#SCSBC14 Recap

This challenge ends in a few days, so I thought I'd recap the books I read for it. Last summer,  I participated in and was one of the first finishers of the Semi Charmed Summer Book Challenge 2013. Then, I attempted to participate in the Autumn Book Challenge and failed miserably. These challenges are hosted by Megan at Semi-Charmed Kind of Life. I like some of the changes that she recently made to the challenges. She now hosts less of them in a year and she has extended the time to complete the challenge.

When I set out on this challenge, I honestly didn't think I'd get this far. I didn't actually finish the challenge because I could never figure out a book to read that was published before I was born. The thing I liked about doing this challenge this year is that I didn't read anything I wasn't already planning to read. I just made the things I was reading fit into the categories. I also didn't let the challenge keep me from reading anything else that I wanted to read. So, these are not the only books I've read between May and August.  

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that is at least 200 pages long.

Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella (464 pages, 3 stars)

I didn't like this book as much as some other Sophie Kinsella novels I've read. I didn't find it as funny as it was promised to be. Longer review can be found here. 

10 points: Read a book that was written before you were born.

This is the one category I didn't find a book for. 

10 points: Finish reading a book you couldn't finish the first time around. (You must have at least 150 pages left in the book to use it for this category.)

 Confessions of a Shopoholic by Sophie Kinsella (312 pages, 3 stars)

This is another category that I didn't think I'd find a book for. I have very few books I haven't finished and if I haven't finished them, I really have no desire to. Then, I remembered I started this book in college after seeing the movie, but couldn't get into it. After reading it, I enjoyed the movie better, but I'm still trying to get through the whole series. It's an easy read. Longer review coming up on Monday.

10 points: Read a book from the children’s section of the library or bookstore.  

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (725 pages, 3 stars)

This was the final book in the Mortal Instruments series and overall I was disappointed. Instead of just focusing on ending this series, the author was trying to get you interested in reading her next series. Longer review can be found here. 

15 points: Read a book that is on The New York Times' Best Sellers List when you begin reading it.

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (384 pages, 4 stars)

I have seen so many bloggers rage over Jojo Moyes, so I finally read one of her books and loved it. I will definitely be reading more. Longer review can be found here. 

15 points: Read a historical fiction book that does not take place in Europe.

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus (434 pages, 4 stars)

I had seen a few bloggers who really enjoyed this book so I decided to read it too. It definitely was an interesting story and unlike anything I'd ever read before. Longer review coming Monday. 

15 points: Read a book another blogger has already read for the challenge.  

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (349 pages, 4 stars)

I liked this one better than Gone Girl. The way the chapters are divided into different people's point of view and the past and present make it VERY hard to put down. Longer review here.

20 points: Read a book with “son(s),” “daughter(s)” or “child(ren)” in the title.  

The Preacher's Daughter by Beverly Lewis (349 pages, 3 stars)

This book is a part of a series and at first I wasn't sure if I was going to finish the series. Then, something happened at the end that made it impossible for me not to see what would happen next. Longer review coming Monday. 

20 points: Read a book that was/will be adapted to film in 2014. (Here are 16 ideas to get you started, but I know there are plenty more options.)  

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby (333 pages, 2 stars)

I'm not really sure what to think of this book. It's definitely not one I'd go around recommending to people, but it wasn't awful either. Longer review here.

25 points: Read a book written by a blogger. 

Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel (289 pages, 2 stars) (blogs here)

I found the concept of this book very intriguing which is why I picked it up to read. However, I was disappointed with the execution. It was not what I thought it would be. Longer review here. 

25 points: Read a biography, autobiography or memoir.

I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain by Courtney Robertson (262 pages, 3 stars)

I haven't watched the Bachelor or Bachelorette since about 2009, so I wasn't familiar with this person or her season on the Bachelor. Mainly, I read it because I was interested in getting a look at the making of a reality show. I liked that aspect of the book. Longer review coming Monday.

 
30 points: Read a pair of books with antonyms in the titles.  

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella (435 pages, 4 stars) 

 I enjoyed this Kinsella novel better than the other ones I read for this challenge. It was silly and unrealistic, but it was fun. Longer review here.

and About a Boy by Nick Hornby (307 pages, 3 stars)

This book was more depressing that I had expected. I read it, but it wasn't really enjoyable. It was more that I just wanted to finish the book. Longer review here.

I'm also trying to complete a 50 State Challenge and A-Z Challenge. You can read more about my challenges here or you can follow me on Goodreads here.

