A Path Made Straight: Elise Hooper

Children's Book Monday

2012-01-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

*Big sigh*.

Hello, little place. Hello, little chicks, scratching about for food underneath my toadstool. You look familiar...

Testing the waters... dipping in a toe, watching the ripples spread. Think it'll get warmer the longer I'm here? ~smile~

Let's talk about books, shall we?

Marguerite Makes a Book
Written by Bruce Robertson
Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt

This beautiful piece of historical fiction is a favorite among all the ages in our family. (Seriously, Kevin just walked through here and saw what I was reviewing and said, You're reviewing that? Oh, I love that book!) We just couldn't resist a story that begins with a sprawling overhead map of Paris, depicting Notre Dame Cathedral, the Libraire, the River Seine... And when a glossary of technical terms on the last page is followed by a note about how this story was inspired by a group of Parisian manuscripts in the Getty Museum's collection that date from around 1400 to 1425... well, it's all over.

The story sent my little artist, Eliana, into a flurry of paint brushes and scraps of paper. She sported stained fingers for days, and even wore a ring on her second finger, just like Marguerite!

The oldest and most famous book painter in all of Paris is Papa Jacques. He illuminates manuscripts for the nobility of the day, even the King and Queen! His daughter, Marguerite, watches over him anxiously as he works to finish a book of hours for Lady Isabelle; when the deadline fast approaches and the threat of no pay begins to loom, she even offers to help her father finish. But when his glasses are broken in a close call while they are out running errands, Marguerite must step up to the task!

As she fetches eggs for mixing paints, and parsley, dried saffron flowers, madder root, vermilion, and lapis lazuli for color, we get an up-close look at the marketplace of the day, as well as an apothecary. But the magic really comes as Marguerite begins to illuminate a manuscript. As she crushes roots and herbs and mixes them with egg whites, the process is laid out so simply, step by step- you almost imagine you could make paint of your own, just like this! Eliana sure did...

The kindness of a daughter protecting the reputation of her father by serving him in this way, and the gratitude of a father who passed on his art to his daughter, spills onto the pages of this story as surely as the artwork. The pictures are what children fall in love with first, I believe, and the delightfully informational story only enhances the simply beautiful watercolors. Paint pots and ingredients for homemade paint like Marguerite's? On the wishlist.

Happy Reading!

{this moment}

2012-01-27T00:01:00.002-07:00

Linking this week's (14+ inches) moment to Soulemama.

The Reading Mother

2012-01-25T10:57:00.001-07:00

Accomplished, Intentional, Exceptional Mothers Feed the Souls of Others, by Sally Clarkson

Kindness and Love

2011-12-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

...when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us...
Titus 3:4-5a

He saved us! Be released into joy, kind friends. Merriest of Christmases from the Hooper Family!

(Signing off for a few weeks... we're going to gather close and enjoy the season and welcome guests and then... Mama is going to get back into the swing of things 'round here before I come back... )

Children's Book Monday

2011-12-18T21:00:00.009-07:00

I revisited this post recently, as I stacked some old favorites in a basket by the woodstove. Wanting some fresh books to add, I went shopping in the bookshelves in our home- so inexpensive! (~grin~)

I decided on a common theme- each book must have many individual stories within it's covers, and all must be read-aloud friendly! They didn't even have to be winter or Christmas stories, per se (we've got a large bin of those right next to the Fireside book basket!)- just inviting tales that are best enjoyed together.

Tiny Tots Picture Books: Merry Mother Goose Rhymes and other stories

Among the poetry and stories in this colorful book are the works of Edward Ardizzone, Gelett Burgess, and Marguerite de Angeli. What a treasure! Everything in this book is enjoyed equally by toddler and seventh-grader alike. A perfect fireside choice.

Abraham Lincoln: His Essential Wisdom
edited by Carol Kelly-Gangi

Kevin and I bought this especially for Corban- his favorite president being Abraham Lincoln and his affinity for clever quotes sealing the deal. I added this to our basket thinking that a couple of President Lincoln's excerpted letters or lecture notes in the quiet of the evening might lead to some deep discussions and, if nothing else, some good, clean laughter.

Notes for a Law Lecture, July 1850:
Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser- in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.

A biblical approach by an honest man- see what I mean? Another perfect fit!

The Church History ABC's: Augustine and twenty-five other heroes of the Faith
by Stephen J. Nichols and Ned Bustard

This one is so enjoyable to let fall open and read a short biography of some heroes of the faith- some we'd never even heard of; among them Absalom Jones, Monica, the mother of Augustine, Zacharias Ursinus, etc. If there is an opportunity to learn something new under the guise of family time 'round the warm fire, we're so on it.

Friendly Tales
by Margaret Wise Brown

This collection of over twenty stories and poems by our beloved Ms. Brown (just try searching my blog with her name- she's a regular!) has a bright, coral cover, and the friendliest of words inside. Gideon promptly fell in love with the very first story- Seven Little Postmen- and always requests it first. I thought this was a lovely addition to the basket, especially for our little man.

Other new odds-and-ends additions include Shirley Hughes' Stories by Firelight, Original Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm, and of course Winter Poems.

All told, our Fireside book basket is fairly bulging! Happy Reading, kind friends.

{this moment}

2011-12-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

Linking this week's (late fall planting) moment to Soulemama.

The Story Blanket (Part II)

2011-12-13T20:22:00.001-07:00

...just need to hand-stitch closed the last edge...

...serge (well, that's fancy for what I'm really doing- setting my machine to a tight zig-zag stitch) the perimeter...

...wrap it in pink paper with this book...

...and watch her open it all through tear-blurred eyes. She'll be six! Six.

Little House in the Big Woods birthday party this Friday, complete with a fiddlin' Papa, handmade muffs for a walk in the Big Woods behind our Little House, and a feast fit for a half-pint and her sweet cousin: beef roast, graham bread, and creamed carrots (all from The Cookbook), and a peppermint-y pie, because she's our Christmas baby. And it's pink.

Joy-filled pictures to come!

Children's Book Monday (Christmas)

2011-12-11T22:24:00.000-07:00

The Christmas book bin, with the oldest and sweetest of favorites:

Christmas in the Barn
by Margaret Wise Brown
pictures by Barbara Cooney

The Little Fir Tree
by Margaret Wise Brown
pictures by Barbara Cooney

Gian-Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors

The Life of Our Lord
by Charles Dickens

Over the River and Through the Wood
by L. Maria Child
illustrated by Matt Tavares

Good King Wenceslas
by John M. Neale and Tim Ladwig

Ding Dong Merrily on High! A Pop-up Book of Christmas Carols
by Francesca Crespi

The Nutcracker
by E.T.A. Hoffman
illustrated by Gennady Spirin

Norman Rockwell's Christmas Book

Messiah: The Wordbook for the Oratorio
by George Frideric Handel
paintings by Barry Moser

My Son, My Savior
by Calvin Miller
illustrated by Ron DiCianni

Do you have some Christmas favorites to add? Please do!

And be sure to check my friends' Christmas book lists- Kristin's, and Kathi's, which is on her sidebar!

Happy Reading!

{this moment}

2011-12-08T22:00:00.006-07:00

Linking this week's (preparation) moment to Soulemama.

Deliver Us From People

2011-12-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Gideon's turn! (In case you can't tell, he segues straightaway into the Doxology, a family tradition.)

Eliana: The Lord's Prayer, Abridged, and The Lord's Prayer, Extended Version.

Children's Book Monday

2011-12-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

The winter library basket:

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women at Christmas

Excerpted from Little Women, this book follows the March sisters as they strive to be less selfish at Christmastime, saving their pennies and sharing their food with the poor. Word for word from the chapter book, it's an excellent introduction for little girls to the beautiful world of Louisa May Alcott. And the pictures are so much fun!

Winter Poems
by Barbara Rogasky
illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

These poems are breathtaking- Rachel Field's Something Told the Wild Geese is my favorite...

Something told the wild geese
It was time to go
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered,- "Snow"...

Trina Schart Hyman is ever a favorite, and her vivid artwork combined with this collection of poems makes a perfect match for the winter fireside, or the Grove Tending basket.

The Three Gifts of Christmas
by Jennie and Randy Bishop
illustrated by Preston McDaniels

We've only been able to read through this book once, but did it ever leave an impression! By the author of the The Princess and the Kiss, this little story focuses on the heart of the matter- that it is better to give than receive. The illustrations of a princess and her worried parents are beautiful, and what the princess learns from the lesson taught by her parents is priceless. I'm always on the lookout for Christmastime books (for my Christmastime birthday girl!), so perhaps this year, it will finally find a home on our own shelves, to be enjoyed with the Story Blanket, perhaps?

Happy Reading!

{this moment}

2011-12-01T22:19:00.001-07:00

Linking this week's (new member of the family) moment to Soulemama.

The Story Blanket (Part I)

2011-11-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

The birthday girl: Eliana

Eliana's favorite past time: Story-telling and reading

Favorite stories: Fairy tales

Favorite fairy tales: Princess ones

The twentieth of December is coming quicker than I ever dreamed it would back when I purchased these vintage fairy tale panels in July. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I clicked on the "Purchase" button so uncharacteristically fast that I knew something wonderful was going to materialize.

The idea for a Story Blanket came alive as I carefully cut around each scene in the panel, envisioning strips of complementary fabric lining them in a sort of quilt-like fashion, with a cozy, fluffy chenille backing. My sister, Maddie, and I took my mission to the fabric store and I tell you, when we found the black-patterned fabric with the mustard-gold and red wreaths... well, I think the entire store heard our gasps and squeals of delight.

So, the plan is this: to piece the panels together with frames of the two gold fabrics, then take the final piece and outline it with the black background fabric, and back it all with the furry brown chenille, zig-zag stitching the outside edges and perhaps running some red yarn through to tie at the corner of each panel.

And the plan after that? To read as much as we can, just so the Story Blanket can be unfolded and admired as it wraps around little shoulders, or holds long, sprawling limbs as imaginations soar.

I better get busy. Stay tuned!

Family Tradition: Placeholder Turkeys

2011-11-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

The day before the day before...

{this moment}

2011-11-17T23:40:00.001-07:00

Linking this week's (rocket for G) moment to Soulemama.

Nature Swap Delights

2011-11-15T20:19:00.001-07:00

The beautiful handiwork of this year's autumn nature craft swap...

Fruits of the spirit twig coasters

Autumn leaves votive

Autumn leaves batik banner

Mulling spices and cinnamon applesauce ornaments

Melted crayon "stained glass" autumn leaves

Pieces of the hearts of friends and their families... we are so grateful.

{this moment}

2011-11-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

Linking this week's (prayer hug) moment to Soulemama.

Notes to Soul

2011-11-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a word girl.

And a Word girl.

I need them ever in front of me; words of truth, words of delight, words of encouragement...

They're scattered around my home, words and the Word. On the windowsill above the kitchen sink sits an acrylic stand holding my worn little Bible, currently open to Philippians, with a copy of these words slipped behind for added inspiration. Sometimes, the only moments I am still are with my hands plunged deep into sudsy water, hence the words of reminder to the left of the sink...

Flanking my piano are brilliantly colored words that make me smile, and remind me to take joy. Slipped between the frame and mirror in our bathroom are these words, taking up a third of the mirror where I glance every morning...

A basket of words by my precious peace retreat, words AND the Word, and I'm feasting before the day begins...

So I knew when Ann began offering notes to soul, word strengtheners, she called them, as a free printable, life-giving quotes and words and Words from her beautiful book, One Thousand Gifts, I knew I needed those words ever before me as well.

This afternoon, Eliana and I found some crafting time, and inspired by a picture I saw on this post months ago at sweet, creative Aimee's, I found a way to see Ann's words daily, to change them in and out with the seasons and the moods and the struggles and the joy...

Because the Word in our words might just change our world, Ann says.

I know it's changed mine.

Halloween Candy: A Cautionary Tale

2011-11-08T12:14:00.008-07:00

I wonder exactly how long I will get away with telling my toddler (who is fascinated by both the bulge of my cheek and the butterscotch-y scent wafting from my mouth as I tie his shoes) that Mama is merely sucking on some medicine, and when he shouts, Want some med-sin, too, Mama! I have some, too?, how long I'll actually get away with wrinkling up my nose and pursing my lips and saying, It's yucky!

I hope at least till the candy bowl is empty.

~Wink wink.~

(Never fear. Little Man gets his share of candy- all my children do. Sometimes, though, Mama needs to pop a piece in secret to sweeten the next few moments... you understand, don't you?)

Children's Book Monday

2011-11-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

Have just a few moments this morning, but I was reminded this week about another book that fits the fall theme so very well, and wanted to share it with you as these fall days grow shorter and colder! After rooting through several bookshelves full of children's books, I found it, and placed it in it's proper home- our fall book basket.

Ox-Cart Man
by Donald Hall
illustrated by Barbara Cooney

A story of the hard (and rewarding!) work of preparing, the colors alone of Ox-Cart Man evoke the warmth of autumn hearth and winter fires.

A family knits and whittles, plants and harvests, all the way through every season, in preparation for Father's long trip to town to sell. What he purchases with a tiny portion of the money directly contributes to their work for the next trip to town, and the beautiful cycle continues. Self-sustenance, gratitude, being careful of waste, and wise use of time are just some of the wonderful lessons to be learned in this book.

Of course, we love Barbara Cooney's work, and this book has the same excellent quality that invites close examination before we turn each page... I love to see little heads lean closer as they sense my fingers on the corner of the page, and they look and look and exclaim and point...

Happy Reading!

{this moment}

2011-11-03T19:41:00.001-06:00

Linking this week's (pure joy) moment to Soulemama.

The Invitation {revisited}

2011-11-01T21:35:00.001-06:00

Lord, please be with us today-
Bless our school in every way.
We promise to listen to
Everything You say!

Help us as we learn new things,
Guide us as we count and sing.
When Mama speaks, we'll be meek
To honor You, our King!

Lord, we want to learn and grow,
Because You gave us minds, and so
We'll begin following
The way that we should go!

Almost four years ago, I scribbled some words on a scrap of paper, set them to a simple tune, and taught The Invitation to my children.

My heart's desire was to teach them to see the Lord as our Help in all things; my early morning prayers at that time had been cries for guidance and inspiration as I dealt with almost-two-year-old Eliana's toddler antics during school hours. Why not lead my children in a request for the Presence at "break of school day"?

Years later, we still begin Circle Time (or Grove Tending, here at Sapling Academy) with an invitation; legs are longer, voices are deeper (!), and now there are four. Wonderfully enough, if I don't start singing as we sit down cross-legged on the floor, someone invariably will.

We're so thankful that He always responds.

{this moment}

2011-10-27T21:00:00.005-06:00

Linking this week's (birthday boy) moment to Soulemama.

2nd Annual Autumn Nature Craft Swap

2011-10-25T22:04:00.005-06:00

The season: Autumn, of course!

The cast: A group of seven sister-friends, six localish, and one dear wife and mama ministering with her husband in a farther-away place that sometimes seems to skip fall altogether.

