Nose Love

Yesterday the children and I were at the bookstore.

They each chose some treats.

Check.

They each perused books and came with selections for us to read.

Check.

I found a book from a series of stories that we love, a new one we'd never read before.

We laughed outloud when Martha the hippopotamus took a photograph and was so pleased with the result: a zoom in on her nostrils. 

We followed suit.

I love when we burst out laughing together.

It's my favorite.

Favorite Books

This is one of my loves.

Yesterday the boys were playing out in the backyard.  I had left a new stack of library books on the kitchen counter.

When they came in, I found all of them like this in the front room.  Books spread out all over the floor from their perusing -- and then quiet, each in their own book.

I had to snap some photos. We love stories and words.

After reading my friend Catherine's post about their favorite books for children in 2011, I vowed to post our favorites, too. 

I commented and told her how much I love new recommendations and that I'd post our faves.

So here they are Cath, and I'm probably leaving out a few.

This is kind of exhaustive, but once I got started, it was hard not to include this one or that one.

Hopefully some of these will be new reads going into your library bag.  

You'll have to let me know what you think.

Bread & Jam for Frances (and, for that matter, all the Francis books: Best Friends for Frances, Bedtime for Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances, and A Birthday for Frances) by Russell Hoban

OxCart Man by Donald Hall

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Lentil by Robert McCloskey

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel

The Beatrix Potter books (particularly The Tale of Jemima Puddle Duck and The Tale of Tom Kitten, currently)

The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky

Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky

The Olivia Books by Ian Falconer (Olivia, Olivia Saves the Circus, and Olivia Forms a Band, among others)

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead

The Wedding Procession of the Ragdoll and the Broom Handle and Who Was In It by Carl Sandburg*

The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola (and the other Strega Nona books, too)

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child

Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Iza Trapani

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

The Curious George Books by H.A. Rey (esp. Curious George and Curious George Rides a Bike)

The Story of Babar by Jean De Brunhoff

Babar and His Children by Jean De Brunhoff

It's Raining Said John Twaining by N. M. Bodecker*

Albert's Toothache by Barbara Williams (old edition, which I have, is out of print -- but there's a newer addition and the title is Albert's Impossible Toothache)

Mother Rabbit's Son Tom by Gackenbach*

Ring O' Roses by Leslie Brooke*

The Frog & Toad books by Arnold Lobel

Jack & The Beanstalk (several versions of this)

Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Lon Po Po by Ed Young

One Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen

Sleeping Beauty by Mahlon F. Craft

The Little Wooden Farmer by Alice Dalgliesh*

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

A Girl and Her Gator by Sean Bryan

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Some fun learning books

26 Letters and 99 Cents by Tana Hoban

Domino Addition by Lynette Long

Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Color by Mary O'Neill*

Dr. Seuss' ABC by Dr. Seuss

Some Newly Discovered Favorites

The King's Taster by Kenneth Oppel

Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman

The Sea Serpent and Me by Dashka Slater

Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault

The Best Kind of Kiss by Margaret Allum

Hogwash by Karma Wilson

Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gernstein

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell

Epossumondas Plays Possum by Coleen Salley

*Out of print but available on Amazon

What are your favorites that you read again and again at your house?

Please share!

Lazy Morning

It was a perfect, beautiful morning.

We ate cereal together in the sunshine streaming through the windows.

I was feeling quiet inside.

I asked them if they wanted to read after breakfast.

It just felt right.

We forgot about writing and reading and other stuff I thought we were going to do for sure today.

I sat down, bathrobed with stockings on, wrapping the warm throw on the couch around me.  Isaiah snuggled in next, pushing his feet under the blanket, burrowing in beneath my legs.  Mia wanted my lap but she's getting a bit big for that sometimes now and it makes me sad.  (I have to kind of move my head at an awkward angle when she sits on my lap these days so I can see the book.)  

[Interjection: In church on Sunday I said something to Scott about how I swear my neck or spine is out of whack just because of how often I'm not sitting straight to accommodate this little body.  And he whispered back something with beautiful perspective, conveying what a lovely thing that was, about what a lovely person was making that happen, about the wonderful blessing she is -- and he's right.] 

I put her next to me on the couch, in a small niche perfect for her little bum.

Benji sat down next to Isaiah, Mr. Bear in hand.

We read the end of Where the Red Fern Grows.

I've never read it before until now.

I knew it was going to be sad, and I was a little anxious about how sad I knew the boys would be.  The house was still, morning sunlight felt warm and beautiful and light and welcoming.  It felt so peaceful -- there was nothing but us snuggling, the story and the words.  Reflecting, for me, on the beauty of life and relationships, childhood and parenthood and family and what it means to be -- or have -- a little boy.

The boys and I cried.  They had big tears streaming down their cheeks throughout the last several pages.  Isaiah kept saying to me that he hoped they were going to come back to life.  He kept telling me that Billy should say a prayer.  I think he said that was the only thing that could make a difference.  I don't think Mia got what was happening, but she would look up at me as I was trying to read through my tears.

Afterward I held both of them while they were crying.

