contained its own challenges. First of all, it requires that you own dogs. We have always had a family pet, usually a sweet non-purebred that fit into our family very well. But in December of 1998 we purchased two Yorkies and set up business. Back then I didn't understand that I should have been looking for as perfect of a specimen of the breed I could find. To be honest I didn't even know what the standards were. Dumb. Really dumb. But I learned as I went, sometimes the hard way, and eventually ended up with a breeding program I have been really proud of.

Birthing puppies was overall a fun experience. A dog's pregnancy lasts only 9 weeks. It seems like puppies are almost always born in the middle of the night. They don't mind keeping you up all night even though you have to be to work in the morning. They also don't mind keeping you home from work because there is one last stubborn puppy that hasn't been born yet. Out of all my years of breeding we only had to go to the emergency vet twice - once for a c-section and once for a shot of pitocin. My vet and I developed such a good relationship over the years that he often gave me syringes and medications to keep on hand which really cut back on office calls. My vet became one of my best referral systems - she loved the puppies we produced. I also learned how to dock tails and cut dew claws by myself which was easier on the puppies not having to be transported to the vet at just a few hours old.


Losing a puppy or two is inevitable and is such a hard part of the job. Usually they would be the tiniest of the litter and at only a couple of ounces in weight - there just wasn't much that could be done much of the time. I would sometimes have to tube feed and it was the most rewarding thing in the world to save a puppy that didn't have the strength to drink milk on its own. It totally made the getting up every two hours at night worth it. Several times I have held a tiny little sweet thing in the palm of my hand as it took its last breath. Those times were never easy. Letting the mama lick a final goodbye always brought tears to my eyes. This tiny one in my hand was one that didn't make it - we discovered it had a severe cleft palate.

I would only use a female for breeding for five years and then I would have to replace her. It soon became apparent that I could not keep every dog I had. A breeder has to look at owning dogs differently than a pet owner. After a few years of good and faithful service I would find a new owner for my females. Usually it would be an older woman who I knew would treat my little friend very, very well. Even though it is hard to give away a dog that has worked so hard for you, I have never regretted any of the homes they have gone to and they are all living lives of luxury now. I see them occasionally and even dog sit for them, and trust me, they hardly even remember me!


The daily care of puppies is a tremendous amount of work. We kept them in a portion of our laundry room and the cleaning and feeding and washing seemed never ending. We kept them for 10 weeks. I had as many as 6 in a litter and as few as 1 with 4 being the average sized litter.

People always think that the hardest part would be when you actually give the puppies away. Surprisingly, for me it never was hard. I think it was a combination of being so relieved to finally be done with all the work involved and seeing the excitement and happiness of the new owners. It was always a happy day.

New owners are a time consuming ordeal. They come to the house to choose a puppy which turns into an hours long process. They play with them all. They watch them. They hold them. They all have their own system of choosing a puppy. No system was ever the same. We would set up visitation hours - so they could come over and spend bonding time with their new little family member. They would bring toys and items of clothing that would hold their scent. Finally the day would come that they would go to their forever home. Like I said, it was always a happy day.

In my last breeding experience I had two litters at once. I had eleven puppies in my laundry room! It nearly did me in. One of the puppies - the smallest and the cutest of the two litters - became very sick. I truly thought she was going to die. She was lethargic, wouldn't eat and spent hours standing with her head pressed against the wall. I had never seen anything like it. The vet pumped her full of medicine and fluids and did several tests on her but never could determine what was wrong. She finally told me that she thought perhaps she had some neurological issues. Of course I couldn't sell her so I resolved to take care of her and love her until she died. Within a couple of weeks she perked right up. By then my heart was already attached and even after I knew she was going to be completely fine, there was no way I could sell her. So I broke my first rule of business - I kept one of my puppies as a pet.

I named her Willow and she is my shadow. If I sit in a chair she is sitting with me. In fact she is sleeping beside me right now. She follows me from room to room. She weighs all of 4 pounds and she is as fiesty as can be. She will never be bred - she is not big enough. She was born into her forever home.

The time has come to end my little dog breeding business. It is time to slow down some and enjoy life more. My heart and extra time is for my grandbabies. I have retired my female dogs and they have gone to their new homes and are very happy. I just got an email this morning from a dear lady that has one of my girls:

Hi Robin. I just wanted you to know that Sunday when I said Maggie was high maintenance I meant it in a good way. She is so alive and human-like. You mention "bye bye" and she's there. When Len puts on his shoes her ears perk up and waits for those words. He takes her every where. She stares at me when it's bedtime and is so cute when she jumps into her own bed. She talks to me now in a very sweet high voice but she talks. She hates baths but she doesn't mind grooming. I just really enjoy her company. She also exhibits many emotions, sadness, happiness, humiliation, anger and bossiness (which is really cute). Anyway, best give I have ever received.

It was a good decision don't you think?

So now I am just a regular pet owner with a sweet little dog who thinks I hung the moon. And I must admit I am rather partial to her as well.

Sweet Valentine's

Today we met with my family to celebrate all the February birthdays. We had seven this month. With families as big as ours you have to resort to monthly celebrations or we would be celebrating all month long!

Since it was also Valentine's Day my mother gave us all boxes of chocolates - such a sweet thing that she has done for years.

But I think I was touched the most by two of my little neices. Kaitlyn and Miah have been working for two weeks making valentine's for all of us. Every single one of us. They passed them out to us as we were standing in line to get our dinner. Each valentine was carefully drawn and colored and reflected our individual personalities.

This is the one my husband received:


Be on my side - gallop with me!
Perfect for her Uncle Chuck who takes her to 4-H and is teaching her how to show a horse.

This was mine:


I'll give you yarn - before I give it to you I will knit you a sweater.
I'm the skinny one - sitting in my chair knitting with a yarn basket at my side. That's exactly what I look like -wink wink. And I hope I really do get a handknit sweater from those two - I will love it!

I hope your Valentine's Day was as sweet as mine.

Random Dozen - 2/11/10

I'm joining in this week on Linda's Random Dozen. I've been reading them for weeks and I finally decided to jump in on the fun. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the sweet apron give-away if you join. Really.

1. Are you pleasant when you're ill, or are you a grumpy, fussy patient?

Um, I don't know that I'm pleasant, but I prefer to be a loner in my room, in my bed, with the tv on and did I mention I prefer to be alone?


2. When you find out that school is canceled (due to inclement weather) what is your gut reaction?

Yay! It's a holiday! Let's stay in our pj's all day and play Monopoly!!!


3. What is one domestic skill you wish you could improve?

I wish I was a more organized housekeeper. My house is usually picked up and "looks" clean, but the deep cleaning doesn't happen. I think if I were more organized then maybe the deep cleaning would happen on a more frequent basis.


4. Do you decorate your home for Valentine's Day?

I do try to put little things up to celebrate the day. I love Valentine's Day - it's so simple and sweet - not overwhelming like Christmas is. But I like to scatter vintage valentines around, and by vintage I mean valentine's I received when I was a little girl.


5. What song is on your mind today?

This morning on my way to work I was thinking of the words to the old hymn "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus".


6. Do you prefer contemporary movies or classic?

It depends on what mood I'm in but probably contemporary would win out over classic.



7. How well do you "compartmentalize" your feelings? For example, how well can you put aside a really trying moment to deal with the immediate situation which is not related to the trying moment, e.g., putting aside a tiff with your spouse in order to finish wallpapering a room.

I like to think I'm like most women - I don't compartmentalize at all. How's the saying go: Men are like waffles - women are like spaghetti.


8. What is the first thing that attracted you to your spouse? (Or if you're single, to your best friend.)
His personality - he just seemed to nice to be true.

9. When was the last time your heart raced?
Yesterday when I had to park in the south forty at Costco. It was a long way to walk. :)

10. What are your memories of Valentine's Day at school?

I remember how we always had to make a Valentine's box for classmates to put valentine's in. I loved making my box every year - it was when I first knew I loved making things.


11. If you were going to receive candy for Valentine's Day, which would you prefer?
I think I love Gheredelli's chocolate the very most. But the older I get the less I like chocolate. Weird, I know.



12. Red or pink?

Pink. I am more a pink personality - not a red personality. But I like red - on other people.

