Book Review – Wishtree

Wishtree takes a modern day, controversial, political nightmare, and speaks love into it through nature. It’s a cute story. It’s educational. It’s thought-provoking if you allow it to be. I have to highly recommend this book, and even to adults, which feels weird, but right. 

First, I know there are some of you following purely for the pregnancy story. You should know that amongst that story, I’m posting other things like book reviews, notes about various things and, eventually, DIY projects when I get around to them. Feel free to delete any posts that do not interest you as they land in your inbox. I won’t be offended. But please comment if you feel you’re getting more than you bargained for, and at that point I will look into selective subscription options for you. Otherwise, enjoy! Thanks for following! 


I am not above reading children’s literature because one, I have a child and two, children’s literature gives you all the warm, happy feelings. Don’t be fooled by the genre, this one is not a picture book. It’s about 200 pages long, but you could read it in one night. If I had to guess on the age it’s intended for, I would say… 10 year olds? I don’t know, I’m not there yet. Ask me when my daughter is 10 if I think it’s appropriate for her reading level. Anyhow, I found Wishtree at a library used book sale for $.50, and let’s be real, that’s basically a steal.

Book 9:
Wishtree
by Katherine Applegate

Genre:
Juvenile Fiction

Published:
September 2017

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, Wishtree is about an old oak tree in the city, Red, who serves as the neighborhood “wishtree”. Once a year, on May 1, a long time tradition begs people to write their wishes on a piece of cloth and tie them to Red’s branches. The warm, happy feelings that come with community traditions like this, however, subside when someone takes to the wishtree with prejudicial actions toward the neighborhood’s new residents, a muslim family. Red, along with her animal residents, work together to make right the wrongs of the hurtful human before it’s too late.

Favorite Quote:

It is a great gift indeed to love who you are.

― Katherine Applegate, Wishtree

Awards (based upon my brief research):
An Amazon Top 20 Children’s Books of 2017
New York Time’s Bestseller

Pages:
224

My Overall Rating:
4 – My gut reaction was to give a 3, demoting it from a 4 simply because it’s “children’s literature”, but I let this post sit for a while because it just didn’t feel right. I’ve always appreciated children’s books that tackle deep, political issues in a way that a child may or may not fully understand at the time of reading (like much of Dr. Seuss’ writing, for example). Wishtree takes a modern day, controversial, political nightmare, and speaks love into it through nature. (Like… I think I’m talking myself into moving this up to a 5 just because of that last sentence.) It’s a cute story. It’s educational. It’s thought-provoking if you allow it to be. I have to highly recommend this book, and even to adults, which feels odd, but oddly right. 

P.S. What wish would you tie to the wishtree?

Pregnancy is Bliss

There in my journal, on January 4, 2017 sits the goal that would become the excruciating theme that would encapsulate so much of 2017. Slow down.

3.26.17

“For a year where I’d hoped to slow down a bit, I didn’t anticipate having to almost get through March before that could happen.”

I was either out of town or in town, but at conferences for work for eight weekends of the first twelve weeks of 2017. Like I do every new year, I’d picked a goal to achieve in 2017 – to slow down. When I picked the goal, I knew we may or may not enter into a pregnancy in 2017, and assumed it would probably be a good thing for my whirlwind of a self to learn how to slow down.

Things I don’t like:

1 – slowing down.

True confession – I was not 100% on board with starting a family yet, because I didn’t want to slow down. I didn’t want to give up my weekends away, my lighthouse-seeking adventures, my vacations, my hiking/biking/cross country skiing outings, my ability to work out or read whenever I wanted, my grocery shopping on the fly… I wanted to still be able to jam pack each week with the perfect concoction of fun, productivity and necessity. I knew having a baby would put a wrench in the cog that was my perfectly planned out whirlwind of a life.

So I needed to learn how to slow down. I needed to learn how to stay home, how to scale back, how to be content… As an achievement-focused individual, what I needed most was to put in writing a goal that would help me learn these things. There in my journal, on January 4, 2017 sits the goal that would become the excruciating theme that would encapsulate so much of 2017. Slow down. The foreshadowing I projected on that day would become downright eerie.

But the foreshadowing I projected on March 26 would become the hug I would wear through much of my pregnancy and beyond:

“Baby-wise, in general, I finally feel like I’m in a good place with it. I’m actually looking forward to being a mommy. I think the mind-shift took place as people began to step up… I’m so, so comforted by the support system that has formed around us. I don’t know that I necessarily thought we would have to face all of these changes alone, but I’m more so just realizing that we can do this. And in the times when we think we can’t, our support system will be there for us. Praise God for the people He’s put in our lives…”

On March 26, we were just days away from an abrupt ending to the honeymoon phase of our pregnancy, yet I already knew the major blessing God had bestowed upon us in our support system – our people, our village. I wore that blessing when I needed the reassurance that slowing down and starting a family was going to be ok, but I would wear it again like it was the old, worn out, comfortable sweater I’d never be able to part with for much of our pregnancy and Oaklee’s first months.

