Christmas Pictures

So, maybe you can tell by the picture on the right that we had our pictures made earlier this month for Christmas cards. Well, the intention is to put them on Christmas Cards, but since I've never successfully sent out Christmas cards in the seven years that I have been married, I am not holding my breath.

Anyways, as you can guess, the girls were in poor form that morning. I tried to do everything to ensure a good family portrait. I had the shoot in the morning. I gave them jelly beans for posing. But soon they got sick of jelly beans and didn't want to smile or laugh at my sister-in-laws songs.

Once again I have vowed never to have family portraits done until the girls are graduated from high school. It's just too darn stressful. Of course, we then had a whole family portrait made over Thanksgiving. Man alive, it was horrible. I'm telling you, if you don't have kids, think over the idea of pictures before having them. Just be ready to not get the shot you want. Or to compromise (Well, at least Reagan is looking at the camera, even if she won't remover her fingers from her mouth...)

My sister-in-law is an angel. She takes great pictures and tries to make it fun for everyone. But I still get stressed and angry. (Something about not meeting expectations, gets my blood boiling...)

And the girls are growing so quickly. So, for that reason alone I will keep having pictures made. And someday, when they have kids of their own and lament to me about a poor shoot, I will just smile and nod.

Reading List & What's So Great about Christianity

Below is my current reading list. Right now I am reading What's So Great about Christianity by Dinesh D'Souza. This is a must-read in my opinion for all Christians and also for people who wonder what the Humanist/Atheist argument against God is.

Personally, I have struggled with the idea of how to defend my faith in God to people who do not accept the authority of the Bible. This book, thus far (and I'm in the third chapter) has given me background on the American and British Atheist movement and how they are seeking to eradicate God entirely from the public sphere, mainly through the use of "Scientific" discovery.

I like this book because Mr. D'Souza's view is that of a skeptic as he honestly evaluates the position of Atheism and its fallacies. I am excited for some good discussion about this book. (Chandra, you've got to read it!)

Well, anyways, here's my book list. I will be adding to it since I am a life-long reader. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. I welcome them!


What’s So Great about Christianity by Dinesh D’Souza
My Grandfather’s Son by Clarence Thomas
Until Proven Innocent by Stuart Taylor
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Munrow
Believing God by Beth Moore
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
Daniel Deronda by George Elliot
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Treasure Island by Robert Loius Stevenson
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Tess of the D’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall
Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Collected Works of C.S. Lewis
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Iranian Time Bomb by Michael Ledeen
Girls Gone Mild by Wendy Shalit
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden