tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3525893385246581832024-03-05T19:29:12.695-08:00Amy 4.0Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-81337508637035575752012-04-20T05:00:00.000-07:002012-04-20T05:37:28.646-07:00Book Review: The Eric TrapI know I do a lot of book reviews on this blog, but I get free books to do so. I love books and I love free, so it is a great situation for me. :-)<br /><br />Since I am fairly new the world of KidMin, I am constantly looking for resources to explore to help me be more effective in my new career direction. So when I read on <a href="http://childrensministryonline.com/">Kenny Conley's blog</a>, that I could receive an advanced copy of this book to review on my blog I was all for it. :-)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Eric Trap</span> is a collaborative effort by Jim Wideman, Kenny Conley and Sam Luce. I do not know any of these gentlemen personally, but as I entered into the world of KidMin their names kept popping up so they must know what they are doing.<br /><br />If you read nothing else on this blog read this: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">THE ERIC TRAP IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS ON KIDMIN THAT I HAVE READ</span>. Seriously, I think anyone who is remotely involved in Children's Ministry should read this book (or even if you have walked by the children's wing in a church.) :-)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Eric Trap</span> follows the a week in life of Eric Newman, a gifted children's pastor, who is struggling in his ministry. After each Eric narrative, there is then a chapter written by a different author addressing the areas where Eric struggled: <span style="font-style: italic;">Delegation</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Leadership Under Authority</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Activate Parental Leadership</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Measuring Success</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Order Your Priorities</span>. As I read this book, I felt myself identifying with Eric in so many ways...I think the title could have almost been THE AMY TRAP. :-) I also appreciated how the authors had systematic questions at the end of each section to help the reader evaluate where they are an how to improve in the areas. While I did not complete these exercises on my first read, I have every intention of returning to those sections and perhaps even working through some of them with the members of my team.<br /><br />I cannot say enough about this book. Be sure to get your copy at the <a href="http://orange.com/">Orange Conference </a>later this month or on<a href="http://amazon.com/"> Amazon</a>.<br /><br />Happy Reading!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-45711386721810584212012-04-09T16:56:00.009-07:002012-04-13T14:55:15.591-07:00FIVE DAYS!!! (and a few other things...)All right people, you only have FIVE days until the best day of the year!! Of course I am talking about MY BIRTHDAY!! No worries, you still have plenty of time to shop for a gift. Seriously, I am turning 42 on Wednesday and this birthday is bothering more than any others. Weird, right! I think it might be because my dad had his first heart attack at 42 and since I have some of his DNA I guess that weighs on me a little...especially since I don't always have the healthiest of habits. Regardless, I am excited about having another year on the planet and, of course, getting cake and ice cream. :-)<br /><br />Besides my birthday, here are a few other happenings in the life Amy 4.0:<br /><br />*Since I mentioned my not so healthy habits, I thought I'd share a victory. I decided to give up candy for lent. This was huge for me because I am a candy addict. I was really proud of myself that I was able to accomplish this (with a couple of minor slip-ups) with God's help. I have never given anything up for lent so it was good for me to experience that.<br /><br />*A<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfD0eEQPRw06rKKcY3k0aNhGZkMm1AxF-qDaRqAGQfE61kmvCxUtE7ZTW9JZ_RocC5i5sH0pPuggQwDN4BnkDHYiPOyU7-w0lweBp1yf8XsaDd1-2NBLtsLS-PEESW9csVWR6Ii82z4I/s1600/IMG_1784.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPfD0eEQPRw06rKKcY3k0aNhGZkMm1AxF-qDaRqAGQfE61kmvCxUtE7ZTW9JZ_RocC5i5sH0pPuggQwDN4BnkDHYiPOyU7-w0lweBp1yf8XsaDd1-2NBLtsLS-PEESW9csVWR6Ii82z4I/s200/IMG_1784.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729556125861157426" border="0" /></a>nna is still not a fan of costumed characters as you can see from the picture at the Bunny Dome in downtown South Bend. Anna couldn't stop talking about seeing the Easter Bunny and we waited in line to see him. However, once we got inside the dome, she wanted nothing to do with the Easter Bunny. We didn't want a repeat of Christmas with Santa (you can see the photo <a href="http://www.mickeyfan3.blogspot.com/2011/12/santa-or-not.html">here</a>) so we didn't force her to sit on the Bunny's Lap. :-) Not sure how she is going to respond to Disney Characters.<br /><br />*Speaking of Disney, I think we have a tentative date for another trip. Well, looking at Mark's schedule, I think a trip will probably happen in February right after Anna turns 4. We always said we would go again when Anna was 4, just didn't realize that it would be immediately after her birthday. :-)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGpBxyZw6kblVwGogKXH4MTWOEDXLETAI3xpAA2z-idS7hwatoJ9B1bzTXZ5b4_qazZ11oKPmHKSNiybiwqIFxuLOw2g7yN3jcxrqr8ao8_VpsnFZSRJJJXF0BjxUbjtOk-dUdKmwdQE/s1600/IMG_1795.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGpBxyZw6kblVwGogKXH4MTWOEDXLETAI3xpAA2z-idS7hwatoJ9B1bzTXZ5b4_qazZ11oKPmHKSNiybiwqIFxuLOw2g7yN3jcxrqr8ao8_VpsnFZSRJJJXF0BjxUbjtOk-dUdKmwdQE/s200/IMG_1795.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5729558371211178802" border="0" /></a>*We headed to Chicago for a couple of days during Mark's Spring Break because Papa and Mimi flew into Midway airport to visit for the week. We visited the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier and just walked around the city and saw some of the sights. I think Anna liked riding the CTA bus more than anything. I was really glad that I was able to take a couple of days off that week since it was right before Easter and Easter is like the Super Bowl for churches. :-)<br /><br />*On Monday, I got the whole day to myself. We had the day off from work since the weekend was so busy with church activities. Anna wanted to go to preschool and Mark had to go to work so that left me all by myself. I think the last time I had a whole day to myself was before I met Mark in 2005. I enjoyed the day by going to see The Hunger Games and taking a nap. Mark will usually go to see any movie I want for my birthday, but he straight up said that he wouldn't see that one. That is OK, there is new Zac Efron movie coming out, so maybe he will go with me to that one. :-)<br /><br />Enjoy the weekend and don't forget to shop for my birthday gift! :-)Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-35284751721261037952012-03-30T12:58:00.004-07:002012-03-30T13:47:54.421-07:00Stand By Me: Book ReviewI read <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Stand By Me</span> by Neta Jackson as part of the <a href="http://www.booksneeze.com/">booksneeze.com </a>blogger program where you are provided with free books in exchange for an honest review.<br /><br />And since I am being honest, I was not a great fan of this book. It is the story of people who are involved in the SouledOut Community Church and particularly focused on two characters and seasoned member of the church, Avis, and an idealistic college student, Kat, and their interactions. One of the reasons I wasn't a fan of the book was that neither character was all that likeable or well developed (as a side note...at the end of the book I did discover that Avis was a character in some of the other books by this author so her character may have been developed in those.) There were also topics that were touched upon in the book, but not developed: racism, church crisis, homelessness, HIV, domestic abuse, family dynamics, calling in life, educational crisis, being new to faith, etc. Now I realize that no author could develop all of these topics in a book, but none were really developed. Overall, it was a below average book and I am not sure I would have finished it if I had not agreed to review it.<br /><br />As a side note, this book was an example of what I find often in Christian entertainment. In many cases, it is just OK. Now I recognize that many publishers and producers do not have the big budgets that some of the big name movie studios, music producers or book publishers have, but does that mean that quality has to be sacrificed. Just because it is Christian doesn't mean it has to be crap. OK...off my soapbox. Happy Reading Everyone!