tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83235197732479096752024-03-13T04:45:56.112+01:00The Adventures of Eric and RachelThe Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.comBlogger677125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-38790940441623206282023-12-23T11:16:00.004+01:002023-12-23T12:58:10.757+01:00The Ten Best Books I Read in 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPvG-iSYL_UJuP1ZejCf1Xnz0NHyXoLEo4h1aGWrYy4VljsVup-z3UXzCsJZoY17aFHZ1045xWplmVG1GOVaFHDpt7_iNcLb4-2qEEQf20oZ0aYzonoZgJCTE2JKdFlMd6oHQkCFLTN4UaB6Pmm3u8jEDch_01hBd4k0i0B2B35DOwJas_Pmg1Qkj7FzY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2272" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPvG-iSYL_UJuP1ZejCf1Xnz0NHyXoLEo4h1aGWrYy4VljsVup-z3UXzCsJZoY17aFHZ1045xWplmVG1GOVaFHDpt7_iNcLb4-2qEEQf20oZ0aYzonoZgJCTE2JKdFlMd6oHQkCFLTN4UaB6Pmm3u8jEDch_01hBd4k0i0B2B35DOwJas_Pmg1Qkj7FzY=w400-h239" width="400" /></a></div><p> This is now the fifth year that I have published this list of my Top Ten books from the past year. I have fun writing it, and I enjoy hearing from people who consider reading from it. I think one of my advantages to be that I don't just read stuff published this year, so often the list spans decades if not centuries. Scroll down for 2019-2022's lists. A list of honorable mentions is at the bottom. Here are the books in the order that I read them.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwKFi5cz_edJSnxwqeDchXUMKGiYkovfNhyFkKc1bfRLN6M-1xSviFBzh8TKR4uo7iE4f8_FAPY2MovHDNXz9saQTnDGcZ_tTRReJiET4BUHPfUe-UBXjK1GataSsyci7zLv6V6EU15vNgJffEnpLSGbguo4e5hK-4Bq9abswUoWbQ6CL_YvRithVtEyE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="362" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwKFi5cz_edJSnxwqeDchXUMKGiYkovfNhyFkKc1bfRLN6M-1xSviFBzh8TKR4uo7iE4f8_FAPY2MovHDNXz9saQTnDGcZ_tTRReJiET4BUHPfUe-UBXjK1GataSsyci7zLv6V6EU15vNgJffEnpLSGbguo4e5hK-4Bq9abswUoWbQ6CL_YvRithVtEyE=w215-h320" width="215" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">I would put myself with many white Christian readers as having undervalued the unique contributions of authors of color in general, but particularly of the African American church and its rich legacy. Esau McCaulley is brilliant, and he is devoted to the Bible. The chance to look at biblical themes through his eyes as a representation of the eyes of the African American church community is a gift to all who want to understand the Bible better.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCHSktT_tlyEHueXfP1RH4J8nLwUreUltfcOwTfVclk6Kb3SYh_O7vfZhFnKhRiy8MX9WKer0vgJ4W19m-i2z-9CJbACwW3xKPAURrBTEw2DT--HP6ayFY_8YEwiSJp4rtX6e9JZnjK_2m3O-_zqefuypbbEJnCS_yPGPU_eTYG1wcTJKpfJi1ACjEh5A" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="748" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCHSktT_tlyEHueXfP1RH4J8nLwUreUltfcOwTfVclk6Kb3SYh_O7vfZhFnKhRiy8MX9WKer0vgJ4W19m-i2z-9CJbACwW3xKPAURrBTEw2DT--HP6ayFY_8YEwiSJp4rtX6e9JZnjK_2m3O-_zqefuypbbEJnCS_yPGPU_eTYG1wcTJKpfJi1ACjEh5A=w209-h320" width="209" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">The title and sub-title are pretty self-explanatory. This combination of autobiography and apologetic for Christianity is a good analysis, but I think its power is even more in the late Qureshi's love for his Middle Eastern, and even particularly Islamic, heritage. Thus it helped me understand some things about Christianity and Islam, but it also gives us a model for how to engage across differences with love.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhds5OdvzP-JPNQpSY5zVYgHzjayjPOx00BC9XS_KLJJBj98xUmpLlJFTZEyJWuCq14cPQTgQ41Etx1iqigcZzc0GdptrOd5-QlPwjJyf-yKrGTEqKlZU0JKzTyBrc1yZwp8xHpirgKzyRmUrBDKZBOqAmyIKphsa6IHUuN1IBu-RxIGO7SnWxL6UUn9gw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhds5OdvzP-JPNQpSY5zVYgHzjayjPOx00BC9XS_KLJJBj98xUmpLlJFTZEyJWuCq14cPQTgQ41Etx1iqigcZzc0GdptrOd5-QlPwjJyf-yKrGTEqKlZU0JKzTyBrc1yZwp8xHpirgKzyRmUrBDKZBOqAmyIKphsa6IHUuN1IBu-RxIGO7SnWxL6UUn9gw=w212-h320" width="212" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Common Rule by Justin Whitmel Earley</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">This is the kind of book that I might read, but would generally be very unlikely to put in a top ten list. Justin Whitmel Earley was a missionary and is now a lawyer who wrestles with anxiety. Implementing "habits of purpose" have been instrumental for his own spiritual and emotional health. The book is structured a bit like a corporate seminar (which is why I would usually be averse to its style), but his personal candor gives the book an organic feel. Each of the 8 habits are sound. "Scripture Before Phone" has been the most enduring for me.</p><p style="text-align: center;">"There is no love of neighbor without attention to neighbor."</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiD08pM5njmxxpdyetAeAKo13BSnVLFpTWpyDNxfVymftKsDtdRXcID2XDb4dVb8wNQ2bGRPnKHlgcTUsy8kBpRlCgWGBQ-gYWQ6f5DkVdg8VPcfWbZQxNSZgTamB-W-STXkO5YAwPiuSy-gcEtPtOQtK8T0ioOR6PIZIDdudkLO74KMT2jYwxvG-oHcQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="488" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiD08pM5njmxxpdyetAeAKo13BSnVLFpTWpyDNxfVymftKsDtdRXcID2XDb4dVb8wNQ2bGRPnKHlgcTUsy8kBpRlCgWGBQ-gYWQ6f5DkVdg8VPcfWbZQxNSZgTamB-W-STXkO5YAwPiuSy-gcEtPtOQtK8T0ioOR6PIZIDdudkLO74KMT2jYwxvG-oHcQ=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">This Newbery runner-up (see below for thoughts on the winner) is a Thai-inspired adventurous fantasy on the high seas off the edges of the known maps. To that end, it has a bit of a Dawn Treader feel. Less magical, but still a lot of fun.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIQAv-ej1oI8RV5NvO7WxgHCYOb1BsC9NPYduQsUJoUFONVO-gq8nkFxHU7DuepiwBkKslWLZZFSDIpKWaha2OP7bF_yferALgHBdsi64e5a56eWC6fsalC30OeW58DsdPX1sAxXRuHMvnrztlAK9Q9qZFnOZ5bkPUDakJwJD8kdt1wmWYdU4sWJHjjt0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="728" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIQAv-ej1oI8RV5NvO7WxgHCYOb1BsC9NPYduQsUJoUFONVO-gq8nkFxHU7DuepiwBkKslWLZZFSDIpKWaha2OP7bF_yferALgHBdsi64e5a56eWC6fsalC30OeW58DsdPX1sAxXRuHMvnrztlAK9Q9qZFnOZ5bkPUDakJwJD8kdt1wmWYdU4sWJHjjt0=w203-h320" width="203" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">This one is more and more known, especially with the Tom Hanks Americanized film version. The novel is a brilliant and beautiful look into the life of an old curmudgeon. Everyone knows someone like that, and most everyone needs to understand them better, and this book is helpful to that end. After reading Beartown last year, I've decided that Backman has maybe the best masculine protagonists around. I say "masculine" instead of "male" because so many male literary protagonists are mirrors of the author: sensitive, well-read, maybe misunderstood by the masculine culture around them. Backman's men would probably never read a book much less write one, but he makes them come alive.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I didn't think I'd want to see the movie, but Rachel talked me into it. It's actually also great, but read the book first, because as my brother-in-law Brian says: "Books are better."</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtrB4dfJX4CNzK6qhfstLPDZSkMAyeIdGuAp-QqV8eXFnUFPcpdDDHf2w7LOVzi_9dMfufPRBS2XSYNAIS5k5KfxynhRvaLNPiDdalP-iAs9E8IDANauBSo_NRlCLQr8Bqinjmbl8LmAlnhhY7yBCzk5LRR1jYhOfpvlaVbybydOxJI3zzl7KdlBK6iNs" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="764" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtrB4dfJX4CNzK6qhfstLPDZSkMAyeIdGuAp-QqV8eXFnUFPcpdDDHf2w7LOVzi_9dMfufPRBS2XSYNAIS5k5KfxynhRvaLNPiDdalP-iAs9E8IDANauBSo_NRlCLQr8Bqinjmbl8LmAlnhhY7yBCzk5LRR1jYhOfpvlaVbybydOxJI3zzl7KdlBK6iNs=w213-h320" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Looking for the Hidden Folk: How Iceland's Elves Can Save the Earth by Nancy Marie Brown</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">This one was compliments of a Russell Moore podcast, and I was intrigued because we were spending a few days in Iceland last summer. Apparently, the modern secular state of Iceland has a shocking number of people who sincerely believe in the reality of elves. Brown, instead of viewing this with disdain, stretching our thinking about how we understand what is real (including a great discussion about dark matter), and asks whether we need such stretching in order to live well. Brown seems to blame Christianity for science and how it sucks the wonder from the world, whereas others blame Christians for anti-scientific credulity. Regardless, I find myself bringing up thoughts from this book quite often.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij6pRRhDwIU7gu8H8YwsJC-h8IggVJTeycjEuGaz2MpS_ATrn-ACj8ISycym_FQCMAMyNXUg9DPME_SY3WOVA6Qb1pFb1pIJb618bzDF_l0cNUJ8oNxGBsE0gJ3h3mluG6zCtScmmJUQ4xw7iQ4nkHz6TUR8IcHO1YKCh0OGB1dqHf4fcJZE_1YM0EVLc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1142" data-original-width="696" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij6pRRhDwIU7gu8H8YwsJC-h8IggVJTeycjEuGaz2MpS_ATrn-ACj8ISycym_FQCMAMyNXUg9DPME_SY3WOVA6Qb1pFb1pIJb618bzDF_l0cNUJ8oNxGBsE0gJ3h3mluG6zCtScmmJUQ4xw7iQ4nkHz6TUR8IcHO1YKCh0OGB1dqHf4fcJZE_1YM0EVLc=w195-h320" width="195" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">I read this science-fiction classic because Maggie said it was great, and she was right. I hadn't read Bradbury since junior high, and never this one. It's a loose collection of stories, but each of them stands on both its meaning and on Bradbury's beautiful language. Just like I said last year for <i>The Last Cuentista</i>, Sci-fi shines when its strange stories help us better understand how to be human.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipRB5HdZDDMf_hY83mlVfc_uSIcCyA2kQC0kUlNwoUtnZO_vbrJlz4c313eA2KKck4bnWiKiyJeSNDxkb40viBECcgYhp68lSthBSBSr3jvIYgUrJMY_IP5_x3Hr23AnwwSVH5CuRiO_zGeLzeMIjU4EySo4cV_Pm-yh5jRJq5fw7OLvgEyLNqKuMzCkE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipRB5HdZDDMf_hY83mlVfc_uSIcCyA2kQC0kUlNwoUtnZO_vbrJlz4c313eA2KKck4bnWiKiyJeSNDxkb40viBECcgYhp68lSthBSBSr3jvIYgUrJMY_IP5_x3Hr23AnwwSVH5CuRiO_zGeLzeMIjU4EySo4cV_Pm-yh5jRJq5fw7OLvgEyLNqKuMzCkE=w240-h320" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Holy Ghost by John Hendrix</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Thanks to James Paternoster for a book that I would never have imagine existed. John Hendrix is a PCA elder and a design professor. This panel-comic collection features an overly confident badger, an angry doubtful squirrel, and the Holy Ghost as...a blue ghost. It nails (and possibly exceeds, given its title character) the capacity shown in Calvin and Hobbes to be both funny and profound in a comic. You can't help but wonder if you're going to find sacrilege, but in the end you find orthodoxy.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9V1qWyDynx17scZRJ7KdOw2EOmo6kWExJijBej22W-XlB6PY-RJaeRDx61Mry064LSR_By71oJEOw_uaeUvYry7Ha1OfHhNvCB0n_3aD3Gcg28F0deq3rNsmfMToxdE7yL8Q6wGr1O7Pv-XxMGmEzoDU3j_wV0iNp56bGfTCivHtWfCQgcFC2P_86Ho8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9V1qWyDynx17scZRJ7KdOw2EOmo6kWExJijBej22W-XlB6PY-RJaeRDx61Mry064LSR_By71oJEOw_uaeUvYry7Ha1OfHhNvCB0n_3aD3Gcg28F0deq3rNsmfMToxdE7yL8Q6wGr1O7Pv-XxMGmEzoDU3j_wV0iNp56bGfTCivHtWfCQgcFC2P_86Ho8=w212-h320" width="212" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">I've never read any of Moore's bible studies (because I'm a guy?), but hearing about her public life in the last few years has been as unavoidable as it has been difficult and admirable. So I was eager to hear her story. What I didn't anticipate is just how great a writer she is. Her writing craft is funny, insightful and gracious. Beth Moore is a valuable voice for these days of American Christianity and I'm so glad she told her story courageously and well.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1O2dkrHC0_FRBPs9lIPXBIwx7IjtDVgA_nDPYtbqYUN2dC3qFOqoL016fyIVrp91-puU-kF05llPcVy80_kJN2jn34KhvF-_qrmQrgzSaQB7k8ps9qAdeli4PN1l2oInetfjRL-Et66CyIwiz-oXh3xFbMPIGO6Nj0FuEKkyZAL5q5s3dYQle8wq3woc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="764" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1O2dkrHC0_FRBPs9lIPXBIwx7IjtDVgA_nDPYtbqYUN2dC3qFOqoL016fyIVrp91-puU-kF05llPcVy80_kJN2jn34KhvF-_qrmQrgzSaQB7k8ps9qAdeli4PN1l2oInetfjRL-Et66CyIwiz-oXh3xFbMPIGO6Nj0FuEKkyZAL5q5s3dYQle8wq3woc=w212-h320" width="212" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Lesslie Newbigin</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Newbigin is one of those giants of 20th century theology that I've heard quoted for years and never read. Thanks to Steve Telian for giving me this copy which finally pushed me to read him for myself. Newbigin criticizes the limits and inconsistency of pluralism as a guiding cultural philosophy and talks profoundly about how Christians should live within such a culture.</p><p style="text-align: center;">"It is often said that the Church ought to address itself to the real questions which people are asking. That is to misunderstand the mission of Jesus and the mission of the church. The world's questions are not the questions which lead to life. What really needs to be said is that where the Church is faithful to its Lord, there the powers of the kingdom are present and people begin to ask the question to which the gospel is the answer. And that, I suppose, is why the letters of St. Paul contain so many exhortations to faithfulness but no exhortations to be active in mission."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><u>Honorable Mentions:</u></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Rembrandt is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Midnight Library by Matt Haig</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Uncommon Ground by Timothy Keller and John Inazu</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary Schmidt</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">Finally, since Rachel and I have <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-newbery-ranking.html">read and ranked</a> all the Newbery Medal winners ever, here are some thoughts on the 2023 winner:</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiowGWWNryoKnfnEig7HD0H6VwRDZ390Y8Lvja3O4R-U_X19uPEkXcN-VLJZ_kcy8gEfaV0DfrRggdmlBaFk0w7opThIyOnkM7lNgitnrSfDpg0da0Y3pfnBuYtFVdJhyzNqVmx-yem4hYsOJUDMxeH725CtACKAh_ksuIhDrWwTZ5WY18vqP5-znixXQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiowGWWNryoKnfnEig7HD0H6VwRDZ390Y8Lvja3O4R-U_X19uPEkXcN-VLJZ_kcy8gEfaV0DfrRggdmlBaFk0w7opThIyOnkM7lNgitnrSfDpg0da0Y3pfnBuYtFVdJhyzNqVmx-yem4hYsOJUDMxeH725CtACKAh_ksuIhDrWwTZ5WY18vqP5-znixXQ=w217-h320" width="217" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This runaway slave story is uniquely subversive in that the slaves of the American South are running away, not to the North, but to an impenetrable swamp where they have constructed a secret culture of their own. It's a fascinating setting which has at least some historical roots (though how much is difficult to determine). The inevitable young protagonists of this Newbery would do better to listen more to their elders, but it really was a great read (see Honorable Mentions above).</div><p></p><p></p>The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-58559950011955258002022-12-27T11:37:00.059+01:002022-12-27T13:05:32.939+01:00The Ten Best Books I Read in 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjL2wjoCbKIR5RxuROiw1TQIQ9ZVDturIiiNqb9Z5lsvUNDjvb7IdG7BfQHQtMBH0Jrykzoy0soGS7z8dl6sN9gpkNYprDRY3HyD6_9JoNBZE6aPx6Jm98Mq51aVwwaUk0c_FUumZ1Bv4pLB6tvWMRGNAcBNCnk-1pDPeR1glx6DhYhLbz9gjzjLh_1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="2144" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjL2wjoCbKIR5RxuROiw1TQIQ9ZVDturIiiNqb9Z5lsvUNDjvb7IdG7BfQHQtMBH0Jrykzoy0soGS7z8dl6sN9gpkNYprDRY3HyD6_9JoNBZE6aPx6Jm98Mq51aVwwaUk0c_FUumZ1Bv4pLB6tvWMRGNAcBNCnk-1pDPeR1glx6DhYhLbz9gjzjLh_1=w400-h246" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>For the fourth year in a row, I'm closing out the year by sharing the ten best books I read this year. Scroll down to find the lists for 2021, 2020, and 2019. I've enjoyed hearing from those of you who took this list to the bank. Generally, I keep a chronological list of everything I read, adding a * to any book that I thought was just great, and it's usually about ten books each year. This year, I either read a lot of great books or my * standard is slipping. So I had to do some winnowing to get down to ten, but I've included the other * books at the end in an Honorable Mention category. Here they are, in the order in which I read them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdk0dfjihyfiG6TQM9kf0NoExlZ2BrAtIq9YpVTyz1wnoPbeTL1wpyz_9ISj_0lY906htTU36_Sk0A_CLlGe0P90K20Z_IpxnQIrPf2zm8FZ3j0C4Qbxxb1wvwbbgYa4dbRe_nU64TTZ2Kpq3icgNJUPfPFE4lruDkMCZwvdJVhyYJF9h_3YUCH1i/s1174/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.00.03%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="744" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdk0dfjihyfiG6TQM9kf0NoExlZ2BrAtIq9YpVTyz1wnoPbeTL1wpyz_9ISj_0lY906htTU36_Sk0A_CLlGe0P90K20Z_IpxnQIrPf2zm8FZ3j0C4Qbxxb1wvwbbgYa4dbRe_nU64TTZ2Kpq3icgNJUPfPFE4lruDkMCZwvdJVhyYJF9h_3YUCH1i/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.00.03%20PM.png" width="203" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Written in 2014, this novel follows the world through a novel flu epidemic that wipes out 99% of the population. I got it a few years ago, but needless to say, didn't have the heart to read it during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. With an amazingly written, interwoven plot, the primary thread follows a traveling Shakespeare troop that plods up and down the now-wilderness of the Lake Michigan shoreline. One review said something about, as dystopia goes, this is the first novel that is more about living than surviving, and I would agree.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RF04wyYS94kr6HTLcUPQ2tPaRCBONREenKcJAfS4_2BXBh0yld2bXQ62r3rSKl4Sb62kcJRyF7OoZWpRWNmspp-NGyxSjjC3HZ8d0-LBcfltUtPNHy-9H2wtqnRPozhTmRwTUKhTmcLIf11RjKKPZ7CzY_y31rXYlGhlDZDFnyOI05wPM4zNVSRi/s1188/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.01.56%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="784" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RF04wyYS94kr6HTLcUPQ2tPaRCBONREenKcJAfS4_2BXBh0yld2bXQ62r3rSKl4Sb62kcJRyF7OoZWpRWNmspp-NGyxSjjC3HZ8d0-LBcfltUtPNHy-9H2wtqnRPozhTmRwTUKhTmcLIf11RjKKPZ7CzY_y31rXYlGhlDZDFnyOI05wPM4zNVSRi/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.01.56%20PM.png" width="211" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I've Loved) by Kate Bowler</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Kate Bowler is a Duke Divinity faculty member whose research has centered on the prosperity gospel. Then, at age 35 with a young son, she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, and this book records her own struggles with living out incredible suffering. She is insightful, incredibly nuanced, sassy, and sympathetic to a very large variety of people. She is the kind of witness that you want to listen to and learn from.