The hope: To create a craft for each family in the swap, inspired by autumn nature, making an effort to choose handwork that welcomes even the help of little ones.

For last year's swap, we rolled red and orange yarn into apples and pumpkins, with brown and green pipe cleaners for stems and leaves! My children loved holding the cardboard rectangle and rolling to their heart's content. (They especially loved when Mama would lose her grip on the ball of yarn when they rolled a little too fanatically and it tumbled about the house. Hmmmm.)

For our offering this year, I was inspired by this Etsy shop- her dear little nursery twinkle lights in pastel hearts and circles got my creative juices flowing- I immediately pictured autumn leaf twinkle lights!

While adorable and so fitting in theory, I quickly realized it was quite the undertaking; with seven swappers in our group, I needed to keep the twinkle-light strands at a lower count or the sheer amount of cutting might very well be my undoing. Happily, I found some strands of ten lights, so this meant we only had to cut out 140 different leaf pairs! Gorgeous, autumn-colored felt and easy printable leaf shapes helped make quicker work of the task. (And cutting while listening to my husband read the final chapters of Lord of the Rings to our boys sure helped, too!)

The running stitch required to close the leaves around each light proved to be a more difficult task for the male hands in our house; a delighted Eliana sat and stitched five leaf pairs by herself, but both of my big boys drew the line at one. Ha! No matter- evenings spent re-watching Lark Rise to Candleford transported my stitching to a hamlet cottage in front of a crackling fire. (Dear Queenie, what words of wisdom have you for me tonight?)

And so they trickle in, the handwork of my friends and their families finding homes on window panes and barren walls and tabletops... and I am grateful for the hands that made them.

More pictures to come...

Happy autumn, sister-friends!

All photos by my sweet sister, Bethany, who has both great talent in photography and an amazing camera, of which I have neither.

Children's Book Monday

2011-10-23T21:30:00.001-06:00

Hello, kind friends!

Are your days of late as filled with pencils and books and apple peelings and waxed leaves and yarn pumpkins and crock pot stew and felted acorns and wassail and gratitude as mine are? ~smile~

Just peeking in with a few fall book basket favorites:

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
by Linda Williams
illustrated by Megan Lloyd

This interactive story illustrated by a favorite artist is a Hooper family fall staple for sure- this year, Gideon has fallen in love with it! I love to hear his little, Tlomp, tlomp! BOO! BOO! as the little old lady who was not afraid of anything is followed home one night by shoes and a shirt and pants and gloves (or dubs, as G calls them! When will it be time for my snow dubs, Mama? Is it winter yet?). What this brave little lady decides to do with her predicament will bring smiles to every sweet little face that surrounds you as you read this fun story- including yours!

Waltz of the Scarecrows
by Constance W. McGeorge and Mary Whyte

This lovely story of a little girl's visit to her grandparents is a new favorite. The legend of what a small community discovered one harvest season is so enchanting, and the way young Sarah participates makes my little girl run to her dress-ups basket to create her own contributions to the harvest ball. Beautiful watercolors and magical prose makes for a wonderful fall basket addition.

Thanksgiving With Me
by Margaret Willey
illustrated by Lloyd Bloom

I'll admit, it's a wee bit early for this book, but the soft fallish colors and story of a mama's long-ago Thanksgivings with her six larger-than-life brothers captivates the little girl in the story, and the little ones in this house, as well! Reading like the lyrics of a folk song, the little girl begs her mama to tell her about every beloved uncle, in detail, and lovingly they plan an enormous menu for the Thanksgiving dinner to come. Now that I think about it, it's a perfect book to read leading up to that day of gratitude!

Happy Reading!

{this moment}

2011-10-21T11:20:00.000-06:00

Linking this week's (fancy hopscotch) moment to Soulemama.

{Back to School} The Lovely Middle

2011-10-10T22:12:00.000-06:00

First day back. Tomorrow!

And we all have colds. Chicken stock simmering on the stove, immune booster tea steeped and ready.

It's rained all day and I've giggled every time I wiped a little nose or spied my to-do list and stacks of school books and pencils and thought, When it rains, it pours! And then I cast a little more and do the next thing.

We're in the lovely middle of this life and I would never want to be anywhere else. (It's really true!)

Because I'm armed with prayer. (And baked oatmeal soaking in the fridge, with added apples and a wee treat of half and half to pour over the top. Our traditional first-day-of-school breakfast!)

Our hopes and dreams and prayers for this coming learning year- and, well, forever- are summed up in this year's theme verse on servanthood:

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:1-11

(To listen to Michael Card's almost word-for-word rendition of this passage)

My neck aches and my head is full of many things, but He is always so good to supply all I need, and His mercies are new every morning.

May He bless your week, kind friends, whether you are beginning something new, finishing it, or walking right down the path of the lovely middle!

{this moment}

2011-10-07T11:34:00.004-06:00

Linking this week's (snowy, romantic getaway) moment to Soulemama.

{this moment}

2011-09-30T06:42:00.000-06:00

Linking this week's (father and son) moment to Soulemama.

{Autumn} Menus

2011-09-28T06:49:00.001-06:00

Children's Book Monday

2011-09-25T19:00:00.000-06:00

Tales from Martha B. Rabbit
by Shirley Barber

Dear, kindly, thoughtful Martha.

"...we will need to be warm at night," said Martha. "Let's gather all the dried grass and stuff it in our mattresses. That will keep us snug!"

And Eliana snuggles deeper into my side and murmurs, She's just so sensible, isn't she, Mama?

Take a peek, kind friends...

In the first of three sweet stories, Martha B. Rabbit and Tabitha Cat are watching the falling leaves from the door of their apple-tree house. When Tabitha observes the brightness of color and surplus of nuts and berries in the forest that fall, Martha worries that it means a long cold winter is coming. Together, the friends prepare their home against the cold and length of winter, as well as encouraging all friends in the forest to put by extra as well.

Sometimes, Tabitha thinks that this all sounds too much like hard work, but then she muses that Martha is nearly always right (and she IS, isn't she, Mama?) and works happily side-by-side with her friend. And, of course, Martha is right, and the rabbit and the cat serve the forest and their friends happily from their snug home all winter, and make new, lifelong friends in the process.

The second tale in this collection centers around Daphne the Forgetful Duck, and again Martha B. and Tabitha, true kind friends that they are, offer to help with her six fluffy ducklings so mama can go to market. When Daphne "loses" her ducklings, William Elf joins Martha and Tabitha to search the forest, along with Police Chief Tom and an Old Herb Woman. The ducklings are found in danger, and when all is safe again and the ducklings are rowed home to their mama, the Old Herb Woman offers a special herbal tonic for Daphne's bad memory!

The third and final story is a continuation of another Martha B. Rabbit story about the Wicked Rats, and their endeavors to cause mischief, foiled, of course, by the goodness and cleverness of Martha and her friends.

Gnomes, elves, Cuckoo (a bird right of the friends' clock!) and many more sweet characters join the stories in these books, and if the drawings don't seal the deal for you to check out this book, perhaps an endorsement from my G would help- he carried it around under his arm for a whole morning last week, asking to read Marfa, please!

Happy Reading!

{this moment}

2011-09-22T23:59:00.011-06:00

Linking this week's (tenth birthday) moment to Soulemama.

Children's Book Monday {Fall Favorite}

2011-09-18T22:00:00.018-06:00

Oh, the stacks of fall books that are about to be pulled from their special drawer and placed in a basket on the nature table! We can almost catch Miss Autumn's scent on the breeze, and this week's pick is at the top of the fall book stack...

Too Many Pumpkins
by Linda White
illustrated by Megan Lloyd

It's the illustrations. No, it's the story. Is it the colors? The food? Well, we can't seem to agree on what exactly we love about this story, but it doesn't really matter- we just love it!

I confess, this one was already pulled from the drawer yesterday at lunch, and even Daddy lingered just a few moments longer before rising to wash the dishes (yes, he's wonderful!), just to see and hear the final pages of this dear book. (The first day of fall is September twenty-third, and I'm usually such a stickler about waiting till that day to set out the fall village and books and candles... I'm having a hard time being patient this year!)

Rebecca Estelle hadn't minded pumpkins as a child, but when times grew hard and money was tight, her family needed to use what they had when it came time to eat, so pumpkins were made into all different kinds of dishes- for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She's vowed to never eat another one- she won't grow them, she won't even look at them!

But when a pumpkin truck takes the corner too tightly near her home and drops one into her yard, Rebecca Estelle is forced to reckon with it, if only for a few moments. She covers it, ignores it, even refuses to use her front door so she won't have to see any remnants!

Well, the rains come with spring and the sunshine comes with summer, and by the next fall, the very thing Rebecca never wanted to grow has taken over her yard, and she simply must do something about it!

Hard work and generosity opens her eyes to new friends and, (could it be possible?) a new appreciation for a certain squash...

We love the two-page spreads of Rebecca Estelle in her kitchen, piles of pumpkin seeds and pumpkin baked goods bringing a beautiful, warmth and color to her home. Megan Lloyd's illustration are, quite possibly, Mama's favorite part of the story; details are especially delightful to me, and between the fall colors and Rebecca's old-fashioned kitchen full of crockery and cheese covers, baskets and fly swatters, it's hard for me to tuck this book away at the end of the season.

But that just makes it all the more enjoyable to pull it out and read it all over again!

Happy Reading!

{this moment}

2011-09-15T22:00:00.002-06:00

Linking this week's (little mama) moment to Soulemama.

The Hospital

2011-09-14T20:29:00.001-06:00

Once upon a time, there lived a precious almost-three-year-old boy. His parents called him Little Man.

One day, when Mama came to get Little Man out of his crib, he cupped his hands around his mouth and asked, Mama, we going to the hospital?

Mama looked at him blankly.

The hospital? she asked.

The hospital! The hospital! he shouted and clapped.

Oh, Little Man, are you foreshadowing? she wondered.

All day long he kept bringing it up, each time circling his lips with his cute little fingers and almost whispering in his excitement, We going to the hospital!

Mama was a little worried.

She asked her husband a couple of evenings later, after Little Man had gone to bed with hospital on his lips, Do you think we should take him to a hospital? Maybe he just wants to see one inside, or something?

Husband shrugged and said, Why not?

So the next day, as they drove into the closest Small Town to make a bank deposit, they pointed out Small Town Hospital and said, Little Man, there's the hospital! Do you want to go inside?

Little Man looked out his window long and hard.

Are dere zebras in dere? he asked.

...

Zebras? queried Daddy. Did you say zebras, Little Man?

Yes! Are dere zebras in dere? he asked again, impatiently now.

Mama looked at Daddy. Daddy looked at Mama.

Little Man, did you mean you wanted to go to the zoo?

Yes! he shrieked and clapped. I want to go to da zoo and see da zebras!

And he never asked to go to the hospital again.

Whew.

The End

Children's Book Monday {Read Alouds}

2011-09-11T15:19:00.000-06:00

Reading aloud has such magic about it.

And in our house, there's more than just a family read-aloud being enjoyed at one time. There's Mama and sons, Daddy and sons, and a Mama-daughter read aloud as well- a quiet time every day when the reading levels shift and comprehension grows; we've also learned that intimacy in location provides very well for sweet questions to be answered, and spiritual applications to be discussed and applied (i.e. Eliana's bedtime chapter enjoyed in her pink cloud of a bed, or The Hiding Place read on the couch, smooshed between two very big, extremely riveted boys.)

We finished our last read-aloud, mostly enjoyed during lunches, and when we chose the next and I pondered collecting all of our current read-alouds into one basket, I was surprised at the size of the pile!

Family:

Laddie
by Gene Stratton Porter

We have a lovely, ancient (well, ninety-five years old anyway!) copy that's been water-stained and sun-dried, but every time I creak it open and renew our reading, we are captivated by the timeless descriptions and lessons Mrs. Porter imagines for us. Her incredible affinity for nature makes me want to keep this book on the nature table (oooh, perhaps I shall!); while A Girl of the Limberlost remains my favorite book by this author, Laddie is fast becoming like another old friend, as the character of Little Sister in the story is teaching me and my family lessons I never knew we needed, but oh, what a lightning bolt those moments are, for all of us! Highly recommended. (If, that is, you can muddle through some of the grammatical and sentence structure difficulties. Note: British accents are helpful in this, but only for characters not from America in the story, of which there are several. ~smile~)

Daddy and Sons:

The Lord of the Rings {Return of the King}
by J.R.R. Tolkein

They began this one over a year ago, beginning with the Fellowship of the Ring, and now they are chapters away from the end; the slow, steady pace has only served to build an intimacy with this incredible story not to be gotten from just the movies. (Although they are very much looking forward to enjoying those again when the book is done.)

Mama and Sons:

All Creatures Great and Small
by James Herriott

My mama says she read this book while nursing me as a newborn, and laughed so hard at night she was afraid she'd wake my Papa. And I? Did the exact same thing as I nursed Eliana in those early winter months; Mr. Herriot's stories are so rich in humor and warmth, his observations so sharp and clever, I couldn't wait to share them with my children. But wait I did, and now we are laughing and crying our way through this first book in a classic series. (sans a few choice words that are indicative of the culture Mr. Herriot worked amongst as a veterinarian in the mid-twentieth century.)

Mama-Daughter:

Betsy, Tacy and Tib
by Maud Hart Lovelace

We draw her curtains, switch off the light and on the lamp and snuggle on her bed, ready for another chapter in the lives of these three, sweet friends. Eliana, in all her five-almost-six-year-old wisdom laughs and shakes her head at the girls' antics: Mama, really, people don't FLY!" when the friends are inspired by a traveling circus, and "I KNOW those things wouldn't taste good together!" when they spend an afternoon "baking" in Betsy's kitchen.
I loved these stories as a girl and I'm loving them even more now, sharing them with my girl.

{this moment}

2011-09-09T21:18:00.001-06:00

Linking this week's (game night) moment to Soulemama.

{this moment}

2011-09-01T21:23:00.002-06:00

Linking this week's (very real) moment to Soulemama.

Recipe for a Delightful Evening

2011-08-31T00:31:00.000-06:00

It's nearing the end of the day.

Take one part tired-but-resolved Mama*, one part perky five-year-old who has been excited all day at said tired Mama's promise for an evening surprise, one part printable dollhouse furniture, and mix them all together.

What follows will be, I promise you, a lovely evening.

We decided to start our decorating with a couple of rugs, an antique map, and an old-fashioned radio.

Spur of the moment, we decided to dress up the antique map a little bit with some painted popsicle sticks. (Princess sleeves must be tucked up for this task.)

While the frame dried, we began to cut out our accessories and furniture. Princess sleeves may be untucked, and candlelight is a happy must.

We spied this tiny frame in Eliana's bedroom and decided to stamp a picture to be displayed in the girl's room of her dollhouse.

Lots of glue, lots of giggles as fingers got covered with glue, and now here's our finished work and a (very)reserved Eliana. (Don't let her fool you- she just wants to start the decorating process.)

And here's the boys' playroom in the attic- they love their new map! (The treasure chest was made the day before by Mama, as a practice run.) And Eliana wants you to know that she's tried combing Joseph's hair, but he likes it that way.