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-79788110833021664352012-03-16T17:30:00.002-07:002012-03-16T17:52:13.527-07:00March MadnessHow is it already March 16? Time sure flies. Sorry I haven't been posting much lately (or at all.) I have a few blog posts brewing in my head of a more serious nature that will come out at some point. In the meantime, here are few of the random things floating around in the world of Amy 4.0:<br /><br />*I LOVE watching March Madness and filling out a bracket. The odd thing is that I don't really pay attention much to college basketball until the tournament starts. I think it has to do with my OCD brain liking to fill in the bracket. :-) I am hoping that a Big 10 team wins it all...especially if it is my Boilermakers (which I can write because at the moment they are ahead at the half of their first game.) Boiler UP!!<br /><br />*What is up with this weather? 80 degrees in March...I LOVE spring, but not sure I am ready for it to feel like July just yet. <br /><br />*I REALLY want to go to Disney World! I think I go to the Disney Parks Website at least 3 or 4 times a week looking for deals and packages. Right now, it is just wishful thinking...but my birthday is in a month so if anyone wants to surprise me with a trip I would be happy to receive it. :-)<br /><br />*Speaking of Birthdays, I am turning 42 in April. Not sure why, but I am dreading 42 more than other birthdays. <br /><br />*Anna has NO interest in potty training. I hope that she isn't still in Pull-Ups when she goes to college. :-)<br /><br />*I am getting excited for Easter at <a href="http://www.livingstones.cc">Living Stones Church.</a> We are using some Science experiments and demonstrations to tell the Easter Story in Kids Kanyon. As long as I don't blow up the church, it will be great. :-) We are also starting a series called "The Walking Dead" for the adults. I got a call today about being a zombie in a video we are using for that series. I am strangely excited to be a zombie....if we film early in the morning I probably won't even have to do much acting. :-)<br /><br />Guess that it is it for now! Happy St. Patrick's Day!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-79805042138827065592012-02-08T01:18:00.000-08:002012-02-08T01:18:00.697-08:00Happy Birthday Anna!!<div style="text-align: center;">Here is my sweet birthday girl sporting her princess garb and royal chalice (aka Dora Cup.)<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfPQ061G-gZZ2ymFCXe_2XVaDLeIueQSNwZXKZIobhfOp50A3zkOGc0fQxRPrp21gB5237hwXOvShgQe7zdjxs_of_ql5g5uAOuM-gMog8ZBtE20D5jb7by95KTqWPLch3RBYITLI4QE/s1600/IMGP6337.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyfPQ061G-gZZ2ymFCXe_2XVaDLeIueQSNwZXKZIobhfOp50A3zkOGc0fQxRPrp21gB5237hwXOvShgQe7zdjxs_of_ql5g5uAOuM-gMog8ZBtE20D5jb7by95KTqWPLch3RBYITLI4QE/s400/IMGP6337.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705846724893722658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmJ4F_lJcMVpZhLGIBLGi0icLJvyO79E3p2ZLGJjKpZMMm1L6RTnc8SVihrJe6AtY6wqkaiDVjQqX99z2oRx4Ef_bDjdyx4MkAbLexKo-8vJhd_RJcrrBaJ_k46g0Rjzjgn_Yk7tijYU/s1600/Toshiba+Pictures+965.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmJ4F_lJcMVpZhLGIBLGi0icLJvyO79E3p2ZLGJjKpZMMm1L6RTnc8SVihrJe6AtY6wqkaiDVjQqX99z2oRx4Ef_bDjdyx4MkAbLexKo-8vJhd_RJcrrBaJ_k46g0Rjzjgn_Yk7tijYU/s200/Toshiba+Pictures+965.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706423191157972146" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Three years ago today at 1:18 AM, my sweet baby girl was born weighing a whopping 10 lbs. It is hard to believe that she has grown so quickly. She is a such a joy and pleasure and makes us laugh all the time. This is a photo of her right before we took her home from the hospital.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br />Here are some fun facts about Anna:<br /><br />*She loves to music and is constantly singing songs...both real songs and made up songs.<br />*Her favorite word is "silly".<br />*She loves our cat, but the feeling is not mutual. Because of this, Anna does all sorts of things to try to get the attention of our cat...running, jumping, dancing, grabbing her tail, etc.<br />* She LOVES accessories, especially shoes!<br />*It is very seldom that you will find her at home without a princess dress, tutu or some sort of jewelry on. However, she always takes them off when we leave the house. Maybe she is trying to be an incognito princess.<br />*Her favorite person in the world is Daddy. Isn't this an adorable picture?<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVriqyPFTMz3V3l5jGayHz5TawSNplAvGANyono-FWNXWsmqBwg6wyXggtgMsdc2QvbyBNHGBLkFyUEp19PpzD1dTh6dXaSPWD2klYWSMJcvlsS4ujPD-XXPjz896VqF_ooLdD2uEwey4/s1600/IMGP6394.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVriqyPFTMz3V3l5jGayHz5TawSNplAvGANyono-FWNXWsmqBwg6wyXggtgMsdc2QvbyBNHGBLkFyUEp19PpzD1dTh6dXaSPWD2klYWSMJcvlsS4ujPD-XXPjz896VqF_ooLdD2uEwey4/s400/IMGP6394.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705846381081046578" border="0" /></a>I also found a something on <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/">Pinterest </a>(the internet version of crack) :-) that had an idea to ask your child the same few questions on each birthday starting at age 3 and publish it in a scrapbook. I loved this idea and thought I would share Anna's answers (and then I have them documented in cyberspace so when I get around to making the scrapbook I am not trying find some random piece of paper.) :-) I am not sure how accurate her answers are considering when I asked her if she wanted the Giants or the Patriots to win the Super Bowl and her response was PINK, but here we go:<br /><br />1. What is your favorite color?<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Pink</span><br />2. What is your favorite toy?<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Princess Dress</span><br />3. What is your favorite fruit? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Banana</span><br />4. What is your favorite tv show? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Mickey Mouse Clubhouse</span><br />5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Chicken Nuggets</span><br />6. What is your favorite outfit? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Princess Clothes and Shoes</span><br />7. What is your favorite snack? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Fruit Snacks</span><br />8. What is your favorite animal? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Zebra</span><br />9. What is your favorite song? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star</span><br />10. What is your favorite book? <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pinkalicious</span><br />11. Who is your best friend? <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">School friends and Church Friends</span> (<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">guess she likes everyone</span>) :-)</span><br />12. What is your favorite thing to do outside? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Play on the slide</span><br />13. What is your favorite drink? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Apple Juice</span><br />14. What is your favorite holiday? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">I don't want a holiday</span> <span style="font-size:85%;">(great less money spent on gifts) :-)</span><br />15. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Oatmeal</span><br />16. What do you want to be when you grow up? <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Dora the Explorer<br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br />Happy Birthday Anna! I LOVE YOU!!</span><br /></span>Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-9694599688394165242012-02-03T10:22:00.000-08:002012-02-03T10:45:05.592-08:00Heart of IceHere is another book review from my friends at <a href="http://www.booksneeze.com">booksneeze</a>. I love that I get free books in exchange for an honest review.<br /><br />The most recent book I read was "Heart of Ice" by Lis Wiehl. I was excited to read this book because it was a work of fiction in the crime/mystery genre which I enjoy. I was a little apprehensive because this book was published by a Christian publisher and you don't typically see this genre in the Christian book world. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It kept my attention and was suspenseful and exciting the way a good crime novel should be, but was not so graphic that it made it difficult to read. It was somewhat predictable in parts and there were extraneous story lines that didn't seem to be relevant to the story. However, I know there is sequel so the author may have been setting up story lines for the the next book<br /><br />This book revolves around 3 friends who are called the "Triple Threat Club" because of their work in the crime industry: a TV crime reporter, a prosecuting attorney, and a FBI agent. I do not want to give too many details of the story so that I do not spoil it for other readers. However, I would say that I would recommend this book for someone who is looking for a good book to read on a cold afternoon in front of the fire.<br /><br />Happy Reading!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-19468983561180538502012-01-24T13:39:00.000-08:002012-02-03T10:19:17.320-08:00A Life Well Lived<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrIOWgYj0-w5qr1y5F9DG3OkL1mZYjbj7YEXZVwjHoLMsY2cZIA1TBHDqCb1Uwi8YvaGQSeeErjNxWV7MM15R145s4KH6o5JklX1bJCc6p4Dcu3xYMPuvGgMavvs-YYw3fJbTOr30WtU/s1600/Holidays+2010+201.