In the stats: 
Gestational Age: 14 weeks, 1 day
Days of blood: 4
Doctor’s Appointments: 1

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P.S. For those of you relying on Facebook to follow along, thank you for following. However, eventually I will become more selective as to what goes on Facebook as things become increasingly more personal. Feel free to subscribe via email by entering your email address in the Follow Along box to the right of this post. I’d love to share our story with you, but I don’t want to keep sharing it with those who’d rather not hear about it.

Book Review – An American Marriage

I loved so many things about this book. It was thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and educational. I rooted for characters. I got mad at characters. And I allowed characters to test my perspective on issues such as modern racial oppression, relational issues and more.

While this next book, An American Marriage, was not actually my February Book of the Month selection, it would have been my second choice. So when the book club I’m in selected An American Marriage as our March book, I was more than happy to go back and nab it up (for just $10, by the way). I knew it was going to be a good one…

Book 8:
An American Marriage
by Tayari Jones

Genre:
Domestic Fiction

Published:
January 2018

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, An American Marriage is about a black, newlywed couple whose already somewhat rocky marriage is tested when the husband, Roy, is wrongfully accused of a crime and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Can budding love survive when the perfect concoction of residual racial oppression and the law keeps a husband and wife apart and temptation lives next door? Through letters and multiple points of view, the reader finds out.

Favorite Quote:

There are too many loose ends in the world in need of knots. You can’t attend to all of them, but you have to try. 

― Tayari Jones, An American Marriage

Awards (based upon my brief research):
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
Oprah’s Book Club 2018 Selection

Pages:
308

My Overall Rating:
4 – I loved so many things about this book. It was thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and educational. I rooted for characters. I got mad at characters. And I allowed characters to test my perspective on issues such as modern racial oppression, relational issues and more. A quick read, this book reminded me somewhat of The Help, in the way it sheds light on racial tensions that many of us believe are ancient history. Racism may have changed, but it’s not gone.

I highly recommend this book, but why the 4 and not a 5? The wife, Celestial, seemed to choose an unbelievable route in the plot. Not only did I not expect her to respond the way she did, I could think of several other responses that seemed more natural given the situation. In the end, resolution was found where resolution was needed, but the journey there for Celestial just didn’t seem quite right. 

Book Review – The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

This next book would not have been my choice in any way, but work calls… I’m all for healthy organizations, but reading organizational health books, to me, is like watching paint dry.

Coming off my high from The Great Alone, this next book would not have been my choice in any way, but work calls… I’m all for healthy organizations, but reading organizational health books, to me, is like watching paint dry. Plus, it’s just really hard to read a book I didn’t choose for myself when I have a stack of books on my shelf, itching to be read.

Book 7:
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
by Patrick Lencioni

Genre:
Organizational Health

Published:
July 2002

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a leadership fable that explores, well, the five dysfunctions of a team. Lencioni outlines those common dysfunctions as the following:

  • Absence of trust—unwilling to be vulnerable within the group
  • Fear of conflict—seeking artificial harmony over constructive passionate debate
  • Lack of commitment—feigning buy-in for group decisions creates ambiguity throughout the organization
  • Avoidance of accountability—ducking the responsibility to call peers on counterproductive behavior which sets low standards
  • Inattention to results—focusing on personal success, status and ego before team success

Favorite Quote:

Success is not a matter of mastering subtle, sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.

― Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Awards (based upon my brief research):
None noted.

Pages:
227

My Overall Rating:
2 – I’ll admit, I came into this ready to give it a one simply because it’s not my cup of tea. However, I will also admit this book held my interest for probably the first two thirds because it’s written in fable form for that portion. As soon as it turned into the preachy, preachy, this-is-how-you-have-a-successful-team type of stuff, however, I had to read and re-read sentences because I was reading without actually taking it in. Snooze-fest. (I’m sorry Patrick!) If you lead a team and you need help, sure, go for it, but I can’t say it’s better or worse than the next organizational health book because they’re all kind of the same, aren’t they?

P.S. Sorry for the boring book review, but a book read is a book read.

An Open Letter to the Mom Whose Preemie was Just Admitted to the NICU

To the mom with the baby in the NICU right now,

You don’t know me, but I’ve been praying for you. I, myself, just gave birth last June to a 27 weeker, a beautiful, now healthy baby girl.

Your NICU experience will be hard and frustrating. You’ll be overly emotional. You’ll be exhausted. You probably won’t take good care of yourself. You’re going to stare at a monitor, watching numbers rise and fall for hours, bored, yet unable to do anything else. People will say weird things to you. You’ll question if you’re doing it right – being there for your baby enough, pumping enough, prioritizing the right people/activities… You’ll get blazing mad at the same doctors and nurses you trust your baby’s very life with – especially when you get to the end and you just. want. to take. her home.

But this is what I told myself, and I thought I would share in case it helps you get through it as well…

In the traumatic, “we need to deliver your baby NOW” moment, I promised God I’d raise my baby to do anything He called her to if He saved her. I literally laid there, in tears, swarmed by doctors and nurses, praying, “She’s yours, God, save her.”

And He did save her.

Throughout our NICU experience (69 days), I realized I was afraid of what God might call her to do because of my promise. I wholeheartedly believe she will be a better disciple than I’ll ever be because God gave her life out of the muck and mire that was our pregnancy and her first months in this world.

You have a precious fighter on your hands. I’m so glad for the health he/she’s been blessed with this far. I will continue to pray that he/she continues to thrive beyond imaginable, because God has massive, huge plans for that teeny, tiny little one.

Please be encouraged.

I hope this is the hardest thing you ever have to go through. And I hope you have just a village of people rallying around you.

He is with you always. (Matthew 28:18-20)

So much love to you! Keep pumping, mama!

P.S. Just 6.9 weeks until the March for Babies (Ok, it’s 7, but it’s not too late to donate a dime for each day of Oaklee’s NICU stay – that’s just $6.90 – or maybe even a dollar per day?)! Click here for a reminder of what March of Dimes does/did for us.

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Mom, Dad, We’re Having a Baby

One more sleep, one more day of work, and then an evening of visiting/calling all our immediate family to finally, finally, spill our happy news.

3.13.17

“Hopefully I remain in good health for the busy week ahead. This weekend was the most ill I’ve felt since being pregnant. I still didn’t throw up, but I almost wish I would have. It might have helped me feel better.”

I wrote the quote above in the Atlanta airport, on my way home from visiting one of my best friends who was also pregnant and already high risk herself. It was the last week of secret keeping, and we let the secret begin to trickle out, taking advantage of the face-to-face time I got to spend with two out-of-town friends while in Atlanta and my husband leaking the news to a family friend in Germany. 

One more sleep, one more day of work, and then an evening of visiting/calling all our immediate family to finally, finally, spill our happy news. 

When we got out of work, we picked up Jimmy John’s subs and headed to my parents where we released Charlie, our miniature pinscher, donning the “Lil’ Big Bro September ’17” t-shirt pictured below. Amidst surprises/celebrations at each of our stops and through each of our FaceTime conversations (thank goodness for today’s technology, huh?), we gave each family member a copy of our announcement picture (also pictured below).

Pregnancy Announcement

What I would call “the honeymoon phase” of our pregnancy – the days we could finally talk freely about it, and without worry – had begun. Throughout the next week, we continued to tell our friends, co-workers and extended family, and we learned our ability to keep a secret/hide a pregnancy was pretty top notch as not a single person had suspected we might be pregnant. 

On the 16th, I shared the following text on social media, accompanying the laundry image above:

This September will be extra sweet. Not only will we celebrate three years of marriage, but we’ll become a family of three. 

If only we would make it to September before our baby was born…

In the stats: 
Gestational Age: 12 weeks, 2 days
Days of blood: 4
Doctor’s Appointments: 1

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Book Review – The Great Alone

Oh my heart, this book. It has everything – love, adventure, suspense, history, horror, psychology… And then the bulk of it is set in Alaska.

Few places have a piece of my heart, but Alaska has a large chunk of it I think. I spent a summer month in Homer while in college, staying at my cousin’s house with his family, and went back with my husband just a couple of years ago for a week in May to show him the place that absolutely captivated me like it does so many. This next book, The Great Alone, is set in a fictional town across the bay from Homer. It was my February Book of the Month selection, and when I saw it was an option, my choice was a no-brainer.

Book 6:
The Great Alone
by Kristin Hannah

Genre:
Historical Fiction

Published:
February 2018

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, The Great Alone is about a family of three who move from Seattle to the untamed wilderness of Kaneq, Alaska in 1974 to claim a parcel of land left to Ernt, the father, by a slain Army buddy. Ernt is a former Vietnam POW suffering from PTSD whose treatment is limited to trying to escape “the man” and doling out domestic violence on his fearfully faithful wife. The daughter, Leni, tries her best to lead a “normal” life despite her very abnormal circumstances, but while Alaska claims her heart, her parents claim her future, unless she can escape…

Favorite Quote:

Alaska isn’t about who you were when you headed this way. It’s about who you become.

― Kristin Hannah, The Great Alone

Awards (based upon my brief research):
Amazon Best Books of February 2018
No others noted… yet, but I will guarantee this to become an award winning book. 