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>It was the sin of arrogance, of becoming impervious to life itself. I failed to love what was present and decided to love what was possible instead.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmLI0mgxDZ29oMHe-yDPIGxC4JxdhlOD5d5tk9TdzuMgzyisBpRhR43h4Hq4mGnbZEe3uqdXkxM6JwB8AQK8aYuvxbjB_-xVdfAwtu-tIIm9tYURTgvWJUllM5fy1DCTHhpHD6WMnGYxM_CJtRlc0H3Zx2D2aovy_LD_zinLX67T902u-zQqKFOOH/s1174/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.00.22%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="798" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmLI0mgxDZ29oMHe-yDPIGxC4JxdhlOD5d5tk9TdzuMgzyisBpRhR43h4Hq4mGnbZEe3uqdXkxM6JwB8AQK8aYuvxbjB_-xVdfAwtu-tIIm9tYURTgvWJUllM5fy1DCTHhpHD6WMnGYxM_CJtRlc0H3Zx2D2aovy_LD_zinLX67T902u-zQqKFOOH/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.00.22%20PM.png" width="218" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">In the last four years of making this list, this is the first time that the Newbery Medal winner has earned a spot in the top ten. It's probably the <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-newbery-ranking.html">best Newbery</a> since 2011's <i>Moon Over Manifest.</i> It's an odd hybrid of Latin-x culture ("cuentista" being "storyteller" in Spanish) and Sci-Fi, as it follows a ship of people seeking a new world home after Earth is struck by a comet. But it totally works. I'm not a huge Sci-Fi fan generally, but this is the genre at its best, dealing with big life questions that pit our desire to be safe against our desire to be fully human.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielc7ZhnyTIdaD-nl1XNwcJkFV9hsxhwEYDXI7GYTV9zQOj6-MpfgGAhNVlR2vuQKi8ZzPT3J1i0C39Ao1bIYX1m6GBQdrmH2vBe4TixFj5sS80c0JYTtntSQy4kCTh5-5hpucxJN4XM5aS-gkIubNoyyEN-11099gkbJokeeZUQpnHs1bdw3PhTlN/s1178/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.00.12%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="764" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielc7ZhnyTIdaD-nl1XNwcJkFV9hsxhwEYDXI7GYTV9zQOj6-MpfgGAhNVlR2vuQKi8ZzPT3J1i0C39Ao1bIYX1m6GBQdrmH2vBe4TixFj5sS80c0JYTtntSQy4kCTh5-5hpucxJN4XM5aS-gkIubNoyyEN-11099gkbJokeeZUQpnHs1bdw3PhTlN/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.00.12%20PM.png" width="208" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">I had previously read Schmidt's <i>Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy </i>and <i>The Wednesday Wars </i>(top ten 2020 list), but <i>Okay for Now</i> cemented my opinion that Gary Schmidt is simply one of America's best young adult novelists. I'll read anything he writes (and I read two more of his novels this year to make good on that). How can a book about an adolescent boy be so sad and funny and happy and heartbreaking all at the same time? (My only suggestion is that the publisher take a different approach to his cover art, which makes his books look fluffy.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaM_lFEtsM2khcRpKQA_-P0VUJdcMXObjocYvToXJXws-a-wQui21951UQ1sYEPJa_IuuzvfW1c0rrMauZqAjJtj9_AXiAvoz7ascPGYvMPuoUzd-4NvlPHNIvyXQ94kBUcdS1LNqUR32TDEE-n74KeeRi8dyO-0grhFcGGuIpv01DxC1ra4pzP02Y/s1176/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.02.04%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="786" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaM_lFEtsM2khcRpKQA_-P0VUJdcMXObjocYvToXJXws-a-wQui21951UQ1sYEPJa_IuuzvfW1c0rrMauZqAjJtj9_AXiAvoz7ascPGYvMPuoUzd-4NvlPHNIvyXQ94kBUcdS1LNqUR32TDEE-n74KeeRi8dyO-0grhFcGGuIpv01DxC1ra4pzP02Y/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.02.04%20PM.png" width="214" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Hind's Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">I read this book back in college and loved the simple way in which in made me reimagine my life as a journey. Its literary style is in no way impressive, but while visiting the Pyrenees this summer, I was reminded of it, and decided to read it together with Maggie. The allegory still holds up well, and the depiction of the Christ-figure Shepherd is really joyful.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcXZBkas1Wc84xv-czUTwaM-K6A65rH_trNP0TUeyPWGP81kGGj_sznnLKQjfUY9mKt8V3kPMEthBwyhrSdueD9XArzEl2qHpXP8bxjmgDHn7-5u5UfETJixeINv0g4_wASGoVFyvx1PvOkpJFkqke3PLoIksp_mXLpt8UEDSTmfaoLjlYljILGrp/s1186/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.02.15%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="764" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcXZBkas1Wc84xv-czUTwaM-K6A65rH_trNP0TUeyPWGP81kGGj_sznnLKQjfUY9mKt8V3kPMEthBwyhrSdueD9XArzEl2qHpXP8bxjmgDHn7-5u5UfETJixeINv0g4_wASGoVFyvx1PvOkpJFkqke3PLoIksp_mXLpt8UEDSTmfaoLjlYljILGrp/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.02.15%20PM.png" width="206" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Beartown by Fredrik Backman</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">This was recommended by our teammate Glory. It's the story of a rural Swedish hockey town whose hockey hopes (or obsession) are pitted against an act of great violence in their community. I have never had a book on this top ten list that I almost stopped reading halfway through. It was difficult to understand just why this book was so hard to read at certain points, but I think it's fundamentally because Backman's characters are so nuanced that they feel so real.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcB16aFGXdX6LcLOl2wkYz777iuyRYDntnJgjGZLESb1Q2lQBb3H3wts7dP1GISSNQ7SZ0GVR0PKb65utTso7jStFUknDmm2dCty9GRbD3eyIOfZWpWQKYH5wYvMHkmUAwXqfwomro9N4jxzsCuMnN3zz2boQNjbp-ddOV33JywNo6tqdFu3df4Ufo/s1192/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.03.54%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="796" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcB16aFGXdX6LcLOl2wkYz777iuyRYDntnJgjGZLESb1Q2lQBb3H3wts7dP1GISSNQ7SZ0GVR0PKb65utTso7jStFUknDmm2dCty9GRbD3eyIOfZWpWQKYH5wYvMHkmUAwXqfwomro9N4jxzsCuMnN3zz2boQNjbp-ddOV33JywNo6tqdFu3df4Ufo/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.03.54%20PM.png" width="214" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Under the Unpredictable Plant by Eugene Peterson</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">As predicted, Eugene Peterson made the list for the third year in a row. Scott Myhre recommended this one, and it is a great exploration of Jonah, but more than that, a thorough look at pursuing holiness in vocational ministry (for him as a pastor, but for me as a missionary, and many others, I'm sure).</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>What I love is the creativity. And what I know is that I can never be involved in creativity except by entering the mess.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFkxVQT5pOVcHPTAieYJu4bG0gaX5l4eWbJND80IWfa69hs0gzKk0TVzRrotavk5sOzGO1ciEBxgL3eI4VMXAFZtF5QjMh_O5sFub0LbuUjg_VeZXnP1Q6NFxszhqEK6TiQR2aabfSXuHbhHS8thF5cOjJ5pIlkiyxAATiklMCogv-l_synxhmH2Y/s1174/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.04.04%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="744" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFkxVQT5pOVcHPTAieYJu4bG0gaX5l4eWbJND80IWfa69hs0gzKk0TVzRrotavk5sOzGO1ciEBxgL3eI4VMXAFZtF5QjMh_O5sFub0LbuUjg_VeZXnP1Q6NFxszhqEK6TiQR2aabfSXuHbhHS8thF5cOjJ5pIlkiyxAATiklMCogv-l_synxhmH2Y/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.04.04%20PM.png" width="203" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness and Gentle Discipleship by John Swinton</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">I would have never found this book if not for James Paternoster giving it to me, and I'm so glad he did. John Swinton is a theologian at Aberdeen Divinity School, but he is also a mental health nurse. This book is somewhat academic, and thus not for everyone, but I just loved it. Swinton describes how modern Western notions of Time are not necessarily biblical, and how such notions marginalize those with profound disabilities. He then explores how being with people with disabilities can help us all learn more about Biblical timefullness.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>As an aspect of God's love, the purpose of time is to facilitate and sustain love.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The reality is that, when time is love, speed equals </i>less<i> of it.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8TAdg6B73H-UN0gdB1viWRfT8GfU4b1lF1AQMhpOwMGuOIdVPDEQjhGPABmN0xpaUINCrfwixbOMBYEV4MMX3545cQtLdVpF15_8RiBBCuI6L6hoONOMrCv6ILvH56upKTLbzWK8U-ydCCQKoeUwKJz2PzosKACngHWwnOmi9DhdfWlF-fkIdEQY/s1192/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%201.58.42%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="746" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8TAdg6B73H-UN0gdB1viWRfT8GfU4b1lF1AQMhpOwMGuOIdVPDEQjhGPABmN0xpaUINCrfwixbOMBYEV4MMX3545cQtLdVpF15_8RiBBCuI6L6hoONOMrCv6ILvH56upKTLbzWK8U-ydCCQKoeUwKJz2PzosKACngHWwnOmi9DhdfWlF-fkIdEQY/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%201.58.42%20PM.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">Daniel Nayeri tells the basically autobiographical story of growing up in Iran, and his mom converting to Christianity, which led to her (along with him and his sister) fleeing the country, landing finally in the USA. It's hilarious and bizarre and endearing and creative. It's a fantastic American immigration story with all the tension of America being great and also not great (and not home). Nayeri's description of his complicated relationship with his dad is depicted just as sorrowful and unique as I imagine it is. Thanks to Clayton for recommending it. Maggie also loved it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtygLzNZ9LrK14a92BLCIuwHerrR2gNepnxUzUJk7KMBtG-m7VTGERdxRMT8j0VnPT8yZUhZx6hfYdkPrPbRuo4K2xsRnvTm5NGySYjgshhC1ptkkqdH1GcL57EM8NCC7bahIIj40CgKGH93BmQ3pJGOZ4kFRCvZpoCRTToNb0vSF9O_D67xN5-5DB/s1186/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.04.15%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="784" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtygLzNZ9LrK14a92BLCIuwHerrR2gNepnxUzUJk7KMBtG-m7VTGERdxRMT8j0VnPT8yZUhZx6hfYdkPrPbRuo4K2xsRnvTm5NGySYjgshhC1ptkkqdH1GcL57EM8NCC7bahIIj40CgKGH93BmQ3pJGOZ4kFRCvZpoCRTToNb0vSF9O_D67xN5-5DB/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%202.04.15%20PM.png" width="212" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Jack by Marilynne Robinson</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">I have read and loved <i>Gilead, Lila, </i>and <i>Home</i> by Robinson, all following the same main characters. I was excited to read another, this time following the prodigal white preacher's son Jack in the part of the saga where he falls in love with the winsome black preacher's daughter Della in an era of St. Louis history where such a relationship was illegal. When I was about 50 pages into the book, I was admiring (again) Robinson's craft, but feeling the weight of her long conversations and complicated characters. But, by the end, it was simply another home run. Marilynne Robinson is incredible.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Truth versus poetry was really no contest.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Della said, "It will be alright." And then she said, "If it isn't, what will it matter?" True enough.</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Honorable Mentions:</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Nevermoor </b>by Jessica Townsend</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Educated </b>by Tara Westover</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Bullies and Saints </b>by John Dickson</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The Gift of Disillusionment </b>by Peter Greer and Chris Horst</p>The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-85727070350290212502022-05-14T10:36:00.001+02:002022-05-14T10:36:14.570+02:00Papa<p>Seven days ago, my grandpa, Eugene Frank Blanski, the namesake for my own middle name, passed away at the age of 90 after 4 years of being a widower, and only 10 days of a battle with cancer. Today, I am in a hotel in Bujumbura, ready to board three flights to get me back the Minnesota to be with my family during his funeral. I am so thankful that I got to spend 40 years with him, and that all three of my children knew and loved him.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJhL_b3XFfNwQ-rNFbMUQ7aIotG_nyaz4oD_LvlaL9EZjoxvaWp1RmyzEPc1gGDns09Gy3lHap5NtTlITVLlgDRpM4oo6Jyvw9uAX5vOA1A_LXf5esLdM3WFvafww6PvwfEZfrVmsRyIJZs9j2GUKOjJ7UCt17vFQStUe_arnluaKNxfLes7N9TEsy" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1080" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJhL_b3XFfNwQ-rNFbMUQ7aIotG_nyaz4oD_LvlaL9EZjoxvaWp1RmyzEPc1gGDns09Gy3lHap5NtTlITVLlgDRpM4oo6Jyvw9uAX5vOA1A_LXf5esLdM3WFvafww6PvwfEZfrVmsRyIJZs9j2GUKOjJ7UCt17vFQStUe_arnluaKNxfLes7N9TEsy=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br />In 2012, my family came to stay with he and my grandma at their apartment in Minneapolis. He was about 80 years old at the time, years after a big heart bypass and knee arthroplasties, but he laid down on the carpet, wrestling and tickling little Maggie and Ben, and I'm not sure which of the three of them had the best time.<p></p><p>When they were done, I watched him quietly crawl backwards into the adjoining sitting room. I peered around the corner to see him bracing himself against a bookcase to get himself back up into an upright position. It wasn't easy and he almost slipped at one point, hitting his forearm again the shelf. Seeing that he was again standing, I went back and sat down in the living room. In a couple minutes, he reappeared and called me into the other room.</p><p>He wanted me to look at his arm. Between his paper-thin skin and his blood thinners, there was a nasty gash, but I thought it would heal without stitches, which is what he wanted to know. "It's the dardnest thing. I don't know how that happened," he said. </p><p>Of course, I knew. And I think we both knew that telling anyone would risk others telling him that he should act his age and not try to wrestle with toddlers on the ground. He had no regrets and no interest in getting that kind of feedback, so he stayed quiet.</p><p>Later I would read Atul Gawande's <i>Being Mortal</i> where he states that with advancing age, we want autonomy for ourselves, but safety for those we love. I thought back to Papa on the carpet, Papa struggling to right himself, Papa running silly risks for the sake of being silly with my kids. I decided then that I would keep this story for myself, and only share it after he died.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEib_Jd3GT0kWdWWjtOt5xPfNqlaBT635eNxGFZtGPkUL439pljMLjkaTPMAXTiiIQJkUuYfl5PanDFbQomboOHARe3C9TOw8HJW6JwY6IfyFwyhSA3xfV0SDcSDSFxR6O9njwpHIopPPcKFTNWHvP-9ITeGMgTJAXR5Ef0-9_bcq8bU83SP1x7YSgml" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEib_Jd3GT0kWdWWjtOt5xPfNqlaBT635eNxGFZtGPkUL439pljMLjkaTPMAXTiiIQJkUuYfl5PanDFbQomboOHARe3C9TOw8HJW6JwY6IfyFwyhSA3xfV0SDcSDSFxR6O9njwpHIopPPcKFTNWHvP-9ITeGMgTJAXR5Ef0-9_bcq8bU83SP1x7YSgml=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>In 2018, my family had a reunion at some cabins at one of the TVA lakes that are scattered around Tennessee, invariably hilly in order to have dammed the river and made the lake in the first place. My parents had bought a golf cart to take my grandparents around.<p></p><p>While putting my shoes on in our cabin, I heard my mom shriek, and I ran outside to see something I had never seen or thought I would see: My grandpa at 87 sprinting full tilt down the steep forested slope between our cabin and the next. He had decided to forgo the golf cart and just take the hill slowly. But then he found he was unable to stop the acceleration. As I ran after him, I pictured him slamming into a tree and (again, the blood thinners) that would be the end. Instead he felt on his side, dodging the forest, and landed on his back in a soft bed of leaf litter just as I careened up next to him.</p><p>After seeing that he was alright, and clearing him for cervical spine fractures, we slowly got up. Amazingly, he got away with that stunt with only the few cuts and bruises that are in the photo above, and he was out roasting marshmallows with my niece Sierra the next night.</p><p>All that to say, I still admire his choices even if they were sometimes wrong.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiY55qJJ8wTOJ7UGdoYJcq8O8xzcPmaR7zOvJko9O9Yb1n0Jr2A9TPYrKv3uDKKG8Gw3tWri75HFkQ5XbOgki1cP8eX_0rk8SNj7_3dY_aF24wEt6DwQa1asBxv9PEQWV1cuEGGHqxJX3GOcTOa_wl9qO5430eHkb7PEd9qRD-CMVYS-StzRtHHUUSo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="488" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiY55qJJ8wTOJ7UGdoYJcq8O8xzcPmaR7zOvJko9O9Yb1n0Jr2A9TPYrKv3uDKKG8Gw3tWri75HFkQ5XbOgki1cP8eX_0rk8SNj7_3dY_aF24wEt6DwQa1asBxv9PEQWV1cuEGGHqxJX3GOcTOa_wl9qO5430eHkb7PEd9qRD-CMVYS-StzRtHHUUSo=w225-h400" width="225" /></a></div><br />Papa and I were so different. A successful CPA who helped build his own firm, he wanted me to learn sound principals of financial management. When I was in college, he arranged for his financial advisor (who was actually named Poindexter, a coincidence that I still find humorous) to call me in my college dorm just to ask if I had any questions about mutual funds and investment. Neither of us really wanted to have that call, I think, but we did for Papa's sake. Not only could I have cared less, but at that point in my life, may even have had some kind of vague moral opposition to learning financial management.<p></p><p>We never lived in the same state, though he and Grammy would visit often. So why did I feel so close to this man, who was so different and often far away? Because he loved me, and I absolutely knew it. More than that, he approved of me, and I knew that, too.</p><p>The day after hearing about Papa's passing, I went out, as I always do a couple days a week to meet my friend Lijalem, an Ethiopian surgeon working at Kibuye, for a few minutes before heading to the hospital. We sit on the porch of the kids' school and pray for the day of work that is before us.</p><p>He had heard that my grandpa had passed, and as he approached me, he put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a hug. He sat down across from me, and with sorrow in his own eyes, he said, "Eric, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandpa. Did you love him very much?"