I am finding it bittersweet as my kids truly blossom into independent readers. I get such joy out of seeing the sincere love of reading that they have all developed, but... Now that my youngest is beginning to read chapter books, I find myself savoring with renewed vigor our daily reading of picture books. With the kids off at school most days, then piano lessons and soccer taking up many after school hours, there is little time left to leisurely enjoy reading together.
Yesterday was grandparents day at my kids' new elementary school. Once the grandparent luncheon was complete (which was lots of fun!), the kids were allowed to come home early from school with us. We made sure that math, spelling and piano was completed, then my youngest and I made ourselves comfy on the big bed with a pile of books. Boy, was it fulfilling to us both. I found myself cognizant of the reality that this sweet cuddle time spent sharing a good book may be winding down sometime in the not too distant future. And it is even more poignant as I snuggle in with my kids to read a good book together during a sunny afternoon vs. 9:00 at night when we all struggle to keep our eyes open to finish a single book. Wish there were more daylight hours that we could spend together.
As I love to discover good books, I thought it would be fun to share what I consider to be excellent library finds periodically. So, here goes with this week's library of gems:
Picture books for elementary aged kiddos:
Feeding The Sheep by Leda Schubert
The Wolves Are Back by Jean Craighead George
From The Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed The World by James Rumford
The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz
For me:
Losing The Garden: The Story Of A Marriage by Laura Waterman - be prepared for tears as you read this book. Helps to create understanding around the experience of marriage to a spouse with depression who ultimately takes his own life. Laura is my neighbor and she walks by my house everyday. She is one of the kindest, gentlest, most thoughtful people I have met. We have enjoyed fruits and veggies from her current garden down the street in our new village.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Big Move
Since the last time I posted, life has changed for our family. We have moved from one beautiful New England state to another. One of the major goals in this change was for my husband to find a better work/life balance. Another was for us as a family to slow down and spend more time together.
We are enjoying getting know people in our new small town - we could not be more blessed with wonderful neighbors. Our new (to us) house has the character and history we have been wanting in an older home as well as the space to spread out. We should also be able to expand our homesteading efforts beyond what a our previous half acre lot in a large subdivision with zoning restrictions allowed us to. We are looking forward to doing so.
So far, I am enjoying baking with the apples we are picking from our front yard trees:
We are enjoying getting know people in our new small town - we could not be more blessed with wonderful neighbors. Our new (to us) house has the character and history we have been wanting in an older home as well as the space to spread out. We should also be able to expand our homesteading efforts beyond what a our previous half acre lot in a large subdivision with zoning restrictions allowed us to. We are looking forward to doing so.
So far, I am enjoying baking with the apples we are picking from our front yard trees:
Our chickens are contentedly free ranging on our new property:
And our family is having a blast exploring our new surroundings:
Friday, February 14, 2014
Happy Valentine's Day 2014!
Treat for me: chocolate milk in my coffee :)
How did it become mid February already!!!?
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Our Very Own Eggs
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Martin Luther King Junior Day and Quiche
We feel blessed to live in a college town. Especially one that integrates so beautifully into the community...demonstrated by the annual children's celebration they hold on Martin Luther King Jr. day. This is the second year we have attended and my kids get so much out of it.
Inspired by Mavis Butterfield and her web site One Hundred Dollars A Month, I am taking our food budget to an extreme. Extreme, for us, meaning $100 a week! Well, tonight with no meat in the house, I made a couple of quiches - quick to throw together, smelling scrumptious in the oven, and tasty enough to satisfy all in the family, except my super duper picky son.
A big shout out to our lovely girls who are weathering this cold first winter quite well and continue to produce four to six eggs a day for us... Yes, this picture is an old summer photo! Happened to be the one I found on my iPad at the moment...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Inspired by Mavis Butterfield and her web site One Hundred Dollars A Month, I am taking our food budget to an extreme. Extreme, for us, meaning $100 a week! Well, tonight with no meat in the house, I made a couple of quiches - quick to throw together, smelling scrumptious in the oven, and tasty enough to satisfy all in the family, except my super duper picky son.
A big shout out to our lovely girls who are weathering this cold first winter quite well and continue to produce four to six eggs a day for us... Yes, this picture is an old summer photo! Happened to be the one I found on my iPad at the moment...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, January 20, 2014
Winter Fun
We are a couple of weeks into 2014 and we have a been having a lot of winter fun and somehow have avoided all the various bugs that seem to be swirling around us...
Getting some good mountain time...
And some fun winter hikes...
And some yummy baking including trying a homemade bagel recipe that my neighbor shared with me... They were a little funny looking but tasted great!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Getting some good mountain time...
And some fun winter hikes...
And some yummy baking including trying a homemade bagel recipe that my neighbor shared with me... They were a little funny looking but tasted great!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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