Secret Letters by Leah Scheier Book Review

Oh my. This book was so amazingly written, so suspenseful and well crafted, it's hard to know where to start first.
Basically, the book is about an inquisitive, clever and feisty girl named Dora in 19th century England. She uncovers a massive secret- Sherlock Holmes just might be her biological father. Dora is thrilled- she's read his biographies written by Dr. Watson so many times! So Dora journeys to London to learn the truth, and to ask for Holmes' help in a case. Her cousin is being blackmailed over love letters she wrote when she was a teenager, and Dora is convinced Sherlock will help. So she joins her cousin in London and arrives on Holmes' doorstep- only to learn he was murdered in Switzerland by an adversary. However, his dashing young assistant Peter Cartwright, also guarding a secret past, offers his help in her case. He is investigating a disappearance of a heiress, and they soon realize their cases are intertwined. So Dora goes undercover as a maid to help Peter, learning surprising things about herself in the process. I highly recommend this book for fans of Sherlock Holmes and Victorian-age-literature readers. It was suspenseful, moving, and kept you guessing until the very end. I really enjoyed this read. (The only objectionable content- an unmarried, pregnant maid that Dora befriends mentions abortion, and while Dora 'knew it was terribly wrong, she could not find it in her heart to condemn this woman'.  The whole scene is very brief - not more than four sentences, but I just thought I'd mention it as some of  my readers are young.)
It is very sad at the end, I must admit I cried a little bit. I hope a sequel comes out very soon.
My rating- a must read for mystery fans.

Trixie Belden books!!

It's no secret I love to read. Anyone who has seen this blog knows how much I enjoy finding a good book!  I've been a huge fan of the Trixie Belden books ever since my mom gave me her old copy of The Red Trailer Mystery a few years ago. Now, whenever I go to yard sales or book fairs, I keep an eye out for Trixie books. There are 39 in the series, and 2 quiz books. I had 8. Then, a few days ago, at the library, I saw seven. SEVEN Trixie Beldens that  I did not have. The cool thing about this library is you keep the books. Forever, and for free. I had just scored myself 7 Trixie Belden books. Ah, what bliss followed me home! Then a tragic thought struck me. You, my dear readers, may not know who Trixie is!

Trixie and Jim

 Trixie is a teen living just outside the  town of Sleepyside-on-Hudson, in the Hudson River Valley area of New York. She lives at Crabapple Farm, which had been in her family for either three six generations  with her parents and three brothers, Brian, Mart, and Bobby. In The Secret of the Mansion (Book one) she meets lonely, sheltered rich girl Honey Wheeler whose family has just moved into the Manor House. A runaway boy in desperate need of their help soon arrives, and they have their first case!
Throughout the series, the two girls solve mysteries that baffle the police and, along with their brothers and friends, form a club called the Bob-Whites of the Glen, through which they have fabulous adventures. The books were written between 1948-1984, and some are VERY hard to find. I feel super blessed to have found the original editions. Here is a list of the first 10:
1. The Secret of the Mansion
2. The Red Trailer Mystery
3. The Gatehouse Mystery
4. The Mysterious Visitor
5. The Mystery Off Glen Road
6. The Mystery in Arizona
7. The Mysterious Code
8. The Black Jacket Mystery
9. The Happy Valley Mystery
10. The Marshland Mystery

Any other Trixie Belden fans out there? Comment and let me know!!

(Thank you, pinterest for the photo! :) )

Emily Dickinson

Emily as an adult

Emily as a child

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson  was born December 10, 1830 , and died on May 15, 1886. She was a poet, but if you  asked anyone in her town, they'd admit that she had  published a few pieces of poetry, certainly not many. No one knew she aspired to become a poet, for she hid nearly all of  the brilliant poems she wrote.  Emily  lived in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her fairly successful family.  After she attended  the Amherst Academy for seven years as a child, she also went to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Considered an eccentric by the townsfolk, she became known by her love for white clothing and her shyness; she never greeted guests, and in her later life, hardly even left her room. Most of her friendships were through writing letters, as she never went out of the house. 