Pages:
438

My Overall Rating:
5 – Oh my heart, this book. It has everything – love, adventure, suspense, history, horror, psychology… And then the bulk of it is set in Alaska. Can you fall in love with a book? Because I think I just did. I’ve read 86 books since I’ve gotten married, and this is one of just eight books I’ve given a 5. 

I’m not generally drawn to historical fiction, but I was intrigued by the concept of the 70s falling into the “historical” category. I didn’t expect to actually learn things about the 70s, and I certainly didn’t expect to enjoy doing so. Hannah definitely did her research – not only will you learn about a time period, but you’ll learn the effects war can have on a man, what it’s like to be in a cyclical domestic abuse relationship and what homesteading looks like on untamed land. It’s wild from all angles, and it rounds it all off with just the right amount of resolution. I was satisfied in the end, yet I wished the story could go on forever because Leni, you’ve found a place in my heart, and I wish the very best for you. 

I also need to share that I selected the quote above as my favorite because it’s a great representation of the book. However, here are two quotes that are great representations of my relationship with the book:

She was reminded of the college kids she’d seen in Homer every summer, clots of young adults in REI rain gear looking up at the jagged, snow-capped peaks as though they heard God calling their names. She would hear whispered conversations about how they were going to chuck it all and move off the grid and live more authentic lives. Back to the land, they’d said, as if it were a biblical verse. Like the famous John Muir quote – The mountains are calling and I must go. People heard those kinds of voices in Alaska, dreamed new dreams. Most would never go, and of the few who did, the vast majority would leave before the end of their first winter, but Leni had always known they would be changed simply by the magnitude of the dream and the possibility they glimpsed in the distance.

― Kristin Hannah, The Great Alone

Ugh, this is me, circa 2010. I was changed simply by the magnitude of the dream of moving to Alaska and the possibility I glimpsed in the distance. Secretly, a part of my still wonders if I’ll make the move some day, because…

She loved Alaska’s wild ferocity, its majestic beauty. Even more than the land, she loved the people to whom it spoke. She hadn’t realized until just this moment how deep her love for Alaska ran.

― Kristin Hannah, The Great Alone

Alaska does speak to people. I’m 100% sure of it. And my love does run so deep for that land. Never have I felt more alive than the two times I was lucky enough to find myself there. Now excuse me while I linger on the warm feelings in my heart from this book before diving into the next one…

PS If you’re interested in a Book of the Month subscription, which I’d highly recommend if you enjoy reading, let me know and I’ll send you a link that will allow both of us to get a free book if you sign up! It’s been a great way for me to be exposed to new books, explore new genres and get so, so excited when the first of the month comes around and I get to pick my next book. I love it!

The First Bleed

I was pregnant. I was bleeding. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me turn to the stats. To me, blood meant miscarriage – what else could it mean?

3.3.17

“I called my doctor’s office on Monday and they didn’t seem too concerned, so that helped me feel better too.”

It’s said approximately 20-30% of women bleed a little in early pregnancy. Half of those who bleed go on to miscarry. In general, 15-20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, though many happen before women even know they’re pregnant.

I was pregnant. I was bleeding. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me turn to the stats. To me, blood meant miscarriage – what else could it mean? It didn’t matter that every fourth or fifth pregnant woman was experiencing the same thing. It felt traumatic. Was my body unable to do this? Had I lost the baby we’d just found out about six weeks earlier, the one we’d yet to tell anyone about? And how could this be happening to me? How, after a fun night out at a local hockey game with friends, could I have to come out of the bathroom and utter the words to my husband, “I’m bleeding”?

I bled lightly for four days. I called my doctor’s office – the doctor I’d yet to meet since we were still so early. They didn’t seem concerned, so I tried to believe things were fine. Then we had our first actual appointment and, low and behold, there was a heartbeat.

Our baby’s heart rate was 160 beats per minute. At this gestational age, simply hearing a heartbeat meant we had less than a 5% chance of miscarrying. All that worry over the week leading up to the appointment was for nothing. The doppler’s reassurance, in that moment, was everything I needed.

In just over a week, we’d tell our friends and family and proceed to the second trimester. I’d almost gotten through the first trimester completely unscathed of morning sickness, with only a little bleeding to be upset about. Things were, once again, peachy, and we were so excited to be closer to letting the secret out.

In the stats: 
Gestational Age: 10 weeks, 6 days
Days of blood: 4
Doctor’s Appointments: 1

P.S. Don’t be fooled by the smile on my face in the photo of this post. I’d also gotten a haircut that week, and it’s literally the only picture I took all week. I’m doing my best to use photos from or around the date of the post, so… I guess I’ll tell you that picture is it… and I guess I’ll tell you it was taken in the bathroom at work because I’m classy like that.

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