</p><p>It has been an amazing thing to be surrounded by African friends in a time of grieving.</p><p>Yes, I did love him very much. <br /></p>The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-34701675831765679682021-12-17T20:08:00.002+01:002021-12-17T20:08:25.151+01:00The 10 Best Books I Read in 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8TEtaR-k1GI/YbzUulDivyI/AAAAAAAALqM/mzAeuYhedewbJtsgZgXRgtGgojy8rwl9wCNcBGAsYHQ/2021%2Bcollage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8TEtaR-k1GI/YbzUulDivyI/AAAAAAAALqM/mzAeuYhedewbJtsgZgXRgtGgojy8rwl9wCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/2021%2Bcollage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">For the third year in a row (scroll down for 2020 and 2019), I am posting the ten books that I enjoyed the most in the past year. Here they are, in the chronological order that I encountered them, with a 2021 Newbery commentary at the end.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPFJZwLhePUpOsgfubPU3_GkH1FrkJh03zrqtzQZbDFNhnmMDHJ2E3aLP7pBaSz3U8Whtk-qnEfo1xTAfwCWH7tvCeRxf_Yp_MFXVWZD80eVglo5YPsCIAm1jrAmRSvXer2IdnlR0APqjCegQvxMCPleOOK9eKuZp4kGeJiz0CFuBOyVz3fknLg49Y=s2560" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1746" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPFJZwLhePUpOsgfubPU3_GkH1FrkJh03zrqtzQZbDFNhnmMDHJ2E3aLP7pBaSz3U8Whtk-qnEfo1xTAfwCWH7tvCeRxf_Yp_MFXVWZD80eVglo5YPsCIAm1jrAmRSvXer2IdnlR0APqjCegQvxMCPleOOK9eKuZp4kGeJiz0CFuBOyVz3fknLg49Y=w273-h400" width="273" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">I decided at the beginning of 2021 to read a few classic novels that, for some reason or another, I had never gotten to. I started with Jane Eyre, which is absolutely brilliant. The capacity of these Victorian women authors to provide such complex character sketches is so rich. I owe it to Peter Bast who convinced me years ago to not shy away from <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> on the grounds that most big fans are usually women, and I'm thankful that he rid me of such...prejudice.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>"The sovereign hand that created your frame, and put life into it, has provided you with other resources than your feeble self, or than creatures feeble as you."</i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWLx6u0uCsgeJk-zrvSXUvanIG6E4-fj5SMcXTj3imqOKb59HTJDY3JpCRy6TK-fE-A59n6unkTfUvaRLK5XE-1Iq1OHSZxfAQe26RlOp1Gyb3RQ1KXuYj6IFcY0oDezZsx4mD9snRUREIbVTQANHwFiVY0LxCAHq_RUCMVJ6p5dYkJnwglU8R8-v7=s1565" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1565" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWLx6u0uCsgeJk-zrvSXUvanIG6E4-fj5SMcXTj3imqOKb59HTJDY3JpCRy6TK-fE-A59n6unkTfUvaRLK5XE-1Iq1OHSZxfAQe26RlOp1Gyb3RQ1KXuYj6IFcY0oDezZsx4mD9snRUREIbVTQANHwFiVY0LxCAHq_RUCMVJ6p5dYkJnwglU8R8-v7=w255-h400" width="255" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>2. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">For fans of <i>The Kite Runner</i> and <i>A Thousand Splendid Suns</i> who recognized Hosseini's brilliance but just found those great books so <i>hard</i> to read, this may be the perfect novel. The international and long-time-arc elements of Hosseini's other novels are still there, but the moments of redemption are less dark. It was published in 2013, and it seems like it missed the level of fanfare that the prior two novels received.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnGLeOsnLKA-rtDowe5ZFkaODhpY2Ab5SvSDh6Ux_SrxsdARmlhC0GW5VTrWfBLAcfgnaWO1f0lOQYfFAO2Rkkoap_InlmKmx4zTuEYbroWN4h0a6aPHxMA_gwd7_gSHZ84KxMJgS25vwX2EMKtji_4JGfrGN3sRgVXSZC46on2ZQQOyCM5T3fBmA1=s2560" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1694" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnGLeOsnLKA-rtDowe5ZFkaODhpY2Ab5SvSDh6Ux_SrxsdARmlhC0GW5VTrWfBLAcfgnaWO1f0lOQYfFAO2Rkkoap_InlmKmx4zTuEYbroWN4h0a6aPHxMA_gwd7_gSHZ84KxMJgS25vwX2EMKtji_4JGfrGN3sRgVXSZC46on2ZQQOyCM5T3fBmA1=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>3. Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk</b></p><p style="text-align: center;">The first of two YA novels on this list, this one came to me via Rachel's recommendation. Wolk's character and intricate plot are set in the Elizabeth Islands about a hundred years ago, off the coast of Cape Cod, a remote area that I've never really imagined before. So it's that great blend of domestic/accessible and exotic/fascinating. I love to read books set in areas where I travel, so I later read this book aloud to our kids when we spend a few days in Cape Cod in June.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUhZU0hRIC0A9yzk_2PHcCUrckniuP2c-XVqxUlQS5pXB_6EZlo27pQrgCBpjvLYeTm7Wq90PhZufODRqySccOCoDyQ6qPqiso-vyIIpqTqeD1o-1x00FmXjWPTzTJwnxcV5Iy0LJyn9MMBt7J7ZKiHb7Ybgo2NGEZ1ugK9vjyF_rQSH8uD32sc7CO=s500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUhZU0hRIC0A9yzk_2PHcCUrckniuP2c-XVqxUlQS5pXB_6EZlo27pQrgCBpjvLYeTm7Wq90PhZufODRqySccOCoDyQ6qPqiso-vyIIpqTqeD1o-1x00FmXjWPTzTJwnxcV5Iy0LJyn9MMBt7J7ZKiHb7Ybgo2NGEZ1ugK9vjyF_rQSH8uD32sc7CO=w270-h400" width="270" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>4. Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Peterson had a book on last year's list, and if I had to guess, I would say that he's likely to have one on next year's list. The more I read from him, the more I want to read. This book was recommended by Russell Moore (see below) on a blog. It forms part of Peterson's "Spiritual Theology" series which focuses on the marriage of biblical theology to everyday practicality. It's a decently hefty read, but very worthwhile.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"Is it not obvious by now that all through this narrative of the formation of the Jesus community the means used are unconventional, countercultural, and alien to any person who knows nothing of resurrection? But once resurrection is introduced into the story, all the ways in which we work have to be rethought, re-imagined, and reworked. The world's means can no longer be employed for kingdom ends."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrriwhJ_xYGObveMCPO-lQHPT1SNn8Dlu38CaG7EcX7dN5flVK4BmdSRPMgOZ6fAFD20jwwSc5d2QNCBqHYeSHGg7mfQRX4px7M5PP5X2Zi1B-sCQE1p0U8cZd6T5PZNrVZXJWyozJQhVg8uMPH-wOl_HyZqrOYoJR0It86D-os0pnIBWBuKmXohOT=s2560" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1696" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrriwhJ_xYGObveMCPO-lQHPT1SNn8Dlu38CaG7EcX7dN5flVK4BmdSRPMgOZ6fAFD20jwwSc5d2QNCBqHYeSHGg7mfQRX4px7M5PP5X2Zi1B-sCQE1p0U8cZd6T5PZNrVZXJWyozJQhVg8uMPH-wOl_HyZqrOYoJR0It86D-os0pnIBWBuKmXohOT=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>5. Hope in Times of Fear by Timothy Keller</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was looking forward to this new book. It wasn't what I expected, but I'm happy that it is what it is. Keller's writing about Easter and Resurrection ended up being timed to both a worldwide pandemic as well as his own personal battle with what appears to be terminal cancer. Far from triumphalistic, he spends a lot of time developing how a strength-in-weakness or death-before-resurrection parabola is so central to the Biblical story. I also can't help plugging Keller's <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/03/tim-keller-growing-my-faith-face-death/618219/">article in The Atlantic</a>. I'm so glad that he got to write this book.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"The Bible's teaching is that the road to the best things is not through the good things but usually through the hard things...if we remember this, we can face anything."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKxfFAK9D18NfOCg6p445L5lpWaEOWc8uQGr4ii0l33o3QZRPRfXiVxW_fbRLJcwycSegTbq4kVmtcUL_ExXqFpH2HSNxhll4K2TfJ0BucQ_y03xYhR1_FaJWeC3tZTXuTsKI-zGNcY4PqgClOebjDTN8uEVqHJvq1s9hw4uk-2GI0LjUepmD9Ojdk=s1360" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="893" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKxfFAK9D18NfOCg6p445L5lpWaEOWc8uQGr4ii0l33o3QZRPRfXiVxW_fbRLJcwycSegTbq4kVmtcUL_ExXqFpH2HSNxhll4K2TfJ0BucQ_y03xYhR1_FaJWeC3tZTXuTsKI-zGNcY4PqgClOebjDTN8uEVqHJvq1s9hw4uk-2GI0LjUepmD9Ojdk=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>6. The Final Solution by Michael Chabon</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This book, recommended to me by Brian Beise, is a short detective novel which never says that it's about a 90-year old Sherlock Holmes pulling himself out of retirement for one final case, but it nevertheless obviously is about that. The writing is great. The restraint in never actually saying what is so obviously true is maybe the most worth savoring.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEif-V_MsZ0sIBdue3lNgi1-AbssPrGR4pr6mr1Yla7V7s9FDDyncY3fGJJDf9edk3beR6jGRXxqXpqD1IVSe4PL0PTG4EIUfkph2spxQO-nvoBWGJX-zpjY7Us1tQnjpzmyxgwKVL1--qqilzSJSxJQUKM0NRksETCsMLwWtE8viAjGRm0-YCGnKbqq=s1085" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1085" data-original-width="698" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEif-V_MsZ0sIBdue3lNgi1-AbssPrGR4pr6mr1Yla7V7s9FDDyncY3fGJJDf9edk3beR6jGRXxqXpqD1IVSe4PL0PTG4EIUfkph2spxQO-nvoBWGJX-zpjY7Us1tQnjpzmyxgwKVL1--qqilzSJSxJQUKM0NRksETCsMLwWtE8viAjGRm0-YCGnKbqq=w258-h400" width="258" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>7. Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This book just picked up Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award (second time for her after <i>Liturgy of the Ordinary). </i>It's a truly fantastic look at finding hope in the darkness, using a Compline prayer from the Book of Common Prayer as the skeleton for the book structure. Friends have pointed out how much they feel this book is similar in theme to my own, and I definitely agree. The gift of this book, for me, was getting to read the same thoughts I needed to write in a fresh voice different from my own. I've already read two other books from her bibliography.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"Christian discipleship is a lifetime of training in how to pay attention to the right things."</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOr9nGJe-r8PFk9V123Lj95ADei_Z3c6GqEv1FJfirtv5PijjBy9qTl_tQ0DmsPOVsaCh4zWuVyhyJmTUTuimgjPHX5O-OVciHqk7ZYAqyscj-gTC7Qgi7GfghVLf7rH8gWfxKu9dD5WnDIC39uOWL-C0qq5D6ckJoVyOXzX_Ic94YKQmLfPK1SHjd=s2560" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1646" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOr9nGJe-r8PFk9V123Lj95ADei_Z3c6GqEv1FJfirtv5PijjBy9qTl_tQ0DmsPOVsaCh4zWuVyhyJmTUTuimgjPHX5O-OVciHqk7ZYAqyscj-gTC7Qgi7GfghVLf7rH8gWfxKu9dD5WnDIC39uOWL-C0qq5D6ckJoVyOXzX_Ic94YKQmLfPK1SHjd=w258-h400" width="258" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>8. The Storm-Tossed Family by Russell Moore</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Having greatly appreciated Moore's voice on a lot of current events, I wanted to read one of his books. I was somewhat surprised to see this one themed around family, since I had mostly encountered him talking about public policy and such. It's absolutely brilliant and insightful, taking Family off the pedestal where many have put it, and placing it rightfully under Christ's lordship so that it can be more than what it could be as a merely disordered love. I suppose a good part of my affinity for this work was my identification with Moore's own personality in family life, so I'm thankful that he was that personal in his writing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>"What is meant for [something] to be good...would be for it to go according to my own plan. I was deeply and profoundly stupid."</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGoJ42rKZE2hq2XkUshGUGMcpJn1dttG8fM8JW_UmhUQqDj7mhNpWHNHjXA2s4eHzOYcQoA35JaRrEOFoHcFapeo16A_TcvG6zIlf2zRoT29vI8AhKN1bVKxcpk5Ajy3HHIrTTePRnmhGjQ9IPqyq0oiHR8Abc_kIlkFsjnsbeUE9bP4pqnKD0w9Ep=s2296" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2296" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGoJ42rKZE2hq2XkUshGUGMcpJn1dttG8fM8JW_UmhUQqDj7mhNpWHNHjXA2s4eHzOYcQoA35JaRrEOFoHcFapeo16A_TcvG6zIlf2zRoT29vI8AhKN1bVKxcpk5Ajy3HHIrTTePRnmhGjQ9IPqyq0oiHR8Abc_kIlkFsjnsbeUE9bP4pqnKD0w9Ep=w261-h400" width="261" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>9. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rachel's family had a family reunion in Charleston, where I had never been, and this was a read to accompany that new place. It's an epic tale following the stories of a budding woman abolitionist and a young slave girl in South Carolina in the first half of the 19th century.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEig3hylith1fmDzPv3seH8UiBAsTz8Z42kO9x0cRVfzxS28OnAfgS7dqULKMPCSh3j15QdAri05EERCaViOtYkYZATT2aJ4Tpj-_pN5iAsIzWdCAvVBonrv8a9XAd-dsVpjdC9s0YcmmuIPuBOVTaEZAn9angixZFVs84e9EYxwLgPaBdV1kvj-vOor=s920" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEig3hylith1fmDzPv3seH8UiBAsTz8Z42kO9x0cRVfzxS28OnAfgS7dqULKMPCSh3j15QdAri05EERCaViOtYkYZATT2aJ4Tpj-_pN5iAsIzWdCAvVBonrv8a9XAd-dsVpjdC9s0YcmmuIPuBOVTaEZAn9angixZFVs84e9EYxwLgPaBdV1kvj-vOor=s320" width="261" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>10. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Maggie was so taken with this one, that I wanted to read it myself. I've loved Spinelli ever since reading <i>Maniac Magee </i>in 4th grade. The storytelling is good, but ultimately this book rises on the main character of Stargirl. It's a story of non-conformity, but unlike a lot of such stories (e.g. Timmy Failure), the non-conformity is ultimately self-giving love, and it's beautiful and sad as such stories probably always are.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There is a sequel, which is pretty good, but Rachel proposed a better idea for a sequel. There is also a Disney+ movie, and I don't think I want to see it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>BONUS: 2021 NEWBERY REFLECTION</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>(our Newbery Rank list <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-newbery-ranking.html">here</a>)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The 100th Newbery Medal was award to Tae Keller for <i>How to Trap a Tiger</i>, which is a story of a young Korean-American girl (and her sister) coping with the pending death of their grandmother, who adheres to a number of traditional Korean beliefs. The writing is quite good, and probably the best plot achievement is how the reader is suspended for quite a long time about how much magic is really going on in the story. Not a home run in my book (still waiting for a year when the Newbery is a top 10 read for me), but a great book.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">*At the end of the book, there is a very brief mention of the teenage sister being in a same-sex relationship. It seems completely extraneous to the story, but the casual normality of it was likely the author's point. I leave it to the reader to decide.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CMr1ICGNwNU/Ybzf1GId9OI/AAAAAAAALrQ/iqjpkEEs_7o1KD60fKnlsuAOK65FDj-VwCNcBGAsYHQ/9781524715700.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="297" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CMr1ICGNwNU/Ybzf1GId9OI/AAAAAAAALrQ/iqjpkEEs_7o1KD60fKnlsuAOK65FDj-VwCNcBGAsYHQ/9781524715700.jpeg" width="158" /></a></div></div>The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-34066585484027582982021-02-01T18:11:00.004+01:002021-02-01T18:11:50.633+01:00Maggie Writes!Maggie has taken to writing fan fiction novellas. You can find them <a href="https://storiesfromburundi.blogspot.com">here</a>.<div><br /></div><div>(I'm linking this because FB is disallowing me to link directly to her page. Which is really weird.)</div>The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-50653682060140481942020-12-30T10:00:00.003+01:002020-12-30T10:00:49.193+01:00The 10 Best Books I Read in 2020<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEDheaREy38/X-wz7f6phnI/AAAAAAAALOk/6tc2twX2UFY41sGOABiyojfAUX1fw9fBQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/book%2Bcovers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEDheaREy38/X-wz7f6phnI/AAAAAAAALOk/6tc2twX2UFY41sGOABiyojfAUX1fw9fBQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/book%2Bcovers1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For the second year in a row, I kept a list of all the books I read in 2020. <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-10-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html">Just like last year</a>, this affords me the opportunity here at the end of the year to look back and recognize my ten favorites. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VKpRAbp_xZ0/X-w0M5OQsLI/AAAAAAAALOw/Dkc9sx9OTRIxQgw38uZS_sJ5WA6vQcO0QCNcBGAsYHQ/s410/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.40.26%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="306" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VKpRAbp_xZ0/X-w0M5OQsLI/AAAAAAAALOw/Dkc9sx9OTRIxQgw38uZS_sJ5WA6vQcO0QCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.40.26%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>1. A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was actually the first book I read in 2020. It was recommended by a guy at MTI in 2018 as an incredible book on suffering, and it is indeed that. Jerry Sittser lost his mother, wife, and daughter in the same accident with a drunk driver. His reflections on suffering are profound. I keep coming back to this quote I've already used multiple times in 2020 (<a href="https://mccropders.blogspot.com/2020/04/lamenting-and-rejoicing-at-same-time.html">here</a> and <a href="https://mccropders.blogspot.com/2020/07/lamenting-and-rejoicing-on-hospital.html">here</a>): <i>"Sorrow is noble and gracious. It enlarges the soul until the soul is capable of mourning and rejoicing simultaneously, of feeling the world's pain and hoping for the world's healing at the same time."</i> I can't think of many ideas more important for the world of 2020.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bkx1VrCPUhQ/X-w0M2yR5UI/AAAAAAAALO0/kOQmpm517Cgk15jpDUfNmVo5bcUwxwChwCNcBGAsYHQ/s385/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.41.40%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="239" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bkx1VrCPUhQ/X-w0M2yR5UI/AAAAAAAALO0/kOQmpm517Cgk15jpDUfNmVo5bcUwxwChwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.41.40%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Like everyone else, I read (and enjoyed) this in high school, but that was a long time ago. Harper Lee nailed it. Beautiful story, characters, and style.