Mama has escaped to the attic as well, to listen to her favorite inspirational speaker on the old-fashioned radio. She really needs her Quiet Time.

Here's a quick peek into the nursery- no new accessories here, but there's the Queen, sitting with her babies, Gideon and Alice. They're twins.

And the girls' room! *sigh* It's Eliana's favorite, of course- Lily and Rose are currently playing with two dollhouses that were also made by Mama the day before, on the beautiful rug Eliana cut out, the room brightened still more by a new mermaid picture on the dresser. The girls are very pleased.

And the living room, with its new rug. Everyone is happily ensconced in their favorite rooms, though, so it's awfully quiet in here.

This was such an easy project with really happy results! A quick printoff of a few new pieces and accessories for the dollhouse, some scissors and glue, paints and candlelight... it was just really, really fun.

*I am finally learning that I will never regret giving up some me time to draw nearer to my children. It definitely helps, though, to be purposeful about it well in advance- my husband knew I was weary and urged me to start shutting down for the evening, but I told him I had promised her, and I must follow through because it would be so good.

And it was.

Children's Book Monday {guest post by Daddy!}

2011-08-28T15:28:00.001-06:00

{Have you ever written in someone else’s diary? Of course not! Diaries are secret places where outsiders ought not to go. That’s what I feel like, writing in my wife’s blog – rough, uncouth masculinity entering a place where only beauty, refinement, and femininity dwell. )

Yet here I am, at my wife’s request, ready to share with you some of my thoughts of a special book, and a stolen moment I shared with my daughter a few nights ago.

It is truly a special evening when I find myself sitting on my daughter’s bed, ready to select and enjoy a book together before her princess-locks hit the pillow and she wakes up even more beautiful the following morning. She fingered through our basket full of library books, continually lifting ones we have already read several times over. But in the shuffling of the book covers, an illustration of a winter-clad father and daughter, reaching out for each other in front of a bright, lonely moon, caught my eye. Owl Moon, written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by John Schoenherr, beckoned to me as an adventure I could take with my daughter without leaving pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals behind.

Let’s read that one, Eliana! I said, yet she shook her head, not knowing the wonder this story would inspire. She most often prefers young girls wearing tiaras, so a little girl wearing a stocking hat and scarf didn’t possess the same level of majesty in her mind. However, as good princesses always do, she relented to the better sensibilities of her father, and we jumped into a snow-blanketed land where everyone sleeps except for a father, his daughter, and many a wild animal.

As the story begins, we could feel the cold, biting breeze, and could hear the low, lonely whistle of a far-away train. Yet, father and daughter shook off their drowsiness and trudged through the snow toward the woods, hoping for a glimpse of an owl. Their journey takes them through barren trees and across landscape where plenty of other footprints remind them that they’re not the only ones out after bedtime. As we read, my daughter nuzzled in close, feeling the cold in the story while still caught up in the adventure.

The father and daughter moved through the forest, calling out, Whoo-whoo-who-who-who whooooooo!, hoping to hear an owl calling back. As they continued on their journey, I could feel my daughter rising in anticipation, knowing that surely an owl would finally answer back. And sure enough, one did. Eliana drew a sharp breath inwardly and grabbed my hand. And as the beautiful illustrations eventually revealed the majestic wing span of an owl, she said, Oohhh… as if she and I were standing in the snow ourselves, beholding this huge, wise bird ourselves.

Fathers and daughters everywhere will enjoy this treasure, and be inspired on adventures of their own. In fact, Eliana and I are making plans to go owling sometime soon, long past our bedtime. I told her with confidence that at least three owls live in the woods behind our little parsonage, for I’ve heard and seen them before. Now all we need to do is take a nap so that we can stay up late and work on our owl-calling…

~Kevin

{this moment}

2011-08-26T04:00:00.005-06:00

linking this week's (sweet) moment to Soulemama.

Peter Cottontails

2011-08-23T20:29:00.000-06:00

3 ounces cream cheese (or neufchatel)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup finely shredded carrots
1/2 cup grapenuts

Beat cheeses together until blended, stir in carrots. Cover and chill, then shape into balls. Roll in cereal and chill until ready to serve.

And watch them disappear.

{Recipe from Healthy Snacks for Kids by Penny Warner. One of my favorite cookbook staples, and one from which the children enjoy equally the choosing, the helping, (the little sign-making) and the eating!}

Children's Book Monday

2011-08-21T17:00:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, as the sun was just peeking over the mountains that surround our valley, I slipped quietly into the boys' bedroom (all three of our boys share a room) and gently shook Corban's shoulder.

Then I shook harder.

Then I started gently poking.

Then I poked harder.

Then I gave his toes a little pinch.

He rolled over and opened one eye. Want to go for a walk with me? I smiled.

He nodded sleepily and quietly got up.

We walked out onto the trail just as the traffic began to pick up on the nearby highway- which really only means that instead of one car every five minutes or so, there might be two or three. ~smile~

And during that walk we talked about many things, but the one conversation that lasted the longest was his sharing of the intimate knowledge he had obtained by reading one of his cousins' books when he'd visited last. I'm not kidding, my boy described in great and mostly perfect detail the mini weapons of mass destruction he wanted to build.

And after my brow unfurrowed and my gaping mouth closed, a smile crept over my face at his animated descriptions, hands gesturing, eyes alight.

Pure joy for a boy. That's our review for today:

Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction: Build Implements of Spitball Warfare
by John Austin

So we've borrowed the book from the cousin, and I'm flipping through this thing, checking out the bookmarked pages, examining carefully so I'm ready for the warfare to be practiced on me. (I'm not going to kid myself- I WILL be experiencing some warfare with my boys. I'm ready.)

This book is so much fun- and all of the "weapons" can be made with material you can find (mostly) around your home, from Shoelace Darts (need shoelaces, pins, drinking straws and scissors) to a Spoon Catapult (need binder clips, clothespins, rubberbands, tape and craft sticks, plus small, not-too-hard objects for ammo), everything a boy might need on a rainy day, or any other day, really, is put together in this book.

Now I'm thinking as I sit here, and I'm reminded of all the amazing weapons and experiments and inventions my boys have come up with on their own over the years, and true, a boy WILL find a way to make these things whether they have a book or not, but this one has certainly lit a fire under mine, and I love it.

Happy Reading, and pleasant warfare!

(My boys have also loved Backyard Ballistics- another marvelous book teaching the scientific nature of the craft, again with items you can (mostly) find around the house!)

{this moment}

2011-08-18T21:12:00.001-06:00

{this moment} Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Four Years

2011-08-17T08:49:00.001-06:00

August 17, 2007

August 17, 2011

So I mentioned that we moved, and I did mention that we moved back to the same small town we lived in four years ago, but did I mention that we also moved into the same, sweet parsonage?

Oh, this house. Sometimes I squeeze my eyes shut tight and open them again to see if it is really true, if we're really in this home we love.

It's just shy of 1200 square feet, and there are six bodies living here, but we've already spent some of the happiest hours we've shared in years right here around the dining room table, and over there in the cozy living room, and out back on the trail that peeks over into a river.

We truly believe it is the Lord and the family and the delights of that family that make a house a home, and it was never truer until we left this place and came back again.

I'll try to give you some peeks over the next few weeks of my favorite corners in this snug little house- we are dishwasher-less, but I have some pretty things that help make that dishwashing task more enjoyable, and the laundry room is a tiny hallway that these spread-with-birthing-four-children hips don't quite fit in when I bend over to switch from washer to dryer, and so on... But we hadn't lived here (again) long before our prayers for inspiration brought fresh, space-saving ideas, and tiny corners begging for splashes of color.

We're ever so happy, ever so grateful.

Children's Book Monday {Family Read-Aloud}

2011-08-14T21:33:00.000-06:00

So, we have a Psammead at our lunch table nearly every day. What's that you say? You don't know what a Psammead is? You don't even know how to say it? It's like this- Sammyadd.

Are you intrigued?

I wasn't.

E. Nesbit's Five Children and It has sat on our bookshelves for years now, and I've reached for it every single time we've needed a new read-aloud, but something always made me second guess the choice.

I'm so glad I didn't this time.

We are flying through this excellent chapter book, a story of five siblings, Cyril, Robert, Anthea, Jane, and their baby brother, The Lamb. Their discovery of an alien-like creature, centuries old, in a sand-pit is strange, but as they begin to receive the granting of their wishes from the Psammead, they make new friends and discover that, after all, things are just perfectly wonderful the way they really are.

If I sit down to a meal and don't immediately draw this book from the dining room table, at least one of the children will say, disappointedly, Oh, I thought you were going to read? And even Gideon is absolutely captivated- he has the hardest time finishing his meal because he sits listening, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, rather than eating. (Perhaps it's the British accent I use for the characters. I'm quite good, if I do say so myself.)

We laugh out loud at the excellent dialogue, we gasp in unison when a wish is accidentally spoken, we nod understandingly when the children discover old happiness, and I think Corban said it best when, after I said, Goodness, these wishes just aren't working out well, are they?, he said, Well, Mama, that's because this is a story with a moral.

Edith Nesbit's work has long been beloved by children. She had a marvelously instinctive way of capturing the world through a child's eyes, cleverly bringing their vocabulary up to a higher level while telling an exciting story, and losing no one in the process. (Hence Gideon, at two, on the edge of his seat.) The Railway Children is another of her most famous stories, and well-loved in our home as well. We fully intend to add some of her other works to our family read-aloud list.

What are some of your favorite family read-alouds? And do you read as a family, or just you and the children? Or you and your spouse? Please share!

Happy Reading!

{this moment}

2011-08-11T22:20:00.000-06:00

{this moment} Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

{Classic} Children's Book Monday

2011-08-07T21:45:00.002-06:00

In October of 2006, I published my very first Children's Book Monday. I'd only been blogging for nine months at that point, so it's funny to look back and see all the issues I had with spacing, and trying to figure out how to link the book and download the picture. Such an amateur! (She said tongue-in-cheek since she still has to google for html hints nearly every post.)

Since that very first "review", (which wasn't even a review at all, it was really just an excuse for me to talk about books. That's all.) I've written 139 more. 140 Children's Book Monday's. That makes me so happy! And while it isn't a well-known "meme" and there are rarely more than a few comments, or link ups to other reading mama's, it has warmed my heart over the years to hear of how our recommendations and book lists have blessed other families. I am so thankful for this opportunity to share our love of books!

This past week, Eliana brought home an old favorite from story time at the library. And as soon as I glimpsed the cover, as I have every time in the almost-five years since I very first set eyes on it, I wanted to plop down immediately and read it cover to cover.

It was Sophie's Masterpiece. My very first review.

We've read it countless times over the years, and since then have added Eileen Spinelli to our list of favorite authors, and Jane Dyer now holds a leading place on our favorite illustrator's list. The selfless spinning spider still captures our hearts today- I'm so grateful to be sharing this book with my girl now, who was not even a year old when we first read it!

So if you haven't been reading along with me since 2006 and you've never heard of this precious story, you can read about this classic CBM book here. And then you'll be adding it to your library list, I know it.

Happy Reading!

My friend, Anna, who often joins Children's Book Monday and shares her exquisite taste in children's books, is having a giveaway of three marvelous books this week- pop over here to read her review and enter!

Take a Hike

2011-08-04T19:56:00.001-06:00

Normally, that phrase (Suggestion? Command?) is taken as rude. One might even say hateful.

But today, it was music to our ears.

The physical therapist said, Take a hike. Ride your bike. Live your life!

And he went walking and leaping and praising God! (See Acts 3:8 for Kevin's biblical kindred. Sort of.)

We don't have any actual photographs of his long, lean form, lying on the couch, resting and icing his foot. It only happened twice a day. Every day. For three months.

But this is how the resident artist captured him:

(She's five. And observant. Notice the accuracy in length of legs, and even the rendition of the plastic band he used to tie the ice pack on?)

We are so thankful. The Lord is always good.

Back in the Saddle Again {Menus}

2011-08-03T08:02:00.001-06:00

For the first time since we moved at the end of May, I've created a monthly menu. This entails a few hours (taken in snippets over three days, thankyouverymuch), some old and new favorite cookbooks, a fresh page in my journal and lots of advice from people who are shorter than me. Oh, and one who is taller than me, now. (Hence the cookbook in the middle of the stack.)

We've driven the eighty-minute round trip to purchase the groceries, I've posted the menu for August in a plastic page protector on the fridge and have chicken thawing for the Koftas tonight.

Aaaah.

I love to keep extra notes in my journal, such as special symbols matching which cookbook a new recipe came from, and dividing lots of extras up into categories: Sides, Treats, New Things, Baking, and Potluck. We have our main menu posted, but I always have my journal nearby with all the details.

How do you make your menus?

Children's Book Monday

2011-07-31T14:20:00.001-06:00

I've been having a lovely time lately muddling up my tidy bookshelves and strewing papers and notebooks and lists around the school table. It's that time again, isn't it? Planning for next year! I love it. It's my favorite. (But I'm also being careful to try and finish well, first.}

For next year's preschool/kindergarten plan, which includes Gideon and Eliana, we've decided to incorporate more regularly Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row into our school days. I've got hanging files ready to be stuffed with lapbook material and two lovely file baskets in which to place them. (It really helps me if I like to look at our school shelves, too. I'm a visual girl.) Alongside Ambleside booklists strictly for delight-reading, I think we will thoroughly enjoy this schedule.

Part of my ordering process every year includes new reading books for each of the children, and this year I really enjoyed choosing some fun reading for Gideon- want a peek?

(Three) A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog books (G fell in love with a tattered, ex-library copy we've had around since Cor was a wee one, so I added three more to his repertoire.)

My Good Morning Book and My Good Night Book, both by Eloise Wilkin. (Gideon is my little creature of habit, patterned after our first version, Micah. (We call Gideon "Micah 2.0".) These two little books have become quite the regular occasion around here, one in the morning, of course, the other before bed.)

And the last new (used) book in G's box is:

Margaret Wise Brown's Wonderful Storybook
illustrated by J.P. Miller

This one, I'm holding back until our official school year starts in October, but of course I've already read through it and it is absolutely delightful! We just haven't been disappointed yet in any of Margaret Wise Brown's work (we've already pre-ordered The Friendly Book- Brown's words paired with Garth Williams' artwork? Winner!!).

This happy, oversize book is filled with the author's original poetry and stories, with such delightful titles as "The Tickly Spider" and "Said a Fish to a Fish". I know that even Eliana will enjoy hearing them read aloud, and the simple, colorful illustrations will inspire her, as simple, colorful illustrations often do, to draw some of her own. (And Micah was stung by a bee yesterday, is still anxious about those buzzy creatures today, and I think a reading of "The Fifteen Bathtubs" might be in order, where a little boy learned that the bees would leave him alone if he just kept himself clean. Hmmmm.)

Margaret Wise Brown, although she never had any of her own, wrote so well for other children. Her stories are often interactive, requiring of the reader to pause and wait for an answer to the story's question. In "They Could All Smell It, But What Was It?", a poem, we are required to add our own ideas into the poem, and every child can appreciate that responsibility, yes?

I'm looking forward to pulling this book from the shelf come October and feeling that lovely stomp and squish of children running to jump on my lap for a listen.

If I can wait that long.

Happy Reading!

(If you are looking to fill your child's shelves with excellent literature, but still have some reservations when it comes to some genres, this post from a favorite blog, Like Mother, Like Daughter, answers the "fairy tale question" quite beautifully. I am so thankful for her eloquence and willingness to share her wisdom in this area. Please go read- you will be blessed and encouraged!)

{this moment}

2011-07-29T13:31:00.000-06:00

Children's Book Monday {Hooray!}

2011-07-25T00:22:00.003-06:00

Not hooray as in you've all been just dying for a children's book review these past months. Hooray as in I'm so happy to be putting down words in this space again!

And I love children's books. And you. I love you.

Hi. :)

To make a long, long story much shorter, and at the complete risk of trivializing some of the events and our decision-making process, I present you with bullets; {please, kind friends, read between the lines and presume all sorts of emotions and feelings including, but not limited to: pain, worry, peace, illness, worry, love, closeness, peace, worry, etc... Carry on.}

We moved. Beginning in January, with the decision, to the end of May, with the move, it was a whirlwind. We still can't believe we're here. Back in the small town where, six years ago, our hearts cracked wide open in this country air and we were home.

At the beginning of March, Kevin completely tore his Achilles tendon, playing football in our backyard with his boys. He had surgery, three casts, a walking boot, three months of physical therapy and is now down to icing a couple of times a day. Still no hiking, biking, or running. Yeah, it's awesome. {Good thing he's such a strong, patient, pleasant guy, 'cause can you believe it? We still love him.}

We traveled to California and spoke at Pepperdine (you already know this, but it's such an important bullet, because it occurred at the beginning of May. You know, right before we packed up and moved? Mmmhmmm.)

I'll share more in the weeks to come about our ministry here (it's beautiful!) and all sorts of pictures and school year preparation thoughts and cute videos (we have our newest Lord's Prayer reciter! I wonder who it might be?). But for now, the bullets have done the job nicely- and if you read between the lines I hope you find that, more than the worry and the pain and the illness, love and peace and closeness have been our constant wonder and joy throughout this season. Thought you should know. He is always good! I am so grateful for those of you who prayed for me, and sent words of encouragement winging my way... you bless.

And now...

My Book House, Volumes 1-12
by various authors

Small town has small library, and so far my book lists have found some dead ends. I'm a bit hard-pressed to find some new gems- but I know they're in there! For now, I want to share my early birthday gift from my husband. (You know you're a mama of many- a homeschooling mama, at that, when you ask for books for your children for your birthday!)

I read about My Book House in Lessons At Blackberry Inn, and I immediately thought, Ooooooh! That sounds like my kind of book! and then I looked it up. It was twelve books.

Even better.

These stair-step books start with nursery rhymes full of colorful illustrations and work their way up as your child gets older. Story Time, Up One Pair of Stairs, Through the Gate- each title gives a sweet clue as to what you'll find inside. Fewer illustrations as the volumes progress and longer stories, finishing with Halls of Fame, full of excerpts from classic books; perfect for the middle schooler, and even teenagers. I would have been one of them. (Who am I kidding? I plop myself down in front of the bookshelf now and get lost in them. And I don't think I need to tell you that I'm not a teenager.)

Photo credit: here

There are so many layers to these books, so much thought and care put into them for the young readers to come- even the pages of poetry peppered throughout have a natural flow with the stories! I think you might find your library carries some of these volumes, and I hope so, because the entire set starts at $70, used; but you can also purchase the volumes individually, and perhaps work your way up to owning them all for your fireside! Or, your husband can find an amazing deal and surprise you with them for your birthday. (I cried.)

Bedtime just got more interesting. These stories will last for years! My favorite thing about them right now? Eliana thinks because I say "My Book House" when asking if she wants a story from them, that they are mine. Tonight, when we unpacked our things at Nana and Papa's house for the night, she gasped and clutched her chest.

Mama! she panted. Did you remember to pack your Book House?

Happy Reading!

{Oh- and remember this review? And how Elsa Beskow is one of our favorites? Right now Valarie at Jump Into a Book is having a nineteen-book-giveaway at her site!!! Nineteen Elsa Beskow books!!! Hop on over and give her a like on Facebook, or post about it at your blog and you'll have fourteen automatic entries. And then pace anxiously, like me, until August 1st when the winner is announced.}

Children's Book Monday {Comfort Edition}

2011-05-09T11:11:00.001-06:00

You know the ones. The old stand-by's, the comfortable favorites we pull from the shelves in dark hours, illnesses, homesickness.

My husband and I spoke at the Pepperdine Lectures last week, so sweet, capable Ann Tabby (Aunt Abbie) flew down to stay with our children while we were in Malibu. I knew what each child would struggle with after a few days of missing us, but Eliana? Well, being a girl myself, I also knew a hard day might come when words would be few but tears would freely flow. To my great delight, just before we left I came across a new-to-me book at the library that didn't already have a place on our comfort shelf, and from what I hear, it was a perfect fit for that sad, inevitable day!

The Secret Remedy Book: A Story of Comfort and Love
by Karin Cates
illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin

First of all, Wendy Anderson Halperin? One of our all-time favorites! I've reviewed Homeplace on CBM, and come to think of it, Love Is... and Soft House would fit beautifully on the comfort shelf as well! Her pencil drawings are so softly colored that we fairly whisper as we read, and I particularly love the clothing on her characters- so fun! But the best part of Ms. Halperin's illustrations are the panels running along the top, sides and bottom of each page, telling stories within the story. I love to read the page aloud and then sit back as my children proceed to tell me about all the other things happening on the page. They love it, too! To read a book written or illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin is to be comforted in the nicest way. {Click here to see a full collection of Ms. Halperin's work.}

On to the story...

Lolly's family visits Auntie Zep every holiday, but Lolly is sure she can visit all by herself. So, one summer, her parents decide she is old enough to stay with Auntie Zep- alone- for the whole month! Unfortunately, Lolly feels homesick almost right away. When she begins to cry, Auntie Zep knows just what she needs- The Secret Remedy Book.

In a trunk in an attic full of treasures(and with a lovely panel running across the top of the page depicting the journey of the trunk), they find the book. The remedies are written on brittle pages in spidery handwriting, and the first page has a warning: You must finish all the remedies in this book before the first hoot of an owl- or none of them will work! (No danger of that here- owl's don't seem to hoot in the city!)

As Lolly and her auntie work their way through the remedies all day, they find themselves distracted with thoughts of others, with nature and weather and earth and animals.

The Third Remedy...
Take a walk as far as you can.
You must see something you have never noticed before

The Fifth Remedy...
Write a cheerful letter to some dear soul.
You must put something unexpected in the envelope.

By the time the owl hoots and Lolly finishes the fifth remedy..

Dream of doing great things. You must think of one, small great thing you can do tomorrow...

...Lolly's thoughts are focused on all of the animals and plants and dear souls she has touched today, and her dreams are full of poetry and saving wild things and all the beauty of the world.

The remedies are all things one can find around their house and complete in one day, and that makes this book even more of a treasure- and we really love how Ms. Cates' story brings the homesick or ill or frightened reader a vision that expands to include the world around her.

Our copy must return to the library soon, but it's on our wishlist and will soon be added to our comfort shelf! We hope you enjoy it, too.

Other comfort favorites in the Hooper household:
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
The Pooh Get-Well Book by Virginia Ellison, illustrations by E.H. Shepard
Eloise Wilkin Stories
The Cozy Book by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Betty Fraser

And I have to add these because for years they have truly been "comfort books" for my boys- they stay in the bottom drawer of a desk in my room, and only come out for *sick* days, but goodness, are they loved!
The Adventures of Tintin by Herge

Happy Reading!

{Would you consider sharing in the comments about some comfort favorites that have ministered to your family?}

Children's Book Monday

2011-04-25T07:27:00.001-06:00

Play With Me
by Marie Hall Ets

There is something so captivating about this little story. And I don't think I expected there to be! (Yes, once in awhile I am guilty of mis-judging a book by it's cover.) I'm happy to report, though, that my children are wiser than I in some respects, and when I laid this book with several other library treasures on Gideon's preschool bookshelf, he was no snob and almost immediately found it and brought it to me to read to him.

With very muted (and few!) colors and very simple line drawings, Marie Hall Ets crafts a sweet story of a little girl enjoying nature- sometimes a little too aggressively!

For each creature she finds, the little girl has a question: Will YOU play with me? But she is saddened when, one after the other, they hop, swim, and slither away. It is only when she gives up and sits still that something wonderful happens...

The story is perfect for a two-year-old, and, of course, in a homeschool with many different ages, I can say with confidence that the simplicity and message reach out across those numbers and all of my children listen with smiles on their faces. Eliana drops her books and markers and lays on her tummy with us, but the boys sit at their math books and copywork, listening and learning and enjoying.

Play With Me is yet another gem recommended by Before Five in a Row, and I was so thrilled to find a free lapbook online to create with with my children. We're looking forward to a walk on the river parkway soon so we can practice sitting still... who knows what will happen?

Happy Reading!

Children's Book Monday

2011-04-17T18:22:00.000-06:00

{Life for us lately is beautiful, as ever, but there have been some wonderful changes on our horizon as well as an injury and illness and doctor's visits... soon I will fill you in on this beautiful mess.

But if there's ever a constant in our lives, after the Lord, it's books, so I thought I would at least share a few of our recent favorites with you today... thank you for still being here, kind friends!}

The Boats on the River
by Marjorie Flack, pictures by Jay Hyde Barnum

Oh, my, we adored this book. It had to be returned because another patron was waiting for it, but we have it on our hold list again because it was that good! I, myself, can't even forget about the beautiful illustrations- so vintage, so detailed, such stories in the drawings of amazing boats; ferries, warships, ocean liners... Even though the recommended age of readers for this book is four to eight, my Gideon was riveted by it, and requested it often; I can't wait to slip it into his book bin again. (Also recommended by Flack: Angus Lost and Ask Mr. Bear- so fun!)

Mountain Born
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin

This is our current family read-aloud, and it has been so enjoyable. Divided into two halves, the seamless stories of a little boy named Peter and his black-wooled lamb combine through the growing-up years and are laced with precious lessons from Peter's parents, a shepherd, life experiences on a farm, and the Bible. Throw in some dangerous wolves and you have two thumbs up from the entire family!

The Story of the Easter Robin
by Dandi Daley Mackall, illustrated by Anna Vojtech

A little girl's concern for the robin making a nest on her windowsill draws reassurance from her grandmother, and a lesson and a story while they decorate eggs the Pennsylvania Dutch way- blowing out the insides and dipping the delicate shell. Peppered throughout the book are Grandmother's quiet words about the crucifixion, and the legend of a robin whose breast was colored in a very special way. This beautiful book resides in our spring basket by the table, and has been read many times this month already; we were grateful to find a picture book about Easter that combined scripture, nature, and legend to create a beautiful story worth sharing with our children.

I also have several other springish books on hand right now, as well as some incredible finds, so I've updated my Shelfari with the contents of our book bins. Perhaps you can discover some of our favorites at your library!

Happy Reading!

(If you wrote children's book reviews in the past few weeks, would you consider providing the links to those as well? I'd love to add to our list! Thank you!)

True Things {In the Kitchen}

2011-04-01T07:34:00.003-06:00

We were baking cookies, she and I, and as I measured and she dumped and she asked and I explained, her finger stole up to her nose.

Oh, honey! I exclaimed. Okay. Couple things. Ladies try not to pick their noses, but especially? We don't do it while we're cooking!

She put away the finger and gazed at me solemnly for a moment.

I'll speak a True Thing to you, Mama.

I will always have boogers.

Supporting Mamas {for Mother's Day}

2011-03-16T23:49:00.003-06:00

Mother's Day is May eighth!

And two of my friends, who also happen to be mamas, have the sweetest Etsy shops that could make your shopping so easy this year!

Amy, from Homemaker in Training, and I grew up across the street from each other. We were even in the same sewing class! (Just the two of us- her mama was our teacher!)

Now Amy is a mama to three little ones, and this year she not only embarked on the great homeschooling adventure, but she and her husband are saying "No!" to debt and are taking great strides to eliminate theirs. Amy opened a shop on Etsy with the dearest aprons and art smocks, and you can see the love and imagination that went into each one. (The newest, the retro green print, is my favorite!)

The sweetest of all the stories that link us together is when Amy saw this post on my blog, and wondered aloud at how much the apron looked like one she had as a little girl. I called my mama, and she verified that yes, Amy's mama had passed down some of Amy's clothes to mine when she was expecting a surprise, number eight!, my sister, Maddie.

Well, I washed that dear apron and popped it into the mail and soon after, Amy opened her shop. She takes great delight in using upcycled and vintage/retro material, and that whimsy certainly shows in her work- especially her signature "peek-a-boo pocket"! I would love to help her family take a bite out of that debt- won't you take a look and see if one of her creations might do for your mama, or sister, or daughter? Amy is willing to do special orders on the half apron and the "Colleen", and should be able to have yours to you well in time for Mother's Day.

And my other mama friend, Kristin, who just amazes me with her capacity for creativity even while homeschooling several of her five children, has a little shop called "From My Life" that carries her special creations just for mamas- bird's nest necklaces, with sweet pearl "eggs", up to seven! (You will see at her shop that if you need more than seven, just let her know and she will do her best!)

Kristin says she puts these beautiful pieces together at the school table, while her newest little one plays by her feet; I think they are stunning and inspired and I'm in awe of her careful work. You will be, too- again, what a lovely gift for the mama, sister, daughter, even friend in your life whose children are the pearl of her heart!

Happy shopping!

Children's Book Monday {and a winner!}

2011-03-14T08:37:00.001-06:00

First he dug around a little bit...

...and then he picked a winner, see? (He's so excited for you!)

Umm, could you hold still, please, sweetie?

Hmmm, that's a little better...

There you go! Does that say Megan? It does!! (Goodness. Now let's go wash your hands.}

Hooray, Megan! I'll be sending you an email shortly to verify the book you would like. Thank you, everyone, who entered! I really, really wish I could give each of you a lovely children's book. So let's do this again soon, shall we?

But in the meantime, here's another treasure to add to your repertoire...

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?
by Nancy White Carlstrom
illustrated by Bruce Degen

I must confess, this book wouldn't normally have found it's way into our book bins, but the recommendation from Before Five in a Row was enough for me to try. And I'm so glad we did! In the off chance that some of you haven't heard of this sweet book before, I'll share it with you today, since it's my two-year-old's current favorite, and we must read it before every nap and bedtime!

With simple rhyme and precious pictures of a little bear and his mama throughout the day (happily added to by a daddy towards the end, home from work!), this book is perfect for little ones whose days are predictable and safe.

Jesse Bear, Jesse Bear,
What will you wear?
What will you wear in the morning?

My shirt of red
Pulled over my head,
Over my head in the morning!

