2009 Book List

I love to read & I really love to keep track of things. :)

My goal for the year is to read 40 books.

Here's my 2009 list of books read so far:

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
3. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
5. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
6. The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy
7. The Book of Mormon
8. The Horse & His Boy by C.S. Lewis
9. The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
10. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
11. The Voyage of the Dawn Trader by C.S. Lewis
12. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
13. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
14. Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
15. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
16. The Work & the Glory v.1 by Gerald Lund
17. The Davinci Code by Dan Brown
18. The Lightnening Thief by Rick Riordan
19. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
20. The Titans Curse by Rick Riordan
21. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
22. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
23. The Work & the Glory v.2 by Gerald Lund
24. The Work & the Glory v.3 by Gerald Lund
25. The Work & the Glory v.4 by Gerald Lund
26. The Work & the Glory v.5 by Gerald Lund
27. The Work & the Glory v.6 by Gerald Lund
28. The Work & the Glory v.7 by Gerald Lund
29. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
30. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
31. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
32. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
33. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
34. The Host by Stephenie Meyer
35. The Work & the Glory v.8 by Gerald Lund
36. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
37. Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites by Chris Heimerdinger
38. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
39. The Spiderwick Chronicles, Books 1-5, by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black
40. Gadiantons & the Silver Sword by Chris Heimerdinger
41. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
42. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
43. Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares
44. Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares
45. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
46. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
47. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
48. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
49. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
50. The Feathered Serpent Part 1 by Chris Heimerdinger
51. The Feathered Serpent Part 2 by Chris Heimerdinger
52. The Sacred Quest by Chris Heimerdinger
53. The Lost Scrolls by Chris Heimerdinger
54. The Golden Crown by Chris Heimerdinger

Satan wasn't bad

Here's an excerpt from a poem written by Elder Orson F. Whitney of the Quorum of the Twelve:


"Father!" the voice like music fell,
Clear as the murmuring flow
Of mountain streamlet trickling down
From heights of virgin snow,
"Father," it said, "since One must die,
Thy children to redeem
From worlds of all formless now and void,
Where myriad life shall teem;

"And mighty Michael foremost fall
That mortal man may be;
And chosen Savior yet must send,
Lo, here am I -- send me!
I ask, I seek no recompense,
Save that which then were mine;
Mine be the willing sacrifice,
The endless glory Thine!"

Still rang that voice, when sudden rose
Aloft a towering Form,
Proudly erect as lowering peak
'Lumed by the gathering storm;
A presence bright and beautiful,
With eye of flashing fire,
A lip whose haughty curl bespoke
A sense of inward ire.

"Send me!" -- coiled 'neath his courtly smile
A scarce-concealed disdain --
"And none shall hence, from Heaven to Earth,
That shall not rise again.
My saving plan exception scorns.
Man's will? -- nay, mine alone.
As recompense, I claim the right
To sit on yonder Throne!"

I'm not really buying this version of what happened. I believe Satan was a very beloved son of Heavenly Father's. He was pretty high up on the totem pole, so to speak. I don't think he had disdain for Michael's idea. I think he was probably a bit jealous over not being the favorite son & wanted some of that power & light, but I don't think he was initially a bad spirit. He's certainly proved himself to be the opposite of his brother since his idea (& in essence him) being rejected.

I don't invite anything in that would help me gain a better understanding of Satan & why he does the things he does. Why he's chosen the path he's chosen. Maybe it was something he was meant to do, just as Christ was foreordained to be our Savior. Something to think about.....

The interesting & not so fun

We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight. They called this morning to remind us, which is good because I'd completely forgotten. So instead of going to see the new Bourne movie with Dave, we stayed home & cleaned. Fun, fun.

I'm glad we spent the day cleaning, though. It'll be that much less work to do in the next few days, as I get ready for Dave's mom, Vickie, & her husband, Keith, who are coming in town on Friday for Tyler, Jordan, & Logan's birthday parties. Now, if I can manage to maintain it I'll be doing great!

I read the bible a bit tonight. It's been a long time since I've opened it up. My quad was sitting next to me on the couch, just looking at me. I thought out loud, it has my name on it, yet I know so little about it! That's just wrong!! So, I broke it open & started reading about the Revelations of John in the Bible dictionary. Very interesting stuff!!

I remember asking my dad, when I was little & my mom accidentally killed my older brother Travis' pet hamster, if there were animals in heaven. He told me there was, but I never fully believed him because, well, how could he really know? Tonight I actually read where it says animals will be resurrected & that they live in heaven!

After recounting this to Dave, he goes on to tell me that all the animals & plants.....everything......chose to come to Earth. !?What!? This is new to me!! What do you mean they "chose"??? So, now I'm off to check this out, because I'm back to the same issue I had with my Dad when I was little. How can he know that?

I'll be finding out the answer to that & adding more info as I find it. Truly interesting stuff!!

What a day!

I joined the aerobics group some ladies at church put together. Today was my second day & I have to say MAN!! Amanda Taylor is a slave driver!!! And she has issues with lying & counting. First she tells us 8 more but after 8 she adds several more on & at times loses count of how many are actually left. Typical aerobics instructor. LOL

Since Ty's at Scout Camp, I put Jo & Lo in the nursery hoping to be able to get some time without them. It worked for about 30 minutes, which was very pleasing to me, but then they decided they would rather be with me. I was trying to hear what Amanda, the instructor, was saying but Jo kept talking to me. I had to keep asking him "now what did you say, Jo??" many times because I was trying to focus on the daunting task of moving my arms & legs at the same time. At one point he shouted at me so I'd hear what he had to say. It was "you're doing great, Mom!". :) Cute stuff!

Logan wanted to do some kicks & knee lifts with us, which was also quite cute. He kept getting in to other peoples things though, which was a bit frustrating. Jordan helped me out by doing crunches with me, which was very nice.

On a less than happy note, my best friend told me today they're planning on moving to Idaho (where she's from) before the end of the summer. I'm happy for her because I really feel like it's a great opportunity for them. I'm also jealous because I wish it were our time, too, & we had some kind of opportunity as well. And I'm sad because I'll miss her so much. She was the first person I met here in Las Vegas & kids are great friends & she's been the closest, healthiest friendship I've ever had. It all leaves me feeling torn & I don't feel like I can talk about it much yet without tearing up. Sucks.

Been a while

There's not enough hours in the day. And why can't my body manage on less sleep? Maybe that was to teach me some patience. I dunno.

Ty's at Scout camp. They left yesterday just after Sacrament meeting. He's called me twice since to tell me he loves me. :) Man, just when I think he probably doesn't need his momma much anymore, he throws me a curve ball. I love that boy!

Jordan has gonked his head twice in the past month. One requiring just a butterfly bandage but the other sent us to the ER for 9 stitches! Right in the middle of his forehead, too.

Preschool is all wrapped up for the year. That was a good experience. Now I'm wondering what to do for next year. A friend who did the co-op with us this year wants to do it again for next year since we both won't be sending our boys to Kindergarten for another year.

Logan finally figured out how to say yes. Funny kid! He doesn't actually say it, but nods his head in a strange way. He doesn't quite have the nod down & it sometimes goes all over the place, which is truly amusing.

Hayleah is sitting up on her own now. She's also become very talkative. And loud. I wouldn't have it any other way (for now ;) )!