Photo 11

More playing with f stops and close ups. This is what I'm reading to Spencer, and everyone else, right now.

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. 

Inspiration of Late

This post might seem a little random. It's just a few of the things I've enjoyed and found helpful lately.

I loved THIS POST and THIS POST from Simple Mom. Such super ideas!

I also really enjoyed THIS POST from Chocolate On My Cranium.

You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd! This is such a great song by Roger Miller. We all love it. Thanks Jane and Jocie! I tried adding a youtube video of this song, but it kept popping up little ads and I don't want ads, so here are the words. I highly recommend listening to the song if you can find it.

Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't take a shower in a parakeet cage
Ya can't take a shower in a parakeet cage
Ya can't take a shower in a parakeet cage
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

All ya gotta do is put your mind to it
Knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it

Well, ya can't go a-swimmin' in a baseball pool
Ya can't go swimmin' in a baseball pool
Ya can't go swimmin' in a baseball pool
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't change film with a kid on your back
Ya can't change film with a kid on your back
Ya can't change film with a kid on your back
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't drive around with a tiger in your car
Ya can't drive around with a tiger in your car
Ya can't drive around with a tiger in your car
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

All ya gotta do is put your mind to it
Knuckle down, buckle down do it, do it, do it

Well, ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't go fishin' in a watermelon patch
Ya can't go fishin' in a watermelon patch
Ya can't go fishin' in a watermelon patch
But you can be happy if you've a mind to

Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd
SPOKEN: "Ya can't roller skate in a buffalo herd"

I recently read "Yearning for the Living God" by F. Enzio Busche. It is wonderful! I get to go to Book Club tonight to discuss it. It is a compilation of experiences from Elder Bushe's life, beginning when he was born in Germany just 3 years before Hitler came into power. He grew up in Nazi Germany and was even drafted into the German Army just before the end of WWII. He has had quite a life and experienced amazing miracles and blessings. I really enjoyed reading this book!

Childhood Memories

While staying at my parents house this last month, I was able to read some of my favorite stories to my own children. My mom still has them and keeps them in the room where my kids slept. My kids loved them just like I did. I used to go to sleep with stacks of books tucked around me and it made me smile to see my little ones falling asleep with the very same books tucked around them. These are just some of them.

I also got to show my children the tiny bedroom I used to share with my two brothers and one sister. It is now my Mom's sewing/crafting room. It is funny to go into that room now. I should explain that my family moved out of that house when I was 8, but my parents moved back into it about 2 years ago. When I go into that old bedroom of mine I really wonder how we all fit into it. I'm just guessing here (maybe you can help me out, Mom) but I think that room is about 6' x 8' with a wardrobe built into one end. I remember thinking the window and wardrobe and my bunk bed were so big when really they were not. I guess that's how my kids see them now.

It was so wonderful having that time with my parents this summer. It brought back lots of great memories for me and made some special memories for my children. It was perfect.

The Hiding Place

Over the last year or so a few (at least 6) people have suggested that I read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. I finally read it! It is the story of the Ten Boom family who lived in Haarlem, Holland during WWII. The family consisted of Casper, the elderly father, and his daughters, Betsie and Corrie. They were a Christian family and hid Jews in a special hiding place in their home. Eventually they were caught and sent to prison. Casper died quite soon afterwards. Betsie and Corrie were separated for a time, but eventually ended up back together when they were sent to the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp.

As with any war-time story there are many sad events in this book. But Corrie and Betsie's faith is so strong and encouraging that it changes this sad story into a very uplifting one. They experienced great love and amazing miracles as they tried hard to follow the teachings of Christ. I am so glad I read it. The Hiding Place shows that even in the most dire of circumstances, our Heavenly Father is mindful of us and will still answer our prayers and give us help. I happily recommend it!

Two in the Far North

Oh, I love going to Book Club. I got to go last night! It was a wonderful time. There were only five of us, but we still had plenty of things to talk about. A good portion of our conversation was about the book we read, but the rest was about all kinds of other things. It was so nice to get away from my everyday stuff and just talk and talk and talk and also eat some really good food.

We read Two In the Far North by Margaret Murie. It is a non-fiction book about the life of Margaret (Mardy) Murie as she moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1911 at the age of nine and then later married a biologist, Olaus Murie, who was studying the wildlife of northern Alaska. Mardy traveled with him all over Alaska, often by dogsled, and even brought their baby with them as they explored the tundra.

It was a very fascinating story and I learned so much about Alaska! Did you know that mosquitoes are terrible in Alaska? I had never even considered that mosquitoes could even live in Alaska. I really enjoyed reading about this amazing and very adventurous lady. Olaus' brother Adolph married Mardy's sister Louise and the four of them became very involved in the conservation of Alaska and other wilderness areas. When they retired they moved to a ranch two miles west of Moose, Wyoming.

Wordfull Wednesday Book List

The last two Wordfull Wednesdays from Chocolate on My Cranium have yielded some wonderful book recommendations for children and adults. I really don't want to forget them and I also thought it would be handy to have one list of all of them, so I'm putting it together here on my blog.





Children's Books





Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Wild About Books by Judy Sierra

Cynthia Rylant Books


Henry and Mudge


Cobblestreet Cousins


The Lighthouse Family


The Van Gogh Cafe


Gooseberry Park


George and Martha by James Marshall


Richard Scarry's Best Story Book Ever


Where the Red Fern Grows

Little Women *


Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards


Nancy Drew


C.S. Lewis


Madeleine L'Engle


L.M. Montgomery **


Gone With the Wind


Away Go the Boats


5 Little Monkeys


My Truck is Stuck


Tomie dePaola


Leo Lionni


Kevin Henkes


Mem Fox


Virginia Lee Burton


Lois Ehlert


Don Freeman

Audrey Wood


Patricia Polacco


Chris Van Allsburg


Allen Say

Tikki Tikki Tembo


Rikki Tikki Tavi


Heidi


Bobbsey Twins


Jock of the Bushveld


James Herriot


The Bear Story by James Whitcomb Riley


Little Orphan Annie


A Girl of the Limberlost


Caddie Woodlawn


Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (trilogy)


Huckelberry Finn


Tom Sawyer


Pudd'nhead Wilson


the Prince and the Pauper


the Whipping Boy


A Girl of the Limberlost


the Lupine Lady


Wind in the Willows


Freckles

Milly Molly Mandy

The Small Pig

Piggie Pie

The Little Old Man Who Could Not Read

Roald Dahl

Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems

A Grandmother's Story by Glenn Halak

A Child's Garden of Verses

Miss Twiggley's Tree

Children of Noisy Village

Adult Books





David Copperfield


A Christmas Carol


Great Expectations


Peter Pan


Les Miserables


Swiss Family Robinson


The Count of Monte Cristo


Robinson Crusoe


Middlemarch


Sense and Sensibility


Wuthering Heights

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!