I promise you, we chant this every day as I'm pulling shirts over my baby's head, except, of course, it's "Gideon Bear" and it's whatever color the shirt is. What I love about children's books with simple rhyme is that it's such a great way to introduce the concept to young children. I pause at the end of each line, and he fills in the blank- wonderful!

Jesse Bear plays, eats (quite a healthy) lunch, swings, plays with his Daddy, bathes... all in whimsical, repetitive rhyme that stays with me throughout the day, and we find ourselves rhyming and chanting at lunchtime, bath time, clean up time...

And at the end of the story, when Jesse Bear lies in his his warm bed, even my baby knows we whisper the final lines...

Sleep in my eyes
And stars in the skies
Moon on my bed
And dreams in my head
That's what I'll wear tonight.

Oh, do go find this story for your little one(s)- it's good, simple fun!

Happy Reading!

Lent {Rend Our Hearts}

2011-03-11T10:20:00.001-07:00

"Even now," declares the Lord,
"Return to me with all your
heart,
with fasting and weeping and
mourning."
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God
for he is gracious and
compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in
love,
and he relents from sending calamity. ~Joel 2:12-13

The words from Joel slip into my mind dozens of times a day, and it's only been two since Lent began. How I am praying this Lent for true heart change!

I am preparing for Easter and walking these forty days with the Lord by fasting from supper, spending that time reading to my family and feasting on soul-food. The older three children have made their decisions for sacrifice this season as well, and as mama I am praying for wisdom in these days to guide them in their own heart change, even as the entire process refines and changes me.

May it be so!

Our Lenten reading:
The Book of Joel
The Story of the Cross: Stations of the Cross for Children
Meditations on the Cross (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter
And we're greatly anticipating the lighting of candles on our Way of Light Wreath in a few more days...

May your souls be filled this weekend, kind friends!

Listen {and keep your mouth shut}

2011-03-08T21:08:00.004-07:00

Thank you for making me laugh today

you took me by surprise

Thank you for catching me down at the mouth

You ambushed me with delight. ~My Best Remedy, by Christa Wells

I hum along but tears prickle my eyelids as I press bread dough into pans. I think how many times I could have laughed today, but didn't. How often delight escaped me because I didn't stop for just. one. minute.

And I think how very much Christa Wells knows the heart of a mama, because she is one, too.

They breeze in through the back door right off the kitchen, smelling of winter and sun and yes, that would be dirt. Daddy and his youngest, the words bubbling from two-year-old lips, nonsense, but my husband laughs and swings his baby through the air. He's listening anyway.

And I turn from sliding dough into the oven and I say, Listen, for if there's anyone who knows my mama's heart the deepest, it's him. Listen to these words, can you? I know Little Man is clamoring for his daddy but I think he can wait a moment and I press play and wipe counters.

Thank you for standing outside my head

‘til I came out to you

You forced me to wash my face in the fresh air

and step my feet in the dew.

My heart hears and my soul answers and I whisper prayer into the suds and I turn to see his face, see his response.

But they're playing. And talking. And his face is alight at Little Man's jabbering and suddenly they tackle and wrestle, laughing and shouting and my brow furrows as I turn back to the sink. Did he completely forget that I just asked him to listen? I think, sighing and scrubbing harder.

But just when scalding words begin to bubble out from thirty-three-year-old lips, I hear

Be here tomorrow when I awake

come running for a dance

Mischievous angel you’ve taken your place

in my heart at last.

And I watch them chase and slide on the floor planks, Little Man shrieking and Daddy laughing and suddenly they're out of my sight but now I really see.

I wanted him to listen to the words, he just wants to live them. How much better he does this than me, anyway! Who really needs to do the listening around here?

And I smile while hands plunge deeper and (wisely, for the first time today) keep my mouth shut and soul-sing with Christa,

Amazing amazing

I’ll take your medicine

anytime

you are my best remedy.

And I dry my hands and raid the resident princess's dress up box to twirl a cape onto my shoulders, wand in my hand and smile on my face and I slide across planks to find the delight sitting under my nose all along.

I just needed to listen.

A wife, mama, and poet, Christa Wells' music has ministered to me so much this past year. Her album, Frame the Clouds, is my worship music of choice these days- perhaps consider a listen to some songs here and be blessed as well?

Children's Book Monday (and a giveaway!)

2011-03-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

Emily and Daisy
by Elsa Beskow

Springtime! Cows! A good little girl named Emily!

*Sigh*. Helpful Emily, in this sweetest of stories, is one of our favorite characters ever. I don't know if it's her short, curly, golden locks, her knee-socks, or the sweet little apron, but I do know that her endearing wish to help her mummy rescue Daisy, their cow, from escaping through a hole in the fence makes her a character worth reading about with my little ones.

The story is simple, with fewer words than normal for Ms. Beskow, but my two-year-old and five-year-old think it's just right; Emily meets a few interesting characters on her way to rescue Daisy, and when she finds that she cannot fix the fence by herself and needs help to keep Daisy from eating the clover, considerate Emily knows just who to ask.

Elsa Beskow (I can use incomparable again, here, can't I? So many of the authors I review I describe as incomparable, but it is definitely feasible, because they're all so different from each other; incomparable with her artwork, then?) has such a gift for capturing a child's imagination with her drawings and simple storytelling. Emily and Daisy is only one in a lengthy catalog of children's books by Elsa Beskow, and we have enjoyed almost all of her books over the years. Many of her tales are seasonal and have nature at their heart, so many of them even find their way into our nature table book basket.

I know you will love Emily, too!

Now, for the giveaway!

I haven't done this nearly as often as I wanted to, but I think it's time for someone to have the opportunity to win a book I've reviewed right here on CBM! Go ahead and browse the CBM archives, and if you leave a comment on this post (and please, it is so helpful if you can leave me your email address, so I can contact you!) and tell me what book you would love to have for yourself, I will draw a winner next Sunday, March 13th!

Happy Reading!

Mmmhmmm, that's right!

2011-03-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

It's my G's classic response to anything, whether we're reading a story or taking a walk or observing people or nature or simply announcing that it's snacktime!...

...and I finally caught it on tape! After making a much deeper, sweeter statement, of course.

Children's Book Monday

2011-02-28T09:55:00.004-07:00

Popping in here as the children begin their schoolwork... I promised my friend, Amy (who has reviewed the exquisite new children's book about Audrey Hepburn), that I would have a review up this week, but yesterday got away from me! Happily, everyone is content and quiet and I am nearby, so I thought I'd share a book that Daddy read to everyone yesterday, and hasn't stopped talking of since!

Leonardo's Horseby Jean Fritz
illustrated by Hudson Talbott

The true story of Leonardo's dream of a giant statue of a horse is a little-known one, but this beautiful book encapsulates the bronze horse's journey and brings it to vivid life.

We already love Hudson Talbott's artwork- some of the boys favorite books are the Tales of King Arthur series, adventurous retellings of the old legends, exquisitely captured through Talbott's artwork.

The dome shape of the top of this book caught my eye first, but turning the pages there in the library and learning of this story for the first time sealed the deal. And this isn't just the story of a horse...

...for we begin when Leonardo is a young boy, and we see the world through his eyes: What a flurry the birds make! How do they do it? We see his love for inventions in the easily recognizable work from his journals as a backdrop to the pages- flying machines, bikes, the human body... but what captures his heart more than anything is his desire to create a bronze horse for the duke of Milan.

He studies the anatomy of horses, spending hours in the stables, examining their muscles and manes, their joints, their ears. When he is finally ready, he creates a twenty-four-foot clay model of his dream and presents it to the Duke, ready to begin casting.

The creation of Leonardo's horse is rather a one-step-forward, two-steps-back situation. In the middle of the project, he paints The Last Supper, but when the clay model of his horse is destroyed by war and rain, all is lost...

...or is it?

There is much more to this story, and it spans hundreds of years. The paintings are beautiful, and the tale is captivating- and there really is a happy ending!

Jean Fritz is an incredible children's author/historian, and all of her books reflect her love of history; I am thankful for authors who spill their love for a subject onto the pages of a book that will teach my children in such a way that makes them want to learn more- and they can, because it's a true story!

Happy Reading!

Children's Book Monday

2011-02-13T20:02:00.001-07:00

Roxaboxen
by Alice McLerran
illustrated by Barbara Cooney

We were given a used copy of this book years ago, when Corban was two. Little did I know then, as I tucked it away for when he was older, it would be so treasured in our home that even the current two-year-old adores the story, the pictures, the magic that is Roxaboxen.

Every child who has ever created a fort out of blankets and couch cushions, every little boy who has built a tree house with cast off wood and bent nails, every little girl who has laid a tea table on an old stump with mud pies for lunch and rainwater for tea... has created a Roxaboxen. Yours truly included.

In the dry, dusty little town of Yuma, Arizona, more than eighty years ago, the children of that small town climbed the rocky hill nearby and created their own, secret place.

Using old wooden boxes they made tables, shelves and chairs. Laying white stones in straight lines they created streets. Even pieces of pottery and shards of colored glass created dishes... and beauty.

Over time the children elected a mayor; here is where the beauty of the simple poetry-like script is most evident to me:

Later on there was a town hall.
Marian was mayor, of course;
that was just the way she was.
Nobody minded.

Using black pebbles they had found buried up on Roxaboxen, the children set up a bakery and two ice cream parlors, trading precious black pebbles for bread baked warm in the sun. And everyone had a car, simply using something round for a steering wheel! But take care: Jamie was the policeman, and if you broke the speed limit, you went to jail- and the cactus on the floor was meant to bring discomfort! More sweet, childlike poetry-script:

Anna May,
quiet little Anna May,
was always speeding-
you'd think she liked to go to jail.

Wars, bandit chases, fierce raids, boys against girls... but when you reached your fort, you were safe.

And every single person who reads this book will breathe the same sigh of relief, remembering battles and escapes that led back to our safe place as children, whether boards nailed in a tree, a soft house made out of blankets and cushions, or even our mother's apron.

Barbara Cooney (found many, many times on CBM) illustrated this fine book by taking a trip to the desert with the author's eighty-year-old Aunt Frances (former Roxaboxenite), and though the hill was overgrown and broken glass scattered about, the town of Roxaboxen came to life again through Aunt Frances' eyes, and spilled into Ms. Cooney's beautiful watercolors.

Happy Reading!

True Things

2011-02-10T21:51:00.001-07:00

Tonight she sobbed and clung to my neck and her tears wet my cheeks as I sat on princess sheets and held...

...but she hadn't even fallen asleep yet.

And I soothed with shushes and pulled her closer and fanned my hands across her back so she could really feel me holding her and sighed sadly and whispered love.

It's been weeks of colds and fevers here, no one quite back to normal yet, Mama not sleeping well and babies coughing during the night and so very much to do all day and she feels it, my girl. We haven't held much, haven't locked eyes enough, haven't used our words to connect hearts.

So I lay her back gently on the Snow White pillow and wrap my arms tight around her, pinning arms close so she won't think I'm leaving just yet. And I ask,

Will you tell me a True Thing, Eliana? I think she will keep sobbing and shaking her head, eyes closed, but she settles and begins immediately...

Water always splashes... Sniff, sniff.

Apple trees grow apples...

Snakes slither. Her eyes lock on mine and I smile so big my face hurts.

My eyes have eyelashes. Her smile is found and shares in the joy with mine.

My cheeks are rosy. My eyes are green! I lean in and inhale that place on her temple.

My mama will always have that smile on her face! She imprisons my neck with her fingers and holds me there, and my new tears mingle with her old ones, and I?

I think her last True Thing is a wish, and not always True. It's lowercase true.

So.

I start again. I smile.

And I do so as I tuck her in again and pray powerfully and sing love, and I smile to the doorway, to the notepad, and I laugh out loud over her True Things.

And later I smile from her bedside, sneaking in with a camera to capture the sleeping girl with the rosy cheeks and eyelashed green eyes that is so generous with her smiles.

I will remember that she learned how to smile from me first.

Tomorrow.

On a Wednesday

2011-02-09T18:03:00.001-07:00

We do many things on a Wednesday when Daddy is home, but this may have been the best. thing. ever.

Children's Book Monday {Cinderella Stories}

2011-02-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

In our home, there are four favorite fairy-tale princesses: Aurora, Snow White, Belle, and Cinderella.

We've tried to teach the Resident Princess how to admire who they are, these ladies, rather than *just* what they're wearing. We talk often (almost daily!) about what a princess of the Lord should act like- would she serve others, or expect to be served? Would she flaunt her position over others, or treat them as equals? Where does her beauty really come from?

Cinderella happens to be Eliana's favorite of all the fairy tale princesses, and we have found that our favorite versions of the story include a gentle Cinderella from beginning to end; one who forgives her stepsisters and stepmother, and receives their love and devotion in return. And while the 1950 film version and subsequent story books are perfectly lovely, we have two other Cinderella books on our shelves that exemplify a true princess, one who we have no problem with the Resident Princess aspiring to be like.

Cinderella
by Barbara McClintock

It's no secret that Ms. McClintock's works are family favorites over here, and when we came across her version of the Cinderella story, the beauty of her artwork and a sweet retelling of the old story captivated us from the start.

I really wish I could show you the inside of this book, up close and personal; the detailed costumes (the author based her retelling on the seventeenth-century version by Charles Perrault, and the French influence is breathtakingly vivid), the crisp outlines and soft colors, the expressions... all combine to make an enchanting tale come to life in a little girl's heart- and her mama's!

Try to find it at your library- we know you'll love it, and it might just have to make itself a permanent resident of your bookshelves!

Cinderella
by Hilary Knight

Don't you just go back to the seventies and early eighties when you look at the cover of this book? I know I'm not the only mama in her thirties who thinks of Holly Hobbie and kerchiefs when she sees the blues and greens and plaids and messy bun on Mr. Knight's Cinderella.

There is so much depth to this interpretation of the old fairy tale; every single page has layer upon layer of story, if you're willing to linger awhile and let your little one point and discover. I've read it dozens of times to my girl, and when I heard my Papa reading it to her a few weeks ago, he even pointed out some more details I had never seen before!

Mr. Knight depicts a disheveled but lovely Cinderella, willing to kneel and put her stepsister's slippers on, even as the nasty girl uses Cinderella's head to lean upon. Eyes downcast, tears lurking behind eyelids, this lovely (from the inside out!) heroine serves her family with a quiet strength, and again, forgives them from the bottom of her heart at the end and wins their love and affection.

If you're looking for stories for your princess that are not only lovely to look at, but are character building and great conversation starters to boot, try one of these beautiful versions of Cinderella- you won't be disappointed!

Happy Reading!

It's Hard to Breathe (or, Giving Thanks Anyway)

2011-02-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

It's hard to breathe.

I lie here in bed, wadded tissues scattered across the flea-market quilt that should be warming my bones but really, it feels as if I'm covered with nothing. Or just wadded tissues. Yeah, it feels that light. But it's only the fever.