This is one of my favorite poems
by Emily Dickinson:

I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.
I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were given. 

Pretty awesome, huh? I recommend reading as many of her poems as you can-they're really great!!! 

Ben Wheeler Hogfest

We volunteer at the Ben Wheeler Children's Library, and we were asked to ride on the library float in the Hogfest parade. It was a ton of fun passing out candy and books to the adoring crowds.:) Then we walked around the festival, ate ice cream at Scoots n Scoops.....

Notice our lovely volunteer shirts? It was FREEZING and windy, which is why we're wearing jackets.

Then we walked over to watch people make sorghum and sugar.

It was really interesting. Christopher got to push sugarcane in the machine, as did Andrew and I.

Then it was time for our shift at the library, so we went and worked. We gave people tours, told them the history of the library, and shelved lots of books! Then it was time to go home.

The guys found an old car they liked.

A float decorated like a wagon.


P.S.: For some super cute pics of our  Christopher's :) little chicks, check out: http://childressdvm.blogspot.com/

Book Review of The Mighty Miss Malone

 I was at the library, looking for books. It's a small place, and most of the titles I've read. Then I saw it. In between the musty, dingy, dated volumes, sat a brand new copy of The Mighty Miss Malone. A miracle, or as Deza would say, an epiphany. From the amazing front cover and alliteration-like title, this book did not disappoint!  It painted a believable, funny-but -sometimes tragic picture of a middle class black family living during the Great Depression. 

  It's about Miss Malone-Deza,who's 12 and lives in Gary, Indiana, with her parents, Roscoe and Peg, and older brother, Jimmie, during the Great Depression. Deza loves to write  and excels in school, and Jimmie is known all around town for his Gospel singing(and his dislike for school!). At first, Deza's life is perfects and it's like she lives in her own sheltered bubble. After an accident that injures her father, she learns that they live on welfare food, that they don't own their house, and that many people are prejudiced. Her father goes to look for work and disappears, and her brother goes to find him.
   
    Instead of letting this get her down, Deza decides to try to change things, and ends up turning everything around and reuniting her family. Deza in a character who seemed real. The author does a great job portraying her, her brother, parents, and the rest of her friends and family in a realistic way that feels that you're right there with them. I highly recommend this book!!!
Image credit:http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/files/2011/12/MightyMissMalone.jpg

Shades of Gray Review

Will Page's life and family was ruined by the Yankees. The war has destroyed everything he knew and loved. So when he must stay with his Northern relatives, he's not happy.He loved his home in the Shenandoah Valley and doesn't want to live with relatives he has never met, people struggling to make a living on their farm in the war-torn Virginia Piedmont area. But, worst of all is that Will's uncle Jed had refused to fight for the Confederacy. How could his Uncle be a Union sympathizer?  Uncle Jed is cowardly, not fighting for either side and saying he's for the Union-or so Will thinks. Will refuses to call him "uncle". Aunt Ella, the peacemaker is kind, reminding Will of his mother, and she tries to help Will. And then there's Meg, his cousin, who could care less about the war and just wants to be Will's friend. Still, she's a bit silly and she doesn't seem to understand Will's pain-even when he tells her the Yanks are responsible for the death of his whole immediate family. Just as Will starts to understand Meg, she brings home an injured Yank! Will is furious! However, the Yankee, Jim, is interested in befriending Will. He tells Will he never wanted to obey Sherman's orders of destroying the Confederate countryside. Still, Will is suspicious. Besides, he has his own troubles with bullies. He doesn't need a Yankee friend! Just as Uncle Jed, Jim, Meg, and Will begin to get along, Will's friends from the South offer to take him in. How can he choose between the family he's grown to love and his good friends? 

   I gave this book 5 stars because I think it really explains the Civil war from the perspective of both sides in an unusual way, and it teaches you that someone you might think of as an enemy could be your friend. I also think the author did an amazing job of describing the characters so you felt like you knew all of them. Plus, the book is great for a Civil war study or a Virginia study, because it teaches about both.

Indiana Jones books

How I could have gone so long without reading these books is puzzling. For someone who likes adventure, mystery, and history books like I do, the books are a must-have! I've never seen the movies, but I do know the books don't have any bad words- and the movies do. (The books are adapted for teens)So, I advise you to read the books, watch the trailers on you tube,and then ask your parents to let you see the movies(or at least that's my plan!) Under the picture of each book I'm going to put a mini review.

It's 1935, and Indiana Jones is hired by a "wealthy collector" (gangster) who tries to kill him. In an attempt to escape, Indiana, Willie(a spoiled singer who seems like a brat but turns out okay in the end) and Short Round, Indy's junior assistant-end up in a remote village. Indy is asked to help recover the village's children, who were kidnapped by the blood-thirsty Thugees. It's up to Indy to save them -but will he be able to save himself, Willie, and Short Round when the Thugees decide to fight back?

1938. Hitler is rising to power- and he wants the Ark of the Covenant because he thinks it will make him powerful. So the American Government hires the famous archaeologist Dr. Jones, to find it before the Nazi's do- and to figure out what's going on. Can Indy triumph over the forces of evil? Along with the bedazzling Marion and Sallah, his trusted Egyptian guide, once again it's up to Indy and his bullwhip to save a precious treasure and keep it safe for all time.

Indiana's father has spent his entire life searching for the Holy grail-a cup that was believed to have been used by Jesus. So when Indy's called to find it, he can't understand why his father wasn't called instead- until he learns his father was kidnapped by the Nazis.(Look at the trailer for this one on youtube. It came out in 1981 and it's amazing)Indy comes face to face with the Nazi's evil leader Hitler, breaks into a Nazi-occupied castle, rides for miles hanging off the side of a tank-trust me, it's amazing.

1955, Indy's too old for adventure, right? NO! Being kidnapped by Soviets, searching for lost cities, and trying to help a mysterious teenage boy find his kidnapped mother and uncle-this book is great1It's full of surprises and shows that Indy can do anything!(almost. He's still afraid of snakes.:-) Indy and Mutt  head to South America to find them, meeting grave robbers, ancient warriors, scorpions-and a few pleasant surprises as well.

Reading matters!

Pic from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWzFRncBG-9uJPzUs0PUXZfMW0x5kSJcjYKTqYx305M-lM1yn0kQyLG5-qfQF3sTd1ATjWl7xQeoBzoKH3T10KTLkS0rT019vZQ8lBHRfPDatatZdmpNzv8rZVcrmLxX4JTHIXMXoFWo/s1600/PrettyPinkBooks.jpg

I love reading. Maybe you love reading, maybe you don't. But have you ever stopped to consider how important reading is?
   Reading does matter. Studies show that children who are read to at a young age will  have a love of reading later in life. Three in five inmates in U.S. prisons are illiterate, and 44 million adults in the U.S. can't read well enough to read a simple story to a child. If only they'd been read to when they were younger! My mom has always encouraged me to have a love of reading, and she taught me to read at a young age. But what about children whose parents can't read very well or don't know English? Reading can influence your future career, too. Approximately 50 percent of the nation's unemployed youth ages 16-21 are nearly or completely illiterate, with virtually no prospects of obtaining good jobs.
It's important to read to young children, too. You may think reading to a baby or toddler is boring or ludicrous, but.....

Children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are 3 - 4 times more likely to drop out in later years.  Forty-four percent of American 4th grade students cannot read fluently, even when they read grade-level stories aloud under supportive testing conditions. You can help with this by reading to your younger siblings(or your kids, if you're an adult reading this post.) However, you also need to read, too! Studies of reading habits of students has shown that even just 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose you to more than a million words of text in a year. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and read!! What you read is almost as important as if you read, however. Historical fiction is fun and educational, as are nonfiction books. Books like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys are exciting and have lots of interesting vocabulary words. Fantasy and Sci-fi books are alright once in a while, but constantly reading them doesn't really help your mind. If you like those kind of books, however, just look for ones with challenging words or that are on grade level. Here's a list of good reads I've blogged on: Freedom's Crossing -historical fiction Beware, Princess Elizabeth-historical fiction Hitty, her first hundred years-historical fiction Gail Carson Levine's books fantasy The Hidden Gold-historical fiction/mystery The Invention of Hugo Cabret-historical fiction/mystery Blue Jasmine-modern times/social issues Soul Surfer-modern times/social issues And many more! Just click the label "books" (at the top of my blog)and scroll through!

Freedom's Crossing

Meet Laura Eastman, a teenage girl who returns home from living with her aunt and uncle in the South only to find her little brother,Bert, and her father are running a station on the Underground Railroad. At first, Laura is angry. They're breaking the law! How could they help slaves escape their kind masters? Soon Laura  learns that most masters aren't as kind as her aunt and uncle were. She also learns Bert isn't just helping slaves-he's hiding them in the house.
    Laura is outraged. She threatens to go to the sheriff. But her whole view in slavery changes when she meets a runaway slave....
Enter Martin Page, a twelve year old fugitive slave who will risk anything to be free. He knows how to read, write, and bake, and he explains to Laura what life's like for slaves who don't have kind masters.
Still, Laura is unsure about this, until one day, she must either break the law to help Martin escape-or send him back to the plantation.

I loved this novel by Margaret Goff Clark. The author does an amazing job of writing from the viewpoints of a Southern girl and a fugitive slave. I really enjoyed the book. 5 stars!

Ben Wheeler Library

This is the Ben Wheeler Library:

  It was once a schoolhouse. Now, it's a charming little library where you can get any 5 books you want free.
You can also attend special programs. We attended one of the programs and...

  ..... chatted with an opossum,

 made faces along with a beaver skull,

 learned about animal furs,

 ...came face-to face with big skulls like these...

...and had a great time!!

A lady from Texas Parks and Wildlife Services brought tons of animal skulls and furs to look at. We learned loads of interesting facts, such as how to tell what an animal is by looking at it's skull. The speaker was verry funny and her talk was very educational. I really enjoyed it. Something interesting: As I'm writing this, I just saw a coyote walking through our woods!

Beware, Princess Elizabeth book review

Princess Elizabeth is having a bad time of it. Her mother was beheaded, her sister Mary is out to get her, her father the king is dead, and there are hundreds of plots circling around her family. Her true love turns against her, and she loses her wealth.Oh yes, and she's imprisoned in the notorious Tower of London. Not to mention that she's being persecuted for her faith and her good friend Lady Jane Grey was just executed.

No one-even her most loyal supporters- expect Elizabeth to be able to rise out of all this and someday become Queen. Elizabeth herself has doubts. She witnesses first her brother Edward, then her friend Lady Jane Grey, then her sister Mary take the throne. She quietly watches all of them, learning what to do and what not to do if she ever becomes Queen.

 The book follows Elizabeth from 14 to when she becomes queen, and I really enjoyed it. I especially liked that all the characters were real people. However, I didn't like that the book is rather descriptive in some places,(such as beheadings and fights) and all the royal families are trying to get rid of each other.


This book is an educational and enjoyable read. If you enjoy it, you can read the whole series! I give it an 8 out of 10.

Cooking Classes

Today I went to a cooking class led by Chef Jackson York of the Edom Bakery and Grill. I learned how to make 4 soups: Tomato-Basil, Chicken and Vegetable, Broccoli Cheese, and Cheeseburger soup, which Chef Jackson invented and had featured in Texas Monthly magazine. HE invented it because he used to work at a country club that always had leftover cheese. He experimented with different ideas and came up with cheeseburger soup! It's super yummy. You get a big sample of everything you learn how to make. The classes are held for 3 Mondays in July every year in the Moore Store,  Ben Wheeler, Texas. This is Chef Jackson's Tomato Basil Soup Recipe:

Tomato Basil Soup           Servings-6 2 oz oil or margarine melted 1 small diced onion Enough flour to pick up your onions 32 oz tomato juice 3 oz heavy cream 1 1/2 oz fresh basil Salt and pepper to taste -Sauté your diced onion in oil until clear -Add enough flour to pick up the onions -Add your tomato juice and bring to a boil -Add heavy cream plus fresh basil -Finish by checking for salt and pepper -If a little too thin then boil for about 5-7 min.  until desired consistency, Enjoy!   Chef Jackson York, Executive Chef

