HITTING THE BOOKS

It has been a somewhat difficult week for me.  I'm a bit over extended with some of my commitments and I've been worried about my sweet husband's injuries/health.  And combined with some lingering depression, I've been struggling a bit.  BUT I'm really trying to remember my father's wise advice:  When you do good, you feel good!  So I've been exercising and trying to stay busy doing good things.  It helps.  And it helps that I am often surrounded by happy kids (my daughter's friends and my friends' children)!  I really do love young people!  Here are some pics that have helped me try to stay positive (and I'm sorry if I am being to "sad" for this posting on my blog... I'm just trying to be honest.):

Good friends are essential for a healthy balance in life.
Choose only those who can enrich the quality of your life.

Kiara was so grateful for these words of affirmation from her employers!

I'm glad they see her great worth!

I actually took a good picture of this AMAZING, AWESOME family!
I sure do love my Bettenhausens!

Walking brings me a sense of peace...

And these clouds were so beautiful that I had to snap a picture....

No storm came, but the clouds were gorgeous!

I also have realized that I haven't been very good about sharing my reading with you....  So here are my book reviews for the past month and a half:

Soooo, Scott Kotten Kandy and I decided to read all 7 of C.S. Lewis' books together so we could talk about them together and have a family book club.  I'm so glad I did.  I hadn't read these books since I was a young girl.  (And I don't think I ever read the last two books until this time around!)  

I LOVE C.S. Lewis and the world of Narnia!

Narnia has everything: journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures and epic battles between good and evil!  For the past 50 years, these books have become a part of classic literature for a good reason!  Each book is wonderful (although The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is definitely my personal favorite and the last two books are my least favorite)!  And I love that there are Christian themes throughout!  It made me grateful for my faith and the stories helped strengthen my love of my Savior!

I also re-read Elantris this week.  Wow isn't a strong enough interjection to express my love of this book!  The characters are fantastic!  I loved Serene and think she is the best woman Sanderson has ever written.  Raoden is such a great role model despite his trials and tribulations.  Hrathen is perfectly evil with a hint of redemption.  And Dilaf is beyond scary.  The plot is creative and had a great ending despite all the twists and turns.  It's amazing!  And this book belongs on my all-times favorites book list.

Too much kissing for my taste.  - And that is my review.  I finished this book because I started it.  But it wasn't as good as Shanon Hale's other books... in fact, I was disappointed.  The characters weren't that relate-able to me.  And the plot was a little trite.  And although I love Jane Austen... this book was not that.  Oh well....