Books, #4

Wrapped in a cloud of steam, the engine rolled to a stop, the screech of metal against metal filling the frosty air. Snow blew across the railway platform and around Meg’s calfskin walking boots. The weather definitely was not improving.

She ordered tea with milk and sugar, eying the currant buns and sweet mincemeat tarts displayed beneath a bell jar.
Later, perhaps, when her appetite returned. At the moment her stomach was twisted into a knot.

“Anything else for you?” the cashier asked as she handed over the tea, steaming and fragrant.

Meg was surprised to find her fingers trembling when she lifted the cup. “All I want is a safe journey home.”

“On a day like this?” the round-faced woman exclaimed. “None but the Almighty can promise you that, lass.”   (description and picture from Amazon)

Another fun book that was a fairly quick read, although I needed to stay snuggled under the covers to read it, it made me so cold!!!  :)

Funny story about this one.  It was on my list to read (aka, nightstand) but I knew I was going to be very busy the last few days and was trying to best to resist the temptation.  But then my mom called on Monday and told me her Book Club had read it and loved it.  AND, since Liz Curtis Higgs lives in Louisville (where my parents are) she actually came to their little meeting!  Of course, living here in NashVegas we are used to famous people around all the time (ha!) but my mom was in awe of meeting the author, and especially someone as famous as LCHiggs.  So then I had to toss everything aside and get started on it so I could see how awesome it was!  

Hoping to take a reading break, but this week and travelling (or getting snowed in!) looks like prime reading opportunities to me!

0:)
Melissa

Books, #3

You’ve heard it said, “Be careful what you pray for.” But it may also be a good idea to be careful who you ask to pray. Because when folks like Hattie Hopkins talk to God…anything can happen! Stuck in the semi-reclusive life she’s built for herself, Olivia Harmon is still recovering from the tragic loss of her husband and daughter five years before. Though she loves her job at Vermont’s department of tourism, she longs for something more–so she asks her landlady Hattie to pray for a little volunteer work for her to do.

Things don’t work out exactly as she had planned, however, and soon Olivia finds herself bursting out of her carefully built cocoon to undertake the nurturing of three rambunctious street children. Even her heart seems out of control, causing her to fall for Zach Springer, the handsome handyman who rode a mudslide right into her sun room. Can a woman so accustomed to self-imposed solitude adjust to a new life, a new love, and the new challenge of Raising Cain…and His Sisters? (picture and description from amazon.com)

Yep, another one down.  To be quite honest, I'm not sure where this book came from, except to say it was on my nightstand, but we all know that can mean anything ....

I'm suspicious it came from one of two places : my mother snuck it in there on her last visit (she's a bibliofile like myself) or it was a donation to the church library.  No matter where it came from, it was a *really* good read, even if a little heavy on details.  I personally LOVE details in a book, but if you are looking for "sticking to the story" then you might want to pass on it. 

I am not putting this in the library at church, but if anyone is interested in reading it, let me know!

O:)
Melissa

Books, #2

Amazingly, I already finished another book.  This one was a quick read, and fit the bill for our monthly Book Club meeting next Tuesday.

Judith Graber has always been the obedient daughter. When her older brother Josh struggled with his love life, she offered wise counsel. When her younger brother Caleb flirted with the idea of leaving their order, she firmly told him he was wrong. Over the years, she’s watched her younger siblings, helped around the house, and worked in her family’s store during her spare time. Judith feels overworked, overlooked, and underappreciated this holiday season. 

But everything changes when her father hires Ben Knox. 

(descrip and pic from amazon.com)

I liked this book for the most part.  The only thing I struggled with was the speech.  Sometimes these modern day Amish, Mennonites, and englischers spoke in normal language, sometimes in german, and sometimes with a southern drawl.  And I kept trying to wrap my mind around reading a book about modern day Amish with the worrd Facebook and laptop in the story!

Books, 1 and counting...

New idea, may not last long....
Roger, who thinks I read too many books anyway, sent me an email the other day about a man who read 125 books one year.  I'm pretty sure I can't beat that (he probably wasn't the COO of his household!), but I was curious to see how many books I read in year.  So I decided to post a bit about the books I read for anyone who may be interested (probably no one) and for me to keep count.

