Here's to the month of LOVE

February is the month of Love at my house. We celebrate on the very first day, my precious sister's day of birth. She would have been 53 years old this year. She is gone now but not a day goes by that I don't thank God for her.

Shortly after that special day is Kaiser and my anniversary. 29 glorious years ago on February 6th, on a snowy and crisp day, I married the only man I have ever  loved (in a romantic way that is). What a miracle. We were born just hours apart but, thousands of miles in between. At just barely 17 years old, God drew us together the way a compass points north.

The love fest continues with Valentines Day on the 14th so what else could I blog about this week except....Love Stories.  Give me mushy, corny, sticky,ooy gooey, lovey dovey, stories!

YES, my favorite kind of book. I've got three in mind but you will be surprised...they are not your usual love story.

"Marley & Me" by John Grogan is a love story about a man and his dog. You don't have to be a dog-lover to appreciate this book about 
unconditional love. Theirs is a love that last even when mistakes are made, behavior is bad and a love that endures till death. A lesson we could apply in our human relationships. Well worth the read.... then watch the movie. Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson do a great job.

"P.S. I Love You" by Cecelia Ahern is the story of a husband's unselfish and abiding love for his wife. He leaves her a  letter for every month of the year to help her not only learn to live without him, but find joy, love and laughter again. When you have a very good book it makes a very good movie as well. Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler star in the 2007 hit.

"My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. I am giving you a strong warning....this is a gut wrenching story! One of two sisters and their powerful love for one another, as well as the great lengths in which a Mother and Father will go to save their child. Would you purposefully have a baby to save the life of your child? Could you say "no more" and help someone you love let go?

Celebrate the month of love with a good love story. It doesn't have to be a dime store paper back Harlequin romance (although those are fine too). And remember, the greatest love story ever told was "The Cross".

Who's Looking?

I just finished Fanny Flagg's new book "I Still Dream About You". I'm not quite sure how to critique this book. I did like it, but it was somewhat slow, not a big "Wow". So why is it that I can't stop thinking about the message. The whole book is about an aging southern beauty queen, Maggie, who decides quite calmly to exit the stage gracefully (she is going to jump in the river). One reason or another she keeps getting sidelined on "D" day. Throughout the entire book you keep thinking, "Maggie, this character looks up to you, or that character admires you. You mean the world to this friend or that co-worker"...but sadly Maggie just can't see it.
I wonder how many people are looking up to me and I just don't see it. How many are watching what I say and do, and it matters to them. I  think about that great commercial of Liberty Mutual's where one person watches someone else do a kindness and then pays it forward.

(Scroll down and pause my music before playing or it will drive you nuts!)

I'd like to think that I am mindful about the things I say and do as though someone were watching....but I don't think that would be the truth. I know I can do a much better job and I am going to work on it.

So as far as the actual story and plot of this book...I give it a thumbs up.

As for the message....TWO thumbs up. 

I Still Miss Her

In Loving Memory of My Big Sister Martha

February 1, 1958-January 7, 2007

There is no time like the old time, when you and I were young!" Oliver Wendell Holmes

Starting the New Year Right

With the house back to normal, Christmas decorations put up, company gone....I spent the last few days catching up on my reading list. Just finished one of the best books I have read in a long time.

"Safe Haven" by Nicholas Sparks. There is a reason it has been on the best seller list for weeks. Watch for it, I guarantee it will be a movie.
All the way through I kept thinking that it was alot like "Sleeping With The Enemy" (Julia Roberts' movie). Enjoyable, not quite predictable....then BAM! An ending like you will not believe. I went back and read the last two chapters twice.
So run right now and check it out at the library, order it, down load it, however you get your reading material...
Just Do It!! And start the New Year off right... with a GREAT read