The Talens' Tales

We had a great time celebrating Joash's birthday. He requested a Lego logo cake.   Oma and Opa came for coffee time and we had gifts and cake. So many great gifts for Joash. He was pretty pleased with all of them. We also went swimming in the afternoon and pretty much had the pool to ourselves. The life guards still opened the water slide for a little while, so that was pretty awesome. Both Joash and Mataya were brave enough to go down the slide by themselves for the first time. Then we headed to Boston Pizza a the request of the birthday boy. He gave it a big thumbs up!  And he was pretty thrilled with his first experience with a free birthday dessert and song from the wait staff. It was a fun day!

What is your favorite color? Blue What is your favorite toy/activity? Lego What is your favorite food? Pizza What is your favorite game? Sequence What is your favorite animal? Jackal What is your favorite book? The Treehouse Series by Andy Griffiths Who is your best friend? Ben What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride bikes and skelters What is your favorite drink?   Juice What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pizza from Boston Pizza What do you want to be when you grow up? Scientist 

As a working mom you can often feel like you're living stretched too thin. You want to thrive personally and professionally, but the day-to-day responsibilities and mental load can make that feel impossible. While periods of busyness are normal, if life feels overwhelming, it's time for a reset. And this book can help you do that. When I was asked if I wanted to have a copy of this book for review, I jumped at the opportunity. I am not a working mom in the traditional sense of the word. But as a the wife of dairy farmer, it does mean that my life is different from a traditional stay at home mom, too. My husband works crazy long hours and pretty much everything household and kid related falls on my shoulders. And I have started teaching part time again. So, there are days where I feel like am working more than a full time job without stepping out of my house. So, I was curious to see what from this book I could take away and apply to my life as a less than traditional workin...

When Cohen Marah steps over his father's body in the basement embalming room of the family's funeral home, he has no idea that he is stepping into a labyrinth of memory. Over the next week, Cohen's childhood comes back in living color. The dramatic events that led to his parents' separation. The accident Cohen witnessed and the traumatic images he couldn't unsee. And the two children in the forest who became his friends--and enlisted him in a dark and dangerous undertaking. As the lines blur between what was real and what was imaginary, Cohen is faced with the question he's been avoiding:  Is he responsible for his father's death? In Shawn Smucker captivating style, he weaves together a fascinating tale of forgiveness,  reconciliation and hope even in the darkest time. I really enjoyed this story of real and broken people. It was a book that I quite enjoyed this book. I love how he weaves in some mystical and super natural elements with some of the ver...

Ten years ago, Grace saw something that would forever change the course of history. When a terrible scourge is unleashed on the world, she and others from their religious community are already hidden deep in the hills of Tennessee, abiding by every rule that will keep them safe, pure--and alive. As long as they stay there, behind the red rope. Her older brother's questions and the arrival of the first outsiders she's seen in a decade set in motion events that will cause Grace to question everything she has built her life on. Enemies rise on all sides--but who is the real enemy? And what will it cost her to uncover the truth? I was curious how a book with multiple authors would be, but it was great! I would be so interested to know how the writing process was for this father daughter team. The story was great! Captivating and page-turning. It had echos of The Handmaid's Tale  and other books about super legalistic societies. But when you add the dash of Dekker's supe...

In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name--but no one knows your secret.  At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body. Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret. This was a really fast read for me. I thought the crime part was really interesting and had a lot of complex layers. I appreciate the subtle nods to the faith of the characters and that it wasn't over the top or too preachy. And I thought it was wonderful to have a focus on mental illness and the stigma that is a part of it in our society. Ultimately there was a little too much romance and not quite enough s...

In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper: a rallying cry for hope, purpose . . . and rocks. Its message? Send me a rock for the person you lost, and I will build something life-giving. When the poem spreads farther than he ever intended, Robert Bliss's humble words change the tide of a nation. Boxes of rocks inundate the harbor village on the coast of Maine, and he sets his callused hands to work. Decades later, Annie Bliss is summoned back to Ansel-by-the-Sea when GrandBob, the man who gave her refuge during the hardest summer of her youth, is the one in need of help. But what greets her is a mystery: a wall of heavy boxes hiding in his home. Memories of stone ruins on a nearby island ignite a fire in her anthropologist soul to uncover answers. Together with the handsome and enigmatic town postman, Annie uncovers the story layer by layer, yearning to resurrect the hope GrandBob once held so dear and to know the truth behind the chasm in her f...

Nothing gets our attention like an unmade decision:  Should I accept the new position? Which schooling choice is best for my kids? How can I support my aging parents?  When we have a decision to make and the answer isn't clear, what we want more than anything is peace, clarity, and a nudge in the right direction.  If you have trouble making decisions, because of either chronic hesitation you've always lived with or a more recent onset of decision fatigue, Emily P. Freeman offers a fresh way of practicing familiar but often forgotten advice: simply do the next right thing. With this simple, soulful practice, it is possible to clear the decision-making chaos, quiet the fear of choosing wrong, and find the courage to finally decide without regret or second-guessing. Whether you're in the midst of a major life transition or are weary of the low-grade anxiety that daily life can bring, Emily helps create space for your soul to breathe so you can live life with God at a gentl...

 Mataya had a great 6th birthday last week. She designed her cake and I executed her ideas as best I could. Mataya asked for a heart on her cake with smaller hearts on the side and light blue writing. She got lots of lovely gifts this year and has been enjoying all of them! Tante Reina came by on the day before her birthday and had some fun gifts for Mataya as well.

What is your favorite color? Pink What is your favorite toy? Lego What is your favorite food? Buns What is your favorite tv show? Paw Patrol What is your favorite outfit? a dress with leggings and no socks What is your favorite game? Sequence What is your favorite animal? Kitten What is your favorite song? "Every Move I Make" What is your favorite book? Elephant and Piggie Who is your best friend? Breanne, Molly, Lily and Marielle What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play with the kittens What is your favorite drink?   Juice What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Charlie, the alpaca What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Grilled Cheese and Jello What do you want to be when you grow up? Mom

I love my people and they did a great job showing their love to me on Sunday.  Breakfast in bed. I forgot to take a picture until I was mostly finished with my cereal. Gifts that were made in school and my requests of a new cookbook and mesh produce bags. And Mataya also did a little questionnaire and drew a picture of me at school. It is pretty fantastic!

We had a lovely time celebrating Gideon's birthday. This year was the year for a farm cake. He is three! But, he couldn't quite figure out how to hold up three fingers.  But, we have candle blowing figured out!  Opa, Oma and Tante Reina came for cake after school on Friday. Gideon opened his gifts and everyone had fun playing with them.  He got a new swim suit and insisted on wearing it for most of the day. We are all ready for summer here!

What is your favorite color? Green What is your favorite toy? Tractors What is your favorite food? Grilled Cheese What is your favorite TV show? Paw Patrol What is your favorite game? The Goose Game What is your favorite animal? Giraffe What is your favorite song? Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star What is your favorite book? Let's Find Adventure with Paw Patrol Who is your best friend? Kate What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride his pedal tractors What is your favorite drink?   Milk What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Blankie and a cup of water What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pancakes What do you want to be when you grow up? Farmer

Lady Selene is heir to the House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dreamwalking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person's dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires. Soon after the gifting, however, Selene discovers that the Ravenwood women have been secretly using their gift to gather information or to assassinate those responsible for the fall of House Ravenwood to the Dominia Empire hundreds of years ago.    As she becomes more entrenched in Ravenwood's dark past, Selene longs to find out the true reason behind her family's gift, believing that its original intent could not have been for such evil purposes, but she is torn about upholding her family's legacy--a legacy that supports her people. Selene's dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations--but who is also prophesied to bring about the downfall of her own house.   This book was an interesting read for me. I like the p...

Kaely Quinn's talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she's demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis. When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely's, the reporter's ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem's predictions, the threat is undeniable, and the FBI sends Special Agent Noah Hunter to St. Louis. Initially resentful of the assignment, Noah is surprised at how quickly his respect for Kaely grows, despite her oddities. But with a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else,including Kaely herself us killed. I am always drawn toward suspenseful novels like this one....

In this deeply personal account of her first year as a missionary, Elisabeth Elliot shares the challenges she faced as she worked in the jungles of Ecuador to bring the Word of God to a people virtually untouched by the outside world. With fascinating detail, she captures the stark realities of life in the jungle, the difficulties she encountered while developing a written language for the tribe, and her confusion when God didn't "cooperate" with her efforts to accomplish what she believed was His will.  More than just a memoir,  Made for the Journey  is a beautifully crafted and deeply personal reflection on the important questions of life and a remarkable testimony to authentic Christian obedience to an unfathomable God. I know a just a little bit about Elisabeth Elliot and her story through other works like Through the Gates of Splendor  and The End of the Spear . So it was very interesting to read about her life before she was married and when she was just st...

We had a wonderful holiday season this year. The winter weather has been rather crazy, but that made for great time at our house with family. We had a nice looking tree. Made Cut-out Sugar Cookies...with all hands on deck for decorating. Joash and Mataya decorated gingerbread houses. Once they were assembled, they were both able to indepently put on the icing and candies! We opened gifts with our family, with a scavenger hunt for the kids to find their final gifts. Christmas day found us with a turkey and lots of lovely company. Boxing day was a great day for our almost annual Boxing Day walk on the beach. Wilbert's brother and family were here for the week following Christmas. That means lots of music... Cousin time (all of the kids LOVED Nieko)... More presents (including the gift that has been circling the family since at least 2010)... And a family swim followed by an early supper at Boston Pizza. The kids sure changed a lot in that week...