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrIOWgYj0-w5qr1y5F9DG3OkL1mZYjbj7YEXZVwjHoLMsY2cZIA1TBHDqCb1Uwi8YvaGQSeeErjNxWV7MM15R145s4KH6o5JklX1bJCc6p4Dcu3xYMPuvGgMavvs-YYw3fJbTOr30WtU/s400/Holidays+2010+201.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704974607313992306" border="0" /></a><br />About a month ago, my grandma passed away at the age of 93. At her funeral there was an open mike time where people were allowed to get up and share anything they would like about my grandma. At her funeral, I was INCREDIBLY sick with a sinus and ear infection. I did not get up at that time and make any comments because they would have been peppered with constant coughing, nose blowing and probably would not have made much sense since my ear was completely plugged and I could not hear very well at the time. :-)<br /><br />Anyway, here are some things that I might have shared had I not been so sick at the funeral.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">My grandma was SMALL in stature (in fact a rite of passage as a grandchild was growing taller than Grandma.) However, her height was the only thing about her that was small. She left a BIG legacy in so many areas.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />As a 4th grade teacher, she had a BIG presence in the classroom. I saw this first hand as a kid who went to the same school where she taught (along with my mom....I didn't dare misbehave because I knew one of them would find out immediately. I am not sure who I was more afraid of disappointing...MOM or GRANDMA.) :-) Through the wonders of Facebook, I saw numerous people post about how she was one of their favorite teachers. Pretty amazing legacy to leave!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">She left a BIG legacy with her family. She and my Grandpa raised 8 children and after all their children were gone they decided to foster another child who is now just as big a part of our family as anyone else. I am not sure I would have the heart or the energy to do that after raising 8 children. I have one child and while I am not rushing her to grow up I am not sure I would have the energy to take in another child once Anna is out of my house. She was always concerned about the safety of her family...just ask anyone who spent the night at her house. I guarantee they could tell you the best way to escape her house in the event of a fire. :-) As the only grandchildren who lived close by growing up, my sister and I have many memories of fun times with Grandma whether it be road trips, overnight visits at the house or going to movies. </span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />She left a BIG legacy when it comes to food (of course this is a topic that is near to my heart.) :-) She was an amazing cook and I have great memories or blueberry pies, apple squares and bacon and eggs fresh from the chicken house. A few years ago, I asked her to write down a few of her recipes for me. She went several steps beyond and made tons of recipe cards with all of her recipes plus numerous others. Those recipes are one of my most treasured possessions and I hope to put them into a book form of some sort this year.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Finally, she left a BIG legacy in the area of faith. She loved and served Jesus faithfully for many, many years and wanted the same for her family and friends. She was truly an example of a life well lived for God. I know that when she met Jesus he said, "Well done, good and faithful servant." </span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />I feel like my life will have been well lived if I can leave half the legacy that my grandma left.</span>Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-55646457359169960202012-01-23T13:09:00.000-08:002012-01-23T14:49:06.348-08:00Chinese New Years Resolutions!!Happy Chinese New Year Everyone! It is the Year of the Dragon! I am sure that you are impressed with my knowledge of Chinese culture considering I have absolutely no Chinese in my genetic lineage (although Anna did look Asian as a newborn...so maybe there is something somewhere.) :-) However, I am not that well versed in Chinese culture (other than the fact that I think their food is delicious), but I have mad skills when it comes to googling something. :-) <br /><br />Anyway, you may be wondering where I am going with all this Chinese New Year stuff. I have found that it is helpful to me if I publish my New Year's Resolutions/Goals on my blog as a way holding myself accountable to the throughout the year. However, we are already 23 days into 2012 and most people have already given up on their resolutions and I haven't even started or articulated mine. There are plenty of good reasons for this including being sick with a sinus and ear infection since January 2.... on top of the fact that we had house guests and a funeral in the midst of this 3 week illness. If I had tried to blog about my goals during that time, the goals would have been something like: <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">"Make sure to have tissues, Advil, Mucinex and cough drops on your person at all times"</span></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">"Take a nap" <br /></span></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">"Invest in Kleenex corporation"</span></li></ul>So, I decided to hold off on the blog until I felt a little better. While I am still nowhere near 100%, I finally feel like I am beginning to recover from this crazy bug and can begin to formulate and work toward my goals in this area so I am declaring them my CHINESE NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS for 2012: The Year of the Dragon:<br /><br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Exercise at least 3 times per week</span>-This will probably be a goal for me every year for the rest of my life. I was doing well with this in 2011 until the holidays hit and then I got sick. Definitely need to get back into the habit.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Develop a wil</span>l-With the hundreds of millions of dollars that I have, I really should allocate where it should go. Seriously, we don't have much and have the proper beneficiaries listed on things and have talked to who we want to care for Anna in the event of our untimely demise...just need to make it legal (and I realize this should have happened already.) :-)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Organize/Improve My House</span>-I was not blessed with the domestic gene so I am very challenged when it comes to decor and home organization (which is weird because I think I am a fairly organized person overall.) However, I know I don't like any space in my house right now so hoping to rectify that. I do not have a huge budget for any major projects, but I know I can do some things like paint, organize closets and spaces, and pitch/purge/sell things we don't want/use/need. I also want to convert our junk room, I mean office, into a playroom so that every room in the house isn't overrun with toys. </li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read 100 books</span>-Last year, my goal was to read 40 books and I far exceeded it so going to try to challenge myself on this one.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Complete 2 digital scrapbooks</span>-I have not started on Anna's 2 year old scrapbook and she is almost 3 so I want to finish Age 2. I also have several recipes that were my grandma's that I want to make into a cookbook (if you are related and want a copy I will post the link when it gets done...even more motivation to finish it.) :-)</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Unplug</span>-I love my electronic devices!! However, I have found that there is almost never a time in my life when I am not using something electronic and I am not sure that is healthy. I had jury duty a couple of weeks ago and cell phones were not allowed in the courthouse and I think I might have been twitching a little by the end of the day because I was away from my phone. :-) Because of this, I want to make a commitment to unplugging from everything for at least 1 hour a week (and it cannot be while I am sleeping.) :-) I also want to take at least 2 days where I unplug for the entire day.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read through the Bible in a year</span>-I love <a href="http://www.youversion.com">YouVersion</a> as tool to do this.</li></ol>I also have 2 more areas that I want to work on but I haven't quite figured out the details on how to make it happen yet.<br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Some sort of Sugar Fast</span>-I don't struggle with things like alcohol or recreational drugs, but sugar is my drug of choice. I need to fast from sugar at some point. I am not sure if I give it up completely, fast one day a week or do something like a lenten fast. Still trying to work through this.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Financial Goals</span>-I want to figure out how to spend less and save more. We do an OK job at this, but I want to do better. Not sure if that is through couponing, eating out less, selling non-essential body parts, or some other manner. </li></ol>I think that is it!! Happy New Year and enjoy an egg roll in honor of the Year of the Dragon!