Braelyn's Artistic Debut

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

A Book Review: Anna Karenina

Disclaimer: I am no expert on Russian Literature! Or literature in general, for that matter. I just like reading the classics!

I finally finished Anna Karenina. Wow! If you haven't read it, (and find yourself with an obscene amount of free time on your hands) I highly recommend it. The story probably won't go down as one of my favorites, however, it is probably the most beautifully crafted piece of writing I have ever read. What I love most about this book, or perhaps about Tolstoy himself, is how he put words to the most secret of feelings, the ones you don't even acknowledge to yourself. During an argument or an interior monologue, I would find the thoughts and emotions shockingly familiar, although I never could have articulated them with such precision. At times it was delightful, at others, devastating. He delicately brings the truth of our emotions into the light, and reveals how vulnerable and deceitful they are.

The story is about a woman, Anna, who trades her loveless marriage for a passionate affair, but in the deal loses her position in society, her freedom, her son, and eventually her mind. Equally significant to the story is a man named Levin. Although these two characters are connected by family and friends, they do not meet each other until the last chapters of the book, each being relatively inconsequential to the other. It is not until the last pages that you understand why Tolstoy has paralleled the lives of these two characters. Both were on a self-defining journey. Both in despair, both convinced of the meaninglessness of life, but the climax of their struggles brought them to very different conclusions. Redemption for one, death for the other.

There are layers upon layers to this novel: Russian politics, social structure, agricultural philosophies (particularly thrilling), love, adultery, motherhood, faith, hypocrisy, redemption. It was a difficult book. Not knowing anything about Russian history, politics or culture, I struggled to grasp the full significance of the complex setting. On top of that, it was a very emotionally hard, sad novel. Ironically, I would agonize over the pain the characters were feeling and causing, but I never loved the characters, as I loved...Elizabeth Bennet, for example. I found them to be awkward, selfish, silly, prideful, arrogant, or indifferent. Imagine my state if I did love them! Nonetheless, I'm glad I read it. I like that I experienced what history has marked as excellent. It is indeed. I am eager to read more of his work, but I think I'll go for something lighter this time. Mansfield Park, perhaps?!

If you have read Anna Karenina before, I'd love to hear what you thought!

A Brenham Halloween

Some pictures of our first Brenham Halloween.

Here, we are at the Brenham Library for Halloween Story Time. It was so fun to see our library friends all dressed up!

Braelyn havin' some juice. She's a thirsty flower!

Braelyn being sweet to our little German friend. :)

After a few stories, songs and Halloween cake, a few of us took our little ones to the Brenham Rest Home. Hopefully, seeing the kiddos in their costumes made the holiday a little brighter for the residence there.

Halloween night, back at home...

After we took our pictures, we went inside and got everything ready for all the trick-or-treaters. Guess how many came a knockin'? ZERO! Not a single trick-or-treater! I was kinda bummed about that, but the Cease family had a great Halloween together. Hope you did too.

Pillow Talk and Party Time: A Mom's Day Out

Yesterday was a fabulous day! Casey and I drove into Sugar Land early in the morning, only to drop Braelyn off at Nonnie's and then go our separate ways. He had work, work, work, but my agenda was cleared for super-fun, girlie, grown-ups only things all day long!

To start off my mom's day out, I got my very first sewing lesson from my super sweet friend, Erin. This summer, I picked up some beautiful fabric to make pillows for my very naked, white couch. The fabric has just been sitting in my closet, taunting me, until yesterday when Erin and I finally got together for a little Sewing 101. I brought my brand new machine (literally still in the box), so I could get familiar with all the bells and whistles. I started out the morning just practicing. Then we ate lunch, discussed my long-term pillow goals and made a plan. Since this was my first sewing attempt, I chose a simple, square pillow, with my least favorite, beautiful fabric.

I nervously squeaked and squealed the whole time, and Erin had to get my stripes back in line a couple of times, but all in all, I would say that my first sewing project was a success!

Erin, me and my pillow.
Thanks Cutshall! You're a great teacher!

At home. I love it!
She looks a little lonely, but she'll have some sisters...eventually. :)
Oh, and that's my silly dog, Tucker. :|

Once my project was complete, I raced to my in-laws, changed into my witchiest ensemble, and left for bunco. This once-a-month event is always a blast, and Julie's Halloween-themed party was no exception. The costumes were classic, and the best part...I won the door prize! I never win!