Be Still My Heart

I was over at Amazon today looking for a book - when this popped up:

I nearly died.

This is the first book Francine Rivers has written since 2003. TWO THOUSAND AND THREE!!!

That's a long time without a Francine Rivers book to read.

She is my all-time favorite author in the whole wide world and you can imagine my joy when I read that this book will have a sequel.

So not one, but TWO new Francine River's books to look forward too. The first one will be released March 16.

Here is what is being said about them:

From Publishers Weekly
Romance Hall of Famer Rivers (Redeeming Love) returns with her first full-length novel since 2003 with this two-generation saga of a mother and daughter, the first of two parts. Ambitious, strong-willed Marta Schneider leaves her home in rural Switzerland at the beginning of the 20th century. She's determined to flee her abusive father, loving but weak mother, and the constraints placed on women. Meeting interesting characters all along her journey, she works her way to Canada. There she buys a boardinghouse and meets her match in Niclas Waltert, a German engineer with a farmer's heart. Through Marta's sharp elbows and the sweat of Niclas's brow, the family eventually arrives at an increasingly comfortable life in California's Central Valley. The second half of the story, told from the point of view of constitutionally timid daughter Hildemara Rose, is less deeply imagined. So many events happen as history rapidly unrolls in the background that the narrative feels too much like an outline for a Lifetime TV offering about a couple buffeted by the winds of WWII. Writers like Rivers are why people buy Christian fiction: it's dramatic, engaging, and acknowledges the bedroom without going inside. This well-told tale will have readers eagerly awaiting the story's resolution. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Description
The first in an epic two-book saga by beloved author Francine Rivers, this sweeping story explores the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters over several generations. Near the turn of the 20th century, fiery Marta leaves Switzerland determined to find life on her own terms. Her journey takes her through Europe and finally lands her with children and husband in tow in the central valley of California. Marta’s experiences convince her that only the strong survive. Hildie, Marta’s oldest daughter, has a heart to serve others, and her calling as a nurse gives her independence, if not the respect of her mother. Amid the drama of WWII, Hildie marries and begins a family of her own. She wants her daughter never to doubt her love—but the challenges of life conspire against her vow. Each woman is forced to confront her faulty but well-meaning desire to help her daughter find her God-given place in the world.

Sounds good. I can't wait.

One month and one week to go.

Let the countdown begin.

Sunday Chit Chat

It's 4:30 in the afternoon on Superbowl Sunday and I don't know how I scored it but I am home alone, just me and the dogs and a napping Ava Claire that is. The game is playing quietly in the background, my dog is snuggled up next to me, my next knitting project is laying in front of me and I am reading a few blogs. Life is good!

We had a good Sunday morning at church and then my son-in-law brought over some boneless pork ribs that we served with baked potatoes. It was delicious. After the dishes we actually took the babies outside to play in the back yard. The sun is shining today, a rare sight these days due to our winter inversion, and it is probably in the low 50's. It is just gorgeous outside. And the babies loved it. They walked all over the yard investigating all kinds of interesting things. Things like water in the dog bowl, dead leaves clustered up on the fence line, and little pebbles held untold fascination to them.

I have been knitting up a storm and just finished my favorite hat of all time. It is Itty Bitty Hats Bunny Tail hat. I just love it. I used the RY Cashsoft baby yarn and it is the softest and sweetest yarn ever. Here is a picture of my little grandgirl modeling it.

It has the sweetest little ears with pink bows. And my favorite thing is the little bunny tale on the back.




I am going to start one for Tyler that will be brown with no bows of course.

Yesterday I stumbled on the best idea. I have been trying to think of some organized way to store my knitting needles for quite some time now. I have been keeping them all together in a plastic bag and I am constantly trying to find the right size and a matching pair. Inspiration struck. I have had a Pam*pered Ch*ef Tool Turn-about on my kitchen counter for years and one day I finally got tired of seeing all my wooden spoons, spatulas and whisks on the counter all the time and I put them all in a drawer. I was going to take the Tool Turn-about to goodwill but yesterday I realized what a good knitting needle organizer it would be.

Perfect! I love it when I come up with a good idea. I just wish it happened more often.

