You start sentences like this, "I should think."
Which is how I have been talking to myself lately.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Jane Austen, You're My Hero
Well, my storyteller hero.
Last night, my habit of flipping channels was rewarded by happening upon a new Masterpiece Theater version of Northanger Abbey. They're actually doing this series called "The Complete Jane Austen" -- new adaptations of all 6 of her novels, plus a bio about her. I only caught the last 40 minutes or so of Northanger Abbey, but it was quite good. Hopefully, they didn't do anything earlier in the movie to ruin the story.
I'm one of the few who just adore that book. It was after reading NA that I decided I wanted to name a little girl Katherine (although it is Catherine in the book) and a little boy Henry. I just think that book is so funny and I love Miss Moreland. There is only one other version of NA out there that I know of and it is a terrible old BBC movie that probably should be burned. :)
Mansfield Park, another of Austen's lesser-known novels that has a terrible movie version, is on next week. I am hoping that it will be great and I can have at least one good movie of each of her works.
After watching NA last night, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about Jane Austen's works and why I just love them so much. For one thing, they're all funny, even Persuasion, which is, imo, the most serious of all her works. Although Mansfield Park is quite serious, too. But there is always humor.
Secondly, they all end happily. Sorry, I am just not cool or philosophical enough to go in for the sad or ambiguous endings. I want stories built around characters I can root for because they are good human beings and I want them to be rewarded for their goodness in the end. That's the kind of girl I am.
Third, despite the obvious common themes that each of her novels share, they truly are all unqiue, due in large part to Miss Austen's remarkable gift of creating a diversity of characters. No two heroines are alike. They are all good, but they are all good in different ways. Some are outgoing, some are positively timid; there are the innocents, the naives, the wise; the passionate, the reserved; the vain (yes, vain -- I know thee, Emma!), the proud, the gullible, the overly-spontaneous -- they're all flawed, but still good. And the cast of characters who surround the main players are just as diverse and interesting and instructive.
Basically, I love Jane Austen. You probably can tell.
On another note, Katie and Charlie are both sick. Katie has an ear infection and they both have mild (thankfully) RSV. I left work early to help Josh take them to the doctor. That was not fun. But I had no idea Katie had an ear infection (she hasn't complained of any pain or tugged at her ear), so I am glad we went.
I should come up with a good closing line. Jane Austen always has such satisfying closing lines.
Last night, my habit of flipping channels was rewarded by happening upon a new Masterpiece Theater version of Northanger Abbey. They're actually doing this series called "The Complete Jane Austen" -- new adaptations of all 6 of her novels, plus a bio about her. I only caught the last 40 minutes or so of Northanger Abbey, but it was quite good. Hopefully, they didn't do anything earlier in the movie to ruin the story.
I'm one of the few who just adore that book. It was after reading NA that I decided I wanted to name a little girl Katherine (although it is Catherine in the book) and a little boy Henry. I just think that book is so funny and I love Miss Moreland. There is only one other version of NA out there that I know of and it is a terrible old BBC movie that probably should be burned. :)
Mansfield Park, another of Austen's lesser-known novels that has a terrible movie version, is on next week. I am hoping that it will be great and I can have at least one good movie of each of her works.
After watching NA last night, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about Jane Austen's works and why I just love them so much. For one thing, they're all funny, even Persuasion, which is, imo, the most serious of all her works. Although Mansfield Park is quite serious, too. But there is always humor.
Secondly, they all end happily. Sorry, I am just not cool or philosophical enough to go in for the sad or ambiguous endings. I want stories built around characters I can root for because they are good human beings and I want them to be rewarded for their goodness in the end. That's the kind of girl I am.
Third, despite the obvious common themes that each of her novels share, they truly are all unqiue, due in large part to Miss Austen's remarkable gift of creating a diversity of characters. No two heroines are alike. They are all good, but they are all good in different ways. Some are outgoing, some are positively timid; there are the innocents, the naives, the wise; the passionate, the reserved; the vain (yes, vain -- I know thee, Emma!), the proud, the gullible, the overly-spontaneous -- they're all flawed, but still good. And the cast of characters who surround the main players are just as diverse and interesting and instructive.
Basically, I love Jane Austen. You probably can tell.
On another note, Katie and Charlie are both sick. Katie has an ear infection and they both have mild (thankfully) RSV. I left work early to help Josh take them to the doctor. That was not fun. But I had no idea Katie had an ear infection (she hasn't complained of any pain or tugged at her ear), so I am glad we went.
I should come up with a good closing line. Jane Austen always has such satisfying closing lines.
Friday, January 11, 2008
You'll Just Have to Imagine What We Look Like
I wanted to have a family picture taken so I could post it along with a 2007 year in review. Well, it's now January 11th and we haven't even come close to getting a family photo taken (plus our Christmas decorations are still up, including our tree; maybe I can start a new trend . . .), so I figure it's pointless to wait to blog until I have visual evidence that we still exist.
