Children's Museum

Houston has a fantastic children's museum, and we went with some good friends in October. Isaac loved shopping for food, pretending to be a Vet at the Pet Hospital, and painting. He still watches the video of himself painting over and over again. It's so fun to go places with him now. He's my little bud.

Time Flies When You Are Feeling Good

We have been having fun in UT, enjoying the holidays here in Houston, and soaking up the gorgeous weather (even if it's "cold" for Houston, it's still gorgeous to me) while we can.

I have uploaded quite a few pictures, so overdue posts are coming . . .

Halloween

Even though Halloween is tomorrow, we feel like it has already passed because we've dressed up, had the party, and even gone trick or treating (trick or trunk). And here are some pictures to show how we celebrated: 

We skipped the pumpkin patch this year and opted for the more local Trader Joe's.

The pumpkins were cheap! Too bad we realized that one was already rotting when we got home...

Isaac with all his friends at Calvin's birthday party

Isaac and his two girl friends at our church Halloween party

Isaac the Builder and the Monson Construction crew.
Baby construction project to be completed in 2014. 

Brent does not normally look so delirious...but we were all pretty tired that night. 

Isaac "cooking" with the pumpkin pulp

There was a pumpkin growing in our pumpkin!! It was so weird.
Neither of us had ever seen sprouts growing inside a pumpkin before. Anyone else seen that? 

The master carver. Brent kind of sketched it out, but did a lot free-handed.
Most of the permanent marker you can see on there is Isaac's scribbling.  

The final product. I was super impressed because I had doubts during the carving. . . :-)
I should know better than to ever doubt Brent's artistic skills though! 

Isaac loved it!

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, but it is way more fun with a kid! If Isaac's allergies continue into next year though, I don't think we'll be trick or treating again. He literally cannot eat ANY candy. I brought fruit leathers as a substitute, but he was not happy about that. How he knows what candy is, I have no idea. But we had quite a tantrum on our hands that led to me giving in and giving him a tiny Twizzler. (His allergy to corn is not life-threatening.) Anyway, I think we'll avoid that part of the Halloween tradition for as long as possible. . . 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

Isaac 21-Month Update

My Justin Bieber Baby at 18 months

There is so much about Isaac at this age that I want to capture in a bottle forever. Brent and I have loved being his parents. He is just so adorable and fun-- and this age especially has revealed a lot of his personality and sense of humor.

He is a good talker, I would say, particularly for a boy his age. I have no idea what his vocabulary is at right now, but he definitely knows more than 100 words. He is comfortable with 2-3 word phrases and is very good at making a wide range of consonant combinations. Some examples are "I got it!", "I see you!", "I fall," "More ______," "Dada work?", "Apple Juice," and "See Bandit?" (when we are doing FaceTime with my parents).

And some of the words he uses all the time are, "See?" (meaning pick me up, I want to see that), "Hold" (pick me up and hold me), "Side!" (Outside or I want to go outside.), "Hun-gy" (hungry), "Dump" (this could mean I'm about to dump my food on the floor or he will also say it while playing quite a bit), and "car", "truck", and "firetruck" are up there with the words that he says most often every day. 

Also, just yesterday, he was "flying" around the house pretending to be an airplane and kept saying, "Crash landing!" and would fall down. There is usually a pause between his words though, so it sounded like " Crash . . . land-ing!" I had no idea he knew how to say that. It was so cute! 

Isaac loves his gummy vitamins and asks for them every day. We have been giving him Calcium gummies for a while to supplement his diary-free diet, but recently I started giving him multi-vitamin gummies as well. When I first introduced the Calcium gummies, I gave them to him right after his nap with his snack. When he woke up from his nap, I would say, "Do you want your snack?" And so, he thought the vitamins were called "snack"-- because I guess he looked forward to them much more than his crackers or fruit.  

So every day he yells, " 'NACK?! 'NACK?!" until I respond and ask him if he would like his vitamin. But recently, when we started giving him the new vitamins, on his own, he noticed the different colored bottles of the two types of vitamins (blue and red). Now he says, "BUE 'NACK?! BUE 'NACK?!" And after he's had that, he says, "RED 'NACK?!" Haha! He is so funny! 

