Good Read

If you are looking for an easy yet good read, try "The Burning Within" by Ranelle Wallace. The kids and I are reading it in the evenings and are enjoying it. The book is about a woman who was burned in a plane crash. It is a little graphic in places but my kids seem to do fine with it. In fact, I think it is helping the message sink in because a few days ago I heard Aspen telling Noah about the book. Keep in mind that I can never really read Aspen or tell what he is hearing or understanding. That is just his personality. So when I overheard him telling Noah "...and Jesus told the woman not to go in the plane but she did anyway and she was burned all over her entire body. Then she had to go in a whirlpool to wash away all the dirt and dead skin..." I was surprised. He went on to tell Noah all that had happened in great detail. At one point in the book Ranelle tells about meeting a two year old girl in the burn unit who had been scalded by her mother for wetting the bed. All of our children have been bed wetters and I stopped reading when we got to that point and talked to the kids for a while, asking them how they would feel if I burned them with water every time they wet the bed. They were shocked to hear that there were mothers out there who would do such things to their children. That night they all hugged me a little tighter and I had one of those rare moments as a mother when I actually felt appreciated.
I may have many faults as a mother such as losing my temper, being lax on the kids cleaning their rooms and forgetting to brush their teeth sometimes, but I am glad I have read to the kids almost every night since they were born. Many good conversations have been had and many treasured memories have been made during those last few quiet moments before bed.