I enjoy reading and normally will go through a couple of books every 4 -6 weeks. Since I had Little Man, I hadn't read anything until our trip. I read The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Hahn Beer and highly recommend it. It is non-fiction, but is written so it reads very easily. It is about the author, a Jewish woman who grew up in Austria, and how she survived the Holocaust. It was so interesting to me to see how she went from being a middle-class, popular, law student in love with her boyfriend to a slave in a labor camp, to a hunted Jew on the Gestapo's wanted list hiding underground, to the wife of a member of the Nazi party. Her husband eventually becomes an officer in the Nazi army, and she has a child by him - the only Jewish child known to be born in a Reich hospital.
World War II and all that went on during that time has always intrigued and frightened me. I have read a lot of books about this time period and about people like this woman who survived it, and I never tire of them. My favorite is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. I guess the Holocaust holds a morbid fascination for me because it is incomprehensible how something like that could take place. After reading accounts like this one, I still cannot imagine the burdens these people bore and the autrocities that took place. But I like to read their stories because of their triumphant spirit. I like to think that if I had to face something like that, that I would be strong enough not only to survive it, but to not let it canker me.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I'm Back!
We've been out of town for the last two weeks. I am now recovering. We went to visit JC's family in Phoenix and, for part of the time, El Paso and Mexico. It has been one year since we had seen his mom and one brother and his family, and 2+ years since we had seen his dad and a different brother and his family. I met a new nephew and two new twin nieces, and we saw several other relatives and friends we hadn't seen in several years. It was nice. It was l-o-n-g.
Some memorable moments (in no particular order):
The Border. We sat for 2 hours on the bridge to get back into the U.S. at 11:00 at night. The kids crashed out and when Big J woke up and we were still on the bridge he didn't believe us that he'd fallen asleep. He also had to pee really bad. Good thing I had an empty water bottle.
The Grand Canyon. It is breathtaking. There is no way to describe it. It looks fake even in person. I do not recommend going with a bunch of little boys who have ridden in a car for 4 hours to get there. I was stressed and invisioned bodies slipping under the puny little fences or jumping over the 2-foot-high rock barrier walls. There are signs posted with pictures of someone falling that basically say "People die here." We left and watched the IMAX movie instead.
The Camel. Big J, Little J and I rode a camel at the Phoenix Zoo. We paid 15 freaking dollars for us to go around for like 2 minutes. But, hey, I bet you've never ridden a camel! When I told JC's dad (he didn't go with us) to ask Big J what he had ridden at the zoo, Big J paused a minute and then responded matter-of-factly, "A donkey."
The Food. I'm talking real Mexican food. Good Mexican food. Every day. My favorites are chuleta (really thin, grilled, marinated steak strips you put in tortillas), tortas and tostados. And my mother-in-law's guacamole. I had to use extreme control. And my sister-in-law's huevos rancheros. Yum. Even the drinks are yummy. I love licuado (a banana/milk/vanilla drink) and horchata (a rice water/cantaloupe juice drink) and even the Mexican Coke tastes way better than the Coke here in the U.S.
The Giraffe. We fed a giraffe in a park in the middle of Juarez. There is this park with a big lake and playgrounds. We went there to feed all the ducks. There also happens to be a lone giraffe there that you can walk up to and it will eat out of your hand. We fed it Cheetos. We also saw a crusty old deer sitting in the middle of a pile of geese. Go figure.
Getting Physical. The second day after meeting my new nephew (who is 6 weeks older than Little Man), we made our mark on him. Literally. Little Man and Nephew were laying on blankets on the floor beside each other. Nephew has a rattle that Little Man is eyeing. In one stealth move he swipes it from Nephew. In the next move he whacks him in the eye with it. Wailing. Tears. Parents comfort their baby and things are back to normal. In comes Little J with a new toy nerf football/rocket combo. He launches it. Whack! Poor Nephew got it right in the face. I told Big J to just go on and hit him to get it over with.
