Grandma also tells Ryan that beauty comes from within, and that it is how Ryan treats others that decides her beauty, not how she looks. Grandma uses a hot comb to straighten Ryan’s naturally curly hair, and when Ryan exclaims that she thinks she is more beautiful with straight hair, Grandma tells her that how she wears her hair is her choice alone. Ryan practices her Easter speech, which she worries about every year because she struggles with public speaking. Ryan’s grandmother visits the family at their new home before the Easter Sunday service at church. This inspires Ryan to put rosemary on her pizza slice for dinner as she begins to learn how to look on the bright side of challenging situations. Her father reminds her that it is okay to make mistakes and that no one expects her to get everything right on the first try. When she burns dinner she blames herself.

The Harts begin to settle into their new home, but Ryan continues to struggle with missing their old house and her life before the move. Ryan decides that she will try to solve the mystery of who owned the canister before her.

Most interesting to Ryan are three gold hairpins decorated with silver flowers. When she opens the canister, she finds a series of small trinkets including some seashells, an embroidered handkerchief, and dried rose petals. Ray tries to convince Ryan that the canister is haunted and that they should leave it alone, but Ryan’s curiosity is piqued. Ryan begins to take a more curious stance towards her new home, especially when she finds an old tin canister in her closet.

Ryan finds a step stool in the kitchen closet, which is the perfect height for her to reach the counters. An aspiring chef, Ryan loves to help her mother cook and to try out new recipes. As she explores her new home, she is upset to find that the kitchen counters are too high for her to reach. Ryan finds that their new house is actually quite old. This reminder does not comfort Ryan, and she refuses to eat the ice cream, which is her favorite dessert. Ryan begins to cry, and her mother reminds her that change is difficult. The downside is that the Hart family now has to move to a smaller rental home in order to adjust for her father’s new salary. They have some uplifting news: Ryan’s father recently lost his job but has found new employment. Ryan Hart is determined to live up to the name her parents gave her, which means “leader.” When a classmate teases Ryan, saying she has a boy’s name, Ryan sticks up for herself and states that her parents gave her and her brother, Raymond, meaningful names so that they always have something to aspire to.Īt home, Ryan and Ray’s parents greet them with ice cream before dinner.

Ways to make sunshine