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This was our first time to carve a pumpkin with Adam. He was pretty excited!

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Adam started his third year of preschool this morning in the Crickets class. He was less than cooperative for the front porch picture, but we may try again.

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Adam modeling his "bug shirt," which I made using the Oliver + S Sketchbook Shirt pattern. It was a pretty fun little shirt to make, and I'm planning to make the long-sleeved version next.

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Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you are a woman around my age, chances are you watched Little House on the Prairie at some point. If you did, READ THIS BOOK. For those who didn't watch the show (there must be someone), it is good, but if you did, you will absolutely love it. I'll admit that once I read the title, I knew it would be good.



I think I always kind of identified with Nellie. She was mean, but she was mean because she was angry. Allison Arngrim writes,

When I played Nellie Oleson, she allowed me to scream, to howl, to throw things, to pour out all my pain and rage over and over again in a safe place. All of us who have lived through abuse are terrified of our anger. Nellie taught me that I could be angry, and the world would not open up and swallow me.

I also found it fascinating that being on the television show gave Alison the normalcy she lacked at home. Michael Landon, while certainly not as saint-like as his character, had high expectations of the child actors, and as a result they all turned out pretty well. Alison writes that they liked to say "Cast of Little House: no arrests, no convictions."



I wish more memoirs were as honest and real as Alison Arngrim. I wish more people were, too.







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Why I Jumped: My True Story of Postpartum Depression, Dramatic Rescue & Return to Hope by Tina Zahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Tina Zahn gives a great, honest account of her journey through childhood trauma and adult depression. As with many cases of postpartum depression, giving birth brought her underlying issues to the surface and to a crisis point. Her postpartum depression resulted in her suicide attempt (which was caught on tape by a state trooper's dash cam).



People who have never been depressed have a hard time understanding someone who is. Tina writes,

I know that people in depression must look lazy and selfish to others who are not, but take my word for it, sometimes it takes more courage for clinically depressed people to simply get up in the morning and put one foot in front of the other than it does for those whose brains are balanced to climb a mountain.

Tina had many understanding people around her, however, including a group of women from her MOPS group who met weekly to pray for her.



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Okay, I'll admit it. I'm still basking in the glow of Saturday night's amazing experience. The word "concert" doesn't do it justice.

It was my first time to see U2 live, and the first time they've played Nashville in nearly 30 years. (They played MTSU in 1987). I'm glad I didn't see them play in another city, because seeing them here was so special.

I've lived in and around Nashville my entire life. It wasn't that long ago that the entertainment business didn't give this city a second thought.

Few outside Nashville knew or even cared when the CMA Awards were. Country acts were seldom seen on network television.

All that changed in the 1990s when country music started hitting the mainstream. Garth Brooks was filling arenas. People outside Nashville were starting to notice the depth and breadth of talent here.

It had been here all along.

Back to Saturday night - the heat and long wait for the reset after the opening act had made the crowd somewhat lethargic, in my opinion.

Early in the evening, Bono mentioned the fact that they had not played Nashville since 1981. When he said, "In a city of masters, we will stay students. We are students. Will you sing with us?," everyone forgot how hot they were. People realized he "gets" Nashville. When he dropped names like Johnny, June, and Amy, well, he had that crowd in the palm of his hand.

Bono also said, "You people are extraordinary people in all your areas of music," which is probably the highest compliment he could bestow.

I've said for years that the best kept secret about Nashville is that there is more to it than just country music.

By the end of the evening, the performance and experience was so incredible, I could barely take it in. But wait, there was more.

After the last song, Bono asked a man in the front, "What do you want to play?" He pulled the man on stage and handed him his guitar. What those of us in the audience didn't know at the time was the man was holding a sign that said, "Blind Guitar Player."

He wanted to play "All I Want is You" for his wife. The man started playing, Bono sang, and the rest of the band eventually joined in. When the song was over, Bono gave the man his guitar.

Years from now, I think people in Nashville will ask each other, "Where you there the night Bono gave the blind guy his guitar?" Everyone there was given an evening they'll never forget.

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