BOOKS I FINISHED - AUGUST 2015

I haven't had this good of a reading month in a while. Not only did I finish several books, I really enjoyed the ones I read! One that made me cry repeatedly, one that made me laugh repeatedly, some that gave me things to ponder, both fiction and non-fiction ... a great mix of books!

Bruchko: The astonishing true story of a 19-year-old American - His capture by the Motilone Indians and his adventures in Christianizing the Stone Age tribe, written by Bruce Olson (not pictured)

Silas read this book for school a few years ago and says it's one of his favorite assigned books so far, so I decided to read it for myself. It's an interesting book about the author's life with a notoriously violent South American tribe of people, decades spent living with people who, given their history, should have killed him.

An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography, written by Paul Rusesabagina with Tom Zoellner

We recently watched Hotel Rwanda again with the big boys (their first time) and it prompted me to read about Paul Rusesabagina. While his story of genocide is obviously one of fear, abandonment, and graphic, brutal violence, it's also one of resourcefulness, perseverance, determination, and hope. I enjoyed the book and found wisdom in much of what he said, but was also disturbed by the gross neglect that Rwanda was shown by organizations and other countries, including America, during 1994.

p. xv, And this is what I want to tell you: Words are the most effective weapons of death in man's arsenal. But they can also be powerful tools of life. They may be the only ones.

p. 29 (speaking of the accommodations chosen by most people and organizations who come to Africa to address problems like torture, AIDS, and starvation), The cost for a room is usually equal to the yearly income of an average person in that country.

p. 43, And I learned the art of performing courtesies without making a show of it. The idea is not to be noticed in the act of doing something nice for somebody, but, of course, people will notice. People always notice.

p. 45, It made them feel appreciated, which is a universal hunger among all human beings.

p. 49, This led to a priceless realization for me. Someone who deals can never be an absolute hard-liner. The very act of negotiation makes it difficult, if not impossible, to dehumanize the person across the table from you. Because in negotiation you will never get 100 percent of what you want. You are forced to make a compromise, and by doing this you are forced to understand, and even sympathize with, the other person's position.

p. 62, There is something living deep within us all that welcomes, even relishes, the role of victimhood for ourselves. There is not cause in the world more righteously embraced than our own when we feel someone has wronged us.

p. 120-121,  I have since thought a great deal about how people are able to maintain two attitudes in their minds at once. < snip > He had a soft side and a hard side and neither was in absolute control of his actions. It would have been dangerous to assume that he was this way or that way at any given point in the day. < snip > The cousin of brutality is a terrifying normalcy. So I tried never to see these men in terms of black or white. I saw them instead in degrees of soft and hard. It was the soft spot I was trying to locate inside them; once I could get my fingers into it, the advantage was mine.

p. 129, In an era of extremism you can never afford to be an extremist yourself.

Spider Sparrow, written by Dick King-Smith and illustrated by Peter Bailey

I wish I could remember how this book got added to my TBR list because I'd like to let the person who recommended it to me know how much I liked it. Oh well. It's the fictional story of a childless couple who's blessed with an unexpected baby who grows to be a child who's clearly different than his peers. Unable to move or communicate like everyone else, he and those in his life discover his unique strengths, especially in relation to animals, and his life is filled with joy in the midst of challenges. Sweet book.

Why the Sky is Blue, written by Susan Meissner

Donna recommended this book and I really liked it. It's the fictional story of a man who loves his wife, a woman who loves her husband, and how their family handles the unexpected pregnancy that comes after she is assaulted and left for dead. I so rarely cry over books that I can't even remember the last time it happened, but I cried a few times with this one. No one can ever truly know how they'd handle a situation like that until they're facing it themselves, but I would hope I would do it like this family did. A story of hurt and healing, sacrifice and time, dealing with your own emotions while trying to meet people where they're at with theirs, and loving people where they're at.

p. 286, If I am going to love people completely and at the heart of who they are, I am going to need to trust that God will watch over them in the way He sees as best. Because loving people will cost me, and I need to be able to meet that price with trust so that I can enjoy love's best moments and endure the worst.

last page, "Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less."

Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel, written by Gaile Parkin

Heidi and Janice both recommended this book and it was a good one to read after An Ordinary Man earlier in the month. I wouldn't have known where Kigali was if I hadn't read that one first. A work of fiction, it's about real life in post-genocide Rwanda. I love how it follows one woman's cake business, but ends up introducing you to a wide variety of people while reminding you that people and things aren't always what they seem, sometimes people do the wrong thing for the right reasons, being trustworthy is admirable, and that lives can change when people work together.

The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life, written by Melanie Shankle

I read about this on an old book list of Crystal's over at Money Saving Mom and am so glad I checked it out from the library when I did. It's just a light-hearted collection of stories about the author and her husband, along with a few lessons learned and things to ponder thrown in the mix. It's an easy read that had me cracking up in several places, which was good because I chose to read it over a couple of days where my mood was less than stellar and laughter is the best medicine.

p. 19, I think it can be easy to settle for less than you deserve just because less is right in front of you and the best may still be unseen.


BOOKS THE KIDS REALLY LIKED
The Farwalker's Quest, written by Joni Sensei

Edible Numbers and Edible Colors, written by Jennifer Vogel Bass

I enjoyed these, even though they were for Teebs. I had no idea how many varieties of some of these foods there were!

Jokelopedia: The Biggest, Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever, compiled by Ilana Weitzman, Eva Blank, Alison Benjamin, and Roseanne Green and illustrated by Mike Wright

Our kids have checked this book out countless times!

Secrets, Lies, Gizmos, and Spies: A History of Spies and Espionage, written by Janet Wyman Coleman

Punk Wig, written by Lori Ries and illustrated by Erin Eitter Kono

This would be a fun book for a family with someone who's going to be losing their hair due to chemo, but our cancer-free family enjoyed it.

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos, written by Deborah Heiligman and illustrated by LeUyen Pham

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GONE FISHIN'

Tim and all or some of the bigs have gone fishing multiple times, but have come home empty-handed a lot this year. Last weekend Silas finally caught something while he, Naomi, and Tim were out with Joel. Here's the picture Tim sent me while they were gone.

Unfortunately, the line holding that fish broke loose as they were bleeding the fish out (I'm not up on fishing lingo, but think that's what they call it). Bummer for us, but I'm sure some sea lion was happy about the easy dinner.

They went out again this weekend and Tim sent me a text with this picture while he and Silas were out with Michael. Silas had landed another fish! This one made it home.

Not only did it make it home, but it brought along two of its friends that Tim had caught.

Since they'd had such a successful day, Tim decided to go out again yesterday. He went by himself that time and came home with a fish in each hand.

The one on the right looks chopped off on the bottom, but its tail was just curved away from the camera. And, yes, Tim appears to have a fishing uniform, which I didn't realize until I was loading these pictures.

Five salmon in two days is going to make a nice stash for our freezer!

THE "SCHOOL'S ABOUT TO START" JOB UPDATE

I resigned. As my Facebook-ing friends know, there was a job we were very interested in a couple of weeks ago that Tim didn't even get an interview for. I was mad and silent the night we realized he wasn't being interviewed, sad and sobbing the next morning, and then I was over it and had moved on by the middle of the day. That afternoon, however, another dream job got posted and I was instantly mad and sad at the same time. That evening, after pondering my reaction to the new posting and thinking of some conversations with friends who ask the hard (but good) questions, I told Tim that I was stepping away completely from the job hunt. I simply couldn't do it another day. While he's never asked or expected me to look for jobs, it's something I was willing and able to do. I could skim sites during the day, then let him know in the evening if there was anything he was qualified for. Teamwork, right?

That's all good and fine, except that  it was influencing my emotions in general and my attitude toward Tim in increasingly negative ways. There's too much history, too many details that make it difficult for me to be happy and kind while I search job postings year in and year out. I needed a break. That's not to say that there will never be a time when I help again, but right here, right now, I can't do it. He understood and I haven't checked any of the 20+ sites I normally keep on top of since our conversation. While I've obviously had grumpy moments like everyone else in the week and a half since then, I've felt so much less stress and animosity than I have in ages that I know it was the right decision.

