Reading Challenge Book 20 – Becoming Mom Strong

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 20 of 50

Becoming Mom Strong: How To Fight With All That’s In You For Your Family & Your Faith written by Heidi St. John. I was on Amazon looking at a wish list I created for books I wanted to buy/read. I wanted something different to read since I have been reading a lot of self-help and factional books. I looked up on LIbby to see what was available. It was a very encouraging book and of course I felt connected because she had seven kids and I’m about to have six. Then again her kids were a lot further apart than mine. When she wrote the book her first born was 26 and her last born was 6. She touches on a few things that I have felt for a while such as the church has failed to teach us how to study the bible on our own. I have been in church since I was 16 and even went to bible college. I still feel like I have no idea how to study the bible and my knowledge is not where it should be by this point.

She talks about being mom strong and being a warrior for your family. This hit a cord because the fact that I’m currently pregnant with baby number 5 and 6 is a miracle in itself. My family almost came to an end at two kids because our path was heading down towards a divorce. Then I had an unexpected pregnancy with our third and things changed for the better after giving birth to our third. Two years I prayed, fasted, believed, and hoped things would not end the way it was appearing. Two years I battled a lot of ups and downs. I should say it was more then two years but it was at the almost two years mark when things began to change. It still hasn’t been easy but I have fallen short in being the prayer warrior I need to be for my family. I know I personally need to be praying for my family daily and fighting against what wants to come against our family unit. I still struggle from those two years and still have a lot of processing and healing but our family story didn’t end at two kids but now we are going to be parents to SIX!

Now this book really focus on moms who are born again believers. She quotes scriptures and tries to be very encouraging. I was about 10 minutes from finishing the book when I was listening to it during that time of the night that is super stressful with the kids. I was trying to get the kids ready for bed and I allow them to watch a Minecraft related video before they head to bed. It was playing when I came into the room and my oldest who has been running to the bathroom all day because he is refusing to sit long enough to let his body work. He was sitting on the couch with his sister and he began to cry because she was has fallen forward and was laying on him. He needed to run to the bathroom YET AGAIN! He didn’t want to get up in fear his sister would fall off the couch (he is a great big brother). I came over and got her as he ran off. By this point I was done with the day. I am feeling so uncomfortable with my pregnancy. My feet are swollen, my hands are swollen and they hurt like crazy, my body feels like it can’t stretch anymore, the babies are always moving and when they move a certain way it hurts, I can’t breath, I’m tired, and just want to be able to do normal life things. I tell you all that because the author was talking about being mom strong and in that moment I was not feeling mom strong. I started to cry because I feel like I’m failing my kids. I was so annoyed that my son has gone to the bathroom MULTIPLE times today and we gave him meds yesterday that clearly didn’t help.

She also talks about the importance of being surrounded by other moms and I am feeling the pain of not having that at this time. This seasons of life has been interesting and challenging but I’m glad I listened to this book. It inspired me in some ways, reminded me of things I already knew, and made me want to start becoming a warrior once again. My house feels so crazy and I feel like I a crazy person right now. I am dealing with so many emotions and trying to not let the craziness of this world keep me from moving forward. I do find my belief and praying to be important to me. I know what the power of prayer can do and I have allowed it to become an afterthought. It’s time to get back on my knees and pray for my kids, pray for my marriage, pray for my family, and our future.

May 12, 2022 0

Reading Challenge Book 19 – Stolen Innocence

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 19 of 50

Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs written by Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer. It’s not easy to listen to these type of stories because there are so many emotions a person can have as they listen. Elissa Wall is the younger sister of Rebecca Musser the author of book 17 on my list. They both grew up in the FLDS and left under the “Prophet” Warren Jeffs. She was forced to marry her first cousin at the age of 14 years old. When she finally left she was encouraged to press charges against Warren Jeff and her now ex-husband for what happened to her during her marriage.

It’s easy to judge the people who come from the FLDS and it’s easy to judge if you never take the time to truly understand. After listening to two books from two women from the same family it sounds like they all had this natural drive to know more. If I understand correctly out of all their sibling meaning same mother and father I think there are only two left in FLDS which are their younger sisters. The boys were all pretty much forced out over time – actually there is one other sister that was also married to Rulon Jeffs (Warren’s Father). I do not know if she ever left or not and there were 14 kids all together from their mother and father. I won’t go into a lot of details but the amount of lost their mother has gone through is unimaginable. Elissa and Rebecca share how they had seen their mother one last time and since these books were written in 2008 and 2014 we are left to assume that is still the case. A mother who was born and raised in this community she could not walk away. Their father was not born and raised but came in with his first wife. There family has a lot of heartache and issues without the help of the prophet.

I think it safe to say that Warren Jeffs is a narcissist and if he wouldn’t of tried to destroy so many lives he may still be in his position and doing even more harm. I know that there are still people to this day that are still following him even though he is in jail. It breaks my heart that there are so may women who still believe in what they have been taught despite all they have seen. I do admire that Elissa got to a point where she would no longer take the abuse she got from her “husband”. She also tells how the only reason why she did not leave sooner was so she could be near her mother and sisters. This book covered the court case in Utah and Elissa was a leading witness to the whole case. During this case Warren Jeffs had three attorneys and I’m curious to know more about the woman on his legal team. He decided to represent himself in Texas. I can’t imagine it’s easy to represent someone like Warren as you are provided with multiple evidence of the crimes he is saying he is not guilty.

As of right now I don’t have any more books from any members that left FLDS. I know there are videos I could watch talking more about what happened. I started to watch one video Preaching: Evil A Wife on the Run with Warren Jeffs. This features a wife he married after his father died her name is Naomi and if you read Rebecca’s book you learn about Naomi and I am pretty sure I know why Warren married her in secrets and chose her to go into hiding. He used her to tell the people he was suppose to be the next prophet despite him not being the oldest of Rulon children.

Disclaimer: I couldn’t find a number 19 photo on Pexels because all the picture that came up has something to do with COVID.

May 5, 2022 0

Reading Challenge Book 17 – The Witness Wore Red

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 17 of 50

The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice written by Rebecca Musser with M. Bridget Cook. I believe at the end of 2018 I picked up a book called “Breaking Free: How I Escaped My Father-Warren Jeffs-Polygamy, and the FLDS Cult” written by Rachel Jeffs. I forget the reasoning behind it but this was the start of me watching clips and reading up about the story of Warren Jeffs. I went through a phase where I started to look into multiple cults such as NXIVM and the People Temple movement. I don’t like to read a lot of stories with graphic details about people doing things to other people. I don’t read about real life murders nor watch shows that talk about that. I have a few family members who love to watch those kind of stories. I even have to be careful watching certain shows due to the psychology behind it such as Criminal Minds. I made the mistake of staying in the room when someone watched a few episode of Criminal Minds and it messed with my head for a LONG time. I couldn’t see the one actor in any other roles without thinking about the story line. Anyway I am getting way off topic.

I’m sorry but this is my life right now but I heard about this book from a vlog – the woman went through a stage of reading books about the FLDS. I follow someone on YouTube who left the FLDS at 18 but he didn’t have any of these type of experiences that you read in these books. I listened to the book on Libby and I found it interesting. What I liked about the this book is how you got to hear a different side of what happened in Texas when they did the “raid” back in 2008. I won’t go into a lot of details but the author was married at the age of 19 to the prophet who was in his 80’s. She tells her story and why she decided to leave. The biggest thing is because she was married to the prophet she got to see the ins and outs of everything. She also had a lot of interaction with the son of the prophet who took over once he died. The son was Warren Jeffs and with every different sources I have read/listen too has said the same thing – things got weird and strike once he took over. I don’t really remember much from the 2008 raid but I do remember seeing things in the news about children being separated from their mothers and I thought that was crazy. The book gives you the ins of what was going on during those time and why things played out the way they did. She played a part in these big cases.

Now this may not make much sense if you haven’t read this book but when I was listening to it I felt something was off about her brother and the man she ended up marrying (they later got a divorce). If I remember correctly the brother was forced out due to his safety and the guy she married left with her. The two guys both grew up in this environment and even though they were not living that lifestyle it felt that their attitude and behavior still lined up with what they were taught. Men are taught that women do not have a voice, they have to keep sweet, and they are pretty much property. I wonder what ever happened to the brother but I did see he wrote a book that he self-published saying how his sister book was false. It’s no longer available and I read some of the reviews and it sounds like he was treating his sister the way she would of been treated if he was still apart of the FLDS. He was trying to discredit her and saying she made it all up. I read that he didn’t even finish her book but he wrote a book to discredit it…? Other members of FLDS did the same thing especially during the raid and trails of the men. Her now ex-husband seemed like he wanted to have multiple wives or at least have other choices. He also treated her a certain way when she was trying to help the officers in Texas.

Her sister wrote a book about her experience and I plan on listening to it. I am not sure when I’ll get to it but it’s been added to my “want to read” list on GoodRead. I’m afraid her book might be a little more graphic on what happened to her since I kind of gathered her experience was a little more traumatic than the author of this book mostly because she was married to a younger (but older man).

May 1, 2022 0

Reading Challenge Book 15 – Just Mercy

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 15 of 50

Just Mercy written by Bryan Stevenson. My best friend also spends a lot of her time reading multiple books. We typically don’t read the same things and rarely do we ask each other to read a book. I don’t think I have ever asked her to read a book or suggested one. I can think of three books she has asked me to consider reading. I started two of the three books but never finished them. She asked me recently to read this book and since it was available on Libby I was open to listening to the book. I would not of chose it on my own and I think this was a suggestion on one of the vlogs I watch and had no interest. I am learning that this topic has become near and dear to my best friend. We have not connect yet about this book but I know at some point we will discuss it the next time we talk on the phone.

I can understand the important and need for men and women like Bryan Stevenson. Bryan is a lawyer and this book was written by him to share his story of how he began to fight for people who are placed in incarceration. Primarily those who were put on death row. We need people who is passionate about this topic and who are willing to fight for people who can’t fight for themselves. I won’t give anything away just in case you want to read the book and there is a movie. I am not sure if the movie is about the whole book or about one of the key cases he talks about in the book. I watched the trailer just to see and I can tell the first interaction was dramatize for the movie. I personally am not passionate about this topic but I can appreciate those who are passionate. I can honestly say I do not know what I’m passionate about but it’s books like these that I need to expose myself to from time to time. You never know what might draw you in and spark a desire to learn more.

There were a few stories that got my blood boiling but then again if it involves a child then I am going to react. I’m a mother of six kids and there are certain things that make me angry when I read/listen/watch. There are certain movies and episodes I can’t watch without having some kind of reaction to it because I now see life through the lens of a mother. I remember watching an episode of In Plain Sight where a woman gave birth to a son and the Marshell’s found the baby in the hotel room alone. The mother was planning on selling the baby and I just given birth to my first son. Needless to say I was crying and snuggling my child. It is easy to ignore these issues but I think we should educate ourselves in multiple things. I may of not wanted to read this book but I appreciate having some information about the injustice that has happened over the years and still happening. I was sharing some of the book with my husband and I said something about the system is broken but he pointed out that the system is run by people. We often fail to remember that and if we can change the people who are running it then we will see real change.

One last thing – I do believe we should NEVER put children in the same prison with grown men. I am surprise how often this happens and that was one of the things that made me angry.

April 22, 2022 0

Reading Challenge Book 12 – The Read-Allowed Family

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 12 of 50

The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids – written by Sarah Mackenzie. I brought this book on audible and listened to it at normal speed for a few days. I really enjoyed this book. One of the YouTube channels I followed suggested this book. I’m glad I used a credit because it touch a lot of the things I was already feeling. I love the idea of reading aloud to you children and I have been wanting to apply reading a book at the table when we are having a meal. My kids are young but they do like when I read to them. When we are on car rides with the kids I wanted to start listening to audiobooks because we don’t typically give our kids anything to do while we are traveling. I drove from VA to MS in two days and the kids had no devices and if they had a toy that’s because it was already in the car. I didn’t put on an audiobook until the returning trip and we didn’t finish it that time around. We did finish the book a while later and I enjoyed having that time with the kids. The book was “The Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum.

I was not a strong reader as a child and now that I’m older I really wish I would of been a better reader. I wish I had someone in my life to show me why it was important. I know for a lot of kids they had assigned reading every year but I can honestly say I don’t remember that being the case for my school. I think if you were in the AP classes then you had a list of books to read. I didn’t read any classic until I took a children’s literature class in college. I remember I began to go to the thrift store to find classic books and any book with an award on it. I gave myself reading challenges and I read a few over the years. Now I plan to read them with my kids. I will be exposing myself to books I have wanted to read over the years but I get to experience it with my children. I went to the thrift the store the other day and managed to get four books from the “The Magic Treehouse” series.

