Monday, March 9, 2009

(Last) Week Review

Ahhh, yesterday I had the day off...after church we ate beans from the Crock Pot and then headed out to our local flea market. We bought some local honey, a Barbie doll, and some mini horse shoes as party favors for Ashlyn's birthday this weekend. Afterwards I napped, Shane cooked a great dinner and I read the rest of the evening! So nice!

Last week was pretty busy with school, Hope's allergy test (she's mildly allergic to a whole slew of things-soy, peanuts, oats, yeast as well as several trees, grasses, dust mites & molds). Shane saw a cardiologist for chest pain (we follow up later this week with more testing) and of course we had some party planning going on for the about-to-be 12 year old.

I have taken a friend's kick in the pants recommendation and cut back some computer time in favor of reading. I have so much I want to learn right now that I want to just stop the world and catch up on my book list. I'm plowing through Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and seriously loving it. May become one of my favorite books of all time. Pretty good ranking since it's written by an evolutionist who is so talented in her writing but doesn't even know Who gave her the gift.

Shane just read The Lord of the Flies to see if it was appropriate for Ashlyn to read. Boy is it dark. He was disturbed by the mental darkness in this book and the quick recap he gave me was enough to keep it off my book list. Ash won't be reading it yet...but isn't it wonderful to read? To get into the imaginary world of another person via the written word. To experience a world far away or a lifestyle unattainable just by cracking the spine of a book? Even if we don't enjoy the book, I believe we are better for reading good literature.

Here's what we're currently reading in our house:

Audrey-she gets into the pose of reading often-on my lap as I read books to the girls. One day she was wearing a onsie with the ABCs on it while facing outward on my lap during read aloud time. The younger girls thought it was great that she was "doing school".

Jaika-Our bird ID book is her favorite. She crawled into bed with Shane today and "read" every page to him. She loves birding!

Bethany-anything all over town or in the house that starts with the letter B. Kinda like Sesame Streets letter of the day...except the letter never changes!

Hope-I'm reading The Year of Miss Agnes to her (about a school teacher in Alaska who really reaches out to the kids with her sweet teaching style) as well as Little Pear (another read aloud about a little Chinese boy). She grabbed her Bible (which is a story Bible she reads to me as practice each day) this weekend, stole away under the covers and read until 11pm (before the time change!) just to finish it.

Ashlyn-In addition to her books she's reading for school, we're reading 2 read alouds to catch up (one during school time & one in the evenings) but every other moment she has a chance, she's reading her horse books. Her obsession with horses is only growing.

Grown ups-I'm not sure what Shane will pick up next now that he's done with The Lord of the Flies, but I have several gardening books on my side of the bed. I'm about a week behind in my Chronological One Year Bible and I'm pre-reading Ashlyn's next reader. We are a bookworm family!

7 comments:

... said...

I have been wanting to read Lord of the Flies to Dy for awhile and have forgotten to. Also, Animal Farm. We read Alas Babylon before Christmas and she loved it. She really loves for me to read aloud to her even at 10! Day made me read Skippyjon Jones again last night! That is my all time favorite now!
Me...I get my reading on the internet. I am reading up on a number of topics these days...I call it research...it keeps me from doing the housework!!!

Jennifer said...

I wasn't aware Shane was having chest pains...thanks for that little tid bit of info...you're one for keeping secrests:) Let us know how it goes. I love reading too...just wish I had more time for everything. Oh well, maybe in another life or when I'm elderly without kids haha...but of course grandkids will be around often so who knows when.

Anonymous said...

So what does it say about me that Lord of the Flies is one of my faves? The book has a lot to say about why humans shouldn't be left to their own demise without authority or moral codes. Of course the darkness of it could be why my 17-year-old male students actually read it. So, you're right in not letting Ash read it. Sorry for that recommendation, though I'm glad you listened to me on the other one. lol(You are talking 'bout me, right? though can you really call it a "kick in the pants" when it's via facebook) or maybe you were not speaking of me at all, and if not, please disregard what I just wrote, cause I'm an idiot sometimes. REading TOtally ROcks! I love books and bookstores and libraries and garage sales where there are lots of books and bookshelves at my friends houses fulls of books.....

Anonymous said...

On chest pains-yes, Shane's had some off and on for oh...years probably. He mentioned it to his doctor recently and was referred to the cardiologist who said it's probably just the irregular heartbeat he found causing the pain but he'll have further testing Friday to make sure. I'm not worried (because I'm weird that way) until I have reason to worry.

On the kick in the pants-yes, conviction/realization that I had spent a lot of time online several days in a row made your response to my FB status swift :) I needed it. I'm enjoying the books so much more right now. But I do often get busy reading online and researching legit things...balance is the key...

Luke Holzmann said...

I read Lord of the Flies in high school. Not one of my favorites... but I do like Dracula and Brave New World [smile]. I love Till We Have Faces [happy sigh]. My wife didn't, though.

Reading is a beautiful thing. And I've got some time this week, so I really should start working through the three books my best friend recently handed me...

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Ashlyn!

~Luke

SuperMom Blues said...

We had to read Lord of the Flies in High School. As for the darkness factor - you are absolutly right. It is WAAAY too dark for Ash right now. I'd wait until she starts her 10th grade studies for that one, actually.

Em's favorite right now are the "Fancy Nancy" books - they use some big words and she is really into using big words right now (thanks to "Word Girl" and "Marth Speaks" on PBS, LOL).

One of my absolute favorites when I was in school was "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret". Ashers may not QUITE be old enough for that one yet, as it deals with a LOT of coming-of-age issues, but in the next year or so, I really reccomend it. Also, the Babysitter's Club series are good for simple, fast, and fun reads.

Ever need any book advice for the munchkins, let me know! :-) I have a TON of other reccomendations!!

SuperMom Blues said...

BTW - Tell Shane-O we're praying for him. Did he ever find that van he was chasing the other day?