Our Unique Life

Kassie Marque & Friends

Summer 16 Book List

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I took a few weeks off of work before starting law school to get my life ‘together’ before school starts.  We had a massive water leak in our house a while back and the work has yet to start.  We recently moved into an apartment until the work is complete and life is slowly starting to normalize again (if life being normal is a real thing).  We’ve had a really busy summer, so I’m taking this time to organize, relax, have fun, and take care of business.  During that period, I didn’t read as much as I usually do.  I love reading and reading for ‘fun’ is recommended before starting school, so my list of books for this summer has been growing.  Since this list is getting longer and the time until school starts is getting shorter, I may listen to a few on the Audible app.  While Audible is very convenient, I prefer to read because if a book is really good on Audible I will listen to it non-stop (consuming all of my free time) or just give up on the book and watch the movie or TV series if it’s out.  Neither happens when I read, so without further ado, here is my list of books for this summer:

1.  The Book of Lost Things by John Connolloy.  I’ve been looking for an interesting fiction book to read, and I ran upon this on Today I’m Bobbi‘s page.  This post was also inspired by her book series.  Check out her page.  The title and her description drew me to the book, but when I looked it up on Good Reads I noticed that I could relate to the main character.  He loses his mom, after that happens his life and way of thinking drastically changes, and he shares a love of books with his mother.  I started reading the first few pages last night before I drifted off to sleep, and I think it will be a great read.

2.  Battlefield of the Mind  by Joyce Meyer.  I’ve read this book before, a pretty easy read.  One of my friends borrowed it before I moved from Boston.  Yet, earlier in the summer, my dad gave me the book so I felt compelled to read it again.  After he gave me the book, my Pastor spoke on the importance of our thoughts and when my husband was out of town the pastor at the church he visited spoke on the mind as well so I figured this is something I should probably work on.  I’ve already started the book, and I’m almost complete.

3.  Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell.  I saw this book on a recommended reading list.  I’ll be honest, I know the least about this book, but I do know this book is all about the empowerment and building up of women.

4.  Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.  We have 1L reading groups with law professors, and I decided to chose this book.  I’d heard of him before on the podcast This American Life.  My husband loves it and if we’re on a long car ride together I’ll catch the show.  I’m excited to read this book with the current racial climate in the country.

5.  Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series Book 3).  I love this series.  I started off on Audible, and I may finish on Audible since the books are long.  These books are about time travel, England, Scotland, history, romance, and so much more.

6. One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School by Scott Turow.  I’m currently listening to this book on Audible.  I’m not going to lie, One L was a bit intimidating at first. It was written after Scott Turow’s first year at Harvard back in the 70’s.  This book is pretty interesting.  In the book, Turow details his classmates, his teachers, the school, the emotional toll of the school, his growing ‘love of the law’, and the well-loved Socratic method in the classroom.

Have you read any of these books?  Are there any that you recommend that I could possibly squeeze in this summer or during my next break?  Check back soon for my next post on Genesis!