He has also started singing the ABCs --- or trying to. His different versions include, "A, B, double-awch, E." and "A, B, C, Double-P, Double-P, Double-P" He really likes doubling his letters. LOL

And he has a word he made up: dungle-pop. We think it might be a mutation of Jungle Book. But in any case, he uses it in place of something he doesn't know the name of. The other day an apartment manager knocked on the door, and when she walked away, he said loudly, "Bye, Dungle-pop!" Lol. I have to admit, felt just a tad embarrassed. And when Brent was playing a new game with him, swinging him in the air, he said, "More dungle-pop!" until Brent told him he could say, "More swing." Then, he started saying, "More swing."

Isaac is extremely observant. He will sit and look at each page of a book for a long time. And he notices small details in the pictures of his books that I have never noticed-- even after reading them to him dozens of times. He also has sharp ears-- especially for trucks, planes, and helicopters. If he hears and airplane fly over our house (we're not close to any airport, so they are not loud at all), he will stop what he's doing and look at the ceiling with a surprised face and say, "airplane?" 

He also has ears for the garbage truck. I now know our pickup schedule-- every Mon, Wed, and Friday morning. And we are at the bedroom window as soon as we hear it coming. When he first started watching it about three months ago, he would cry as it drove away, but now he's used to the idea that it will leave and come back again soon. :-)

One of his favorite activities is playing with clean laundry that is often piled on top of the armchair in my bedroom. He will seriously play independently for up to 45 minutes dragging laundry around. It's weird, but I don't mind at all. He also loves to play with random objects which he uses as tools to bang on walls or try to "fix" things. These objects include an old blush brush that I set aside for him to use, un-sharpened pencils, paint brushes, and really anything that is like a stick. He also loves playing with my OXO salad spinner and, of course, my iPhone, if he can get his hands on it. (I don't have any games on it for him, but he just likes to put in wrong passwords until my phone is disabled for 15 minutes.)

As far as conventional toys go, he likes his dump truck and firetruck the best. He also likes a small beanie baby teddy bear and his Teddy which he takes to bed at night. The rest of his toys-- duplos, train set, etc.-- he mostly likes to just dump on the ground and then that is the end of it. He will build towers for about 5-10 minutes, but nothing lasting yet. He much prefers for you to build something for him to destroy. Because of this we sing (to the tune of Bob the Builder), "Isaac the Destroyer! He can wreck it! Isaac the Destroyer! Yes, he can!" 

Here are some pictures of this cute kid over the last few months: 

With more of the Bieber look going on . . . (18 months)

Playing with Sydney --who he called "See-see" until just recently (20 months old)

Watching the gardeners: his favorite Monday morning activity (20 months)

Ready for Church! This boy loves Nursery! (20 months)

California Visit

In August, Isaac and I flew to Los Angeles to visit my family. My parents had not seen Isaac since December, and I was sick and tired and wanted my Mama.

The flight there was smooth sailing:

                                   

Since we last were there, Bryan had grown a ton. Isaac loved watching him and following him around. He also loved Bandit, our family dog, who does not like kids. We kept them separated as much as possible.

Our trip wasn't much of a sight-seeing vacation. We really didn't do anything except for the most important things: spending time with family and visiting with a few friends. I mostly rested as much as I could and was so grateful to have help taking care of Isaac.

Isaac played outside every day, swam, ate popsicles, watered the plants, developed a love for the movie the Jungle Book, and got to know his grandparents really well. I read books 1-5 of The Work and the Glory series-- probably over 1,000 pages of text. So that gives you and idea of what I did: stayed in bed.

While we were there we were also able to attend my Great-Aunt Darlene's funeral service. I'm sure it was really nice. Unfortunately, Isaac didn't behave well enough for me to see it. Below you will see a picture of him playing on an altar outside the church where the memorial was held. That's where we were.

Here are the pictures from our trip.

Isaac and Uncle Bry
**When I sent this picture to my sister Marie, who is serving a mission, she wrote back, "WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE??!!!!"  Yep, they've changed a lot. 

                          

On the way to the funeral 

                               

At the funeral

                               

Reading with "Papa" 

Helping Bry wash the cars

Watching Jungle Book... I just love that face!! 

                                  

Watching Jungle Book Again ...  and I love this face too. :-)                   

More time with the hose

                              

Swimming! In a pool that was cool and refreshing! 