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-49042186737554039292012-01-21T05:00:00.000-08:002012-01-21T05:00:01.899-08:00Happy Birthday!!!This is my AMAZING Husband, Mark. He turns 39 today (yep, I am cougar and got myself a younger man.) :-)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PvuhmkvWewK6IUeKnJcXMPzwxz-1xs8WhBT3zm1GYYhVmCh5YQQhvwtpBMRjouqrSu_9w70ayNyRjDTwzem5sexlJSRsTL0-y4W9D5DNpQwMKvXgfF0cjMTkevNJTondM5sYkZ37Z7U/s1600/IMGP6328.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PvuhmkvWewK6IUeKnJcXMPzwxz-1xs8WhBT3zm1GYYhVmCh5YQQhvwtpBMRjouqrSu_9w70ayNyRjDTwzem5sexlJSRsTL0-y4W9D5DNpQwMKvXgfF0cjMTkevNJTondM5sYkZ37Z7U/s400/IMGP6328.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699490656828408770" border="0" /></a><br />These are some many things about this man that you may or may not know and that I love about him:<br /><ul><li>His friends in college called him "Oster Monkey" because of his tree climbing skills (hence the sock monkey hat he received from my mom for Christmas.) :-)<br /></li><li>He has taken in upon himself <span style="font-weight: bold;">without being asked </span>to take responsibility for the dishes, laundry, trash, cleaning the bath tub and taking care of our cat (including the litter box.) Ladies, I know you are jealous!!</li><li>He is an AMAZING dad and will even be "Princess Daddy" when Anna is playing dress-up.<br /></li><li>He is an incredibly talented musician. </li><li>He likes to go Disney World (not as much much as me, but still likes it.) :-)<br /></li><li>Every year he WANTS to be the one who frosts his birthday cake.</li><li>He has incredibly high standards as to what he will watch/listen to in terms of entertainment.</li><li>He loves Jesus!!<br /></li><li>He puts up with all my crazy (which can be extensive at times.) :-)<br /></li></ul>Happy Birthday Honey! I LOVE YOU!!!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-90386513376008601552012-01-06T15:40:00.000-08:002012-01-10T14:35:08.288-08:00I Am SecondHello 2012! I have several posts for floating in my head for 2012, but have had several things happening that have kept me from posting (house guests, illness, funerals, playing "Words with Friends", etc.) I promise they are coming! :-) In the meantime, here is a book review thanks to the folks at <a href="http://www.booksneeze.com/">booksneeze.com</a>:<br /><br />I was very excited when I saw that I AM SECOND was offered in book format. I became familiar with I AM SECOND when our church did a series of the same title in 2010. We based that series off the the <a href="http://www.iamsecond.com/">website</a> that features videos of people who have faced adversity and how they overcame it by putting Jesus first and themselves second. I really enjoyed the stories when we did the series and was hoping I would enjoy the book. The book did not disappoint. It was very inspiring to read the stories of many different people....from musicians to athletes to everyday people. It was amazing the read the stories of how their faith helped them to overcome many trials in their lives. This book was a quick and easy read. One feature of the book that I really liked was at the end of each story there was a web address as well as a QR code for your smartphone that linked you to the video of the story you just read and ones that were similar. <br /><br />I highly recommend this book and if you are not a reader at least check out the website to hear these amazing stories!!<br /><br />Happy Reading!!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-75796504046796688172011-12-27T09:08:00.000-08:002011-12-27T09:08:00.358-08:00How did I do?As we are closing in on the end of the new year, I wanted to blog about how I did on the New Year's Resolutions I shared on the blog at the beginning on 2011. You can read that post <a href="http://mickeyfan3.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-year-new-goals.html">here</a>. So here we go:<br /><ol><li> Exercise at least 3 times a week-Mark and I actually signed a contract where we get rewarded and punished for meeting or not meeting our goals. The reward for the person who exercises the most minutes this week is a SLEEP-IN Day. If that doesn't motivate me to get my butt moving, then I don't know what will. :-) -<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">It depends on when during the year you asked me on this one. I would say I sort of met this goal at times. I still was not consistent EVERY week with exercising at least 3 times during the week, but I was more consistent overall with exercise. I did not have long periods of time where I did no exercise (except for the 6 weeks I was laid up with an ankle injury) which has been my pattern in the past. I am thinking this will continue to be a goal for 2012 for me (and 2013, 2014, 2015, etc.)</span></span></li><li><span style=" font-style: italic;"><span style=" font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Read the entire Bible this year. I signed up for a plan at youversion.com that helps me track my progress. My OCD brain LOVES this! :-) They have lots of great plans to choose from for everyone.-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I met this one. I am on schedule to finish this on December 30 (a day early...I am such an overachiever.) So as long as I don't totally abandon this goal in the next couple of days, I am good! :-)</span></span></li><li>Blog on a more frequent basis.-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Met this one as you can see by looking at my archives.</span></span></li><li>Have a weekly family devotional time with Mark and Anna.-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sort of. We didn't do this in the traditional sense. However, we did purchase a daily toddler devotional book that Anna absolutely loves and will not go to bed without her Bible Story Book. We still need to work toward this in 2012.</span></span></li><li>Read AT LEAST 40 books this year. They have to be a combination of personal/spiritual growth, professional growth and pleasure reading.-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I read WAY more than 40 books. I definitely need to up the stakes for 2012.</span></span></li><li>Complete Scrapbooks of Anna's 1st 2 years of life. Since I have started doing digital scrapbooking, I might actually be able to accomplish this. :-)-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I have completed all of her books up the age of 1. Her 1 year old book was partially completed when my computer had an untimely death so I had to start over. I am not sure if it will be finished before the end of the year, but hoping so. However, since it was a technology issue that causes this goal not to be met, I am saying that I met it. :-)</span></span></li><li>Memorize 2 verses of Scripture every month. I stole this idea from my friend Tracy's blog who is doing Beth Moore's Siesta Memory Verse plan. I am not going to Beth's plan, but love the idea of memorizing more scripture.-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">As with any Beth Moore thing, I did not complete this. I have started several Beth Moore books, Bible studies, etc. and have never finished one. </span></span></li><li>Fit comfortably into a pair of pre-pregnancy pants. :-)-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nope...still hanging in my closet. There is always 2012.</span></span></li></ol>So there you have it, I completed (at least made progress toward them) 6 out of 8 of the goals. Not too shabby. Looking forward to 2012 and new goals.Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-83609842604490648022011-12-23T09:00:00.000-08:002011-12-23T09:00:04.423-08:0071 YEARS!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHY2BOf2sLM-sMjsFKYTXJvhuvViUEzxpZmrfFJuLPIUcAbelq7NejlU4ha9QtPKOYpoNjXCIsjeiVmgxOk4miAQVJgFUOvWx1zO13-GHSX_gG_ERpSeT_XYtOGbJIkDRkfoZfF6zv-Q/s1600/Holidays+2010+379.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHY2BOf2sLM-sMjsFKYTXJvhuvViUEzxpZmrfFJuLPIUcAbelq7NejlU4ha9QtPKOYpoNjXCIsjeiVmgxOk4miAQVJgFUOvWx1zO13-GHSX_gG_ERpSeT_XYtOGbJIkDRkfoZfF6zv-Q/s400/Holidays+2010+379.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688999536862352242" border="0" /></a>These are my grandparents, Dallas and Edna Mae Foster. Aren't they cute! :-) Today is their <span style="font-weight: bold;">71st WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!</span> I can barely fathom living 71 years, let alone being married for that long. What an amazing legacy and example of long lasting marriage!<br /><br />Here are some things that you may or may not know about them:<br /><br />*They have 9 children, 25 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren (with 2 more on the way), and 1 great-great grandchild. (I may be a little off on the numbers...when I have to count that high I can get a little confused.) :-)<br />*All 9 of their children have college degrees, as well as most of the grandchildren. Most of the great grandchildren are not old enough for that yet (although we think Anna may be ready for early college admission by the fall.) :-)<br />*Rites of passage as grandchild included being old enough to go on a tractor ride with Grandpa and being taller than Grandma.