Books Books Books!

I love to read! I have been able to rekindle this love more in the last year or so since I have been a stay-at-home mom. I also joined a book club with a group of friends which has allowed me to read books that I wouldn't normally pick out. Although at times I probably read when I should be cleaning or cooking, I really think that God has used this time to bring books into my life that have allowed me to understand Him and His Word more.

Here is a list of books (the ones that I can remember) that I read in 2009:

1. Created to be his Help-Meet by Debi Pearl. I had the pleasure of reading this book with my sister-in-law, Emily. We would read a few chapters and then meet once every week or so to discuss. It was a wonderful way to grow closer to Emily as well as to really dig in to the book with our discussion times. Although there were some parts of the book that I didn't 100 % agree with (as with any book!) I think that this book helped me to better understand my role as a woman of God, as a mother, and as a wife. It definitely has some controversial stances; but I think that it has a lot to offer.

2. The Noticer by Andy Andrews. You can read about this book from a previous post by clicking here: http://morethanrubies1.blogspot.com/2009/11/people-pleaser.html. This was a quick read, but not my favorite.

3. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. You can read about this book from a previous post by clicking here: http://morethanrubies1.blogspot.com/2009/11/ragamuffin.html. This book really helped me to better understand God's Grace. I was really excited about this book when I wrote this post; however, after having a discussion with friends during a book club, we had some concerns with the book. We felt that, depending on where you are in your walk with the Lord, you may get some wrong impressions from this book. I do think it is good to read if you interested in a view of God's Grace.

4. Deadline by Randy Alcorn. This is a fictional Christian book. It touches on a lot of controversial topics such as abortion, the media's portrayal of Christianity, premarital sex, salvation, AIDS, and more. It also has a view of Heaven in the book. The author wrote a disclaimer at the end of the book explaining that he didn't feel that he had a divine inspirational moment or anything to give him this view of heaven, but rather that he had studied what the Bible says about heaven and the view of heaven in the book is what his imagination made up from what he understood from the Bible. It definitely made me think more about heaven and even desire to study more about it. This book was suspenseful and pretty easy to read.

5. The Shack by William P. Young. After hearing mixed reviews on this book, I wanted to read it to see what I thought about it. It was a pretty easy read. Some things in the book I didn't really think accurately portrayed what the Bible says, but it was still interesting. I think this is one of those fictional books that people can grasp on to when they really should be grasping on the what the Word says. I have heard some people say that this book really changed their view of what a relationship with the Lord looks like. That's fine but, in my opinion, unless the book directs you to study the Word and believe what it says first, then it may be more harmful to your faith than good. Just my opinion....

6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This book was hard for me to get into initially. The coarse language and graphic scenes also bugged me a bit; however, I ended up really liking it in the end. It was definitely interesting and made you think a lot. Some scenes brought me to tears!

7. The Bible. Definitely the most life changing book I read this year! :) I finally finished! I learned so much from reading the book that I have had my whole life but never read in its entirety until now. Some parts were challenging to get through, but I learned more than I could have ever imagined. It was amazing how some things that I had read many times touched me in a different way this time. I'm looking forward to reading it again this year. I highly recommend this book! :)

8. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer....Yes....I read the Twilight series. Definitely different from my typical read...but, I couldn't put them down! And yes, I saw the first two movies. Ah, never thought I would be into vampire anything. I just wish the last two movies would come out so I can get over this vampire stage of my life!

9. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

12. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

There are probably more books from 2009...but these are all I can think of right now.

Now for 2010: (I have already read a few this year!)

1. Rejoice by Karen Kingsbury. I had started The Redemption Series a few years back and never finished it. Karen Kingsbury's books are so quick and easy to read. Sometimes they annoy me a bit....but all in all they are good and they have great messages! This one was primarily about a child that nearly drowned to death in a pool and the family's struggles to deal with the situation.

2. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. I love Nicholas Sparks books. I know that they are sappy love stories....and that is exactly why I like them! :) Sparks always has twists and turns that I never could think up. This one wasn't my favorite Nicholas Sparks book, but it was still an enjoyable read.

3. Reunion by Karen Kingsbury. The last book of The Redemption Series. Have your tissues handy! I cried a lot in this book. This book deals a lot with a mother who formerly had breast cancer getting cancer back ten years later. Goo! This touches close to home since my mom had breast cancer 6 years ago. Although her books are good, I am glad to be done with The Redemption Series.

Books I am currently reading or planning to read this year:

The Bible - currently reading
A Time to Dance by Karen Kingsbury (for Book Club) currently reading
Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado (for book club) currently reading
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp - currently reading
The Shack by William P Young (again for book club)
Facing your Giants by Max Lucado (book club)
The Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg (book club)
Don't Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman
Hinds Feet for High Places by Hannah Hurnard
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
The Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss


So this was probably really boring....it's more for my benefit than yours! :) Feel free to give me suggestions of books....I'm always looking for something new!

Haven Withdrawal!

We took Haven up to Huxley on Sunday to stay with Adam's parents for her first overnight with them. We were excited for the chance to get to go to Winter Jam, a Christian concert at Vets. We had such a great time at the concert and it was fun to spend time with good friends!