                     

                     

I also have to share this fun comparison. This is a picture of my brother Bryan and then of Isaac--both at 21 months old in the same pool. I think they look so much alike! 

                               

And my mom caught this gem of a picture right before we got in the car to leave for the airport. Isaac's two favorite things: his teddy and his doggie.

                           

The flight home was less than stellar. Isaac sat--more like wrestled--on my lap the whole 3 hours and 20 minutes. I barely survived. Luckily the guy sitting next to us was tolerant. 

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a wonderful trip! And thank you Brent for keeping up the home-front while we were gone. 

The Last Three Months

For much of the last three months, our small apartment has looked like this:

                                  

And that is because of this:

8 weeks

We are expecting baby #2 in February 2014! I found out I was pregnant in June and enjoyed the thought for about a week, until I woke up one morning and started throwing up until I wanted to die. Luckily, a good friend rescued me with her supply of Zofran, but unfortunately, it did not solve all my problems. I spent much of the next three months curled up in bed watching TV shows on Amazon Prime, trying to distract myself from the horrible nausea. 

Isaac was very good and played happily around the house (while destroying it at the same time). And Brent did more than should be expected of any husband. Working through busy season while taking care of the house, feeding himself and Isaac, and doing the shopping earns him the Husband of the Century Award! 

I also was so blessed to have the help of so many family members and friends. My sister-in-law Emily went shopping for me a number of times and deep cleaned our apartment with her husband Andrew. My friend Caroline also went shopping for me a bunch of times. And I had numerous friends bring over dinner and watch Isaac for me while I was ill. My mother-in-law also came out for a couple weeks to take care of Isaac and help around the house, which was so generous of her! She ironed all of Brent's shirts, tidied up the house every day, and fed and entertained Isaac the whole time. It was so nice! I tried to count up all the people who have helped me--in big and generous ways-- and there were over a dozen. I am SO grateful to everyone!! 

There were times when I wasn't sure if I could make it. Of course I would, but when you feel so awful, your perception of reality gets really warped. 

I am so happy to be on the other side of that trial. And now I finally feel happy and excited about finding out the gender of this baby. We should know in about two weeks. :-) 

**Note: If you have a smart phone and haven't downloaded the Blogger App, I highly recommend it. You can upload photos directly from your phone. AH! I can't believe I've lived without this for so long! 

Allergy Report

On Monday, we took Isaac to an allergist to have some testing done. I had been putting it off for quite some time because I knew it would be expensive and we hadn't touched our deductible yet this year. Thankfully, it actually cost much less than I expected--only $125 (the doctor graciously gave us a 25% discount after I told him we hadn't met our deductible for the year).

But the experience held some surprises I wasn't prepared for. Up until this point, I had seen what I thought to be allergic responses in Isaac to milk, soy, rice, bananas, peaches, oranges, and tomatoes. I was also suspicious of corn. And even though I hadn't seen any reaction to wheat, I was really hoping I hadn't missed something there. So we tested him for these, plus a few other items: peanuts, almonds, and two types of dust mites. There were actually 15 items he was tested for, but I can't remember what the last two were.

The nurses came in and first wrote on Isaac's back with a pen codes for all the different allergens. To help him not freak out, the nurse first drew a smiley face on his hand so he would know what she was doing on his back. That really helped, and he stayed perfectly still and didn't make a peep while she wrote on his back. (Unfortunately, however, I have had to stop him from writing on his hand with a pen multiple times in the last few days. ha ha) Here is the before picture:

Then, as I held him on my lap, they quickly pricked his back one by one with small needles that had been dipped in allergen serum. During the first few pricks--at the top of his back-- he was fine. But as they went lower, where the back is more sensitive, he started to jerk and burst into tears. Soon it was done though, and we had to watch and wait for the results. Within just a few minutes, it was already clear he had a couple reactions. And because the reactions were labeled with codes, we waited anxiously to find out what was what.

It turns out that the biggest reaction was to peanuts. I was shocked. There is no history of peanut allergies in either of our families, and although I've been dealing with allergies since Isaac was born, I haven't had to worry about life-threatening allergies. Peanuts are a whole different ball game.

