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From My BookShelf: May 2013

By Jody June 25, 2013

From My BookShelf: May 2013 A Monthly Feature on www.thesweetandthesalty.com Come find some new books and share some of your favorites

Welcome to From My BookShelf for the month of May 2013. From My BookShelf is a monthly feature where I share the books I read during the month and a short review of each book. My prayer is that you will find some great reads from my list and in return that you’ll share some of your favorites with me 🙂

**The links in the post are my affiliate links. All reviews and recommendations will always be 100% my honest opinion. For more information please see my disclosure policy. **

Books I Read In May

This month I read seven books. It was a glorious month of reading for me as my love for reading was re-kindled as I spent less time on Facebook.

Coincidently (or not so coincidently) one of the first books I read this month was: Unfriend Yourself: Three Days to Detox, Discern, and Decide About Social Media by Kyle Tennant.

Description

The book is designed to be read over a three day period during which the reader stays logged out of all social media sites. The purpose is to give the reader a chance to re-think their relationship with social media and others. At the end of each chapter is a “challenge” to do, involving more face to face, real life interaction.The book examines social media in the context of Christian Theology and Doctrine.

Review

I found it to be a really interesting read and it affected me more than I realized. I have spent drastically less time on Facebook since reading this little gem and in turn have seen some great benefits from it. In the end I decided not to completely forgo social media as it is a great way to stay connected to people I normally wouldn’t have the means to keep up with, however this book did help me to spend a healthier amount of time (which for me means way less) time on Facebook.

I recommend this book as a quick, thought provoking read. I believe it is useful to help one examine their use of social media in the grand scheme of life.

The next book I read was Every Secret Thing (Legacy Series) By Ann Tatlock.

Description

Every Secret Thing is a Christian Fiction book about a woman returning as a teacher to the preperatory school she attended as a girl. She returns to an old love, memories, and a mystery surrounding one of her former teachers that was never resolved for her when she was a student. She also forms a friendship with one of her students and they both learn some lessons from each other.

Review

I enjoyed this book, however it wasn’t a complete page turner for me. I did, however, always look forward to picking it back up when I had a few moments to spare. I think this is a good read if you’re looking for something with a good message and intriguing story that is on the lighter side. (The subject matter dealt with in the book is a heavy topic, however the way the author has written it, it has a lighter feel to it.)

A few months ago I read A Room of My Own (Historical Fiction Best Sellers) by Ann Tatlock, the same author, and that one was a major page turner for me. It’s a coming of age story that takes place during the Great Depression. Definitely recommend that one.

I also read Tiny Titan – One Small Gift (Journey of Hope) by Ann Yurcek

Description

Tiny Titan is the story of the Yurcek family as their world was turned upside down when their daughter Becca was born with a very rare genetic syndrome called Nooman Syndrome. The book chronicles Ann Yurcek, Becca’s mom, as she comes to grip with her daughter’s diagnosis, becomes her greatest advocate, and as the family plunges into poverty and back out again. The effects on the family as a result of Becca’s special needs, as well as the effects on their finances and faith are all discussed and shared candidly

Review

Reading books written by moms of children with Special Needs is always a moving experience for me. I can feel the pain expressed from the heart of the authoring mom as they write of the beginning of their journey. That pain and anguish of soul is a familiar one to me. In this book Ann Yurcek did a beautiful job expressing what finding out her child has a life altering diagnosis was like. Throughout the book Ann continues to return to the theme that she started out as “just a mom” and how that definition of being a mom grew for her as she struggled with the challenges her family faced as a result of her daughter’s extreme needs. This book spoke to my heart and soul as a fellow mom of a child with a rare genetic syndrome and it was hard for me to put it down.

I highly recommend this book. Its a memoir but reads like a novel. This family’s perserverence is very inspiring and moving.

I ended the month reading the Chronicles of the Kings Series by Lynn Austin.

(Technically I finished the last book of the series in June but included it this month since it fits with the others)

Description

The Chronicles of the Kings Series tells the story of King Hezekiah and his son Manasseh. The first three books share how Hezekiah came to be king, the incredible losses and victories he faced and the journey of his faith. The final two books share the story of King Manasseh and chronicles his reign as King of Judah. The books, considered biblical historical fiction, stay very close to the books in the Bible from which the series is derived. The prophet Isaiah, as well as Elikiam, King Hezekiah’s right hand man, and his son Joshua are all characters in the series as well.

Review

These books are among some of the best I have ever read. For me, they helped the Old Testament of the Bible to come alive as truths hidden in history were unlocked. Historical fiction is one of my favorites and biblical historical fiction is icing on the cake. These books are well written too. Lynn Austin is one of my absolute favorite authors. I always feel inspired after finishing her books and this series was no different. She stuck very close to the story as told in the Bible and she has also done her homework, having done extensive research on the customs and way of life during the time period this series takes place.

Reading this series was a transforming, transporting experience and I highly recommend these books!

The majority of my reading is done on my Kindle Paperwhite, which I love! I get A LOT of free kindle books by getting daily updates from ereadergirl.com. Don’t have an ereader? You can also download the Kindle Reading app for your PC, tablet, or phone from Amazon.

Let’s Talk! What are some of your favorite books? What good books have you read recently and recommend? What are your favorite types of books to read? I’d love to hear your answers in the comments!

Linked Up at: Fellowship Fridays, Twitterature

How I Do Laundry & How it’s Changed My Life

By Jody March 27, 2013

I have a lot on my “absolutely no questions asked about it, needs to be done” to do list. I also have a lot on my “I really want to please please please I hope I have some time” to do list.

Needless to say the needs to do list trumps the want to do list and is usually the only one that gets the check marks on it.

I read a lot of books (and blog posts) on how to save time and be organized. I spend a lot of time reading about this because I have found that it is the key to me being able to get to some of the items on my want to do list.

I generally concentrate on making sure four areas of home management are taken care of daily and have set up systems to keep me on track. The four areas are mail, dishes, clutter, and laundry.

I had pretty good systems for the first three listed but was failing miserably on the laundry part. The stress, not to mention lateness, that was resulting from having laundry either not washed or sitting in a huge pile waiting to be folded and put away was becoming a major nuisance.

Previously I always thought laundry was done best by setting aside a whole day to do all of it. However, setting aside a whole entire day a week to do laundry is not an option here. Our days can be to unpredictable, we have way to much therapy to do and go to, plus Champion currently gets 12 g tube feeds a day (very time-consuming).

It is way to risky to expect that I will have a whole day to dedicate to laundry a week. I feel that option for our family is cutting it really close and that in reality waiting to do it all in one day would boil down to us wearing dirty clothes often.

So I set out in search of what other moms were doing to tame their laundry (I love learning from other moms).

I found a lot of moms promoting the idea of doing one load, from start to finish every single day. I loved that idea. It made sense to me so that’s what I started doing. But the finish (fold and put away) part never seemed to get done.

Hence the large pile of clean clothes I found myself desperately digging through on a regular basis.

But then, out of nowhere and without even looking for it, the solution appeared!

And life hasn’t been the same since. (Yes it’s that serious for me.)

I stumbled up this awesome ebook by Davonne Parks called 28 Days to Timeliness: Tips and Confessions from a Semi-Reformed Late Person. It is a book chock full of motivation, strategies and tips on how to start being on time places. Very practical read. One of the chapters deals with being late because you’re looking for clothes in the clean clothes pile. The author gives several solutions but there was one that stuck out to me.

So here it is. This is my new laundry system and I love it!

I stopped by Target one day with Champion and picked up these three baskets (I already had the regular laundry basket at home). I got different colors so that we would all know which basket belongs to who. I debated about getting the all white ones with the holes in it so I could see a little more but decided on these since they took up less room, were flexible, had handles, and were different colors.

So now everyday (or most days, there are some super busy days it’s just not an option) I throw in a load of laundry to wash, switch it the dryer (or hang up what can’t go in the dryer) and then at some point in the day, usually around the time my husband comes home from work, I take the clothes out of the dryer and separate them into the appropriate basket. I leave the baskets on top of the dryer so it takes about five minutes or so to separate them to their appropriate basket home. That’s it, them I’m done for the day.

