Morning Stories

The topic for today's Wordfull Wednesday is "Caring for your Family - How do you let them know you care about them? What do you do as parents to show your children they are loved?"  Visit Chocolate on my Cranium for more Wordfull Wednesday entries or to participate yourself. 

Back at Christmas time Miss Banana went through a kind of rough time.  Her very best friend moved away.  She really, REALLY, missed the structure and the keeping busy of school while we were on Christmas break.  And it was winter.  The sun didn't come up until 7:30am and then had set again by 4:00pm.  She was miserable.  The whole family was feeling the effects and I knew that we had to do something to help her, but I just couldn't figure out what that something might be.

I noticed that if her day started out good, things were always a little better.  By starting out good I mean what happened in the first 10 seconds of her being awake.  If she could have a good thought in those first moments, her day was happier.  But if in that short time any negativity was able to creep in, the day was lost. 

This sounds pretty dire, and really it was.  Mr. Wonderful and I prayed and prayed for Miss Banana and what we could possibly do to help her.  One night when I was at book club, I got one of a few answers we received.  A friend there mentioned, without knowing about our situation with Miss Banana, that when her girls were younger she would wake them up by reading to them.  A light bulb turned on in my head.  No, not just a single light bulb.  I was practically seeing fireworks!  I knew I had to give this a try!  I chose a book that night.  I had always wanted to read A Little Princess to my girls and I thought that this was the time to do it. 

So the next morning I went into the girls' room (they all three share a room) about 5 minutes before the normal wake up time.  I stood in the doorway so that I could use the hallway light to read by.  I gave a simple, "Good morning, Girls." and started reading. 

That was a beautiful morning!  Miss Banana was much happier, and so was everyone else.  Reading in the mornings did not take care of the whole problem, and we still had some rough mornings at times, but it did help.  

After getting a couple of chapters into it, I was suddenly afraid that when we got to the sadder parts of the book, all our happiness in reading in the mornings would be gone.  But that has not happened.  All three of the girls really enjoy the story and our morning reading time.  

Of course, it didn't take long for Kiddo to hear about what was going on in the girls' room.  He wanted to have a little morning reading time too!  Since I was keeping the time to 5 minutes or less, it wasn't hard to add another 5 minutes in the boys' room.  For them I chose How To Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell.  When we were about a third of the way through the book, Kiddo stayed up one night and finished the whole book.  I had been trying to get him to read that book for a few months, so I was not too disappointed.  The next book I chose was Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan. 

I can't say that I read every single morning.  But it is becoming a very nice tradition that I hope we will stick with for years to come. 

Overcoming The Invisible Mom

Kiddo is in the 4th grade and is in the process of deciding what is "cool" and what is not.  So far it's been quite the process, and I know we are just at the beginning.  I've always wanted to be a "cool" mom.  The kind of mom my kids won't be embarrassed by.  The kind of mom they will feel comfortable talking to.  And listening to.  I want to be that kind of mom. 

At the beginning of the year I signed up to help at the school every Wednesday.  At first this was just fine, but as the weeks went by, I could sense that my level of "coolness" was dropping.  At first Kiddo would come over and talk to me, then he would just wave, then by Christmas time he just quit looking at me altogether.  Like if he didn't see me I wasn't really there.  I was trying to be the "cool" mom, so I left him alone.  I didn't push it. 

But I was bothered.  I wasn't hurt by Kiddo's actions, I was worried about the kind of relationship we had and would have in the future.  I was afraid that maybe he didn't really know just how much I loved him.  I realized that I hardly ever hugged him, even at home.  I used to when he was little but had gotten out of the habit as he got older.  I used to give him great big hugs we called "shield hugs".  The normal bumps and rough spots of life weren't so bad when he was protected by my sheild of love.  How could I have forgotten?

So I've changed my mind about being cool.  Now, when I see him at school, I go to him and give him a big hug.  No matter who is watching.  I hug him and tell him that I love him.  At first I was afraid that he would be mad at me.  But he wasn't.  He hugged me right back!  Sometimes he will see me before I see him and he will sneak up behind me and surprise me with a hug!  It is so great! 

For more Wordfull Wednesday entries, or to participate yourself, visit Chocolate on My Cranium.

