.: A Very Merry Christmas

Sunday, January 9, 2011

A Very Merry Christmas

Seeing as the season of Christmas has long since past I decided I would finally get around to finishing what I started. Christmas this year turned out to be pretty good. It was a much needed break that ended up being pretty near perfect. I got to lounge around and read Harry Potter, which yes I have finally after nearly a decade given in and read and which I am actually enjoying very much. I got some pretty awesome gifts too. One being the Elizabeth Gaskell DVD set that I have been wanting for so long and was so happy to get it that I carried it around in my purse for days cause it was pretty to look at :) And as exciting as that was it was trumped by the ultimate gift, tickets to see Les Miserables this coming year when it comes to the Capital Theatre!!! If you know me well enough you'll know that I have loved this musical for as long as I can remember. I love the music and I love the story but I have never seen it before. As you might be able to tell I am very excited!!

A few of our vacation day activities

One of the things that wouldn't go under the pretty nearly perfect part of the vacation was a little trip we took to Southern Utah Christmas day. My cousin is leaving on his mission to Russia and happen to have his farewell the day after Christmas. This was a farewell we couldn't miss so we headed down Christmas afternoon just my mom, sister and I in my car. No big deal right? Well it wasn't that day, but the next day we headed down to St. George from my grandparents house in New Harmony. It had been raining all morning and just as we were leaving the house it turned to snow. No big deal right? It didn't seem to be but for some reason I was really scared about going. I tend to be a worry wart about silly little things like someone else driving my car on the freeway. Something about not having control over a situation or something, I don't know.

Anyway, I was getting nervous so I just kept saying over in my head,

"Please keep the car safe and please keep us safe"

I'm glad I included the car in that little prayer too cause no sooner had we got on the freeway then we saw our lives flash before our eyes. We were being chased by a semi that didn't want to get out of the way and let us on the freeway when we started to hydroplane and fly all over the road. We covered both lanes before we continued flying sideways off the road, taking out a construction barrel and at least one tree branch before we came to a stop down a hill wedged among the sagebrush. I thought for sure we were going to flip over and I was possibly going to break my neck. The very least would be a total car as the only sound I heard was shattering glass and Kylee yelling. Luckily it was just a box of dishes flying around that was the glass breaking and would you believe that the car doesn't even have a single scratch!

I would definitely have to say praying works! :)

My grandpa was able to come rescue us and the car had to be towed out but for scaring us all pretty bad at the time it really turned out to be not a big deal.

Despite the adventures we could have done without it really was a great vacation. I was able to go back to work fully rested and had the best week I've had in a while. I might actually like my job now but let's just keep that on the DL for now just in case I change my mind :)

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Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand
This is a story about a man that ran in the 1936 Olympics in Germany and almost set the record for a four minute mile. That isn't even the incredible part of the story and this story really was incredible. With the start of WWII he joined the Air Corps and flew missions in the Pacific. His plane was shot down on one mission and only three men were able to make it onto a life raft where they spent the next 42 days. The rest of the war was spent in Japan in a POW camp where they were beaten mercilessly and starved to the point that the only thing keeping them alive was their will to not give in to their enemies. After his release he turned to alcohol as the only source of relief, nearly destroying his family. Although not written from a religious viewpoint, the thing that finally saved him was realizing that God really had been looking out for him during all he went through andd it was through this realization he was able to find peace, forgiveness and even compassion for those that had harmed him. It's an amazing story!

Maniac Magee - Jerry Spinelli
I had read this book before and even owned it but remembered nothing about it. I found it on my bookshelf and decided to give it a try and I'm so glad I did. It has earned a spot on my favorites list, I liked it that much.
Maniac wasn't born with that name He was born as Jeffery. The young boy who is orphaned at three and goes to live with an Aunt and Uncle who make unbearable so he runs away. Skin color and social status mean nothing to him and one day after crossing over into the black part of town he finds a family that offers him a real home. He is happy there but not everyone else is, so He runs away again. He ends up in the Buffalo pen at the zoo where an old man named Grayson finds him and together they become a family. After his death Maniac doesn't know where to go but ends up helping some of the poor ignorant white folks learn a thing or two about life and prejudice. He mends a lots of lives along his way and fides the home he's always wanted.
Highly Recommended

The Angels of Morgan Hill-Donna VanLiere
The title makes it sound like a Hallmark Hall of Fame worthy story and probably it is but I love Hallmark movies and this book was excellent! It's from the point of view of a young girl who lives with her mom and little brother in 1947. It starts out with the death of her no account drunk daddy and the day she saw the very first black family in her town. Little did she know that due to an accident the son, Milo, would be coming to live with her family. The book is an account of that first year together as a family, the challenges they face in a town where not everyone is so accepting of a colored boy living with a white family. Through it all they are able to grow together as a family and conquer prejudice with the help of some supportive friends and neighbors.
Highly Recommended

North and South-Elizabeth Gaskill

No this is not a book about the civil war it takes place in England in the 1800's. I started with the movie which was done by BBC so you know it has to be good but actually it was FANTASTIC! So naturally I had to go get the book since the book is always better. It tells the story of Margret Hale a girl who moves to new industrial town with her parents, finding it dirty, crude and very undesirable. Most of all she finds one of the mill owners, John Thornton, to be all of these things. He on the other hand falls in love with her despite her rejections. Through many trials she comes to realize his good heart and her feelings for him. Not a sappy love story but you can't help but fall for Mr. Thornton yourself, especially after seeing the actor who plays him in the movie, the only thing left to say was, "WOW!" I loved this book!!!!

Highly Recommended.

On The Wings of Heros- Richard Peck

Richard Peck is one of my favorite authors of all time. His books are directed toward young adult/junior but they are so endearing and cute and funny and I LOVE them! This story is about a family during World War II told from the perspective of the youngest son who looks up to his personal heros his dad and older brother. His older brother is training to be a pilot in the Army and occasionally gets to come home on leave but most of the book he is away and they anxiously await his letters home. Dad is the kinda dad every young boy should have, one that his son looks up to as a hero not because he fought in the last war but because of the kind of man he is at home.

Highly Recommended

The Teacher's Funeral- Richard Peck

I hate to pick favorites when I can honestly say that I love all of the books I have read by Richard Peck but if my life depended on making that choice this book would be it. He has such a comical way of describing his characters and the settings that I can't help but love(there's that word again). This book is about a small town at the turn of the century. When we start out it is the end of summer, every kids worst nightmare, but for these kids they get the greatest surprise of all, the death of their teacher right before school is suppose to start. Nothing could be better than that, right? That would mean school would never start again!!! Wrong! For Russell and Lloyd it would mean their worst nightmare's coming true because their bossy older sister would become their new teacher. The story continues with their year in the one roomed schoolhouse with all eight students being tortured into learning more than they thought was right. Not to mention all the misadventures along the way. So good!

Another Highly Recommended

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Sunday, January 9, 2011