Bonding Moment

I don't think I ever wrote about our family's audiobook bonding moment from last summer. We listened to Where The Red Fern Grows on audiobook. We started the book on our way to our annual summer vacation at the ocean.

I knew the book had a sad ending but I had never read it. None of my kids had ever read it either. Plus, we are a dog loving family so we were all excited to hear it.

The story was very good. It was fascinating to hear about a time and place unfamiliar to us. We had just gotten a new puppy and our kids were in love with him just like the boy in the book.

On the way home from vacation we were at the end of the story and were all listening intently. When the dogs died I was a mess. I wasn't simply shedding a tear...I was sobbing. I was bawling and blowing my nose kind of cry. I wondered if everyone else was as moved as I was. I tentatively looked over at Cam who was driving. He had a long tear streak rolling down his face. Then I turned my head to peer into the back seats of the van. Mr. P and Moses had red rimmed eyes, red noses and tears rolling. George was sobbing silently. Tuba looked sad as he could sense the tension and mood around him.

All of this only made me cry harder. It was a real family boo-hoo session.

About 10 minutes after the story ended we were all talking about the book and Sis pipes up with, "What?! The dogs died??". Oh my, in true Sis fashion she was in her own world and missed the most important part of the book. She missed our tear shedding scene. She gave us all a good laugh after our good cry.

Works For Me - Books

We love the library! Over the summer we visited our local branch about once a week. All of the kids now want to check out lots and lots of books. Five kids multiplied by lots of books equals.....LOTS of books! Most weeks we check out about 50 books. EEEK!

Here's what I do to keep the books together. I need to be able to find them when it's time to return the books. So far...we've never lost a book. Will that statement jinx me?

The Rules:

1. All books go into a big basket on the hearth.

2. If you take a book to your room it has to go back in the basket. I browse the bedrooms and look for library tags and return them to the basket as needed....not everyone gets them back there.

3. Library books cannot leave the house. Other books can go in the car or to appointments etc. NOT library books.

At the end of the week when it's time to return them I have two bags to put them in. But, the librarian recently told me that she has seen moms (with lots of kids) bring a suitcase on wheels for the books. Genius!! No more broken arms from the weight of all those books.

Here's our library basket. It can't really hold all 50 books so sometimes the overflow goes on the hearth next to the basket. But, it's all in one place. Works for me!

 

Movies/CD's from the library...they are another story. Not so easy to find. Phooey!

 





Bedtime Stories

One of my favorite times of the day is story time....right before bedtime. The kids are all snugly in pj's and cozy next to me. Or, they are wiggly and talkative. It's always a bit of both.

It's been a challenge the last few years to have story time with a wide range of ages. The big boys like a chapter books. The little ones like picture books. Some of the kids can sit very still and listen....some (Sis) wiggle and talk and run off.

Cam and I have tried different things like splitting up and each taking separate kids to read. But, lately it has mostly worked to have everyone in the living room to sit and listen to the same story. I try to read the younger kids books during the day or right before we settle for the main story.

We just finished reading Charlotte's Web. I loved it! The kids did too. I figured out along the way how to best get the little ones (Sis) to sit and listen. Get a rope! No, just kidding....a little. These are the rules:
1. Pick a place to sit, you have to stay there the whole story time. NO getting up.
2. No talking. Thank you.
3. Sis MUST sit next to me. :)

With these simple rules it goes much smoother. When someone gets chatty I just give them my Teacher Look. Cam really appreciates getting The Look.

Back to the story. Love, love, love. What a beautiful story. I love the characters. I love the descriptions of the farm and of the changing seasons. The friendships are moving. And yes, I cried at the end.

It made things extra special that while reading the story we had two big spiders right outside our picture window in the living room. For weeks we watched them catch bugs in their webs...and grow fatter. The kids were fascinated watching the spiders working on their webs.

A couple of nights the little ones would drop off to sleep while listening. Sis just wiggles, jumps, twists, spins, shouts right up until the moment you make her sit still and then she is out! Story time has been a great quiet end to the day.

 

Sweet baby boy all tuckered out from school and hard playing all day long.

 

 

A Kairos moment. We were getting in the car at the preschool and saw these beautiful webs. The morning dew was making them glisten...just like in Charlotte's Web. My cell phone camera does not do them justice.

 

Other recent Kairos moments:

 

I got lost looking into my sweet girl's milk chocolate eyes. Beautiful!

 

The thick fog blanketing the islands outside my bedroom window.