After we went to cooking classes, we went to Ben Wheeler Library, and guess what? You get to check out 5 books-and you get to keep them. For forever. Isn't that nice?!! I thought it was great! Ben Wheeler has it's own website: check it out here:   www.benwheelertx.com

Hitty : Her First Hundred Years

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years was first written by Rachel Fields in 1930. Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers revised this version. This version is the sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious story of Hitty, a doll who travels all over the world, meeting many people and learning many things. Hitty is carved out of mountain ash wood in Maine for Phoebe Preble, a sea captain's daughter, by a peddler. During her time with Phoebe, many things happen to Hitty, including falling overboard,  living in a tiny temple built for her by natives, and meeting monkeys. But one day, Phoebe falls asleep and drops Hitty unknowingly while being carried back to the ship to head for home. So Hitty is left in a gutter in India and found by a snake charmer and used in his show. Missionaries to India see her there and buy her for their little girl, who later brings her to the States, is embarrassed of Hitty and shoves her in a sofa . Rescued from the sofa by a Quaker girl, Hitty eventually meets Confederate and Yankee soldiers, Abraham Lincoln ,Theodore Roosevelt and his kids, a girl who hates dolls, lots of girls who love dolls, and "some big Irish family in Hyannisport whose name I have forgotten." (she means the Kennedys)

Hitty in the natives' temple 

The house where Hitty is made, the Preble's home, is a real place on Cranberry Island, Maine. You can tour it and buy Hitty dolls! At this site you can buy Hitty paper dolls, learn all about Hitty, and see her new adventures. I really enjoyed the story. I give the book 5 stars! It's a great way to teach history.

image from http://dkkdolls.com/store/media/books/hit0001a.jpg

Gail Carson Levine

I must confess, I am addicted to Gail Carson Levine's books. Fairest, The Two Princesses of Baymare, all the Princess Tales series,and now, Ever.
Starting with Ella Enchanted at age nine, I've been hooked ever since. Her stories are fantasy, yet they have a sense of mystery,too.I like her books because the plots aren't too easy, like in some fantasy books-well, you know-something goes wrong and poof- it's magically swept away by Berna the fairy godmother. What I like about Gail Carson Levine's books is that they aren't like that.

Fairest  is the story of a Aza, a girl who is ugly in a land where everyone believes beauty and singing are the two best qualities on earth. Aza works at her adoring adoptive family's Inn, until a dame who spends the night their invites Aza to come to the palace for a ceremony. No one knows Aza can sing-if someone will give her a chance. But then a kind young prince falls in love with her, despite her looks, and things are going well .Aza even becomes Lady Aza, and is asked by queen Ivi to not only to be her lady in waiting, but to sing-for Ivi. Ivi, who is beautiful yet can't sing forces Aza to sing,making her  throw her voice so it seems the queen can sing. When Aza is caught doing this, however Ivi blames her and banishes her, sending a huntsman to kill Aza(like in Snow White!) Instead the huntsman takes Aza to live with friendly gnomes, were she is well-cared for and happy-until the day a strange apple appears.....
READ THE BOOK!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ever is the story of Kezi, a girl living in ancient times, whose life is put in danger when her father makes a rash promises to the god they believe in , Admat. (Ever sort of reminds me of ancient mythology, with all the gods. ) Through a twist of events, Kezi is destined to be sacrificed to the gods. But not if Olus, the handsome young god of the winds can help it! He comes up with a risky plan to try to turn her into a godess, but if that doesn't work, alll is lost. I read the book 5 times already and cried just a little. It's really,really good. (This is fantasy, of course I do not believe there are a15 gods or any other god than Jesus, the one true God.)

I found all these books at my local library. I absolutely love the library!