2007 was an interesting year. Without a doubt, the addition of Charles Richard Barker to our family was the highlight of the year. Not his birth, mind you, although that was awesome, but just having little Charlie around. Our family feels more complete now that he is with us.
2007 has taught me that it truly is a "gift to be simple." I take great joy in the simple moments of my life -- watching Josh, Alek and Katie wrestle on the floor; having Charlie leap out of my arms to join in; dancing with the kiddos; Alek asking me to be quiet so he can say a silent prayer that we won't run out of gas and we'll make it to the airport on time; cuddling on the couch with Josh (I can hear Heather saying, "ewww"); and in general just those moments when life is quiet and everything seems right and my heart wants to burst from the gratitude I feel for everything that I have. And I want to be good, so I can show Heavenly Father that I really do just appreciate my life so much.
Nothing is perfect. This past year wasn't perfect, and 2008 isn't shaping up to be a roaring success to tell you the truth. But there's something perfect about the imperfection of life. All the directions the world tries to push and pull us in, all the storms that rage around us, all the attempts at destroying everything that is good and sacred -- these are the things that reveal who we are, what we are made of. Any of us at any time could choose to give up, just surrender who we are and who we were meant to be and stop fighting because sometimes it just is so exhausting. People do that every day.
But there are other people -- so many that I know and love -- who every day keep doing the right things. They pray, they take care of others, they're kind, they learn from the best books, and they don't lean unto their own understanding. They're my family -- my husband, my kids, my mom, my siblings and their families, my in-laws, and my friends. They're my heroes. They keep me going. Mostly they keep me going back to the Lord and back to the Lord and back to the Lord. And then He keeps me going. He tells me to just bear it a little longer, just bear the hard things I have been given, because they will make me strong. And He tells me I can do it. And I believe Him. So I keep going and I keep going and I keep going.
And when I do that I am stronger. And my family is stronger. And my marriage is stronger. And I am more loving and less selfish. And I am happy.
I wish I could give you a list of great things I accomplished this year. But there's not much to tell. But I am happy and my husband and my kids are happy. So it was a good year.
I don't know where this post came from. I really intended to just do a neat little wrap up of the past 12 months. But that seems so pointless. You all know, don't you? Besides, what happened this year doesn't matter nearly as much as what I've learned and who I am becoming. Some times, I just want to talk about what is essential.
I love all my family so much. I love my friends. I just wish everyone could know, as much as I do in this moment right now, that God loves us, that His Son is our Savior and that our lives have meaning and purpose.
2007 was an interesting year. Without a doubt, the addition of Charles Richard Barker to our family was the highlight of the year. Not his birth, mind you, although that was awesome, but just having little Charlie around. Our family feels more complete now that he is with us.
2007 has taught me that it truly is a "gift to be simple." I take great joy in the simple moments of my life -- watching Josh, Alek and Katie wrestle on the floor; having Charlie leap out of my arms to join in; dancing with the kiddos; Alek asking me to be quiet so he can say a silent prayer that we won't run out of gas and we'll make it to the airport on time; cuddling on the couch with Josh (I can hear Heather saying, "ewww"); and in general just those moments when life is quiet and everything seems right and my heart wants to burst from the gratitude I feel for everything that I have. And I want to be good, so I can show Heavenly Father that I really do just appreciate my life so much.
Nothing is perfect. This past year wasn't perfect, and 2008 isn't shaping up to be a roaring success to tell you the truth. But there's something perfect about the imperfection of life. All the directions the world tries to push and pull us in, all the storms that rage around us, all the attempts at destroying everything that is good and sacred -- these are the things that reveal who we are, what we are made of. Any of us at any time could choose to give up, just surrender who we are and who we were meant to be and stop fighting because sometimes it just is so exhausting. People do that every day.
But there are other people -- so many that I know and love -- who every day keep doing the right things. They pray, they take care of others, they're kind, they learn from the best books, and they don't lean unto their own understanding. They're my family -- my husband, my kids, my mom, my siblings and their families, my in-laws, and my friends. They're my heroes. They keep me going. Mostly they keep me going back to the Lord and back to the Lord and back to the Lord. And then He keeps me going. He tells me to just bear it a little longer, just bear the hard things I have been given, because they will make me strong. And He tells me I can do it. And I believe Him. So I keep going and I keep going and I keep going.
And when I do that I am stronger. And my family is stronger. And my marriage is stronger. And I am more loving and less selfish. And I am happy.
I wish I could give you a list of great things I accomplished this year. But there's not much to tell. But I am happy and my husband and my kids are happy. So it was a good year.
I don't know where this post came from. I really intended to just do a neat little wrap up of the past 12 months. But that seems so pointless. You all know, don't you? Besides, what happened this year doesn't matter nearly as much as what I've learned and who I am becoming. Some times, I just want to talk about what is essential.
I love all my family so much. I love my friends. I just wish everyone could know, as much as I do in this moment right now, that God loves us, that His Son is our Savior and that our lives have meaning and purpose.
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