Do you recall a recent post about my “to read” books?  (You can refresh your memory, here it is!)  Well, with the encouragement of my sister (in-law) Emily, I picked up Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman.  (Check out her website, it’s full of cowboy tales, photography, extremely delicious recipes, home schooling and more.)  It became my to read book for our family vacation in Aruba.  I finished it on the plane ride home and all I can say is it was the best book to read while relaxing on the beach.

An extremely short run down of what the book is about: it’s about Ree and her meeting, dating, engagement and first year of marriage to her husband whom she calls the Marlboro Man (he’s a Oklahoman cattle rancher).  I enjoyed reading about the beginning of their life together.  There were moments while reading that I felt I could relate, mainly the moments of utter embarrassment!  I guess, besides the entertainment of Ree’s story, I enjoyed reading her book because it raised memories of the early days with Juan.  Throughout reading, different memories, stories, embarrassments of our first years dating/engagement would flood my mind.  What a wonderful way to spend vacation, reminiscing on the beginning of my life with Juan while I watch him play with Velda in the sand.

Another portion that I extremely adored was when Ree found out she was pregnant and when her daughter was born.  What mother doesn’t read this part and understand completely the sheer joy of those first moments with your child!  Here is just a bit of what she wrote about when her daughter was first-born:

The being that had been growing inside of my abdomen, that had tapped and kicked and pummeled me in the ribs and bladder during those final weeks, that had brought me heartburn and exhaustion and weeks of deliberating nausea, was now lying on my chest, looking around this strange new world in which she found herself.  It was the most surreal moment of my life – more surreal than any moment of surprise during my courtship with Marlboro Man, the father of this new human that had just arrived on the scene and changed absolutely everything.  She had arms and legs and a nose and a tongue, which she slowly thrust in and out of her tiny mouth in an effort to familiarize herself with the sensation of air.  She was a person – alive and moving around in a real world.  I realized that tears were rolling down my face.  I hadn’t even noticed I was crying.

I remember this moment like it happened yesterday.  The minute she first came out, the announcement that she was a she, the warmth of her once laid on my stomach, how everything just seemed to slow down around me because really, all I could see, think or feel was her.  How beautiful she was, how much I loved her and how much happiness I knew she would bring to all who loved her.

I really can’t think of a better way to spend vacation then to remember all the blessings in my life and continue to thank God for them!

On a side note, don’t you love how one book is removed from your “to read” list and four more are added.  That would be all thanks to accomplishing some unpacking over the weekend.  Books that were added: Prodigal God by Tim Keller, The Core Issue by Christine Caine, The Mission-Minded Child by Ann Dunagan and The Beatitudes by John Stott.