My nephew

My sister's baby, Benjamin, is now seven months old. I wish I could see him more often than I do, but they live 600 miles away. As Ben gets older, I look forward to cute conversations with him on the phone, and getting little letters from him in the mail. I can't wait to see what his personality will be like, and hear what his voice sounds like. He's definitely a gift from God!

Here he is, in all his cuteness:



















Giddy-up, Teddy!

I have a confession to make.

My Christmas tree is still up.

Yes, it's almost a month after Christmas, and the tree is still there in the corner of the living room. It's an artificial tree, so I don't have to worry about it drying out and shedding its needles everywhere.

Why is it still up? Well, I just haven't gotten around to taking it down yet. There's always something else to do.

It's been there for so long that it seems like part of the living room decor now...it's going to look empty in that corner when I take it down!

It would save me some work next Christmas if I just left it up all year! Hmmmm....

No, I don't think I'd be able to endure the strange looks from people visiting my home in June or July and seeing the Christmas tree, all sparkly and bright, standing in the corner.

No, I will have to take it down this week.

Confession over.

Surprised after all...

When I discovered that Andrew was flying my family down for my birthday, I assumed that they were coming on Sunday morning. On Saturday evening, Andrew and I left home to "go out for dinner together," but first he stopped by the grocery store to buy something while I waited in the car. Then we drove on a little further; I had no idea where we were going. Then he got a phone call and said that he needed to go back to the house to fax something to one of his company's drivers, and that it couldn't wait. We got back to our house (we had been gone about 25 minutes at that point) and he asked me if I wanted to come in with him. I said I'd just wait for him in the car. He came back out about a minute later and said he thought one of our cats had "made a mess" in the living room, so I figured I should go in and clean it up, since we'd be having company the next day.

When I got inside, everyone jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!" I saw Andrew's family, my family (who had flown in that evening), and some friends of ours. I was truly surprised that my party was at my own house! And I was very glad I had cleaned the place up!

I had a WONDERFUL weekend with my family. It was so cool for the four of us siblings to just hang out, and for all of us to enjoy the togetherness that we rarely get to experience anymore with us living so far away. We made a lot of good memories this weekend. They flew back to Oregon last night. I miss them!

And by the way, being 30 isn't that bad!

For more great pictures and my sister Anna's description of the weekend, visit her blog by clicking on "Anna and Matt's Page" under my links!

Here's Andrew and me with the beautiful birthday cake my mother-in-law made, and my whole family after church on Sunday (minus my sister's husband):

Books!

As you can probably tell from the background of my blog, and the way I compare my life to a story under the blog title, I love books. I have a modest antique book collection. I have a library (really more of an office, but hey, a girl can dream) with one wall of bookshelves filled to the brim and overflowing with books of all sorts (and more books in the living room).

Aside from my relationship with Christ, books define me. When I think of myself, I think of books -- the books I read as a child, the books I've collected over the years, the way books have challenged my thinking, increased my vocabulary, introduced me to characters (fictional and real) that I otherwise would never have met. Almost every night you'll find me reading in bed, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. I really enjoy volunteering in our church library. I joined a women's book club last year. I guess you could call me a bookworm!

I love how books open up new worlds, encourage me, make me laugh and cry. I love coming to the end of a story and breathing out a deep sigh of satisfaction at the perfect ending of a tale well told. I love drinking in language that sings and dances and flies across the page in the hands of a skilled writer. What do you love about books?

I'm currently reading The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God by Dallas Willard. All I can say is "Wow." I'm only on chapter 3 and my thinking has already been challenged and I am looking at the Christian life in a new way. It's not an easy read...it's pretty deep. But I can't wait to read the rest of it! What book are you reading right now?

Here are some of my favorite quotes on books:

"The familiar faces of my books welcomed me. I threw myself into my reading chair and gazed around me with pleasure. All my old friends present -- there in spirit, ready to talk with me any moment when I was in the mood, making no claim upon my attention when I was not." ~ George MacDonald

"Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

"Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier." ~ Kathleen Norris

"In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." ~ Mortimer Adler

"In a very real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read. " ~ S.I. Hayakawa

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. " ~ Dr. Suess

How many readers do I have?

