BOOKS I FINISHED - DECEMBER 2015

The Scent of Water, written by Elizabeth Goudge
This is the second book I've read by Goudge and I enjoyed it as much as the first. A neat story of a woman who leaves the city life of London to live in the country, moving into a home left to her by a relative who'd made a lasting impression on her as a child. Like The Dean's Watch, also by Goudge, it's a fictional story of personal growth, second chances, meeting people where they're at, and the power of love.

Let's All Be Brave: Living Life with Everything You Have, written by Annie F. Downs
This random pull from the library shelves was about living with courage, bravely doing the thing in front of you.

p.77, I don't know how it works, the science and math of it all, but I know that love given is courage gained.

p.96, Say the things that will speak truth and heal. Hold your tongue in anger or fear - those are the times when a coward speaks. But when the moment comes to say the gracious things that will mark a heart forever? Say it. Speak love, and watch as beautiful things come to life.

p.124, I hate it when people say, "God will never give us more than we can handle," mainly because I don't think it's true and it isn't in the Bible. 

p.131, Courage doesn't tell you to let go when you know what to grab next. Brave people let go when it's time to let go.

p.142, The longer I live, the more I think I'm figuring out that courage often looks like sacrifice and service.

p.150,You need to see that the world is big and diverse and maybe God doesn't look or sound the way you always thought he did because the world has a lot of different-looking and different-sounding people, all who are made in his image.

p.174, Never forget as you step forward with your life that you are a trailblazer. Someone is watching.

p.183, Quit complaining about discipline and start seeing it as a powerful tool for courageous living.


BOOKS THE KIDS LIKED
That's Sneaky: Stealthy Secrets and Devious Data That Will Test Your Lie Detector, written by Crispin Boyer 
My kids love books filled with trivia, so Silas and Devon enjoyed this one.

The Other Colors: An ABC Book, written by Valerie Gates
A fun twist on books about colors and the alphabet, this one hits the non-traditional colors like ecru and chartreuse. Plus, it uses alliteration and you know I love that!

The Beetle Book, written by Steve Jenkins
Great illustrations and gobs of info about lots of different kinds of beetles.

Flashlight, illustrated by Lizi Boyd
Maryanne recommended this book and Teebs loved it. It's a wordless book about a boy who leaves his tent,flashlight in hand, to go explore the woods around him.

Hey, Seymour!, written by Walter Wick
We're big fans of Wick's Can You See What I See? books and the photographs he took for Jean Marzollo's I Spy books, so it's no surprise that we were excited to find this new book of his.

Blizzard, written and illustrated by John Rocco
Based on Rocco's memory of a childhood blizzard in Rhode Island, Naomi and Teebs had fun looking for the ways each day of the week was incorporated into the illustrations.

A Giraffe and a Half, written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein
Teebs giggled the whole time I read this to him, then giggled again the whole time Tim read it to him.

12/31/15 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the tradition of the PNWNYDMU and looking forward to time with friends tomorrow.

What is something that you're thankful for?

CHRISTMAS 2015, THE FOURTH & FINAL ROUND

I've actually taken very few pictures of the "6 Ws only" Christmas celebration, but that's fine. We've had a low-key day filled with cinnamon rolls that Silas and Tim made, finishing our Advent readings, eating lots of finger foods and desserts, Tim reading The Three Trees, delivering cookies, opening a bunch of gifts, listening to Christmas songs, and just hanging out. The evening promises more of the same and I don't anticipate taking any more pictures, so here's our obligatory Christmas post.  The shortest one ever, which is balanced by the fact we had three other rounds of Christmas I already posted pictures of.

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Round one with Dad, Debra, and Ashley

Round two with Linda

Round three with Greg, Lisa, Ethan, and Isaac

CHRISTMAS 2015, ROUND THREE

We spent several hours with Greg, Lisa, and their boys today. We always love time with their family and today was no exception. Good food, chess games, lots of chatting, gifts, shooting pool and hoops, and playing music.

At one point during dinner, Ethan or Isaac, I can't remember which, said something about how they can't believe they and their brother had held each of the little Ws as babies. I, of course, can't believe Ethan is now the same age Tim was when he and I started dating. And that Tim and I are older than Greg and Lisa were when I met them. (Getting them was a fringe benefit of getting Tim all those years ago.) Time flies!

The kids all cooperated with our request for a picture of all of them piled on the couch.

And we got one of them to take a picture of the adults.

A fun day with a special friends that are like family!

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Round one with Dad, Debra, and Ashley
Round two with Linda
Round four with just the 6 Ws

CHRISTMAS 2015, ROUND TWO

Linda, my extra mother-in-law (and, yes, that's also the name of my actual mother-in-law), came down for a couple of hours this morning to hang out with us. Look what she brought!

Isn't that cute?! I think it's safe to say that her gingerbread house skills exceed the ones we demonstrated in round one of Christmas yesterday, especially since she actually made gingerbread instead of using graham crackers.

We chatted, worked on puzzles, played some games, exchanged gifts to be open on Christmas, and took both a smiling and a silly picture of her with the kids before she headed home.

I'm thankful for bonus family!

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Round one with Dad, Debra, and Ashley
Round three with Greg, Lisa, Ethan, and Isaac
Round four with just the 6 Ws

CHRISTMAS 2015, ROUND ONE

Dad, Debra, and Ashley came up last night for an early Christmas celebration. It was a quick visit and a few people felt cruddy with colds, but we still had fun. Last night we ate dinner, exchanged gifts, and had a mellow evening hanging out together. Half the group skipped church this morning because they were too germy, but we all joined up again for lunch.

The highlight of the visit, though, was probably making gingerbread houses together this afternoon. Naomi had asked me a week or two ago if we could make some this year (we've only made them once before) and I thought it would be a fun thing to make this weekend feel Christmas-y. I loaded up on candy from Wheeler Dealer (love that place) and graham crackers from Dollar Tree a few days ago, then we all hunkered down for part of this afternoon to laugh and create together. 

Here are the nine house builders.

And here are the eight houses, from appearing post-earthquake to relatively pristine, and one car, complete with a marshmallow mechanic on a roller board to slide under a jacked up car. They may not win any awards, but we all had fun making them and that was the goal. I'm really glad Naomi suggested making them!

We also squeezed in some games (a few versions of Spot it!, which has been played endlessly here since Teebs got it for a birthday gift a couple weeks ago, and some HedBanz, which, as with Hedbanz Act Up, is another fun game for a variety of ages) and books (I Spy Christmas and Look-Alikes Christmas, two of our favorite Christmas books), colored some pictures, drank some tea, and just relaxed.

Our guests left a little while ago and now we're watching Christmas movies to wrap up the weekend.

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Round two with Linda
Round three with Greg, Lisa, Ethan, and Isaac
Round four with just the 6 Ws

12/17/15 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that our church takes good care of its volunteers.

What's something that you're thankful for?