The Talens' Tales

Well, we have been enjoying our little girl for two weeks already. And she has grown and changed already. Here she is today...  And of course the discussions have started about how she looks like. So for reference here is a picture of Joash...  Wilbert...  And Denise... We will let you decide.

We have been so blessed to have a few members of our church family bring us some meals over the last week. They have all been delicious and Joash has tried most of them. One of the meals we received earlier this week was a beef pot pie. Joash saw the pie plate and asked me what it was. I told him it was for supper. "We going to have pie for supper?" he asked. You see, Joash, like his mom, has quite the sweet tooth. And, like his dad, pie is probably his favorite dessert of all. So, I said, "Yes, we are having pie for supper." I hoped this would lead to Joash eating a lot for supper. When Wilbert came in for supper, Joash ran up and shouted, "We having pie for supper!" There was no fight to get him into his chair to eat this meal. We prayed and Wilbert started to scoop the pie. Joash asked for his piece and Wilbert put some on his plate. Joash quickly saw this didn't look like a pie he was used to. He poked it. He studied it. He smelled it. ...

When Pastor Chase Falson has a public crisis of faith from the pulpit, he knows it is time for a break.  He decides to visit his uncle, who is a Franciscan priest in Italy. Uncle Kenny takes Chase on a tour of all of the places in Italy that were important to St. Francis of Assisi. This journey turns into a pilgrimage of sorts for Chase and he learns that he has a lot more in common with a Catholic Saint then he thought. I really enjoyed this book. The reader learns about St. Francis right along with Chase and is challenged to actions along with the main character. I enjoyed the storyline and the insights into the Chase’s mind through his journal reflections. It is hard to really sum up or say exactly what I enjoyed about this book and what made me want to keep reading it. It was captivating, challenging and applicable. If all Christians read this book, I think our churches and lives would look much different than they do now. I was given a copy of this book by Book Sne...

This birth story was much smoother and bit more predictable than the first birth story . But, it was still full of surprises. The whole pregnancy, I had been trying to convince myself that this baby would be late. Joash was 10 days early, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too much that baby #2 would also be early. On Thursday, May 16th, it was the last day I was planning on tutoring a student that I had been working with at the local Christian School. I felt really "off" when I got up. Nothing to really indicate labour, but just a bit funny. But, I really wanted my student to have closure and to say good bye and stuff, so I just pushed through and got myself ready and went to school. By the time I got there, I felt fine. The rest of the day I felt fine too and even cleaned some random stuff and baked a batch of cookies. That's right. I was nesting. I woke up around 1:40 am Friday morning to go to the bathroom. I stood up and my water broke. No question...

Mataya Anne ~ born May 17 at 5:24 am. 7lbs 15 oz and 19.5 inches long. She is a week old already and doing terrific. Both her parents and big brother are in love!

First, a nice picture of Joash and I. He and Wilbert made a nice card for me for Mother's Day. Joash drew snakes on it (including a new kind, a tiger snake.) They also put together a little bunch of flowers for me from our yard. "One for each of us," the card said. There were two tulips, a daffodil and one little tulip that was not quite all the way ready to bloom. It was very cute.  Now this next picture, I don't even really want to post, but Wilbert says I should, since my family should know what I look like. We are now 11 days away from the due date of Baby T #2. The baby has "dropped" and I look gigantic. Joash was born 10 days, so who knows what tomorrow may bring. I am so ready for this baby to make its appearance. But, since I think it will come early, it will probably be a week late. So, I need to pray for patience.

Going back to where you grew up can certainly bring back a lot of memories. This is the case for Eve Marryat when she heads back to the place she and her family lived one summer. She is looking for something she left behind and finds so much more in Sweet Mercy. Eve Marryat is living in St. Paul during the height of the prohibition. After her father is laid off, he decides it is time to get out the city and head back to the quiet  rural town he grew up in. He and his family live and work at a resort owned by family members. For Eve, this is summer of growing up. She has her first boyfriend  her first dance, her first job and also learns firsthand about how complex life really can be. Things are no longer so black and white in the world and Eve struggles with what to do with the complexities of life. I did enjoy reading this book. It is a good one for the beach this summer. While some of the characters and the plots leave something to be desired, over it i...

We have one happy little boy today. He and his dad went and got sand to fill up his sandbox this morning. He has already spent a lot of time in it and didn't really want to come in for lunch. We certainly are enjoying our spring weather! It is not super warm today, but very pleasant if you are in the sun and out of the wind. I am pretty sure I know where we will be heading after nap time today! Back to the sandbox!

We all go through difficult times. And what most people learn is that through those trials is when they grow the most. This is very true of Ken and Joni Eareckson Tada, who share their story in Joni & Ken: An Untold Love Story. Many people know of Joni Eareckson Tada. Paralyzed in a diving accident at seventeen, she went on to share her story of love, hope and grace with people around the world and started a foundation for those with disabilities. While Joni eagerly shares the story of her early years, few people know the story of her marriage and what has happened since then. She and Ken met at church and were engaged fifteen months later. While they thought they were prepared for marriage and knew what they were getting into, Ken was still surprised by what it really meant to be married to a quadriplegic. With his personal struggle with depression, they struggled in their marriage. As the years progressed, Joni struggled with chronic pain and the biggest blow of all came ...