<br />*My sister and I had the pleasure of taking several road trips with them when we were younger. There are few things that we learned. First of all, at one point we knew the numerical code of every county license plate in the state of Indiana. Secondly, Grandpa liked to drive fast and Grandma had an inborn speed detector that went off the moment Grandpa started driving over the speed limit.<br />*My Grandma probably knows more about Indiana History than anyone I have ever met.<br />*They were recognized by the Governor of Indiana for their 70th anniversary. Wondering if the President will recognize the 71st.<br />*They have a deep and abiding faith in God and tried to instill that in their children and grandchildren.<br /><br />I am so blessed to have these wonderful people in my life. Happy Anniversary! We LOVE YOU!!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-44137106559455701352011-12-22T08:18:00.001-08:002011-12-22T08:52:01.105-08:00Cliques, Hicks and Ugly SticksHow is that for a blog title! That is what I thought when I chose this book from the <a href="http://www.booksneeze.com">booksneeze.com</a> library as a free book in exchange for an honest review. Who wouldn't be intrigued by that title? :-)<br /><br />I really enjoyed this book. I think it is classified as young adult fiction, but would recommend it to tweens as well. The story is about the adventures of a 6th grade girl named, April Grace Reilly, who is working through the growing pains of moving on to Junior High School and all that entails. She also has lots of interesting adventures involving many of the quirky characters that surround her (which I will not go into here in the event of spoiling the fun for anyone who might read it.) One of the many reasons that I would recommend this book, particularly to young girls, is that while April is wrestling with the issues of 6th grade she seems to have a good sense of who she is and what she stands for.<br /><br />I did find this book a little bit hard to get into at first. However, I discovered after I finished the book that this was the 2nd book in a series. I am guessing I would have jumped right in had I read the first book. All that being said, I was still able to enjoy the book without having read the first one (although I do plan to read it at some point.)<br /><br />I enjoyed this book and if you are fan of young adult fiction or have a child of that age, I would definitely recommend it.<br /><br />Happy Reading!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-57946526196275396622011-12-18T13:28:00.000-08:002011-12-18T13:28:00.843-08:00You Can't Out Give GodThis month in Kids Kanyon the virtue which we are teaching the kids is Generosity. Each month we focus on a different virtue and the Biblical principles behind it. There are several months where I look at the virtue that we are teaching and think, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Oh Man, I really still need work on that</span>." A perfect example of this would be that the virtue of the month that is coming in January is Self-Control. I definitely struggle with self-control a lot of in particular areas of my life...i.e . Most things involving food or sugar. :-)<br /><br />However, as I think about generosity, it is an area where I think I do OK. In no way am I trying to say how awesome I am (although I am awesome) :-) or brag about how generous I am. Nor do I think that I have arrived and cannot possibly grow in areas of generosity. All that being said, I do think that I have a natural proclivity toward generosity in my personality. If you are familiar with the 5 Love Languages, my predominant love language is receiving gifts (so that means that if you want to show me love...or even that you like me a little bit... buy me lots of gifts and presents.) :-) Because this is my love language, I also like to give and find it somewhat easy to give whether it be gifts, financially, whatever.<br /><br />In my experiences, I have discovered that the more you give, the more you receive. I know that may sound weird, but it actually happens. Let me give a recent example. At our church, we are doing a huge project to bless all the kids at 2 local elementary schools with Christmas presents and do some much needed construction on our youth building. Mark and I discussed it and decided upon an amount that we would give toward this project. However, when I was writing the check for this project, I was considering writing it for less that we had agreed upon. My reasoning for this was good. We have had several unexpected expenses in the past couple months, the extra expenses that Christmas brings and the fact that we already give financially to our church and other charities and agencies that we support. I was concerned about whether it was a wise financial decision to give the extra money. I was still planning on giving...just thinking about giving less. However, I did take a step of faith and go ahead and write the check for the amount that we had agreed upon. Guess what happened...the very next day we received an unexpected check in the mail as a gift.<br /><br />In my own thinking, I would often just chalk that up to coincidence. However, this is not the only time that something like this has happened. I find that whenever I give...especially when I give in uncertainty...I am always blessed by it.<br /><br />So here is my encouragement for you, just try it and see what happens. Give sacrificially to something that is important to you whether it be your church, a favorite charity or a local philanthropic organization. I am not saying that you will receive a large check in the mail the next day, but I promise that you will be blessed in some way!!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-16192877162874281322011-12-16T08:45:00.000-08:002011-12-16T08:45:02.279-08:00Santa or Not??Mark and I have been wrestling with the decision as to whether to do the Santa thing with Anna or not. One on hand, we don't want her to miss out on the magic and joy of believing in Santa. On the other hand, we don't want to lie to her or be deceptive in such a way that causes her to think that if we lied about Santa what other things have we lied about. We haven't made any decisions about this yet because or Anna's age and understanding of the whole Santa concept.<br /><br />However, Anna may have made the decision for us. Santa visited her Preschool Holiday Program this past weekend and this was her reaction:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlvbfT5B8QbSPKEsMJEpeICAbQKGd5fp5DoIlcwiL60BzWNsPoIM6Vwy1d3NlqCYM_TYiOqQ9lhEU0e46jmqH-xlzVXgaG3Dt2AMWe-EyvmLiBUYD-vAcYXhBTRWdBboxvp7e0n7bFoI/s1600/IMGP6195.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlvbfT5B8QbSPKEsMJEpeICAbQKGd5fp5DoIlcwiL60BzWNsPoIM6Vwy1d3NlqCYM_TYiOqQ9lhEU0e46jmqH-xlzVXgaG3Dt2AMWe-EyvmLiBUYD-vAcYXhBTRWdBboxvp7e0n7bFoI/s400/IMGP6195.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686392883552327298" border="0" /></a> I chuckle everytime I see this picture. <br /><br />What are your thoughts on Santa or not?Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-13255826020968484242011-12-09T13:29:00.002-08:002011-12-15T08:21:41.659-08:00The Dreaded Christmas LetterOK...so I will admit it. I am one of those people who do a Christmas newsletter every year and send it out with Christmas Cards. It is a sickness, I know. :-) Every year, I say that I am not going to do cards or letters anymore since my life is increasingly online...but every year I still feel this compulsion to do so. So anyway, 2011 was no different and I sent one out. If you were lucky enough to make the cut of the people on my list, then you received it. If you didn't receive it, here are some reasons why you might not have received it:<br /><br /><ol><li>My address book is outdated and I have an address for you that is where you lived 10 years ago and I know you have moved 4 times but failed to update your address since I see you on Facebook all the time.</li><li>I was a dork and forgot to put a stamp on your card. There are a couple of these sitting on my kitchen counter that say "Returned for Postage". Hopefully, I can get myself to the post office before Christmas and get some more stamps to send those out.</li><li>You are receiving a big package of gifts from me and I placed the card in the package (this really is only one person, but you can have hope that it is you.) :-)</li><li>You live locally and I see you all the time. It seemed kind of silly to send a letter highlighting all we did for the year when you saw us on a regular basis as we were doing those things.</li><li>I really don't like you. Just kidding...I like everybody (sort of.)</li></ol>So if you didn't receive one, here is the letter we sent out. Enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Holiday Greetings from the Osterhout Family!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We cannot believe that it is the holiday season again already. It feels like we just put the tree away last week and it is already time to pull it out again Maybe we should just leave it up year round...that would definitely save time and be more efficient. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We hope that 2011 has been a great year for you. After several years of writing about how many changes we have experienced, we actually have had a pretty boring year. In fact, you may choose to stop reading right now since our year was so boring. However, if you stick with the letter, I promise not to write anything about hemorrhoids or a nasty infection. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">So...if you are still with us. Here we go:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I am entering my second year of working in ministry full-time as the Children’s Minister at Living Stones Church. I really enjoy this and the challenges it provides. I occasionally miss teaching, but more for things like school potlucks, field trips and summer vacations than the actual teaching part...so changing careers was probably a good move on my part.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Mark is in his 5th year of teaching music at Eastwood Elementary School. He loves his job and works very hard at it. He is busy this time of year preparing for his Winter Concert which means that we have had Christmas Music playing in our house since September...definitely gets you in the holiday mood. He also continues to serve on the worship team at our church and lead worship for our kids area.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Anna will be 3 in February. She is a blessing and the light of our lives. It is hard to believe that she growing up so quickly. She is a busy 2 year old who loves coloring, balls and saying NO. She started preschool this fall. She attends 3 days a week while I work at the church. She loves school and we like the environment it provides. Thanks to Dora the Explorer, she is also bi-lingual. Just ask her to count for you...it goes something like this “one, two, three, four, five, six, cinco, ses, ocho, eight, etc.” We are pretty sure she will be ready for early admission to Harvard by next fall. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We had the opportunity to take some fun adventures this year. In April, we went to West Virginia (enter banjo sound effects here) to visit Mark’s dad and his wife, Jeanne, in their new home. It was a nice visit. In June, we accompanied some kids from our high school youth group to a church camp in Michigan. It was held on a college campus and we ate the best food I have ever experienced at camp. Anna did great as a tag-a-long. This was Anna’s 2nd year at church camp and so by the time she is old enough to go as an actual camper she will be an old pro.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This summer, my mom joined us on a family vacation with the final destination of Mitchell, South Dakota for a wedding. It seems a lot of our travels have been for weddings lately. I hope the next wedding we are invited to is held at Disney World. Anyway, on the way to the wedding, we stopped at the Wisconsin Dells for a few days. We were also able to go the Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet, SD which was one of the highlights of the trip! It was a great time!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In October, Mark and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. It was celebrated by a weekend get-away to Chicago at a luxury hotel, eating amazing food and enjoying quality entertainment...by me. Mark stayed home with Anna while I attended a Children’s Ministry Conference. How romantic, right? We were able to celebrate on a different weekend and we are very thankful that God has given us 5 wonderful years together.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We also became very un-hip this year. In June we bought a swagger wagon...AKA a minivan. I LOVE IT!!!! I never in a million years thought I would say that I LOVE a minivan...what has happened to me. I am definitely losing it!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Well...that is about it for our boring year. We hope that 2011 has been an amazing year for you and that 2012 is even better. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!</span><br /><br />MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-14062084426278154722011-12-01T12:16:00.000-08:002011-12-01T12:36:03.200-08:00Nearing Home<span style="font-size:100%;">Life has been super busy, so I haven't been reading as much lately. However, I did get a chance to read another book </span>from <a href="http://www.booksneeze.com/">booksneeze.com</a> in my spare time. In exchange for the free book, I get to post an honest review of the book.<br /><br />This time, I chose to read "Nearing Home" by Billy Graham. I have always had a great respect for Billy Graham since my high school days when I did a research paper on TV evangelists (no idea why I chose that topic...just showing what a total nerd I was in high school.) :-) As a side note, Billy Graham was one of the few evangelists at the time who seemed to be straight up and honest in the midst of a lot of corruption (Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, etc.)<br /><br />Anyway back to book...In this book Billy Graham talks about growing older and the challenges that one faces as they are "nearing home." I enjoyed this book and there are several people in my life who I would like to read it. While I do think it was geared at an older audience, it was still an enjoyable read for someone my age. I especially appreciated Rev. Graham's overarching message through the book of never being too old to fulfill God's purposes for your life. It was captivating to read of his struggles of deciding to slow down and eventually end his campaigns for which he was so well known. However, he did not stop doing ministry...his role just changed and he is still fulfilling God's purposes for his life even into his 90's. I also appreciated his thoughts on leaving a legacy for your family and friends.<br /><br />He does also talk at length about retirement planning, making a will, dealing with grief and other topics. These areas were very informational and provided good food for thought.<br /><br />Well...that is about it for now! Happy Reading!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-73814788624961960842011-11-18T14:02:00.000-08:002011-11-22T18:42:22.739-08:00Thankful<span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is 2 days away. I am so glad that I didn't commit to blogging everyday about being thankful this month because I would have failed miserably if I had made that commitment. I also realized that I could not make my only post about thankfulness be about indoor plumbing. :-) So, I am back to write about some more of the important things for which I am thankful. In no particular order, here are the top 10 things that I am thankful for.<br /><br />1. MY LITTLE ANNA BANANA-I am so bless</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >ed by this little girl. She is so much fun and such a jo</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >y to Mark and I. It is so n</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >eat to see her personality develo</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >p and hear the things that she says every day. I am so thankful that God saw fit to bless us with such a sweet and amazing little girl<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >2. MY AMAZING HUSBAND MARK-He is great husband, father and he puts </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >u</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >p with me and all my craziness. That alone should make him eligible for saint</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >hood. Lo</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >v</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" >e you honey!<br /></span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:180%;" ><br />3. MY WONDERFUL SISTER MINDY-She is awesome and does th</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >ings like bring back cool gifts from trips she has been on (which makes me like her even more) and offers to come for a visit just to watch Anna so Mark and I can have a date night (which doesn't happen too frequently.) She is super cool and I try not to introduce her to many of my friends because people will like her better than me.<br /><br />4. MY MOM, MARILYN-She is a great friend, grandma and mom. I am blessed to have her as a mom.<br /><br />5. MY EXTENDED FAMILY-I come from a huge extended family and they are the reason that my favorite movie is "<span style="font-style: italic;">My Big Fat Greek Wedding</span>" because it there are so many similarities between the family in that movie and my family.<br /><br />6. MY JOB-I love working at <a href="http://livingstones.cc/">Living Stones Church</a> and serving as the Children's Minister. I have a great team of people I work with and can't wait for some of the things on that are planned for the immediate future...both in Children's Ministry and across the church as a whole.<br /><br />7. MODERN TECHNOLOGY-I love my gadgets...my Nook, Smart Phone, Laptop, GPS, HDTV and all the other technology out there. I still have a hard time figuring out how radio and TV work, but I love it all!<br /><br />8. FOOD-It is obvious by looking at me that I enjoy food and lots of it. However, I am so thankful that I have ample food to eat because there are so many people who have a food shortage.<br /><br />9. MY FRIENDS-I have a great group of friends who are supportive and encouraging.