Love and Friendship

The topic for Wordfull Wednesday today is Nurturing Love and Friendship in Marriage. I already talked about this a little in a previous WW post. So I'll just add a little bit to those thoughts.


Mr. Wonderful and I love to laugh together. We all know that laughter is a very healthy thing, right? It is relaxing, it improves blood flow, releases endorphins, and even boosts our immune systems. As long as we are laughing together, laughter has some pretty wonderful effects on our marraige. We feel closer, we forgive easier, we enjoy each other more, and don't stress so much. Like I said, Mr. Wonderful and I love to laugh together. We laugh at funny things the kids do or say. We laugh at the corny jokes we tell each other but would be too embarrassed to say in front of anyone else. We love to laugh at Don Knotts. And Bob Hope. We love to laugh! And life is good.


These pictures really have nothing to do with marraige, but they are my favorite laughter pictures, so I'm going to share them anyway. For more Wordfull Wednesday entries visit Chocolate on my Cranium.

Quick Update on GAPS

I've sent an email to the first group. We are still missing four states: Delaware, Louisiana, Rhode Island, and North Dakota, but I think we'll be ready to start swapping next week. Yay!!! So exciting!!!

Keep checking the other two groups. They are getting there!
Group 2
Group 3

I have quite a back up list. I haven't been able to send an email to all of you yet. I am working on it. I am hesitant to start more groups yet because some states seem harder to fill than others, and I don't want to start a group that I won't be able to complete.

I did receive an email from Debbie about a slightly different kind of postcard swap that she is organizing. Check it out on her blog: Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn.




Also, Tanya has started another postcard swap. Check her blog, Tanya Peila, for details.

I would normally have a Wordfull Wednesday post today, but that just didn't happen. If you would like to read some great WW posts today, head over to Chocolate on My Cranium.

Have a great day!!!

Love Song

For Wordfull Wednesday this week, Cocoa asked us to share "our song" if we have one, or just our favorite sappy love song. Somehow, Mr. Wonderful and I have never had a song that's "ours". But I definitely do have a favorite love song. "Something That We Do" by Clint Black. It makes me cry every time I listen to it!

To enjoy more sappy love songs, head over to Chocolate on My Cranium.

Top 3 in Marriage

Cocoa's question for this week's Wordfull Wednesday is "What are the three most important things to you in marriage?"

I thought of my three real quick. Forgiveness, Kindness, and Friendship.

1) Forgiveness - It has to be sincere and quick. And it needs to happen often. I call my husband Mr. Wonderful, but he is not perfect and neither am I. We both make mistakes, forget things, make messes, or do things that frustrate the other. Sometimes it is harder to forgive than at other times. When it is harder, I get on my knees and pray for help. And I get it. My anger goes away, I remember how dearly I love Mr. Wonderful, and I am able to forgive and forget. Quite often I end up loving him even more.

2) Kindness - This shows up in so many different ways. One way for us to show kindness is to have a good attitude about taking care of our family and fulfilling our responsibilities as a husband and wife. Another way is in the way we speak, the words we choose, our tone of voice, and even the thoughts we have. There are also many, many extra little ways to show kindness. I love it when Mr. Wonderful chooses to watch a movie that he doesn't particularly enjoy, but he knows that I really like. Or when he puts his warm feet on my freezing cold feet. Or when he tells the kids that he loves me and thinks I'm the most beautiful woman on earth. I know what he appreciates too. Chocolate chip cookies (made with real butter), extra long kisses, and quick phone calls or emails while he is at work, just to tell him I love him. None of these things take huge effort, but they add so much to our marriage.

3) Friendship - Again, this is something that takes effort sometimes, and has lots of different aspects to it. Mr. Wonderful and I don't really have a lot in common in terms of hobbies and activities that we enjoy. He loves the outdoors and engineering electronic devices. I love sewing and shopping at thrift stores. We do enjoy reading together, although it is hard to choose a book sometimes. And we love walking together. Every date we go on includes a walk, and has since long before we were married. The important thing is that we spend time together. Communication is a big part of our friendship as well. As we have worked at spending time together and really talking/listening to each other we enjoy each other more and more all the time.