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DnnzbcBDW6c/X-w0MmRIFxI/AAAAAAAALOs/NO4QmovNPGIuavmaJaCst16Sb5Wxom6oACNcBGAsYHQ/s384/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.42.03%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="242" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DnnzbcBDW6c/X-w0MmRIFxI/AAAAAAAALOs/NO4QmovNPGIuavmaJaCst16Sb5Wxom6oACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.42.03%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">3. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There is a bit of irony with me placing this one after Harper Lee, but for me, it's just a chronological coincidence. Stevenson's story about getting an innocent man off death row, along with his general overview of the injustices (racial and otherwise) of the American legal system, is incredibly compelling. The stories and his descriptions of the issues are engaging. Stevenson's voice is distinctively and richly Christian. It's a voice that the church and the world both need, and I'm so glad he's out there testifying.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SdUaV74EwoU/X-w0NcWEIQI/AAAAAAAALO4/SO-fP3Z2l7APTzkY_bPVLnPvWygm9VR7gCNcBGAsYHQ/s384/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.42.30%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SdUaV74EwoU/X-w0NcWEIQI/AAAAAAAALO4/SO-fP3Z2l7APTzkY_bPVLnPvWygm9VR7gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.42.30%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">4. The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This book was the 2008 Newbery runner-up to <i>Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village</i>, which was actually also a great book. So, I'm not debating the difficult choice there, but <i>The Wednesday Wars</i> was certainly Newbery Medal-worthy. The book moves from one vignette to another, any of which would have been worthy of a climax.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-swuk92kvKxM/X-w0Nuh2CrI/AAAAAAAALO8/0hdupRBb73ELVruh1W8kBi1sre6wKnimwCNcBGAsYHQ/s382/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.43.00%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="253" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-swuk92kvKxM/X-w0Nuh2CrI/AAAAAAAALO8/0hdupRBb73ELVruh1W8kBi1sre6wKnimwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.43.00%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">5. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ever since falling in love with the darkly-redemptive <i>The Power and the Glory</i> about twenty years ago, I've been searching for another Greene novel that captures the same beauty. This is a very close second. Greene's psychological dissection of how a modern heart AND mind encounters Christianity from the outside as well as the inside often plays a peripheral role in his story, but it comes into center focus here.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kHPOS0A2yNw/X-w0N6m0x3I/AAAAAAAALPA/5nUaoG15ARw2riVWg1520AanwrVV09wjACNcBGAsYHQ/s381/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.43.26%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="239" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kHPOS0A2yNw/X-w0N6m0x3I/AAAAAAAALPA/5nUaoG15ARw2riVWg1520AanwrVV09wjACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.43.26%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">6. Plaidoyer Pour La Vie by Denis Mukwege</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dommage that this book doesn't yet have an English translation. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege has been working tirelessly for women who are victims of sexual violence in nearby Bukavu, DR Congo. He is also a graduate of the University of Burundi. His heroic efforts have put his life under constant threat. As an autobiography, <i>Plaidoyer Pour la Vie</i> gives Dr. Mukwege a chance to talk openly about his faith and his life growing up among medical missionaries. Incredible story.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SMCIYkQSmR4/X-w0OLo3y0I/AAAAAAAALPE/alJR8fFyJYIvkz0_NxLs0qGi-4D0DQN_gCNcBGAsYHQ/s382/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.43.59%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="253" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SMCIYkQSmR4/X-w0OLo3y0I/AAAAAAAALPE/alJR8fFyJYIvkz0_NxLs0qGi-4D0DQN_gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.43.59%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">7. Silence by Shusaku Endo</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This book was surprisingly hard for me to find (there appears to be no Kindle version?), and I haven't seen the Scorsese film with Liam Neeson. It is a story of deep struggle and seemingly lost faith in the era of Catholic missionaries to Japan. The characterization is made in the intro that Shusaku Endo is a kind of Graham Greene for Japan, and I can see that. The story is as beautiful and deep as it is heartbreaking. I will be reading more by Endo. <i>"Sin, he reflected, is not what it is usually thought to be... Sin is for one man to walk brutally over the life of another and be quite oblivious of the wounds he has left behind. And then for the first time a real prayer rose up in his heart."</i></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_FHQoSelmzE/X-w0OQV69lI/AAAAAAAALPI/ICl9zQ7FoL8D7MU-uT1dYVq6Y4BWU0yAwCNcBGAsYHQ/s380/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.44.36%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="235" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_FHQoSelmzE/X-w0OQV69lI/AAAAAAAALPI/ICl9zQ7FoL8D7MU-uT1dYVq6Y4BWU0yAwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.44.36%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">8. The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is simply a practical gem. Peterson talks about how contemplative living is necessary for good living, but we treat is as peripheral. Which is true for pastors and everyone. Thus, this is a book about getting life and work right. His image of the pastor as the Melville "man with the harpoon" while everyone else in the boat is rowing, so that he can strike well in the opportune moment, is a durable metaphor. <i>"...the faithful endurance that is respectful of the complexities of living a moral, spiritual, and liturgical life before the mysteries of God in the mess of history." </i>I know that's a sentence fragment, but what a fragment.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nHWb32t77qY/X-w0OrabM0I/AAAAAAAALPM/vpq-UhpRRngyOEcFE4pFXhWSm00THDF_gCNcBGAsYHQ/s382/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.44.58%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nHWb32t77qY/X-w0OrabM0I/AAAAAAAALPM/vpq-UhpRRngyOEcFE4pFXhWSm00THDF_gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.44.58%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">9. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Rabbit</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm surprised I never read this as a kid. The story of the immortal Tucks and all its implications is married perfectly with Babbit's style.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x8umu-cTHss/X-w0O9mihKI/AAAAAAAALPQ/Q31dAb522Q8R70mEDBZnwCE6bzkw6DJLACNcBGAsYHQ/s381/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.45.29%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="257" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x8umu-cTHss/X-w0O9mihKI/AAAAAAAALPQ/Q31dAb522Q8R70mEDBZnwCE6bzkw6DJLACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.45.29%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">10. Virgil Wander by Leif Enger</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Enger's prior novel made my list last year, so that tells you something of my evolving opinion of him as a novelist. <i>Virgil Wander </i>is the wonderfully quirky story of a small town on the north shore of Lake Superior, MN. It feels magical, but it's really not. It feels redemptive, but also ordinary. Which is great.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">BONUS: Newbery 2020 Reflection: We continue to <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-newbery-ranking.html">read and rank the Newbery Medal winners</a> every year. Now our kids are getting into it, which is fun. Next year will be the 100th year, so we're looking forward to that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_KOqzMcHs2M/X-w0cpR6c3I/AAAAAAAALPY/GMn-AT8Y9kY157zHmAa8TOqxmnQCch7fQCNcBGAsYHQ/s385/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.45.56%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="257" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_KOqzMcHs2M/X-w0cpR6c3I/AAAAAAAALPY/GMn-AT8Y9kY157zHmAa8TOqxmnQCch7fQCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-12-30%2Bat%2B9.45.56%2BAM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2020 Newbery Medal: New Kid by Jerry Craft.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is a great graphic novel about a black kid who starts at a new elite school where he struggles with being a person of color in a very white world. The story and the illustrations both work really well, and all our kids enjoyed the book. It's funny and nuanced. The odd thing is that it's a graphic novel. Our impression is that the Newbery Medal went to a story that could stand alone without its illustrations (thus having excluded past greats from Brian Selznick like <i>Hugo Cabret</i> and <i>Wonderstruck</i>). Apparently not.</div><p></p>The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-70282004598685588282020-04-25T20:49:00.000+02:002020-04-25T20:49:30.152+02:00A Bunch of Great QuotesIf I'm wanting to archive the great words of someone else, why not do it in a public place. We'll tack the following on to the old list of "Quotables" on the right sidebar link:<div>
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"Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not." - Gandalf (JRR Tolkien)</div>
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"A man who will not help or support others unless he can do so without affecting his safety or his property will never help his neighbor. He will always reckon with the possibility that doing so will bring some disadvantage and damage, danger and loss. No neighbor can live alongside another without risk to his safety, property, wife, or child." - Martin Luther</div>
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"The whole Church is needed to receive God's whole revelation in all its beauty and richness." - The Lausanne Covenant</div>
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"We must not equate salvation with political liberation, yet the message of salvation implies judgment upon alienation, oppression and discrimination. Salvation is deliverance from evil; implicit in God's desire to save people from evil is his judgment on the evil from which he saves them. God hates evil and injustice." - The Lausanne Covenant</div>
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"[But] he's as God made him," said the marquis. "He's not as God will make him," returned Malcolm. - George MacDonald</div>
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Life is to be measured by the amount of interest and not the amount of ease it it, for the more ease the more unrest. - George MacDonald</div>
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Sorrow is noble and gracious. It enlarges the soul until the soul is capable of mourning and rejoicing simultaneously, of feeling the world's pain and hoping for the world's healing at the same time. - Jerry Sittser</div>
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Better to give up my quest for control and live in hope. - Jerry Sittser</div>
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I am in the throes of being born again. - Ignatius of Antioch</div>
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In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away. - TS Eliot</div>
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The church exists to set up in the world a new sign which is radically dissimilar to the world's own manner and which contradicts it in a way which is full of promise. - Karl Barth</div>
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This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished but it is going on; this is not the end but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified. - Martin Luther</div>
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Doubt seems more like forgetfulness than unbelief. - Philip Yancey</div>
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Any redemption that fails to take such evil into account is no redemption at all. - Diane Langberg</div>
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The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. - Martin Luther King Jr.</div>
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The sun pours down on the east, on the lovely land that man cannot enjoy. He knows only the fear of his heart. - Alan Paton</div>
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The good are vulnerable</div>
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As any bird in flight...</div>
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The good incline to praise,</div>
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To have the knack of seeing that</div>
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The best is not destroyed</div>
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Although forever threatened.</div>
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- Brendan Kennelly</div>
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Lord, send us forth into the day to rejoice in all things, to trust you in all circumstances, and to proclaim your coming kingdom to all people. Amen. - Common Prayer (June 8)</div>
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Beware of world changers - they have not yet learned the true meaning of sin. - Andy Crouch</div>
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Joy is the echo of God's life in us. - Columba of Iona</div>
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What is most needed in our time are Christians who are deeply serious about cultivating and creating but who wear that seriousness lightly - who are not desperately trying to change the world but who also wake up every morning eager to create. The worst thing we could do is follow that familiar advice to "pray as if it all depended on God, and work as if it all depended on you." Rather, we need to become people who work as if it all depends of God - because it dose, and because that is the best possible news. - Andy Crouch</div>
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No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and that Christ is might to save. - James Denney</div>
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The final secret, I think, is this: that the words "you shall love the Lord your God" become in the end less of a command than a promise. - Frederick Buechner</div>
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Keep our frailty before us, Lord: that we might set our hearts on you. - Common Prayer (Jan 17)</div>
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Lord, this is the day that you have made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it, even as we know it will bring more than we can do. Amen. - Common Prayer (Jan 19)</div>
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Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he? - Isaiah 2:22</div>
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Hound us Lord with affection and conviction until we renounce all lesser things to follow you. - Common Prayer</div>
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If even our exile be so full, what must our fullness be? - Robert Farrar Capon</div>
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It is the ordinary that groans with the unutterable weight of glory. - Robert Farrar Capon</div>
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One real thing is closer to God than all the diagrams in the world. - Robert Farrar Capon</div>
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Oneness is not unity. It is what we do in the face of our differences. - Paul Tripp</div>
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Unless we sit in adoration of you, we will forget whom we serve and for what purpose. - Common Prayer (Jan 24)</div>
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Nor should we look at earlier times of spiritual ministry in our lives that we'll never be capable of that again. You weren't capable of it the first time. It was God. And he is still there. - Timothy Keller</div>
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It is a sin to be less than joyful at what God has done in our lives. - Timothy Keller</div>
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Make my words honest, few, wise, and kind. - Timothy Keller</div>
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We are to be characterized by patience and longing. Hope in God and in his promise means being able to wait patiently, trusting that fallow ground is never dormant. - Tish Harrison Warren</div>
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As we get to know Jesus, we learn to expect what we cannot yet see. - Bethany Ferguson</div>
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We must know, then, what we are, and that it is not of ourselves that we are what we are. Unless we know this thoroughly, either we shall not glory at all, or our glorying will be vain. - Bernard of Clairvaux</div>
The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-11767222933521708182020-01-02T13:17:00.002+01:002020-01-02T13:24:39.803+01:00The 10 Best Books I Read in 2019<div style="text-align: center;">
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This year, I decided to keep a list of the books that I read. The primary advantage of this was not knowing how many books I read (which I imagine would just encourage the reading of short books, thus missing out on some great long reads), but rather a chance to look back and consider the best books that I encountered. So, because sharing a good read is always a worthy task, I give you the 10 best books I read in 2019 (in the order that I read them, not as a ranking).</div>
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1. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. </div>
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Trevor's storytelling is not only hilarious, but incredibly valuable as a way to see race relations up close and personal, but (since he's mostly talking about South Africa) not so personal that you can't hear what he's saying.</div>
