Come to the Table - Book Review

Some books are so lyrical, the prose rains down from the page (Peace Like a River). Some are so well-written you delight in the way the words were put down (Anne of Green Gables). Some books, like Neta Jackson's Come to the Table read more like a movie than a book.

While I admire Jackson once again for tackling issues that are often left untouched (race issues in the church, urban problems, homelessness and food pantries), her writing didn't do it for me. There were just so many details in the book (who was eating what, who was going where, what so-and-so was wearing), and the characters agonized over every conversation they had, meaning we re-hashed it all with them a la high school crushes, that getting to the meat of the story wasn't easy. (Just like getting to the meat of that sentence. Ha.) I found myself just wanting to sit the characters down and say, "You tell him what you want to say. You tell her. Okay. Done deal." Instead I watched them dance around issues, drop hints, and get frustrated that their two-minute conversations were constantly interrupted.

The main character of the book, Kat, is learning about poverty, Jesus and food, feeding the hungry, how to help. All good and necessary topics for Christians to explore. I wish the issues were explored more thoroughly, but at least they opened up areas to think about. (I remember that Jackson's Yada Yada series also brought up good topics). The transformation Kat undergoes seems realistic and easy to follow. But overall, I feel that the book could have just been written better. Harsh, I know. But there it is.

One problem I had with this book was that one of the characters is HIV-positive, and a lot of the information shared about living with someone with HIV is, as I understand it, incorrect. FYI.

If you're looking for an easy read, likable characters, and a straight-forward plot, this book might be for you. If you want really good writing, a story to lose yourself in, and depth, you may want to keep looking.

Note: Booksneeze has provided me with a complementary e-book in exchange for my honest review. The opinions are my own.

Created for Care

Sometimes in the never-ending, always-repeating, happy-mostly, tired-usually life that is motherhood to many small children, the opportunity comes up to step away. To leave the precious babies in the capable hands of their father, and go be with other women whose heart beats to the same rhythm as mine, in a place where we ask God to meet us.

I'm sure there are multiple ways to find this type of retreat. But for me, Created For Care is one of the highlights of my year. For the third time (and they've only had three years of it!), I've gone away with some of my favorite people to be not only rested, refreshed, and renewed, but to be challenged, convicted, and changed. It's the type of retreat where there are quiet places for being still, times of incredible, life-changing corporate worship, plenty of laughs and conversations that go deep, and practical teaching that affects my parenting, marriage, home, and life, and walk with Jesus.

(Hearing 450 women who have stepped onto the hard and uncharted paths of adoption and foster care singing Jesus' promises back to Him and declaring Him strong, good, loving, faithful, full of restoration...it was almost too much to take this side of heaven.)

The fact that these ladies who truly are some of my favorites on planet earth go too is too good to be true.

 (Adrienne, Laura, Alison, me. We all travelled to Rwanda together to bring home our kids. So thankful these women are in my life.)

It was so good, too to meet more Rwanda Mamas and connect with some I hadn't seen since the last C4C. I love the Rwanda adoption community!

Thanks to some car trouble, Adrienne didn't get to meet Mason and the big boys. Sad! I'm glad that Laura and Alison did. Did I mention I love these three ladies?

And while I'm sad that C4C is over for another year (for me anyway; there's another one in March!), I'm glad to be back doing more of this:

...and doing my best, by the grace of God, to steward these blessings in my care. And listening to Candi Shelton on repeat. :)

Cory Turns Five!

Cory Daniel Boone turned five last week. I have rarely seen him so excited. He wanted a Daniel Boone party, of course, and wanted his cousins (actually my cousins) to come.You got it, buddy. 

The day before Cory's birthday, January 14th, was a big one here. We had this guy celebrating his last day as a four:

And this lady turned two-and-a-half: (look at that sass!)

And this guy here turned two months old:

On Cory's actual birthday, we celebrated at Timothy (their one-morning-a-week school) with cupcakes. He opened his presents from Grammy and Papa when we got home.