I've risen and fallen a dozen times today. Risen to bake bread and scoop granola into bowls, fallen to rest a body that aches from hips to the top of my spine. Risen to read scripture and find lowest common multiples and guide five-year-old's fingers as she weaves a potholder for her Nana. Fallen to the schoolroom sofa to close hot eyes just when Little Man crashes from a chair he's dragged to the stone hearth to reach the little wooden houses on the mantel. And I hold and kiss and start to scold him for something he's been reprimanded for a dozen times but I'd rather save my voice and save the extra tears for next time so I hush and kiss them away instead.

And by mid-afternoon husband is home with the aches and big nine-year-old boy has fallen to chills and we're a lump of blankets and tissues and matchbox cars, for Little Man thinks the lumps are perfect hilly roads and he drives while we sneeze and gasp for breath. (You pay tars? Me?)

All day, every time I've fallen, I've scooped up a gift, Ann's words, and read paragraph after paragraph, turning page after page to learn along with her the way to thanks and eucharisteo, and I think I will read it again and again and never tire of the lightning moments, the God-signs in the dust bunnies and the Spirit-whisper in the scrubbing brush, and I've risen and fallen in body and in thanks today, me just a heap of shaking bones and fickle heart.

I've thanked Him today for a bed, a roof, water... and yet I've groaned at the call to come wipe, the hunger pangs of young men, the aroma coming from his diaper... I've sung gratitude (hoarsely) for the breadmaker spinning calzone dough and the dryer spinning towels to fluff, for the sparrows at my window and the sky deceptively blue though the air is ice... and I've slumped at the stacks of dirty dishes and crayon marks on the dresser and clogs in the toilet.

How can I give thanks for the food and not the plates that hold evidence of full tummies? How can I give thanks for the water and sigh when a suffering little one asks for a drink? It's the ugly-beautiful, but I'm having a hard time seeing both of them together. Maybe one day I will finally begin to learn.

And by the way, it's still hard to breathe.

But just now, she came bounding in. All golden locks and long legs and pink fingertips leaping up next to me, propping her head on a pillow and flinging an arm across my chest. Her kisses pepper my nose and cheeks and chin and forehead; Yep, you have a fever, Mama, I checked the way you check!

In and out she comes, feet barely thumping up the hallway before they thump back to my door with a delighted laugh, I just can't leave you! and the flying leap again and the sprinkled kisses and the book falls to my chest and we touch noses.

Mama? I just love you, she murmurs.

I love you, too, Eliana! I whisper back, and when I sniff, she immediately reaches for the roll of toilet paper and thrusts it into my face. She watches me pull off a piece and press it to my nose, blow futilely, and fall back to my pillow still struggling for air.

And Mama? She kisses my cheek lightly. I hope you don't die, 'cause you're my favorite mama. I look close, and she's serious.

I never want my children to fear death. But when they bring it up in this way, with my leaving them, I want to run from it. But I don't. I say,

That's why I have to make the most of every minute! And I kiss her nose, her cheeks, her chin, her forehead. I need to get lots of kisses! (giggles) Do lots of dancing!

She slides from the bed to escape my silliness, still shrieking with laughter as she runs to the door.

And give thanks! she shouts as she thumps, this time for good, back up the hallway.

I'm stunned, as I lift the book from my chest and search the cover. My girl can't quite read yet, and I hadn't told her what my friend's book is about.

But give thanks? Yes, ma'am. I will.

Today's ugly-beautiful:

::tissues scattered (soft relief for tender noses)

::dirty dishes (tummies filled) (for now)

::red noses (bodies fighting infection)

::stripes on shirt and flowers on jumper (Ann Tabby made that jumper, and Eliana wears it every day. one can only assume that one will run out of complementary shirts eventually.)

::fighting for air ('cause not really, it's just the cold and flu, and we'll be better soon)

::tattered sweat pants and slippers (the freedom of wearing pajamas all day!)

::tangles in hip-length golden locks (precious mama-daughter time to comb them out)

::Little Man hitting his head (the joy of giving a lap full of grace)

::sick blankets everywhere (fun for Little Man and his precious cars)

::stinky diapers (the way a Mama washes feet, every day. Pure love.)

I'm learning. And counting. With every breath.

Children's Book Monday

2011-01-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

I have been anticipating sharing this story with you all for weeks!

The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough
by Katie Smith Milway
illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault

I'll admit, I was in an early-winter stupor when I stumbled across this book, and the summerish colors on the cover alone caused me to pull it off the display and peruse the inside cover.

Forget the inside cover. I sat down right where I was and read the entire thing before I stuffed it in a library bag, warmed from the inside out and eager to share the story with my children.

When a struggling family in Honduras has a poor garden crop, Papa leaves to find work and asks eleven-year-old Maria to take charge of their winter garden. She worries that she will not be able to revive it, and worries even more about the coyotes, wealthy loan sharks who take advantage of the poor farmers by paying little for their crops and charging too much for necessities.

But when a new teacher comes to Maria's school and begins to teach the children how to build sustainable gardens- terraces to stop erosion, feeding the soil with compost- she tries the techniques at home and soon, the entire village has *enough* and discovers the beauty of selling their crops at the market, rather than dealing through the coyotes.

And when Papa comes home, Maria cannot wait to show him what they've done...

This story is based on the practices of sustainable agriculture pioneer, Don Elias, whom the teacher in the story was modeled after. His techniques in companion planting, terracing, and compost feeding have helped many, many families go from hunger to having enough. The author, Katie Smith Milway, is also very active in coordinating community development programs in other countries and has even written another book similar to this one called One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference. (It's on our list!)

And as if the story weren't enough, the artwork, the depth of the pictures, the way each page is almost a story of it's own... well, you know...

Happy Reading!

Wordless

2011-01-24T15:30:00.001-07:00

Oh, friend. You there?

Your kindnesses in my inbox, the smiles in my mailbox, the strength-words on my phone. You're so dear.

I know I said just for Advent. And I am very aware that Advent became all of December, and December has now slipped into January.

A minister's wife carries many things close to her heart. She must. Her husband's burdens are her own, and though she creates a safe haven in the home, wipes clean the dear faces he loves, and dirties her knees on his behalf, the wounds can be very deep. She must wrap them tenderly and firmly. And quietly.

But friends? In staunching the flow, somewhere along the way I lost my words.

Just at the dawn of a revival of words.

I think perhaps He quieted me so I would listen.

And oh, I have.

I've wondered over the past couple of weeks when He would come to check the wound, see if it might be unwrapped, give me the go-ahead to exercise it, test out a few croaking words.

And this afternoon?

I took my girl's hand to lead her down the hallway to her bedroom for Quiet Time. She'd been twirling and pointing and leaping all morning, and now she kicked a leg back and said, Mama, we can do ballet back to my bedroom!

So, quietly as we passed the deep breaths from behind Little Man's door, we twirled and pointed and leapt, dancing to the music of our giggles.

In a few moments she, propped up on her pillow and safely ensconced behind a wall of books, suggested, You can do ballet back by yourself now!

I pulled the door quietly shut and stood there for a moment.

Then I smiled.

And I twirled and pointed and leapt back up the hall, happy tears forming by the time I finished, breathless and shaking.

And I felt the story building up inside me, saw it welling out of my eyes, had it written before my fingertips hit the keys.

How ironic is it that I haven't yet chosen a word for my year?

Rather I'm grateful just to be finding my own voice again. To frame the words.

Kind friend, thank you for being a safe place. Though I may still stutter and blush and croak, I think perhaps I've found my way back to weaving the words, my story, His story, once again.

(If you haven't been following along with the absolutely beautiful and moving and vivid letters between friends Holley and Ann, here is where to start. Words are the careful discussion everywhere right now. It would seem He's trying to tell us something. Let's listen, shall we?)

Related - other words I've been meditating on in this wordless season:
Proverbs. The whole book.
Andrea's beautiful thoughts on Words
Elizabeth's Gratitude for Words goal
Christa Wells' Frame the Clouds (click on song number ten on the player)
By Our Love, a modern hymn by Christy Nockels- Sisters, we were made for kindness...
A Cluster of Camphire: Words of Cheer and Comfort to Sick and Sorrowful Souls (gift from a precious friend who has upheld me in prayer)
(In)courage

Bedtime Song

2010-12-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

He sings.

All the time. Any old song.

Silly songs. Hymns. Nursery rhymes. Christmas carols. Even if we're singing to ourselves, and he doesn't know the words, he bobs his head and sways and does his best to keep up.

But the bedtime song?

It melts us. Every night.

Here's a peek, just for you.

Hear my cry, oh God.
Attend unto my prayer!
From the ends of the earth
Will I cry unto You.

And when my heart is overwhelmed
Lead me to the Rock
That is higher than I...
That is higher than I.

(This is also our middle-of-the-night, bad dream, sick tummy, and owie song. Makes us all feel better!)

Almost

2010-12-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Here you will find Christmas in the corners, Advent in the alcove. The counter tops dusted with flour, the lip-corners dusted with crumbs. Our family-chosen Christmas hymn sung with gusto by the two-year-old at any given moment. Clementines spilling over bowl-rims, merry snowmen adorning Little Lady's desk.

Fingertips touching wood-carved Mary on her donkey, gently moving the two another space. And every day that she moves closer to the Moment, children's voices hush and they whisper, Almost.

Almost, and then forever.

Merry Christmas, kindest of friends! May you enter into forever with the gladdest of hearts!

Fireside, Tableside, Bedside...

2010-12-05T16:37:00.001-07:00

...wherever you find yourself snuggled up with little ones and reading books during this beautiful season, here is an update of my shelf with some of our family's favorite winter/Christmas stories.

Happy Reading!

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

The Gate is Called Beautiful {Enter In}

2010-11-30T21:55:00.003-07:00

Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Acts 3:1-10

So often, I sit outside of this place called Beautiful, but I don't look up, and I don't make my way in. I watch the passing feet, hold out my hands for a plate, wipe faces and hold books and stir pots.

Eyes down.

Look at me! He calls.

Oh, but just a moment- perhaps this other little person needs me, and you know- it's really in this small act of sacrifice that I find my fulfillment. I'm sure you understand. Could you perhaps find a way to bless me while I work, so I don't have to stop?

Look at me! He calls again, firmly.

And my eyes find His.

It's a beautiful thing, this gaze turned up and out.

So, before I leave my bed in the morning, pen forms gratitude words in a journal; five thanks before I rise. The sun between blind slats and fuzzy slippers-in-waiting and imprint of husband's head on the pillow make quick work of the gratitude, but I've looked at His face first today, and oh, it is lovely.

Before dinner, when lights are turned out and candle is lit and even before the fresh cups of milk have a chance to be spilled, we look up for His coming. Reading in the dark, His great light kindling in our hearts.

And I turn the story page slower, when really, it's past bedtime for her and dishes lie in wait and husband is long gone to his meeting and sons battle with lego swords across the kitchen floor... I just do. I turn it slow, and linger to look with her, and we make a rhyme of our own before I slip away with a kiss and a prayer.

And I set down scrubber and pot to select the best cookies and trot downstairs to boys and their legos and smile my offering, and when water is requested I trot back up and fill and trot back down and young-man arms encircle and I linger for moments longer.

I could sit outside the Beauty every day, all day, and never look up to pause, to hear, to feel.

To live outside of Beauty is to live inside myself, and really, what kind of living is that, anyway?

I'm just a mess. A jumble of expectations and easily-dashed-hopes. Sin.

I see best when my eyes are fixed on Him. And even though I may often sit, crippled, outside of the Beautiful Gate and hope and beg for answers from passing feet and try to search and find fulfillment in service to my husband and children, He still calls.

I'm trying to look up, and enter in. Perhaps, when you see me again and I'm walking and leaping and praising God, you will recognize me as that woman who used to sit outside of Beauty and struggle to raise her head...

This is a quiet attempt at explaining why I will not be posting in the month of December, except for perhaps some pictures of our Advent. He's calling me to enter into some quiet, and I willingly, gladly answer Yes!

I look up to see Him and I find you, too, kind friends, nodding understanding and folding gentle hands in prayer.

I'm so thankful for you.

Be blessed!

{The picture in my kitchen window is a commissioned piece, a combination of the calligraphy talents of sister Bethany, and the artistic talent of another sister, Abbie. The poem is George Herbert's, way-words while we work, and the illustration is a constant example of diligence for my kitchen helpers.}

CBM {Christmas Edition}: Perfect Pairings

2010-11-28T16:32:00.001-07:00

Christmas in the Barn
by Margaret Wise Brown
pictures by Barbara Cooney

The story of the surroundings during the birth of our Lord has never been more wondrously profound, thanks to the inimitable prose of Margaret Wise Brown and the quiet, antique drawings of Barbara Cooney. This book is an absolute Christmas favorite.

The Little Fir Tree
by Margaret Wise Brown
pictures by Barbara Cooney

This story always has me croaking my way through it- struggling to get the words past the lump in my throat. I love all of Cooney's bright pops of color on the wintry landscape; the simplicity of the lines in her work are surprisingly detailed when a closer look is taken. The story, a vaguely similar retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's tale, The Fir Tree, is a lovely picture of a father's love for his son, and I pray it finds it's way into your heart and hands this Christmas.

Happy Reading!

Heavy Laden

2010-11-21T20:33:00.003-07:00

Here our Gratitude Tree took a tumble over the deck while I stood in my Sunday best, mouth agape. Minutes later I trooped through the fifteen+ inches of snow that piled in over my boot tops and rescued Gratitude from the earth, stringing it again on the branches.

Oh, how we give thanks. Our gratitude tree is heavy laden in the very best way, but soon will be stripped bare as the wintry landscape.

And it will sit bare on our tabletop, a root preparing to become a Jesse Tree, nestled near our Advent Wreath.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come.

Happy Thanksgiving, kind friends!

Gratitude {Journals}

2010-11-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

...and Daddy's day off. Much to be thankful for.

Rhythm {and wonder}

2010-11-17T21:33:00.001-07:00

I know I've been rather quiet in this little space lately.

That's just because Life has been so very... Life... lately.

And just when I think I cannot hear His voice over the din, see the Way through the chaos, feel His breath inside the whirl...

I find Him in the scribblings in my journal.

Without the essential nutrients of rest, wisdom, and delight embedded in the problem-solving process itself, the solution we patch together is likely to be an obstacle to genuine relief.
Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest, Wayne Muller

Life is like the breath: We must be able to live in an easy rhythm between give and take. If we cannot learn to live and breathe in this rhythm, we will place ourselves in grave danger.
Brother David Steindl-Rast

Enjoy.
~God

While [the] sacrifice to fulfill Christ's mission for [motherhood] is wholly appropriate, sacrificing at the altar of perfectionism, overcommitment, and disorganization most decidedly is not.
Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home, Elizabeth Foss

God, hear me saying...heart beat...
I am dry and brittle and ready to snap.
God, I hear You saying...heart beat...
How else to be kindling for a burning bush?
~Ann Voskamp

and among my own scribblings...

...Am I shouldering a yoke that is not His?

..."Come," He said. "Let us go, and rest, and pray..."

...I want to be a light...

...SLOW DOWN!!!

So of course I find He's been whispering the Way all along. My fingertips trace the words in wonder.

Rhythm, rest, sacrifice, order...

These are the map-words I'm holding close in these blurry, whirly, breathless days. And He's even mapped those for me, for I find Him here...

