My Candy Store

There is something about a library that stirs my soul. I love to wander down the aisles and just soak up the atmosphere, especially when I don't have something specific that I am looking for. I love going to the library. I always have.

In July I got to spend a week in New York with my husband. It was my first time. He was there on business, so each day I would wander the streets of Manhattan reveling in the sights, sounds, and the culture in that vast city. I saw many amazing things, but one of my favorite experiences was the morning I spent browsing the New York Public Library. O.k., so it's not your average public library. It is everything I ever dreamed a library could be. 

It is historic, 

it is beautiful,

it is full of books.

After wandering the building, I sat down in this room with a book, and just relished the moment.   

It was a fabulous morning.

Today I went to the library to pick up H. Man who had been there with a friend. I was in a hurry to get somewhere, but once I walked through the doors, I couldn't help lingering over a few displays of new and seasonal books they had, and then of course I had to take a quick look at what books they had on sale today. As we left and I remembered what a hurry I was in, I had to try to define what exactly this hold is that the library has on me. Then it dawned on me. It's the possibilities. There are thousands of books on the shelves there, just waiting to be read. Waiting to change my life. You never know when you pick up a book, where you will end up when you put it down. The possibilities in a library are endless. It's magical, and it keeps calling me back for more. I wonder where I'll end up next.

"How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book."  ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden 

Tag, I'm It

Dana at Noggins & Nonsense tagged me in a blog "getting to know you" game. Since I haven't posted in over a month, here is some proof that I'm still around. The questions she asked were:

• What is your favorite thing about being a MOM? (This is a tough one. There are so many things that I love, but I have to say that one of my favorite and most rewarding things, is being able to watch my children learn and grow. It is so awesome and overwhelming to see their strengths and talents being developed and to recognize the amazing potential they have. I feel blessed to be a part of it.)

• What part of homeschooling your family makes your heart sing? My answer to this goes along with the first one; watching them learn new thing. I love that I get to be a part of all the "awakenings" in their educational lives. There is nothing like seeing the excitement in a child (especially your own child) when they learn something new. From first learning to read, to making connections with exciting events in history, or discovering the "veins" in a leaf. That wide-eyed wonder is magical.

• If you could have any dessert right now what would it be? ( I just made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with Little C. tonight, and they really hit the spot. Anything with chocolate is usually a safe bet.)

• What is one thing about yourself that you’d like to change? (I would like to stress less. I often worry too much about things that in the grand scheme of things aren't really that important. I wish that I could give that up.)

• What are some talents you’ve been blessed with? (I’ve been blessed with faith. There are definitely times when I don't trust the Lord enough, but generally speaking, I know that He is there and knows what I need and is waiting to bless me with that if I just trust in Him. I am so grateful for that gift in my life, and the peace it brings.)

• What is a weakness you struggle with? (Not worrying about what others think. You wouldn't think I would have a problem with this since I homeschool, have home-births, am in the Constitution Party, etc., etc., but I often have to stop and ask myself if my motivation for doing something is because it's the right thing for me to do, or because I am worrying about what someone else will think. It's silly, and I am getting better, but I wish I was more like my husband in this area. He just knows what he has to do and does it, and doesn't worry about what anyone else thinks.)

• What book (just for you) have you enjoyed lately? (This is sad. I really love to read, but I don't think I have finished a book for me in 6 months. Right after C. Bear was born I read a few books just for me, and one of the ones I really enjoyed was The Keeper of the Bees, by Gene Stratton Porter. I love her books! I can't wait until I can find more time to read again. I have been itching for a good book lately, and some time to read it in.)

• What is something you would like to learn how to do? (Sew. My mother was/is a wonderful seamstress, but she never taught me how to sew. I always bring my sewing projects to her and she does them for me. It is wonderful, but some day I would like to buy a sewing machine and learn to sew. Some day. . .)

Now I am supposed to tag some people and ask them eight questions of my own.

Here are the questions:

• What are your top 5 favorite books?

• What is one of your favorite scriptures?

• What is your favorite homeschool curriculum that you have used?

• What led you to homeschool your children?

• If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?

• If you had one day all to yourself, what would you do?

• What is your favorite food group?

• What is something that your child(ren) did recently that made you laugh out loud?

The people I am tagging are:

Cellista @ La Scuola d'Argento

Meg @ Journey, Discover, Gather

Wendy @ O'Neil Oasis

Sea Star @ Sea Star Academy

You! If you want to answer any of these questions, leave a comment with a link to your blog, and I would love to read it. 

Thanks for playing!

