Read aloud recommendation and my emotions!

I've been a bit emotional for the last two weeks. Maybe stress, maybe Heath being busier than normal, maybe . . . , maybe . . ., maybe. But in feeling more emotive lately, I've realized that I haven't been as emotional in general in the last couple years as I have been in the past. I think part of that is because my closest, processing friends live far away and most my emotion is released through verbal processing.
All that to say, I cry more at movies and good books than I used to, simply because it releases the emotions that I haven't been talking through. So yesterday, I read the book "Frindle" by Andrew Clements, out loud to the kids. It's a funny story, a well written story, but never in a million years did I imagine I'd cry, no sob, through the ending of this happy story! Abiel was frustrated that I had to stop every few words to cry and Judah just snuggled up and shed a few tears with me! (Secretly, I think Abiel just didn't want to end up crying with me!) Ella kept turning my face in her little hands to evaluate the amount of water coming out of my eyes asking, "Are these happy tears?" And Asher was in his own world on the floor.
You need to read the book, and most probably the majority of people won't sob their way through the end of "Frindle." It's a great story about the potential of person's ideas and having an important person in their life to help make it happen.

While I'm on suggestions, Heath and I watched the movie, "Temple Grandin" last night. It's a true story of a woman's successes while dealing with her own autism. GREAT story. Another tear jerker for me!

Books and Music

One last post of some worthwhile books and music.

Books:
The Giver by Lois Lowry is one I'm in the middle of. It's Young Adult but super thought provoking.

Igniting Faith in 40 days by Steve and Wendy Backlund. Devotional that is helping to reestablish my thoughts on truth in faith.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Another Young Adult book that was a good read about conformity and individuality. I enjoyed it.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix. If you're a sucker for any Cinderella story (and I am) this is a fun twist on the story. Another Young Adult. From the viewpoint of Cinderella after the ball, living at the castle waiting to be married to Prince Charming and why it might not be happily ever after, after all. Practical me loved this perspective! :-)

Music:
GT and the Halo Express. I've wanted to share this one since Christmas. When I was a kid, my mom bought 2 tapes of GT and the Halo Express. It was good enough for me to track them down as an adult and get the whole set for my kids. There is a set of 7 CDs that take Scripture verses and set them to music (references and exact wording of the verses) within a story that's being told. All my kids LOVE them (even Abiel) and are memorizing verses without even working at it. They are excellent springboards for deeper conversations and the questions that the kids ask concerning the stories and verses are really insightful and great. It was $80 for the whole set online (Just look up GT and the Halo Express) but I think it has been WELL worth the money. If you're going to buy just one or two of the CD's, our favorites are number 1 and number 4.

Do you know?

. . . that I've been procrastinating all day. I really need to do my lesson plans for school next week, but . . . well . . . you know. . . I'm procrastinating. :-)

. . . that I have a stack of books I want to be reading . . . but because I'm supposed to be doing my lesson plans, I'm not reading, which leads me back to point number one. I'm procrastinating.

. . . so do you want to read the list of titles that I want to be reading right now? Sure you do, cuz you're procrastinating about something too, or else you wouldn't be reading this silly post! :-)

My list of To Reads:
1. To finish: "The Little Prince" by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
2. "The Gift of Peace" by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
3. "Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods" by Suzanne Collins (this is the series that Abiel and I enjoying!)
4. "Gregor and the Marks of Secret" by Suzanne Collins
5. "Son of Hamas" by Mosab Hassan Yousef (Heath read this and said it's an excellent, thought provoking book on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from an insiders perspective.)
6. "Life and Holiness" by Thomas Merton
7. To finish: " Qualities of a Spiritual Warrior" by Graham Cooke
8. " The Maker's Diet" by Jordan Rubin (I need to keep reminding myself why I want to be making healthy choices for my family in the way we eat. It keeps slipping my mind!)

Ahhh, here I go. I'm really going to hit the books now!

Read Aloud Book Recommendation

I just finished reading this book out loud to the kids: "The Family Under the Bridge," by Natalie Savage Carlson. It was endearing to us for several reasons.
1. It is set in Paris. Because we now have dear friends who live in Paris, came to visit us this summer, and gave us a real taste of the beauty of the French language, we are now all excited about any reading we do that brings up all these wonderful memories.
2. We have homeless friends and can relate very intimately to the plight of the old man and family in the story.
3. It has a very happy ending . . . often contrary to real life scenarios of similar content.
4. It sparked enriching conversations about all of the above for us.

If you are looking for a good read aloud, this is a winner in our house. It wasn't captivating for Ella (almost 3) but did hold Asher's focus (5 1/2).

