Kindle Fire & more

I just finished reading my first book on my new Kindle Fire.  I must say, I really enjoyed using it.

Now, I do so love holding a book in my hands so I was a bit skeptical but I knew there were lots of free classics available on the web and it can also be used to read library ebooks so I thought it would be useful.  I also thought it would be good for the boys to get used to reading this way, as we will likely see more and more of this going forward.

I really did enjoy using it and will look forward to reading many more books this way.  Some things I enjoyed...

It is very convenient to carry around, much more so than a large book or even multiple books.  The size of it is perfect.
I loved the little bookmark feature.  So quick, so easy.
It turns on so quickly.  Just like opening a book.
I could read in bed at night without having the light on - however, if you fall asleep while reading and let it fall forward onto your face, it doesn't feel so good:).  (I reversed the color so that the background was black and the words were white.  Generally, I found that easier on the eyes.) 
As long as I had wireless connectivity, I could also access any web site so I could use it to read the news sites I keep up with, weather, facebook (although I don't really use this one), twitter, or any other web site you  might want to use.  The little keyboard is quite easy to use too.
It was easy to purchase a book, which is great.  However, just after I did that, I figured out how to check out books from my library and noticed they already had the book I had just purchased.  I thought it normally took libraries a while to get new releases but, I guess not.  Next time, I would definitely look there first!
It has awesome features that I will likely never use, such as the ability to watch movies, play music and play games, although the boys like to play the game angry birds with it.
 If you subscribe to any eMagazines or eNewspapers they can be automatically delivered to your kindle every month/week/day/whatever.
If you have an Amazon Prime membership, there are tons of books and movies you can check out for free.
It comes with a one year Amazon Prime membership.

My favorite thing will definitely be to use it for reading books but it is awesome that it can do the other things also.  I understand it doesn't have as much memory as some others but it has access to the Amazon "cloud" where you have lots of additional storage.  The downside to that is that you have to have wireless connectivity to access the cloud.

Anyway, overall, it is pretty easy to use and I really like it.

In other news, my mom had to spend a couple of days in the hospital and she is doing much better now.  Her lower extremities were very swollen and it was causing her to stumble and fall a lot, which is very dangerous for her as she takes anti-clotting medication.  They were able to treat her and get her swelling down very quickly.  They also did a lot of tests on her heart.  They did not find anything significant, although her test results will go back to her cardiologist so he can compare them to the tests he did this past summer and see if there are any significant changes.  I think we all learned a lot through this whole experience (preventative) though and hopefully my mom will not be falling every day now that the swelling has gone down.

I am very tired and sleepy as I spent the past couple of days at the hospital with mom.  Both mornings I woke up early (3:30 and 4:00 am) so I could get to the hospital early and I didn't come home until late.  My sister's daughter stayed with the boys and even taught them their lessons those two days.  She made cookies with them and cooked for the boys and the husband.  She was really an answered prayer, as my sister had to work and my mom really needed me to be with her.  The husband was actually off those days but it was still so wonderful to have my niece to help out at home.

Today the husband was back at work and it was just me and the boys.  We took it easy and just had a fun, relaxing day together.  It has been quite some time since I have been away for any length of time and they were so happy to have me home.  They were very cuddly and loving and sweet and I could have just eaten them up!  I missed them bunches too and it made me realize that it would probably be beneficial for me to be away a day/night or two once or twice a year.  It is good for me and for them.  It makes us all appreciate each other more.  I definitely need to plan another trip to a homeschool conference in the spring.  I didn't go to one this past year because of building the house and moving.  I definitely need to plan a trip for the spring.

Tomorrow we are having our Thanksgiving at my sister's house.  We delayed our Thanksgiving celebration because my sister had to work and it turned out to be a good decision because mom was in the hospital.  I am looking forward to tomorrow though.  It will be nice to spend time with the family and visit with everyone.

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!