Fields of Grace by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Reinhardt and Lillian decide to move their family from Russia to America in order to avoid the mandatory military service for their oldest son, Henrik. Reinhardt’s step-brother, Eli, decides to go with them and they all set out together across the ocean.

While on the open seas, sickness attacks several passengers of the ship and claims the life of Lillian's husband. At the same time, one of her children dies from an accidental fall and she is left wondering about how to go one with her life. Henrik feels that the deaths are his fault since they were only on that ship because they were fleeing Russia for him. Meanwhile, Eli proposes marriage as a matter of propriety and although Lillian accepts, she is still mourning the death of Reinhardt.

During the course of their journey across the American plains, they all learn about offering grace to those around them, while at the same time searching for and seeking grace for themselves. Eli has childhood scars he has to heal from, but he is as open and giving as any man could be to his “brother’s” family. Lillian struggles with showing grace to her children in their mourning, but also struggles with the peace within herself as she grows to love Eli in a way she never thought possible.

Can they each learn to find grace out on the open prairie with no other Mennonite villagers near them for help and guidance? How will they handle the devastating losses that come from farming in Kansas? What will they do when the others arrive in the spring?

Kim Vogel Sawyer’s Fields of Grace was truly touching for any reader. She dealt with many of the natural “human” feelings that we all struggle with from time to time, but in a way that seemed comforting and encouraging. Regardless of your situation in life, you can easily glean something about giving and receiving grace from this novel. I’m not normally a fan of Amish/Mennonite stories, but this one truly grabbed me from the beginning and had me till the very last page!

I reviewed this book for LuxuryReading.com.

Christmas 2009

We ended up doing things a bit different than normal this year...we didn't stay home for Christmas morning. In order to maximize our time with Terry's family, we went to Salem on Christmas Eve (afternoon), but that was after having our own little Christmas at our house...with the kids giving us the gifts they had for us and the boys giving their gifts to each other. Oh yeah, and *Santa* visited our house and dropped off their stockings the night before too!

Clayton got Brent a new bow and arrow toy...they've both become obsessed with anything bow-and-arrow after watching Robin Hood Prince of Thieves within the last month. Brent got Clayton his very own Chess game. Brent has had one for a couple of years ever since my Dad taught him how to play, but Clayton has always had to just play with Brent's set. Well, we suggested to Brent that a chess set would be a very nice gift for Clayton...and obviously, Clayton LOVED it!



We went to Salem that afternoon and Santa visited Grandma Janice's house that night....Brent received Lego Indiana for the Wii (which they had rented and LOVED a few months ago) and a new Scrabble game (he's watched me play Scrabble on Facebook and has been asking to play).



Clayton received the movie he's been wanting for literally MONTHS: Beverly Hills Chihauhau...a really cute movie! He also got more additions to his collection of Littlest Pet Shops...not just one in the case, but more than 10!



After the Santa presents came their gifts "from Mom and Dad"...the first of which was Wii Sports Resort. Obviously Clayton is pretty excited about this one.... :-)

Next came the mysterious presents from us that weren't even in the room....what could they be???

....new .22 rifles!!! Clayton's first question was, "Is it a REAL real gun??" He just had to check to be sure if it was a toy or not!



Dad gave the first lesson about which way to point it, which shells go in which gun (they also got a 20-gauge shotgun, so there were two different kinds of bullets and they were trying to figure out which ones went to each gun).

Brent wanted to go out to the field and track animals and find something to shoot, so he and Terry bundled up and went out walking in the woods.

Later that weekend, we had Christmas with Janice's extended family and of course pictures were taken! Left to right is Janice, Tom, and Gwyneth. (The only sibling that is missing in Ruth Ann.)

All in all, it was a good weekend for all of us. We came home exhausted, but happy! We spent the next week (while we were *supposed* to be doing things around the house) playing the new Wii Games with the boys! LOL

Fun in the First Snow of the Winter!

Well, it *finally* snowed last night...the kids were SO excited! It started while we were at church and after talking to our neighbor last night, we found out that it basically started right after we left and immediately packed in! On our way home last night, we got about 5 miles from our exit with just light flurries and then all of a sudden I started feeling the van just s-h-i-f-t from side to side. Eek! I slowed down to about 60 and tested the brakes and yep, it was slick! So, we slowed down (even more) and finished up that last few miles to our exit. Our exit, once we got there, was COVERED with snow and slicker than.....well, you know. :-) All the roads were completely covered...main roads, side roads, all of it. We already had probably an inch on the ground at that point. Terry decided to clean off his car and turn it around so he'd be 'facing the right direction' on the street for the next morning. (Normally, he has to go around the block to get out and it's on a hill that makes it harder for him when it's slick. Plus, the city will sometimes plow the streets in the night, covering and/or blocking his car in the process, making it harder to get out.)

This morning, we woke to only about 4 inches of snow total, but the wind was already blowing and making it miserable. Terry was able to get out and said things were slick, but it seemed people were being cautious (some overly so!) and things weren't too bad.

Brent literally flew through school this morning so they could go out and play! I've never seen him work so hard to finish up! LOL After eating lunch and bundling up, they went out to play:

Every time I turned around, Clayton was eating snow......

And eating more snow....

Of course, Brent ate snow, but he was constantly "laid out" in the snow...just laying there! I *must* be 'getting old' cuz I just can't see how he does that!!!

When he came in (about 20 minutes after Clayton and I!), I wanted to get a pic of him in all his snow covering....

We're happy to be stuck in the house for sure! We have a bowl of snow in the freezer and will be making Snow Ice Cream tonight for dessert! :) Can't wait!