Week in Review

This was a great week!  That probably stands without saying, because I'm not likely to be posting about it if it wasn't, right?  Anyway, this was our second week "back to school" since C. Bear was born, and things really went pretty smoothly considering.  We finished our family read-aloud, Just David, this week and the kids loved it.  I read this book on my own a couple of years ago and posted a review about it here.  I was excited to share it with the kids and was glad that they enjoyed it as much as I did.  We were all sad when it was done.  It was one of those books where we felt like we were saying good-bye to a good friend when it was over.

For our character training this year we have been reading from the book Created for Work during our "School Opener" and we read a couple of great chapters from it this week.  You never know how much your children retain from things like this, but it is good to see them making connections with great ideals and you hope that through repeated exposure they will eventually incorporate them into their lives.

We purchased a new camera this week so that H. Man could be Doug's  "Campaign Photographer".  In addition to his regular studies H. Man has spent the week learning everything he can about photography.  He read the entire camera manual in two days and has taken hundreds of pictures.  He really is showing a lot of talent, and I am now constantly asking him how to do "this" or "that" on the camera.  Here are some of his candid shots of our school week. I hesitated to post them, because I don't like seeing pictures of me, but they give a good taste of our school week, so here they are:

(Writing time.  In my defense, this was our transition from snack time to writing time.)

We did spelling every day this week, which is a real accomplishment since we have had the tendency to skip it on hectic days.  We have loved The Writing Road to Reading this year.  Not only has the boy's spelling improved a lot this year, but I-Mac's reading ability has really flourished as well.  For those of you who don't know,  I-Mac is dyslexic and we have tried so many different things to help him learn to read proficiently.  This program is the first that has really seemed to click with him.

We are reading about The Renaissance and The Reformation in history right now.  The kids loved the chapter about Michelangelo and DaVinci in A Child's History of the World.  We spent some time after reading, looking up various works by each artist and we all hope we can get to Italy some day to see them in person.

G. Diddy did a great job of sitting still and paying attention during our reading times this week, which is a huge achievement, because he's our child that I'm sure would have been labeled with ADHD and been medicated, if we had put him in the Public School system.  

I. Mac on the other hand gets tired of listening to Mom lecturing. ; )  Actually, I think this was exasperation because H. Man was taking his 50th photo of him for the day. 

In addition to school work, we spent lots of time outdoors in the beautiful spring weather, working in the gardens and just having fun.

We even fit in a field trip to the park this week.

H. Man also got to take a "field trip" with his dad this week to Fillmore, Utah to hear him speak at the Millard County Constitution Party Convention.  

H. Man got his first experience as Campaign Photographer,

and they met some wonderful people.

Granted, our house could be cleaner, and the laundry is piling up, but we accomplished a lot this week. With a new baby I find the need to take joy in the things I am able to do, and try not to worry about the ones I'm not.  That could be a good formula with, or without a baby.  I just hope this next week can be as productive.

Books and Babies

The title of this post pretty much sums up how I have been spending my time for the last week and a half.  I haven't had much sleep.  It is hard to find time for the little things, like eating, taking a shower, going to the bathroom. . .  My mom has been nice enough to take the kids during the day since C. Bear was born so I have had plenty of time to get to know and enjoy this cute, chubby girl, 

and since I can hold her in one arm, and a book in the other I have gotten in plenty of reading too.  I finished two fun books and have started on another.  I have been sticking to lighter reads, since there are plenty of interruptions with a newborn baby.  The first book I read was one I was actually surprised that I hadn't read yet.  It was Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott.  I love Little Women, but for some reason I have never felt compelled to read Little Men.  Although it is not as good as Little Women, I really enjoyed the book.  It is very idealistic and and somewhat moralistic too, but there were so many great bits of parenting wisdom in it.  I hope I can be as wise and patient a mother to my crazy boys as Jo was to hers.  The other book I finished was by one of my favorite authors.  It was The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton-Porter.  If you have never read any of her books, I highly recommend that you do.  She has some beautiful insights into education, and our relationship with God, nature, and our fellowmen.  This book was no exception.

While we're on the topic of books, Meg posted a list of 10 books she loves to read today and invited others to do the same.  She has a great list, and I have a few books that I think I will be tackling next thanks to her.  Here is my list of 10 books I love (in no particular order).  

• Laddie: A True Blue Story - Gene Stratton-Porter

• Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

• Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

• Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

• The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom

• Approaching Zion - Hugh Nibley

• Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis

• A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

• An Enemy Hath Done This - Ezra Taft Benson

• Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

I hope you'll post yours too. . .