The Hidden Gold book review

    Marie-Grace is traveling on a steamboat to St. Louis from New Orleans with her doctor father in the 1850's. She misses her friend Cecile and her pet dog Argos but is thrilled to be riding on a steamboat. When Wilhelmina, a strange, hungry girl in need of a friend, tells Marie-Grace she needs help. Marie-Grace offers to help her. Wilhelmina tells Marie-Grace that she (Wilhelmina) is carrying gold-she just doesn't know where it is and she's searched her trunk. If she can't find the gold her father left her, her little brothers and mother will go hungry. Wanting to help the family who are in desperate need, Marie-Grace agrees to help search for the gold-but is she putting her life in danger??!!

What I liked about the book:                                                    
I'd read the other Marie -Grace books and the American Girl mysteries, so I really enjoyed reading this one. I also liked that it taught about steamboats and the 1850's. I found especial pleasure in reading about the characters and how Marie-Grace interacted with them as she is different from some of the other American Girls.

   What I didn't like about the book:
It was rather short, being a voracious reader I devoured it in less than an hour, but for someone slightly younger- maybe 9 or 10- I'd say it would be perfect. I also found that I could guess the plot by the time I was halfway finished.

4 stars!

However, overall I really liked it. It was believable and I liked the author's descriptive language. I'd give the book  4 stars.                                 

Book Review of The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Hugo and the book

Hugo and Isabelle in one of the illustrations

  The Invention of Hugo Cabret  by Brian Selznick is a great book that keeps you guessing to the end!! Hugo Cabret is an orphan, a tinker, a clock-worker...and a thief living in a Paris train station in 1931. Always on the run from the stationmaster who will kick him out if he finds out the truth- that the "man" who runs the clocks is a twelve-year old boy living in the clock worker's apartment. When Hugo's father died, Hugo was sent to live with his uncle, a clock worker. But when his uncle leaves him all alone,Hugo must find a way to survive- and a way to repair the mysterious automaton (a mechanical man) his father leaves behind. With no way to buy tools, Hugo steals windup toys  from a grumpy old man. Together the old man's ward, Isabelle, and Hugo discover an age-old secret, resulting in mystery, wonder, and magical movies!! The book has 264 full page illustrations that are astounding and in great detail. I give this book 5 stars.

Love from your friend,Hannah Book Review

Hannah Diamond is a young girl growing up in rural New York State in 1937. Bored and tired of writing 16 letters to her best-friend-who -moved-away-and -didn't-write-back, Hannah decides to get a pen pal. She draws a name from the big Pen Pal box on her teacher's desk. Hannah writes her new pen pal a long letter telling him all about her life. The boy writes back, too-two sentences. Any ordinary person would be discouraged, but not Hannah! She writes to her aunt, her grandmother,President Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt,and Miss Missy, The President's Secretary.She also writes to a young hobo who stopped by her father's restaurant, and eventually even, Edward, her not-so boring pen pal who turns out to be a good friend and an interesting person. Hannah writes witty letters that are very amusing to read. Also, if you are interested in either of the Roosevelts, this is the book for you!This book teaches about the Great Depression, and is a good read.
 I also enjoyed this book because I have several pen pals of my own.



(Inappropriate Content: Ms. Van Dam, the grocer's wife, yells a bad phrase, then tells Hannah she shouldn't have said it and says never say ugly words. However, Hannah gets mad at a bully on the bus and yells the bad word anyway.)

Blue Jasmine book review and William Carey Study

Blue Jasmine by  Kashmira Sheth is an amazing book about the difference between two cultures. When almost -13-year-old Seema moves to America from India with her father, mother, and little sister Mela, she doesn't know what to think. She misses her cousin, Raju, and her friends. And she can't stand Carrie, a mean girl. But she likes her new house and her new friends, especially Ms. Milan, whose like a second grandma to Seema and Mela. Everything seems different- no one celebrates Diwali (the Indian festival of lights) or eats 'real' sherbet. (In India, sherbet is punch.) And Americans use such funny phrases! Will Seema ever feel at home?

I liked this book because it explains how people coming from another country to America feel. It also taught a lot about Indian culture,foods,people, places and holidays. For example, in the book , Seema  attends an American Thanksgiving and is amazed by the story of the Pilgrims. We usually think that everyone must know stories like that. So, this book as taught me to not assume that everyone knows something- instead,explain it. I really enjoyed this book and I think you will too.

Flag of India

USA flag.

image from http://ia700805.us.archive.org/zipview.php?zip=/25/items/olcovers54/olcovers54-L.zip&file=544602-L.jpg






    I've also been learning about William Carey, an missionary to India in the eighteenth century. He was the youngest of the five children of Edmund and Elizabeth Carey, who were weavers. William is known as the "father of modern missions", because he was interested in saving the lost at a time when no one cared much about that. In fact, at a ministers' meeting in 1786, he  raised the question of whether it was the duty of all Christians to spread the Gospel throughout the world, as he believed it was. J. R. Ryland is said to have told him: "Young man, sit down; when God pleases to convert the 'heathen', he will do it without your aid and mine." How sad. However, this didn't stop William Carey! He tried to stop the unfair caste systems, and converted many to Christ.  He translated at least a part of the Bible into 32 Indian dialects! William Carey once said: "Expect great things from God.
Attempt great things for God."

Safe Sitter Course!

I took a  Safe Sitter Course, and I learned so much. What is a Safe Sitter Course? Well, Safe Sitter was founded in 1980 by a emergency room doctor. One of the nurses in his emergency room had left her little girl with a sitter and came to work. An hour later, the little girl was in the emergency room. She'd started choking and the sitter didn't know what to do. The doctor decided to found Safe Sitter classes to educate boys and girls 11-13 on how to care for kids, choking rescue,etc. When I got to the school library where I was taking the course, I was given a folder with information on :

• How, why and where injuries happen so you can prevent them from happening in the first place.
• How to decide how serious a problem is if someone isinjured.
• How to get help if you need it.
• How to keep yourself safe when babysitting.
• How a child's age affects how to care for them.
• How to prevent problem behavior.
• How to rescue a choking infant or child.
• How to run your babysitting business

(The items in bold are from ther Safe Sitter site.)

After going over the items in our folder, we learned how to do choking rescue on infants and on older kids. If someone is choking, don't slap them on the back or hold up there hands. That causes the item to go farther down their airway.Instead, preform abdominable thrusts if they are older than 1.

The dummies we did choking rescue on.

Me diapering a 'baby'...

Choking Rescue

More choking rescue...

After all of this, we took a test and preformed choking rescue for our instructor. If I passed, I'll get a card in the mail saying I am a CERTIFIEDd SAFE SITTER!!! I can't wait! Then I can babysit!!

Book Review of Nancy Drew #10: Password to Larkspur Lane

I've been re-reading ( for the 35th time)  Nancy Drew #10: Password to Larkspur Lane, and I love it! Here's a summary:
Nancy finds an injured homing pigeon that has a strange message on it. The message is "Trouble here. After  5 o'clock bluebells will be singing horses. Come tonight." The Homing Pigeon Association says since the bird isn't registered they can't trace the owner, so Nancy says she'll take care of it. Hannah Gruen, Nancy's housekeeper, gets hurt, so Nancy takes her to the doctors home office. The doctor's wife says he's out and asks Nancy to answer the phone if it rings. A strange man calls and tells Nancy to tell Doctor Spire "If you say bluebells, you will get into trouble , for they are no longer used here".  A few minutes later, the doctor returns, examines Hannah, then tells Nancy he has a mystery for her and her father, a lawyer who's famous in his their hometown, River Heights. The doctor tells them he was kidnapped and taken to a room. There, he was "told to doctor an elderly woman, who had dislocated her shoulder. The other person in the room said she was a nurse and told me to not talk to the patient. The woman seemed to be trying to talk to me, and she slipped me this." The doctor shows them a bracelet and says he thinks the woman is bring held prisoner. The doctor tells Nancy that he learned the password to the strange place- "As we were leaving, I was blindfolded. The driver stopped and said "Bluebells" then someone said" Pass". In a interesting twist of events, Nancy finds herself caught up in a rescue attempt to save the elderly woman from a ruthless gang. I give this book 5 stars.