Bookworming it

I am sitting in my living room on New Year's Eve watching Adam and Elijah and Samuel play the new Super Mario Bros game that Pop got us for the Wii. This game has been so fun (and so addicting, even for us grown ups!), and I am cherishing this quiet holiday evening that we are spending together. If you grew up with a Nintendo system like I did, you remember good old Mario and Luigi. This game is a walk down memory lane, on Speed.

The past couple of weeks have been a vacation of sorts from schoolwork and other regular obligations. Adam has also had little or no work almost every day. This has meant lots of sleeping in, staying in pajamas way too long, and plenty of alone time for me at my awesome neighborhood coffee shop. And I am a reader. Oh how I love to read...with four young children it doesn't happen as often as it used to, but when I do have alone time, I almost always fill it with books.


Here is a sampling of some that I've finished in the past several weeks.




The title of this book caught my attention (really? A book that can cure both me and my children of our sinful nature?), and after a young girl close by gave me her impromptu testimonial of the difference it had made in her family's life, I was sold.




It is not a miracle cure, but it is a helpful tool. It focuses on the principle of honor, and how simply learning to honor our children and teaching them to honor others does wonders for all of our heart attitudes. I thought it was a great book and definitely plan to instigate this idea in our family.





This book was different than what I expected. But I liked it. It's all about microfinance - giving the poor realistic and safe ways to borrow and save money. The book descibes how past beliefs and practices about charity to third world countries have really done more harm than good, and how microfinance is literally eradicating poverty all around the world.

It gives practical ways that we can get involved in the fight. I love that.




This is a title that I had heard so many times in beginning our adoption journey. I was so thrilled when a friend let me borrow her copy. I read it from cover to cover, took meticulous notes to share with Adam, and then bought another copy to keep for our library.

I love this book. I love how he seamlessly ties physical and spiritual adoption together, and explains why we can't have one without the other (and that doesn't mean that everyone has to adopt a child). I love how he speaks of adoption as evangelism. I love how he spoke to many of my own fears and shortcomings as a parent, and how he .

Adam and I are asking many of our family members to read this book and will always recommend it to other people considering adoption.


This book is the story of Haregewoin Teferra, an average middle-class Ethiopian woman who, through a turn of events in her own life, changes her neighborhood and eventually her country by caring for orphans.


It is a true account, but it reads like a novel. Very good book, and also gives historical narrative of the country's political climate, AIDS in Africa, poverty and famine. For me, in a sense, it a huge insight into Ethiopian culture.


















This was another title I'd heard thrown around in adoption circles. It is the story of a couple who decided to adopt from Ethiopia. Again, even though it was all true, it read like a novel and was a fun read.

Even though some of the main themes of the book are not themes of my life (namely, infertility), it was still a great read with a great heart behind the story.

My sweet friend Annie graciously recommended this book to me after hearing me complain to her about the never-ending, well-intentioned questions and advice I get about the size of our family.

I bought it right away and soaked it up like a sponge. I related to the author right away. She has 10 children. 4 biological and 6 adopted. She had good insight into broader "myths" about raising a large family, like the amount of money it takes, and also really solid practical tools for dealing with the everyday ins and outs.




Another great book from a friend. This one was a gift from my Seattle sister, and I read it on the plane ride back to Austin. This book is a great read for anyone who finds themselves in the position of mentor or counselor to another. It's biblically solid and full of great insight...and it's written by the brother of the guy who wrote Shepherding A Child's Heart !

I will keep coming back to this one as well.

I read this one on the recommendation of a friend who has also adopted transracially. It's written for parents and educators of black and biracial children. It's opening my eyes to a world I haven't given much thought to, and for that I am thankful. It will be a resource I keep coming back to over the years. I'm keeping my ears out for other books like this one.

If you've read any other good books lately, I'd love the recommendations!