Inspiration for post- Today I’m Bobbi

Check out the Audible 30 day free trial here

Much Love,

Krystal

Consistency Because We Love You & We Care

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Hey everybody! We’ve been trying to figure out a way to make our blog more consistent. Then we finally realized (with Krystal preparing for law school, working a full time job, & dealing with the handful of marrying my wonderful brother; & me trying to train for the Olympics, pursue a masters degree, and work a full time job as well at the Pentagon) consistency will not happen anytime soon. However I also realized that one thing Krystal & I both do consistently on a daily/weekly basis is a devotional/journal. This is the direction we want to go in to give you all at least a sense of consistency. It won’t be perfect but it will be a lot more spelled out timeline. Now our first option is to study the Bible from beginning to end. Genesis 1 or Genesis 1-5 the first day/week & move forward from there. This option is a pain in the butt because I have tried to study the Bible from beginning to end & I have been stuck on Numbers a whole year. It was a horror trying to get past 2 chapters per day. (Life and reading other books also kept me distracted from finishing it as well.) So doing this option will not only help you but it will help me find a way to get through the Bible in the next few years in a more meaningful & accountable way. The second option is to go through the whole Bible but out of order. For instance start off with Habakkuk instead of Genesis & once Habakkuk is completed moving on to Job or Psalms. Whatever book our spirit leads us to do next. My problem with this is Krystal & I may waste more time picking the next book than writing our devotional lol. With that being said, option one is what we decided to do. Join us in the struggle but huge reward of reading the Bible not completely in chronological order but in order of the books in the Bible. 
We may not be able to post everyday or week but their will be a solid agenda. Also, we will still write other posts about our life blessings and hardships in addition to the devotionals along the way.
~Kassie Marque & Krystal Antonique

Honestly…

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I remember from my childhood very vividly my dad wearing a shirt with a crane on the back of it. Inside of the crane’s mouth was a frog with its hands wrapped around the crane’s neck that refused to be swallowed.  That resonated with me throughout the years.  It was a testament to my parents’ hard work and perseverance.  

via Pinterest

They both lost their fathers at a young age, but still they both decided to join the Air Force and serve their country.  They had many very difficult days.  When my mother made the difficult decision to leave the Air Force to take care of me they were forced to live on a single income.  Yet, my mother ensured that I was taken care of, that the house was immaculate, and we had the most amazing meals.  My dad had the best lunches in the shop.  Every day she would load up a large paper bag with delectables.  They started to work on a newspaper route to earn extra money, and despite bad weather that led to one of them driving into a ditch, they made it work.  During this time, my parents rededicated their lives to Christ and gained true hope.  My mother always told me that life wouldn’t always be easy.  I remember our many talks in person and on the phone.  She instilled perseverance and tenacity in me.  That has helped me achieve my goal of getting the Air Force to allow me to go to law school and be accepted to the top law school of my choice.  



Yet, during this time period, when I should be rejoicing, I’ve never wanted to give up more.  Words cannot even describe the hurt, sadness and loneliness I’ve felt since I’ve lost my mom.  I’ve constantly been surrounded by people, but I’ve felt like I cannot relate to a large number of those people.  I’ve went through all of the stages of grief, and I’ve even attended Grief Share classes.  Through Grief Share, I met another girl who is going through a similar experience.  She lost her mother to breast cancer, and is also a newlywed, but our schedules have been conflicting so we haven’t gotten a chance to meet up yet.  Still, talking to others who are going through the same thing has helped me realize the way I feel is normal.



I think the pain has been exacerbated by the fact that I’ve put on a happy face to mask my pain.  When I knew my mom was sick, I held it close to my heart and tried not to let it affect my life.  She didn’t want me to give up on everything.  When I lost my mom, I had no time for a pity party, I had to help my dad through open-heart surgery, look out for my little nephew, try to be a good wife, work hard in the office, study for the LSAT, and apply to law school and the Air Force program to come back as a JAG.  My dad is healthy and back to his normal workout routines, my nephew is with his mom, my husband LOVES me, I’ve been very successful at work, and I will be attending law school this upcoming August.  But still I hurt.  I find it hard to swallow the fact that I will graduate law school without her there snapping pictures and shouting, That’s my baby, and the fact that she won’t be there when I have my first child.  

At the end of the day, I will make it.  I am my mother’s daughter, and I know she passed on at least a fraction of her strength to her baby girl.  I have hope.  I have faith.  And I definitely have love.  But I’d like to let everyone know that I need time.  The last thing I need is another person telling me how to live or how to respond.  I need time to reflect, time to regroup, and time to look after me.  So I just wanted to let you all know that I’m okay, I’m just going through this human emotion of grieving.  I don’t want your sympathy, just understanding.  I hurt, but I will be fine.

With love,

Krystal Antonique

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