Heroes of the Faith: John Newton - A Review

photo credit Amazon.com

We recently came along the Heroes of the Faith series at our church library. Our biggest book lover, Rebecca, claimed these right away! I now know that the books are rated for ages 12 and up (according to CBD, though they no longer carry the books).

The John Newton book was very informative and well-written. Rebecca and I found it to be a real page-turner! It only took me about 2-3 hours to read it, while Rebecca read a little every day for almost a week. The book would be an easy read for good readers under the age of twelve, but there are some adult themes in the book. For example, I knew that Newton was a slave trader, but I did not know that he was a man with man so many other lustful passions and pursuits. Though the book was not explicit, it clearly described many intimate sins. I was a little embarrassed as I read the book, because I let Rebecca read it first. (A side note: Parents, don't assume that children's books are safe for your kids! Read them first if you can!) Rebecca was bothered by the content of the book... it made her feel awkward, because she is old enough to understand the sins between a man and a woman, though she can not know the full meaning. She kept saying that she "did not like" the book until after John Newton got saved. I did not know what she meant until I read the book for myself. The information within the book is necessary for a clear understanding of the "amazing grace" that Newton felt/received. But, I would encourage parents to either 1) let only older children read this book; or 2) read it aloud and condense the rough spots.

Overall, I liked the book a lot. Rebecca and I both have a new love for the hymn, Amazing Grace! I plan to read all of the books from the Heroes of the Faith series that we found at the church. Though, I think I will read them to myself before turning Rebecca loose to read alone. 

Snow Day

Nothing like sledding in your own yard! Click any pic to bring up the enlargements page.

Baby's First ER Visit

I had one of the biggest scares of my life yesterday.

Baby Jeremiah was dropped on the hard wood floor (by Josiah - age 2). I took Jeremiah immediately to ER as he was not responding in his usual way, he was not crying enough, and his eyes were only turning one direction (before fluttering shut).

We were there four hours and had a CT scan. There is no swelling and no bleeding in the brain, and his skull seems fine. He has a concussion (a family first), but he should be okay. I had to wake him up every 2 hours during the night and I have to continue doing that today. And, the Baby is getting Tylenol every 4 hours for his headache.

It was a very frightening situation. We could have lost our little man. I was hysterical with fear before I left for ER. Jeremiah could have died. And I still feel the extreme weight of that reality.

Mothers - Love on your children today. Give them hugs and kisses when they don't expect it. You just don't know how long you have - accidents happen in the blink of an eye.


P.S - Josiah is not traumatized over having dropped the baby. And we are all going to make sure that Josiah gets plenty of love and kisses today too! He was not trying to hurt the baby - he LOVES Jeremiah... he just needs a lot more guidance and supervision (along with obedience to our directions).

Added 5 minutes later: Just for clarification for those of you who don't know me very well - I do NOT blame Josiah. I place all responsibility for this on myself. (Which is why I said "I still feel the the extreme weight.") 

Baby Jeremiah update

The new baby is about 5 1/2 weeks old now.
He is developing more "personality" by the day.
He is trying to smile.
He is cooing a little.
And, he can occasionally put himself to sleep (miracle of miracles!).
He is still suffering from "colic" after 3 pm. I feel bad for him, he seems to be in great pain.

We introduced a "plug" today (AKA pacifier). He is only our second baby to even try a plug. Rebecca, our other grumpy baby, tried it but did not like it. Oddly enough, for all of her fussiness, Rebecca never took a plug or sucked her fingers. All our other babies have sucked their two middle fingers. Jeremiah has been gnawing on his knuckles lately, so I decided to buy a plug to test it out.

(Click the pictures if you wish to enlarge them)

Here is a pic of our little baby in "tummy time" this afternoon.

Smell the popcorn cooking

With some of our Christmas money (a gift card to Macy's) we bought an Orville Redenbacher Hot Air Popcorn Popper. I gotta say that this machine is definitely worth the money!!! It pops the corn in less time than a microwave could (about 2 1/2 minutes)! The design of the machine also allows you to melt butter while the corn is popping - very cool.

We are really enjoying the ease and speed of this machine.

The (Almost) Whole Truth

An update regarding my postpartum health:

I am tired...very tired. I am living on caffeine. If it wasn't for the screaming of a certain 2 or 4 year old every morning I would not get out of bed.

That about sums it up. (I forgot to mention that Baby Jeremiah is quite the screamer himself every evening!)

So, given my physical fatigue and other behind-the-scenes issues - I need a pick me up. Enter "YouTube therapy." I love to cruise through YouTube and find encouraging songs to bless my day. I hope this one is a blessing to you as well. "He's Been Faithful," by Carol Cymbala, recorded by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.