Oh, and I think I figured out a remedy for this problem. As much as I love my grandbabies I will never, ever pay so much money to make a toy that may or may not be played with and loved. But I found a yarn a Michael's craft store that will work just fine and I can use my 40% off coupons every week until I have 11 skeins. It was the largest bear that was going to cost the most and I figure I can now make him for about $30. Much more reasonable. It's not the quality of yarn as what the pattern calls for, but it's a toy. It's just a toy.

Oh and happy day. We recently had a Hobby Lobby open in our area and I went shopping in it Friday night. I can't believe how HUGE it is.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of my little grandbabies.

Book Review - Angels by Dr.David Jeremiah

Like most people, I have always been fascinated by angels. I have never run into one that I'm aware of, but I have always wondered if I have "seen one unaware". So when Waterbrook Multnomah Press asked me to review "Angels" by Dr. David Jeremiah, I jumped at the opportunity.

It's a great read. What I appreciated about it the most is that it sticks ONLY with what the Bible has to say about angels. Dr. Jeremiah talks about who angels are and who they are not. I feel that I learned a lot from this little book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject of angels.

Here is the bio:

What are angels? What is their role in God’s plan? Are they present? Do they appear? Do they give us personal insight about our work, our worship?

Many contemporary beliefs about angels are based on misconception and myth. Dr. David Jeremiah uses scripture to unveil the remarkable truth about these agents of heaven, and their role and work in our world—and lives.

More than 60,000 units of this powerful book have sold in two past editions. This repackage of the original 1996 paperback will surely capture the attention of readers of all ages who seek a broad and thorough survey of scripture that clearly separates fact from fiction as it relates to angels. The book will appeal to the thousands who follow Dr. Jeremiah’s books, and radio and TV broadcasts.

Relevant, little known biblical facts help readers sharpen their knowledge and sensitivities toward the spiritual reality of angels. Dr. Jeremiah’s enlightening findings are supported with illustrations and insights from Billy Graham, Corrie ten Boom, C.S. Lewis, and more.

You can buy this book right here.


This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Winner Winner!

I was supposed to pick a winner for the Tea With Hezbollah on Friday. But I didn't because after a very stressful and busy week in our church my husband needed to get away. So we did. We went to a hotel on Friday and sat in the hot tub, went out to a nice dinner and watched a movie in our room. We slept in late and then went downstairs and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast. After we checked out of our hotel we went to the mall (I haven't been there in more than a year) and just walked around holding hands and window shopping. We split a big caramel roll with our coffee and watched people. Finally we went to the big bookstore and bought each other an audio book for Valentine's Day.

Audio books? For Valentine's Day?

Well, yes.

My husband is leaving soon for Peru to be a part of a Work and Witness trip from our church. He has been looking for a book to load on to his iPod to use on the long plane trip. We perused the shelves and he finally chose All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott. We both read those books years ago and enjoyed them immensely. I told him it was a good choice because it would make him laugh.

Ever since my word of the year - Serenity - was revealed to me I have been thinking about reading the entire Mitford Series again this year. Because I honestly don't know of a more serene place than Mitford. I thought it would be fun to listen to the books this year while I knit and sew. So I chose At Home in Mitford - the first of the series. I can't wait to start. After I got home I looked in iTunes and discovered that you can download the entire unabridged edition of Shepherd's Abiding - the eighth book in the Mitford series for 95 cents! You better believe I jumped on that.

Anyway, the weekend was just what the doctor ordered.

Now, to the winner of Tea With Hezbollah. I had asked you to share what Middle Eastern country you would be interested in visiting and I was really surprised to learn how many of you would love to go to Turkey. I guess it surprises me because in 2007 my husband and I went on a cruise that traced the 2nd and 3rd missionary journey of the Apostle Paul. We started in Italy, went to Greece and finished up in Turkey. I was beyond excited to go to Italy and Greece but Turkey, well Turkey just didn't excite me. I didn't know anything about it and I wasn't really sure I wanted to. It sounded like a scary place to me. Turkey actually turned out to be my favorite part of the whole trip. It was exotic, mystifying, different and more full of church history than I ever imagined. The highlight of the trip was Ephesus. Oh Ephesus! I had no idea how much of that city was still standing. To walk on the very streets that Paul walked on, to sit in the amphitheater where Christians were martyred, to run my hands along the walls of the shops was more than I could contain. I will never forget as we walked toward the city as we rounded the corner and saw that city before me - it took my breath away - literally. I would go back in a minute.

Anyway, the winner. I need to announce the winner.

And the winner is . . . . .

Bev from Girl Raised in the South! Congratulations Bev - I know you will enjoy this book. Just email me your address at rgryan(at)nnu(dot)edu and I will put it in the mail to you.

Now I am going to get back to playing with some sweet little grandbabies that happen to be pulling on my legs. I love it!

Knitting

I started knitting a couple of years ago and I cannot begin to tell you how much of an addiction it has become. It is like therapy for me. And since I figure the laying-on-a-couch- kind of therapy is a bit expensive - I reason that the money I spend on knitting is in all reality, actually a savings.



My husband says if I save him any more money he is going to go broke.



Anyway, as I was saying, knitting is what I love to do lately. It's the perfect way to de-stress at the end of the day. I tend to love smaller projects (think instant gratification) and I find myself knitting things mostly for my grandbabies. I especially love the books by Susan B. Anderson, Itty Bitty Hats, Itty Bitty Nursery and Itty Bitty Toys. I highly recommend them to any knitter - new or experienced. Even if I'm not knitting I love to just browse through the books. I also love her blog and I am always thrilled when she posts a free pattern as she so often does.



My knitting to-do list has grown. A lot.



This morning I was thrilled to see she finally finished her pattern for these guys:

The pattern is called The Three Brrrr's - isn't that perfect? I love them! They are all one pattern using different needle size and yarn weight to achieve the different sizes. They look so snuggly and fun. My fingers are just itching to knit them.

I am going to have three grandbabies by this Christmas and I could just see it - the big bear for Tyler, the middle sized bear for sweet Ava Claire and the baby bear for the baby. Perfect!

I happily went online to buy the pattern and the yarns and was totally blown away when I saw what it would cost.

$229 ! But not to worry - the shipping is free.

I feel so much better now.

Apparently I need to rethink my philosphy on the laying-on-the-couch type of therapy.

Obviously I didn't place my order but I am the kind of person who likes to follow a pattern TO-THE-TEE which includes using the exact same kind of yarn the pattern calls for. (And by telling you that I completely realize that I just exposed my slight CDO tendancies, which other people call OCD but I prefer CDO because that's in alphabetical order as it should be.)

I'm going to have to think outside of the box on this one. Because no matter how I try to figure it - $229 for knit polar bears for my grandbabies for Christmas

just

doesn't

compute.

Not even I can bear to save my husband that much money.

A Sweet Heart

So one day this week my little sweetheart and I decided to make some Sweet Hearts since Valentine's Day is around the corner and all.

So he took up his station at the end of the counter and set right to work.

We opted to use pre-made pie crust. That's much easier. We cut out hearts - twenty hearts to be exact.

It is said that the uglier your stone is = the better it works. Obviously mine works really, really well.

Next we put a dollop of raspberry jelly in the middle of each heart. Truth be told, we ate some of the raspberry jelly right off the spoon. Mommy's might not do that sort of thing - but grandma's do!

Next we moistened the edge of each heart and laid another heart on top. Then we crimped the edges together with a fork. Easy peasy.

Oh, by the way. That football shaped cookie in the upper row? That was a special cookie made for Tyler - who LOVES footballs. It made his day.

Then we stuck them in the oven set at 350 degrees. And waited.

They were worth the wait. We dusted them with powdered sugar.



And then we dug in.


Tic . . . .


Tac . . . . .


Toe . . . .



They didn't last long.

P.S. Did you notice my new little ticker over to the right? I am elated!