The Desert. The desert has it's own beauty, but I wouldn't want to live there. I like green. I like trees. When we came home, the richness of the spring colors were hurting my eyes it was so green - and that's how I like it. That being said, the boys had a great time digging in the dirt, chasing lizards, and making "sand angels" (just like their snow counterparts). I liked seeing the difference in the saguaro cactuses (cacti?) after it rained. They went from skinny to super fat.
We're all still 2 hours behind on Arizona time and I still have 2 suitcases left that I haven't unpacked. I guess that's not too bad considering we had 9 items we checked on the plane - 3 carseats, 1 pack-n-play that served as Little Man's bed, 3 big suitcases, one smaller suitcase full of toys and other entertainment, and a toiletry/carry-on size bag. Plus 4 items we carried with us (not counting children) - a diaper bag, a laptop, a backpack, and a stroller. We were like our own little caravan going through the airport.
Now I'm back to real life... Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!
Some memorable moments (in no particular order):
The Border. We sat for 2 hours on the bridge to get back into the U.S. at 11:00 at night. The kids crashed out and when Big J woke up and we were still on the bridge he didn't believe us that he'd fallen asleep. He also had to pee really bad. Good thing I had an empty water bottle.
The Grand Canyon. It is breathtaking. There is no way to describe it. It looks fake even in person. I do not recommend going with a bunch of little boys who have ridden in a car for 4 hours to get there. I was stressed and invisioned bodies slipping under the puny little fences or jumping over the 2-foot-high rock barrier walls. There are signs posted with pictures of someone falling that basically say "People die here." We left and watched the IMAX movie instead.
The Camel. Big J, Little J and I rode a camel at the Phoenix Zoo. We paid 15 freaking dollars for us to go around for like 2 minutes. But, hey, I bet you've never ridden a camel! When I told JC's dad (he didn't go with us) to ask Big J what he had ridden at the zoo, Big J paused a minute and then responded matter-of-factly, "A donkey."
The Food. I'm talking real Mexican food. Good Mexican food. Every day. My favorites are chuleta (really thin, grilled, marinated steak strips you put in tortillas), tortas and tostados. And my mother-in-law's guacamole. I had to use extreme control. And my sister-in-law's huevos rancheros. Yum. Even the drinks are yummy. I love licuado (a banana/milk/vanilla drink) and horchata (a rice water/cantaloupe juice drink) and even the Mexican Coke tastes way better than the Coke here in the U.S.
The Giraffe. We fed a giraffe in a park in the middle of Juarez. There is this park with a big lake and playgrounds. We went there to feed all the ducks. There also happens to be a lone giraffe there that you can walk up to and it will eat out of your hand. We fed it Cheetos. We also saw a crusty old deer sitting in the middle of a pile of geese. Go figure.
Getting Physical. The second day after meeting my new nephew (who is 6 weeks older than Little Man), we made our mark on him. Literally. Little Man and Nephew were laying on blankets on the floor beside each other. Nephew has a rattle that Little Man is eyeing. In one stealth move he swipes it from Nephew. In the next move he whacks him in the eye with it. Wailing. Tears. Parents comfort their baby and things are back to normal. In comes Little J with a new toy nerf football/rocket combo. He launches it. Whack! Poor Nephew got it right in the face. I told Big J to just go on and hit him to get it over with.
The Desert. The desert has it's own beauty, but I wouldn't want to live there. I like green. I like trees. When we came home, the richness of the spring colors were hurting my eyes it was so green - and that's how I like it. That being said, the boys had a great time digging in the dirt, chasing lizards, and making "sand angels" (just like their snow counterparts). I liked seeing the difference in the saguaro cactuses (cacti?) after it rained. They went from skinny to super fat.
