and now for my final TRICK: 05/01/2009

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Finally

Well, it has been a busy few weeks, and we are so glad to be mostly unpacked in our new home. We have had a great welcome back to Denver from family and friends and are excited to do some of those fun things we were missing while living in the Springs.

Moving with an infant and a toddler is about as awful as you would imagine. We don't expect to do it again until they are strong enough to carry boxes! Holden is sleepng like a champ and loving her new house. Everett is not sleeping at all after two illnesses and we are back to square one with two to three hours of crying in the middle of the night. We are finally strong enough to tackle the issue and are praying that it improves in a few days.

Here are some pictures of our last few weeks

Grandma and Ev packing up the old house.

The morning the movers arrived.

Playing in the rain.

Our Memorial Day hike.

Ev is eating!!!

Playing with Chase.

Everett and his best buddy, John Thomas (Don't you think Ev looks like me as a baby?)

The whole crazy crew! Holden, Everett, John Thomas, Julia, and Emily

Hopefully, things can start settling down and get back to normal.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Transition

We are moved out of our place in the Springs and are temporarily here at Courtney and Mike's till we can get into our new house. Our Monday closing is still in limbo because our buyers did not have their funding in place-what fun!! Ha Ha As soon as their money is wired we can start moving in. I will be so relieved when our things are in the house and we are done with all of these shenanigans. Holden has a fever of 103.5, Everett has been sleeping about 5 hours a day, and we are all ready to get back to a normal life!

Still looking for suggestions for a new name for our blog!!!

Everett Reuss Remains Identified

Our little Everett was named after Everett Reuss, a traveler, writer, artist, and nature lover who wandered the desert southwest in the 1930's. He mysteriously disappeared and his been the subject of much speculation ever since. Courtney stumbled upon this article last week. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12264183?source=email

Then my mom found this article in the Navajo Times
http://navajotimes.com/news/2009/0409/043009mystery.php

Apparently there was a witness who saw Everett killed by three Ute native Americans. The witness buried Everett's body in a cave and didn't share his knowledge until many years later when he became ill and a medicine man told him it was because he improperly handled the body. He went back to give Everett a proper burial and apparently recovered. One of his relatives has tried to share this information for a few years and finally someone listened.

I have read so much from this amazing young man and truly believed he had fallen off a cliff or something. He was very close with many natives and respected their customs and ways. It made me so sad that the people he trusted and respected brutally murdered him. I am sure his family is relieved to finally know the truth.

Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4 1/2 Stars
Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton- 3 stars
This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Finally

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Transition

Everett Reuss Remains Identified

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