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2. The Sacrifice of Africa by Emmanuel Katangole. </div>
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I love reading Africans who are way smarter than me, and Katangole is a joy in that regard. This Ugandan priest tackles the question of why the Christianization of Africa hasn't transformed African societies like it seems that it should have. The positive examples that he gives are tremendous, and his treatment of the subject is brilliant.</div>
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3. So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger. </div>
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Though the title rings of a paperback romance, this beautiful novel is simply a great, American adventure story.</div>
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4. Culture Making by Andy Crouch. </div>
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My favorite quote from this one: "What is most needed in our time are Christians who are deeply serious about cultivating and creating but who wear that seriousness lightly - who are not desperately trying to change the world but who also wake up every morning eager to create. The worst thing we could do is follow that familiar advice to "pray as if it all depended on God, and work as if it all depended on you." Rather, we need to become people who work as if it all depends on God - because it does, and because that is the best possible news."</div>
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5. On Loving God by Bernard of Clairvaux. </div>
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I love being able to read words from 900 years ago, and find them so relatable even today. A short book that anyone can download for free. "We must know, then, what we are, and that it is not of ourselves that we are what we are. Unless we know this thoroughly, either we shall not glory at all, or our glorying will be vain."</div>
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6. Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. </div>
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This is the only book here that was a re-read for me. I loved it the first time, but wanted to re-read it prior to heading to South Africa this summer. There is simply a beautiful mix of poetry, story, and social concern woven throughout that is hard to find replicated elsewhere.</div>
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7. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. </div>
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I loved Ivey's <i>At the Bright Edge of the World</i> last year, and so I thought I would read Ivey's first book, which had been a finalist for the Pulitzer. They are both Alaskan novels (which makes it a bit special for me, I suppose), and they both have a wonderful magical realism.</div>
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8. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. This one is thanks to Rachel. I hear there is a movie, but haven't seen it. The novel, at any rate, is about as fun as dystopia can get.</div>
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9. The Golden Key by George MacDonald, illustrated by Ruth Sanderson. Diane Telian gave us this one. The story is a typically beautiful fairy tale from MacDonald. The illustrations from Sanderson are gorgeous and worth hanging on a wall to ponder. The whole story can be read in a couple hours, preferably on a lazy Sunday afternoon, where it's beauty can be properly and leisurely enjoyed.</div>
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10. Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson. I've been trying to decide whether this book would have the same appeal for someone who is not a long-time Andrew Peterson fan like myself. I'm still not sure, but the book is certainly more than a fan read. Peterson has fantastic wisdom for the creative process in the world, which it turns out, touches most of our relationships.</div>
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BONUS: Given Rachel and I's longtime goal of reading all the <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-newbery-ranking.html">Newbery medal winners and ranking them</a>, we can say a word here at the 2019 winner <i>Mercy Suarez Changes Gear</i>. Nice story, fairly typical coming of age tale, this time set in a fun Cuban-American family in Florida. Though it beats <i>Hello Universe</i> from the year prior, it's hard to see what made it stand out to win the medal. Hoping for something great in 2020.</div>
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The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-71570122456476014052017-06-18T16:36:00.000+02:002017-06-18T16:36:26.218+02:002016 & 2017 Newbery Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As longtime readers know, we have made it a hobby to read all the 90+ Newbery medal winners and give our unsolicited opinion. Click <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-newbery-ranking.html">here</a> for our ranking. The books keep coming, so we keep giving our thoughts.</div>
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51LYW5KGxSL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="407" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51LYW5KGxSL.jpg" width="162" /></a>2016: January 2016, <i>Last Stop on Market Street</i> won the Newbery Medal. It was a shock. It's a read-aloud picture book, utterly unable to be compared to other books. Sometimes, Newberys have been short (e.g. <i>Sarah, Plain and Tall</i>), but a total read-aloud is a new precedent. As you can see on the cover here, it not only won the Newbery for best story, but also a honor for the Caldecott for its illustrations (which are fantastic). Was it good enough for the Newbery? It's good, but it's not great, and so it was a very confusing choice.</div>
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Kod9SIyhL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Kod9SIyhL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="130" /></a>One reason for the confusing choice could have been a lack of competition. We also happened upon one of the 2016 Newbery Honor books, <i>The War That Saved My Life. </i>It's a World War II story about a young handicapped girl that is sent out of London during the blitz, and it's <i>fantastic. </i>Absolutely on par with some of the better medal winners throughout the year.</div>
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Thus we have the Newbery motto for 2016: "What in the world is going on?"</div>
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As an aside, roughly twice a decade, the Newbery medal departs from a standard novel to honor a book written in some other literary style, poetry, free verse, hip-hop rap, or the occasional non-fiction work. <i>Last Stop on Market Place </i>seems to be one of these times. Though we are generally fans of a fantastic tale more than anything else, these occasional departures have usually impressed us. <i>The Crossover, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, </i>and <i>Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices </i>are some examples.</div>
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2017: Because of our 2016 experience, we were eager to see the follow-up. We procured a copy of the winner, <i>The Girl Who Drank the Moon</i> as well as the most-appealing Honor book <i>The Inquisitor's Tale</i>. </div>
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Verdict: Both Awesome. <i>The Girl Who Drank the Moon </i>is 100% fantasy with truly original characters and a compelling style. <i>The Inquisitor's Tale </i>is an imaginative yarn out of the Middle Ages that is sometimes silly, sometimes serious, always fun and always wonderfully illustrated. Very difficult to know which of these two deserved the Medal. They are both Medal quality.</div>
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Newbery Motto for 2017: Back on Track.</div>
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The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-62888352236247089562017-06-13T18:46:00.000+02:002017-06-14T10:41:46.238+02:00Cape Town Vacation!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beach 3 houses down from where we stayed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slangkop lighthouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">V&A waterfront</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hike up Table Mountain (Platteklip Gorge)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Made it to the top! (after only 3 hrs of hiking)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Took the cable car down</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cape Point (national park)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whale rib cage</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot the eland</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cape Point lighthouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ostriches!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baboons</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tide pools in False Bay</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penguins at Boulders Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DGOKTb9Qqzo/WUAWTYNNtwI/AAAAAAAAJ9s/LJpH79IpcX4t3Ac83Uey9asCCrzpMyV4ACLcB/s1600/IMG_9516.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="427" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DGOKTb9Qqzo/WUAWTYNNtwI/AAAAAAAAJ9s/LJpH79IpcX4t3Ac83Uey9asCCrzpMyV4ACLcB/s320/IMG_9516.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat trip to Duiker Island....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FpRAi6CKyeM/WUAWTdFoRzI/AAAAAAAAJ9o/eymfkByFWG4qzrpx7VwS6XLAPLApS7o4QCLcB/s1600/IMG_9517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FpRAi6CKyeM/WUAWTdFoRzI/AAAAAAAAJ9o/eymfkByFWG4qzrpx7VwS6XLAPLApS7o4QCLcB/s320/IMG_9517.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...home to a colony of fur seals!</td></tr>
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<br />The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-2691329578402604012016-06-17T20:44:00.002+02:002016-06-17T20:44:33.900+02:00Spain/Belgium Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hUGQ_eaT0bg/V2RA275HW3I/AAAAAAAAJpA/M0-uCw7q_zwEg_oevJeD4SCFikmlbiXoQCLcB/s1600/IMG_8727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hUGQ_eaT0bg/V2RA275HW3I/AAAAAAAAJpA/M0-uCw7q_zwEg_oevJeD4SCFikmlbiXoQCLcB/s320/IMG_8727.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sevilla cathedral</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OTki_4cgCE4/V2RA4eafBEI/AAAAAAAAJpM/fzsXP19GqOwgsazbRIvNYKo9eq61MGJmACLcB/s1600/IMG_8760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OTki_4cgCE4/V2RA4eafBEI/AAAAAAAAJpM/fzsXP19GqOwgsazbRIvNYKo9eq61MGJmACLcB/s320/IMG_8760.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the top of the cathedral tower, at noon...listening to the bells!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gYL-lsNN6nY/V2RA4EZJVPI/AAAAAAAAJpI/Nd20g44OLAw0Iv10xZhAPbvZnUUp83-RgCLcB/s1600/IMG_8767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gYL-lsNN6nY/V2RA4EZJVPI/AAAAAAAAJpI/Nd20g44OLAw0Iv10xZhAPbvZnUUp83-RgCLcB/s320/IMG_8767.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaza de Espana, Sevilla</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M9D9PIgY8DI/V2RA5HgwLvI/AAAAAAAAJpU/n73tqk6tY0MN02pQBbdSI3tcCE1c2pMfgCLcB/s1600/IMG_8788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M9D9PIgY8DI/V2RA5HgwLvI/AAAAAAAAJpU/n73tqk6tY0MN02pQBbdSI3tcCE1c2pMfgCLcB/s320/IMG_8788.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crystal Palace, Madrid</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CNLfU9S51BQ/V2RA6CfHyNI/AAAAAAAAJpc/aA9nuXq8bd4Xyod8Vj2bheGoaNB4lj9vwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8790.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CNLfU9S51BQ/V2RA6CfHyNI/AAAAAAAAJpc/aA9nuXq8bd4Xyod8Vj2bheGoaNB4lj9vwCLcB/s320/IMG_8790.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maggie in Retiro Park, Madrid, next to her favorite kind of roses</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WN2R3hFyeuU/V2RA6uVqpeI/AAAAAAAAJpk/F6_OiZhNVqQmacikEx-ZurijLLnbaZxhwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8791.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WN2R3hFyeuU/V2RA6uVqpeI/AAAAAAAAJpk/F6_OiZhNVqQmacikEx-ZurijLLnbaZxhwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8791.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben, same place, his favorite roses</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PUEOkG5VEe4/V2RCUSNj43I/AAAAAAAAJp8/4gMy1kx-zmQ9qN4QFa8z7meXB_n09W9SQCLcB/s1600/IMG_8799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PUEOkG5VEe4/V2RCUSNj43I/AAAAAAAAJp8/4gMy1kx-zmQ9qN4QFa8z7meXB_n09W9SQCLcB/s320/IMG_8799.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Retiro Park, some street performer making HUGE bubbles!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kAp6708muEI/V2RCVHmP6-I/AAAAAAAAJqE/IUVvcW5kRSgCpF99BRyf1KLbmL37GrKCwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kAp6708muEI/V2RCVHmP6-I/AAAAAAAAJqE/IUVvcW5kRSgCpF99BRyf1KLbmL37GrKCwCLcB/s320/IMG_8831.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legolas's knives! All the lOTR swords were made in Toledo, Spain</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oiC_7iNpbBQ/V2RCTdh1A9I/AAAAAAAAJpw/owR_7IWVZPYL96Ym838QRPK5AKo6sv2OACLcB/s1600/IMG_8808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oiC_7iNpbBQ/V2RCTdh1A9I/AAAAAAAAJpw/owR_7IWVZPYL96Ym838QRPK5AKo6sv2OACLcB/s320/IMG_8808.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the medieval city of Toledo, 30 min outside Madrid</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QQwXkKdEems/V2RCVq3rqiI/AAAAAAAAJqI/0Ilosz9d8zAX2vicXDQzbl0j0-QL--TkgCLcB/s1600/IMG_8856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QQwXkKdEems/V2RCVq3rqiI/AAAAAAAAJqI/0Ilosz9d8zAX2vicXDQzbl0j0-QL--TkgCLcB/s320/IMG_8856.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathedral of Toledo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pOFyE4pKvwY/V2RDe5FvfKI/AAAAAAAAJqc/3_FuDq1ezvEnNnvgCUo9Iasfnyi1PWERQCLcB/s1600/IMG_8869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pOFyE4pKvwY/V2RDe5FvfKI/AAAAAAAAJqc/3_FuDq1ezvEnNnvgCUo9Iasfnyi1PWERQCLcB/s320/IMG_8869.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Churros and chocolate!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AUwXhT5vpHg/V2RDfhjGvLI/AAAAAAAAJqg/tj1wA3XcLy8FAV199MYV0F7DCRUGcMYkACLcB/s1600/IMG_8879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AUwXhT5vpHg/V2RDfhjGvLI/AAAAAAAAJqg/tj1wA3XcLy8FAV199MYV0F7DCRUGcMYkACLcB/s320/IMG_8879.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaza Mayor, Madrid</td></tr>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kEzINh-axj8/V2RDhLI2vkI/AAAAAAAAJq0/1cKDGVIx3JEAD4X7yl0ptXzlTWXIxceUwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kEzINh-axj8/V2RDhLI2vkI/AAAAAAAAJq0/1cKDGVIx3JEAD4X7yl0ptXzlTWXIxceUwCLcB/s320/IMG_8881.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NhT-qu_xZD8/V2RDgsIIIII/AAAAAAAAJqs/Y8VENwBkyvUjjXZFtSSdP02eigjIYlOrwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8895.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NhT-qu_xZD8/V2RDgsIIIII/AAAAAAAAJqs/Y8VENwBkyvUjjXZFtSSdP02eigjIYlOrwCLcB/s320/IMG_8895.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water park fun in Madrid</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FZVEsy4TirA/V2RDhhaIGAI/AAAAAAAAJq4/-GKfWqM5hBggGofvOnacXFlKyjMSE9IwwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FZVEsy4TirA/V2RDhhaIGAI/AAAAAAAAJq4/-GKfWqM5hBggGofvOnacXFlKyjMSE9IwwCLcB/s320/IMG_8903.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate milk break from the splashing :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tLj6HvIKmbM/V2REQgsk3DI/AAAAAAAAJrI/K915pqk80zA4iwFJjh4frfeoBstwLTNCQCLcB/s1600/IMG_8921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tLj6HvIKmbM/V2REQgsk3DI/AAAAAAAAJrI/K915pqk80zA4iwFJjh4frfeoBstwLTNCQCLcB/s320/IMG_8921.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mannekin Pis (not the real one, obviously)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4LV3uFIazZQ/V2REQ1A23-I/AAAAAAAAJrM/bVVD0EueRJAWqdKwrAssQDcVfMkyJXyRQCLcB/s1600/IMG_8927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4LV3uFIazZQ/V2REQ1A23-I/AAAAAAAAJrM/bVVD0EueRJAWqdKwrAssQDcVfMkyJXyRQCLcB/s320/IMG_8927.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brussels Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsYd88b1Zw8/V2RERpny5aI/AAAAAAAAJrY/5U0M8NRA_5UMvCzqPq71JIFAwT_-wFEMQCLcB/s1600/IMG_8937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vsYd88b1Zw8/V2RERpny5aI/AAAAAAAAJrY/5U0M8NRA_5UMvCzqPq71JIFAwT_-wFEMQCLcB/s320/IMG_8937.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aaaaaaawesome waffle!!!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5rBvrGCNQ5I/V2RER9kAm3I/AAAAAAAAJrc/StDSd-WkRmogJjgMpfO9u_tDATdzQmZEwCLcB/s1600/IMG_8967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5rBvrGCNQ5I/V2RER9kAm3I/AAAAAAAAJrc/StDSd-WkRmogJjgMpfO9u_tDATdzQmZEwCLcB/s320/IMG_8967.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aaaaand tasty fries</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nPF-ddOg3PE/V2RESpSiryI/AAAAAAAAJrk/0ePg6om1ssE_kKmnPU5sz8iovLZFGa3TgCLcB/s1600/IMG_8975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nPF-ddOg3PE/V2RESpSiryI/AAAAAAAAJrk/0ePg6om1ssE_kKmnPU5sz8iovLZFGa3TgCLcB/s320/IMG_8975.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day trip to Ghent, in front of one of the 3 major cathedrals</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qCyjTcqVLzs/V2RETKHgapI/AAAAAAAAJro/uIIRRyjU9ho_m4VitI5rBH2fyoOcnKw7ACLcB/s1600/IMG_8980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qCyjTcqVLzs/V2RETKHgapI/AAAAAAAAJro/uIIRRyjU9ho_m4VitI5rBH2fyoOcnKw7ACLcB/s320/IMG_8980.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ghent canals (like Amsterdam!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oCXZO00diE0/V2RETpBMEGI/AAAAAAAAJrw/V4LjQ3YosuwjXGVuK7JSTNYkNet9C24RACLcB/s1600/IMG_8983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oCXZO00diE0/V2RETpBMEGI/AAAAAAAAJrw/V4LjQ3YosuwjXGVuK7JSTNYkNet9C24RACLcB/s320/IMG_8983.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes indeed, macaroons from McDonalds in Ghent</td></tr>