...as we're reading stories in front of the fire, hanging the leaves, recording the gratitude...

The Way-words keep me from heading wayward off this path.

I'm still walkin'. Just a little quieter in some places...

You, there- kind friend?

Enjoy!

He said so.

Children's Book Monday

2010-11-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

{I answered a couple of questions about my dining room post in the comments there...}

I wish we had found this book a few weeks ago, so we could enjoy it a little longer before Thanksgiving comes and goes. Fortunately, this story is so unusual and moving, we can enjoy it year round!

The Thanksgiving Door
by Debby Atwell

It is Thanksgiving Day, and Ann has burned the dinner. Her husband, Ed, wisely slips coats over their shoulders and leads her out the door to see if the new restaurant down the street is open.

Though not a person is in sight when they arrive, there is a warmth and beauty found in the large room with beautiful decorations of Thanksgiving- pilgrims and native American figurines alongside dancing characters from the old country.

The owners peep through the kitchen doors, distressed because they were not supposed to be open today, and were just beginning their own feast! Grandmother urges the family to share the meal with the lonely couple, and what transpires is a beautiful tale bearing the true spirit of Thanksgiving.

Friendships are forged at the long table, and after the owners deny Ed and Ann the chance to pay for their meal, everyone gathers babies and chairs and heads up the staircase for an evening of music and dancing- men in ushankas and women in traditional aprons and vests, and even Ed, who has never danced a lick in his life joins in!

After the sweet goodbyes and promises of continued relationship, Papa finds something peculiar keeping the cafe door from closing, and Grandmother's wisdom reminds the family that a Thanksgiving door is like a happy heart, opened up big and wide.

Indeed!

Happy reading!

Autumn {dining room}

2010-11-10T21:51:00.002-07:00

Children's Book Monday {Fireside Edition}

2010-11-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

From the Fireside Book Basket...

The Little Bookroom
by Eleanor Farjeon

The cover of this volume of stories was what originally spoke to me, and I was probably more excited about it than almost any other book we ordered for school this year! The inside did not disappoint...

Ms. Farjeon has a long list of well-loved books, but the author of the beautiful poem Morning Has Broken has also written many short stories that are has compiled into this beautiful volume. Illustrated by another favorite, Edward Ardizzone, it's the perfect fireside companion.

The Gold Thread (and other stories of young faith)
by Norman MacLeod

The very day I purchased this book at our home school convention, we began to read... and even months later, the stories in this classic volume are as vivid as ever.

Outdoor Secrets
by Margaret P. Boyle

Secrets, indeed! Never have we enjoyed a nature book as we have this one- cleverly included in each captivating story are little facts about creation that we never knew!

Parables of a Country Parson
by William E. Barton

I confess that these stories have not yet been enjoyed by the children... but I have read every single one! Just recently I curled up next to my husband and read two of these "parables" out loud. The (very) old English and clever conversation had us both laughing, and the moral of each tale always leaves me slightly teary. I am so looking forward to sharing some of these stories with the children this winter!

The Racketty-Packetty House
by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Beloved author of A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, Ms. Burnett's story of two dollhouses and a subsequent fairy-rescue is timeless; Eliana and I are enjoying this one together, wrapped in a favorite blanket in front of the blazing fire.

The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkein

I bought this collector's edition for Kevin almost ten years ago, and now, as he reads it aloud to his two oldest boys, the story of a hobbit, a wizard, a ring, and a war is coming to life again through their eyes... it is a joy to watch. (and listen!)

With the Children on Sundays: Through Eye-Gate and Ear-Gate Into the City of Child-Soul
by Sylvanus Stall

Little sermonettes geared towards children, although, pleasantly enough, the words encourage little ones to reach higher, strive harder- no dumbing it down here! Laced with poetry, hymns, scientific drawings and questions to tie everything together, we love this addition to our Sabbath.

Happy Reading!

Is it Okay That I'm a Mama? {cause I still feel like a kid}

2010-11-02T20:50:00.002-06:00

You put some bark right in the flame, here, and it burns really easily!
Just a little trick for when you're an old lady and Dad's not here. Micah and I won't always be around, you know!
~Corban, while he helped build and light the fire yesterday morning.

Yesterday, I was a newlywed, and still learning how to cook.

Today, he honks a deep-but-squeaky laugh so startling that I think it must be his daddy. But it isn't. It's my eleven-year-old. That silly little boy joke resulted in a big-boy laugh, and I'm left baffled and blinking.

Yesterday, I was twenty-one and reading the pregnancy test, scared and excited and shaking and blissful.

Today, he finds my hand at the grocery store and doesn't let go for ages, talking my ear off. And his hand is big. Really big. As in, it's dwarfing my hand, and it's dry and callused and strong. And now I'm blinking back tears, but they're happy, too, cause he's oblivious to everyone and he's still holding my hand.

Yesterday, I became a mama, and we bundled up our newborn, firstborn son and drove home at a snail's pace, my battered, weak body cocooning his as we gingerly stepped over the threshold.

Today, I watch through the kitchen window as he hops down from the climbing ropes in the trees and scoops up his baby brother, balancing him confidently on one hip, the two of them talking and gesturing and I don't even need to knock on the window to remind him to be careful. He is.

Yesterday, I was just a kid, right? Cause I still want to sit and read and eat M&M's all day and ignore my chores and sigh like a teenager when it's time for bed and sleep till the afternoon and have someone else make my food.

But today, I'm reminded that I'm a mama. And just when I feel like someone should notify the proper authorities that a kid is raising four children and is responsible for their schooling and diet and overall well-being...

...he calls me an old lady.

Bam. Hello, reality.

You look amazing.

My ~~little~~ big boy, Corban, moonlighting as William Wallace, fighting ~~a friend~~ Frodo at the Harvest Party.

Children's Book Monday

2010-10-31T18:08:00.000-06:00

Well, I was having so much fun with my brother and sister-in-law and all the cousins that I forgot our books were due until it was two days too late!

Thirty-some dollars (we had over ninety books!) and no grace period later we are library book-less, the lonely bins next to the roaring fire reproach me for my forgetfulness and my children repeat over and over how much they miss having library books in the living room and dining room and bedrooms to read.

I know. I'm so sorry.

We really did have lots of fun, though, and the sweetness of our time combined with the fact that the money is going to the library softens the blow quite a bit.

A bin-renewing library day is going to have to wait until Wednesday, but oh, did we have some good ones to share. Several in particular are standing out in my memory, so I will do my best to briefly review them today.

Forgive me?

Riddle Road: Puzzles in Poems and Pictures
by Elizabeth Spires
illustrated by Erik Blegvad

This was a delicious fireside book- simple riddles with hidden clues in the fine drawings by another of our favorite illustrators. We will definitely need to check this one out again to enjoy it in it's fullness!

How the Ladies Stopped the Wind
by Bruce McMillan
illustrated with paintings by Gunnella

The Icelandic countryside was windy, no question. This quaint little tale about how the women of a little village found a way to stop the wind (or shield themselves from it!) left smiles on our faces and giggles in our throats. (And refueled our desire to have chickens one day, but that's beside the point.)

Pumpkin Moonshine
by Tasha Tudor

A fall favorite- always finds it's way into our seasonal basket in the dining room. This tale of a little girl and her pumpkin, accompanied by Tasha Tudor's incomparable artwork, is a gentle read and focuses much more on the harvest abundance of fall and the softer side of Halloween, and we appreciate that very much. You will, too!

Happy Reading!

I Missed It {But I'm Still Relevant)

2010-10-25T19:02:00.000-06:00

The joy of family coming to visit is unsurpassed in the Hooper home.

My brother, his sweet wife (one of my best friends) and their four children are with us, living "under the stairs" in our super comfy basement for one glorious week. The days are already flying by too quickly, game-filled, laughter-rich, and the six boys and two girls between us keep us on our toes, begging to fill the hours with as much closeness and fun as they can stand. It has been so precious.

However, I didn't get to attend Relevant.

And the texts flew between Andrea and I as she spent time with other Christian bloggers at the event, and her words were filled with delight at the fellowship, yet weariness at being an introvert in such surroundings. And I commiserated, nodding understanding as I sent strength-words to bounce off of satellites and warm her heart, but felt a growing sorrow that I was missing a time of encouragement with her, and so many other dear hearts.

Ann was the keynote speaker on Saturday evening. Ann. Who I, along with thousands of others, have grown to love and admire over the years. Who has encouraged me in my darkest hours, and has blessed me with the poetry of her life, written from such an honest place. I so wanted to hear her speak, but to see her as well?

So I found a place online to watch the live stream and prepared family for losing Mama for an hour so I could drink in her words and rejoice at seeing my dear friend, hear her voice, enjoy her mannerisms. I steeped some tea, preparing a second mug for my sister-in-law, who was joining me in the bedroom to nurse her girl and watch as well. Fireman brother was stirring his homemade spaghetti sauce, the table set for dinner, children scattered throughout the house playing...

...and the internet went out.

Husband and brother frantically tried to help, switching laptops, moving cords, calling providers. But we found that our neighborhood was part of an area that would be experiencing an outage for a couple of hours.

I kept my heart light, closed my eyes against the temporary tears of disappointment, and opened them to smile at my sister-in-law as we packed up laptops and mugs and baby and reentered life.

And I heard Jehovah-Jireh, my Provider, whisper, Beloved, you haven't missed a thing.

The sauce was bubbling and homemade french bread made earlier in the day was spread with garlic butter and toasted, milk poured in glasses, boosters and bibs filled with baby boys, and then I lit the candle.

And there was nowhere else I would rather have been.

Later that evening, Eliana placed her hands on my face as I smiled at her after prayers. She squeezed gently, then gasped and said,

God wants us to smile- that's why He gave us cheeks!

And these cheeks are still smilin'. And I couldn't agree more with Andrea's final text that night...

You're living life, and blogging the overflow!

My cup runneth over.

But next year in Pennsylvania? I'm so there.

Children's Book Monday

2010-10-24T15:30:00.000-06:00

My brother and his dear family are visiting us- so I've scavenged our library baskets for you and updated my Shelfari- Happy Reading!

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

Children's Book Monday

2010-10-17T14:29:00.001-06:00

This past week my husband and I received the incredible gift of nearly four days on our own. Our first non-nursing, non-pregnant, more-than-one-night away, just the two of us, in eleven years.

After attending a beautiful wedding at which Kevin officiated, we left the two youngest with my parents and our big boys with my brother and his wife and their crew of little men. Then we drove to our sweet small town about ninety miles away and rested. And walked. And rested. (We got tired early and woke early. Go figure.) And played games. And talked. (We got to finish our sentences!) And rested.

On our last day, we drove about seventy miles further to a tourist town we love, and the first shop we found, we lingered in for almost two hours.

It was a bookstore, of course. My favorite treasure of the day?

Johnny Appleseed
A poem by Reeve Lindbergh
Paintings by Kathy Jakobsen

I have never read a more beautiful rendition of Johnny Appleseed's life than this delightful book. In her poem, Ms. Lindbergh sought to stay completely true to what history tells of his character and relationship with God and creation, and the result is prose rich in description and deep with meaning.

The incredible paintings on every page are quilt-like in their textures and storytelling, and as the seasons come and go throughout Mr. Chapman's life, a thankfulness for his selfless gifts permeates the pages.

The children and I are preparing to make this craft for our seasonal nature table swap, and we think this book is a perfect accompaniment! Well, that and some apple cider. And maybe apple pie, too.

Happy Reading!

Autumn {With My Sisters}

2010-10-14T13:48:00.000-06:00

{Here is where I've been... the silliest sisters, the most delicious laughter... glorious! May you all find a moment to kick the leaves with someone you love this weekend!}

Everything {Bookish} in Moderation

2010-10-05T20:00:00.018-06:00

I don't know about you, but when it comes to Elise and books (and food, but that's another post entirely), the phrase Everything in moderation certainly applies.

I have to moderate my {personal} book stacks once ~~in awhile~~ every few weeks, or else I may go mad.

Because I read suggestions from trusted friends, use some birthday money to buy one (okay, four) secondhand, place the rest on hold at the library, and suddenly they all come at once and I've got ~~stacks~~ towers of books on nightstand and squashed in the space between cubby and shelf on my desk, and I'm overwhelmed.

Especially when I have more than one parenting/mothering/homeschooling book going at the same time... all inspiring and convicting, but covering such a variety of struggling areas that I can literally feel the clutter of too many ideas and issues and dramas slugging it out in my heart and mind; then I know I've got too much on my bookish plate.

(It's really sad when a collector of bookmarks such as myself has so many books going at once that she has to resort to using her youngest child's hospital bracelet to mark her place since the real ones are all in use. Honestly, Elise.)

Too, as a home schooling mama, I've got to be careful to leave some space up there for the reading we do all day. There's a fine, fuzzy line between maxing out four library cards with children's books to fill bins on hearth and in bedrooms, and maxing out brain capacity with multiple fictions and mothering helps and devotionals and teacherish manuals. Not to mention daily meal time read-alouds.

There is a time and season for everything, and the time for having the freedom to keep multiple books in multiple genres rotating on nightstand and desk is not now. I know it will come someday, but I forget in the excitement of a new book suggestion, and the lure of being moved emotionally by something other than Farmer Boy. (Not to demean at all- I cry at some point during every Little House book. Just sayin'.)

But every few weeks, my books and I, we come to a head. And they try to look all pretty and enticing and my beautiful desk is made even more so by the colorful, rich stacks on it's surface, and my ~~nightstand~~ bookshelf and lamp collect dust but the books never do, and I stand with hands on hips and try to look ruthless but they know I'm weak...

So I close my eyes for a moment, and remember this is a season, and we will meet again, take a deep breath and begin to stack up books for library return and a trip down to the family room bookshelves. But not all of them.

I choose one fiction, one mothering ministry, one devotional, and one teacherish.

It works for me. The fiction stays at my bedside, the mothering ministry follows me everywhere, the devotional sits on the mantel beneath my Bible, and the teacherish at my desk.

Here's what I am {happily} left with for now:

Fiction: Katherine, by Anya Seton (until my pre-order of the newest Mitford book arrives!)

Mothering: Seasons of a Mother's Heart, by Sally Clarkson (for the fourth time. It's wonderful.)

Devotional: Discipline: The Glad Surrender, by Elisabeth Elliot

Teacherish: Real Learning, by Elizabeth Foss (sidenote: When this book first arrived, I tried to read it in bed for a few nights, and just couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting sleepy! Reading always makes me sleepy. I grabbed a fiction book out of desperation after a late hour of Real Learning, and literally fell asleep within minutes. So this one is a read-while-the-children-are-quietly-working-on-math book. Guaranteed to keep you thinking! Love her heart, love her wisdom.)

So, goodbye to this...

...and hello to moderation.

For a few weeks, anyway.

Children's Book Monday

2010-10-04T08:03:00.001-06:00

Head colds and traveling and doctor's appointments... oh my!

Here are a few books from our seasonal basket, in lieu of a review today...

Farm
by Elisha Cooper

Thanksgiving is Here!
by Diane Goode

(We're a little early on this one... but it's so much fun!)

