The Talens' Tales

What if you knew you were in a position where one choice you made could save thousands of lives? What if by making that choice, you were also putting your own life on the line? That is the choice that faces Hadassah Benjamin in For Such a Time by Kate Breslin. Hadassah never set out to be anyone’s salvation. But caught in the midst of World War II in Checholslovakia, Hadassah finds herself in a difficult place. Saved from a firing squad by SS Kommandant Colonel Aric von Schmidt, Hadassah is forced to work for Aric as his personal secretary.  One of her main duties is to type this lists of people being transported to Auschwitz. Hadassah feels the call of her people to save some of them, while her employer, who believes her to be an Aryan named Stella, is quickly falling in love with her. And Hadassah is surprised to find those feelings to be mutual. How can Hadassah save her own people without losing herself? I really enjoyed this retelling of the story of Esther. It is ...

Mom: Mataya! You are 11 month old today! Can you believe it? Only one more month until you are 1! M(ataya): It is a pretty exciting time of life. See all of the fun things I can do? Mom: I know, you are doing so many things. What are some of the new things you can do? M: I can stand by things and I really like standing. But sometimes I have a really hard time getting down. I am very good at scooting around, but I am testing out this whole crawling on hands and knees thing. It might have some merit. Mom: It is so fun to see you learning new things everyday and explore the world around you. What about food? M: I really like to eat, Mom. I like to eat whatever you are eating. I really like things that are small like peas, cheerios and small piece of paper. What is that mom? Paper is not a food? Are you sure about that? Anyway, my most favorite thing in the world is yogurt. I could eat that stuff all day long, mom. And my bottle, I can take it or leave it. But cow's milk ...

Joash spent a lot of time in the tractor this winter snow blowing. He loved it. He would listen to the weather with me and hear that it was going to snow and say "I guess tomorrow we will need to snow blow!" We spent some time looking around for a toy snow blower that would hook up to his tractor without luck. So, Wilbert started to make some plans to make one. And last week, when Wilbert was quite limited with what he could do with his broken hand, he was able to finish up the snow blower. Joash loves it! He is proud that he can hook it up by himself and really likes that the spout and the auger turn. Good job Daddy!

Yesterday we finally had a lovely glimpse of Spring. It was warm enough to go outside without all of the winter gear on. It was lovely and sunny with blue skies. It was wonderful! And we all enjoyed it! What is this spring thing, mom? I can actually move around. I like it! Oh Spring! It means lots of puddle to splash in! Looking forward to the coming months full of outdoor time with the kids.

Well, this week had yet another winter storm. But today is nice and sunny, so spring might be in the air. But that also means snow melt, which can lead to flooding as happened in our church's basement this week. Not fun!  But in our house, we just had to find some new ways to have fun. So lots of tents, pretend play, piano playing, games, puzzles and pencil practice for Joash. The kids pretended to be Royalty.  And over all they enjoy spending time together. More to come - including spring, I hope!