Book Review: Tea with Hezbollah

Tea With Hezbollah - Sitting At the Enemies Table - Our Journey Through the Middle East by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis

When I agreed to review this book, I must have been in a hurry that day, because I truly thought I read that this was fiction. I imagined it being similar to The Kite Runner or something like that. When I received the book and thumbed through the pages I quickly realized how mistaken I was. This is a non-fiction book, a travel journal of sorts. It is the story of a 2 week trip through the Middle East involving meetings with high-level leaders of groups and militia that we would consider enemies of our country in every way. Mr. Dekker and Mr. Medearis desired to interview these men and ask them questions that would help their readers "get to know" them on a more personal level. The premise was that if we could see each other as just "people" and not "enemies" perhaps we would find it easier to practice Jesus' greatest command - Love your neighbor as yourself. So he asked questions such as "What makes you laugh?", "What movies to you like?" "What kind of a car do you drive?", "What misconceptions does the Arab world have about America?" and "What misconceptions do Arabs have of Americans?".

Fascinating idea. Fascinating book. Is it possible to obey Jesus' command when it comes to people in the Arab world, people we are told would love to kill us? Is it possible for them to love us in America?


What I thought .....


Mr. Dekker repeatedly states in the book that he was not interested in debating politics or religion. Personally, I don't think he batted 100% on that statement. I felt that he ventured into a bit of unnecessary criticism of America. Some of his statements should have at least been labeled as his own opinion instead of stating them as though they were facts of truth. However, I do believe overall he tried to be honest and I do believe that his quest was a genuine endeavor.



The book contains the actual transcripts of questions and answers with the people he interviewed. People such as Osama Bin Laden's brothers. Mufti's. Arab leaders in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Beruit, Damascus and Jerusalem. Some of these people have been targeted by our government as well as others to kill. How they were able to gain access is incredible and I wondered if the questions had been previewed or not. I suspect they may have been - but that's just my opinion.

The book was an easy read and hard to put down. It made me think about things that made me uncomfortable. It stretched my thinking. One thing in particular I learned was that the term "Christian" doesn't mean the same thing to all people as it does to me. In fact, all people in the eastern world view everyone in the west as Christians. The name of Christ has been distorted and stretched into something very unrecognizable to the people I know who bear His name.



Mr. Dekker never pointed out that although the religion of Islam accepts and reveres Jesus as a great prophet - they don't accept Him as the Son of God. In fact, the biggest problem the religion of Islam has with Christianity is that we believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three in one. They are very offended by this and believe that we are polytheistic - the biggest offense there could be in their opinion. This matters a great deal in their conception of us and while they are okay with us promoting Jesus, they cannot accept that we worship Him - because they see Him as a totally separate "God". Perhaps making more of an effort to help them understand the Trinity could help in them understanding we do not worship more than one God.



I have always believed that the century's old struggle over a piece of land no bigger than the state of Rhode Island has much more to do with spiritual warfare than it has to do with the never ending fight between the people who inhabit the earth. This is bigger than anything humanity is capable of solving. This is more than we can comprehend. The spiritual battle is not going to be resolved until the day the trumpet sounds. I don't think we can really expect the physical battle to stop before then either.



Did Jesus give the world an impossible teaching? I don't think so. We are human, so we will never do it perfectly. But I believe this command was given to individuals, not governments. The parable of the Good Samaritan was shared to help us as individuals - to teach us how to behave, how to live. By following Jesus' teaching we will become more Christlike and through that our governments will improve - but governments will never be completely made up of followers of Christ. I don't believe governments will ever be able to live in perfect peace - Jesus said the same thing. I was thankful that Mr. Dekker declared he was not a pacifist and he was not promoting pacifism. I believe in "Peace through strength" and I appreciate our country's strong military. It is necessary to keep us safe.

In conclusion, I started reading this book certain I would not like it. I am proud of my country and proud to be an American and I felt this book was going to bash America - which is so popular these days. I ended up feeling glad that I read it. As I said earlier, it stretched my thinking and gave me new ideas to consider. I am begging my husband to read it so we can discuss it. This is the kind of book that needs to be discussed.



Would you like to read this book? Waterbrook Multnomah sent me an extra copy to give away on my blog. Leave a comment telling me what middle eastern country, if any, you would like to visit. I will leave this contest open until this Friday the 29th at noon. And then I will draw a name to find a winner.

If you would like to purchase a copy you may go here, here or here.

This book was provided for review by the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group.