Book Review: One Thousand Gifts

January was a month of reading for me. I finished book #3 on Saturday while sitting in the ER with Jeremy, and I'm partway through three more books. One of those I'm purposely only reading one chapter a week so it will be a few months before I finish that one.

Anyway, book #3 was One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. I promise I don't LOVE every book that I read, but so far in 2012 I have loved every book I've read. However, One Thousand Gifts is the first book that I feel the need to buy and add to my permanent collection. It is so loaded with good stuff that it's just not possible to retain it all on the first read through.

The book tells the story of Ann's journey with the Lord as He taught her that He is good, all the time, no matter what. God showers us with grace and good gifts and we only need to open our eyes to see and receive. Ann writes with great imagery and helps you to see things in a way you maybe never have before. (Honestly her style is one that I'm not used to and I struggled with it at first, but it grew on me.)

The last half of 2011 was quite difficult for me as a parent. I really struggled to feel joy in my calling as a mother and I became painfully aware of my sinfulness, the depths of which I have never felt before. God and I are still on a journey that is helping me to embrace my calling as a mother and to love my children well and this book was probably one of the best that I could have read to help me along on that journey.

Book Review: Choosing to See

Last night I finished my second book of 2012. It only took me about 72 hours to read! What can I say... I guess I like memoirs.

It's called Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman (Steven Curtis Chapman's wife). You probably remember that their 5-year-old daughter died in 2008 after being struck by a car in their driveway. I had this book on my list to read last year and I think I was scared to read it because I thought it would be too sad. So this year I put it on my list again and, as luck would have it, it's one of the few books I could get my hands on at the library right now. I cracked the cover Saturday evening after the girls went to bed and I'm so glad I did.

The book is really about Mary Beth's life and her struggle to let go of her ideas of what her life should look like and instead let God write the story of her life. Most of it isn't sad, and several times I was actually laughing out loud, but do have a box of kleenex handy when you get toward the end of the book. As I was reading Sunday night, tears were streaming down my face for several chapters.

Despite the fact that their hearts were breaking, the Chapman family responded to their tragedy in a way that was so honoring to the Lord. It was a blessing to me to read it and I definitely recommend it to anyone.

Book Review: The Dirty Life - On Farming, Food and Love

Every January I like to make a list of books that I want to read that year. I think it helps me focus. Plus I love being able to look back and see what I've read recently. For example, I looked back at the list of books that I read in 2011 and was a bit surprised to find that most of the books were about parenting. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised considering that the second half of 2011 was especially challenging for me as a parent. I must have been looking for some help!

I just finished posting my 2012 reading list and already I have finished reading one of the books. Jeremy picked it up from the library last Friday evening and I finished it this morning. So it probably goes without saying that I loved it and found it to be a very quick read! It's called The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball. It's her memoir of being a city girl who fell in love with a farmer, married him and started a farm/CSA with him.

Over the past couple years I've become very interested in what I'm eating and serving my family, wanting to know where our food is coming from, wanting to eat fresh whole foods and such, and with that I've had a growing desire to move to the country and grow/raise more food for ourselves. And maybe somewhere deep down I have a crazy dream of being farmers.

Well let me tell you, this book takes all romantic notions of farming out of the picture and slaps you in the face with the harsh realities of what it takes. The things that the author has done (and has eaten) definitely make me think I could never do it! Farmers are amazing!

But the book was fascinating and entertaining to read. I couldn't put it down because I always wanted to know what crazy situation they would encounter next. If you have any interest in food or farming, I'd highly recommend reading this book.

December Meal Plan

For November I decided to try planning our dinners out for the whole month instead of one week at a time. And it turns out that I really like doing it that way so today I planned out our meals for December. My method this time was slightly different - each day of the week was assigned a "theme." Sunday is pizza night, Monday is slow cooker recipes, Tuesday is for new recipes, Wednesday is mexican, Thursday is soups, Friday is pasta and Saturday is miscellaneous. It worked out so great! I'd recommend it.

Here's what we'll be eating for December...

1- Chili in bread bowls, raw veggies & dip

2- Spaghetti carbonara, salad, garlic bread

3- Stuffed peppers, dinner rolls, salad?

4- Caramelized onion & prosciutto pizza

5- African stew over couscous, veggie?, dinner rolls

6- Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, chips, fruit

7- Mexican lasagna, applesauce

8- Cheeseburger soup, salad, biscuits

9- Spaghetti w/meatballs, frozen veg, garlic bread

10- Shredded turkey sandwiches, sweet potato fries, fruit

11- Pepperoni/pepper/onion pizza

12- Perfect pot roast, biscuits

13- dinner at small group

14- Texas chicken quesadillas, chips & salsa, fruit

15- Chicken meatball soup, corn bread

16- Lasagna, garlic bread, salad or veggie

17- Homemade chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, veggie

18- Pepperoni & sausage pizza

19- Slow cooker beef stroganoff, veggie or salad

20- California chicken wraps, chips, fruit

21- Tacos, fruit

22- Chicken noodle soup, biscuits, salad

23- Pasta w/white bean sauce, veggie

24- in WI

25- in WI

26- in WI?

27- Meatballs w/peppers and pineapple over rice

28- Chicken fajitas, chips and guacamole

29- Taco soup, biscuits

30- Homemade cheeseburger helper, veggie

31- Sweet & sour short ribs over noodles, frozen veggie

Many of these we've had before and liked, but some are new. I hope you find some you like!

November Meals

So I had a request or two for my November menu. I'm trying out planning meals a month at a time and so far I love it. Here's what on tap for this month...

Carrot & Potato Casserole

Beef Barley Vegetable Soup, biscuits

Risotto primavera, chicken breasts, salad

Butternut squash soup, bread

Garlic chicken alfredo pizza

Manicotti, salad, garlic bread

All Day Stew, biscuits, salad

Crock-pot chicken, acorn squash, salad

Chicken wild rice soup, salad, bread

French dip sandwiches, veggies & dip

Scotch eggs, toast, fruit

BBQ Chicken pizza

Chili in bread bowls, veggies & dip

Corn/ham/noodle casserole, biscuits, veggie

Chicken cacciatore, salad

Cheeseburger soup, salad, bread

Lasagna, veggie, garlic bread

Moroccan chicken & lentils, salad

Caramelized onion & prosciutto pizza

Stuffed peppers, biscuits

Fettucini alfredo, broccoli

Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, chips, fruit & veggies

Slow cooker beef stroganoff, salad

Italian chicken stew, biscuits

Couscous w/African stew, biscuits, salad

That's a meal for almost every night. It's inevitable that some nights we'll have leftovers instead or eat at a friends house, etc. Anything not eaten in November will be the start of December's meal plan. About half of these are tried and true favorites of ours and the other half are brand new recipes we've never tried before. I hope you try some and enjoy!