<br /><br />10. THE CREATIVE GENIUS OF WALT DISNEY-So many of my favorite things in the world were created by Walt...particularly the Happiest Place on Earth in Florida (which as a side note if anyone wants to give me a Christmas gift, a trip to Disney is a great suggestion.)<br /><br />I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!</span><br /></span></span>Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-83429281846965792762011-11-03T17:45:00.000-07:002011-11-03T18:06:43.389-07:00Love You More<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLG4WYY21kFe-C9GRTYqteLDz57GLQ_naCN_clIXMi7Z4TiYOhyphenhyphen6aAVV9igfoC03cZZN-JWRm8fucg56BvpHdkDf7Y-DjtQJnOA1YZM0dXsiqM0x-IWkKKZnTtmrdmOKx8GaEiLgSpXPc/s1600/Love-You-More-cover.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLG4WYY21kFe-C9GRTYqteLDz57GLQ_naCN_clIXMi7Z4TiYOhyphenhyphen6aAVV9igfoC03cZZN-JWRm8fucg56BvpHdkDf7Y-DjtQJnOA1YZM0dXsiqM0x-IWkKKZnTtmrdmOKx8GaEiLgSpXPc/s320/Love-You-More-cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670935579312598530" border="0" /></a>I am loving this <a href="http://booksneeze.com">booksneeze</a> thing. I get free books to read for an honest review on my blog. Awesome!!<br /><br />The most recent book I have read is "L<span style="font-style: italic;">ove You More: The Divine Surprise of Adopting My Daughter</span>" written by Jennifer Grant. As the title implies, this is the author's story of the journey their family took in adopting their youngest daughter from Guatemala.<br /><br />I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt that the author was very honest of regarding the joys and struggles that the adoption process brings. As someone who is currently considering whether adoption is right for our family, this book has caused me (and my family) to think through some things that I had never even thought to consider in regard to the adoption process. There were also some interesting facts that she outlined regarding adoptions in different countries. I also liked the fact that she was very clear that adoption is not something for everyone and outlined many different ways that people could obey the Biblical command to care for orphans.<br /><br />Even if adoption is not something that is being considered by someone, I think this would still be an enjoyable and captivating read. It was an interesting and inspirational story. I would highly recommend this book!<br /><br />Happy Reading!!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-28880224190022188822011-11-02T17:00:00.000-07:002011-11-02T18:16:25.842-07:00Indoor Plumbing!!How is that for a blog title? :-) I know lots of people are doing the 25 days of thankfulness on their Facebook/Twitter/Blog this month and at first I considered it, but knowing how busy my life is I decided not to commit to an every day post about Thankfulness. Not that I don't have a million things to be for which to be thankful. I just know that I am super busy and it is already a day into November so I am already behind. :-) Anyway...I do plan to post several times regarding my thankfulness this month...just not committing to any number of days.<br /><br />Let me share a story....Over the weekend, we had a big plumbing issue come up in one of our bathrooms. So as not to pay the ridiculous weekend rates for a plumber, we were able to stop the immediate problem and just not use that bathroom. We scheduled the plumber to come out yesterday at 12:30. However, he didn't arrive until 4:45 PM which was a huge frustration because I had to rearrange a meeting and leave work early to meet him and then he didn't show up until 4 hours after the scheduled time. He had to access the pipes through a wall in the kitchen behind the fridge. Because the fridge had to be moved, it blocked the stove and I couldn't cook dinner (which was not such a bad thing) so we decided that we would probably have to eat out. I had to be somewhere at 6:30 but we couldn't leave the house to go out until the plumber left. We were hoping to avoid fast food, but ended up at Taco Bell at 6:05 (probably the grossest of the gross as far as fast food goes) where I inhaled my 2 fresco tacos and ran out the door to my meeting at 6:30.<br /><br />You may be thinking that this sounds a lot more like complaining than thankfulness. However, once I got over my frustration and thought about it, I realized just how lucky I am. I have not one, but two, working bathrooms in my house. I don't have to dig a hole, go to an outhouse or anything else. I can get water from several different faucets in my house any time I want. There are people all over the world who do not have clean water to drink AT ALL and I have enough water in my house that I can completely close off a bathroom and it not phase me at all.<br /><br />So, there you have it! I am thankful for indoor plumbing. Maybe not the most conventional thing to be thankful for, but I realized yesterday how much I took it for granted.Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-86782441719311302712011-10-27T10:30:00.000-07:002011-10-27T10:57:38.086-07:00My Job is More Fun Than Your JobAs most everyone knows by now, I left the world of public education after 17 years of teaching to become the Children's Minister at <a href="http://livingstones.cc/">Living Stones Church</a>. I am having a blast as the Children's<br />Minister. Sure there are some things about the job that aren't so fun.... like having 12 volunteers call you on the Sunday they are scheduled telling you they can't come because their hamster has a hangnail (A slight exaggeration...I have the best volunteers in the entire church and if they call me on a Sunday it is usually a VERY GOOD reason.)<br /><br />Here is why my job is so fun: <br /> <br />This is what I did in my office yesterday. You may be saying...what is this crazy me<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQocJpN-_z8-Cb8DSaDV_QgNVkh0Ihxb46jJThqQZlRU_xKKgsybxckBUpCK7krzzoRaNU-sE2shWh7C6yJ4krTPWJE5-BYwcrXn1XYe7D_QFQlGADBeK8g15y4XWWHMrGRLuY58Q1GK8/s1600/20111026144340.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQocJpN-_z8-Cb8DSaDV_QgNVkh0Ihxb46jJThqQZlRU_xKKgsybxckBUpCK7krzzoRaNU-sE2shWh7C6yJ4krTPWJE5-BYwcrXn1XYe7D_QFQlGADBeK8g15y4XWWHMrGRLuY58Q1GK8/s320/20111026144340.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5668227268032381794" border="0" /></a>ss? It is pasta that I colored. How many of you can say that you dyed pasta in your office yesterday! :-) I am working on curriculum supplies for the next month in Kids Kanyon and an activity in the curriculum for our preschoolers called for colored pasta. I typically don't LOVE putting all the curriculum supplies together or creating things (a job for which I will be recruiting volunteers in the near future.) So I am not sure why I enjoyed doing this so much, but I had a great time. I am not usually a fan of crafts involving macaroni, but I am excited about this one. I know the kids and the volunteers that get to use this pasta are going to love it as well. Want to find out what it is used for? You will just have to stay tuned or volunteer in the Explorers class on November 6th to find out.<br /><br />Anyway, I thought this was fun project that I may try to do with Anna in the near future. If you are interested in doing it yourself, here are the directions (which are totally stolen from Orange's <a href="http://http://whatisorange.org/firstlook/">First Look Curriculum</a>)<br /><br />SUPPLIES NEEDED: Pasta (I used Ziti, but any kind would work depending upon what you wanted to do with it), Food Coloring, Isopropyl Alcohol, Galloon Ziploc Bags, Newspaper.<br /><br />1. Fill the Ziploc Bag 1/3 full with the pasta.<br />2. Add 5-10 drops of food coloring. You can add more or less depending upon how dark you want the color to be<br />3. Add 1 Capful of Isopropyl Alcohol (which means you probably shouldn't eat the pasta once it is colored. :-)<br />4. Zip the bag and shake until all pasta is colored.<br />5. Spread colored pasta on newspaper to dry.<br />6. Once dry, store in Ziploc container.<br /><br />The pasta could be used or all sorts of craft projects or educational purposes (sorting, counting, color recognition, etc.)<br /><br />Can anyone top the fun factor in their job? Happy Coloring!!Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-89076813250333407442011-10-26T18:01:00.000-07:002011-10-26T18:01:00.163-07:00I WANT TO BE HERE!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rcF6fH2P9515uPc3b6L3Pcvx3h20lJGVT3MFHRcxu3IFE0pvcAy4EEldsplBE0L73k7HlIWuOdu7mesBQZyG_9JOhvZTV3k9Do5kb7HnLu2eyohV-Rc6zDeewCV1sxLCaiuyb3H6S3c/s1600/018+-+Copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rcF6fH2P9515uPc3b6L3Pcvx3h20lJGVT3MFHRcxu3IFE0pvcAy4EEldsplBE0L73k7HlIWuOdu7mesBQZyG_9JOhvZTV3k9Do5kb7HnLu2eyohV-Rc6zDeewCV1sxLCaiuyb3H6S3c/s400/018+-+Copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667229250535165746" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStqDoxXqYNPcmam_vpxzq1pIKYCXGnRWfIEakuuqqkqNFO3tHoziSo7R_LZfpvt8DRPSgCbDG6Y-Q7XiaZ4JHsahYU7rdupSDfcmnac55d5Gpbffz0ubTwoFS9Yu3XrXnGZUT-q3wqW8/s1600/005+-+Copy+%25282%2529.JPG"><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Enough Said! :-)</span><br /></div>Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-41035024932768683662011-10-24T13:17:00.000-07:002011-10-24T16:56:33.220-07:00Heaven is For Real... for Kids<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjloDedCa8oma8jOin_4PaV6XOKZerl6Eti98BYNj40EYbokiLDyuTUzgtFerS6WFDNPhY00pJ8EjImKGhqEwmYqMBQRCceUZYjmw17TxsFaKRSdLJA3uSOnhiRvdrHi80DVz6F4XL8OAQ/s1600/hi4r_kids.