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This post is linked up to Amy's Thursday's read Aloud Thursday here: Hope is the Word. Again, if you are looking for great book resources, this is my favorite site ever. I love her taste in literature.

Mister Rogers :-)

I just finished reading a biography of the beloved Mister Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood. I watched him every day as a child. The book is called, "The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers," by Amy Hollingsworth. If you loved Mister Rogers, this is a great read. I resonate with the quote below. It helped me define what I feel about my blog (why I'm struggling a bit with blogging my thoughts), my life, my place in people's lives. More on that later.

"Fred's intention was never to impose his beliefs on his viewers.
Instead, he wanted to create an atmosphere, one that would allow
viewers to feel safe and accepted . . .
Once viewers experienced that unconditional acceptance,
Fred reasoned, they could grow from there."
pg 38

To Kill a Mockingbird Challenge

Amy, over at Hope is the Word, hosted a challenge in honor of 50 years of "To Kill A Mockingbird." Not remembering anything of the book from the required read in junior high, I decided to join in.
I was surprised and disappointed. Surprised? First off, surprised that I was required to read a book with this content in 8th grade. I'm sure I didn't have any real grid in my little 8th grade mind to appreciate this story back then. Secondly, I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Lee made me fall in love with Scout, Jem, Atticus and Cal.
Disappointed? Fictional stories with such real possibility of being true which include themes that break my heart, leave me feeling sad. I finished the book and simply felt sad. I have to say that I don't read for fun to feel sad, no matter how good the book is, the author is, or the story is. I've had enough and seen enough sadness in real life. So, though I highly recommend the book on the basis of writing and characterization, I have a hard time telling you to read a sad book that might leave you feeling sad in the end! Silly, I know. I obviously won't be getting any calls for writing book reviews!! :-) Overall, I'm glad I reread the classic. And that made me happy. Happy Tuesday.

Quote of the Day/ Book Recommendation

I love reading children and young adult literature. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins is my most recent fun read. Here are a couple favorite quotes:

"If you are not trying to hold on to time, you are not so afraid of losing it."
~Luxa to Gregor

"Even if times got bad, he would never again deny himself the possibility that the future might be happy even if the present was painful. He would allow himself dreams."
~of Gregor

Check out our Author Friend

We have a dear, personal friend who is also a well known children's author. Mike Thaler. He is a wonderful, generous, loving man who loves God deeply. He is the author of the very popular children's series, "The Black Lagoon." He has recently finished his new series called, "Tales from the Back Pew." My children LOVE Mike's books. You can check out many of his books at the library, though we haven't seen the new series there yet. Be sure to look him up on his website. Mike Thaler. I wish you could all know Mike. He's as bright as the color you will always find him wearing. . . yellow! :-)

Heroes and Hearing God

I'll admit I'm not big into heroes, mostly because I know people are people are people. And I know, no matter how amazing their stories or accomplishments are, they are still people just like me. I believe the same potential is within every single person (maybe on a smaller scale or different avenue but greatness nonetheless). . . but will we step into it? Although I'm not into idealizing anyone, I am truly inspired by people and the outstanding things some have been able to accomplish, persevere through, and do to impact their community and world.

One of my favorite people is Harriet Tubman. I absolutely love reading about her and how she was led by God to bring freedom to hundreds of slaves. The picture book I read yesterday with the kids brought me to tears. I highly recommend "Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom" by Carole Boston Weatherford. This woman heard the voice of God. I have always believed that our potentiality to live out the good works created in advance for us to do is connected with our ability to hear God for ourselves. Harriet Tubman's story is an exceptional example of this. She heard and followed. God was personal with her because she was personal with him.

So today, though I don't foresee leading anyone out of physical slavery, I am going to press in to my personal, loving Jesus to hear what he has for me today, even if it's simply loving my family intentionally and taking my homeless friend out for lunch. Happy hearing to you.

Need new picture books? Check out this site!

Hey friends with little kiddos, or grandparents looking for reading material, or babysitters who want to captivate your kids rather than sit on them, (or big people who love picture books and juvenile fiction!):

I have recently come across this woman's blog who has GREAT resources for reading material (mostly to younger children but some juvenile fiction as well). If you need some fresh picture books, read alouds, or good juvenile fiction (for your kids or yourself!) check her out. She also features some great non-fiction books that have been helpful in the home school scene.

www.hopeistheword.wordpress.com

Some of our new favorites because of this site are:

** Too Many Frogs! by Sandy Asher

** A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker

** Three Tales of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

** Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

** Max's Words by Kate Banks