After fifteen minutes, here is what his back looked like:

The reaction on the upper left is the positive control. I have no idea what they use for a positive control since it has to be something that everyone is allergic to, but he definitely was. The reaction next to F79 is peanuts. Milk is 17 and orange is under that. He also reacted slightly to corn, which is the c in the middle of his back. I was grateful he didn't react to anything else including rice, wheat, and almonds.

The doctor explained, however, that gastrointestinal responses to things aren't signs of allergy, but could be signs of intolerance. So, if I give Isaac rice and it gives him diarrhea, I obviously shouldn't give it to him. We're going to have to just test things as we go along.

The doctor also said that allergy testing for fruits is very inaccurate. He said that it's better to test with fresh fruit. So, next time we test--in about a year-- I will bring in fruit to do a more accurate test.

It was hard for me to tell what was a slight positive reaction and what was considered a negative reaction because every place he was poked turned red. But what the nurses looked for was the redness around the dot. Then they measured the size of the welt and the size of the red rash around each welt/hive. These measurements will be a base for future testing to see if he is growing out of his allergies or not.

After a while, Isaac's rash started to spread up his neck, so I quickly got someone to come. They gave him liquid Zyrtec and wiped off the allergens and sprayed his back with what I think may have been a cortisone spray.  It was amazing that in just a few minutes, all of his reactions were gone.

The doctor didn't have a lot to say about the peanut allergy, as far has how severe his allergy will be or whether or not he will grow out of it. The truth is, with allergies, it is mostly guess-work. But he did say we need to avoid all foods with peanuts including the "May contain" and factory warnings on foods. And he gave us a prescription for an EpiPen and said we need to keep it with us at all times. (Big sigh.)

On the drive home, I felt pretty overwhelmed.

And I'm still somewhat in denial. I still haven't thrown away the peanut butter in my pantry, or done any online research about peanut allergies, or picked up the EpiPen from the pharmacy (although the fact that I got the stomach flu/ food poisoning yesterday also has something to do with that).

It will be interesting to see what the future holds. But for now, no peanuts for us.

Toddlerhood: A Different Ball Game

Isaac is almost 18 months, and I can't believe how much he's changed just in the last few weeks. He's finally transitioned to one nap a day (usually from noon to two-ish), which frees up a lot more time--time that needs to be filled. Hanging out at home is not his activity of choice. If that happens, I get tortured. :-)  In fact, every day around 9:00 am, he says, "Bye, bye? Bye, bye?" or goes up to the front door and cries. He wants out.

And for a good reason: this kid is filled with energy. He's had running mastered for a few months, so of course he's on to developing the next skill. Unfortunately, that means climbing. Now, all dining room table chairs must be pushed in at all times. And I know it's a matter of weeks until he figures out how to pull them out and climb up anyway. He stomps, he runs, he jumps, he dances, he attacks things. And he now tries to snatch my glasses off my face and has almost broken them. A big no-no.

But the biggest no-no of all is that, yesterday, he hung on the door to the oven (while I was cooking a pizza) and put his feet up, as if to climb up spiderman style. And his weight opened the door to the oven. AHH!!! Luckily, I was standing right there, and it only opened a few inches before I slammed it shut. I gave him a very firm, "No, no," and took him out of the kitchen, but a minute later (when I was not right next to the oven) he did it again. I don't think I've ever heard myself scream, "No!" like that. It was scary. Thankfully, it startled him and he jumped off before the oven fully opened. But that was the end of that. We bought a baby gate that very night. He is no longer allowed in the kitchen whenever the oven is on.

Yesterday he was also quite a terror at the library story time. He threw crayons everywhere and screamed during the quiet coloring time before it began and wouldn't sit still for one minute during the story time part. Instead, he ran around the room laughing and squealing. Even though there was general mayhem during the reading portion, we left half-way through because he was being so disruptive. I guess he's not ready for it. And I'm definitely not.

Never a dull moment with a toddler. And today was no exception: he got his first goose-egg-- right smack in the middle of his forehead right at his hairline. He ran full speed into a corner. I didn't see it happen, but my friend who was visiting did, and her reaction was pretty intense. So, after she left we watched "Bob the Builder" while I fought to get ice on his head for three seconds at a time.