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 199px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjloDedCa8oma8jOin_4PaV6XOKZerl6Eti98BYNj40EYbokiLDyuTUzgtFerS6WFDNPhY00pJ8EjImKGhqEwmYqMBQRCceUZYjmw17TxsFaKRSdLJA3uSOnhiRvdrHi80DVz6F4XL8OAQ/s200/hi4r_kids.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667157818540810674" border="0" /></a>I received my second book from <a href="http://www.booksneeze.com/">booksneeze.com</a> to read in exchange for a review. The book I chose this time was "Heaven is for Real for Kids" as told by Colton Burpo to his parents Todd and Sonja Burpo. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am sort of addicted to my Nook Color and digital books. However, I chose to receive this book in hardcover because it was geared to children and much prefer a "real book" when it comes to children's books. <br /><br />I really enjoyed the book of the same title "Heaven is for Real" so I thought I would enjoy this as well. I also thought it would be helpful for me as a parent and as a Children's Minister.<br /><br />I thought the story and the message were great. The authors did a good job of breaking down the concepts tackled in the adult version of the book to level that is appropriate for children. The main theme that ran through the book was that "Jesus really loves children." That was one of the things that struck me the most in the adult version and was glad that theme was predominant in this book as well. If there is one message that I want Anna and the kids who are involved in the Children's Ministry at <a href="http://www.livingstones.cc">Living Stones Church</a>, that is it.<br /><br />This book also passed the 2 year old test as Anna sat through the whole book as I read it to her. She loves books, but if she doesn't like one she will try to close the book and get another one. I know she didn't understand everything in it, but it definitely engaged her attention. It seems to have details that would engage children of a wide array of ages. There is the basic story that a younger child would enjoy and has some additional details that would engage older children.<br /><br />If I had one criticism of the book, it would be the illustrations. I know they were done by a professional artist and I am not at all an expert of fine art. They were also based upon the observations that Colton had based upon his visit to heaven. However, I felt that the illustrations were not very clear and sort of felt like 1970's Sunday flannel graph pictures. I would say that while the illustrations are not great, the book is still worth reading.<br /><br />I am glad that I own a copy of the book and think it could be a great resource for Anna when she begins to ask questions about the people in our family who we have lost in her short life (my dad, Mark's mom and Mark's brother.)Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-30105463454536525432011-10-24T12:43:00.000-07:002011-10-24T13:03:03.898-07:00Good Intentions??<div>Lately, I have been realizing how my life is filled with good intentions. Before you begin to think how amazing I am with being well intentioned, you need to know that just because I have "good intentions" doesn't mean that I follow through on those intentions. I am super frustrated that I seem to be noticing more and more how I have good intentions to do something and those things are they type of person I want to be, I still have a hard time following through. Let me give you some examples:</div><div> </div><ul><li>There is a couple we know who I had <strong>intended</strong> on inviting over for dinner when they were newly dating because we thought we might have some things in common. We finally did have this couple over, about 3 years later. The couple is now married for over a year and expecting a baby. At least I followed through on this one, but there are many others where I was not so successful.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>I have an acquaintance in the area who is a friend of my sister who was basically a single mom for over a year while her husband was deployed to Afghanistan. Many times throughout his deployment, I <strong>intended</strong> to call/email/facebook her to see if I could bring her a meal/babysit/help with household tasks and yet I never did it.</li></ul><ul><li>I have <span style="font-weight: bold;">intended</span> to work out and lose weight as a part of my goals for 2011. I have not really lost any weight, my workouts are inconsistent and it is almost the end of October.</li></ul><ul><li>I want to be more frugal and have <span style="font-weight: bold;">intended</span> to eat out less and cook more and yet we are still on a first name basis with many of the servers at our favorite restaurants.</li></ul><ul><li>I have great <span style="font-weight: bold;">intentions</span> as far home maintenance, cleaning and improvements and even made a chore chart for Mark and I to follow but it has gone by the wayside.</li></ul>And the list goes on and on...Just blogging about this because it is frustrating to me that in so many areas I don't follow through on things in a way that I would like and that is not the person I want to be. I know that I should probably cut myself some slack because I work full time, have a two year old, a marriage to work at and am super busy in general...but I need to be proactive in being more than someone who has "good intentions." I also realize that many of these things are things that I am not very good at (cooking and cleaning) or don't enjoy very much (exercise and eating right) which makes it harder to follow through on my intentions, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't do it. Maybe by putting it out there in cyberspace, I will be better at taking action rather than just being well intentioned.<br /><br />Any suggestions on how to have more than just good intentions??<br /><p> </p>Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-352589338524658183.post-46122137420497945992011-10-11T14:00:00.000-07:002011-10-12T08:17:13.927-07:00One Call Away<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWh5hYT2zmZzOslsRrWzfBxhAHbR2Ie_z8JzV8pEKjjklV19zVAnLB2c_Z0AR-8E3-cwbuBnQSIWIhuIvQFdP0riMD9DLoxy2PphHEXI1TJUs-uo74Y7qbtKycVvSbOoeNekU2e6aKQBc/s1600/51ff5DBqZBL__BO2%252C204%252C203%252C200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click%252CTopRight%252C35%252C-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662324555626477170" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWh5hYT2zmZzOslsRrWzfBxhAHbR2Ie_z8JzV8pEKjjklV19zVAnLB2c_Z0AR-8E3-cwbuBnQSIWIhuIvQFdP0riMD9DLoxy2PphHEXI1TJUs-uo74Y7qbtKycVvSbOoeNekU2e6aKQBc/s200/51ff5DBqZBL__BO2%252C204%252C203%252C200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click%252CTopRight%252C35%252C-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>I am huge fan of reading. It is one of my favorite past times. I am especially loving it since getting a Nook for my birthday. Anyway, I discovered this website called <a href="http://booksneeze.com/">booksneeze.com </a>that gives you free access to books in exchange for reviewing them on your blog. So I thought I would try it it out.<br /><br />The book I chose is called <span style="font-style: italic;">One Call Away</span> by Brenda Warner.<br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>This book, written by the wife of retired NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, is the opportunity for the author to share her life stories and how her faith has helped her through some difficult circumstances in her life.<br /><br />The book is an easy read and kept my attention. I was very impressed how the author was very open with her life circumstances and how she dealt with them. It was wonderful to see how she relied on her faith as she struggled through an accident which left her son permanently disabled, a failed marriage, the death of her parents in a tornado, pregnancy losses and the pressure of dealing with NFL fame. In spite of these things, she held firmly to her faith.<br /><br />However, I was a bit frustrated that this seemed to be a faith based book, but that some incidents that were recounted in the book seem somewhat contrary to the faith that she was professing. The author received a huge amount of scrutiny from the media in her husbands early days in the NFL. Most of this scrutiny was probably unwarranted and fueled by the media's ability to sensationalize things. However, it also appeared that she made some poor decisions that contributed to this media scrutiny and I felt that this book was her way of trying to explain or make excuses for the behavior.<br /><br />Overall, it was an OK book. I am impressed that the author and her husband were able to hold tight to their faith and grow while being in the public eye. <br /><br />Well...folks that is all for now. Happy Reading!<br /></div></div>Amy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11497513562685841469noreply@blogger.com1