Book Review- "Life in Spite of Me"

"Life in Spite of Me" is a moving story of a young woman, Kristen Anderson, who threw herself onto the train tracks one cold night, hoping to end all of her pain.

 As thirty-three freight cars sliced through her body, Kristen welcomed death; but God had other plans.

 Thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers, I was able to join Kristen through her physical -and spiritual- pain as she struggled to face life and to find the answers for which she was searching.

 I recommend this book to any person- siblings, parents, pastors, teachers, etc. It may help you to help others that are in Kristen's place, and maybe even help yourself.

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/view/4883

Field Trip- Indiana State Capitol

 We went to our State Capitol for a school field trip on February 18, and I think the whole family had a great time!

___________________________


Indiana House of Representatives

State seal

_________________________

Indiana Senate

________________________

Indiana Supreme Court

 

(Funny thing about the above picture of the state Justices: Our tour lady pointed to the middle picture of the middle row, and said "You see that guy right there? The one in the middle? Well, there's nothing special about him, I just wanted you to see how funny he looks in his picture." If I were a tour guide, I would totally point that out too! : )

 ___________________________

Library (My family said that I couldn't go in there, because I'd spend too much time amongst the books. As you can see, I didn't listen to them, haha. :)

_________________________
In the Rotunda, not only does a beautiful glass dome grace the ceiling, but eight marble statues (seven of classic Roman features, the eighth modeled after the wife of an Indiana judge) are also positioned all around, representing the "essential cornerstones of Indiana's government." They are as follows: Agriculture, Liberty, History, Art, Law, Oratory, Commerce (not pictured) and Justice.

___________________________
Outside of the Capitol

M3

 

Ice Storm

 An ice storm started one night about a week ago, and the following morning we awoke to the whole earth frozen in time....or so it seemed. What snow that had started to melt was frozen, the wind whipping it smooth as glass. One miscalculated step and you were sure to go a-slippin' and a-slidin'!

 It was rather striking to see the ice scintillate in the sunlight- and rather fun to go "iceboarding" down our hill (only, without the board)!

 But of course, the ice storms (and the bounty of snow that preceded and followed) do not come without a price. We were basically snowed it for a week, vehicular crashes were common in the news, homes were without power, roofs and buildings collapsed across the state, and many, MANY people were finding inventful ways to dig/melt themselves out of their homes.

  Clearly, plain ol' salt and a shovel wouldn't do it. The news interviewed citizens who used blowtorches, gasoline, picks, and even commercialized tools to help break up the snow. But in the end, almost everyone had to greatly rely on the sun, hoping it will melt the ice and quickly.

(Huh, isn't that spiritually like people today? They do everything that they can in their own power and strength to "save" themselves, when all they have to do is ask the Son...)

 Anyways, here are a few pictures of our mailbox, trees, swingset, slide etc. that were laden with ice.

Book Review- "The Pirate Queen"

 "The Pirate Queen" is a bitter-sweet, fictional story about Saphora Warren, a woman who has it all yet has nothing.

  Fed up with the emptiness of her picturesque life, Mrs. Warren packs her bags and plans to leave her cheating husband, Bender; but before she can, her husband confesses to her his shocking secret: he's dying.

 Out of begrudging loyalty, Saphora takes care of Bender, all the while wishing for an opportunity to escape.

 Soon, her home is filled with her grown children, unwanted relatives, and the love of an adopted neighbor boy who holds a secret.

 Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group (from whom I received this free book to review) I was able to join Saphora as she struggles to love and find love in this gripping novel that will have you rooting for her, cover to cover.

Winter Days

I'm a little late in uploading these, seeing as how the snow has begun to melt (again) but we're in a winter storm warning (yet again) so I won't be surprised if we receive more snow (AGAIN!!) Enjoy.

Quick Post

 Humor me and check out my Mom's "Tea Party" post. It's so cute!

Children's Museum Fun (Long post)

  Ok, I just have to express my thanks for my older sister's thoughtful Christmas gift that she and her husband gave to my family this past December: an annual family pass to the Children's Museum!!!!

 (For those of you whom have never been there, or don't know even what it is, you are living in a sick world! :) Ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic...maybe.)

 Anyways it's this AWESOME musem that (as the name suggests) is children focused. It has MANY interactive exhibts (ranging from the Maze of Mirrors to the Waterworks to many more) and it seems that they always have something new! It is such a blast and my family and I always have fun when we go there.

 I have so many memories that I made there with my family such as sitting on the dinosaur, telling time on the water clock and even getting in trouble for throwing fake, squishy rocks at my Granny (they were, honest!) to be funny, or sticking my tongue out at my Grandma and Grandpa-again to be funny. (Mom didn't think it was. Lol : )

 Anyways, the last time I was there was YEARS ago, so when I found out that my sister was buying a family pass, I was UBER excited, hardly able to restrain from jumping up and down! When we finally opened up the envelope for Christmas that contained our passes, I was WAY more excited than my younger siblings, I think!

 So on Tuesday of last week my family and I went to the Museum after we finished school...and boy was it worth the wait!!!! Check out the pictures below!




Glass Art



 





 



This is a real train! They actually built the walls up around it!



Watch your head!



Sister #7 showing Mom her "tickets" upon boarding the train!





 

And of course we had to visit the Barbie exhibit, right?



 



Swarovski covered Barbie in crystals for her 50th anniversary!



Sisters # 5,6, & 7 had fun "designing" outfits for Barbie.






Notice how the boys are "strangely" missing in these pictures?

 Then, we went to Egypt...



where Mama wrestled an alligator...with help from S#7.




Messing around before our "flight" to Europe...

 


 




 









...where we saw a famous face.

 





The Frenchman who wore this jacket survived several concentration camps.







Each butterfly represents 5,000 Jewish children who died during the Holocaust.




Carousel Wishes and Dreams