Y-E-S to VBS!

After a great week of Vacation Bible School at our church here in Kentucky, Emma cried and cried at the end of the week when it was over. So, when we learned that we would be in Michigan the weekend of my home church's VBS, Emma was ecstatic. One was just not enough! The children's director there graciously allowed Emma to be a part of the fun and me to be one of her teachers.

Emma was a construction worker for the week, and I got to lead the firefighters. We had such a fun time learning, crafting, playing games, and, of course, singing! This year's songs were incredibly musical and fun and I still go to bed most nights humming at least one of them (Bi-bi-bi, bi-bi-bi, Big Apple Adventure.....).

Needless to say, at the end of every night, we fell into bed happily exhausted. By the end of our second week in the Big Apple, Emma's need for more Vacation Bible School was satisfied - at least until next summer!

The cutest little construction worker around!

Singing!

Emma's hard hat and crafts in her special spot

We had so much fun in class together!

Chocolate Wars

Today, I am going to walk through the doors of the Louisville Free Public Library and return The Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers by Deborah Cadbury.

Recommended by my dad (who is a prolific reader), Chocolate Wars is what it's subtitle implies - an exhaustive history of chocolate and its many manufacturers. Notable characters include the Cadbury brothers, Milton Hershey, Henri Nestle, and Forrest Mars. Written by relative Deborah Cadbury, Chocolate Wars not only tells the history of the industry, but seeks to give insight into the economical and religious beliefs of the pioneers of chocolate.

Cadbury did an excellent job of explaining the history and development of chocolate and its impact on the world at large. As the name implies, she gives great detail about the confection's 150 year battle between companies. However, this also is a bit of a drawback to the book. At times, her detail is so great that the reader can somewhat get lost in all of the numbers, intricacies of machinery, and minutia of the day-to-day business tasks she describes. While details are pertinent in many of her stories, in many others they are not and I found myself impatiently flipping forward in the book, wondering how many pages of data were left in that particular chapter.

As you begin the book, it is clear that Cadbury greatly incorporates the influence of the Quaker religion on the chocolate industry - especially with the Cadbury family. This is appropriate because so much of how the Cadbury's company ran was based on the devout beliefs of the early family. The way they chose to work, advertise, employ, and expand were a direct result of their beliefs. At times, though, Cadbury veers too far from the story of chocolate when she spends far too many pages on the many philanthropic and political endeavors of the family that become somewhat redundant and unrelated. These stories are interesting, no doubt, but too numerous and lengthy.

By far the greatest disappointment in this book was Cadbury's own political and economic views that were as bitter as the chocolate her family loved. Clearly, her disdain for the current state of the company (owned by the American corporation Kraft) is woven into every few pages as you finally get to the climactic last chapters where she launches into accusations of Kraft's disdain for a quality product, Fairtrade, and even accuses them of contributing to obesity in North America.

While all these accusations may or may not be true, it is obvious that Cadbury longs for the glory days of her family's company when it was private, but those days are long gone. In attempting to celebrate Cadbury's history, she leaves a sour taste with her own political and economic opinions. In my view, the story would have been better told by an independent historian.

If you can live with the subtle personal commentary by Cadbury, you will enjoy Chocolate Wars. Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was well-written, well-researched and she chose a riveting topic (who doesn't love chocolate?) As I told my dad, the enjoyment/dislike ratio was about 85/15, and he encouraged me to focus on the 85% I liked. Good advice from a great man. As for owning this book, it goes for $27.95 retail and Amazon has it for $17.96. You Kindle owners can continue to stockpile all your saved money with this one - the Kindle edition is only $14.99. If you want a really great deal, head to your local public library and get it for free!

Happy Reading!

TOTAL PAGES READ IN 2011: 2, 793

Best Buddies

There are few things I enjoy more than watching my kids playing together and genuinely enjoying each other's company. This week they were "The Inseparable E's" and it was wonderful to see them read books, laugh, and chase each other around. Not that they aren't usually fond of one another, but, as Ethan has grown up, they have grown closer. As parents, we are trying to teach Emma and Ethan the importance of protecting and loving one another because they have a unique relationship as siblings that they should enjoy and cherish. We are so blessed to see them begin to develop a friendship that will last a lifetime.

"A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for a time of adversity."
PROVERBS 17:17

Although they have been thick as thieves, they still let
daddy join them for some snuggle time!



Best Buddies!