the hiding place

i have finished my first book of 2012, so i am well on my way to accomplishing my new years resolution of one book a month. january- check! next task: the entire chronicles of narnia.

the book i read was "the hiding place". if you've never read it, i beg you to go and get it and read it. it's less than 250 pages and it is an absolutely incredible story. in case you have never read it, allow me to share a brief summary.

it is the true story of corrie ten boom, a dutch Christian fighting against the nazi's during WWII. her world changes when she is arrested and then imprisoned, but her faith does not. she suffers and experiences the absolute worst things imaginable and some, unimaginable; she lives in fleas and lice; she works back breaking labor while in her 50's at the concentration camp; she sees men and women killed before her and then, sees how they dispose of the bodies; her father, sister, and nephew are all killed; she lives off basically nothing; she sleeps on a wood slat with 4 other women and no blanket, and yet through all of this and so much more, she and her sister, betsie, live every day for Christ and are missionaries to everyone they meet. they pray for those beating them, they pray for those suffering with them. they reach out to anyone who needs them in any way they can. they share everything they have, even though they had practically nothing. they are constantly led by the Spirit and she lives to tell their tale.

this story is a story of faith- unyielding, undying, and true faith. it is hard to read some of the things she went though, it almost seems impossible. but what does seem more than possible, but truly amazing, and what relieves you of the terrible tragedies of her life, are the absolute miracles she experiences. if you don't believe in modern miracles, read this book. it is full of them. again, allow me to briefly summarize one:

the first night they (corrie and betsie) arrived in the concentration camp, they were forced to strip down and undergo and thorough medical inspection. they had been hiding a small bible around a string, hanging down their back, through the prison and the prison camp but now, they were unsure what to do. she prayed "Dear God, You have given us this precious Book; You have kept it hidden through checkpoints and inspections; You have used it for so many" and at that moment her sister became faint. the guards told corrie to take betsie into the bathoom, there, they found a hiding place for their bible. after their inspections, they went into that same bathroom to put on their new "clothes" (which were more like horrible and disgusting rags). corrie put the bible again around her neck, although now the clothes were so thin, and she too was so thin, that she was terrified it would be found, but she carried it anyway. everyone was receiving a pat down on their way out of the bathroom; the lady in front of her was pat down 3 times, betsie, behind her, was pat down, but she was not. they kept that bible the entire time they were in the camp. when corrie was released, she gave it to another lady in the camp.

this book inspired me. it made me want to be more faithful, more committed to what i know to be true, that Christ lives! and that through Him, we all have the chance to live eternally with our Heavenly Father.

i would like to just share a few of the quotes from the book that i found particularly inspiring. again, if you have not read this book go to the library or to a book store and get it. it's worth every second you will spend reading it.


“Dear Jesus...how foolish of me to have called for human help when You are here.”


“This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” 


“Even as the angry vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him....Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness....And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself.”

weekend in HHI

this past weekend matt, evan, and i traveled to katie's house for a long weekend (thanks mlk for a day off!). it was matt's first weekend away from seneca in, well, forever (thanks band for running our lives!). matt had never been to katie's apartment or hilton head island and he was pumped- he loves few things more than nice weather and palm tree scattered terrain.

friday we just hung out at katie's apt. saturday we spent the whole day on the island. we toured katie's school (matt had obviously never seen it) then we went to the salty dog cafe for lunch. we had never been there but it was great food and a lot of fun to shop around all the little, local, shops everywhere around the restaurant. evan was so happy! everyone kept saying "he is such a happy baby!" and then when we would see people from the restaurant in stores they would say "oh, there's that happy baby!"

