Book Review:Summer of the Monkeys

Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Hands down, this is one of the best books I've ever read. I don't know why I've never read it before and neither have any of my children. Thomas came home from school last week and said he had started it in class. Then I went to a RS night on children's literature and one of my girlfriends there also recommended it. I picked it up and read it in just 3 short sessions, and loved it. This book will make an excellent read aloud with children at about the age of 8 or 9, when they are starting to have hopes and dreams and are able to do things on their own.

The opening paragraph sums it up: "I got mixed up with a bunch of monkeys and all of my happiness flew right out the window. Those monkeys all but drove me out of my mind."

This book made me laugh, and made me cry - it really does touch your heart.

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Look What We're Having For Dinner

I pulled these from the garden this morning, don't they look yummy? Tell my mother that she should come live with us when she retires......she would love to garden all year long.

I looked at Lucy's pictures of the snow yesterday and was amazed at how much is piled up around the house. Then I read Kelly's comment about how Lucy is living her dream life. And I admit that for a moment I said, "me too". It's very romantic to think about being snuggled up in a cabin with the winter snow falling outside. It's fun to think about winter sports and all the things you can do in it. BUT, I have lived in the snow and it's a lot of other things too. I remember walking to the bus stop and my feet getting wet and knowing that they would remain damp and cold all day long. I hate wet feet. I remember praying for a snow day, not so that I could stay home snuggled up with my family but rather so that I didn't have to go out and be in the cold. I remember that in March, the snow is covered with dirt and becomes mud and isn't very pretty at all. So, as I walk daily out my door and around the neighborhood without worrying about slipping on ice or having to shovel big snow drifts, I think I'm happy right where I am. Most people would call me a "home body" but I don't really like being cooped up inside all day long. The weather here is perfect for someone who like to run, cycle, walk or even swim any time of the year. Don't get me wrong, we do have winter, it gets cold, foggy and rains and I have yet to jump in a pool with the swim team during the months of November, December, January, February, March or April. So, while I do like the snow, I love driving to it, skiing in it, and driving home from it. It's beautiful, necessary and I'm glad it's in the mountains.

Good luck shoveling Lucy. My tulip blubs are about 3 inches up out of the ground. Come visit in March if you need Spring.

My Daily Life

Emily reading the Spongebob tabloids, I love having this little companion with me!

Only Doug in the middle of a rainstorm would want to do this.

A daily jaunt with Oreo

Book Review: The Horse and His Boy

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis



This is one of my very favorite books. I love the story and especially the lessons that come from the book, they are so personal to me.

We are first introduced to Shasta, the boy, as he lives with his poor father, a fisherman. One night a visitor passes by their cottage and demands hospitality for the night. He is a Tarkaan, or great lord from Calormen. Shasta is told to go out and sleep in the stable but isn't tired and listens in on the adult conversation. He learns that the Tarkaan wants to buy him as a slave and that his father isn't really his father. He learns that as a babe he washed up on the beach in a boat and his step-father took him because he knew he could raise a boy to work. Shasta is actually relieved at the discovery because he knows that he has never loved his father. He goes into the stable to sleep and there finds the horse of the Tarkaan. Bree (the horse) can talk because he is a Narnian horse and tells Shasta that he too is a slave to his owner. Together they make a plan to escape to freedom and leave within the hour. The adventure begins as the two make their way towards Narnia, and is filled with danger and affliction. Near the end of the journey Shasta is climbing a mountain all alone in the dark of night when he feels a presence walking along beside him. He is so afraid that he can't speak for a very long time, but finally he can bear it no longer and asks in a whisper.
"Who are you?"
"One who has waited long for you to speak", replies the unwelcome traveler, "Tell me your sorrows".
So Shasta, somehow feeling comfortable with the unknown companion tells how he has never known his real father, had been brought up by a stern fisherman, he tells the story of his escape, how they were chased by lions and forced to swim for their lives, the dangers of Tashbaan, the night among the tombs, more lions and the hunger, thirst and fatigue they endured.
"I do not call you unfortunate", replies the Voice.
"Don't you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?"
"I was the lion", says the Voice, "I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."

Isn't that just like us. We think our lives are hard, we are so unlucky or so unfortunate and yet what we don't know or realize is that we each have a story we are writing and we are carefully watched over and guided, pushed and protected by Christ. From the Doctrine and Covenants, "...there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in our hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."

As they are walking, Shasta begins to realize there is light and he is glad the long, dark night is over. He turns and sees walking beside him a Lion. It was from the Lion that the light came and there was nothing more terrible or beautiful. "after one glance at the Lion's face he slipped out of the saddle and fell at its feet. He couldn't say anything but then he didn't want to say anything, and he knew he needn't say anything."

This entire scene is summed up in 2 Nephi 2:4, "Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark."

Isn't the Lord waiting for us to ask as well, and if we don't we cannot come into the light.

Another one of my favorite images is when the lion, Aslan comes to the horses and one named Hwin says, "Please, you're so beautiful. You may eat me if you like. I'd sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else." Isn't that a great image for being swallowed up in Christ? Aslan responds with a kiss and says, "Dearest daughter, I knew you would not be long in coming to me. Joy shall be yours."

Don't you want to be that humble and submissive?

What a great story, what great lessons.

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Matt in the Dominican Republic

Friends

Last November my girlfriend, Ana, moved to Montana. Ana is what I would consider a most loyal friend. She moved to Merced so her husband could complete his PhD at UC Merced, and when I first met her she was a stay at home mom with two young boys. I listened to her express herself and could feel her spirit and was so happy to have her join me as my first counselor in Young Women's. Here is where the story turns difficult. Just a short time later, it became apparent that she would need to return to full-time work in order to support her family. As any working mother knows, it is a tricky balance to both support a family financially and meet the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of all the family members. I watched in amazement as she felt prompted to somehow have more children. Her first two children are adopted and so she and her husband began the foster family program. And a very long story later, they were able to adopt two more children. She did this all while continuing to work full-time and serve in Young Women's.

Here is a picture of her singing at a Relief Society dinner.

Something heartwarming happened to me at this dinner. It was the type of function where you enter the cultural hall and sit at any table of your choosing. I sat down next to a girlfriend and as we were eating I noticed that the other women who were also at this table were all women that had served with me in Young Women's. We had all been released over a year earlier, but I felt like we were still drawn to each other. Isn't it interesting how you come to love the people you serve with.

The think I miss about Ana, is now she is a stay at home mom again (she's also a freelance writer among other things). And I wish she were here because we could actually spend "fun" time together not just serve together. Montana is lucky to have her.