The day before the big party, everybody was excited! And apparently cold. Nan arrived and played bowling-with-balls-and-legos with the kids.

And we made the birthday banner:

And I worked on the cake. Cory wanted a cake featuring Daniel Boone shooting a deer, complete with bullets hanging in mid-air. But when he saw one like this that Alison made, he decided a Daniel Boone Campsite cake was perfect.

I tried to get him to let me make feet hanging out of the tent.

Cory: Daniel Boone would NOT have hung his feet out of the tent.

Me: But maybe the tent was too small for him?

Cory: He would NOT have used a too-small tent.

Me: What if he suddenly grew too big for it?

Cory: That would NOT happen, Mom. He is off looking at deer. His feet can't be in the tent.

Me: Okay...but it would have been cute.

And with lit candles:

 The big day! Cory was decked out in his Daniel Boone costume and loving it. Look at that grin!

 The Mercantile. The kids shot balloons with BB guns, and inside each balloon was a picture of an animal and how many pelts they earned from it. Then they traded in the pelts for candy. So fun!

Nan and Mason

 Aunt Steph and Mason

 Peeking at the cake.

Gun safety with Uncle Curtis:

 Cory "Daniel Boone" Brannon

 Shooting at balloons. He and Iain were pretty good shots!

Checking to see what animal he got:

Annie Oakley?

Opening presents:

Happy birthday to you!

Smores around the campfire.

Present from Nona:

Jenna and Curtis on the swing.

Dear Cory,

How can you be five already? You are such a wonderful, fun, zany, kind, fiery, sweet, smart little boy. You have grown and changed so much in the past year. You've grown in self-control, in smarts, in abilities, and in size, for sure! You are best friends with Iain and you love playing with him more than just about anything. And you're a good big brother to Laina and Mason. You are kind and play sweetly with them. And you're my big helper with Mason. You know how to feed him in the car, and you call yourself the paci king because you're the best at helping him with his paci! You have risen to the challenge of being a big brother not once, but twice over the past year and a half and you do it well. 

You have the BEST sense of humor. You're witty, silly, and funny. You crack us up all the time with your imitations, especially of Kid Snippets. ("Hello bakery, are ya here?") And the way you laugh at slapstick humor is so all-boy. It's terrific.

You're a smart guy, too. I sometimes have to make you stop calling out the answers when I'm drilling Iain on his math. And your teachers at church are impressed with your answers to their questions, too. 

Our prayer for you this year is that you would draw closer to Jesus and love Him more every day. We are incredibly proud of you, Cor, and we love you so much. Even if you keep stealing my yellow sweatshirt. Hugs and kisses,

Mama and Daddy

Cliffs Notes

I am bound and determined to catch up on this blog. I love keeping it--it's a baby book, a family chronicle, an adoption record, a scrapbook, a way to keep up with people, a way to remember. But when I get behind on it, it feels like a burden. So: catching up, the cliff's notes version.

This is how we do school a lot of the day. I feed Mason or rock him, and read to these turkeys. We do a lot of reading lately.

Cory and Iain made a massive town all over the living room floor, complete with Big Ben.

The boys have loved playing Battleship, a Christmas present from the Whatleys.

Footies and a fire in the fireplace. Love it!!

Cory has taken to sleeping with a hat on. Camo or his Daniel Boone coonskin cap. So cute.

Laina went and got her denim jacket on to match my shirt. Girls are so fun. :)

Kelly and I took the kids to Ikea on Kids Eat Free day. They are a crazy bunch of nuts. Love them all! :)

 This guy has started smiling! With the big eyes and the dimples, he's a heartbreaker to be sure.

We had some plumbing problems in the hall bathroom that resulted in a new floor, toilet, and newly painted walls. While the plumber/tiler (a very nice guy from our church) was working, the kids stood in the hallway and watched. The whole time. And asked constant questions, which he was very kind to answer. The whole time.

Iain made this fire pit in the back yard. We used it for Cory's Daniel Boone party.