later that night, after plenty of window shopping and hanging out, we went to another restaurant- the skull creek boathouse. my parents were treating us to dinner there since when they went, they loved it and insisted matt and i be able to try it too. when we got there, we had to valet park. i noticed near the valet parking they had a john huntsman poster. i thought it was strange since you didn't see many and so i pointed it out. then when we rolled down our window for the valet, i said "he's here!" because i could hear him talking. while none of us were huntsman supporters, we are all gop supporters and it was awesome to see a candidate and get to hear him speak. he was doing a rally at the skull creek boathouse! then he dropped out of the race 2 days later, but that's beside the point. we had an AMAZING dinner of low country boil and a great day all around.

sunday we went to church with her and enjoyed dinner and movies and games at her apt, since we don't go out on sundays, which is part of why they are my favorite day of the week. we had to head home monday but not before we went to lunch, hibachi! evan sat in a high chair for the first time at a restaurant!

it was a perfect weekend. i am so blessed to have katie as my sister. not only do i adore her and miss her when we aren't together, but her and matt get along so well and have such fun when they're together. not to mention how much she and evan love each other. it's just wonderful to have wonderful family. now if she could just be a little bit closer...

5 months

whoa- really? 5 months old!! how did my baby grow up so fast (okay, 5 months is still pretty darn young). since he didn't have a doctors appointment this month, i cant share with you any official stats, because i dont have any. also not a lot about his development and/or personality has changed since 4 months. the biggest change is he now eats cereal every day, which is actually pretty exciting. but what i can share with you instead of stats is a list of little known facts about my sweet baby evan.

-he always sneezes in multiples, and so does his dad. can that be inherited?

-he has his daddy's eyes but my dad's eye color and super expressive eyebrows

-he loves books, a lot, and i actually think he prefers looking at the words to the pictures a lot of the time

-he loves his paci but is not addicted to it and can function without it, which will be good when i want to get rid of it at his first birthday

-he has always loved tummy time, which i understand for many babies is not ever true

-he is such a faker- he will fake fuss to get what he wants, he will fake laugh to make you smile, he will give you a smile just to please you, it's all adorable

-he's addicted to chewing on his hands! i don't know how he does it, but he will manage to have up to 8 fingers in his mouth at once.

-he is such a drooler- way worse than his mommy (if you didn't know... i'm quite the drooler, whah whah)

-he is really easily startled but he finds it funny to be so

-although not so little known, he is awesome, beautiful, sweet, loving, and perfect. i wouldn't trade him for anything, anywhere, anytime. he is my favorite thing in the world.

resolutions

i am a goal setter- constantly. i have always been a list maker and i love few things more than seeing a list where everything is marked through, meaning done. but resolutions to me are a little different than goals. my goals are typically very short term. my lists are frequently accomplishable in a day be them a grocery list, a cleaning list, a phone call list, etc. but resolutions for me are changes i want to make in the long term and in many ways, permanently. so this year i have set 3 new years resolutions, and here they are:

1. send out birthday cards. i want to send an actual card via usps to my friends and family on their birthdays and/or other special occasions. one great thing about having a baby is getting a lot of gifts and i wrote a personal thank you for each one and loved it! i loved spending my time writing them, i loved addressing them, stamping them, and putting them in the mail box, and i loved knowing someone was being thanked for their kindness. so i want to have that feeling all year by mailing cards.

2. read at least one book a month- 12 books in '12. i used to be a great reader. growing up i was always reading. i haven't completely lost that, i read a number of books in 2011, but i am not consistent with it. i am the type who gets hooked in one series, reads all of them, and then doesn't read again for a while. well no more. not just 12 books this year, but one a month- consistency. my first read "the hiding place" by corrie ten boom. i will let you know how it is when i finish it.

3. keep up with my family photo album as it goes. my plan is to print out a photo book each year of my family's happenings but now i need to do all of 2011, soon. that's so overwhelming and it takes so much time to make the photo books, even though the sites are great. so i figure if i keep up with it as the year goes by, i won't be so overwhelmed, my memories will be more accurate, and i will probably have a cuter product because i will take my time.

i will keep everyone posted on my progress. i wish all of you the best of luck in keeping your resolutions this year. i know 2012 is going to be an awesome year!