Beloved:

"{You're} the proof that God loves me so very much."
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I just love this quotation and know how truly {blessed} I am to have such a loving husband!

I believe this line is straight out of Nicholas Spark's newest release, The Lucky One, but I can't be 100% sure. See, I'm a quote collector. When I come upon a quote I enjoy, I jot it down--usually on a post-it note, receipt, or notebook paper--and then type it up later in a Word document. Some of my favorite quotations are words uttered by strong, wise, and funny women like Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Teresa, and Erma Bombeck.

But, unfortunately, I don't always remember to write down who uttered the quote or where I found it, as is the case here. Perhaps, I'll have to go back and re-read The Lucky One to find out...that wouldn't be so bad now would it?!

Right now, though, I'm reading The Sunflower, a sweet little book written by Richard Paul Evans. (It captured my interest a few weeks back in the Bargain Books area at Barnes & Noble. At only $4.98, it was a steal-of-a-deal!) It's the story of two girlfriends who travel to Peru on a volunteer trip. During the trip, one of the women, Christine, falls in love with an American doctor who is running an orphanage there.

The imagery brings back wonderful memories from our trip to Peru in 2007. (You can tell that the author has visited Peru many times.) For me, the story evokes a myriad of Peruvian experiences: eating cuy (otherwise known as guinea pig); sipping coca tea (which really does help with altitude sickness); traveling in taxis (there was one harrowing hour long taxi ride that I'll never forget); visiting the Plaza de Armas (in Cuzco); paying for everything with soles; children selling postcards on street corners; and touring the magical city of Machu Picchu.

And as any voracious reader can attest, dialogue in a novel is so important. In this novel, Richard Paul Evans chooses to include bits of spoken Spanish (along with their English translations). Reading the Spanish words--in my head and sometimes out loud--has allowed me to connect with the story and the characters to an even greater extent. (I feel like I'm back in Peru or Costa Rica or Mexico!) And even though my Spanish is basic at best, I still love to read the language, hear the language, and of course, make an attempt to speak it.

As of tonight, I'm half way done with the book--but it's a fast read--and I'm looking forward to experiencing the Peruvian adventures that still lie ahead in the story.