The Work and The Glory

It was a goal of mine to finish The Work and The Glory series last year (2007). I did it. I finished on December 28! I know it really shouldn't have taken me so long but did I mention I had a baby. I really resisted even reading the books. Eric "suggested" that I read them like 5 years ago. Last February, I was stuck in St George and needed a book to read. Well, that weekend I read the first two. It was before Olivia and we were watching Lexi while Kris and Paul were at some training thing. I got hooked. I finished a few more after Olivia was born. But that last one was the hardest for me. I don't know why. I think that poor Steed family was stuck in Winter Quarters for way too long. I finally finished and was so happy when they made it into the valley. (like I didn't know they would!) I really enjoyed reading this historical fiction. I think it helped put into perspective all that happened to the early Saints. While reading I found out that I had ancestors that were at Winter Quarters. They were part of the group that was asked to stay and raise crops. It helped give me an understanding that was not there before. I also think that it help strengthen my testimony of Joseph Smith. I know that it is fiction but I can't help but feeling like the stories allowed me to briefly be a part of the early restoration of the gospel.
Another trivial little thing about the Steed Family. The oldest son Josh has two daughters Savannah and Olivia. Our savannah was named after this. She has bright red hair. When I was pregnant with Savannah we both were convinced that we would get a red head. Wrong, Jorgensen light brown is what we got. Eric won on the name anyway. When it came time for Olivia to be named we went to the hospital with totally different names. But she was so calm and relaxed, we felt it was just Olivia. I had to say that I was not yet to the part in the books where Joshua meets Olivia and her mom so really it wasn't after the books at all.
Back to the stories. Has anyone else read the books? Do you ever feel like historical fiction makes the stories come alive?