Just finished this one here.  Not the first Christmas book I've read this year, but the first one I'm counting.

Join three of today’s bestselling inspirational fiction authors in a collection of Christmas stories from Victorian-era America that are full of second-chance romances. Jilted by her fiancé, Karla packs away her wedding quilts and her plans for marriage. Widow Jane travels to marry a prosperous man she barely knows in order to give her daughter a better life—then is stranded in a winter storm. Ada, a wealthy ingénue, inadvertently causes grave injury to a poor man she once considered quite a catch. Each must search her heart, change her plans. . .and patch together a tender, unexpected life filled with love. (descrip and pic from amazon.com)

My favorite story was the last one, The Bridal Quilt.  Read for yourself, but basically socialite decides she wants a passion like the one her ex-fiancee has.  He walked away from fortunes when he found himself in a situation rescuing an orphan child from an abuser.  He took her back to the orphanage and realized his real passion was helping the needy children there.  He didn't think his future bride would understand his consuming passion, so he left her.  Not wise, but the way God works it out (even if only in a story!) is amazing and redeeming and ... well, you just have to read it for yourself! 

O:)
Melissa

My Jesus kiss with a flute!!!

My sweet Jesus has done it again!  After a crazy busy spring and summer I will confess I have not been enjoying precious quiet time with Him as much as I should have, in order to survive my crazy busy spring and summer!  So this past week I have made a concentrated effort to start back with my QT, focusing on the verse in Psalms to "restore to my the JOY of Your salvation."  I knew all along He has been here, because He promised not to leave me or forsake me, but I also knew I had to been seeking Him out.  So last week when more busyness and decisions needed to be made, I just really started pouring my heart out to Him and seeking His wisdom.  

One of the things this summer we have been trying to figure out is how to get a cell phone for Rebecca.  Now, that may be a no brainer for some of you, but we really had several variables that went into this.  No need to for all the details, but the money aspect was one of them.  We were trying to find the best deal that would work for us that wasn't going to cost an arm and a leg!  We had finally narrowed it down to two options, but had not made the final decision, because then we start thinking about all the other expenses we knew were coming up this fall.  Not necessarily big ones, but all that little nickel and dime stuff that adds up.  

So back to the flute.  Last week Rebecca had a birthday party and one of her friends was not able to come.  She saw her Sunday afternoon, and gave her her birthday present.  Can you guess what it was?!?  A flute!!!  A real, honest to goodness flute with all the accessories and she just gave it to her!  They hadn't used it in a long time and no one else was going to play it, so they just blessed us with it.  

What does this flute represent?  This flute represents $20 we don't have to pay anymore to rent one.  This flute represents a chunk of what her cell phone bill was going to be.  This flute represents God's provision for us.  This flute represents a sign to me that God is going to take care of us.  This flute represents God taking care of our details.  

And the icing on the cake?  On the case it said it is a "Hallelu Flute".  As in, Hallelujah.

It's Summertime....

and you know what that means!!  Summer School for the Campbell girls!  Luckily most of them do not mind it at all, in fact my brainiacs actually look forward to it and tell me what they want to learn.  And I enjoy playing teacher in my pretend world that I could actually be one.  I am again hopeful for positive results and no one quitting. 

After my years of doing this, I learn a few things every time so this year will hopefully be easier than the rest.  Which is a good thing, when you look at our summer calendar!  Between VBS, Beach trip, Louisville trip, lots of camps, and Rebecca starting marching band, our summer is already packed.  Poor SoloHombre just looks at our calendar and faints.  But I assure him it is not nearly as overwhelming as it looks, AND it's all fun stuff!!!

So, here are my goals for this summer, i.e. -- all the fun we are going to have!

1.  After doing a Sunday School study on Peacemaking for Families, I was inspired to do the kid version of this with my girls this summer.  It is called The Young Peacemakers and the book I ordered includes a teacher manual and a CD that has all 12 comic book style lessons for the kids.  Granted, it was quite a chore to download, print one copy, then take to Office Depot to make 2 more copies and bind them together (there are 10 pages in each lesson), but I am hopeful it will be an investment in peacemaking in our family!