Have you read any good books lately? I'm always looking to add to my to-read list.

Journey to Motherhood

A little over a year ago, I came across the blog Adoption Love and started following along. In that year, their family has adopted an adorable little girl and I've enjoyed reading their journey.

I even made two adorable ornaments for them last year during Ornaments for Adoption.

Kristen decided to host an Adoption link up so that adoptive families can "meet" and connect with one another.

So, I know adoption is something I've written about on here a lot. However, I thought I'd give a recap or our journey and throughout, I'll link other posts I've written if anyone is interested in reading more details. 

Where did it begin?

I'd say it was early 2012, when God really began to work in my life and show me that there are a lot of hurting people in this world and I have the means to help them. Not only did I want to help them, but I learned that Scripture instructed me to help them. In March of that year, I read a book (Kisses from Katie) that really changed my life. Shortly after that while browsing on Pinterest, I was lead to a blog post about orphans and adoption. (I can't link the blog post because it is now private.) I remember sitting on my couch crying at the thought of all these children without families. God broke my heart and I wanted to do something to help. At the time, I was trying to start an Etsy business and decided to try and sell headbands to help an adoptive family raise money. This was very unsuccessful and I took it kind of hard, but it didn't stop me from wanting to help. I almost became obsessed with reading about adoptive families and orphans. I was donating money left and right to adopting families or buying the items they were selling to raise money.

Did we feel called to adopt?

For a while, I just focused on helping other families who were adopting. I didn't give it too much thought as something we would do. At this time, my husband was a part time youth pastor at a church that was about an hour drive from where we were living. Every Sunday, we did a lot of driving and had a lot of time to talk. I can remember driving to church and just kind of blurting out "I think we should adopt." I think I even surprised myself in saying this. Unknowingly, God had been working in both of our hearts through my new-found passion for adoption to lead us to consider adopting. We decided that we would adopt regardless of whether or not we were able to have biological children. Throughout the next year, God continued to work out this desire in our hearts and I have shared in the past why adoption is important to me and how adoption plays into my testimony.

What is Ornaments for Adoption?

As I mentioned, in early 2012 I had a failed attempt to raise money for an adopting family. Later that year, this idea hit me. I could make ornaments to sell and raise money for an adopting family. I liked this idea because it was a seasonal thing, so it wouldn't be overwhelming to take on. Plus, ornaments are something people are always buying. I first presented the idea in September 2012. I also decided to share an adoption related post every Monday while I was selling ornaments. Overall, the first year was a success. I revamped some things to make it better in 2013 and OFA 2013 was also successful. I'm not sure what will happen this year. I'm still thinking it through. 

When did we begin the adoption process?  

In summer 2013, my husband and I began discussing starting the adoption process ourselves. I admit, it took me a while to get started because I didn't really know where to start. We told our families in September what we were doing and we started the process in October by applying to the Children's Home Society. Our application was approved and we met our social worker within the next month. We had a few more paperwork things we could do, but due to the holidays coming up we wouldn't be able to do much else until early 2014. During that waiting time, we took care of some paperwork things. The CHS requires people adopting from foster care to take about 30 hours worth of classes as well as being CPR/1st aid certified. So, in February we began these classes and they pretty much consumed every Tuesday and Thursday evening as well as a few Saturdays. We were very busy. On top of that, we moved to a new apartment in order to have a second bedroom for our future child (or children). There was also a lot of snow this past winter, so school for me kept getting cancelled and some of our classes had to be cancelled and rescheduled.

Where are we now?

Along with everything else we were doing in February, we also conceived a child. After our classes at CHS were through, I noticed my period was late and took a pregnancy test at the very beginning of March. It was positive and I couldn't believe it. So, we had to put our adoption on hold for now. It is still something we hope to do one day. We also have begun talking about not only adopting, but becoming foster parents as well. For now, we're focusing on the November arrival of our little girl. Until the time is right for us, I will continue to be an advocate for orphans, children in foster care, and adoption. I hope once things settle down, we can go back to doing some volunteer work for a local organization that focuses on foster care adoption. I also want to continue to support adopting families through our own giving and through Ornaments for Adoption.

I'm also linking up here:

My Alternative to the #IceBucketChallenge

Well...it finally happened. I'd kind of hoped it wouldn't so I could just stay quiet about the whole thing. However, since I've been challenged to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge I knew I had 2 options - ignore it or accept it (with a twist) and explain my reasoning for the twist.