How I Do My Laundry & How its Changed My Life www.thesweetandthesalty.com @thesweetandthesalty.com — This sorter cuts down my laundry time even more. At the end of the day dirty clothes go in their proper pile and then when its time to wash I grab the pile, throw it in the machine and get back to life.

(Here’s a laundry sorter similar to the one in the picture.) Update: The one pictured above lasted for a couple of years but when it broke we decided we were hooked on this method of doing laundry so we invested in this one here to replace it! I love that I can take the bag out, carry it to the machine, dump in the clothes and go about my day. And with it we’re probably set with a laundry hamper for life!)

My husband is now responsible for folding and putting away his own clothes when he has some time. If he can’t find the time, no worries, he’s just going through his own clothes to find what he needs.

I try to set a day, usually Fridays to fold Champion’s clothes and put them up and mine if have time. If I don’t have time that week (which happens often) the clothes just live in the basket till they’re needed.

So we dig through clothes still, but having them separated into different baskets has definitely helped in cutting way down on the stress of the digging. And it relieves the pressure from me from trying to get the clothes in their exact place.

Less stress, less time on laundry, less pressure on myself = life just got better :-).

I am definitely all about finding systems that work for my family to save us time and to make things around here a little smoother. It’s not perfect but it’s perfect for us for now!

Lets Talk! How about you? Any tips on taming the laundry beast?

Here’s a laundry sorter similar to the one I have pictured above. That one lasted a couple of years and when it broke we decided we were hooked on this method of doing laundry so we invested in this one here and love how durable and convenient it is! I think we’re set with a hamper for life with it :-).

(This post contains my referral links. Read Disclosure here.)

Linked at: Works For Me Wednesday

If asked, my one word would be: Determined.

By Jody September 17, 2012

If I was asked to describe Champion in one word it would be determined.

I googled determination and this is the definition: Having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it.

This defines Champion.

During a routine ultrasound while pregnant with him I remember a voice whispering to my heart that the essence of who your son is, the spirit of him, the soul of who he is, is exactly who he was created to be. We did not know of Champion’s diagnosis till after he was born. I did not know at the time the weight of those whispered words or what they would come to mean to me.

Champion’s determination is part of who he is. It is an innate trait of his that exemplifies itself in every area of his life. It works two ways. When he has made a firm decision and is resolved not to change it, he does not change his decision. Whether that applies to something he wants to do…or something that he does not want to do.

One area in particular that Champion has shown this fierce determination is walking. He has made it up in his mind that he wants to walk and that is what he is going to do, no matter how challenging it is for him, or how much work it takes him.

Champion has what is called increased muscle tone, or “tone”. This means his muscles become very stiff and hard to bend. It appears as though his muscles are very strong, however when they are not in that stiffened state they can be very weak. Due to this “tone”, which originates in the brain, not the muscle, taking steps is difficult because that requires overriding the stiffness stemming from his brain, bending the leg, taking steps, and his leg being strong enough when the “tone” is not kicking in to keep his knees from buckling.

Yet despite that, this determination that makes him who he is has overridden what his body is not supposed to be able to do and has instead made it do exactly what he has firmly decided and resolved that it should do.

And he has decided that he should walk. And so walking is what he does.

His walking may not look the same as how we typically think of walking. He currently walks in a walker. Sometimes he walks on his tippy toes and sometimes his legs cross or “scissor.” Sometimes his legs get tangled up and he needs help straightening his legs out. As of right now walking as a means of getting around in a community environment would take him quite awhile. But he is determined.

So everyday at home he asks (by saying “Ah wa wak” and staring at his walker) so we put him in his walker, and he walks up and down the hallway, taking one difficult step after another. When he first got his walker back in February of this year (2012), I wrote this to him in the journal I keep for him:

Today you worked so hard and walked in your walker across the whole hallway. It took you awhile and you were crying and grunting and concentrating so hard, but you made it. One thing I have noticed is you don’t give up when you get close to the end, instead you work harder, take better steps, and finish strong! Keep that quality of finishing strong, it will take you a long way.