Read Aloud Thursdays

 
I saw Infinity and Me in the bin of new books at the library.  Great find!  A little girl ponders the meaning of "infinity" in her own mind and by asking questions to those around her.  I love the answers she gets and comes up with on her own.  Fun for math but also for using our imaginations.  Sammy and Lucy have enjoyed this picture book several times.

I know Amy at Hope is the Word has favorably mentioned The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge in her own reviews, but I wanted to put my two cents in, too.  I have several adult fiction titles by this same author.  I think it says a lot about an author who can write for different audiences and do it so well.

The Little White Horse is our current morning read aloud.  The descriptions of people and places are lengthy and frequent which is part of what makes it so good.  I know, though, that it could be a bit daunting to take on yourself when you're in third grade or if you are a boy who wouldn't at first be interested in a book about a girl.  (smile)  Even my five-year old sticks with us a good bit of the time.  Together, we are all enjoying getting to know the characters.  The mysterious and thickening plot is causing even the most skeptical among us to ask for a little bit more when we're done.   Love this one!

Linking up to Read Aloud Thursdays            

The Boys

One morning last week, before the girls were up, the boys got to thinking about heaven.
"Will there be any allergies in heaven?"
No!
"Then you won't be allergic to dogs?"  Growing excitement.
No!
"Then we can get a DOG in heaven!!!!"

It is my estimation, as a mother of two boys, that if you give a boy a ball of string he will entertain himself for hours.

If you don't give him one, he will find some, or something like string, somewhere and use it anyway.

He might thread it through his hat (do you see it?) as a safety line while he is jumping in the Atlantic to save his sister. 

Over and over and over again.

Right now there is string all over this house.  It's driving me crazy.  String tied to door knobs and chairs.  To belt loops and stair rails.

If you have a boy like mine, read him "A Big Ball of String."

He'll love it, and he'll get really busy when you're done.

Looking Pretty Cool, Lucy

Lucy said, "Is I looking pretty cool, Mom?"

"Of course!"

Cool, yet so sweet.

Glancing Back

This is a "repost" from a couple of years ago.  We still enjoy these stories!
 
I love these books because I love to see my children enjoy older people.  They are blessed with three great-grandparents who are still living.  The kids know them and love them.  It's a gift that I don't think a lot of kids have.

 If you get a chance to pick up one of these titles, you should.  If you have grandkids or even if you don't have little ones around right now, I still think you'd appreciate them.  All of the Mr. Putter and Tabby books make me laugh.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is such a dear story about a little boy trying to help an elderly lady find her memories.

And Miss Rumphius is a sweet tribute made to an aunt who tried to make the world a prettier place.

Song and Dance Man made me laugh and cry.  Here's a quote from the end:

"...we tell him we wish we could have see him dance in the good old days, the song and dance days.  He smiles, and whispers that he wouldn't trade a million good old days for the days he spends with us.  But as he turns off the attic light, Grandpa glances back up the stairs, and we wonder how much he really misses that time on the vaudeville stage, when he was a song and dance man."

I'm not sure what makes me love the end of the book but I think it's this.  As I think of my own grandparents and learn more about their lives, what I see are lives well lived.  Full of hard work.  Integrity.  Love of family.  A commitment to care for the people around them.  And I find myself wishing that I could "glance back" on their lives and know them when they were young, know what made them tick.  Know how they were as kids.  

But even more I wonder how they "glance back" on their own lives.  What they miss.  What they don't. 

So much living wrapped up in these special people that has made them who they are.  And who I love.


Linking Up to Read Aloud Thursdays 

Better to Walk

I carry around this small, pink Moleskine notebook in my purse.  It's for jotting down phrases or ideas that catch me in Sunday school, church, etc...
I pulled it out in one of the sessions last week and Jessie said, "You're taking notes in that little thing?"  I laughed.  Maybe she knew how much I needed to listen and write!
I did take notes in it and have been trying to put them all together in my mind over the past few days.  I'd really like to be able to articulate some of what I learned beyond catch phrases that won't mean much to someone else.  I know those are some of the things God had for me, but not only for me.  I am truly hoping that as he works these truths into my heart, He will help me speak them into someone else's.
Why?  Because I know I am not the only one who:
is anxious
compares myself to others
is afraid of how I appear to others
looks down on others
is devastated by my failures.

I'm not the only one who struggles to believe that "there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  If God is for us, who can ever be against us?"  Romans 8:1
I am not the only one who forgets, or doesn't want to remember, that my identity in Christ is secure, done, finished.  As we heard many times last week, the verdict is in on the one who believes: 
Forgiven. 
No double jeopardy.
No matter what sins, struggles, failures, disappointments come.
The cross was complete.
And there is freedom.

We studied these verses one afternoon.  I love them because they remind me that often, my "torment" (anxiety, worry, frustration, anger, etc...) is of my very own doing, a result of kindling my own fires instead of being willing to walk in the darkness and rely on my God.   Is it not better to walk, even when I can not see?

"Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant?  Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.  Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches!  Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled!  This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment."   Isaiah 50: 10,11

Back Home

There's something about leaving Orlando- 75 degrees, blue skies, palm trees, green grass- and landing in Richmond the same day on a snow-covered runway.  A little bit of a shock to the system!
We've been at a church planting conference all week.  It was good stuff and I think the timing was perfect.  I'd love to share all we learned but that's just about impossible.  So much to process and think about.  I will say this:
*I LOVED the surprise of seeing my friend Jessie and her husband in the middle of the 300 people at this conference.
*Talking with her by the pool in the afternoon was a highlight.
*Breakfast, lunch, and dinner out with Brian- that's a good deal!
*I love women and women's training sessions.
*Getting to worship with all those 300 people from 30 denominations was a gift.
*Having someone clean your bathroom and make your bed every morning is awesome.
*Having "free" coffee available all day is equally awesome.
*I really like flying.
*Do so many people really need to be staring at their phones ALL the time?
*I think everyone should be able to take a break in the winter and go somewhere warm.
*I am so thankful to my parents for keeping the kids all week.
*There's no place like home.  But you wouldn't have to work too hard to convince me to go back to Florida for another visit.

Snow Birds

These little guys found their way to our bird feeder yesterday when the snow started.  After some looking, we decided they are juncos, otherwise known as snow-birds.  (My friend Amanda confirmed this last night.)  Makes sense.  There seemed to be five or six of them at a time, all fiesty, all wanting their turn at the feeder.  Yes- those are Christmas lights still hanging on the deck.

I think Lucy and I enjoyed watching the birds the most.  They squabbled and flitted about.  

Pretty entertaining.