It's Monday! Baptism

Little Ginny Mae was baptized this last Sunday in the baptism gown I made for her. Hashtag proud aunt moments. ;) Every baptism I see at church fills me with joy but when it's your own niece the joy is just inexpressible. <3

With reluctance I move on to books...

Currently Reading

• Total Truth by Nancy Pierce- Some hefty theology/culture reading for me. 
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (aka J.K. Rowling)- I need to get this read before the movie comes out! It's taken me way too long to start it. 

Finished this Week

My brother Tim and I goofing off... yes ladies
he is still single... please take him off my hands! 

• The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (re-read) (audiobook)- I love Tolkien... what can I say? 
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs- I liked it a lot more than I though I would... enough so that I'll probably pick up the rest of the series at some point.  It had it's downsides but surprisingly enjoyable. 

Coming Soon

• Tales From the Perilous Realms by J.R.R. Tolkien- A fellow Tolkien lover lent this one to me about three months ago but I got caught up in other books but I think I'm about freed up now to where I should be able to get to this soon. 
• St. Bartholomew's Eve by G.A. Henty (re-read)- I've been doing a lot of audiobooks in the car and I this will be my next one. 

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It's Monday! And then it was Autumn

I'm trying to stay more up to date on my blog. A post here and there. During my time away from my blog I've been able to assess how I want to come back to my blog and how I want to prevent myself like I did before. My conclusion was that I while I love reviewing books on my blog I need to stop reviewing every book I read. It's simply not necessary and limits my enjoyment of both the reading experience and the blogging experience.
So with that resolve I'm going to try and move forward with reading and blogging and enjoy both immensely. :)
So... It's Monday! What am I reading?

Currently Reading

• The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (re-read) (audiobook)

Finished Recently

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (re-read) (audiobook)
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (re-read)
• Craving Grace by Ruthie Delk
• Winter by Marissa Meyer 

Coming Soon

• Tales From the Perilous Realms by J.R.R. Tolkien 

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Aunt Lois

She's here! My first niece has arrived! Tiny, perfect and precious all bundled up. :))))
Feast your eyes on these pictures and tell me she isn't the cutest!

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Top Ten Tuesday- Characters I'd Name Something After

The theme for this week's Top Ten Tuesday is characters you'd name something (car/pet/kid) after.
It's a little scary how much I want to name my kids certain weird Tolkien names. I know I shouldn't but I do! Probably it would be better if I named my pets after them but it would be so much COOLER if my kid got named Gandalf don't you think? ;)
Anyways, here's my more realistic idea of what characters I would name a car/pet/kid after.

Children

1. Darci(e) Elizabeth- I know I've mentioned this one here on the blog before. Obviously this one comes from Pride and Prejudice, my favorite book. I'm pretty stuck on this idea for a name though my family has tried to talk me out of it several times. I guess it will depend on what my future husband thinks of it. 
2. Aiden or Tozer (as a middle name)- This is for one of my favorite theologians A.W. (Aiden Wilson) Tozer. 
3. Arwen or Eowyn- I feel like these two are more realistic uses of Tolkien's names. They're not too weird. 
4. Anne (as a middle name)- From Anne of Green Gables of course though it could also be for Anne Elliot in Persuasion. 
5. Elinor, Eleanor, Elanor- I can't decide on how I would want this name spelled if I did utilize it. If I spelled it Elinor it could be after Elinor from Sense and Sensibility but if I spelled it Elanor it would be after Sam and Rosie's daughter in LOTR and then Eleanor is just another spelling I like of the name. Too many choices! 

Vehicle

1. Shadowflax- My car actually almost got name Shadowflax but I ended up going with Finn instead (which is not actually for Star Wars but that's a nice side effect).  
2. T.A.R.D.I.S.- Not literally but I did also think about naming my car the T.A.R.D.I.S. and it would have been awesome. 

Pet

1. Strider- From LOTR obviously. I knew a family who named their dog Strider and I always thought that was the neatest idea. 
2. Bilbo- Bilbo is one of my favorite characters and I would definitely name a pet after him. Faramir- Because much as I want to name my kid after my favorite character from LOTR I don't think he would ever forgive me so I'll have to name the dog Faramir instead. 

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Q&A Tag

Lover of Lembas tagged me in the Q&A tag! Thank you!
Here are my answers!

1. Do you play a sport?  Is there a sport you want to learn? No! I'm not a sports person at all. I wish I was a runner and I wish I could play basketball (I have certain height issues that get in the way of that one). 
2. Sunrise or sunset?  Why? Sunset... only because I'm not normally awake or outside (when I'm working) for a sunrise. 
3. What was your dream job as a little kid? To be an author. 
4. What was the last movie you watched you really liked? I really liked Captain America: Civil War. Besides that I'm not sure there's any movie that I watched for the first time that I've really liked recently. I liked (but I wouldn't say really liked) Love and Friendship and Metropolitan which I watched semi-recently. 
5. What songs are stuck in your head? Always the most embarrassing to admit songs. Always. I tend to get the hymn There is a Fountain Filled with Blood stuck in my head. Recently it's been a lot of Can't Stop the Feeling and the parody song The Pancrease Song. 
6. What is something that makes you feel nostalgic? Seeing toys I used to play with as a kid. Walking down to the river. Reading a favorite childhood book. Ruminating on our childhood with my siblings. 
7. If you were granted an extra hour to be added to your day (so you have 25 hours) what would you spend the hour doing? I would like to think I would use it to do something improving like reading a book or cleaning the house but in reality I would probably use it to watch an extra episode of whatever TV show I'm currently watching. :( 
8. What is one of the most embarrassing moments you're willing to share? Ha! One time I left a message on a person's answering machine and at the end of it for unknown reasons I felt fit to add an "amen" at the end of it. 
9. If you could customize your car license plate (for most U.S. readers, that means pick any combination of 5-7 words and letters) what would you want your license plate to say? I'd want the year I was married and the initials of my husband and I probably. Obviously that's not something I could currently put on a license plate.
10. Rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, or the ocean? Streams. There's something nostalgic and romantic about a simple little stream curling through a forest or prairie. 

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