We're all still 2 hours behind on Arizona time and I still have 2 suitcases left that I haven't unpacked. I guess that's not too bad considering we had 9 items we checked on the plane - 3 carseats, 1 pack-n-play that served as Little Man's bed, 3 big suitcases, one smaller suitcase full of toys and other entertainment, and a toiletry/carry-on size bag. Plus 4 items we carried with us (not counting children) - a diaper bag, a laptop, a backpack, and a stroller. We were like our own little caravan going through the airport.
Now I'm back to real life... Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!
Monday, March 12, 2007
My Little J
Little J is 4 years old today!Little J's birth is so fresh in my mind, that it is hard to believe how quickly time flies. When we moved here, he wasn't even 3 months old yet. When we moved into this house, he was barely a year old. He has been so much fun to have in our family.
This little boy is such a character; I just love him to pieces. He can be such a punk and melt my heart at the same time!
He is so strong willed. And I say that in a good way, even though sometimes it can be frustrating when he is being soooo stubborn. But I fully believe his strong spirit will serve him well and will be a source of good. 
Little J is very good at imaginative play. He can entertain himself with just about anything. He loves to build things, he loves to destroy things, and he loves to learn things. He is a great big brother to Little Man and a good buddy to his big brother.
I love you, Little J!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Thursday, March 8, 2007
No Autographs Please
Saturday I had a really special experience. I got to meet and talk with Sister Kathleen Hughes, the 1st Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency, as part of a local focus group. For those of you who are not members of the LDS church and are reading this, I will explain a little bit about the way our church is set up so maybe you can understand more why this was cool.
The women's organization in our church is called the Relief Society, because when it was originally established, that is what the purpose of it was - to provide relief to people, be it through food, clothes, comfort, or other needs. It started out with 20 women and now spands 5.5 million strong worldwide. Each woman in our church is a part of this organization. On the local level, in each ward (or congregation) there is a Relief Society presidency consisting of a President, 1st counselor, 2nd counselor, and a secretary. This same structure is found on each organizational level of the church up until the General Presidencies, which are the top of the top, worldwide leaders. So Kathleen Hughes is basically the second in command (so to speak) of the Relief Society on an international level.
Saturday our stake (a group of local wards) had a special enrichment meeting and Sister Hughes was the keynote speaker. Earlier in the week I had received a call from our stake RS president saying that she had received my name from my ward RS president and was wanting to know if I could be one of eight women from the stake to meet with Sister Hughes as part of a focus group after the meeting. Hmmmm....let me think about that.......
It was such a neat experience! The eight of us, plus the Stake RS president, met with her for an hour. She is such an amazing, powerful, dignified woman. She made everyone feel so comfortable and like she really wanted to have our input on the various topics. She was so personable that I was totally at ease.
The dynamics in the room were very diverse - old, young, newly married, divorced, single, lots of kids, no kids - but what was interesting to me was the common themes that came out in many of the discussions. What I got out of it was how much we all need each other. Women need each other and we need to support each other. We are all in this together. That lady in the checkout line behind you who seems to have it all together - she's just as lonely and insecure as the woman ringing you up who never looks you in the eye. That young mother surrounded by family over there is in as much need of a friend as that corporate exec that eats dinner by herself every night. That lady that always has a scowl on her face and seems to not want anyone around - what she really needs is some company and an outlet she can trust. We need to be the one who does the reaching out, instead of waiting for someone to reach out to us.
After the meeting, she gave everyone a hug and I got to have a personal conversation with her. Among other things, she told me she really "resonated" with me and that I reminded her of her daughter who is just a few years older than me. I also took a picture with her - my first ever to post on my blog! Just ignore the greasy face and bad hair (it was a great, but long day).
The women's organization in our church is called the Relief Society, because when it was originally established, that is what the purpose of it was - to provide relief to people, be it through food, clothes, comfort, or other needs. It started out with 20 women and now spands 5.5 million strong worldwide. Each woman in our church is a part of this organization. On the local level, in each ward (or congregation) there is a Relief Society presidency consisting of a President, 1st counselor, 2nd counselor, and a secretary. This same structure is found on each organizational level of the church up until the General Presidencies, which are the top of the top, worldwide leaders. So Kathleen Hughes is basically the second in command (so to speak) of the Relief Society on an international level.
Saturday our stake (a group of local wards) had a special enrichment meeting and Sister Hughes was the keynote speaker. Earlier in the week I had received a call from our stake RS president saying that she had received my name from my ward RS president and was wanting to know if I could be one of eight women from the stake to meet with Sister Hughes as part of a focus group after the meeting. Hmmmm....let me think about that.......
It was such a neat experience! The eight of us, plus the Stake RS president, met with her for an hour. She is such an amazing, powerful, dignified woman. She made everyone feel so comfortable and like she really wanted to have our input on the various topics. She was so personable that I was totally at ease.
The dynamics in the room were very diverse - old, young, newly married, divorced, single, lots of kids, no kids - but what was interesting to me was the common themes that came out in many of the discussions. What I got out of it was how much we all need each other. Women need each other and we need to support each other. We are all in this together. That lady in the checkout line behind you who seems to have it all together - she's just as lonely and insecure as the woman ringing you up who never looks you in the eye. That young mother surrounded by family over there is in as much need of a friend as that corporate exec that eats dinner by herself every night. That lady that always has a scowl on her face and seems to not want anyone around - what she really needs is some company and an outlet she can trust. We need to be the one who does the reaching out, instead of waiting for someone to reach out to us.
After the meeting, she gave everyone a hug and I got to have a personal conversation with her. Among other things, she told me she really "resonated" with me and that I reminded her of her daughter who is just a few years older than me. I also took a picture with her - my first ever to post on my blog! Just ignore the greasy face and bad hair (it was a great, but long day).
What the #%*?!
Not to beat a dead horse, but what the heck is up with America? Somebody's daddy must have friends in high places because there is NO WAY Mr. Hula Hips and Haley whatever should have made the top 12 tonight.
Friday, March 2, 2007
High School Musical vs. the REAL American Idol
I have not watched American Idol since the first season when Kelly Clarkson won. I actually called in and voted for her at the end because I did not want cocky, curly-haired dude to win. I liked the show, but I would never remember when it was on and it has so many commercials, I hated trying to watch it. But now that we can DVR it, I am all over it. It's so nice to be able to watch the actual 15 minutes of singing without having to listen to all the jibba jabba and commercials.
Don't you think that this year there are basically two different competitions going on? There's the High School Musical American Idol and the Real American Idol. I think there is such a difference between about 1/4 of the contestants and the others that it's not even a mystery who will be left in the final stages. I find it hard to believe that some of the contestants in the High School Musical American Idol are some of the best this country has to offer. However, the final stages of this competition will be awesome. The Real American Idol competitors are very talented and I haven't decided who is my favorite.
That being said, I guess anything can happen. Take last night, for example. I had no doubt A.J. would soon be leaving us, but what gives with Am-I-a-Girl-or-Not-Sanjaya getting through each time? He makes me yawn (and cringe) in a big way. And come on, America, do you really want an American Idol who's name sounds like a heart ailment or a female body part?
I think the girls are going to take this one. But a lot of the boys could get together and form a boy band.
Don't you think that this year there are basically two different competitions going on? There's the High School Musical American Idol and the Real American Idol. I think there is such a difference between about 1/4 of the contestants and the others that it's not even a mystery who will be left in the final stages. I find it hard to believe that some of the contestants in the High School Musical American Idol are some of the best this country has to offer. However, the final stages of this competition will be awesome. The Real American Idol competitors are very talented and I haven't decided who is my favorite.
That being said, I guess anything can happen. Take last night, for example. I had no doubt A.J. would soon be leaving us, but what gives with Am-I-a-Girl-or-Not-Sanjaya getting through each time? He makes me yawn (and cringe) in a big way. And come on, America, do you really want an American Idol who's name sounds like a heart ailment or a female body part?
I think the girls are going to take this one. But a lot of the boys could get together and form a boy band.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)