Dying to Read More!

My goodness the past month has been a WHIRLWIND.  It is a blur.  It has been TOO busy for my taste but things are winding down now.  Yay!  I am not one who likes to be TOO busy.  We finished co-op with our final presentation night which was such a blessing.  Corbin got a free ticket to our local waterpark for reading over 600 minutes in a couple months.  Cody received his preschool binder that he worked so hard on all year and I wrapped up teaching my first preschool co-op class.  Our homeschool here at home is winding down too.  Between those things, sickness, doctors appointments, GAPS diet (which takes a lot of prep), planning meetings, Sunday school teaching, bible studies, fellowship with friends and family, starting our garden, and more, things have been downright crazy.

One thing I have been really missing is sitting down with a good book. I have several that I am reading right now and several on the list too read. I look forward to starting summer with some lazy days curling up with a good book and a glass of carrot, celery juice (yeah, you read that right, carrot, celery juice. That is what I can have right now. Actually I really love it. Heheheh!)

Here are some books on my reading list:

The Fruitful Wife

I haven't started reading this one yet but have heard and read really good reviews on it.  I can't wait to start this.

Parenting Collection: The New Dare to Discipline, The New Strong-Willed Child, and Parenting isn't for Cowards all in one book.

I have read the Dare To Discipline book in this 3 in 1 book and it was great!  I am now in the middle of the strong willed child section.  It is also very informative and motivating.  I was (and still am) a strong willed child and happen to have one just like me. Dr. Dobson helps so much in figuring out how to live life with one!  Fortunately, because I am one I have an inside scoop on what makes a strong willed child (or person) tick! I have always loved Dr. Dobson.

Why America is Free

I have started reading this book. I really, really love it.  I wish I had books like this when I was in school.  I have learned more (truth) from this book than anything I read in school when I was a child.  I also love the way it is written.  It is not merely just facts but instead an actual story with characters.  Interspersed throughout the book are factual tidbits and information. Michael Farris of HSLDA recommended this book at our last homeschool conference.  I am so glad we purchased it.  I can't wait to read it with Corbin and Cody. How important it is for them to know and understand why America IS free!

Educating the WholeHearted Child (3rd. edition) by Clay and Sally Clarkson

I have started reading this book and consider it to be a go to resource for me throughout most of my homeschooling.  Clay and Sally have a lot of wisdom to pass down and I am so appreciative of such a great resource. This is their description on the book from their website:

You’ll find 384 help-filled pages packed with useful information, insights and encouragement:

■Ideas: Hundreds of practical ideas, teaching methods, lifestyle suggestions, and product recommendations

■Insights: Dozens of scriptures, personal anecdotes, quotes, notes, and comments

■Anecdotes: Dozens of "In Our Home" snapshots of Clarkson family living

■Books: A recommended "Family Favorites" reading list of whole and living books

■Helps: A section of reproducible forms for planning and record-keeping

Paleo Slow Cooking by Chrissy Gower

Yes, I read cookbooks.  Actually, I devour cookbooks.  While I don't identify myself as "Paleo" because of some of the things the lifestyle supports that I don't agree with, I do think that for a lot of people eating Paleo makes complete sense.  After I am done with the GAPS diet I will probably be following the Auto-Immune Protocol for Paleo eating.  You can read about that here and here. If you have an autoimmune disorder I highly recommend looking into this way of eating. I love this cook book.  It has some great ideas and also wonderful information at the beginning of the book before the recipes.  It makes eating Paleo style look simple (which it really is.)

Paleo Indulgences by Tammy Credicott

I am happy to say that I finished reading this one!  I am a baker at heart.  I have been baking since I was a little girl. I always asked for baking stuff for my birthdays!  Even when I had to go Gluten Free two years ago I continued baking.  It is not until now that I don't do much baking (for myself at least.) However, I pray that one day soon I will be able to get back to indulging and baking once in a while with almond flour and coconut flour which is what this book uses a lot of.  The recipes are decadent!

Here are some other books I have finished or are in the middle of but don't have pictures....

Keeping Bees and Making Honey

I intend to read this and many other beekeeping books over the summer. I want to have a few bee hives in the next few years.  Bees are getting scarce and raw local honey is getting expensive. I think it would be so much fun to have a few hives and harvest our own honey.

Oswald Chambers: The Man and Message behind My Utmost For His Highest

I did read this whole book and learned so much about Oswald Chambers.  It was a quick read and gave a good glimpse into his life.  It also made me think a lot about my perspective on life and my world view.  Mr. Chambers was a great man of God who was dedicated to his work.  It is amazing that his wife put together all of his works in so many different books after his young, untimely death.  Thankfully she did that so we could glean from his teachings.