We talked about how before we came to earth we knew there would be great joy and great sorrow, and about how death is a part of life.  We didn't quite get to this part, but I wanted to talk to them about how sometimes God lets really sad or hard or unjust things happen.  Sometimes saying a prayer isn't going to change what actually will BE.  I think we barely skimmed this, but I didn't really get to thresh it out and talk with them about it.  I want to come back to it, tho, because it's such a powerful and difficult concept.  It then requires us to join in, to offer our faith, to ask questions, to brave hard roads and climb the boulders in each of our paths.

But we did talk about the beautiful part of the end of God's plan.  That everything will be made right.  That all the unfairness of life and difficulty and struggle and sorrow will be recompensed.  It will be okay in the end.  I so believe this.

Bonds don't end at death.  There is great beauty and warmth and joy beyond.

I snuggled them and thought about their tenderness, those big huge eyes brimming with tears.

It melted me inside.

And my recommendation for the day?

I just read this article written by a woman I want to call friend but have, as yet, not met in real life.  I LOVE what she shared and has to say and feel inspired to make some changes.

Letters

 (pics of my Mom with Mia)

 My mom made a big move to the Middle East this past weekend for a new job.

I am so proud of her.

She's almost 61, and went to teach at a school that was founded with the express purpose of educating women to be leaders.
I think it's brave.  She went without knowing anyone.
I love my mom.
From her example she teaches me to think for myself, to stand alone if that's what it means, to be honest in my feelings and how I express them, to be brave, to be okay in my own skin, to not stop learning, to be considerate of others, to never laugh at or mock something different from myself and to respect all peoples.

That's a tall order.

I'm trying to live up to them.

I love these legacies.
This is something to be proud of.
Thank you, Mom.

Each day we're doing schoolwork, we do something with reading and something with writing.
So, we wrote letters last week. 
To my grandparents, who we were going to visit.



 To give well wishes to my mother, beginning this new chapter and adventure.


 We added scratch-n-sniff stickers.
 And wrote these cards for my sister who is recovering from knee surgery AGAIN.


These are so cute I couldn't not share them.
I am proud of these boys.

Mia wanted to write letters, too, so I helped.



As I was getting ready to post these the other day, I thought about how much I love letters.

Super heart heart love them.
They are so romantic and timeless.
There is something about taking the time to put pen to paper, to personalize them with your own handwriting, something that calls back yesteryear in today's frenzy of gmail and text and everything quick quick quick. It's a beautiful thing to take the time for personal, quaint, charming touches that say I CARE.
I've written a few letters in my day.
I think about the role they've played in my life.
I have cards and letters saved in the hope chest at the foot of my bed, in scrapbooks, tucked in corners of desks and stacks to be organized into meaningful reminiscences.
Each a tangible reminder of someone significant in my small world, of a specific time, of how that person influenced and blessed my life.

I went to the letters that Scott and I exchanged on his mission.  
We have four huge binders of letters.

 I looked at the fun letterheads, at the cutouts of Calvin & Hobbes' comic strips, various pics that were part of this or that joke, nicknames, bunches of hand-drawn flowers.

I choked up as I read expression after expression at the beginning or ending of his letters to me -- about what an amazing woman he thought I was, about being such a lucky guy, about how beautiful I was, how special I was to him.
He was so focused as a missionary, so dedicated.
(In fact, later on, I wished he would say a few more of those cute things because he was so into the work.  I knew he loved what he was doing, 100%.  But it was lovely he was so dedicated to truth that I felt so passionately about, too.)  

I knew he had me tucked away in a safe place, tho.
I was reminded of this the other day, and became pretty emotional.

I had forgotten.
One of my favorite parts that I read in those few minutes was a snippet where he remembered the night that he really kissed me for the first time.  And he said something like, "Honestly, I knew I wanted to be with you forever from that night."
I'm more grateful today for his companionship than I was then.
We've been through a helluva lot more.
I feel more bound to him.
But I look back and I see these seeds that were planted.
I see things I've forgotten.
I felt gratitude again.
I felt like a little dry, parched piece of earth in my memory of time got some rain, and little flowers remembered how to grow over there.
A beautiful, shocking, outcropping of wildflowers abloom again.

I plan to order a copy of THIS book I read years ago, but want to read again.

I keep thinking about it.
I loved it.
This is a lovely, lovely compilation.
So romantic.
So sweet and genuine.
Charming and heartfelt.
Inspiring.

Maybe you wanna order it too and get into the valentine love?
And maybe you also wanna join my personal goal for the week and send out a few handwritten somethings?
A card, a letter, something genuine and with a personal touch?
I do, I do!

Tell Me What You Thought

Do you know what I loved last night?

I came home from young women and was trying to get everyone to cooperate so we could read and they could go to bed.

I was feeling a bit cranky.

Kind of got my head back on and it ended all right, with a good chapter down and scriptures and prayer.

Then I went to facebook and read the article my friend had linked there.

I almost cried and laughed outloud, too.

I totally recommend it.

Love, love, love, love, LOVE.

My favorite line? The one she says she would say to the young mother down the road.

So great. I also love the idea of passing it forward and helping the young mother when you have the opportunity.  I have thought about doing that so many times when I have felt like my hands (and emotional patience) is about all tied up.  I've thought, "Remember this.  Down the road, when you're not in this stage anymore.  And when you see that strung out mom in the grocery store or somewhere else, HELP her!!"

It's awesome.

Go check it out HERE.

 And then, I'd love it if you came back and told me what you thought of it.

Just sayin.