And today we couldn't find any of his pacifiers. His paci has been one of his most treasured possessions since about 6 months old. I've limited its use during the day, but he knows he can have it when he sleeps, and he asks for it. He also asks for it when he wakes up, and I let him have it for the first few minutes to get through that waking-up grogginess. But I couldn't find it when he was crying after hitting his head. And I still couldn't find it at nap time. How they disappear, I know not. We had three just two weeks ago. But I'm sick of buying more, so I reluctantly decided that this would have to be it.

Luckily, he went down fine anyway. It helps that he's just as attached to his Teddy as his paci. But when he woke up, he said, "Paci? Paci?" with a sad, anxious face. And when I said it was, "All gone," he made the sign for "All done," (which he thinks is the same as all done) and wailed, "Ga-gone? Ga- gone?" And when I said yes, he cried really hard. Poor little baby.

He asked for it a few times this afternoon, but tonight--miracle of miracles-- he didn't ask for it. It took him over a half hour to fall asleep, but he didn't cry! He just talked happily until he drifted off. Of course this is just day one, but this is all going much better than I expected! Hallelujah! Now, I hope we don't find it.

To end on a happy note, I must say it is so fun to see him learning. His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! Just this week, he began calling his books by name: "Go" for Oh, the Places You'll Go, "Doggie" for Go, Dogs! Go!, and  "Vroom, vroom!" for his book, Trucks. He has also been labeling things a lot more: shoe, hat, key, meow (for a cat), ball, teddy, and of course his paci that is no more.

As much as he wears me out, I wouldn't trade him. He's my treasure.

Power of Moms Retreat

At the beginning of the month, I was able to go to a Power of Moms retreat in Park City. I knew it would be a great day, but I have to say, it exceeded my expectations. April and Saren, the directors of Power of Moms, are just so incredible! Their presentations were packed with great ideas and delivered in an effective, practically flawless manner.

Saren's parents, Richard and Linda Eyre (of parenting literature fame) hosted the retreat at their home and participated as well. I have read some of what they have written, but hearing them speak in person was very impressive. And I loved how down-to-earth and approachable they were. 

The retreat started with some suggestions about how to get the most from the day, and then jumped right into presentations alternating with small group discussions. What surprised me the most about the retreat is how much I would learn from the other mothers. Everyone there was a fabulous mom, and those women had so many great ideas. 

On a personal level, the retreat was also fun because I got to spend time with two dear, bosom friends: Rachel, a Writing Fellows/English-teaching friend who I hadn't seen in about seven years and who initially got me involved with Power of Moms, and Amanda, one of my college roommates who I wish I lived next door to and who is also now an editor. I only wish the three of us had had more time to chat-- as I'm sure the three of us just sitting and talking could have been equally invigorating. 

But now for the report. There is no way I can replicate what I experienced at the retreat. And to be honest, it was so jam-packed with information, my brain started to get a little fried at the end. (Although, that could have been because I was sick with the stomach flu the two days before.) But here is some of what I learned: 

Hard is good! 

One of my biggest questions going into the retreat was, "How can I get through the hard times?" There are parts of motherhood that are so daunting to me-- especially morning sickness at the beginning of pregnancy at sleep deprivation at the beginning of babyhood. Since I only have one child and plan to have more, those fears sometimes really weigh on me. Can I really handle more children??? Most of the women there were my age and had 3-4 kids. And it was great to hear from them. They've been through it, and they didn't sugar coat anything. When I asked what they do to cope in the hard times, my group actually went silent. Hard times are hard! To be honest, no one had an easy answer for me . . . because there isn't one. But seeing that they knew what I was talking about was some nice validation. 

What really helped though was Linda Eyre's message: "Hard is good!" She was actually the first one to speak-- which was right after I had written down my question (What are coping skills for the hard times?). And she immediately answered it!! Talk about inspiration. As she talked, I couldn't hold back the tears. She spoke of her mother and grandmothers and the trials they faced-- immigrating to a new country, losing loved ones along the trail to Utah, having children late in life, etc. Their great sacrifices have inspired her, and she encouraged us to look to our ancestors and ask, "What came from these hard lives?" The answer give us strength to move forward. 

Share Your Heart

A lot of moms deal with a huge weight of guilt-- guilt for all the things they can't do or aren't able to do as well as they would like. I didn't think I had this problem too much, but after thinking about it more, I really do carry guilt for things like not exercising or eating right, and for my lack of motivation to get chores done or do creative projects around the house. 

