Faceless men (and woman! đ and one not so faceless!)
Costa Concordia Cruise Ship & Future Men
I have been reading bits here and there of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster and I have to say if reports are true, the captain and his crew were very ill equipped to handle the emergency situation they found themselves in. To be frank, they were cowards. I read one passenger’s description liken their experience to that of the Titanic, but I would add “except for the crew members and captain.” The Titanic’s crew had poise and chivalry (for the most part) and the Titanic’s captain displayed heroic courage to stay with his ship, whereas the Costa Concordia’s captain went AWOL and his crew members were like lost puppies, desperately lacking character and courage.
Actual Photos here.
Where are the men of chivalry and courage today? Who will lead when no one else will? I am not going to beat on men, but rather their courage and leadership skills. Their display of chivalry. The crew of Costa Concordia were lost without their captain and no one stood up to the plate to lead the rest of the crew and passengers when their captain abandoned them and his ship. It’s terrible. If only one or two crew members could have led the rest how many of the lives lost could have been saved. After all they were so close to land!
I don’t know about you but I want to raise sons of courage and sons who will strongly lead when others only follow. I don’t want my sons to be wimpy and lack the thought power that it takes to step up to the plate and do what a man has to do to save lives, to save his family, fellow man or his country. As much as it scares me to death to think of my son’s being in harms way, I would much rather them be true heros in the sense of the word than to bring shame on their gender and themselves.
As mothers, we owe it to our sons and the future of this country to raise them to be strong, able men. Not brutes, not wimps, but men who are not afraid to love, not afraid to do the hard thing when the opportunity arises and not afraid to lead others with courage and chivalry of old. It is my hope and prayer that God will equip each of us raising sons to do the right thing by them and teach them to be men, not boys.
Stepping down off my soapbox now.
Re-Organizing: Monday Motivation
Nearly six months ago we moved into this home. It is incredible that we have lived here that long already. One of the home’s appeals was the basement, 4+ bedrooms, 2.5 baths and an office. However, by the time we moved in, settled, had our internet working and phone working, it was nearly a month later. That is when we discovered that the internet and phone jacks in the office did not work! đ A little disappointing to say the least. After lots of time on the phone, trying several areas of the house and getting tired of having my work in piles around the house, we talked about me taking over one of the kids bedrooms where the internet and phone connection were good. I decided on the older girls room, which meant moving the boys to another bedroom so the older girls could have their room. The girls were delighted at the prospect of getting a bigger room with a bigger closet. The boys on the other hand were not so thrilled initially, but after time to think about it and after their first night in their new room they seem to have accepted the change. Off to a good start.
Now I am re-organizing! It feels as though I have moved and I have, but you know that feeling of, “Oh there’s so much to do!” That’s the feeling I am experiencing today. Just slightly overwhelmed. It’s probably because I am tired too because I stayed up late burning photos and documents to CDs so I could delete them off my laptop and try to speed it up a bit to avoid screens freezing up on me. đ So far it seems to be working. Just need to run a virus scan too. Fun techie stuff.
Here are a couple of before and after photos:
Old office, now linen closet and the new office:
So obviously, my Monday Motivation is to get things a bit more organized!
Fun in the Snow!
Fun in the Snow!
Trying something new with a slideshow. I wasn’t pleased with all the quality of the photos I took, but I forgot to change the settings so I could take pictures fast! Still learning the technical side of photography. But I am also not too impressed by what Flickr’s slideshow does to the photos either. Don’t they look all pixel-y to you? (in full size view that is)
Ta-da! Our New Header!
Ta-da! Our new header! Somewhere between last night and this morning a little “elf” was at work getting our new look uploaded! Still a couple of things to work on, like social media sites and my widgets but we are liking what we see! Big round of applause to Jocelyn at Feelin’ Feminine (her business site is listed at the bottom of the blog:-)) for her creative work!
Chasing Mona Lisa: A Revell Blog Tour
Just finished Chasing Mona Lisa over Christmas weekend. Â Yes, our Christmas was that low key! Â I started reading it the week before Christmas during my nursing sessions with my 16 month old and was able to get it done. I have obviously heard of the Mona Lisa, but I had not heard of its theft as mentioned in the book. It is quite the interesting tale.
This book is set in WWII. The year 1944. A member of the French resistance and two Swiss agents are tangled in a web of honor and deceit as they try to protect the Mona Lisa from Nazis and keep her in France.
The story line held me in suspense, as I kept waiting and waiting for the plot to get to chasing the Mona Lisa. I had to wait until chapter nine to find out that the hunt was about to begin! While waiting the plot was just thickening in preparation for the chase!
There seemed to be more characters than usual, for a paperback book like this one, so my mind worked hard to place everyone in their appropriate scenes and relationships. This actually created a bit more intrigue as I tried to figure out who was where, doing what, with whom…you know what I mean?
Chasing Mona Lisa is very mild in terms of the events occurring through out the story, especially considering all the heinous crimes committed during that time. Nevertheless, the authors conveyed these things through the hatred displayed by certain characters. The blood they shed and crimes committed by both sides because murder was committed by so called good people but usually in self-defense.