I asked Mr. Wonderful what he thought are the three most important things in marriage. He said, "Forgiveness, service, and rosy cheeks and beautiful eyes." He sure is Wonderful!

My Family

Wordfull Wednesday is back! Check out Chocolate on My Cranium for more Wordfull Wednesday entries. All of the topics for this year will focus on families. For today we are asked to tell about our families and what makes us unique. I like using nicknames for my family members to maintain a little privacy. I know my blog isn't read by very many people, but I like to stay on the safe side.

This is my family.


Miss Banana, Miss Bear, Mr. Wonderful, Little Man, me, Miss Monkey, and Kiddo.

Our family started, of course, when Mr. Wonderful and I were married in the Denver LDS Temple just over 10 years ago. We really are best friends and it is so very nice.

Our first child was born one month before we celebrated our 1st anniversary. All of our kids are approximately 2 years apart. Definite stair-steps.

We live in Northern Idaho, far from any of our extended family and we miss them all terribly. We go to church every Sunday. We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We enjoy homemade pizza, ice fishing (I have never been, it's always just Mr. Wonderful and the kids.), amateur radio (Mr. W and I are both licensed and Kiddo is working on it.), camping, having friends over, going for walks, chocolate chip cookies, the Andy Griffith Show, reading, and monopoly. Nothing too extraordinary, but still a pretty special family, I think.

Influences

The Wordfull Wednesday topic for today has given me a lot to think about. This is the assignment from Chocolate on My Cranium: Besides the Savior, Heavenly Father, and your family, list ten of the most important and influential people in your life. Write the reasons why they are and have been so important to you. Some of these will be people you have known, but some might be people you have only heard of or read about." (Mary Ellen Edmunds, Peculiar in a Good Way, pg.23)

This is what I've come up with.

George Bean - I don't remember not knowing George. We grew up together and were in the same school and church classes. George was born with spina bifida. He taught me so much about what a person is able to do regardless of their physical abilities or disabilities. We played together as kids, inside and outside. When we got into Jr. High and high school we danced together, wheelchair and all. We went on a few dates and he was a perfect gentleman, he even opened all my doors. He was a wheelchair racer. He went to college and lived on his own. He married a wonderful girl in the Temple. He had faith. And such a strong spirit. George passed away at age 25 and I have no doubt that he is still working hard and accomplishing great things.

Dwila Perriton - Dwila was my visiting teacher about 8 years ago. She taught me what it really means to be a visiting teacher. She loved me. She helped me whenever she could. She even taught me how to piece quilt blocks. I've been hooked on quilting ever since.

Cecily Dixon - Cecily is my neighbor and my dear friend. She has been a mom for five years longer than I have. It is so nice having someone with just that much more experience right down the street. I can't even begin to tell all that I have learned from Cecily.

Marjorie Pay Hinckley - Sister Hinckley amazes me! Her faith, cheerfulness, wisdom, hard work, and love are just a few of her characteristics that I would like to emulate. I was only able to listen to her speak once in her life, but I loved every minute of it. What a sweet example she is to me.

Fred Rogers - I grew up watching and loving Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. As I got older and learned more about Fred Rogers I loved him even more. Here is one of my favorite quotes from Mr. Rogers that is very fitting for today's topic, "If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."

Mrs. Christiansen - I was a daydreamer when I was a kid. And so I took a long time to get things done, especially school work. I had to spend a lot of recesses inside finishing my work. Mrs. Christiansen was my 4th grade teacher. She suggested that I set a timer at home while doing my homework and try to beat it. It worked!!! I still struggle with getting my work done quickly. When it seems to get especially bad, I use the timer trick, and it still works.

Robert McCloskey - My very favorite book as a kid was Make Way For Ducklings. I've loved books and reading since then. And I've always wanted to go to Boston.

Lance Farmer - Bishop Farmer was my bishop when I was in high school. He encouraged and expected me to do good things. He also set a wonderful example of doing what the Lord asks of us, even if it is hard.

Cathy Clark - I gained a lot of confidence in high school. My choir teacher, Mrs. Clark, had a lot to do with that. She was a wonderful choir director but she did so much more. She loved and encouraged her students. She got to know us and gave so much of herself to us.