My crazy bunco gals!

It was a great day! Although, I seem to be paying for it today. Braelyn cried for two hours before her nap, and then slept for a whopping 20 MINUTES! Oh well, it was worth it!

The Sherrill Story

Hello Friends,
I just wanted to take a second to let you know about our dear friends, John and Kelly Sherrill. Earlier this week, Kelly, at only 23 weeks pregnant, gave birth to her third son, Kyle. Kyle is 5 or 6 days old now, and they say he's really a fighter. But as you can image, family and friends are laboring in prayer over this sweet baby, and so I thought I would commission my blogger friends to join in.
The whole family is John, Kelly, Jadon, Jack and baby Kyle.

John and Kelly have a blog and are posting updates so that we can be praying for their needs as they arise. Please go to their sight. It hurts your heart to see that tiny baby, but it is also such a blessing to see the faith of this family. thesherrillstory.blogspot.com

A Corner of This Christian Life

Since I've been in Brenham, I feel like the Lord and I have been working on a puzzle together. He, of course, knows what the final product looks like, and where all the pieces go, but I do not, and so I plug away, trying to fit pieces together, trying to make out some image of this Christian life.

Recently, I feel like He has helped me put some pretty important pieces together, through reading His Word, and praying His Word. He has been so gracious to me, continuously renewing my hunger for Scripture, making it come alive. Time and again, He has made me a feast when I expected some crumbs. He has saturated my heart with Truth, bringing It's taste to my tongue and It's feeling to my hands. I want to emphasize that I take no credit. DAILY, I am tempted to put our time aside, but DAILY, HE reminds me of His "ten thousand charms" and He is irresistible. And so, by His faithful beckoning, I have been wrestling with some difficult "pieces," and by His generous counsel, an image is becoming clearer.

Materialism has been an important piece through all of this. It has always been a struggle for me. And honestly, I don't know too many women who don't find it a struggle. Lately, my closest friends and I have been laying this sin out on the table, examining it, asking questions, searching for its root. Some of the questions that have been incubating in my heart are: Why do so many women I know struggle with always wanting more, especially when it comes to our homes? Is the desire to create a warm and inviting home a sin in and of itself? If not, when does it cease to be a godly desire placed in our hearts, and become dirty, lustful, greedy sin? So, as my husband says, I've been "sitting in the tension," waiting on God to share His wisdom.

While I've been waiting, God began to open my eyes to another area of sin in my life. In a nutshell: the community that I currently exist in, is perhaps, not completely reflective of God's Kingdom. I felt encouraged by His Word to enter into honest community with all walks of life, the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the white and the black, the full and the hungry, and so on. The point was driven home further as God reminded me of people I know and people I don't know that are hurting and suffering in ways I cannot imagine.

One night on the Internet, I was faced with some of these suffering people, children actually. My heart was so grieved. I was overwhelmed with shame, as earlier in the day I was pouting because I didn't get to work on my sewing project. What a silly thing! How ridiculously insignificant! I don't even sew! It was here in this tearful moment, that God, so tenderly, fit these "puzzle pieces" together for me.

This is what I have learned: If all I have to think about is pillows and picture arrangements and antique furniture, as a Christian, then something is dreadfully wrong. If the majority of my thoughts are spent conjuring up ways to make my home more magazine worthy, then I am not about the things of God. How can I obsess over such silliness, when there is such work to be done? I have made the hobby the full-time job and the full-time job the hobby, and I suspect that I am not alone. So as I look at this corner of the puzzle, of this Christian life, this is my prayer: That I would continue to drench myself in the Word of God and in prayer, begging for Christ to constantly make my soul aware that there is work to do. That I would obsess about the things above, and get to work. And then, I bet, that my thoughts and desires would come into a holier balance, and then what a joy it would be to sit and sew a pillow.

Saving Dowenksy

A few weeks ago I came across our friends, the Ivey's adoption blog. They are adopting a precious little boy named Amos Dowensky from a rescue center in Haiti. To help with the adoption costs, the Ivey's are selling "Saving Dowensky" t-shirts. We love the Ivey's and want to support the wonderful thing they are doing. So here's the Cease family, sportin' our cool, new shirts.

The photo shoot proved to be more of a challenge than I expected.

Well, this is the best we could do.

To learn more about the Ivey's adoption journey, and how you can help bring their baby boy home, go to savingdowensky.com