April explained that the best way to get rid of the guilt is to share your heart. She explained that when she can't volunteer in her kids' classrooms, she tells the teachers, "In my heart, I would be here every day, but my schedule is such that I can't right now." She says that when she does this, the guilt is able to leave. This is a great article April wrote on the subject: http://powerofmoms.com/2013/02/how-to-be-all-things-to-all-people/

My Deeper "Yes"

April also talked about the importance of saying,"Yes," to the things that matter way deep down. For her this is spending time with her mom, whose health is quickly declining. She would love to travel this summer with Saren, who is driving across the country with her family to see the sights and do a bunch of mini-retreats, but she's saying, "No," to that so she can fulfill her deeper "Yes." It made me think about what things I need to say no to so I can say yes to the things that really matter. 

Five-Facet Meetings

Richard Eyre shared how he and his wife kept connected to each other and their nine kids. Once a month they would go on a date to a restaurant with the sole purpose of talking about their kids. They called this their Five-Facet Meeting because they discussed five facets of each of their children: How was each child doing physically, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and socially?

He said that mostly this was a reporting meeting because his wife knew most of the information, and he didn't. But as they identified problems, they were able to counsel together about them. He said that his process helped prevent many problems from getting out of hand. 

I thought this was a fabulous idea. I know most parents talk about their kids on a daily basis. But sitting down to discuss each facet of each of your children really provides an opportunity to evaluate how things are going at a deeper level. 

Building a Family

They Eyres also taught about how the family is a microcosm of a society. Just like in any successful nation, you need a working economy, a strong legal system, and unifying sense of culture. We spent half the day talking about these three things, and I got a ton of ideas on how to teach about money, how to discipline, and how to build family traditions.

Mind Organization for Moms

This is a program offered by Power of Moms to help organize your life-- not only your papers, calendar, etc., but also your mind. There were SO many good tips in this part of the retreat, but one of my big takeaways was to identify the next action on my to-do list. In other words, when you write your to-do list, you shouldn't write down, "Plan baby shower," or even "Send out invites," because those tasks are too overwhelming or too complicated to actually complete that day. Instead, you should write down only the next action, which could be, "Email Katie to get the addresses of the people she wants to invite." If the action is doable, you are much more likely to actually do it!

"I'd Love To" Jar 

April shared how when she was tired of her children dragging their feet to do chores or complaining about requests, she came up with this idea. If her children responded to her by saying, "I'd love to, Mom," they got to put a cotton ball in the jar. When it was filled, they all went out for frozen yogurt. And she said it worked great! If a child forgot and started to grumble, she said she would repeat her request with an extra sugary sweet voice to remind them about the jar. She told a great story about how when she asked her son to put away a shopping cart, and he said, "I'd love to," the grocery store checker was shocked.

Go to Antarctica

A mom named Janelle who led one of the group discussions told about how in their family when you need to cool down (after getting mad, frustrated, etc.), you say, "I'm going to Antarctica." She says this helps everyone identify when they need to take a break. She also has a white fuzzy blanket and a snow globe that her kids can grab to help them calm down if they need to. 

Books Recommended at the Retreat

Getting Things Done by David Allen

Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Surrendering to Motherhood by Iris Krasnow

Parenting Breakthrough by Merrliee Boyack

Positive Timeout  by Jane Nelsen

Power of Positive Parenting by Glenn Latham

Christlike Parenting by Glenn Latham

Some Great One Liners

A good goal for life: wake up excited and go to bed content.- April or Saren

“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. ” -C.S. Lewis quoted by Richard Eyre

In motherhood, the crazy moments outnumber the joyful, but the joyful outweigh the crazy. -Saren

Girl Rising

Last night I saw the documentary, Girl Rising. Since, on average, I see about one movie a year in the theater, this was quite significant--and more so because showings are few and far between. I choose my movies carefully (especially the ones I pay $10 for), but this one was worth every penny. (A BIG thanks to my friend, Kimber, for telling me about it.)

The documentary tells the true story of nine girls from different countries around the world, who for different reasons face extreme opposition when it comes to their education, freedom, and safety. Seven of the nine girls portray themselves in the film, which makes it extremely powerful. Two were portrayed by actors because these girls literally risked their lives to tell their stories and would certainly be killed if their identities were revealed. 

