Book reviewS and Recipe!

Well, I've had adequate time to read these days, although I still feel guilty just sitting and reading too much. However, I managed to finish "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, and "Yellow Star" by Jennifer Roy.
Yellow Star
This is a young adult book about a Jewish girl named Syvia who is one of 12 children to survive the Lodz Ghetto in Poland during WW2. It's a true story about the author's aunt. What's really interesting is that the entire book is written in poetry form! I was a little turned off by this at first thinking it would be harder to get through, but the poetry is just more a matter of format and it reads just like normal text from the perspective of a young girl. It also has a historical timeline in the back of the book that goes through all the major events in world war 2. You can tell the author has been a teacher:) I think it would be fabulous for a classroom, but it's a really great, short and powerful read for anyone!
A Christmas Carol
Classic, obviously. Richie and I started reading it together in December, but never finished it and then he suggested that I had better finish it on my own. :) He loves the story, but getting through all the 'wordiness' is not his thing. Everyone seems to know this story about change and becoming a better person, but actually reading through the text was so insightful The 'wordiness' brings description and humor to the story that is totally lost in the retelling or video reproduction. I highly recommend reading through it. It's a short book. After coming to know Scrooge and his visit from Jacob Marley: "You are fetered," said Scrooge rembling. "Tell me why?" " I wear the chain I forged in life," replied he Ghost. "I made it link by link, yard by yard; I girded it on my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it." - you are so relieved to watch him change. "I am not the man I was."
The Chronicles of Narnia
Man, C.S. Lewis knows what he's talking about. I know everyone talks about how these books are symbolic, but I had no idea how symbolic they really are until I read through them. I never read them when I was younger, so maybe I appreciate them more now. There are 7 books in all, and I read them in sequence which I would definitely recommend. In the first book it explains how Narnia was created and why all the animals talk. It makes the rest of the series make so much more sense. The books take you through the adventures of the Pevensie children, their cousin Eustace, his friend Jill and finally the last king of Narnia in "The Last Battle". Definitely worth reading and rereading if you haven't done so in a few years. Not only was is so entertaining I wanted more at the end, but it made me think deeply and it strengthened my testimony.
Recipe!
Ok, this gal in my ward gave me this recipe and it is to die for! Just a warning, you don't want to make this unless you have people around to help you eat it. Otherwise you will eat the entire pan and gain 15 pounds.
Cookie Bars!
1 C Butter
2 Eggs
2 1/2 C flour
2 t soda
2 C brown sugar
2 t vanilla
1 t salt
3 C oatmeal
Chocolate filling
1 Can Sweetened condensed milk
1 pkg milk chocolate chips
2 t vanilla
(Melt the choc chips and milk together, then add the vanilla)
*Layer a little more than half of the cookie mixture in a greased 9 by 13 pan. Then put chocolate filling on top of the flattened cookie mixture. Let cool for a minute. Then flatten the rest of the cookie mixture on top of the chocolate layer. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until cookie mixture is a light, golden brown.

On Holiday

I'm not sure why I'm not being allowed to post pictures lately, but I'm sick of not posting. So pictures or no pictures, here's the rundown of our Christmas vacation!
Richie and I got to take a good chunk of time to see both of our families this holiday season. It was so fantastic!! We loved being with everyone and there being lots of food around all the time. :)
Here are some highlights:
Going through the temple with Richie's brother Ross

(I guess this picture is special, cause it's the only one that turned out! :)
Spending my first Christmas with the Garners and waking up before 9 to open presents!
Getting to see Sam, Denise, Marci, Ang & TJ at the fine establishment of IHOP- come hungry leave happy.
Having a baby shower with all the girls! It was such a blast!! (Especially that game Ilah and Zadi!)
Going out to lunch with some of the exec sisters
Hanging out and playing games
Watching Richie teach my nieces and nephews how to swing dance and then dancing at first night. Awesome band. What can I say, Richie is just awesome. He was the 'go-to-guy' for fun and had many a wrestling match, dance lesson, frisbee golf game and a bazillion other things.
Having another shower in Bluffdale! We are pretty much ready for baby now! Bring it on!
Mostly we just loved being around our family. I can't believe how much everyone grows up in such a short amount of time. It's crazy to me. I miss everyone already. Although it's nice to get back into a routine and be in your own space, it was such a blast and I wouldn't mind doing it all over again tomorrow.

Baby Update

I have been trying for a few days now to make the post about our fantastic Christmas vacation, but for some reason, I'm having real difficulty getting any pictures on. I know, I know, the suspense is killing you, but you'll have to wait for that post for another day. In the mean time, let this tide you over. I actually do have a picture of my gigantic swollen feet that I could post with this, but darnit, the whole picture thing just isn't working like I explained earlier.
I had a doctor's appointment on Monday and everything is still lookin good! Less than 4 weeks! Can you believe it!? I told the doctor that we have rather large babies in my family, so he said that in 2 weeks at my next appointment (assuming I haven't had the baby by then) then we'd look into inducing maybe after an ultrasound to see how big he really is. Those of you who have seen me recently would probably not doubt the possibility of there being a 15 pound child inside of me. If he's going to be that big, we expect him to come out walking, talking and fully potty trained.
Since we've had 2 showers now, I feel like we have most of what we need. Now it's just kind of a waiting game. I had the baby room all organized and cute once upon a time, but it's once again turned into somewhat of a storage room. So, I would rather baby hold off for at least another week. Richie and I are going to a class this weekend that is going to teach us how to be good parents for a "small" fee. And next weekend my friend in the ward here wants to do another baby shower get together/diaper drop. Wahoo!! Only one small worry now, excited as I am.... Can I really handle this??