1010 Challenge

This week I realized I had not done as much reading on my 999 list as I would have liked so I decided to start The Scarlet Pimpernel and finnished it on New Years.  I can't believe I had never read it before.  I thoroughly enjoyed the read, even though it was very predictable.  I hadn't added up the number of books I read last year until today, and interestingly enough, I ended up reading the same number as I did in 2008; thirty three.  Even though I have yet to come close to the reading goal for these challenges, I have really enjoyed having some direction for my reading.  I still tend to read way more from the classics category and struggle with getting through books in the non-fiction categories, but at least these lists remind me to branch out a little more.  I sat down today to see if there was a 1010 challenge and was pleased to find one hosted here.   The thing I love about this challenge is that the only requirement is to pick 10 categories to read from in 2010.  The number of books you read from each category is entirely up to you.  No guilt!  That was right up my alley with a new baby and major house renovation on the horizon this year.  I think I will start with four books in each category to see if I can break that 33 barrier, and then go from there.  Wish me luck.  Here are my 2010 selections so far:


I. Spirituality 
   
   1. The Book of Mormon
   2. Each Ensign from cover to cover this year. 3 of 12 completed. (I need to get back to doing this.  2 years ago when I accomplished this it made such a difference in my life.) 
   3. The Old Testament
   4. Gospel Principles
   5. Faith Precedes the Miracle *


II. U.S. Government/History


  1. The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution

2. An Enemy Hath Done This

3. The Federalist Papers

4. Democracy in America

III. Education

   1. The One Minute Teacher: How to Teach Others to Teach Themselves

2. When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy for Today

3. Righteous Influence: What Every Leader Should Know About Drawing on the Powers of Heaven

   4. In My Father's House: The Years Before the Hiding Place
   5. Classical Writing Aesop and Homer


IV. Motherhood


   1.Created for Work: Practical Insights for Young Men
   2. Arming Your Children With the Gospel: Creating Opportunities for Spiritual Experiences
   3. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families
   4. Mothering with Spiritual Power: Book of Mormon Inspirations for Raising a Righteous Family


V. Book Club Books


   1. Mafia to Mormon: My Conversion Story
   2. Faith Precedes the Miracle *
   3. Mandy
   4. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
   5.
   6.
   7.
   8.
   9.
   10.


VI.  Family Read Alouds


   1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

   2. Just David
   3. Mary Poppins
   4. 
   5.
   6.
   7.
   8.
   9.
   10.


VII. Classics


   1. The Keeper of the Bees
   2. Little Men
   3.
   4.


VIII. Health/Fitness


   1. The Diet Solution: Weight loss, Wellness, and the Word of Wisdom
   2.
   3.
   4. 


IX. Home & Garden


   1. One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good

   2. The Bacykyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!
   3. Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens
   4. All New Square Foot Gardening
   5. 


X. Other


   1.
   2.
   3.
   4.


Books I am currently reading.
Books I have completed.
* Books that overlap categories.

Book Reviews

I thought I would review the books I have finished so far for my 999 challenge.  

The first book was a family read-aloud, The Wheel on the School.  We loved this book!  It was a wonderful story of how a dream can become a reality if we dare to believe in it and are willing to work hard to make it happen.  It illustrates the beauty of human relationships and the fact that we all need each other and everyone has something to give.  It was also just a wonderfully written, fun, and often suspenseful story.  I highly recommend this book.

The next two books were Honey for a Child's Heart, and Honey for a Woman's Heart.  These were both books about books, one of my favorite subjects. =)  The author of these books, Gladys Hunt, shares my heart for reading.  Throughout the books she gives reading recommendations, but she intersperses these suggestions with thoughts about books that capture my feelings for them and the joy they bring to my life perfectly.  Two of my favorite quotes from a Child's Heart were, "Books are no substitute for life, but a keener pleasure comes to life because of books."  So true!  In speaking about the value of good books for children she says, "...by continual exposure to a variety of people and experiences, (in books) the real values of life are taught most profoundly.  What we are doing is helping our children collect "bits of perfection" of ideas and values on which to build their lives."  I couldn't agree more.  Aren't books wonderful!

Just after beginning this post I had a fun experience with books that I just had to share.  G. Diddy was having a rather trying day.  One thing after another was causing him to burst into tears.  I tried sending him to bed for a nap, but that wasn't going to fly, so I had the thought that I should go in and read with him on my bed.  I picked "Where the Wild Things Are", and "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day".  They seemed to fit his mood for the day.  First I read "Where the Wild Things Are".  He enjoyed it and of course, wanted me to read it again.  Then we read "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." He hadn't read this book before and it definitely resonated with him.  We read it twice too and then I asked him if he was having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.  He admitted that he was and so I asked him if he was thinking about moving to Australia (if you haven't read the book you need to to understand the question).  He laughed and then squeezed me so tight for about five minutes.  It feels good to think that someone understands us, and that we are not the only one to feel the way we do.  I think this book helped him to feel that way.  Throughout the day, he still struggled with his moods, but whenever he would get upset I would ask him if he was thinking about moving to Australia and he couldn't help but smile.  I love how books help us to communicate and understand each other in new ways.  That little phrase now means so much to us can help conjure up those good feelings of time shared together and a sense of being understood.  The power of books is immeasurable.

