March Book Club

As mentioned in an earlier post, I've recently joined a book club.  We call ourselves Mommies Who Read.

This week I hosted our March get together.  Our selection this month was Letters From Heaven Love Mom xo by Sandy Bucholtz.   It is a collection of letters written by Sandy for her children to remind them of her unyielding love and their inner strengths should she ever be absent from their lives.

So as our book club meetings tend to go we started off with a few questions about the book to generate some discussion.  And discuss we did.

We could all relate to the book in one way or another.  And not just as if we were sharing this with our children, but how the letters related to all aspects of our lives (work, personal, friendships, etc.).   We each had a few letters that really stood out for us.  Mine was the letter about Being Grateful.  Here is a part of that letter:

"One of the main ingredients in the recipe of true happiness is a sense of gratitude.  Beginning each day with expressions of gratitude lays the foundation of a great day.....Ask yourself, what am I grateful for today?....The more things you are grateful for, the better you will feel...automatically." pg. 53, Letters From Heaven Love Mom xo by Sandy Bucholtz.

I really do try to practice this in my everyday life.  Even on the worst days (which are not really that bad) when your children are driving you crazy, your husband didn't take out the garbage again, and you've had a bad day at work.  Just be grateful for the sound of your children crying (so many moms would do anything to once again hear their children cry), be grateful you have a husband who loves you, and be grateful for that job.  It may sound so simple, but in the midst of all the chaos, just repeating what you are grateful for over and over can help calm the spirit and get you through the day.

Letters From Heaven Love Mom xo is a thoughtful, inspiring read.  It's a book you can read over and over and have a new or different message resonate with you depending on your mood and what kind of day you've had.  It's not only lessons moms can pass onto their children, it's lessons we could all practice in our lives!  Thank you Sandy for sharing it with us!

April's book club selection is Away by Jane Urquhart. It was a CBC Canada Reads contender this year.
  
Oh and I should mention food plays a big part in our book club meetings.  I made this delicious apple dip (recipe below):

Apple Dip

1 pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
Skor bar (I used Skor bits because I had them from another recipe)
Caramel sauce
5-6 Granny Smith apples

1. Mix brown sugar and cream cheese until smooth.  Spread on bottom of pie plate. 
2. Sprinkle crushed Skor bar on top and drizzle with caramel sauce.  Serve with apples.  (I tossed my apples in lemon juice to keep them from browning.)

This recipe was hand written by my great aunt in our family cookbook which she gave me for a wedding shower gift.  One of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received.  She had written notes all through the book, adding her own recipes and sharing which ones she'd tried and liked.  It is my most used recipe book to this day. 

Well folks I've been writing this blog for just over a month. I've been posting three times a week but I know I'm not going to be able to keep that up.  I've got one month left of my maternity leave and want to enjoy every moment possible with the kiddies-so if you don't hear from me for a bit-that's why-I'm off making memories to blog about :)  Thank you all for your loving support and kindness.  Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll continue to provide you with a little something to brighten your day.

~ Elizabeth