It’s my mission to expose my kids to the world of reading and hope they can discover the joy and importance of reading. I have been behind on my challenge but this past week I have been listening to audiobooks when I can, when normally I am listening to other things. I need to get back into the habit of reading/listening to books. I also have a few podcast I want to listen too. I would recommend this book especially if you want to start making reading a priority in your home. The last few chapters gives you a list of books she suggest for different age groups. I think there was a link I could type in at the beginning of the book which I have to go back to listen to because that’s the downside of an audiobook. She has a website and podcast. I haven’t checked it out yet but I plan to start listening in the next week.

April 7, 2022 0

Reading Challenge Book 11 – What is Unschooling?

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 11 of 50

What is Unschooling? Living and Learning without School – written by Pam Laricchia. In the fall of 2020 I came across a video on YouTube that had the word Unschooling. I have never heard this word before and I was curious enough to see what it was all about. I listened to the almost hour video of a husband and wife explaining what Unschooling was and how they implement it in their daily life with 9 children. I LOVED the concept and realize on some level I have been doing this very concept with my own kids but none of them were school age. I wanted to to hold out telling my husband about this concept until I have done some more reading. I got a few different books but reading them have not worked out. I started to read this book in Feb 2021 and I am just finishing it April 2022. The kicker is the book was not that long and it was a pretty simple read.

I will say that this book is a good introduction about the concept of Unschooling. The author has a few more books that is considered a series and I have another one in my queue on the book app. According to the app I am 14% into that book. I honestly do not remember starting it so I will have to restart it if I decide to read it. I ended up sharing the idea to my husband before I did a lot of reading on my own. We have agreed to homeschool our kids for years and after the last two years he is on board 110%. He works from home so he can play a role in our kids homeschooling experience.

The other morning he was showing our oldest how adding an e to the end of the word changes the vowel sound in certain words. Example: Cap – a is a short vowel but when adding e the a is now a long vowel.

I do love the idea of unschooling the thing is I do not agree with allowing your child to set his/her own bedtime and only eating what they want to eat. I feel there is a line that has to be drawn because if we let our 3-year-old go to bed when he wants and get up when he wants he would get only a few hours of sleep. Then we would only get a few hours asleep which would not work for our family. He just does not sleep and I have no idea why. He will sleep for a few hours and be up for a few hours and then go back to sleep mostly because he is bored. My oldest would only eat bread if he was given the choice and that isn’t going to be good for him over all. The video I watch actually shared that they do have set expectation and they do have a routine for the kids. It would be pure chaos if they let all nine kids do what they wanted at all times.

My husband is not on board with unschooling and since he is a present father I will not go against what he wants. I say all that because people who are true follower of this method will tell you how you are not a true unschooler. I know on some level I won’t be a typical homeschool mom but I also know that I need guidance to help me stay focus. Now that is a topic for another post – if you want to get a general idea what Unschooling is I would say pick up this book. I still plan on reading a few more books but since my husband is not open to the idea I will honor him, but I do plan trying to apply some of the concepts to our schooling experience.

April 6, 2022 0

Book Search

According to the 2022 Reading Challenge on the GoodRead app I am two books behind schedule. I am not sure how that is all worked out but I have been slacking in the book department. Currently I have six book in the my reading queue on the app. The first book in the queue was started on Jan 20, 2021 and I haven’t touched it since last summer. The second book in the queue was started on Feb 5, 2021 and I read some of the book not that long ago. The thing is this book is not very long but I am physically reading it so I have to remember to actually open it up on my phone to read. I am hoping to have that book done this week. The third book in the queue was started on Dec 29, 2021 and I was reading it off and on when I would go to my appointments. I need to get it out of the car and have it in the house so I can pick it up once again. The only issue is the kids like to grab it and hang onto it.

The other three books were just added this last week and I have been listening to them off and on. The one is super long and it’s filled with a lot of information because it’s a non-fiction about historical facts. I mention it in the post for book number 9. The other two were recommended by the author of the book I mention in the post for book number 8. I am always looking for new books ideas. I currently have 74 books in the queue for want to read. I may need to go look at the list and see what I have had added over the years to see if I still feel the same way. Book number five in the reading challenge is actually from that list because I was bored listening to the same books so I decided to choose a random book. I also choose it because it was the first book that was available on Libby for an audiobook.