While Romance was hinted at throughout this book, this was not a gushy romance novel, it was a historical fiction filled with adventure. It was filled with secrets, bravery, espionage, loyalty and a love of art. A great change of pace! I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and characters. The way it ended left me thinking there wouldn’t be another book, yet the story line left me wondering about a couple of characters that I truly hope there is another book in the works!
I admired the loyalty, courage and commitment to the cause, which was liberating Paris and restoring the country’s extensive art collection. I was held in suspense with the twist on the art smuggling and sales. Chasing the Mona Lisa created a desire to learn more about the Mona Lisa and Paris. I also want to write the first book of this sequel, The Swiss Courier as it is based upon one of the characters in this book! Might have to spend some of my Christmas money on a copy! (Scratch that, my daughter bought it for me!)
This was a great read and I highly recommend it! A word of warning though, if you are looking for a book with a spiritual theme, you will not find it in Chasing the Mona Lisa. If you are looking for a clean plot about history, fiction and adventure, then this is your book.
âAvailable January 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.â
Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.
The Keeper: A Revell Blog Tour
As you may have noticed, life is busy here in our home and reading is something that I do just to relax and zone out. It helps me take a break from all the things pressing for my attention and allows me to escape only to have a better focus on what needs to be done. Â I certainly have more time to read during the colder months of the year than I do during the warmer months, as is evidenced by an almost weekly supply of book reviews lately! đ
This next book review is by an author I have come to love. I get excited when I see Suzanne Woods Fisher’s name on an upcoming blog tour list! It is a contemporary romance but what I like about Suzanne’s books is the relationships and life lessons God is teaching her characters. There is always something for everyone in her books. Whether you are grieving, holding on to something that it has become an idol or plain need to slow down and take it easy The Keeper will teach you something.
I loved the Lapp’s family dynamics. Their love and care for one another is as it should be within a family unit. I loved how the character Fern seemed to know just how to bring out the best in each of the family members. I loved the sweetness and innocence of Menno, may we all have child-like faith and love like his.
I grappled with the heart transplant issue as I have never really come to a decision on what I believe about it. And I truly wonder what the Amish think about it all. I know all the finer points and the benefits of organ donors and transplants, but there is a fine line there in harvesting them and truly knowing the heart of God in a matter like this one. This is a whole can of worms, I know, but I am just being honest here.
Suzanne had me laughing and thoroughly amused through most of the book. Then towards the end I was crying. My oldest said, “You always cry in her books.” I snapped, “You would too if…….” Sorry I didn’t want to reveal a spoiler! You’ll just have to read the book yourself.
Two thumbs up from me!
âAvailable January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.â
Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.
REVIEW ~ Little Lion AND Little Lamb Bibles
Little Lambâs Bible and/ or Little Lion Bible is a soft, cuddly Bible that children ages 2 to 5 can call his or her own. Throughout this plush-covered book, children learn that they are loved and cared for by God as they hear about Godâs faithfulness in ten stories from the Bible (both Old and New Testaments). With sweet, rhyming text and colorful illustrations, this soft and cuddly character storybook Bible is sure to become a classic with preschoolers!
OUR REVIEW:
We received both the Little Lamb bible AND the Little Lion Bible! They are both very beautifully made and constructed! We loved the fact that they had a plush outside and were a board book inside. This construction is unique and was very attractive to my children. My 3-year-old daughter loved the Lamb and my 5-year-old son loved the lion. I honestly thought that the bible would be too young for my fiver year old⌠but it was not. It had just enough content to hold his attention and the animal exterior tickled his fancy!
The content is great! Just enough text to hold the attention of little ones! The illustrations are wonderful! My children loved the vibrant pictures that accompanied the stories! The illustrations really captivated them and made the book a hit!
This is a wonderful product! I cannot say enough about the products that Zondervan puts outâŚthey have not disappointed us yet!
Look for this product in stores on January 16, 2012. I think this would make a great giftâŚespecially a wonderful gift for Easter! What a supplement to any bookshelf!
The book retails at $15.99âŚ, which may seem high but remember it is a board book with a beautiful plush exterior and it is very high quality and should last for years!
Thank you ZONDERKIDZ for another great product!
To find The Little Lamb Bible AND The Little Lamb Bible or peruse other collections and items available from Zonderkidz please visit: www.Zondervan.com
You can even visit the product specific page here http://browseinside.zondervan.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780310725510
and see a detailed view of the book and get an inside peek at the illustrations!
Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.
Temporary Look!
Ok, this new look is not the new look I was talking about. As I was writing my Fun with Food post I hit preview and got an error message and then I couldn’t access the blog! Contacted my hosting company and he thought it was the theme, so I tried changing the theme and it worked. Then I had to find a theme that didn’t mess everything up. So this is temporary and I am trying to find a theme that includes all my widgets. Just when I was finishing up for the day, technology issues a blow to slow me down. Sigh. This too shall pass….
Week 2: Fun with Food Friday
I introduced Fun with Food Fridays last week. It is simply me (or my daughter or a combination of the two) taking pictures of food. This week’s feature includes clementines, bananas, and peanut butter and honey popcorn.
Clementines
by moi
Peanut Butter Honey Popcorn
by moi
Unripe Bananas
It’s hard to remember to take pictures of food when you are trying to feed ten hungry people!