Initially, I was worried about seeing this film because it is rated PG-13 for disturbing material. I usually avoid disturbing stuff, and, in the past, I've regretted seeing movies, like Slumdog Millionaire. (That one was even edited when I saw it, and I still couldn't handle it.) I'm just a sensitive person. 

But this movie was inspiring! Even though the stories were filled with tragedy, they also rang with hope. And the very disturbing parts of their stories were told delicately and appropriately. If this is the rating spectrum, I would put the movie here: 

                G                             PG                         PG-13                        R

   [------------------------] [---------------------] [-X-----------------] [------------------------]

I was very happy that the film makers chose to make the movie the way they did instead of graphically showing the tragic circumstances of these girls' lives. This way, it opens the opportunity for more (and younger) girls to see the film than it would have otherwise. 

It is a movie that will stay with me. I just keep thinking about these girls. And they are real.  

Ruksana lives on the streets of India--on the pavement under a tent-- but, amazingly, has a loving, intact family. Her parents are sacrificing everything they have to put their three girls through school. It's a dangerous place to live, so sometimes she has to stay in a shelter to protect herself from thugs. 

Senna lives in a gold-mining town called La Rinconada on the cliffs in Peru and has probably never seen a tree in her life. It is the highest inhabited city in the world, and the conditions are terrible. But, even after her father dies, she chooses to stay in school and protect herself from anything that could lead her to working in a brothel. She is courageous and virtuous, and she knows her strength. And I have to admit, I felt just awful sitting there, watching her story, with a gold ring on my finger. Oh, the problems in our world. 

Suma, from Nepal, was bonded into slavery as a six-year-old. She worked from 4 am until late at night, was beaten, and denied education. As I watched, my heart ached. Although bonded labor was made illegal in 2000 in Nepal, only recently has it begun to stop. Suma was rescued by a man who convinced her master to let him teach her to read and write. They started a night school, and eventually one of her other female teachers demanded that her master let her go. He didn't at first, but this teacher came back day after day to argue with him about the law. And eventually, he let her go. Now Suma is free, and she works to free other girls who are still illegally held as slaves. 

Wadley, a darling, imaginative girl, lost everything except her mother after the earthquake in Haiti. She feels her life must be important since it was spared, but there is no money for school, and she longs to be there. So she just goes. And when the teacher says she has to leave, she doesn't. She stands up and says she will keep coming back until she lets her stay. And so the teacher lets her stay. 

Most of all, I keep thinking about the girl (her true name wasn't revealed) from Afghanistan, who was forced into an arranged marriage by her parents at eleven years old. She had lived in a part of the country where the Taliban did not have a strong grip, so she learned to read and write as a young girl. But her education stopped when she was married. With the money her parents got from the arrangement, they bought a used car for their son. I didn't want to believe it. Any of it! She immediately got pregnant--at eleven years old.  And, surprisingly, she didn't die in childbirth-- which according to the movie is the number one cause of death for girls ages 15-18 world wide. As she tells her story her words are powerful. She says that even though she was born into a place where she is treated like a slave, she will rise up and be the change for her country. I only hope this is true. 

The stories of these girls were humbling. I've always known I was privileged, but it's so easy to focus on what you don't have instead of what you have. As I snuggled under the warm covers in bed last night, holding an expensive down pillow--I just felt spoiled, in an unjust way. I have large, comfortable, carpeted, safe place to live--900 square feet for a mere three people. I have been protected from sexual abuse and assault. I have a college education. I have never gone hungry, except by choice. I have never had to wonder if I was going to die. I have enjoyed freedom my whole life. I have so much. 

So now what to do? The only problem I have with movies like these is that I'm all too aware that watching them does nothing. The world will only change if we act. 

I'm going to start by giving more freely to others around me. I'm going to cherish and use my education. I'm going to help my son recognize and appreciate his education, safety, and freedom. And I'm going to teach him to respect and honor women. Eventually I hope to raise more children-- to all be strong and courageous in defending truth and goodness. And I will love not only the children who are not mine, but all children. I believe that all adults carry the weight of responsibility to protect all children--boys equally as girls. And I will think more deeply about this talk, which addresses many of these issues. 

I think movies like these will help the world if they motivate each of us to do better in our sphere of influence and to give to organizations that are honest and effective.