Gravel Road Musings

It's a year today!! How can it be? I feel like I've been holding my breath this week, maybe even this month. I'm not sure why and I for sure am not sure that I will be able to coherently express my thoughts that will make any sense to anybody, but it doesn't need to either. I was thinking about this yesterday, pondering what I was going to write today and I think I might understand a little bit of why I've been holding my breath. You survive the first year and you survive all the firsts that you have to do alone. You reach the first year mark and you can no longer look back and say "Last year, we did this and this". On the first year anniversary, I think there's so much closure in a final, final, final way. I'm not going to even being to profess I understand what Jason and Braxton, Nelson and Melinda, Gwen and Wendall and all Cheryl's other close friends are going through. To each of us she was someone different, someone special, bu...

A Ridiculous Little Dog, a Family Who Lost Everything, and How They All Found Their Way Home One morning, the Hodgson family awoke to their fire alarms blaring. Thinking it was a false alarm, they turned them off and went to check things out. The alarms started again. Rousing their children, they stumbled out the door and saw their garage was on fire. A random arsonist, it seems, stumbled on to their house and decided to burn it down. Over the course of the next few months, more houses burned. And while their house was never identified with the other houses, it was likely it was all the same guy. Over the course of the next year, they dealt with insurance claims and paperwork and paperwork and post-traumatic-stress-disorder and decisions about building a new house and on and on. But finally they are back in their house, but it's not home. Nothing is familiar, even the landscape outside changed with digging for a new house. It take time to readjust. It takes time and a 9-year-o...

Yes, I know, what a title. My last post, I lambasted an author for using bad language and then I start out this post with a title like that!!  Trust me, I think it's mostly clean, this post that is. It's just something that struck me funny in a bathroom last Sunday. It was nursing home singing last Sunday for our group and "Pat ourselves on the back," NOT, we actually went. I won't say how many times we've gone since we moved back, let's just say my uncle could count them on his left (I think that's the right hand) hand. Are you confused? Me too, so don't worry about it. The family that knows my uncle might be able to figure it out and the rest of you--it's not important. Anyway, back to the topic. I went to use the bathroom in the nursing home. It was a public bathroom, but remember this is a home for OLD folks. Two things struck me funny in the bathroom. First off  this  picture. I tried to actually put the picture on my blog, but I can...

A Physician's First Year Being a nurse, this book really intrigued me and it was very interesting. It told the ups and downs of a resident's first year on the job, the life-threatening situations he dealt with, his accidental needle stick from an HIV+ patient and his ensuing regimen of meds, the man who badly needed a new heart who got one at the end of the book, his first successful time running a code and so on and so on. He talked about the fatigue and the way medicine took over his mind and he saw people's skin conditions or their limp and hypothesized about how they got it.  I believe Matt really wanted to connect with his patients and I believe he did as best as he could. You could see his confidence building as the book went on and his first year as a resident came to a close. Matt has a very interesting way of writing that held your attention and I read the book very quickly. However, I cannot recommend this book to anyone else and I am planning on pitching th...

Pictures by David Miles I really, really like this book. It has 50 reusable stickers and there are actually places in the book that most of the 50 stickers are supposed to go. Some of the other books I have gotten will have spots for about a quarter of the stickers, so I really like that there are many designated spots for stickers.  There are various activities: sticker pages, dot-to-dot, word search, coloring pages, word scramble, crossword puzzles, etc. Because of that though, this book is geared for an older child. It says 4-8 and that's true for a lot of the activities, but I'm guessing a typical four-year old isn't going to be doing the crossword puzzles or word scrambles. I think it would make a great gift or a nice quiet activity for church. I was very pleased with the book. The pictures are big and would be easy for a younger child to color but then there are things that would keep the attention of an older child as well. I received this book from Book Look...

7  And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 8  And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 9  For so was it charged me by the word of the  Lord , saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. 10  So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. 11  Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. 12  And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. 13  And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode ther...

This is the second book I have gotten that was written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and I was not disappointed.  It's a cute little story about a wren who was watching the animals around her and thought they could do such wonderful things, the kingfisher could dive, the fish could swim, the eagle could soar, and etc. but what could she do? And then a beautiful sunset caused her to burst out into a beautiful song of thanks to God that filled the canyon and she discovered that she had a wonderful thing to do as well. The book says it is for ages 4-8 and I would say that's fairly appropriate, though I think even younger could enjoy the story and pictures. The illustrations are nicely done. I'm can't think of the right word to describe them: whimsical, cute, quaint, I'm not sure, but I like them. This would make a nice gift for the littles in your life or just to add to your own collection of children's books. It's hardcover with a book jacket. It will look nic...

This is the story of two people, a boy and a girl of course; the boy comes from an abusive father and a loving and God-fearing mother. While wealthy, his home was not a place of fond memories. The girl comes from a loving though gold-seeking father and an ailing, loving and God-fearing mother. She wants a permanent home where she can stay for years and the love of a good man. Both have been a embittered by life and neither one is sure that God is to be trusted. Through hard times and the unfailing example and memory of their mothers, they both come to a trusting relationship with God and accept Him to be a God of love and compassion,  a God they can rely on who does love them. And then, of course, they get married. You didn't expect anything else did you? But, that being said, and it appearing like a chick flick, I like Tracie Peterson and I like her style of writing. Of interest, the girl's father was mining for gold and kept finding these pesky blue "balls" whic...

Well, rats, I was going to make this easy and post some pics from my Instagram account only to realize I don't know how or you can't, one of the two. So while I take the round about way to find those pictures, let me talk about some other things. I received this book in the mail this week and I loved it. There are two cds that come with the book and they contain songs to go with each Bible story and also a picture that you can download to color that matches the picture in the book. It's a nice hardcover book and I was so very impressed by it. I am going to stash it away for Amber for a birthday gift some year. Yes, I have no problem saving my free books to pass along as birthday gifts to my children. In fact, I think it's kind of brilliant if I can get them free gifts!! Something else that struck me this week was a reading from my daily devotional book "The One Year Home and Garden Devotions" by Sandra Byrd. Here's a snippet: "And yet, we can...

Grace-filled Truth for the Momma's Heart This is a book for moms who need grace, for moms who need assurance that they are a good mom. Some of Becky's subtitles to her chapters are: "God Hasn't Forgotten About You", "God is Good Even When Life Isn't", "You Are Not Alone", "Let God Be Your Strength", and "Have Grace for Who You Are". This was a good book. I have only been a mom to a living child for a 13.5 months and I have discovered that it is hard and it can be lonely. Life isn't about just me anymore or even just me and my husband. There is a little person who demands my attention 24 hours a day and 23 hours of the day I love to give it, but there are times when I am tired and ready to just walk away for a little and not worry that the baby is going to wake up or be tired of her current toys, etc. I run out of patience and can get a little snappish and that is not good, but there were a couple things that Be...

Aww!! It's such a cute little book.  It starts out with a little girl being born and the parents admiring the love and joy the sweet little girl. It then traces her throughout some of the major milestones: walking, six years old, seventh grade, first dance, marriage, and then the dad growing old and feeble, etc.  With each section, there's a little paragraph talking about the stage and how the mom or dad was there for the little girl and then there's a little rhyme about holding your hand through whatever comes. This is followed by some Bible verses and then a prayer.  It's just a really nicely put together book. The pictures are cute in a whimsical sort of way. The story is Bible-based and so true. Amber will always be our little girl and I want to be there to hold her hand through whatever comes her way and to ask God to guide her and us on this journey called life. It's gift-book size and I think I would gift it to either a mom just starting out with a litt...