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<br />The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-89696006691088116042015-09-15T02:44:00.000+02:002015-09-15T02:44:00.374+02:00We're Not in Burundi Anymore....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Burundi, while it has its share of unique experiences, does not have many of the entertainment factors of America. So, one of the "fun" things we've enjoyed during our months here is simply giving our kids (and enjoying ourselves) a bunch of things that just aren't possible for us in Burundi.</div>
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1. Tubing/water sports of any kind. There are some very nice pools in Buja. And there is a lake (with crocs and hippos). But I'm pretty sure the average Burundian fishing boat does not have enough horse power to get me to catch air like this.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EbeUNo-_WmU/Ve9-383z3XI/AAAAAAAAJZM/XYn2pqV4-14/s1600/IMG_7885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EbeUNo-_WmU/Ve9-383z3XI/AAAAAAAAJZM/XYn2pqV4-14/s320/IMG_7885.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U_J-o8hrvcM/Ve9-3rU8AmI/AAAAAAAAJZQ/_P8hLjfW89U/s1600/IMG_7901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U_J-o8hrvcM/Ve9-3rU8AmI/AAAAAAAAJZQ/_P8hLjfW89U/s320/IMG_7901.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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2. Theme restaurants. Bujumbura has 3 restaurants that we've ever visited. Maybe there are a few more. But I'm guessing that there are no restaurants in Burundi where you can dress up like a firefighter while you wait for your pizza. (also, there are really no fire trucks, so that helps me make an educated guess)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3botguB2bJQ/Ve9-3pTvUcI/AAAAAAAAJZU/jKakY82Z9F0/s1600/IMG_7927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3botguB2bJQ/Ve9-3pTvUcI/AAAAAAAAJZU/jKakY82Z9F0/s320/IMG_7927.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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3. Zoos. In fact, while we've been on some awesome safaris, they have not been in Burundi. And the Rwanda gorillas cost way more than a $2 donation at the Como Zoo to see. And...there's no carousels in Burundi.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZsxyKkaVztI/Ve9_AwOSt7I/AAAAAAAAJZs/5lrItei4kjs/s1600/IMG_7961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZsxyKkaVztI/Ve9_AwOSt7I/AAAAAAAAJZs/5lrItei4kjs/s320/IMG_7961.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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4. Surprisingly, bowling. While visiting friends in MN, they introduced us to a program where kids bowl free in the summer. The bowling place had ramps and bumpers, so all the kids could play and actually get a decent score!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zgqy_3zasIQ/Ve9_D3caW0I/AAAAAAAAJaA/fk7-NBPFu64/s1600/IMG_7990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zgqy_3zasIQ/Ve9_D3caW0I/AAAAAAAAJaA/fk7-NBPFu64/s320/IMG_7990.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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(although, Toby got bored after 5 frames and sought other entertainment...)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AB5N3IHJIO0/Ve9_DwQ5rGI/AAAAAAAAJaI/2u1z7phwn4I/s1600/IMG_7999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AB5N3IHJIO0/Ve9_DwQ5rGI/AAAAAAAAJaI/2u1z7phwn4I/s320/IMG_7999.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-74358978946815220582015-09-08T20:58:00.002+02:002015-09-08T20:58:54.270+02:00Cousins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In continuing on with our series on "fun things in America," I would definitely have to include our cousins. This is actually a huge highlight of our time in the States. As many of you know, Toby was born during our year in France, so most people hadn't met him before our return in April (just after his 2nd birthday). AND Eric's three sisters all had kids around the same time as Toby...and were all expecting another round just after our return. Wowza! So as of a few weeks ago, the kids are now part of an 11 grandkid family, and Maggie is the oldest. It has been so fun to spend time with all these little ones and get to know them. Each cousin has an "age mate" (also matched for gender) so they are hopefully making life long friendships. Holidays just got a little bit crazier...but also a lot more fun. :)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a02Rdhlvv7Y/Ve7zmO9-PSI/AAAAAAAAJYg/2n3GbSh7fKE/s1600/IMG_7575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a02Rdhlvv7Y/Ve7zmO9-PSI/AAAAAAAAJYg/2n3GbSh7fKE/s320/IMG_7575.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maggie and Sierra</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6wyvmZAJYWY/Ve7zqSDdSRI/AAAAAAAAJY0/hkEDM5nTwY0/s1600/IMG_7749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6wyvmZAJYWY/Ve7zqSDdSRI/AAAAAAAAJY0/hkEDM5nTwY0/s320/IMG_7749.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben and Liam</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B0-aY8w_xLg/Ve7zl-NKKTI/AAAAAAAAJYE/16hRbQbJot8/s1600/IMG_7544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B0-aY8w_xLg/Ve7zl-NKKTI/AAAAAAAAJYE/16hRbQbJot8/s320/IMG_7544.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Toby and Wyatt<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-865wRTijigQ/Ve7zmC33fWI/AAAAAAAAJYk/oOHNJmKua00/s1600/IMG_7552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-865wRTijigQ/Ve7zmC33fWI/AAAAAAAAJYk/oOHNJmKua00/s320/IMG_7552.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toby and Lily</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dK9poU9-W0Y/Ve7zqdPxN5I/AAAAAAAAJYs/ruqsFInO5K4/s1600/IMG_7732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dK9poU9-W0Y/Ve7zqdPxN5I/AAAAAAAAJYs/ruqsFInO5K4/s320/IMG_7732.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "2013-ers" </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mUmVw_Q2JjI/Ve7zqsnH19I/AAAAAAAAJYw/D9wXzD7rUxs/s1600/IMG_7791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mUmVw_Q2JjI/Ve7zqsnH19I/AAAAAAAAJYw/D9wXzD7rUxs/s320/IMG_7791.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mimi and Bapa, Great-Grammy and Great-Papa</td></tr>
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The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-42897853691811370182015-08-27T19:34:00.000+02:002015-08-27T19:34:41.926+02:00Summer GameWell, the summer's finishing up (at least it seems so judging by the 60 degree cloudy weather we've been having) and it seems like our time in the US should be finishing up, too. We said goodbye to our teammates, the Cropseys, yesterday. By tomorrow our whole team is reuniting at Kibuye and we are....still here. It's been a great time in the States so far with many more great times to come, just a funny sort of feeling this week. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hw10KBBRkcE/Vd9I-R4B9WI/AAAAAAAAJW8/7Rk8s3YeLjg/s1600/IMG_20150711_1456144_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hw10KBBRkcE/Vd9I-R4B9WI/AAAAAAAAJW8/7Rk8s3YeLjg/s320/IMG_20150711_1456144_rewind.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maggie and Ben displaying paper masks they created at the library</td></tr>
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So, with all that, I thought I'd start a little blog series with fun things we've been enjoying and hopefully will continue to enjoy for the next few months. I think, if you put aside the obvious highlights of being with family and friends, our very favorite part about the US is the LIBRARY! Last time we lived here, we had an Ypsilanti address and no kids. This time, we are in Ann Arbor which has seriously got to have one of the best library systems in the country. It. Is. Awesome. There are 5 branches around town, all featuring a great kids' section, and the downtown library even has stuff like artwork and power tools and paper craft supplies to check out. Sweet! We go at least 1-2 times a week and frequently have over 50 items checked out at any point in time.<br />
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One of the most fun features of the library has been the Summer Game. Most libraries I know have a summer reading program, but the AADL's summer program is like a reading program on steroids. Not only can you read your number of books and get a free book (which the kids have all done), but there is also a whole separate component here in AA. The library has set up a game which takes you to all 5 branches and throughout the town, searching for codes and attending events. You can enter your codes for points that can be spent in the game shop for library merchandise (mugs, t-shirts, hot pads, chocolate, LEGO mini figures, etc). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw0pWd0EzTI/Vd9JCDmAg4I/AAAAAAAAJXQ/zkJtBoUiwA4/s1600/IMG_20150801_1020498_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw0pWd0EzTI/Vd9JCDmAg4I/AAAAAAAAJXQ/zkJtBoUiwA4/s320/IMG_20150801_1020498_rewind.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids "resting" while on a West Side adventure</td></tr>
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The kids and I have had a blast with this. About once a week or so we are out around town going to places like the botanical gardens, Cobblestone Farm, the West Side, etc, and finding codes while discovering cool parts of the town, too! You can also earn points by searching the library catalog online, but the kids haven't gotten in to that as much. :)<br />
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And then, the "theme" of the Summer Game is Legos, basically, which is adding another fun thing the kids love. Many of the codes in the downtown area are attached to little Lego scenes, which are placed in shop windows. And last month there was a big Lego contest, which kids (and adults) from all over AA entered. There were some AMAZING creations. Maggie and Ben both entered, and while neither won a prize, it was fun to be a part of it (and of course get more "code points" for the Summer Game).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5HoP40cMA84/Vd9Ic98EPeI/AAAAAAAAJWo/lBWCaq3HRYA/s1600/DSCN0240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5HoP40cMA84/Vd9Ic98EPeI/AAAAAAAAJWo/lBWCaq3HRYA/s320/DSCN0240.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben's creation</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LAsrjC18WOY/Vd9IqPpyZnI/AAAAAAAAJWw/XlXw1w2IE3k/s1600/DSCN0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LAsrjC18WOY/Vd9IqPpyZnI/AAAAAAAAJWw/XlXw1w2IE3k/s320/DSCN0241.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maggie's creation</td></tr>
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The game wraps up this weekend and we hope to attend the end of the summer party. I'm sure we will keep going to the library all fall, and we'll keep a few things around to remember our summer of 2015 with the AADL.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GojW8cynhyE/Vd9I-U8bDPI/AAAAAAAAJW4/au70dC_xz14/s1600/IMG_20150814_1448079_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GojW8cynhyE/Vd9I-U8bDPI/AAAAAAAAJW4/au70dC_xz14/s320/IMG_20150814_1448079_rewind.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids (with cousin Liam) displaying prizes of chocolate and LEGOS</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-762Acou9yhY/Vd9JBC_5zoI/AAAAAAAAJXI/8zGGTLoodB8/s1600/IMG_20150827_1324454_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-762Acou9yhY/Vd9JBC_5zoI/AAAAAAAAJXI/8zGGTLoodB8/s320/IMG_20150827_1324454_rewind.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mommy's summer prize. Why not? :) (those are coffee beans, by the way)</td></tr>
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The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-19731659411869376192015-06-24T19:05:00.000+02:002015-06-24T19:05:31.341+02:00Newbery Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">Since around 2005, we decided that, between the two of us, we wanted to read all the books that have won the Newbery Medal, which is given to one book every year that is deemed to be the greatest contribution to American children's literature. We've enjoyed them and steadily made progress, though it's become harder in recent years, as the remaining books have become harder and harder to find.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">But now we have read 92 or 94 of them. The last two are "Daniel Boone", a 1940 win which is hard to find, probably because it's not great, and "The High King", which is easy to find, but hard to read in isolation, because it is part of a series. Then we'll be done, and our ranking list will be complete (see below).</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">Here's a few pearls from our recent exploits:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">New books. Since the 2009-2011 run of 3 fantastic books, the new winners have been a bit underwhelming (especially 2012's "Dead End in Norvelt"). However, this year's winner, "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander, really was great. Surprisingly so, since it is written in freeform hip-hop rap, which isn't really our thing. But it works great for the basketball story it tells.</span><br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/The_Story_of_Mankind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/The_Story_of_Mankind.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">New worst Newbery of all time. The first Newbery ever was awarded to Hendrik Willem van Loon in 1922 for a book called "The History of Mankind". It is a long history of the world (mostly western civ). It reads mostly like a textbook. I'm way more prone to enjoy something like this than mostly people, and definitely more than 99.99% of young adolescent readers, but it got quite tiresome. In addition to its content, the author pontificates on his personal ideas way too much. It's a good lesson for history writers since, from the vantage point of almost 100 years later, his personal ideas seem ridiculous. May we all hold our current ideas more loosely than he held his.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">3. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">Surprisingly good non-novels. In general, we're a fan of the novels, but the poetic Newberys really have been enjoyable. One recent read, "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices" by Paul Fleishman (1989) was particularly fun. Each poem, with alternating or concurrent sections for 2 people, are written from the point of view of a certain type of bug. It's fun, different, and surprisingly good. Great illustrations, to boot.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;">Most awkwardly named Newbery. We have long noted the curiously named "Gay Neck: Story of a Pigeon" (1928). Before moving to Burundi, I found a free used copy in Baltimore, packed it on the container, and read it about a year ago. It's pretty enjoyable, in the typical way of Newberys prior to about 1950, which is to pick a far-off culture of the world (in this case, India), provide an admirable young protagonist and have him (or less frequently, her) go through minor conflict (in this case, surrounding his beloved pigeon). Not bad, but I'm glad children's stories have developed as they have.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">Here's our almost-complete rank list. We realize it's pretty arbitrary, but it sure is fun.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">From Most Favorite to Least Favorite:</span><br />
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.6099996566772px; line-height: 18.9149990081787px;">
<li>"The Giver" by Lois Lowry - 1994*</li>
<li>"A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle - 1963</li>
<li>"Holes" by Louis Sachar - 1999*</li>
<li>"Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli - 1991</li>
<li>"From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg - 1968*</li>
<li>"Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Patterson - 1981</li>
<li>"A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park - 2002*</li>
<li>"The Wheel on the School" by Meindert DeJong - 1955</li>
<li>"The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare - 1962*</li>
<li>"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman - 2009</li>
<li>"Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien - 1972</li>
<li>"When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead - 2010</li>
<li>"Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool - 2011</li>
<li>"Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech - 1995</li>
<li>"Secret of the Andes" by Ann Nolan Clark - 1953</li>
<li>"Crispin: Cross of Lead" by Avi - 2003*</li>
<li>"The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin - 1979*</li>
<li>"The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg - 1997</li>
<li>"Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred D. Taylor - 1977</li>
<li>"Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata - 2005 (E)</li>
<li>"The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman - 1987</li>
<li>"The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle" by Hugh Lofting - 1923*</li>
<li>"Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry - 1990*</li>
<li>"Crossover" by Kwame Alexander - 2015</li>
<li>"Sarah, Plain and Tall" by Patricia MacLachlan - 1986</li>
<li>"The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare - 1959</li>
<li>"A Year Down Yonder" by Richard Peck - 2001</li>
<li>"Caddie Woodlawn" by Carol Ryrie Brink - 1936 (R)</li>
<li>"Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham - 1956*</li>
<li>"Up a Road Slowly" by Irene Hunt - 1967 (R)</li>
<li>"I, Juan de Pareja" by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino - 1966 (E)</li>
<li>"The Hero and the Crown" by Robin McKinley - 1985 (R)</li>
<li>"The Tale of Despereaux" by Kate DiCamillo - 2004*</li>
<li>"Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant - 1993*</li>
<li>"Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voice From a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz - 2008</li>
<li>"Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - 1992 (R)</li>
<li>"Rifles for Watie" by Harold Keith - 1958</li>
<li>"Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo - 2014</li>
<li>"The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate - 2013</li>
<li>"Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze" by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis - 1933*</li>
<li>"Call It Courage" by Armstrong Sperry - 1941*</li>
<li>"Dicey's Song" by Cynthia Voight - 1983 (R)</li>
<li>"Bridge to Terebithia" by Katherine Paterson - 1978*</li>
<li>"Dobry" by Monica Shannon - 1935 (E)</li>
