A Century Turns; New Hopes, New Fears by William J. Bennett

Why read a "history" book about the last 20 years? I mean...we lived them, right? Well, I did live the past 20 years, but to see it in print from the perspective of a conservative person involved in politics was a little more than enlightening. In fact, there were some things from the past 20 years that I'd totally forgotten.

This book is a very concise and factual volume that would be excellent for anyone. But as I read it, I kept thinking what a great resource it would be for high school or college kids needing a reference for the time period between 1988-2008. Not only does Mr. Bennett include things like the Colombine shootings, the creation of the internet, President Clinton's impeachment and 9/11, but he also gives personal insights to those incidents. I personally loved his own observations in the footnotes.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Even if you were an adult during 1988-2008, you're going to learn a lot from reading this book. William J. Bennett's birds-eye-view over the past 20 years left me a little sad over the loss of morals and values in our country and prayerful for our future. I highly recommend A Century Turns.

This book was considerately provided by BookSneeze of Thomas Nelson Publishers for my review. All opinions are very much my own.

Finally!

Andy & I did something we've never done before. We ordered a car. A brand new car. One that hadn't been built yet. We didn't intend to do that, but when we went looking for one, we were trying to keep it affordable and found one we liked---but it had all the bells and whistles we didn't need. Our friendly car man told us we could order a brand new one and it would be cheaper. So we did....last November!! We've been waiting patiently and in the meantime, our trade-in was falling apart. We told our friendly car man and he insisted that we not invest any money in our old car. So we limped that car to the lot today when we got word that our new car had finally made it in---all the way from Canada! (Marcy, wish your family could have hopped in!) When Andy called me from the new car this afternoon, the only thing I insisted on is that I got to see the new car before Ralph!!

It's mocha colored.

And it smells new.

Can you tell where we took it first? (After we made a trip to the bank and insurance company, that is....)

And guess who will be driving this new car?

My First Lent

I've never celebrated Lent until this year. My only recollection of Lent was seeing some of my Catholic friends wearing ashes on their foreheads and hearing them tell about giving something up that they really liked for Lent. That's all I really understood about it and thought it a purely Catholic thing.

I've studied on it some recently and learned that Lent begins 40 days before Easter and is a season of soul-searching and repentance (which we could all use, right?). It's a picture of when Jesus withdrew for 40 days into the wilderness where he fasted and was then tempted by Satan. It's to be a time of solemnity and introspection that leads up to the great celebration of Jesus' resurrection!

I also learned in my reading that the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (when Lent begins) is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. And I'm sure there's nothing spiritual about that--it's a sign our flesh wants to indulge knowing that we're about to do without something for 40 days! Pure indulgence...

I thought and thought about what to give up for my first Lent. I was leaning towards all things technical (like Benjamin), but I finally decided that if I wanted to kill my flesh, I needed to give up a critical tongue. That's the kind of fast God is looking for from me.

Well, if Lent is all about repentance, I'm right on track. I've learned I can't go one week without a critical tongue. I've learned I can't do this without God's help. I repent!!

I've never looked forward to Resurrection Sunday with more anticipation!

New House for Zach & Shanna

Zach & Shanna bought a house---a new house! And it's gorgeous. Andy & I had the privilege this weekend to go and help them move in and get it the way they wanted it. I didn't even think about my camera until it was about time to leave, but these are some pics of the inside of the house....yep, that's all we got!

Zach wanted a whole wall of sheet music. So I taught him how to decoupage and we put music all over this wall in his new studio.

I found some great sheet music to hang.

This is a photo of the guest room that Andy & I stayed in.

Angela is standing in the living room. There's a fireplace to the left and the back door is behind her.

I'm not sure what Andy is doing here (I seldom left the sheet music project). But he's standing over the bed in the master bedroom. I know they plan to hang a chandelier here, so maybe he's checking it out...

Angela & Kay are in the living room. The fireplace is behind Angela. I think Shanna plans on putting a cute little reading nook to the right of Kay.

Shanna is cleaning crystals to the first chandelier that is now hanging in the studio.

Angela is putting food in the pantry. The front door is behind her.

This is the front door that Shanna wanted to paint red. She sent Zach for cranberry paint and they decided it wasn't quite the right tint.
Shanna & Kay are standing in the dining room.

Here's the chandelier that went in the studio. You can see the dark brown paint that is on 3 of the walls.

And this is the sheet music wall.

We finished off the weekend at a cute little steakhouse. It was a well-deserved break---everyone worked hard. I think Zach & Shanna were pleased---we got a lot more done than they expected! I'm so proud for them!

Our New 6 Year Old

Ryan Elijah turned 6 years old yesterday. He's having a birthday party this Saturday. We were all set. Have you ever had one of those moments when you had 2 different things planned and it just didn't dawn on you that they were on the same day? Well...that's what happened with me. When I figured out that we were planning on helping Zach & Shanna move on the day of Ryan's party, I began praying about what to do. So...I asked Ryan if we could have a party here at our house for him on his real birthday. At first, I thought we were going to have tears, but mom intervened and convinced him it was a great idea---he'd get two parties that way! He finally agreed.

We didn't have just one theme to this party. We had pirates & Toy Story. It's what was available in Borger.

We started out playing a pirate's version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. We had to get the treasure chest on the right spot on the map.

Addie did quite well!

Mommy even did a great job!

We were wondering if Pops was peeking...

One of the prizes for winning the game was....CHAP STICK! What a hit!

I doubt that Addie's Chap Stick lasted very long. She really liked rolling hers out.

We had cupcakes instead of a cake. After our party, the kids went to Cubbies and took cupcakes for all. They also got to give their friends a light stick necklace. It was so cute when we picked them up---the teachers had the lights off and the kids were rolling necklaces everywhere! (I think they each got 2 cupcakes and a pack of juice...they were bouncing along w/ those necklaces!)

Daddy got the job of taking Woody out of his package. Ryan got a Buzz (his 2nd in his lifetime) for Christmas and needed Woody to go along w/ his new Buzz.

And you can see what he needed to do....

This was the perfect end to their day...watching a movie they got at the church library. We had a fun birthday party with Ryan! Happy Birthday, 6-year-old!!!

Cell Phone Photos

I finally figured out how to get my photos off of my cell phone...and, like Amy, I sure wish I hadn't deleted the dozens I'd had on there! Here we go...

I met the Dietz grandkids at CiCi's Pizza in Amarillo a few months ago. And Caitlin bought a moustache out of a toy dispenser. And of course, everyone had to have one. We were all laughing hysterically!!

A great purchase, kids!

We met the Wright grandkids in Amarillo (when they still lived in Dalhart) where they were getting their hair cut. Isaac was loving it!

Josiah wasn't too sure about this haircut business.

And baby Olivia slept through the whole haircutting episode.

(Boy! Has she changed!!)

Amish Observation

I love Christian fiction. But I just don't have as much time to read as I used to....which makes me sad. I try to read at night, but then promptly fall asleep. But I've noticed a new trend and I'm wondering if you've noticed the same thing. Have you seen how many different authors are now writing about the Amish? (These photos don't even touch the surface! Check this out!) I just think it's interesting. I'm not a psychologist, but I'm going to take a stab at the meaning behind this anyway. (Like you thought I wouldn't!?) I'm guessing we're all longing for a simpler time or a simpler way of life. What's your guess?