999 Reading Challenge

Last year Cellista posted about the 888 challenge (read 8 books in 8 categories in 2008). It looked like just the thing for me, so I decided to take the challenge. I was just browsing her blog today and noticed she has a list for the 999 challenge now (same idea as above, just add one to each of the numbers). I realized that it has been a while since I updated my 888 list, and since 2008 has been over for a month and a half, it would be a good idea to take an inventory of how I did. The final tally was 33 books read. That doesn't count all the ones I read that didn't fit into any of the categories I had chosen, or that I just forgot to record. . . I definitely could have done better, especially in my history and spirituality categories, but it was honestly more than I expected. I have felt like my reading has really taken a back seat to all of the craziness in my life this past year. I miss reading ravenously, but I realize that there is a time and season for everything in life. Acknowledging that I only met 1/3 of this years challenge last time, I am going to give the 999 challenge a try. It helps to have some focus to my reading and a goal to help me reach a little farther and stretch my self in areas I don't naturally gravitate to but know I should pay more attention to.

So here's the official rules: "9 books in 9 categories in 2009, 9 can overlap, 72 books total" We'll see how I do. . . .
Books in blue are ones I am currently reading, books with an * are the "overlapping" books, and the books with a √ are the ones I have completed.

My current choices are:

I. Government/History (We'll give it a try again. I really need to do better in this area)

1. 1776 * √
2. The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World √
3. The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution
4. An Enemy Hath Done This
5. The Federalist Papers
6. Democracy in America
7. The Law
8.
9. 

II. Education

1. Revealed Educational Principles & the Public Schools: A look at principle-centered education through the prophets and LDS educational history √
2. The Underground History of American Education: A School Teacher's Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling
3. The One Minute Teacher: How to Teach Others to Teach Themselves
4. When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy for Today
5. Righteous Influence: What Every Leader Should Know About Drawing on the Powers of Heaven
6. Home Education: Volume I of Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series
7. In My Father's House: The Years Before the Hiding Place
8. The Latin-Centered Curriculum √
9. Pajama School-Stories from the Life of a Homeschool Graduate √

III. Motherhood

1. Created for Work: Practical Insights for Young Men
2. The Parenting Breakthrough: Real-Life Plan to Teach Kids to Work, Save Money, and Be Truly Independent √
3. So You Want to Raise a Boy? √
4. Raising Your Spirited Child Rev Ed: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic
5. The Organized Homeschooler
6.
7.
8.
9.

IV. Spirituality

1. The Book of Mormon √
2. The Doctrine and Covenants √
3. Each Ensign from cover to cover this year
4. Holy Temple
5. Hearing the Voice of the Lord
6. The Temple: Where Heaven Meets Earth
7.
8.
9.

V. Book Club Books

1. A Tale of Two Cities *√
2. 1776 * √
3. The Last Lecture √ (My review)
4. I Am David √
5. And Then There Were None √
6. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich *√
7. These is My Words √
8. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency √
9. The School of Essential Ingredients √

VI. Family Read Alouds

1. The Wheel on the School √ (Read the review)
2. A Little Princess √
3. The Secret Garden √
4. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow √
5. The Little Prince √
6. By the Shores of Silver Lake √
7. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
8. A Christmas Carol √
9.

VII. Poetry

1. Now We Are Six √ (If you haven't read A.A. Milne with your kids or just for yourself, you don't know what you're missing. . . )
2. When We Were Very Young √
3. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Selected Poems
4. John Greenleaf Whittier: Selected Poems
5. The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar
6. Rhymes and Verses: Collected Poems for Young People
7.
8.
9.

VIII. Classics

1. Persuasion √
2. Les Misérables (I've also read this one before, but it's been at least 15 years and after reading A Tale of Two Cities I had a desire to read this again.)
3. North and South √
4. The Keeper of the Bees
5. The Scarlet Pimpernel √
6. A Tale of Two Cities * √
7. The Taming of the Shrew *
8. A Midsummer Night's Dream *
9. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich *√


IX. Other (I decided to leave this category open so I had somewhere to put all the miscellaneous books I pick up and read on a whim. . . )

1. Honey for a Child's Heart √ (Read the review)
2. Honey for a Woman's Heart √ (Read the review)
3. Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary √
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.