Subbing - It can be hard to get work as a substitute teacher at the beginning of the year, as teachers don't generally plan on being out of the classroom when things are just getting started. Last year, however,Tim was blessed with a half-time job about half an hour away for the first two weeks of the year. Not an ideal schedule or location, but he didn't get any other sub calls during that time period and he's usually booked out a month, turning down jobs every day. Needless to say, we were thankful for that little bit of income to kick off the year. This year he has a long-term sub job lined up for the first month of school. It's full-time and local, so we're really grateful! ** UPDATE: As of Saturday evening this job has been canceled. ** 

The miracle - Tim and I recently had a discussion about getting his health endorsement or elementary authorization, both of which he's spent time and money pursuing in the past, as he's backed into an employment corner that makes getting a teaching job very unlikely. Jobs that are PE only are for elementary, which he's not authorized for. PE jobs at the middle and high school level, which he is authorized for, include Health, which is an endorsement he doesn't have. Although he has his admin license, those jobs, even at the entry level, generally don't go to people who haven't been in a classroom of their own for three years. Stuck.

He made some calls on Tuesday to find out what another attempt at his elementary authorization would require. The private school he talked to said it would cost about $9,000 and he could be done by Christmas break if he used his subbing job for student teaching. The good news was that it would be done fast and he could earn a subbing income to cover our living expenses in the process. The bad news was the $9,000 cost of tuition.

After breaking free earlier this year, we're not going back into debt for school and there wasn't an available source of money that we were both comfortable with. I suggested calling some state schools and the satellite campus of Pacific University, which is half a mile away and whose College of Education works with the local school district, just to see how their prices compared. Otherwise, I said that the lack of funds must be our answer. I was glad he checked into it, but it was clearly a closed door. He agreed and said it would have to be totally a God thing. And that was that.

On Wednesday he called the local Pacific campus and explained his situation. They directed him to the main campus in Forest Grove and that's when the miracle happened.

Teaching licenses have to be renewed every three years and this is a renewal year for Tim. You have to renew by your birthday (his is in August), but he paid up in June. What we didn't know, at least until Pacific told him, is that things changed in June and all authorizations for specialists (that's someone zeroed in on a specific thing) automatically changed to K-12. That means, for example, that someone who used to be able to teach music only to elementary students can now teach middle and high school students as well ... and PE teachers, like Tim, who used to be able to teach middle and high school students can now teach elementary ones.

What?! He has an elementary authorization and doesn't even know it?!

He called TSPC, which is where licenses are issued from, the same day to confirm this information. It's the end of August and they're currently processing paperwork from the beginning of May, which means his payment from June has cleared and his license is unofficially current, but he hasn't actually received his current and updated license. So they looked up his account and verified that he is, in fact, now licensed to teach PE at any grade level.

Oh. My. Word!

So ... yeah ... he suddenly and unexpectedly has a $9,000 (probably less at other schools, but still beyond our ability to pay) elementary authorization. For free!  I'm pretty sure we call that the "God thing" Tim said would have to happen.

At this point in the game it's not changing anything for us on a practical level. Had we known about this change when it happened back in June, then there are several jobs he could have applied for over the summer. But we didn't. The timing, though, was so cool because it came right on the heels of trying to do something responsible and saying only God could make it work. We've sat on the information for a couple days now, but we figured it was time to let you all in on our good news. We're excited, grateful, and curious to see how this change in his licensing status affects his job search.

As for the school that was ready to take his $9,000 for an authorization he already had (even though he didn't realize it), we're not naming them and will assume the person he talked to was either new to the job and didn't know the most current information or, like us, hadn't been notified by TSPC of the changes that started this summer. Tim is going to call them back with a friendly heads up so that they'll have accurate information for future prospective students, though, because, seriously, I would have flipped. my. lid. if we'd forked out all that time and money unnecessarily. Ay yi yi.

But that's not what happened. No time. No money. Just the big, honkin' blessing of waking up one day and discovering you can now teach at the elementary level. A miracle. A God thing.