2.  Since Katie loves math and is going into 3rd grade, we decided to work on learning multiplication this summer.  Found this great little sheet on Pinterest to help with that.  I also found this trick for learning the higher numbers, although when Leah tested it out she said it was too hard!  :)

3.  The brainiacs also love workbooks, so I always invest in the Summer Bridge Activities books for them.  They usually want to sit down and do all 500 pages the first day, but I am going to try to spread out the fun.

4.  Rebecca and I started the James study for teens during school but didn't get too far.  I am hoping we can work through that this summer since she showed a real interest in it earlier.

5.  Also on Pinterest I found this great little free "VBS" study on The Armor of God.  Again, crazy printables, but not as bad as the other.  I have thought about how to include more kids in this, but we are just doing one day a week and I really hate having to commit to a time on anything I don't have to.  Hhm...

6.  And, of course, our lovely Book Bingo!  If you saw my post on Facebook from 5/22, it is bigger and better than ever this year, at their request!!!  I debated even doing it this year, since my kids love to read so much, but they begged for it so they got it!  I do make them stretch their boundaries by making them read books they wouldn't normally choose, like non-fiction.  Also, since this year's bingo sheet has 66 squares on it, I included things like "read 50 verses in Proverbs and memorize one", "draw a picture from a book you read", "find a new recipe in a cookbook to cook", etc.  And of course all the good award books are on there too, like Notable Books, Volunteer State Book Awards, and Best Illustrated Books.  That part can also be a bear because I have to look up all the books and see which libraries they are at, but its a fun job for me and we like visiting the different libraries!  My big #1 rule about Book Bingo is that they cannot be books you have read before!

We usually do not do the library reading clubs, because they are just too crazy and the junk they get for "winning" is just that, junk.  I'd rather give something nice or useful, even if it takes longer to get it.  I'm thinking about just money this year, simply because that is their favorite motivator!  I have not completely decided yet, but it's probably about time for me to do that!

I'm also hoping to tie in a Reading Timeline in their journals this year, but that is still in the making it up stage.  We won't start that until after we get back from the beach.

7.  Other fun things up my sleeve are implementing a Complaining Jar, which will be tied into chores. We have three short lists of Ways I Can Help My Family that rotate amongst the girls weekly.  SoloHombre's big idea this year to potentially cut down on not doing what we ask them to do is to take money away if they don't do it when told/asked/reminded.  Oh boy I can't wait to pull that one out!  I also plan to pull out the Reporting vs. Tattling poster, and we are going to learn the proper way to set a table, so that the table setter of the week can do it right and we can all learn to not just throw napkins and utensils in the general direction of where people are sitting.  (I'm sure this never happens at your house!)  It would be great if we have time to make a Gratitude Notebook too. Oh yes!  And I want to finally take my kids to Cheekwood and looks for some alphabet art. 

We shall also have at least 2-3 weeks of break & catch up time, which is new this year.  Hopefully that will help us not feel like we can't get back on track if we have a rough or lazy or fussy week.  Then the last week before school starts I hope to do some serious menu planning and freezer meal packing for the fall.  I know my girls, being the cooks they are, will LOVE helping me with this!!

By know you probably think I am totally crazy, but really when you break it all down week by week it is not nearly so overwhelming.  The overwhelming part is in mid-April when I realize I need to start thinking about this and trying to get it all together before the end of May!!  Luckily Pinterest has saved me here, as I started sticking stuff in a Summer folder once I got addicted, so it was just a matter of putting it all together in lesson plan form.  

I am happy to send you whatever stuff I have that I made up, just remembering in this technological age that all the hard work I did is copyrighted by me. 

I have:  

Summer Fun Camp, which is an excel sheet with overview and materials needed for the week.

Book Bingo sheet

For Nashville folks I have an excel sheet that lists which library all the award book are located

How I Can Help my Family chore sheets

Everything else is downloadable from the links, and you can also check out here for TONS for graphic organizers and a plethora of FREE school worksheets!

Ok, now I have to get my kids up and feed them breakfast!  Have fun!

O:)
Melissa

The Three Room ReDo

Coming soon to a blog near you ... (as in, this one!) ... the unveiling of the Three Room ReDo ...

Luckily it does not involve one of these ....

O:)

Melissa