Well, we woke up Monday morning to a blizzard and Adam really didn't think it would be safe for me to go get Haven since travel was not advised on the highways and the interstate was even closed 20 miles from where we live. I was somewhat surprised that tears came to my eyes when I realized that I wouldn't get to see her for the day! The weather only got worse, and now it is Tuesday morning and I still don't have my baby! I am planning to head up to get her as soon as I get a call from Adam's dad who is checking out the roads.

Anyway, although I know Haven is safe and probably having a ball with her grandparents, it just shows me how much I love her and how blessed we are to have our little Haven! I do enjoy moments away from her when I get to spend quality time with Adam or with other friends, but I really feel incomplete without her! Even when we go on dates alone, I have panicky moments when I look around to see where Haven ran off to only to realize she is not with us. Part of my sadness in being away from her for so long, I'm sure, is due to the fact that I am home with her every day, all day....but I think part of it is just the fact that I feel so blessed to have been entrusted by the Lord to be Haven's mommy and that I truly feel that she a blessing from the Lord! It makes me realize that I DO find joy in our everyday monotonous routines at home and that I wouldn't have it any other way!

"Children are a gift from the lord; they are a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

Dancing the Jig!

Here is another video from our trip to South Dakota. This is my Grandpa Moore teaching Haven to "dance the jig." Yes, she is on the kitchen table. Gross.

Haven loves ELMO!

Haven and I were blessed to take a mini-vacation and spend a week with my parents. We first ventured up to Minneapolis to help my brother, Brandon, move into an apartment as he recently took an associate pastoral position at a new church in the twin cities. Then we took the long road trip over to Custer, South Dakota (located in the heart of the Black Hills) to spend time with both sets of my grandparents as well as to be present to support my Grandmother Moore as she was having knee replacement surgery. Although we missed Adam greatly, I was so thankful to have the opportunity to spend time with my grandparents who I rarely get to see. It was also nice to spend a lot of time with my mom and dad. Adam surprised me with a small video camera before the trip and told me to "document" the trip so that I could share our experiences with him when we returned. I will try to post some more videos from the trip on here, but I thought this first one was so cute of Haven and it shows her love for Elmo!

This post is dedicated to my sister, Amanda, who keeps bugging me to post more pictures and videos of Haven b/c she misses her so much. PS. Simple solution....MOVE HERE!

Little Mommy

Haven is my little mommy! Lately she just loves her babies and will play with them for a long time all by herself. She talks to them and is sooo sweet! Today I was on the phone and I looked over and Haven was taking a wipe out of the container. I was about to tell her to leave the wipes alone when I realized that she had also taken the changing pad and Desitin out of the basket and had her baby on the changing pad and was pretending to change her diaper. I know that it may not seem like a big deal, but it was just so sweet to see her being so motherly to her little baby and also to see that she had the cognitive ability to do something like that! I am so proud of her!

Haven Language

I just love how Haven talks. She says SO many words and has her own adorable little language. I decided it would be fun to post some of the things she says....mostly so I don't forget! Besides the below words, she is also starting to put two words together and is able to answer some questions and tell me what she wants! It is so nice to understand what she is fussing about and be able to give her what she is wanting/needing (when appropriate). It alleviates frustration on both sides. She is starting to understand more "rules" or expectations that we have (although she tests us many times a day!) as well as is enjoying helping Mommy and Daddy with more tasks and activities around the house (such as baking, throwing things away, cleaning up, etc.). Other things she loves to do is to wrestle with Mommy and Daddy, play with her babies (she's quite the little mommy!), watch Veggietales and Elmo, read books, play with blocks, and eat (she thinks eating is a hobby). She is a little drama queen and reminds most people of her Mommy (the good and the bad!). What a little bundle of joy she is!

Here are some of things she is saying these days:

Daddy
Mommy (although she prefers to call me daddy lately)
"Me-mah" (grammy Tammy)
"Ba Ba" (Grandpa Mark)
"Bah!" (Bob-from veggietales)
"Papa" (Papa Ron)
"Nana" (Nana Kathy)
"nana" (Banana)
"Mee mees" (Mittens)
"Cell" - with a little bit of a southern twang (cell phone)
"NoNo!"
"tinky" (stinky)
"ackckckcc" (acky)
"owie"
"owwww" (meow)
"ooooo" (moo)
"chickie" (chicken)
"pizza"
"nack" (Snack)
"mills" (milk)
"juice"
"Melmo" (Elmo)
"baby"
"tee tee" (Blankie)
"tee Tee" (Binki)
"tunkee" (Chunky) AKA Chunka Monk the pink monkey
"ooo ooo" (monkey sound)
"ba ba" (Bac bac for chicken sound)
"Ella" (Cinderella)
"baba" (bottle)
"nose"
"tee" (teeth)
"sues" (shoes)
"saw" (socks)
"ticka Ticka" (tickle tickle)
"moooaaaah" (kiss)
"bye bye"
"hi!"
"ello" (hello)
"mana" (auntie Amanda)
"buh" (Uncle Bud)
"allah" (Eiffel the dog)
"dunoir" (Jr. the dog)
"more"
"da done" (all done)
"da do" (Thank you)
"ba Do" (breadstick)
"tee Tee" (kitty)
"puppy"
"duh" (Duck)
"oof oof" (woof woof)
"ba" (ball)
"cows" (couch)
"nigh nigh" (night night or bed)
"boos" (purse)
"ah wa" (water)
"da" (bath)
"bah" (block)

Ok, that's all for now. I will post more later!