David A. Bednar - One of my favorite speakers is Elder David A. Bednar. I first got to listen to Elder Bednar when I was attending Ricks College and he was the new President there. I loved listening to him speak then. He wanted the students to really get to know the scriptures and strongly encouraged us to bring them to every devotional. At the beginning of each devotional he would ask to see our scriptures. It was quite inspiring to watch as thousands of students lifted their scriptures into the air. In one particular talk in 1998, he was talking about the future of Ricks College and he compared it to Nephi's experience in being commanded by the Lord to build a ship. President Bednar said, "In essence, then, Nephi was commanded and instructed to build something he had never built before in order to go someplace he had never been before. May I suggest that Nephi's experience in building that ship is a model for us at Ricks College as we prepare for and move into the next century. We, too, must build something we have never built before in order to go someplace we have never been before." I was so impressed when I heard him say this that I wrote that last line on a blank page in the back of my scriptures. This quote immediately came to mind 2 and a half years later when I heard the announcement that Ricks College would become a 4 year university called BYU-Idaho. It also comes to my mind whenever I am faced with new challenges that threaten to overwhelm me. Almost every time I hear Elder Bednar speak I come away feeling so enlightened! I learn so much from him. His last talk in the October General Conference was another one of those. So wonderful!!!

What's in my name?

For Wordfull Wednesday today, we were asked to explain our first name. Why we have it and what it means.

My name is Aimee. It is the french form of the name Amy and means beloved. I've always loved that it is french! And spelled just a little differently. My parents really liked the name Amy, but then saw it spelled Aimee and liked that even better. Growing up I rarely ever heard of anyone else named Aimee. Just lots of Amy's. My mom even cut out a picture from the newspaper in 1983 showing the family of Ferdinand Marcos, including a niece named Aimee who looked like she was about my age. I still have the clipping. In the last year or so it seems that I've run into all kinds of Aimee's. Even one with the same maiden name!

To read other's Wordfull Wednesday entries, visit Chocolate on My Cranium.

Six Little Words

Today's assignment from Chocolate On My Cranium is to describe ourselves in only six words.

I am very much a girl.

Who Am I?

For today's Wordfull Wednesday we are supposed to describe who we are and even include a picture of ourselves. Visit Chocolate on My Cranium for more Wordfull Wednesday participants.

Cocoa said this would be hard. She was right.

As I started thinking about who I am and what I wanted to write about myself I immediately thought of some of my less desirable characteristics. I am easily distracted, I procrastinate, I'm not very organized. Things like that. I quickly stopped myself. Cocoa also said that we should show our beauty. What is there about me that is beautiful? I had to think.

I am almost 31 and am more comfortable with myself than I think I ever have been. It's a nice feeling to be happy being myself. I'm not always thrilled with myself. Sometimes I do things right and sometimes I don't.

And yet I would not be the person I am now without the person I was last year, or 5 or 10 or 20 years ago. So I am going to share lots of pictures of me. All kinds of different me's that add up to the me I am now.

Me at age 1.

I was the first child born to my wonderful parents. My mom (and my grandma and a couple of aunts) made most of my clothes when I was little. My mom taught me how to sew when I was old enough. I love to sew! I'm still learning a lot, but I very much enjoy it.

I very quickly gained two brothers. This picture was taken the day my brother Sam was blessed. I was 3 and my brother Ben was just about 18 months old. I did finally get two sisters. Heidi is 6 and a half years younger than me. (I remember jumping up and down when I learned I had a sister.) And Dixie is almost 11 years younger than me.

This picture of my family was taken at our family reunion this summer. It was SO wonderful to be with all of them. Oh, I love them!

I was a pretty quiet kid. I sang to myself a lot. And daydreamed a lot. I still do when I have a quiet moment. I also grew up with a large strawberry patch and a few lilac bushes in the yard. Those were some of my favorite places to sit and imagine. Strawberries and lilacs are still two of my very favorite things.

I got to go with my Dad on a trip to Seattle when I was 14. He took this picture of me in our hotel room. We had great conversations on that trip, and a few others I was able to go on with him. I still love talking to my Dad. And I love maps, traveling, and exploring new places.

I graduated from high school in 1997. Though I would never want to go back to high school, it was a great growing experience for me. Right after my freshman year of high school I moved from a small town in Idaho to Denver and a much larger high school. I spent more time with my brothers and came to depend on them quite a bit. I had to really decide what I believed and had to stand up for it. I landed the lead role in the school musical when I was a Jr. and gained a lot of self confidence from that and many other experiences. Now I am able to lead singing time for the Primary kids at church every Sunday and it isn't scary to me. I also met the boy who would one day be my husband. In fact we hung out quite a bit and dated off and on.

This is us when I was a senior and he was getting ready to leave on his mission. (I know it looks like an engagement picture, but it really wasn't.) I didn't tell him that I would wait for him. And I didn't. I wrote him a "Dear John" after he had been gone for 1 year. I did, however, realize my mistake. I broke up with the other guy and wrote back to James a couple of months before he came home. I learned a lot then. I came to appreciate James so much more than I had before. I realized that he really did have the qualities I wanted in a husband. Now I know that he has even more wonderful qualities that I didn't even think about at the time.

This is me as a new mother at age 21. I am so glad I'm not a new mother any more. I'm still learning a lot about being a mom, and there are lots of new things coming. But I do love being a mom. It has taught me and changed me more than any other experience I've had.

This is me reeling in a salmon in Puget Sound this summer. Yes, it was cold that day! James and I went to Whidbey Island for a few days to celebrate our 10th anniversary. As we were talking about what we would like to do on our little getaway James said that he would really like to go salmon fishing. He loves fishing. I don't mind fishing so much, but I am terrified of water and get pretty nervous out in a boat. James asked me if I would be ok with salmon fishing and I told him that "without kids, I can handle it." I really wanted to explore some of the little towns on the island and do some window shopping. James really does not like shopping. I asked if he would be too bored with that. He said, "Without kids, I can handle it."

So we went fishing and I really enjoyed it. I even caught the first fish! I'm learning that some things might not be as scary as I had thought.

And so this is me now at age 30. I wonder who I will be after the next 30 years. I'm excited to find out.

Transformation

Wordfull Wednesday is back. Visit Chocolate On My Cranium to read more.

As a kid I never made my bed. Well, I did make it when I absolutely had to. But most of the time I managed to leave it fairly messy. There were always lots of books, some clothes, my favorite stuffed animals, and whatever else I thought needed to be there as well. Somehow I always left a space just big enough for me to sleep in. Even when I got older, went to college, and even got married, I still didn't see the need to make my bed. It wasn't full of stuff anymore, but I was quite content to leave the blankets in a rumpled heap. This was a bit frustrating to my husband, I think, but he patiently put up with me.

I'm happy to say that I am now a faithful bed maker. I not only make my bed everyday, I really enjoy having a nicely made bed. When I look back, I can't really see when I started to change my very poor bed making habits into good habits. I can only see the improvement. Hooray!

Developing the habit of making my bed doesn't seem like such a bid deal, but it really is. Because I have been able to change myself, in this small way, I know that I can change and improve myself in other even bigger ways. I am in my 30's now and I'm really enjoying being able to look back and see some improvements in myself. I can see that I still have a long way to go, but I am grateful for the experience I have that tells me I will continue to grow and improve.

I won a Quilt Kit!!!

It's about time I posted about this. At the end of June Cocoa, of Chocolate on My Cranium, posted the Wordfull Wednesday winner for the month, and it was me!!! I was (and still am) quite excited! I got this wall hanging quilt kit from Nauvoo Quilt Company.

Isn't it gorgeous!!! I can hardly wait to start on it. The Nauvoo Quilt Company has lots and lots of wonderful fabrics and other quilting supplies. Check it out!

Memories of Road Trips

Today is Wordfull Wednesday from Chocolate on My Cranium. Visit Cocoa's super blog to read more Wordfull Wednesday entries. The topic for today is memorable family vacations or summer time memories.

There are two family vacations that I remember most, however I sometimes get a little mixed up as to what actually happened on which vacation. Both of them were long road trips from Idaho to Tennessee to visit my great-grandmother, Grandmama Templin. The first was when I was 5 and the second when I was 8. We had a little red station-wagon, and my parents just folded down the back seat and laid out some blankets for my brothers and I to lay on and away we went. We had such a wonderful time back there! We counted semi trucks and played games like Cat in the Window and Bug. Sometimes my mom would take a nap in the back and I would get to sit up front with my dad and be the navigator. That was always a prized spot! When I was old enough, being the navigator meant that I would study the map and then make decisions about where we were going and which road we would take to get there. I'm sure my dad gave his input, but I was still the navigator and was in charge of getting us to our destination. That was a great feeling to have.

We couldn't just drive straight to Tennessee without stopping, and so we did stop at some wonderful places. Even though I was only five I can still remember looking at Mt. Rushmore and seeing those great big stone faces. We also stopped at Nauvoo. The only thing I really remember from Nauvoo is a little cemetery we walked through. We also stopped in Missouri to visit my Aunt Ruby. She was not really my aunt, but a cousin of my great-grandfather, but she was an aunt to us. I remember going with her to visit an old house out in the country, and it seems that it had been a house that she or maybe her mother had lived in as a child. There were some loose boards with nails strewn around, and I remember she held my hand and made sure I stepped carefully. Some time I need to write a whole post just about Aunt Ruby.

Finally we made it to Tullahoma, TN. I remember sleeping in sleeping bags in Grandmama's living room with my brothers. We did a little sightseeing with Grandmama, driving around the beautiful hills of Tennessee. I had never seen so many deciduous trees! We also went to Lynchburg and toured the Jack Daniels distillery. When we went into the huge room with the giant vats of corn mash, I just about got sick from the smell and one of my parents had to quickly take me out. Isn't it funny the things you remember? I remember going for a ride with Grandmama in her great big black car.

I don't have any pictures of Grandmama so I got this picture from my Uncle Jim's blog.

I only got to visit Grandmama three times before she died, but I am so grateful for each of those visits. I was young and don't remember very much now, but I do remember Grandmama and what she looked like and how she talked and what her house looked like and smelled like and what a neat yard she had and how she loved us.

Ode to Wordfull Wednesday

Today is Wordfull Wednesday, Hooray!

I'm so excited, but now what do I say?

Cocoa has chosen the topic so well,

To write our own poem, oh this could be swell.

I love to read poems by Frost and Blake,

But to write my own could be a mistake.

I joined in this group to stretch and to grow

But writing a poem...I just don't know.

Well look at that, as I've typed and I've sighed

A poem emerged, but not till I tried.

And so I say "Thanks" to Cocoa, my friend.

And now that I'm done I will call this, THE END

Inspiring

What person or scene inspires me? That is the topic from Chocolate on my Cranium for Wordfull Wednesday today. Hmmmm.... I've had so many thoughts on this the last few days. Abigail Adams came to mind, and so did Benjamin Franklin. But I settled on a scene: the west side of the Teton Mountains. I grew up seeing that scene every day. Well, every clear day. It always brought me a feeling of joy and home and excitement. It still does whenever I get the chance to see it. I don't have a picture, but did find a webcam of the west side. So beautiful!

Funny Stuff

It's been hard for me to decide what funny or humorous things I should write about today for Wordfull Wednesday from Chocolate on my Cranium. My kids make me laugh all the time. Like the time my oldest child, Stephen, was 2 and he found some markers, took off all of his clothes, and drew very colorful stripes all over his body. His feet, legs, tummy and arms were covered in scribbly rainbow stripes. When he saw me he just smiled and said, "Hi Mama. I a tiger! Rooaaaaahhhhhr!" What could I do but laugh?

I have to share one other thing that makes me laugh. One of my very favorite movies is Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. It's the story of Princess Ann who runs away in Rome and meets an American journalist named Joe Bradley. It is a funny movie, but there is one scene in particular that cracks me up every time! It is the scene where Joe and the princess visit the Mouth of Truth. If you have never seen this movie, or if you just want to refresh your memory, watch the clip (it takes about 90 seconds) and then keep reading so I can tell you why it so funny to me.


What makes this clip so funny is that Audrey Hepburn really had no idea that Gregory Peck was going to pretend his hand was being bitten off. He had privately talked to the directory before they filmed the scene and said that he wanted to try it that way and see how Audrey reacted. It went so well they used the scene in the movie. It is so much funnier to me, knowing that we get to see her real reaction. And if you really have never seen the whole movie, I would highly recommend it.

My Favorite Genre?