PEDESTALS

The person excelling in the areas you struggle is no better than you and there will always be people struggling in the areas you excel. The person doing good things in noticeable ways is no better than the one doing good things anonymously or behind the scenes and vice versa. The people who seem to have things pretty well together and are happy are often facing difficult circumstances that aren't up for public consumption and those whose lives seems a little unkempt are often content and emotionally healthy.

It doesn't matter if it's homeschooling, raising children with special needs, running marathons, serving people in poverty-stricken countries, cooking everything from scratch while accommodating a list of allergies, working full-time and volunteering for various organizations after hours, accomplishing feats of physical strength, creating works of art, believing and saying positive things in the midst of negative circumstances, or anything else. People are not amazing simply because they're doing something you aren't. You are not amazing simply because you're doing something that other people aren't. 

Go ahead and respect a particular quality in a person, support their cause, praise their accomplishment, and be intrigued by what they're doing. But remember they're just regular human beings simply doing the thing that's been placed in front of them, not everything in their life is sunshine and roses, and the thing you admire in their life may be coming at a high price for them and/or their loved ones. Be excited about your own accomplishments and confident about your choices. But remember that being prideful eventually leads to painful ways of being humbled, the fact your life is going well in a particular area doesn't necessarily mean it's the only or best way to do things, and that failures are just as sure to come as successes.

Putting someone else on a pedestal is just setting them up for failure and yourself for disappointment because they will do something wrong. Putting yourself on a pedestal, whether out of your own arrogance or as a response to positive feedback from others, is a surefire way to damage relationships because you're not better than other people. Pedestals are dangerous places, both for those who are on them and those who put them there. Avoid them.

MENU: 8/27/15 - 9/2/15

September and school will both start within the next week. Summer's been fun, but I'm ready for the structure that comes to our lives in the fall!

Last week found me spending hours in the kitchen beyond regular cooking. I processed tons of peaches that we spontaneously picked one morning, made up some seasoning blends, and got a few things in the freezer for later. This week won't involve any advanced cooking, at least I don't think it will, but I am going to be trying out a few new recipes.

NEW RECIPES
* corn & cotija cheese dip - I love dipping blue tortilla chips into this stuff!

ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I whipped up a batch of onion soup mix for a new recipe I popped in the freezer.
* I blanched, peeled, sliced, and froze about 55 lbs. of peaches for smoothies or whatever will float our boat later and put two peach pie fillings in the freezer.
* We'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like we do once or twice every week.

BREAKFASTS
* egg & veggie scramble
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x5

DINNERS
* new recipe/rice/crockpot beans
* coconut chicken soup 
* lentils & rice
* new recipe
* corn & bean salad/cornbread (from the freezer)
* tacos - seasoned meat from the freezer, crockpot beans, and some other toppings served in a tortilla or bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice
* leftovers

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* new recipe
* produce
* popcorn with seasoned salt (kernels from the WinCo bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

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8/27/15 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that there is food in my cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer.

What is something that you are thankful for?

GIRL TIME

I planned on taking a few naps and busting out some projects while the guys were on their camping trip a couple weekends ago, but I ended up having four days of low-key and somewhat spontaneous fun with Naomi instead. If you know me at all, then you know that's way out of character. Yes, there's a part of me that regrets not getting some work done when most of our family was gone, as opportunities for uninterrupted times of productivity are few and far between, but the time spent with Naomi was definitely worth it. The guys had the camera and we didn't take many pictures on the phone, but we got a few to prove that we had some fun. Here's a glimpse of our four days together.

Thursday - We slept in and had a leisurely day at home. Bill and Becky stopped by for a while in the morning and Mieschell dropped in later with a bunch of Mountain Man snacks for girl time. Naomi watched a movie, I read a book, we played multiple rounds of Candy Land and one really long round of The Ladybug Game, and we went to bed at a reasonable hour when the day was done.

Friday - I'd planned on taking Naomi along for a free tour of Creo Chocolate in Portland, then ended up coordinating schedules with a friend and her son who had also planned on going. We headed up mid-morning, took the tour, then sat and visited with Thea and Jake for well over an hour. It's a neat place and you can easily schedule a tour, which includes samples, through their website or stop in for a variety of small batch chocolate bars, baked goods, and chocolate drinks that they've taken from bean to finished product right on site.