<li>"The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman - 1996 (R)</li>
<li>"The Grey King" by Susan Cooper - 1976 (E)</li>
<li>"Adam of the Road" by Elizabeth Gray Vining - 1943</li>
<li>"Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon" by Dhan Gopal Mukerji - 1928 (E)</li>
<li>"Waterless Mountain" by Laura Adams Armer - 1932 (E)</li>
<li>"Shadow of a Bull" by Maia Wojciechowska - 1965</li>
<li>"Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis - 2000 (R)</li>
<li>"The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli - 1950</li>
<li>"Dear Mr. Henshaw" by Beverly Cleary - 1984*</li>
<li>"Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes - 1944 (E)</li>
<li>"The Twenty-One Balloons" by William Pene du Bois - 1948*</li>
<li>"Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices" by Paul Fleischman - 1989 (E)</li>
<li>"Onion John" by Joseph Krumgold - 1960 (R)</li>
<li>"The Trumpeter of Krakow" by Eric P. Kelly - 1929*</li>
<li>"It's Like This, Cat" by Emily Cheney Neville - 1964 (E)</li>
<li>"Ginger Pye" by Eleanor Estes - 1952*</li>
<li>"A Visit to William Blakes's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers" by Nancy Willard - 1982 (E)</li>
<li>"Shen of the Sea" by Arthur Bowie Chrisman - 1926 (E)</li>
<li>"The White Stag" by Kate Seredy - 1938</li>
<li>"Tales From Silver Lands" by Charles Finger - 1925 (E)</li>
<li>"...And Now Miguel" by Joseph Krumgold - 1954 (E)</li>
<li>"Thimble Summer" by Elizabeth Enright - 1939</li>
<li>"Rabbit Hill" by Robert Lawson - 1945 (E)</li>
<li>"Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George -1973 (R)</li>
<li>"Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell - 1961*</li>
<li>"Hitty, Her First Hundred Years" by Rachel Field - 1930 (R)</li>
<li>"Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse - 1998 (E)</li>
<li>"The Cat Who Went To Heaven" by Elizabeth Coatsworth - 1931 (E)</li>
<li>"Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos - 2012 (E)</li>
<li>"Criss Cross" by Lynn Rae Perkins - 2006 (R)</li>
<li>"The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron - 2007 (E)</li>
<li>"King of the Wind" by Marguerite Henry - 1949 (R)</li>
<li>"Miss Hickory" by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey - 1947 (E)</li>
<li>"A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal" by Joan Blos - 1979 (R)</li>
<li>"Lincoln: A Photobiography" by Russell Freedman - 1988 (R)</li>
<li>"Roller Skates" by Ruth Sawyer - 1937 (R)</li>
<li>"Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorenson - 1957 (R)</li>
<li>"Summer of the Swans" by Betsy Byars - 1971 (R)</li>
<li>"M.C. Higgins, the Great" by Virginia Hamilton - 1975 (R)</li>
<li>"Strawberry Girl" by Lois Lenski - 1946 (R)</li>
<li>"Amos Fortune, Free Man" by Elizabeth Yates - 1951</li>
<li>"Sounder" by William H. Armstrong - 1970 (R)</li>
<li>"Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women" by Cornelia Meigs - 1934 (R)</li>
<li>"The Slave Dancer" by Paula Fox - 1974*</li>
<li>"The Dark Frigate" by Charles Hawes - 1924 (R)</li>
<li>"The Matchlock Gun" by Walter D Edmonds - 1942</li>
<li>"Smoky the Cowhorse" by Will James - 1927 (E)</li>
<li>"The Story of Mankind" by Hendrik Willem van Loon - 1922 (E)</li>
</ol>
The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-61907011963386591662015-05-22T21:14:00.000+02:002015-05-22T21:14:59.060+02:00"Pine Mouth"<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well, a lot has happened in the last month, and obviously we're not posting most of it here, specifically because it is mostly the highest form of simply enjoying being with our family and friends here in Tennessee, and we're too busy enjoying it to post about it.</div>
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And we're really OK with that.</div>
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But blogging continues to be a way to denote some of the odd little details of life that might otherwise be forgotten, and so we share the random:</div>
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Monday, we traveled down to Chattanooga to see Jena and Brian, and our two nieces. On arriving there, we got to spend an awesome afternoon with our friends the <a href="http://chattanoogachaffins.blogspot.com/">Chaffins</a>, who know how to put together a mean lunch and otherwise make you feel totally at home. Then we descended the mountain on which they live and headed over to Jena's.</div>
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Wednesday morning: Why does my coffee taste so bad? Why isn't this going away with brushing my teeth? Why does everything taste terrible today?</div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Shelled_pine_nuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Shelled_pine_nuts.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
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Well, it turns out that I have "Pine Mouth", a recently described (<a href="http://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm247099.htm">by the FDA</a>) syndrome where you eat pine nuts, and an as-yet-unidentified something makes everything have a bitter and metallic taste. Thankfully, it goes away spontaneously after 4 days to 4 weeks with no longterm effects.</div>
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Actually, our friend Chris, while serving us the absolutely awesome pine-nut-containing orzo on Monday, mentioned to Rachel that she had had this problem. I missed that conversation, but was thankful that it existed, so that Rachel could correctly diagnose me 2 days later.</div>
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No big deal, but it is messing with my US weight gain plan. Each time someone mentions a yummy meal of the future, my first thought is "man, I hope I'm tasting things normally by that time."</div>
The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-55772090778969231912015-05-03T22:57:00.002+02:002015-05-03T22:57:12.181+02:00Safari 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As a little family vacation, transitioning from Burundi back to America (for 9 months), we stopped by Kenya and took the kids on a safari. The last time that Maggie went to Maasai Mara, she was 1, and so we were excited to let them experience this, and maybe, just maybe, Maggie and Ben will remember this trip into adulthood.</div>
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We have been on safari multiple times (click <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/search/label/safari">here</a> for old pictures), and each time is a little different, with unique things you didn't expect. So, here is a rundown of what made this safari unique, i.e. what it will be remembered for.</div>
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Hyenas. We saw more hyenas on this trip that all prior trips combined. It was sort of like when they took over in the The Lion King, but the Pridelands did not look to be suffering otherwise.</div>
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Of course everyone wants to see carnage on safaris ("I want to see a cheetah eating a zebra"), but as Carlan pointed out, the more unnatural the carnage is, the better ("I want to see a zebra eating a cheetah!"), even to the point of the ridiculous ("I want to see a meerkat eating a zebra, who is eating a cheetah!"). Driving into camp this time, we were greeted by the closest thing we have yet encountered: a hyena eating a hyena.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l32cHx1harQ/VUaG70QgMnI/AAAAAAAAJPI/c_Izza6TYEU/s1600/IMG_7336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l32cHx1harQ/VUaG70QgMnI/AAAAAAAAJPI/c_Izza6TYEU/s1600/IMG_7336.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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We stayed at a new place (for us) called Salt Springs, which was hard to get to, but is Maasai owned and run (unique among the lodges there). It was more budget, but still very nice, and great service. They had a dining area that overlooked a big bend in the river, and you can just sit and watch for animals in the distance.<br />
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This was Toby's first safari, and he loved it. The monkeys were his favorites, and just riding in the bumpy car was his most favorite.<br />
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Mongooses and Rock Hyraxes (or Dassies). I think we had seen about 1 of each of these on prior trips. This time, they were out in droves and we saw more than 50 of each. Here is a picture of the little Rock Hyraxes up in the cleft. They are actually the closest cousin of the elephant, if you can believe it, and could rest on your palm.<br />
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We saw several hippos grazing out of the water, which is cool, since normally they are just ears and eyes poking out of the water. Possibly because it was the rainy season...<br />
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The first of our two companions: Abraham Paternoster, our friend who spent most of his gap year (before college) with us out at Kibuye.<br />
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And the second: Molly Shankles, who is starting med school in the fall and spent the last 2 months with us at Kibuye. They were both a huge blessing to us.<br />
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Birds. Maybe we're just more interested in birds as time goes along, but we saw tons of great birds on this trip. Here is one of about six lilac-breasted rollers we saw, but we also saw 5 types of storks, hamerkops with their ridiculous 6-ft wide nest, cranes and many others.</div>
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Probably the single coolest moment was this pride of lions eating a cape buffalo. As Abraham pointed out, it was one of the <a href="http://doctorsmclaughlin.blogspot.com/2015/01/revising-africas-big-five.html">Big Five</a>, eating another of the Big Five, so there you go. In fact, we saw probably about 20 lions, which is compared to less than five on any other safari we have been on. No leopards. They remain imaginary in our book. And cheetahs are getting more dubious as time goes on as well.<br />
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There is nothing like an elephant (or better yet, a family of elephants) slowly making their stately way across the savannah. We followed a great group of five for a while, and they can within about 20 feet of our vehicle.<br />
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<i>Safari njema!</i></div>
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<i>Urugendo rwiza!</i></div>
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<i>Bon voyage!</i></div>
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It was a good journey.</div>
The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-24136864249299130662015-02-18T19:20:00.003+01:002015-02-18T19:20:35.816+01:00Remembering Grandma Selle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">My grandma, Alvera Selle, passed away yesterday at an assisted living home in Bay City. She was in her 90s and apparently her health had been failing for some time, so I’m so thankful she had a peaceful transition into her heavenly home. Times like now are the hardest to be away. I sit at my desk in Burundi, the rain falling outside, my cell phone out of reception, the power and internet out for the day, and wish I could somehow connect to my family in this time. So instead, I sit here and remember all the things I can about Grandma, and write down some sort of small tribute for the role she played in my life.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grandma spent her whole life in Bay City, MI. I wonder if she ever in her wildest dreams imagined that one day her granddaughter would live and work at a hospital in Burundi. I remember telling her about one trip of mine in 2007. My husband Eric and I were going to work in Bangladesh for a month. She wrote and told me she couldn’t find Bangladesh in the encyclopedia, so had no idea where we were. Come to find out it was an encyclopedia from the 1950s, when Bangladesh was referred to as East Pakistan. I remember how every time I would talk to Grandma about our plans to go and work in Africa she would pull out an article clipping about a woman working in orphanages in Haiti, and tell me how she was making quilts for the orphans. Now I think back, and I think that was her way of trying to connect with me, doing a very strange and foreign thing to her.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting Maggie for the first time</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My memories of Grandma are all connected to the house on Kasemeyer where she lived for 60 years with Grandpa. A basement full of rag rugs and quilt scraps, Hallmark napkins for every occasion and rows upon rows of canned peaches, pickles, chili sauce. Playing cards at the dining room table, mostly euchre but also pinochle and solitaire. As a kid, arranging her brightly colored lipsticks on her dresser, with a bookmark I cross-stitched for her hanging on the mirror. The picture of her looking so un-Grandma like at her wedding in the 1940s. Climbing the crabapple tree in the front yard, bird feeders in the back complete with thieving squirrels, a huge garden. Food, always so much food...angel food cakes, stollen, church windows and decorated cut out cookies at Christmas, and pecan rolls. Oh, the pecan rolls and crescent rolls, essential for every family gathering. Little cacti growing in the bay window, beautiful flowers growing outside. Watching Grandma pull out shoeboxes of old Christmas cards, newspaper clippings, letters I had written her at age 6. All evidence about how much she cared, how much the small things meant, how much she followed her friends’ and families’ lives. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d2Wn1baHBOY/VOTXUkBkWWI/AAAAAAAAJLA/dxoJfD3_lWo/s1600/Oct07-%2B018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d2Wn1baHBOY/VOTXUkBkWWI/AAAAAAAAJLA/dxoJfD3_lWo/s1600/Oct07-%2B018.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More memories...Grandma perming my hair at the kitchen table, going with her to bring fresh plants and water the flowers at Daddy’s gravesite. All the pictures we have of Grandma and Grandpa coming to Minnesota, and later Phoenix, to attend Grandparents’ Day at school. Christmas gifts of Birthday Bear, a Care Bear suitcase, Christmas ornaments, Precious Moments. A yellow daisy quilt, then a blue jean quilt, and now a beautiful blue quilt on my bed that she made for my wedding. Attending church at Zion Lutheran where everyone knew the Selles, a 50th anniversary party complete with (indoor) photo shoot and my brother and I singing in church. I remember flying out from California one year, getting picked up by Eric in Chicago, and surprising her for Thanksgiving. She had no idea what to say. I remember bringing Maggie to visit Grandma for the first time, meeting her first great-grandchild...she was the first of her seven siblings to have a great-grandchild. Grandpa died just weeks before I left for Kenya, and I was so thankful to be able to come to Bay City for the funeral. It was an expected death, but still hard, when you lose the man you’ve been married to for 60 years. The one time I saw Grandma smile that week was when she was sitting in her recliner after the funeral, holding Maggie on her lap.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting Ben for the first time</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eric told me several months ago that if you’re never expecting something, it will be unexpected when it comes. Obvious, perhaps, but I guess in some ways I just assumed Grandma would be around forever, or at least another 10 years or so. I didn’t think that when we left in 2012 for France it was a real goodbye. Somehow I just kept thinking that we would be back visiting her on Kasemeyer street in just a few more years. I’m glad she got to meet at least two of her great-grandchildren (most people still haven’t met Toby, so that one’s not surprising). I’m glad she got to see the family ornament collection, from Bronners of course, grow from 5 names to 15 over these past 40 years. She shared more and more stories of her life with me as I grew older, and I know in many ways her life didn’t turn out the way she hoped it would, or at least the way she planned it would when she was younger. But I hope that in the end, as she looked back, she was able to see all the joys and successes, all of the ministries and hospitalities, all of the friends, and the family, and the love. And I hope that on Monday afternoon, she was welcomed home by her husband, her son, her parents, and the whole cloud of witnesses that has gone before.</span></span>The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-85052341582684316872015-01-27T06:40:00.000+01:002015-01-27T06:40:29.111+01:00Firebomb Macaroni the Rhinoceros Beetle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Following up on the Big Five post, I have actually seen a "Little Five" list, where each of the traditional Big Five is replaced by an insect that contains it's name (ex. I believe "ant lion" replaces Lion). One of the replacements showed up on our back porch this morning: The Rhinoceros Beetle.</div>
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These little guys are not too commonly seen, and this is the first I've seen in Burundi. I have no idea how he wandered on to our porch. They have an impressive horn, but are harmless dirt diggers, and Maggie plucked up the courage to hold him.</div>
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The kids loved seeing him, and decided to name him. Ben wanted to name him Fire. Maggie wanted Bomb. I suggested Firebomb. And then Maggie suggested the last name Macaroni.</div>
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So we present to you Firebomb Macaroni the Rhinoceros Beetle.</div>
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<br />The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-1139425090753684772015-01-11T12:46:00.002+01:002015-01-11T12:46:36.201+01:00Revising Africa's Big Five<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's a post that badly needs a bunch of images, but our limited bandwidth is prohibitive. Maybe I'll add some later, when I'm somewhere else.</div>
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We are looking at traveling to Kenya in a few months, and planning on taking the kids on a safari, which should be great, especially as they will be quite a bit older than last time, and more able to enjoy it.</div>
