Hannah's First Baby Doll

Brian took Hannah to Target yesterday night while I was at church to buy a Baby Doll. They waited until I got home to open it.

Here is a picture of Hannah grooving to some tunes and a picture at the park.

Shoes

Thirteenth Tale, American Idol picks, Compassion

I really liked this paragraph from The Thirteenth Tale- "Everybody has a story. It's like families. You might not know who they are, might have lost them, but they exist all the same. You might drift apart or you might turn your back on them, but you can't say you haven't got them. Same goes for stories... You are at liberty to say nothing, if that is what you want. But silence is not a natural environment for stories. They need words. Without them they grow pale, sicken and die. And then they haunt you."

My current American Idol thoughts
Bottom Three
Kristy
Syesha
Brooke

Next to go- Jason

My top picks at least for now (in order)
David Cook
David Archuleta- Brian is not too into him, but I like him
Michael Johns
Carly

I am very happy to say that after 4 months of procrastination, our family is finally sponsoring a child through Compassion International www.compassion.com. We picked a little 3 year old girl from Tanzania whose birthday is one day before Hannah's. We are so excited!

The Thirteen Tale

Not that anyone is probably going to read this blog entry besides you mom, but I am going to write it for my own benefit. When my very smart friend Erin wrote on her blog that this book was one of her favorite books of all time, I decided I had to read it. For her review of the book, check out her website: http://bestsellers.about.com/od/fictionreviews/gr/thirteenth_tale.htm. So I read it in three days. I haven't read a book that fast since the last Harry Potter. I have to admit, it is not a book I would have read on my own, and if they made a movie from the book, I probably never would have gone to see it (mainly b/c it would be a little freaky). But from page one, I couldn't put the book down. It has been a very long time since I have read a bestseller, and it was very refreshing. That could be a little misleading b/c the novel is not really a "refreshing" book, but after reading the heavy Brothers Karamazov- it really was refreshing.

So, the main thing I really liked about the book was the theme of storytelling. Actually, I found it interesting that I read this book when I did. The other book that I am reading at the moment is a psychology book about writing out your own story (To Be Told by Dan Allender). The novel was was a nice companion in a weird way. In the novel, a woman named Margaret is commissioned by a famous British writer, Vida Winter, to write her biography. Margaret goes and lives in her house and Ms. Winter shares her story during their daily meetings. The book is packed with libraries, big houses, twins, gardeners, interesting people, ghosts, etc. It is a story about a storyteller telling her story. I really did enjoy it. But, it is a book that you feel like you need to read a second time after you read the ending-- and of course you don't really have time to read it again:(

I think my next book will be Atonement which is also about an author.