Sometimes I wonder how many people actually read this blog on a regular basis...the little counter at the bottom of the page indicates that quite a few people have read it...probably half of that number is me coming on to check if anyone has commented on my latest entry! (hee hee)

So just for fun, and because we all know how curious I am (see previous post), if you are a regular reader of "Turning the Pages," could you leave me a comment telling me so? Even those of you who have never left a comment before? (If you really don't want to leave a comment, or don't know how, and you have my personal e-mail address, you could let me know that way too!)

I love surprises (even ruined ones)!

In order to understand this story, you need to know that my 30th birthday is coming up this weekend (scary, I know).

So I was sitting at my computer yesterday afternoon, checking e-mail or something important like that. Unlike my dear, sweet husband Andrew, I'm not oblivious to the world when I'm working; I still pay attention to what's going on around me (one of the perks of being a woman).

I heard Andrew make a phone call in his office, right across the hall, and then, while he was still talking on the phone (trying to keep his voice down, I noticed) he walked down the hall and went into the garage to continue the conversation, shutting the door behind him. He does not usually conduct his telephone conversations in the garage.

Immediately my sharp little mind concluded he was planning something for my birthday that he didn't want me to hear. Maybe he was ordering flowers to be delivered. Maybe he was making reservations for a nice dinner or a trip somewhere. My mind immediately jumped into Sherlock Holmes mode, and I thought, "Maybe the phone number for whatever place he called is still up on his computer screen (assuming that he looked something up online)." So without stopping to think about the implications, I rushed across the hall to his office and looked at his computer.

On the screen was a confirmation e-mail from Southwest Airlines. Again, not pausing to think about the fact that I was about to ruin a good surprise, I glanced down at the passenger names and saw my parents' names -- at that point, I began to feel guilty and didn't read the name under theirs (although I saw that there were more names there). I jaunted back over to my office as Andrew came out of the garage, still on the phone. I heard him give a confirmation number and ask about adding another person for the same rate (why he thought I would not be paying attention to his conversation, I have no idea).

At this point, I had a decision to make. I could pretend I didn't know about the surprise, keep it in all week and then act really surprised when I saw my family this weekend, or I could come clean with Andrew and admit that I had peeked. The idea of such deception didn't sit well with me, so I decided to confess. I jokingly tried to blame Andrew for not being more careful about calling the airline with me in the house (I notice EVERYTHING, especially anything out of the ordinary). But I had to admit that I was also to blame for giving in to my curiousity about who he had called! I told him it was still a surprise, whether I found out now or on Sunday, and that it was a really great gift (which truly, it is). I know he was a little disappointed, because he had been looking forward to my reaction when I saw them. To be honest, I was a little mad at myself for spoiling such a great surprise.

But in the end, I think that my knowing about their coming will work out for the best. My mom, dad, brother, two sisters, and baby nephew will all be spending Sunday night here, so I am glad for the chance to clean my house and get the guest room ready and have enough food in the fridge for them! It'll save my dad some money on postage, too, as he was going to mail me my birthday presents so they'd arrive by my birthday (which is Saturday), so I wouldn't get suspicious.

Moral of the story for Andrew: Always conduct secret surprise conversations at the office where curious wife cannot overhear!

Moral of the story for me: Learn to ignore secret surprise conversations I might happen to overhear!

P.S. I'M SO EXCITED THAT MY FAMILY WILL ALL BE HERE FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love creative writing!

Granted, I don't do as much of it as I used to, but maybe my new creative writing blog, Inkstains on Blank Pages, will help motivate me!

Check out the link over there on the left sidebar!

Rain, rain, go away!

Rain. Lots of rain. Pouring, flowing, saturating our back yard.

Leaky skylight:

drip,

drip,

dripping into a green plastic bowl on the dining room floor.

Gray and gloomy outside. Too much rain.

Messy yard. WetFallenYellowWillowLeavesStickingToOurShoes and hitching a ride inside. Messy entryway.

No sunshine or blue sky. I miss them.