The first book on the Want To Read queue was added Aug 16, 2013 which makes me laugh because I think I started to read that book and maybe I read the whole thing. The issue is I don’t remember much of it and I wanted to read it again in hopes I can remember why I wanted to read this book in the first place. Then there is a gap between the first book to the second book which was added Jan 1, 2018. I looked over the list and realized there was a few books that I have finished over the years but they were still in my “Want to Read” queue. Then I counted about 11 books that I started to read at some point and never finished it. I would have to restart those books from the beginning since I do not remember what I read.

The one book I’m currently listening too has really inspired me to begin the process of picking out books to read out loud to my kids. I will be on the hunt for older books and new series that may be some interest to my kids. I know that most of them being so small won’t really appreciate it but that’s not the point. I want my kids to LOVE reading. I want them to get lost in the world of books. Reading is so important for a person development. Homeschooling will be easier once the kids are strong readers. Our soon to be ten months old daughters will pick up a book and talk to it. This makes me happy because I feel that I have lacked her in this department but my husband pointed out she sees her brothers doing this all the time. I may not be reading as much as I have in the past with my other kids but she is seeing the example of what a book could be by her older brothers.

I will continue to keep an ear out for suggestions of books to checkout. I will try to read books that may go against what I think/feel about a certain situation. I do not do this often but I know I should be open to it. It’s easy to surround yourself with like-minded people but it’s good to be open to see what other people are saying about a topic. I am not an very easily persuade person so I don’t fear I will read a book and be convinced to walk away from everything I have ever believed. I know for some people this can be an issue. I guess I am hoping I will awaken something new in me if I read a book I may not of chosen for myself. I remember reading about a girl who had to ride on public transportation and it was often a long ride. She would read random books on her trip and one day she grabbed a book off the shelf. It was a book she would of not normally chosen but she had nothing else. The book talked about marine biology and she found that she couldn’t put it down. She ended up awakening a passion inside her that she did not know existed. Years later she became a Marine Biologist. I know that the chances of that happening for a lot of people are slim but that is an experience I hope to have one day. Even if it’s just a hobby or a cause I can support.

What is on your reading list?
What book did you read just because and found you actually enjoyed?
Have you ever read a book that changed your life?
Are you open to a new genre?
How did you discovered a genre that ended up being your favorite?

My husband had a sub in one of his elementary classes. She did a reading aloud and she read a book by Brian Jacques who wrote the Redwall Series. It was this book that exposed my husband to a new genre that he ended up loving and hopes to read to his kids one day.

April 5, 2022 0

Reading Challenge Book 9 – A Woman of No Importance

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 9 of 50

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II – written by Sonia Purnell. I do not normally read books like this one. I was watching a YouTube channel and the woman shares in one of her post the books she read in the month she posted the vlog. This was on her list and I thought it was an interesting topic. As I already stated I don’t typically read books like this one but I like to try to be open to new books. Honestly if it wasn’t for the post I would of never heard of this book. I listened to this book on audio and it was a good listen. I sometime have a hard time listening to non-fiction on audio but I kept the speed to normal for most of the book. I think when I was almost done I decided to try it at a higher speed.

If you are a history buff and you like to learn about the variety of people who played a part in the war I would recommend this book. I personally wanted to be a mom and once upon a time wanted to be a stay at home mom. Then I liked working after having my first child so I no longer wanted to be one. Now I wouldn’t change anything because I love being home with my kids. I say all that because not everyone has that type of dream and it was nice to read about a woman who felt a certain way. Virginia Hall did not let the pressure of the times and her family keep her from doing what she felt was best. She did not let things get in her way and she was good at what she did. I don’t want to give away any key stories in the book but she was a strong and smart woman. She had a lot of favor on her side when it came to certain situations.

I personally don’t know a whole lot when it comes to WWII and I’m currently listening to another book called Operation Paperclip. This event was mention at the end of the book I just read but I already had it on my list to read. It’s important on some level to be educated about the past wars mostly so we don’t repeat history. A lot of people played a lot of roles in the war and it was nice to see someone who was so determine to make a difference they did not let anyone or anything get in their way. She is inspiring because even when a major setback happened in her own life before she left to help in the war. She did not let it keep her from moving ahead. If you like to listen to audio books – I recommend to listen to the book.

