Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

Yep, I’m calling it. Daniel is officially 2 months old and I have yet to send Thank You cards, so the raw truth is – they’re not getting sent. Instead I sent a heartfelt email which I’ve copied below just in case I missed someone. Which, given my recent mommy brain issues, is almost a certainty. I have to assume that most mommies who have more than one child will identify with me privately, even if they are obligated to publicly flog my laziness and presumption. I assure you, if I got such an email I would be impressed and feel loved. I also assure you, that if in the highly unlikely event there are additional Ehlen children (which God would have to pretty much throw into my lap) their thank you notes will likely consist of a Facebook status or worse, a tweet. For those of you who know my life and my children and are wondering how I even got the email or this post accomplished, let me assure you that the sink was full of dirty dishes, the laundry was not done, David was at school, R...

So about a week ago I got a text from my dad that my Uncle Paul died. Just out of the blue – your Uncle Paul died today. While this would be distressing anyway so close after my grandma’s death, it was particularly distressing given that my Uncle Paul was my dad’s youngest brother – 11 years younger. He was 43 years old when he died, and we still don’t know why. I won’t pretend that I was as close to my uncle as I was to my grandmother; he was sort of awkwardly older than me in that way that as I was growing up he was in his late teens/early 20s and living his own life. I think he was barely a teenager when I was born, actually. So my memories of him are somewhat spotty, although I remember him at family functions, and he was always very nice and interested in what was going on in my life. I have vague memories of him playing with me as a baby, and there is a picture of him pushing me around in a diaper box as a toddler with me squealing in delight, and I do remember that. My dad sa...

I know, a bit of a jump cut from pregnancy (baby's doing great, btw) to death, but in the wake of yet another death in the family besides Grandma Jane 's, I thought I should post my thoughts of her that I prepared in case it was one of those memorial services where the pastor asks people randomly to come up and everyone just sort of sits there looking awkward and feeling guilty that they aren't honoring the deceased. It's probably good that he didn't, as while I can give a decent prepared speech I am not an emotional extrovert (or extrovert in any sense of the word really) and I write much better than I emote. This is as close as I come to putting my heart on my sleeve, so consider yourself lucky. I remember.... It’s hard for me to come up with just one or two memories of Grandma Jane that qualify both my relationship with her as well as my perception of her as a person. I’m a big believer in the little things in life making up the most important part of who we ar...