I didn't want to get stuck in Friday afternoon traffic, so we started heading south as soon as we were done at Creo. I had a coupon for a free ice cream with a paid purchase at Cold Stone, along with a gift cards, so I asked Naomi if she wanted to get some ice cream. No question about what her answer was. We enjoyed a free treat, then headed across the street to visit some stores we'd seen on our way to Cold Stone. 

First stop was Cabela's. I'd never been there before, but Naomi had and wanted to give me the grand tour. We tried on hats and shoes, watched fish in the aquarium, and looked at a whole bunch of other things. 

Second stop was Home Goods. Naomi hadn't been there and I wanted to show her what it's like. We laughed at all sorts of funky things, saw a bunch of cool stuff, and then headed out.

She said this mirror was "so artistic" and wanted to take a picture of it to show Tim (which I'm just now realizing we never showed him). She struck her tough girl pose, which she was able to hold until the camera clicked ... and then she started cracking up.

By this time we were getting pretty hungry for real food. We swung by Costco because Naomi had money she thought she'd like to spend there, She didn't find anything she wanted badly enough to buy, but we enjoyed a few pre-dinner samples.

Finally, we stopped at Red Robin. I had a few dollars of personal fun money from a while back and a free burger on my Royalty card, so we enjoyed an inexpensive dinner out. As a sidenote, you can link your Royalty card to the school of your choice and a small percentage of your purchases will be donated to the school. Choose the school your kids go to, that's in your neighborhood, or one that you know could use some extra funds.

We headed home after a full day of running around, then Becca came over a couple hours later. She and I ended up talking about everything under the sun until 3:00 in the morning. Naomi stayed up with us until 1:00, falling asleep on the couch because she didn't want to miss out on the action. Why put your head on a pillow if you can bend your body in unnatural ways to fall asleep instead?

Saturday -  A few days earlier I'd asked Naomi if she'd want to go on a hike on Saturday, but we never made a decision about it. First thing Saturday morning she asked where we were going to hike and I told her there was no way we were going to start a hike at 11:00 (or later) after being up so late the night before. We compromised and decided to visit a new park instead. I had pictures to pick up in Salem, so we took off after sleeping in and eating a late breakfast, making a quick stop at Franz to stock up on bread along the way, 

We chose to visit Bush's Pasture Park, which neither of us had ever been to and was just a couple minutes away from where we were picking up pictures. What a cool park! Lots of paths, play structures, wooded areas, open fields, athletic facilities, flower gardens, and so on. We didn't see the whole thing, but we loved what we did see and will definitely go back.

Taking a long way home, we swung by a sale Amy and Kelly from Vintage Ladder were having out in Mt. Angel (they're pretty active on their Facebook page). We didn't plan on spending any money, but it was fun to drive through the country, see the antique furniture they've found and ugly pieces they've spruced up into cute furniture, and catch up on life. 

We got home mid-afternoon, shortly before Mindy and Tammy came over. Tammy ended up making BLTs for all of us and cooked up some corn on the cob we had on hand. We spent all evening chatting and laughing. Laughing a lot, I might add. I hadn't laughed that much in a long time! Barb stopped by briefly while Mindy and Tammy were here and it was nice to visit with her, if only for a few minutes. 

Sunday - Naomi and went to church in the morning, then came home and puttered around the house for a couple hours until Laura and Emelye, who had never met each other before, came by. We ate lunch, chatted about life for a couple hours, and wrapped up our visit just after the guys returned home. 

Folks, it was such a wonderful four days! I love having all my kids together, but I also love getting to spend some one-on-one time with them. It was really fun to just goof off, relax, and run around town with Naomi. 

The time with friends was also great. Not only did my extroverted self love visiting with so many people over those four days, but my friend tank got filled up way higher than it had been in a while. I'm grateful for the women in my life, both those I'm close to and those who are casual friends ... and obviously not limited to the ones I saw over that weekend, with talents and interests different than my own, who will cut through the superficial things and address the parts of both of our lives that really matter, with life experiences that I'm able to encourage them through or that enable them to encourage me, who make the time to maintain friendships, and who I can laugh with about all the silly things in life.

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