April 4, 2022 0

Reading Challenge Book 8 – Love Without Borders

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 8 of 50

Love Without Borders – written by Angela Braniff. When I found out I was expecting twins I was feeling overwhelmed that I was going to have six kids. I started to look for other families who have multiple kids. I came across a vlog titled The Gathered Nest. I began to watch some of her videos and I enjoyed listening to her and seeing her family. It took me a while before I subscribed to both her channels. YouTube will suggest you to watch older videos of people you subscribe too and I started to watch older videos. I began to watch her homeschooling videos because I officially have to register our son in the fall and I like hearing other people stories. She suggests different resources she has used over the years. It didn’t take long to see videos of her talking about writing a book. I did not watch the videos in order so I would see one video from 4 years ago and another video that was only 9 months old.

The more I watched her videos and listen to the stories of how her family came together I wanted to read her book. I couldn’t find it on Libby and I knew getting a paper copy would mean it would sit on my shelf for awhile. I finally got it on Audible and listened to it in one day. I typically listen to audiobooks with a higher speed but with books like these I typically keep them at normal speed. Angela the author also did the voice for the audio. I enjoy listening to her when I am cleaning and doing stuff around the house it was easy to listen to her tell her story. She is a woman of great faith and I believe she is only a year older then me and our birthday is a day apart. I know that when we share our lives on social media we can show what we we want about ourselves. I really like her and there are things she says and does that makes me think of me. I shared in another post that I have found inspiration thought watching vloggers on YouTube. She is a big one at this time in my life.

The book is her sharing her story about how her family became a family. You learn more details about the journey. It is inspiring and if you are family who have adopted or considering adopting I would say check her book out. I like how they had different types of adoptions. I have known a handful of people who have adopted and once upon a time I thought I wanted to adopt. I later discovered I like the idea of adopting but I personally do not believe that is apart of our story. I am not saying never but what I do know that God would have to do some moving to make everyone in our home open to the idea. I also have learned about embryo adoption. I did not know that was a thing until I heard her story about the twins. I am currently pregnant with twins so of course I am curious about her journey. She posted videos of the girls and how everything was going in the first year of their life. I am currently watching them because any advice or suggestion is going to be helpful. I am personally struggling in general with my walk but hearing her talk about how God is in the details has been a reminder of all the times God has done the same thing in my life. I am thankful she has taken the time to share because she has been helpful for me in this seasons of life.

March 30, 2022 0

Reading Challenge Book 7 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 7 of 50

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – written by J. K. Rowling. This is technology my third time with this book and my second time with audio. I brought the set when I got a deal with Audible years ago. I am truly amazed how much of the details I have forgotten about the book. This series truly is one that you can read over and over again because there is so many details that I personally forget. The movies do not do this series justice. This is much of a review since it’s been out for 16 years. If you haven’t read the book then I wouldn’t read anymore but I assume by this point most people have read it unless you are younger and I highly doubt they are reading this blog.

I completely forgot how Ginny and Harry got together and how awkward that part of the story felt after hearing it again. The scene in the movie is different and honestly I hate how they wrote it into the movie. It felt force and odd but at least in the book it was in the moment. I guess it’s the best way for everyone to know that Harry Potter was no longer a single man. I think one of my favorite moments in the book is when Mrs. Weasley realizes that Fleur Delacour was not as bad as she thought. The fact that she was still going to marry Bill despite what happen to him shows that she isn’t the shallow person everyone assumed.

I do look forward for when our kids are old enough to read these series. I hope they appreciate it as much as we do. We are not super fans and we don’t have collector items or anything. We have friends who are big fans and we went to a wedding where the brides garter was green with the letter S for Slytherin. Our soon to be 1-year-old was sitting by the dance floor when it landed near him and he ended up with it. We put it a shadow box with pictures and the wedding invitation. It was a lot of fun but that’s really the only thing we have, that I can think of at this time. We do enjoy reading the books and I don’t mind watching the movies when I want something fun to watch.

Side note: I really need to get my reading into gear because according to the app I am 3 books behind schedule. I need to make myself finish reading the books I started but you know – life.

March 30, 2022 0