Spring Reading Thing

While "blog-hopping," I came across the "Spring Reading Thing" where people can share their reading lists. Since I love to read and hear about good books, I decided to join. Although I plan to read a lot during spring break, I might not finish all these by the deadline (June 20). So my Spring Reading Thing might continue into a Summer Reading Thing.

Here's my list:

1. The Hour I First Believed (Wally Lamb) - Finished 4/3
2. The Translator (Daoud Hari) - Finished 4/6
3. 3:16 The Numbers of Hope (Max Lucado) - Finished 4/14
4. Daughters of the Desert (Claire R. Murphy et. al.) - Finished 4/8
5. Handle With Care (Jodi Picoult) - Finished 4/25; WOW!
6. A Lion Called Christian (John Rendall et. al.) - Finished 5/24
7. The Choice (Nicholas Sparks)
8. The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle (David Wroblewski)
9. Same Kind of Different as Me (Ron Hall & Denver Moore)
10. The Glass Castle (Jeanette Walls)
11. Merle’s Door: Lessons From a Free-thinking Dog (Ted Kerasote) - Finished 6/12
12. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne) - Finished 4/14, Excellent Book!!

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Ever since my first trip to South Africa in 2005 I've been interested in African music. I had heard of the grammy award-winning South African singing group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but have never been fortunate enough to hear them until last night. They were performing as a special event with the Grand Rapids Symphony - it was a great concert!

The group's name comes from their hometown of Ladysmith (near the large city of Durbin) in South Africa, black oxen which are the strongest farm oxen, and the Zulu word for ax - mambazo. The musical style is called Isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Me-Ya) and was begun by black workers in the mines during the days of apartheid. They were poor and kept away from their families; they sang to entertain themselves and eventually held singing competitions.

This group, begun by Joseph Shabalala in the late 1950s, won every singing competition they entered and now travel around the world, sharing the traditional culture of South Africa as well as hopes of peace and kindness for mankind.

Cross Country Skiing

I have never been what you'd call an "outdoorsy" person. Instead, I usually prefer to sit on a comfortable couch inside and read a book, watch TV, or work on my scrapbooking. But I've noticed a subtle change occurring during the last several years. I've begun to enjoy being outside more: sitting on the deck in the backyard, working in my garden, walking and hiking through the woods (in nice weather) and even doing a little backpacking. This week I added a new outdoors first to my list: I went cross country skiing. I went with a friend from school who let me borrow some skis and boots and also showed me what to do. The weather was perfect - not too cold, nice snow on the ground, and the sun was even shining. Although I started out with a coat and hat, I soon took them off as we went along the trail. I learned what bindings are and how to hook my ski boots into the little holes in the skis. I also learned how important balance is in skiing and that the poles are extremely helpful in trying to keep your balance. And I found I was a little "off-balance" at times. :)



We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery at Riley Trails and I even made it down a couple of gentle hills with only a few falls. The hills seemed much bigger when I was standing at the top waiting to go down. And I never really did learn how to stop at the bottom of the hill. We also skied around a little lake and through the woods. I'm so glad I tried it and definitely hope to go again. It was also a wonderful way to end a rather stressful day at work. (Of course, sitting in the hot tub after skiing was also nice.)

A Heart For The Lost

A friend recently shared this with me: Her high-school age son is involved with an after-school Bible club for local public school elementary students partnered with their church. The high-school students were sharing the parable of the virgins meeting the bridegroom (Matthew 25). They updated the parable and presented it in skit form to the elementary children who had never heard the story before. In the skit, some of the people were prepared and able to go to the party while others were left out. My friend's son played the part of the person who couldn't attend the party. At the point in the story where he was turned away, a little 7 year old girl felt so bad that he couldn't attend the party that she began crying. They ended up stopping the skit; when asked why she was crying she said that she wanted him to be able to go to the party. They tried to explain that it was just a skit and everything was really all right and finally were able to move on with the lesson.

We initially thought this was just a cute story of a little girl caught up in a skit until we realized that the little girl was the only one who really understood: her heart was breaking for the lost. Do our hearts break; do we weep for those who are lost and not attending the party of eternal life with our Savior? All too often, at least for me, the unsaved are not on my list of priorities and I don't really weep for them. It took the example of this little, unchurched girl to remind me that Jesus' heart is breaking for the lost. If I want to live like Jesus, then my heart must focus on them too.

Snow Day!

Today we had a snow day - a wonderful, unexpected gift!! I enjoyed sleeping in until almost 9:00 this morning. It's been nice to play fetch with Tosca, check out the LOST message boards, work on school lesson plans, bake cookies, and even do a little "fun" reading. After a relaxing, stress-free day today, I'll be ready and eager to see my second graders tomorrow. (This is one day I'm glad I'm a teacher living in a "lake-effect" snow area.)

Winter Break

It was so nice to have a winter break day off from school yesterday. I spent the day in Indiana, visiting my niece and nephew. We played games together (a card matching game and Clue) and they taught me how to use their Wii. I tried bowling, step aerobics, and an activity that involved riding in a bubble through a river without hitting the edge of a canyon. The 5 and 7 year olds were better with their activities: skiing and playing tennis - but they've had lots of practice. It was also fun spending time with my mom and dad and sister. The best parts of the day, though, were the hugs I got from Joey and Amanda. I'm so thankful for my family!

Dogs & Kids

Just in case you were wondering . . .

Dogs can get just as muddy as kids outside.

The only difference is you can't take a dog's clothes off!