For today's Wordfull Wednesday from Chocolate On My Cranium, we are supposed to write about our favorite genre and adult book. I don't know that I can choose just one. (I'll try not to make this into too much of a list.) I have so many favorites that I love and go back to. Most are fiction and light-hearted. Like the Mitford series by Jan Karon, which I read when I'm in the midst of a particularly difficult life experience. The world of Mitford and the love expressed there is very lifting and always gives me something good to think about. Another series I've read quite a few times is the All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot. I'm really not an animal person, but the stories of rural England and the many antics of farmers and animals and vets are so wonderful to read that I can't help but laugh and enjoy them. Others are Mama's Bank Account by Katherine Forbes, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, and the Work and the Glory Series by Gerald Lund. I'm discovering that I really enjoy good mysteries too. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King and the Mrs. Pollifax books by Dorothy Gillman got me started there. I do love other types as well; C.S. Lewis and Robert Frost come to mind. And Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is another favorite as well as Glimpses Into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley.

I will say that my very favorite book is My Antonia by Willa Cather. I'm not sure that I could really tell you why. Maybe I can. Her stories are not filled with excitement or suspense. And usually there are some sad events involved. I first read My Antonia for my American Literature class at Ricks College, so my copy is very marked up. On almost every page I have marked a line or two or even paragraphs that taught me something or that I just really enjoyed. Cather's writing is so beautiful. Very simple yet so descriptive. I love her description of spring. "When spring came, after that hard winter, one could not get enough of the nimble air. Every morning I awakened with a fresh consciousness that winter was over." Just one more of the many passages I love is when Jim is describing his Grandfather's prayers. He says, "Grandfather's prayers were often very interesting. He had the gift of simple and moving expression. Because he talked so little, his words had a peculiar force; they were not worn dull from constant use. His prayers reflected what he was thinking about at the time, and it was chiefly through them that we got to know his feelings and his views about things." I could go on and on. The characters, the relationships, the language, the setting, all of it so wonderful. Oh, I do love My Antonia!

Reading

Today's topic for Wordfull Wednesday is Learning to Read and our Favorite Children's Book. Visit Chocolate on my Cranium for more Wordfull Wednesday.

I don't remember much about actually learning to read. I do have one memory of asking my mom how to spell the letters. I started at the beginning and asked, "How do you spell A?" I think it took a few minutes for my mom to explain that you don't spell letters, letters spell words. I remember reading from Dick and Jane books in first grade. And I remember that I loved to read. I used to take as many books as I could with me to bed at night, until after a few nights I would have stacks of books on my bed. My dad really didn't like this, so he built a bookshelf tall enough that I could reach it from my top bunk. I don't remember if it helped or not!

I did have some favorite books as a child and they are still some of my favorite children's books. The first is Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. I just LOVE that book. I love the illustrations, the story, the characters. I love knowing that there really are swan boats in the Public Garden in Boston. Someday I'm going to visit Boston and do all kinds of neat things, but one of the first on my list will be to ride on a swan boat!

Another favorite of mine was the Francis Books by Russell Hoban. Again, I love the illustrations and the stories and I love that Francis in not a perfect little girl. She gets scared in her dark bedroom, she "runs away" when her baby sister arrives, she decides that bread and jam is the only thing to eat. But she always learns from her mistakes, and her parents always love her.

One more favorite. My grandmother gave me Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein for my birthday one year and I loved it. I read it all the way through in a pretty short amount of time and then kept going back to read my favorites and even memorized some of them. Now I really enjoy reading another Shel Silverstein book, Runny Babbit, with my kids. It cracks me up!

Loving Myself

Today is Wordfull Wednesday from Chocolate on my Cranium!

I have actually been giving this topic a lot of thought over the last few months, so I was excited when it was chosen as the topic for wordfull wednesday this week. I have been trying to take better care of myself physically and spiritually, I got a fun new hairdo, and I've been spending a little more time on sewing, reading, playing the piano, and other things I enjoy. In fact, it was this kind of thinking that really got me to start this blog. And so I'm going to send you to a post I wrote back in January about why I started this blog. Please click HERE to visit my wordfull explanation. And please feel free to look around this blog and see what kinds of things I have been doing, thinking, and learning.