Heather Hodges

I am extremely saddened by the news of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. Her murder is an enormous loss for Pakistan, but also for the world. I believe the ramifications of this single act of terrorism will be felt for a very long time.

Mele Kalikimaka sung by Bing Crosby

Well, the cat’s out of the bag….Wade knows we’re going to Maui.  Thanks to everyone who helped me arrange this fantastic Hawaii get-away.   Mahalo!

While Oklahoma was in the grips of a crippling ice storm, I was in the grips of the most heart wrenching novel I have read all year.

I had heard lots of great reviews for Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. After reading it earlier this year I must say the praise was justified. As good as that novel was, A Thousand Splendid Suns was even better. Hosseini is a straightforward story teller. His writing is beautifully simple with well-chosen metaphors and enticing foreshadowing. I was completely drawn into the lives of Laila and Miriam, two Afghan women.

In A Thousand Splendid Suns, the modern history of Afghanistan (1964-2003) is told eloquently through the eyes of Laila and Mariam. Their story is marked by death and loss, unimaginable grief, war, the Taliban, oppression of women, sacrifice, and hope. Yet, in the face of so much pain Laila sees that people find a way to survive, to endure and go on. Undoubtedly, this is more than a story of survival in the face of what seems to be impossible odds. It is a story of the unconquerable spirit of the Afghan people seen through the eyes of two tenacious women.

Don’t hesitate to pick up either one of these treasures, The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, you will not be disappointed (but keep a box of tissues handy.)

We’ve now been without power for 30 hours, however, we are doing quite well considering.  I finally got out of the house today and found a McDonald’s with WiFi.

The boys think the power outage is a scream and they are having the time of their lives.  We are staying warm thanks to our natural gas fire place.  We are also able to cook with the gas cook stove and on top of all those blessings, we also have hot water.  On the down side, Wade will have a mess to clean up in the backyard.  Our trees have not weathered the storm well at all.

Our neighbor’s tree touching the ground on our side of the fence.

The oaks are having the toughest time, since they still had a few leaves on them.  Notice how the tops of all the trees are bent over.

The ice is weighing down the trees and they are laying on top of our playground.

Wade’s muscle car finally has teeth and a beard.

Icicles on a patio chair.

After putting the boys to bed the other night I heard them giggling and whispering about Christmas. They finally settled down and when I went to check on them, they had fallen asleep in the same bed. Wade moved Caleb back to his own bed before he had the chance to push his brother to the floor. Only in slumber can they be in such close proximity to each other without engaging in warfare. Perhaps it was the visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads.