Being thankful

Through all the blogs I read from America there seems to be one theme at the moment....Thanksgiving.  This is not a celebration we have in NZ but I wish it was. 

What a lovely reason to celebrate, being thankful for everything in our lives.  I'd like to think that we take this one day into our hearts and make it stay there all year. 

I know though it is very hard to do this as life just take over and sometimes even just gets in the way.  So today I am going to write my own thankful list.  Even after the year our family has I am still so very grateful for so many things

• That everyone is alive and our house is still standing
• That I am loved
• That my children value life (My daughter found the cat with a baby bird last night and carefully cared for it.  Many tear were shed this morning when it had died in the night)
• A home
• Democracy....I was able to vote last week in our elections
• I have a brain that works and functions (most of the time :)
• I can sew
• I can draw
• I have a family
• I have values
• I have Christ in my life
• I have not had to spend any time in jail and I have my freedom
• I can walk, run (sometimes he he) and jump
• I can pursue my dream of being an artist so many people can't
• That I have transport
• That I can read and write
• That I have been able to get an education
• That I am a woman

What are you thankful for???

I am sorry for the lack of posts over the last few weeks.  I have had a lot of family issues going on and a lot going on in my personal life.  I am hoping to be back on board next week after things are start to settle down. Hopefully by then I will be starting to see the light again.  Until then have a lovely weekend full of joy and love.  I found this beautiful quote last night (unfortunately with no author so I can't give credit where it is due) it was so inspirational for me.

Joy is the sacred quality that

laughs at the inability of outward

circumstances to affect us.

Inspiration Saturday

This quote gave me food for thought.  I wonder if more of us thought like this whether we would all reach our full potential.

"If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; However if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that."

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Literature and movie review

Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

Written by Anne Frank

This is one of those books that changed my life forever.  I read this first when I was a child just going into double digits.  I have re read this book another few times since and watched a film on this story and a documentary and it even after all that time I still bawl at the end.  

This story is about a young Jewish girl who lived during World War 2.  Her and her family hide in a secret part of a house so they will not be found by the Nazi's.  This book is Anne's diary,  her memories and thoughts during this terrible ordeal.  It is beautifully written and reminds the reader that there are wonderful people in this world who love and look after each other through terrible times and that the human spirit can conquer all. 

I found this review written by a 9 year old which describes this story better than any adult could.  I would like to share this with you today.



Reviewed by Gabriel (age 9)

Have you ever felt scared out of your mind? If you have, you’ll understand how Anne Frank felt living a life in hiding. This book is about a 13 year old girl who is hiding from the Nazis. Anne and her family live in a secret Annex. She lives in there because she is a Jew and does not want to get caught by the Nazis. You find your way into the attic by pulling a book out of a book shelf which leads to a secret passage way. The Dutch police find out that Anne and her family are hiding. The Dutch police go to the office building and force one of the workers to tell them where Anne's family is hiding. They are caught and are sent to concentration camps. Do you think Anne’s family survives? You need to read this book to find out.

I felt sad reading this book, but I am glad I read it. I did not like that Anne was sent to the concentration camp. I felt nervous and frightened when she was caught. I really liked the characters who helped Anne in the secret Annex, it made me feel hopeful that people can be kind. My favorite part is when Anne Frank’s Diary is published in 1947, because now I have a window into the life of a real person who lived through this period of time during WWII.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read biographies, history and about heroes like Anne Frank. Without her diary we would not know what life was like for a Jewish family in hiding during the holocaust.

Gabriel is a student in Mrs. Diglio's 3rd Grade Class
2009-2010

Spaghetti^® Book Club

I would like to add my recommendation to Gabriel C's too.  A wonderful story well worth finding and reading.  Appropriate fro 10 years and up.