I know from reading similar articles and posts that what I'm about to say may make some people angry or upset and I've seen ugly comments people have left on similar posts and articles. I'm not here to argue with anyone. These are my beliefs and I hold firm to them. I'm going to try to state them as gracefully as possible.

I'll admit...I didn't like this Ice Bucket Challenge thing from day one. I'm not a jump on the bandwagon type of person. Please know, I'm not against advocating for a cause or donating to charity. Giving is one of my spiritual gift and I love doing it. One of the missions of my blog is to use it as a way to help others. In the past, I've shared about numerous causes that I support. One of the biggest things I've always advocated for on my blog has been adoption. We even started the adoption process about a year ago. I know I haven't written about many of these things in a while, but I've been lax on the whole blogging thing for most of this year due to a lot of personal factors and finding out we are expecting.

Just because I haven't been sharing about it, doesn't mean I haven't been doing things. We still support 2 children through Compassion International. We support a local missionary who is currently serving in eastern Europe. We also give to families that we hear about who are raising funds for adoption and I'm in the process of trying to figure out if there's any way I can make Ornaments for Adoption work this year considering Baby Hall is due in November. I don't say this to brag on us, but to brag on what the Lord has blessed us with that we are able to give. I'll also admit that this giving is not as abundant as we've done in the past and if nothing else, this challenge has challenged me to fix that (which I'll explain more of later).

Please don't get me wrong here, I don't think there's anything wrong with donating to ALS research. It's a terrible disease that I can't imagine watching a loved one go through. I know many people get passionate about it when people don't want to participate because they have experienced this firsthand. However, there are a lot of terrible diseases in this world that need money for research. Watching a loved one suffer through cancer, Pulmonary Fibrosis, and Alzheimer's isn't easy either, but those are all sicknesses that loves ones of mine have suffered through and passed away from. I don't think it's fair to consider research for one disease more important than another. All diseases are difficult for the one dealing with it as well as the ones caring for them. In a perfect world, scientists and doctors would find cures for all of these things.

So, I said all that to say that there are a lot of worthy causes out there and you can't support them all. I'm all for donating money to help people in need; but I, personally believe you should donate to causes that you feel led to donate to, causes that mean something to you, and causes that you're passionate about. I don't believe you should donate to a cause just because someone "challenged" you to or you feel guilty about it if you don't or you want to do "what everyone else is doing." I'm more likely to listen to a person share about a cause if they have a story to share, a personal connection to it, or are truly passionate about it.

 *Another reason I won't donate to the ALSA is because I don't believe that the way they're conducting research fully lines up with my beliefs. I know there's a lot of gray areas that can be argued and I am wrestling through my thoughts on it all. So, I do encourage you to research a charity or organization before you donate to them to make sure you truly know what you're supporting. I won't go into further details because they can be found here or here.*

So, in light of everything I just shared, I won't be donating to ALS research. Instead, I'm going to share with you what I will donate to and why.

• GI Motility disorders research- My husband suffers from Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome (along with all the sensitivities mentioned in the linked article). Like the article states, this keeps him from working regularly, adds up in medical bills, and affects our quality of life. Not a lot is known about FAPS. I can't tell you how many doctors we visited before we finally found one who put a name to his condition. I also can't tell you how much time and money was wasted on doctors treating his symptoms in a way that actually did more damage than good. There's also not a very definitive treatment for it. Sometimes, I feel like the treatments he is on are helping things and other times I feel like things are just getting worse. I would love for researchers to find a cure or effective treatment for FAPS so that my husband's suffering can end and so that our daughter doesn't have to experience watching a loved one go through this. (You can read more of our experiences here, here, or here.) I'm specifically looking into donating to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders or UNC Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders which works closely with Lee's doctor. 

• Mercy for America's Children- I'm pretty sure at some point, I've mentioned this organization before. When we started our adoption process, this is an organization we were working with. We have also done some volunteer work with them and plan to continue that in the future when our lives are a little more settled. They specifically work to advocate for children in foster care and assist with foster care adoption. We have been meaning to set up monthly donations to them for some time now, but haven't gotten around to it. So, this challenge is challenging me to set that up so that we can support their work.

I'm not going to call out anyone specific and "challenge" them. Instead, I challenge everyone reading this to find a cause or a few causes that really mean something to you and donate to them, advocate for them, and support them. If that cause is ALS, great! If not, find an alternative. 
 
Oh...and also...in case you didn't figure it out already...I won't be pouring ice water on myself. Sorry not sorry...I'll eat ice cream instead. #icecreamchallenge