Children of the Promise, Vol. 4: When We Meet Again by: Dean Hughes

The war comes to an end, and the life of the Thomas family will go back to normal? Probably not, but now the hope is that everyone will find their way home to Sugar House. It's going to be interesting to see how the Thomases adjust to post war Europe and stateside. And, how will Wally adjust to life as a regular citizen?

Questions I hope will be answered in the final chapter which I have to admit I'm having a bit of a trouble getting into. Partly because I am kind of sad to see it end, and because my time has been split among real life challenges, etc and online gaming opportunities which I thoroughly enjoy!

A Note about the Holidays

We have been richly blessed this year with the addition of our foster son (who wants to be adopted, by us) to our family. We were also watched over and granted by some miracle the ability to splurge a little and add to our library.

We received a total of 7 books. And those purchases have ignited in me a fire to keep reading, I am hoping to read (and probably re-read) many books over the next 12 months. Life is good.

Children of the Promise, Vol. 3 : Far From Home by Dean Hughes

Third installment where fictional LDS family "The Thomases" lead their lives in the midst of WWII. It is a good story with a lot to take in, I find myself wanting to know more about the individual circumstances that the characters find themselves in, which makes the Author's Note one that I will likely refer to time and again as I leave the fictional setting and turn toward unadulterated facts and history.

I like the sense of hope that this volume ended on and am looking forward to continuing the journey with "The Thomases" very soon. (Here's hoping books 4 and 5 are still at the library!)

Children of the Promise: Vol. 2 - Since You Went Away by: Dean Hughes

A continuation of the story of the fictional LDS family living through WWII on the home front and during various events of the war front. I appreciated the author's note where he shared with his readers some of the resources from which he based the events that his characters experienced.

It had me crying with the loss of Gene Thomas, and finding my inner strength along with Wally. Seeing true love prevail between Alex and Anna was very nice as well.I'm on to the next in the series and am looking forward to seeing how it comes out in the end.

Children of the Promise, Vol. 1: Rumors of War by: Dean Hughes

Story of a fictional LDS family thrust into the historic events of WWII. Mr. Hughes tells a good story that at the end of this chapter had me in tears. I picked up the next two volumes and plan on reading them over the next few weeks.

Months Later

On the topic of my surgery. It was a success and I have more use of my left extremity as I could have hoped for plus, with the aide of therapists and follow ups with my surgeon, I can only hope for more improvement. There is only one rule when handling my current rate of ability. If I don't use it, I'm going to lose it and all that time, money and effort will be down the drain, so I intend to use my left hand as much as possible.

Since about the time of the surgery, our family has added a couple of members. Our new puppy Abe and our latest foster son. Both transitions have went well and it seems like our family is complete... for the time being.


Now as for my literary endeavors.

• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan  3 stars
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 4.5 stars
• Children of the Promise: Vol. 1-- Rumors of War by Dean Hughes (Currently reading) [re-read: 4 stars]
• Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery (Ebook format -- currently reading) [childhood favorite: 5 stars]

soon to come in no particular order:

• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
• Destined by P.C. & Kristin Cast
• Children of the Promise: Vol. 2 - 5 by Dean Hughes
• Dexter Series by Jeffrey Lindsay
• Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire) Series by Charlaine Harris
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• Hearts of the Children Series by Dean Hughes

And a ton of others that have escaped by memory for the time being. 

The Last Day of My Life

Tomorrow I am going in for arm surgery.
A little history lesson on me.
At birth I had a stroke. It affected my right frontal lobe. Therefore, I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, with left sided hemi-paresis. I went through years and years of therapy, and daily self exercises, but as I’ve gotten older, the routine has been harder and harder to the point where I could no longer do my upper body exercises on my own, and stopped doing them regularly.
Now, if you know me, you know I don’t let my disability define who I am or what I can do… I have never settled for what I can’t do, only what I can.
Which has led me to seek out first a primary care physician and then an orthopedic surgeon. After the consults, it was decided by us all that we will pursue surgery to improve the function of my left hand.
You might be wondering why I didn’t do this sooner, one word: Insurance. My life is going to be completely different. Today is the end of the life that I know, and the beginning of something new.
At 12:00pm MDT. I will be in surgery, I ask for your good thoughts and prayers.