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If you have ever looked into safaris, then you are probably familiar with "The Big Five". Everyone wants to see "The Big Five". Tourist trinkets are often emblazoned with "The Big Five". Different parks are valued on whether or not they can boast all of "The Big Five".</div>
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What is the Big Five? It is lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and cape buffalo. Why those? As we understand it, it is a historical list from the days of big game hunters, because these five were the hardest to bring down on a hunt.</div>
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And we have adopted this list for game <i>viewing</i>. The problem is that we are not trying to kill these animals. We are instead deriving pleasure from watching them, which everyone should agree is quite another thing. Therefore, we would like to propose a new list.</div>
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Elephants, lions, and rhinos are cool. No doubt. Even when not killing them. The leopard however is elusive. So elusive that we have decided that it is imaginary. Even if it is not, so much disappointment is born by not seeing a leopard that it seems a bad fit for this list.</div>
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So the leopard is out.</div>
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Cape buffalos are ugly. And mean. And travel in herds. So you can't get close enough to enjoy their ugliness, but they are easy to find.</div>
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So the cape buffalo is out.</div>
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Replacements? We would like to submit the hippo and the giraffe. Both are incredibly iconic. Both are items of the earliest childhood imaginations, and seeing them in person does not disappoint. And they are big. So our revised list goes like this:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Lion</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Elephant</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Rhino</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Hippo </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Giraffe</li>
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You will not be disappointed. At the same time, we would like to submit a couple other lists, because completing lists adds a certain satisfaction to almost any activity.</div>
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The Big Five Birds: Africa's birds are truly awesome, and though you might not ponder it ahead of time, you should anticipate a good time seeing them. The list:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Ostrich</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Secretary Bird (huge 4 feet tall cockatoo-looking white bird)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Grey-Crowned Crane (stately and 5 feet tall)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Flamingo</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Stork (you can choose which one. The Marabou stork is very iconic and stately, but kind of in an ugly way. The Yellow-Billed Stork is a favorite of ours.)</li>
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And last, The Cute Five:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Dik-Dik: these tiny antelope are about knee-high and always found in pairs</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Rock Hyrax: this little gopher-looking guy is the closest relative of the elephant</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Bushbaby: nocturnal tiny primate with giant eyes</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Meerkat: because of the Lion King, which really is an inescapable allusion for all safaris</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Warthog: it's cuteness is controversial (as in, Rachel disagrees), but when you see a little line of them running with their tales straight up, I think you'll agree. And again, the Lion King.</li>
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So, forget the anxiety of leopard hunting and the disappointment of the Cape Buffalo and settle in for a safari list that truly satisfies.</div>
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The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-62927840037250534872015-01-02T12:39:00.003+01:002015-01-02T12:39:53.221+01:00Merry Christmas 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Can't believe the Christmas season is almost over again. I wanted to share a few glimpses of our Burundi Christmas with you! It was really a lovely month and we enjoyed the lack of commercialism, if not the lack of available stores to pick up last minute gifts in. :)</div>
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1. The Christmas Tree. I bought it at a garage sale in 2012 and this year we were able to assemble all 9 feet with our vaulted ceilings! It was pre-lit but all the lights were burned out, so we restrung it. The kids really loved helping decorate the tree this year. We'll collected a huge collection of ornaments from all over the world, and all through the last 35 yrs of our lives (ok, 35 for me and less for everyone else).</div>
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2. Christmas cookies. Cut out sugar cookies, molasses cookies, Russian teacakes, and thumbprints. Only thing missing were PB kisses. Thanks to Eric's sisters, we had lots of cookie cutters and sprinkles for my little helpers to assist with. </div>
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3. Wrapping paper. I forgot to put any on the container, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. Not for nothing am I the child of a teacher, though. I found some brown paper that had been used to stuff a package, and we make some star shaped potato stamps. Potato stamps, above mentioned cookie cutters, and tempera paint = afternoon activity PLUS gorgeous wrapping paper. :)</div>
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4. One week before Christmas, we picked up a special suitcase in Buja! Our moms had put together 50 lbs of gifts and treats to make our Christmas more special. It arrived just in time with a group of visitors. On top was a handmade tree from Shar the quilter. There are little ornaments that the kids can pin on every day. Hanging up on an extra curtain rod in the kids' room.</div>
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5. Traditional Christmas Nutcracker puzzle. I think Eric has put this puzzle together over 50 times in his life. He can do it in about 30 min or so, all 500 pieces. The kids actually really enjoy puzzles too, and with some help of putting like-pieces close together, they could start to enjoy a long standing McLaughlin tradition.</div>
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6. The first gift of Christmas: a package Aunt Mariah sent in October. We opened it Christmas Eve morning and enjoyed new shirts and puzzles for everyone!</div>
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7. Christmas Eve dinner. This followed the Christmas Eve service at our house but unfortunately Toby was throwing up the whole time so we didn't have time for picture taking. Dinner at the McLaughlin household has always been snacks on Christmas Eve. Here in Africa (also in Kenya) we save foods all year to bring out for the special snack meal. Triscuits, summer sausage, cheese, hummus, juice and Sprite...Yum!</div>
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8. Christmas Eve gifts. We all got to open one gift before bedtime. Maggie opened a Lego friends set and was totally excited....</div>
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... I thought I picked a Lego set for Ben to open as well but whoops! It was actually a box of cereal. He was no less excited to find the Lucky Charms. :)</div>
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9. Christmas morning Lego assembly. A classic from my own childhood. With no adult help, Maggie assembled all 369 pieces. And then did Ben's set for him too.</div>
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10. Later on...We opened a few gifts on Christmas but then saved several to open one day at a time, which lasted us until New Year's Day. It was great to slow the pace and the kids enjoyed a special gift each morning instead of all at once. Once all the cereal had been opened we had a veritable American breakfast feast!</div>
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11. And finally, Happy 9th Anniversary to my best friend and husband. Carlan had the kids over for dinner so Eric and I could enjoy a dinner of Thai food to ourselves.</div>
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Merry Christmas and Happy 2015 to all!</div>
The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-59729514274613852242014-10-27T15:51:00.001+01:002014-10-27T15:51:57.334+01:00Soup Revolution<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Several years ago while I was staying with my mom in Phoenix, she served me a super yummy Thai Shrimp soup. I found out that she had gotten a soup base recipe from a magazine like Better Homes and Gardens or Healthy Living or some such place, frozen the base into small batches, and could pull a bag or two out at a time and make something like 15 different recipes from the base. Sounded interesting, so I copied down the recipe and tucked it away. I had more or less forgotten about it, when it was rediscovered with the arrival of my cookbooks in the container. I mixed up a big batch of it last August and canned it in batches, and let me tell you it has revolutionized my life. Perhaps that’s a dramatic statement, but for a working mama in Burundi who sometimes comes home after 5pm and has no instant meals or takeout available, this is big. The soup took probably less than 2 hours to prep and cook. The canning took a bit longer but people who live in locations with constant electricity could freeze instead for a faster process.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So when I need a quick meal, I open up a jar of the soup base and add basically anything we have in the fridge and voila, instant meal. I’ve added leftover beans and rice, cooked sausage, spaghetti sauce, enchilada sauce, quinoa, noodles, cooked chicken. It’s tasty by itself too, but nice to add some more “hearty” ingredients. The kids like it, so in my opinion there’s nothing NOT to like about this. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Here’s the base recipe (and in my opinion, all quantities are relative...for example, we don’t have celery so I left that out. Maybe I added extra carrots, who knows) (and of course, all ingredients cut to your desired size):</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>1 lb carrots </b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>1 1/2 lb onions (3 medium)</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>4 stalks of celery</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>2 cloves garlic</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>1 lb cabbage (1/2 head)</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>3/4 lb green beans</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>1 1/4 lb zucchini (3 small-med)</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>2-28oz cans tomatos (or about 8 cups diced)</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>6c chicken broth</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>6c water</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>2 bags baby spinach</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>salt and pepper to taste</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Cook carrots, celery, onions, and garlic in water/broth (use 12 qt stockpot) until soft</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Add cabbage, green beans, and tomatos, simmer x10min</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Add zucchini and spinach, simmer additional 10 min</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Freeze/can in 2c portions, makes 28 cups (although I used 4cup portions, better for a family sized meal) </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It also ends up being a very thick soup, and so I’m able to add 2-3 cups of broth to every 4 cup portion for a more regular soup consistency. You could add more broth ahead of the freezing/canning, but I like the fact that it’s kind of a “space saver” thing.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Some of the recipe suggestions for additions include:</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Minestrone (add kidney beans, cooked pasta, parmesan cheese, basil)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mexican Chicken (add chicken, corn, cumin, lime)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Greek Fish Stew (add potatos, fish, dill, feta)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Thai Shrimp (add rice noodles, shrimp, snow peas, coconut milk, lime juice)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Southwest Chili (add ground meat, chili powder, cumin, black beans, salsa)</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Really though, the possibilities are endless. Looking forward to many variations of this soup in years to come. If anyone has other low-prep/all natural ingredient/probably vegetarian recipes they love to whip up, feel free to share! We’re not really organic-y type people, but our life here necessitates such. :) Unfortunately, most of the low prep stuff or “prepare ahead and freeze” recipes involve a lot of meat (hard to get here) or things like “one jar of alfredo sauce” or “one container of cream cheese.” Sigh. Miss those....</span></div>
The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-6089321131653271182014-09-26T09:51:00.000+02:002014-09-26T09:51:00.610+02:00Back to School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, I finally have a kindergartener in the house! Sept 8, Maggie packed her backpack and headed off on the long 2 minute walking commute to Kibuye Hope Academy. She joins 7 other kids (3 other kindergarteners) for school from 8:45-11:30 and 2-3p each day. It's a fun chance to have four different teachers in variety of subjects, like science, math, and language arts. The afternoons are French and either PE or music (the class I teach…music, not PE). She of course is loving it! We are still deciding what to do about school next year in the US, but for now this is a great option for her.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2014-2015 Kibuye Hope Academy students</td></tr>
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Not to be left out, Ben seriously wanted to go to school this year as well. But being the only 3 yr old, there weren't any preschool options. No problem. My mom brought out some workbooks and so Ben has "school" with mom or dad maybe 2-3 times a week for about 10-15 minutes. :) He likes to practice his cutting, drawing lines/starting letters, and playing a new Memory game from Mimi and Bapa. Quite the little student. And he gets to come to music classes on Wednesday afternoons as well.<br />
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Just for completeness sake, a picture of Toby. Not even close to going to school but cute anyway.</div>
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The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-764470439731278322014-09-22T13:54:00.002+02:002014-09-22T13:54:43.929+02:00Eric's New Music Compilation<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="375" scrolling="no" src="http://noisetrade.com/service/widgetv2/2a9f02cb-fedf-4dfa-abd8-03bc8a978272" width="300"></iframe></div>
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Dividing my songs into albums is fairly easy, at least up to now. The songs come from a easily definable period of my life. Last time, it was our two years in Kenya. This time it's our life in France. Next time, it will probably be our first couple years in Burundi.</div>
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It took a little while to get this done, since we were still very much suitcase-living, up until a few months ago. But it was nice to unpack the instruments and recording gear, and put these songs into their current form.</div>
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Free. Very much free. Share it. </div>
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Hope you enjoy.</div>
The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8323519773247909675.post-64980137808376621542014-09-14T08:14:00.004+02:002014-09-14T08:14:52.626+02:00Goodbye, Grandma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
On Friday, we dropped my mom off at the Bujumbura airport after three wonderful months. It was very sad to see her go. Three months is a long time but I can honestly say it was WONDERFUL for us, and for the kids (and hopefully for her, too). She was a tremendous help with the kids and with help around the house, especially after our house helper got sick and was out for about 6 weeks. Eric and I were able to spend a little more time at the hospital or doing administrative tasks while she spent time with the kids. There is a big Grandma-shaped hole in our hearts right now, and we're hoping we somehow can fumble through the next months without her.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Maggie's ballet recital</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast in bed for a special birthday!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UggvhJwvJSY/VBUxJtwWF3I/AAAAAAAAI9I/Z-IUl5Glo-c/s1600/IMG_6602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UggvhJwvJSY/VBUxJtwWF3I/AAAAAAAAI9I/Z-IUl5Glo-c/s1600/IMG_6602.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Birthday crepes and ice cream!<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben loved to cuddle with Grandma</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She worked on lots of sewing projects for me!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S6EkVp3Ck0k/VBUxMrqd1AI/AAAAAAAAI9Q/lDucSOX9xw0/s1600/IMG_6549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S6EkVp3Ck0k/VBUxMrqd1AI/AAAAAAAAI9Q/lDucSOX9xw0/s1600/IMG_6549.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma cleaned out her classroom and brought all the extra craft projects for the girls…big hit!</td></tr>
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<br />The Drs. McLaughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08718125736406924171noreply@blogger.com0