Leaf by Leaf
by Barbara Rogasky

Happy Reading!

{Autumn} Afternoon Snack

2010-09-30T15:31:00.001-06:00

Fresh, backyard pear... drizzle of honey... sprinkle of cinnamon...

It's what perks up this mama in the rush of late afternoon these days..

I love autumn.

[Tell Me] A True Thing

2010-09-28T06:42:00.001-06:00

Her tears quickly soak the hair on the nape of my neck as I meet her in the hallway and scoop her into my arms. She sobs husky into my shoulder and clings tight, long legs wrapped around my waist.

Her cries have wakened me from a dream of my own, and I feel shaky myself standing there, blinking rapidly and patting her back.

Shhhhhh, precious, I whisper as we enter her room. It's all right now, Mama has you. Shhhhhhh.

I lay her back on the pillow and her arms fling frantic in the semi-dark, groping for me. I slide under the covers next to her and hold tight.

I'm scared, Mama- it's so dark! Don't leave! Don't leave... I soothe with hands through her hair, across her cheek, around her waist. I rub her back, my fingers tracing her spine and massaging shoulders. I'm scared... Don't leave me all alone in the dark! she sobs again, and I pull her chin up towards my face.

Tell me a True Thing, Eliana, I say firmly, and she quiets, breath coming shaky but slower.

You are with me, she gulps.

I smile and tuck her into my shoulder. What else? Tell me another True Thing, my girl.

God is with me. And I'm safe. My nightlight is on. And I like to make soup for Daddy!

Even in the dark, I feel her smile. Tell me a True Thing, Mama! What is true? I slide off the bed and begin to tuck and smooth the covers.

It is true that the Lord grants sleep to the ones that He loves. And it is so very true that He loves you!

We hug close, I whisper a prayer over her and pull the gossamer curtain around her bed and turn to the door.

Mama? she murmurs, blessed sleep coming quicker than I thought it would.

It is so very true that I love you.

I pray over my girl's room, my hand lingering on the doorframe. And I know He would have me listen deep...

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8-10

Today when tasks are overwhelming, when the toddler interrupts school work for the hundredth time, when dinner is late and husband has an evening meeting and the house is in chaos.... I will tell myself a True Thing.

Or twenty.

He loves me. He is with me. This will get easier. I will survive. I'll get better at this, if I work at it. I will find the time to work at it. The house is in chaos, but our home is intact. Eventually, they will all be asleep. And so will I. For He grants sleep to the ones that He loves.

I am blessed.

Children's Book Monday

2010-09-27T07:25:00.000-06:00

From the nature basket...

Country Road ABC: An Illustrated Journey Through America's Farmland
by Arthur Geisert

We already think Mr. Geisert is terribly clever, but with Country Road ABC, his choices for depicting farm moments with the ABC's are genius. Every letter has a two-page spread, with a larger picture showing a closeup, and a panned-out picture that invites the fun of hunting for the activity from far away.

For example, Letter "J" (for July 4), shows the small town parade, veterans leading, red tractor with father and sons following, and a couple of horses behind. Farmers and their families line the streets and flags fly. Below, in the panned-out picture, we see farmland, farmhouses, animals... and away in the distance, over the rolling hills, the small outline of the town, with fireworks showering from above.

This book has many hours of fun yet packed in it's pages, and we're itching to discover it!

Birds
by Kevin Henkes
illustrated by Laura Dronzek

This husband and wife author/illustrator team should always work together, in our opinion. The whimsical observations Henkes makes about birds and their surroundings...

sometimes, in winter
a bird in a tree
looks like one red
leaf left over

paired with Dronzek's simple and vivid illustrations makes for an excellent read for virtually all ages. We all laughed, every one of us, at the pages where Henkes describes watching seven birds on the telephone wires, and how they didn't move, and they didn't move, and they didn't move. When he looked away for just a second... they were gone! We could all remember watching for movement, just like the author did, at one time.

Silly birds.

Happy Reading!

Frough Frough! (or, Going on a Bear Hunt, G style)

2010-09-24T09:45:00.000-06:00

So we're all kinds of distracted, and I'm disheveled and apron-clad, and I have to read fast because sometimes he gets ahead of me, but here's a peek at what's it's like to read Going on a Bear Hunt with my G. He's got his own little language ("frough-frough" = "through", "assat?" = "what's that?") and then, at the height of the drama... he just has to make a phone call.

Enjoy!

Frough frough!!! from Elise Hooper on Vimeo.

Children's Book Monday

2010-09-19T16:22:00.001-06:00

{If you think of us today, kind friends, would you consider sending up a prayer on our behalf? It is the first day of a new school year, and we are so excited- but somehow, I feel less prepared than usual... with fruit trees full and garden ripe, canning and baking are consuming my thoughts, so I'm praying for focus and fluidity and letting go of the unnecessary and lots of learning and even more laughter!}

Tomie dePaola has long been a household name in the world of children's books, and this household is no exception. Imagine my surprise when, on our last library visit, my husband came across a title we had never read! Sure enough, the tears and joy and surprise we all feel when we share this story are standard dePaola fare.

Now One Foot, Now the Other
by Tomie dePaola

A tiny baby is born, and he is named Bobby. His delighted grandfather declares that, since it will take probably three years for Bobby to be able to say Grandpa, he will teach him to say Bob instead. Sure enough, Bob is Bobby's first word!

Bob teaches Bobby to walk, and they love to build block towers and sneeze them down. And whenever Bobby wants to hear a story, he asks Bob to tell it; his favorite is the one about when Bob taught him to walk. Now one foot, now the other. And before you knew it...

When Bob has a stroke, and it takes months before he can come home again, Bobby is afraid when Bob doesn't appear to recognize him, nor is he able to legibly talk, much less tell stories. But when Bobby remembers the love he has for his grandfather, he chooses to do everything the same as before.

He builds block towers for Bob to "sneeze" down, and soon, his grandfather can say Bobby just as clear as anything. Bobby helps Bob hold his spoon, and soon he can almost feed himself, but he still can't walk. One day when they are sitting outside together, and Bobby is telling Bob stories, his grandfather slowly stands, and asks Bobby to help him walk.

And when you turn to the last page with your little ones and start to read only you can't because your voice is cracking and your heart is breaking and you look in their eyes and know they're feeling the same way, well, you're in good company.

It's that good. That precious, that sweet. Just like Mr. dePaola.

Happy Reading!

Near

2010-09-13T22:42:00.005-06:00

A wail resounds from the hallway, gaining volume as it reaches the kitchen.

Little Man runs to me, his left hand held high, fingers stiffly splayed, his mouth open in a now-silent cry.

I scoop and hold and coax a breath, and then we head back down the hall, to find Sister who stands at the end in darkness from closed doors, hands covering her mouth in horror, eyes wide with fear.

I... I... I didn't want him in my room!

I kneel and look closer at Little Man's hand and see a swollen finger, purple ridge like a closed gash above the first knuckle. I gasp and gently rub the indentation and look angrily into her green eyes.

Eliana, I heard you ask him to help push the dress-up basket to your room! And he did. So why didn't you let him in to finish putting it away? He doesn't understand!

In frustration I turn him away from her, curl him into my mama-cocoon, allowing myself the indulgence of being his sole comfort.

I croon and gently flex his fingers and lay my cheek on his tears but hers fall lonely and she stands back, hands outstretched.

I catch anguish in those green eyes.

I... I... I want to be with him!

And though much of me in this moment wants to send her away as more punishment for what she's done, to think about what she's done, to be sorry for what she's done (oh, will this mama ever learn how to show grace?)... I reach out, grasp her hand, and pull her to him.

She crumples into sobs and rubs his back and examines hurt finger and kisses it, washing with her tears. He breathes deep shudders and thrusts the thumb on his good hand into his mouth, blue eyes wide and tears shimmering over the surface like dew on a violet.

Nonny, he murmurs. Nonny. Sorry.

And I don't know why I thought separation would bring healing.

How can he know she is sorry if he can't see her eyes? How can she know he forgives if she can't see his?

We are healed now, we three, and we wipe cheeks and tuck damp hair behind ears and give tiny fingers another tender kiss, and sing a comfort song so Little Man will forget.

Hear my cry, O God,
Attend unto my prayer,
From the ends of the earth,
Will I cry unto You.
And when my heart is overwhelmed,
Lead me to the Rock
That is higher than I...
That is higher than I.

How can we be led if we're so far away, we can't slip our hand into His?

Separation. It was really never meant to be.

Draw near.

Children's Book Monday

2010-09-12T16:40:00.001-06:00

There are so many children's book gems in this world, but every once in awhile one becomes a true treasure; and you find yourselves talking about it for days, plucking it out of the book basket as you pass by, just to flip through the beautiful pages for a moment. Today's book sparkled at me from the library shelf, and I confess that after my initial gasp at the beauty of it's cover, I didn't even flip through the pages. I just plunked it in the library box and smiled as I walked on.

Very unusual for me. Because yes, it is true that...

There is no worse robber than a bad book! ~Italian proverb

... and so I seek to be careful in what we choose to lay out for eager hands and eyes.

Happily, once we got home and I stacked books into their boxes on the fireplace, I sat back to enjoy this beauty, and was absolutely delighted!

Little Blue
by Gaye Chapman

At the beginning of our story, Little Blue is lost. And her beautiful toile-like dress with it's blue and white flowers, her blue hair and blue tights and shoes peek out from a pile of leaves, where she sleeps, waiting to be found.

When Will comes through the forest with his walking stick, it clinks against her shoe and she is found! But when he asks her what home looks like, and she describes a bridge and steps to the mountains...

I miss my mountains, said Little Blue...

...Will tells her that his home has a path to the hills and tall rocks, almost like her home. But when they climb the hills and gaze from the rocks, they still cannot find the way to Little Blue's home.

Page after gorgeous page, Little Blue describes home to Will, and it comes alive, piece by piece, with simple blue pencil drawings. And when they finally reach Will's home, he holds Little Blue in his hand and they go into the cottage together, where Grandmother is delighted to find the piece to a treasure that went missing long ago...

Many of you will recognize a familiar pattern in this book, and you will wonderingly retrace the story through the pages again to collect all the pieces to this rich but simple story.

We've been talking of home quite often around here lately, because Eliana consistently sighs, I miss home... whenever we are away for an hour or two. And now Gideon has begun to say it... home. Home! Daddy stooped to hold their chins and told them, Wherever we are, no matter what, if we are together? We're home.

A treasure, indeed.

Happy Reading!

She's His Nonny!

2010-09-03T14:21:00.002-06:00

{Thirty-Three} A Remembered Life

2010-08-31T01:49:00.006-06:00

“In the north-west sky there was a cloud. It was small in the enormous, brassy sky. But it was a cloud, and it made a streak of shade on the prairie. The shadow seemed to move, but perhaps that was only the heat waves. No, it really was coming nearer.

It grew larger. It was a thick, dark streak in the air above the prairie. Its edge rolled and swelled in big puffs. Now gusts of cool air came, mixed with gusts hotter than ever.”
~On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Have you ever wondered, as you read her vivid descriptions of food and weather and clothing, just how Laura Ingalls Wilder remembered her childhood so crisply? How she could describe an autumn table so sumptuous that it leaves us with growling tummies? How a dress is described so perfectly, down to the length of stitches, that we can almost feel the softness and see the hues of the fabric?

I have.

But when we reached Silver Lake years ago, I finally understood.

Mary.

When Mary was blinded by fever, Laura became her eyes. She wove a tapestry of words through the darkness of Mary's world, and in so doing, the world around Laura took on a sharpness, a clarity. I imagine that even sounds became poetry to Laura, for her words to Mary evoked such love for her surroundings. She memory-painted and Mary saw with heart-eyes.

A narrative life is a remembered life.

...............

Today, I turned thirty-three. Tonight, I realized that I hadn't even picked up the camera until evening fell.

But I remember.

Fluffy scrambled eggs, as only Husband can make, filling a china cup. Sliced zucchini bread and fresh coffee with sugar just so and cream swirled in. Arms full of hugs and mouths full of kisses, little ones piling my lap with homemade cards and love-words. Resting back on the pillows, my eyes filling with tears. Overflowing.

A mama-necklace, brass and pearl, resting around my neck, the weight of it reminding me of these days of grace. A surprise birthday gift, this, for I already received my running shoes a month ago... but his smile says, I told you yes, the shoes could be your birthday gift. Just not the only one!

"Blessing" hens from beloved parents and siblings, colors bright and cheerful, fabric swirly and sequins shiny and bell tinkling, finding their new name and home on the brick-dust wall of the dining room. How Little Man reaches up and pulls, tearing hens away from the tasseled hanger, and we cry together at the broken gift, Eliana rubbing our backs and murmuring platitudes. And how I find a way to tie it all together again, minus a perky yellow hen, and we all sigh with relief as it goes back to it's home, this time a little higher. And I'm thinking of Elizabeth and goodbye and knowing, just absolutely knowing that I will remember this with a smile someday, the broken pieces long forgotten, the Little Man hands becoming Big Man hands, too big to hold mine anymore. I want a remembered life.

How we're frosting birthday cake, she and I, her smile spreading wide and her cheeks suspiciously streaked with sticky white- she thinks I won't notice! - and my hands are so full of spatula and bowl and I'm twisting sideways and stretching over her head to spread the cream-cheese goodness where she can see, and learn how, though I can hardly reach in the process. And even then, I'm noticing the moment and wishing for the camera one second and thankful for it's absence the next. I'll paint it with memory words instead. There is no room for cameras here. My heart is too full.

I wipe down countertops, brushing the ginger carrot cake crumbs into my hand, wincing at the music Husband has chosen while he washes the dishes. And Little Man wants to dance cause Sissy is twirling and so I toss dishrag and Husband and I, we grab hands and turn the volume up and dance, too. And the windows are flung wide for the very un-August-like air so the neighborhood is listening and Little Man practices jumping and Eliana never stops twirling and Tobymac sings, Hey, devil, go on, get your junk out of here! And we're laughing and gasping and it's all just so Life. Click.

Birthday fondue with the dearest of friends, we're smiling across the table at each other, and children are tucked away and crisp air is filtering in between the slats of blinds, late sunshine falling long across the carpet. Prayer and a toast, gifts and laughter, and when cheesecake crumbs are in the bottom of the wine glasses and melted chocolate dribbles across the table, we're yawning and saying goodbye and day is done.

Today I turned thirty-three. That's the big event. But the hundreds of other tiny little moments? Those are the ones I want to remember.

The ugly, the beautiful. Morning breath on my lips, tears on my nightgown. Unconditional love abounding. Poor, detached, forlorn yellow hen, no longer perky. Hearts knit closer together through tears and forgiveness. Cream cheese frosting streaked cheeks. And counters. And fingers... Training little girl fingers to be wife and mama fingers, spreading and serving and scrubbing. Raucous music that jars my bones. Gasping, laughing, dancing... together.

The days weave a tapestry of Story and breathe life into darkness and I narrate and memorize and memory-paint...

Altogether, it's one of the sweetest stories I will ever tell.