 

We are trying to decide what to read next. What are your favorite books to read your kids?

Book Report

I always mean to write about the books I've read. But, somehow I forget. So today I'll talk about a few of them at a time. I belong to a book club and we meet once a month. A fabulous and fun book club...a great bunch of women!

Last month we read Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg. It was good. The main character Elner is an elderly lady with the best outlook on life. She spent her life helping others and living each day to the fullest. She is charming and funny too. Some of the other characters in the book are annoying. Overall the book was good but I did have a few issues with it. For one I didn't like how the author used the word "retarded" numerous times to describe a girl with Down Syndrome. The book was only written a few years ago so I couldn't understand the author's use of the word. Also, I thought it was strange that the only time the author mentioned a characters color of skin was when writing about a black woman. I don't know...it just seemed odd. The others in my book club felt the same too. Overall I'd give the book a B-.

Also last month I read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. I have had this book on my shelf for years and finally just picked it up and read it. I loved it. It's a great story of women, mothers sisters and friends. It made me think about all the women in my life and appreciate them a little bit more. I also thought a lot about my parenting and how my kids will remember me. And also about my childhood. I cried and laughed throughout the book....and couldn't put it down. I give this book an A+.

This month's book club selection is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I've read 15 pages and I'm hooked. It is going to be a great read. I've also had this book on my shelf for awhile and was glad it was the pick for this month. I started reading it today at the gym. I could have kept at my cardio for hours but alas my blood sugar plummeted and left me rooting around in my purse for an almond, a cracker, a crumb. Nothing. I weakly walked to the snack machine and bought some trail mix. Now that I'm re-nourished I can't wait to dive back into this book.

Other books I've read recently...or ones that stand out in my mind. Really good books!!

The Help
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I read all three in the series.

I am hosting my book club next month and get to pick the book. What have you read that you love?? Leave it in the comments and if I choose your book I'll send you some chocolate!

Book Time

This one's for Fr. David. :)

It makes a Mama proud to come into her bedroom and find my sweet baby reading...especially such a special book. Baby George is really into books right now. I love it! He brings me books and gets up into my lap to snuggle and read....all while his Sis runs circles around us. She does stop briefly to look at the book and then off she runs. At bedtime I'm now doing book time with the wee ones and then book time with the big kids.

Great Man

On Wednesday I was reading Costco's monthly magazine. I like to read the book reviews and add any interesting titles to my "want to read" list....which is growing rather long these days. This month's featured book is Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese. I was instantly interested in this book. The author was born in Ethiopia to Indian parents eventually leaving Ethiopia and coming the the US. He became a Doctor and worked with some of the first AIDS patients. Here is a bit of what the book is about: "A sweeping, emotionally riveting first novel, an enthralling family saga of Africa and America, doctors and patients, exile and home.Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother's death in childbirth and their father's disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.Yet it will be love, not politics -- their passion for the same woman -- that will tear them apart and force Marion, fresh out of medical school, to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as an intern at an underfunded, overcrowded New York City hospital. When the past catches up to him, nearly destroying him, Marion must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him."

Now, for the really interesting part of my story. Cam has clinical on Tues. and Wed. each week. He gets done at 8:30 pm and then heads home. On the same day I was reading about this great book Cam was on his way to clinical and was listening to an interview with Abraham Verghese on the radio. Amazing! Abraham Verghese would be speaking about his book that evening. Cam called me at about 6:00 to say that he had heard about this great book, and was on his way to hear the author speak. Wow! We couldn't believe we had both read/heard about this book on the same day. Cam arranged to leave clinical early so he could go to the lecture. He headed into the city without a ticket but hopeful that he could easily get one. I got on Google and gave him directions. There was a bit of a problem. The ticket office only takes cash or checks...and Cam had neither. He did have a cash card BUT the darn strip has stopped working and his new card hadn't arrived yet. So...he wasn't sure he could get a ticket but he was going to try. After about 3 phone calls with me, confused directions and two frustrated people he said he would just come home. I was reading books to the boys when Cam called again to say that he took a chance, found parking, and went to find a ticket. He arrived at the door just as it was beginning. He said to the attendant that he needed to buy a ticket and this miraculous thing happened....the attendant said, "Here's a ticket, please go in". Wow! What a blessing. As I hung up the phone I got all teary. I was so touched that Cam was able to get a ticket and was getting to hear the lecture. But mostly I was touched that I'm married to a man who was so eager to hear this lecture. I'm truly blessed.