Book Review: True Grit by Charles Portis

"People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day."

From this opening line to the very end, I was mesmerized by the quick, spunky character of Mattie Ross. Published in 1968, True Grit was a largely popular novel which sparked the classic Hollywood movie starring John Wayne. Years later, the Coen brothers' remake (which came out in December of 2010) caused a whole new generation of readers to pick up this tale of chivalry, justice and good versus evil.

The thing I loved most about this book is the pitch perfect voices Portis created in the main characters of Mattie, Rooster Cogburn, LaBoeuf, Tom Chaney, and Lucky Ned Pepper. They are just spot on; a perfect blend of honesty and humor in them all. In the recent movie remake, I was happy to find that the screenplay included most of the original language which is just so rich.

And of course, another reason I loved this novel is because of the story. How simple and pure it is! A young girl out on an adventure to kill the man who killed her father. And along the way, she teams up with two stubborn, funny and loyal men--Rooster and LaBoeuf. It is not a long book, but it packs a good punch and you won't want to put it down until the story ends.

In addition, the book reminded me of my dad. He is a a blend of all the good parts of Rooster and LeBoeuf combined. He read the book a few weeks before I did and he loved all the references to eastern Oklahoma, since a lot of the story takes place in what was then called "Indian Territory." Being born and bred in this land of red dirt makes his loyalties run deep. And mine too. What can I say-it's home. And this book reminded me of that fact.

What He Is Up To

This funny boy of mine is 18 months old now. So hard to believe how fast time has flown with him. He is so funny and sweet and innocent and wonderful. I am just so in love with him! Here are a few things my little man is up to lately:

* He loves books. He runs to his room and points to his bookshelf ten times a day. And when I indulge his request (which I often do) he grabs his green blankie and curls up in my lap. His current favorites are Goodnight Moon, Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

* He is a man of few words. He does have a few though, and they are....ball, kick, balloon (pronounced "boon"), music (pronounced "ick"), and blankie (pronounced "key). He also says Mama and Dada, and he says "Pa!" for Papa. I know more words will come with time.

* He is a phenomenal ball kicker. He has been kicking since he was 12 months old, and kicking with a lot of agility too! Just this morning at church as I was picking him up from the nursery, one of his teachers exclaimed, "That boy sure knows how to kick a ball!" Give him a ball at home and he is content for quite a while.

* He is a lefty, just like Hannah. He has always, 100% of the time used his left foot to kick a ball. But just recently he has been solely using his left hand to both eat and color. That makes two out of three lefties for us and neither Mike nor I are left handed!

* He is a snuggler. He gives hugs, kisses and lots of snuggles which I just eat right up. I'll snuggle that boy as long as he lets me.

Lord, I am so thankful for this sweet little gift you gave me in Lucas Gabriel. May He grow up to be a man after Your own heart.

Cabin Fever Fix

After a week of being snowed in and sick, the kids were definitely ready to get out and run off some energy. Tonight we had the perfect opportunity at our friends' daughter's birthday party at a local gymnastics studio. I didn't take my good camera, so pardon the camera phone pics. I think you will see that they had a blast.

Lucas in the foam pit. He liked it for awhile, then cried because he couldn't get himself out.

Hannah swinging on the trapeze like the sweet little monkey that she is.

Hannah, Leah and the birthday girl swinging in a triple swing. I secretly wanted to get in there and swing too.

Lucas found this ball, laid himself down, and spent a great deal of time just kicking it with his feet.

Funny boy. :)

Hannah climbing up the slide.

Even though I am on the tail end of being sick, it was good for the kids to get out and play. What did you all do this Saturday?

Family Movie Night

It's Friday, so around here that means FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT!

Here we are, movie in progress. On tap for tonight, a classic-- Swiss Family Robinson.

I love these kind of nights. Now back to the popcorn and cuddling.

Birthday

The Stats

What: Me being born

When: February 3, 1977 at 12:48 PM

Where: Wichita Falls General Hospital (Wichita Falls, Texas)

I weighed 7 lbs. 7oz. and came out with a head full of crazy black hair that stuck straight up in the air. My dad said I looked like my Grandma Pearl (his mother). Three days later, on February 6th, my parents took me home on their 7th wedding anniversary. They said I was the best anniversary present they ever got. I'd say they are two of the best gifts I ever received, so we are even.

Me at age five.

I tried to find a baby picture, but I guess they are all at my parents' house!

Today was a very calm birthday. I've been sick all day (boo), so I've spent the day resting and just hanging out with my little family. Mike did a great job letting me take it easy while he kept the kids entertained. Recently we got a new office chair, so he took the large box that the chair came in, emptied it of all the packing material, and let the girls build a house/fort. They had a great time. Later in the afternoon, when my ibuprofen had kicked in, the girls helped me make my birthday cake. I used this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Who can go wrong with pineapple and orange cake? Yum! Later, Mike braved the yucky weather to go to a local Mexican restaurant to bring home some dinner since our original plan to go out to dinner didn't pan out. My dad joined us for dinner too, and they all sang happy birthday to me. I wouldn't want to celebrate with anyone else! I just wish my mom could have come too.

Me and the three best gifts I could ask for!

I considered putting make-up on before this photo, but decided that since I'm sick, I'd just keep it real.

Year 34-- bring it on!

Groundhog Day

The road on the way to the doctor's office this morning.

Happy Groundhog Day! I hear Puxatony Phil did not see his shadow this year, so just six more weeks of winter. Maybe. Groundhog Day is such a weird holiday. Pretty uneventful around here, but it is the title of one of my favorite movies by the same name. Bill Murray is so funny in that film. Love it!

This Groundhog Day could also be called sick day. It's been building for awhile with the girls running a fever for the last several days, then Hannah woke up early this morning complaining of a sore throat, and then I started getting chilled and achy. So even with the snow-packed roads and every newscaster saying, "Stay home!", we braved the weather to go to the doctor this morning. Good thing too because the girls tested positive for both the flu and strep throat. No wonder they felt so bad! Our whole family is now on Tamiflu and the girls have antibiotics as well. It has been a tough day, but I am glad we have an arsenal of medicine to battle the illness away, hopefully for good!

With the blizzard that blew in this week, we've been hearing lots of good jokes with the words "snow." Here are some of my favorites: snowpocalypse, snowmageddon, snowklahoma, snowmygosh! and snOwMG. These have been floating around our fellow Okies' statuses on facebook this week. They made me laugh.

Now off to go enjoy a snow-Coke!

Welcome February!

View out the front door

View out the back door

Well February blew in with some gusto early this morning. We woke up to eight inches of the fluffy white stuff with more to come all day. We may actually reach one foot which for us is a big deal. Oklahoma City is pretty much shut down for the day, and we don't plan on going anywhere. I am hoping my sick kiddos will recover while they are out of school today (and probably tomorrow). I'm going to do some light cleaning and laundry, but my real projects today are reading, some needlepoint and some writing. Of course, these will be mixed in between playing with kids and making meals throughout the day too. Busy, but good. And maybe I'll even get to sneak in a nap somewhere today. Just maybe.

February brings to mind lots of things. My birthday, Valentine's day, and my parents' anniversary just to name a few. But it also means that the last full month of winter is here. In Oklahoma, we rarely get snow in March. We've had a few freak snow storms in the first week or two, but by the end of March you can see signs of spring and some warmer weather for sure. For that reason, I am thankful that February is the shortest month of the year.

So, dear February, I will embrace you and appreciate you while you are here. Make yourself at home for awhile.