The Problem of Pain by C.S Lewis

I am greatly anticipating this book about why pain and suffering occur.  I love C.S. Lewis and his writings and I am sure he will paint great light on this subject.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller

I am in the middle of this book and want to just inhale it.  I have to take it slow though because it is a "thinker."  I love Phillip's verse for verse explanation and view of Psalm 23.  Since he was a shepherd he has a inside look at what God really means when he calls us his "sheep."  It is such an interesting book. I highly recommend it!

Corrie Ten Boom: Heroine of Harlem by Sam Wellman

We are reading this together as a family right now and what a woman Corrie was.  She suffered so much in Nazi Germany yet never lost sight of God. Her story is encouraging and she is a wonderful example to all of us on how to live out our faith.  We love reading Christian Missionary or Christian American Hero stories together as a family.

Holy War by John Bunyan

This book is on my summer reading list.  I can't wait to read it.  I also want to read The Pilgrim's Progress by the same author this summer. We have the audio book and it was excellent.

The Search For Significance: Seeing your True Worth Through God's eyes by Robert S. McGee

I haven't started this book yet but as soon as school is out I intend to.  It has a workbook with it and I hope to make it part of my bible study when I start it.  I hear it is a life changer.  I am greatly anticipating reading this one.

This goes without saying but the number one book on my list for the summer and every day is my Bible.  I am learning so much in my quiet times lately and love having my Strong's Concordance by my side to help me understand and dissect verses more.  It has been so fruitful. I have also taken to journaling more lately and it is so therapeutic.  It is also wonderful because I can look back and see God's faithfulness through my joys and trials.

I am sure on the book list above there are a few I am missing. I truly enjoy reading and am making and effort this summer to have a bit less screen time and a bit more reading time.  I think it will be much healthier for me. Books are truly a blessing and I don't take them for granted.

What is on your reading list for the summer?

~Blessings~

Tidbits

How about some little tidbits of information to catch you up on our lives?

*School will be done for us in a couple of weeks!  Yay!  We are all excited for Summer Break.

*We had a wonderful Easter spent with my family complete with and Easter egg hunt and a wonderful lunch together.

*A couple of weekends ago I got the privilege of going on a Women's Retreat with our church.  We went to our local resort mountain town and had a blessed time. 

The lake was like glass one of the mornings I was there.

*The "creating" I posted about here is almost done!  It is coming along nicely and I would have been done sooner but I decided to add some finishing touches that are taking a bit longer.

*We recently had a death in our family.  Corbin's frog "Lake" died.  He was very upset.  I can tell he is growing up because a couple years ago when the other frog we had died it didn't phase him a bit.  This time he was so sad. We had a burial for him in our garden bed.  Now that portion of the garden will be called "Lake's Garden."

*We have gone fishing twice now.  There is a pond a block away from our house and a fishing trailer comes every couple of weeks to teach the kids how to cast and catch fish.  It is so much fun!  I took the boys yesterday to the pond and we tried hard to catch something.  They were catching 6lb. trout out of this pond! I really tried to recruit some of the male gender to come along because I REALLY didn't want to have to touch and poke a slimy old worm.  No luck though!  Steve had to work but did really want to be there.

This gentleman was there teaching casting to the kids.  There were also men there to bait the hooks (only the first time though we had to do it the other times!)

I combed Corbin's hair.  I promise!  The wind was just blowing.

The nice man gave me eggs for bait because he knew I didn't want to touch worm guts.  Under this cup of eggs is a marshmallow cup and a worm cup eewwww!

We are so blessed!

*A LOT of these (see below) have been popping up around our house lately. We have been getting rid of them quickly!  This is the season that the wasps decide to build their nests.  What an education for Corbin.  We are reading this series of books and they talk a lot about bees and wasps and their intricacies and instincts God gave them. A couple of weeks ago I checked this movie out of our Co-Op's library and it has fit perfectly into the spring season with bees and wasps all around.  I highly recommend this movie series (by Moody Institute) and the above book series. He has gotten to keep some of the nests in his "nature collection" box.

*Speaking of school, last week we had our last co-op day.  In the evening we had a presentation night that was a lot of fun.  We got to see performances from singing to taekwondo.  All the students projects were laid out on tables and it was a blessed time.  I am grateful to have been a part of this co-op this year.  Corbin had a blast and I got meet some wonderful mothers with like minds.

He made a Native Americans Lapbook in his history class.

Corbin did a Lego Club with public speaking class too.  He said he was nervous the first time speaking but got used to it after a while. He did some other classes too but I didn't have pictures of P.E. (with kickboxing) or Armor of God class.

*Time to plant our seedlings next week!  No more sign of frost and now my counter will no longer be the greenhouse.  Yay!

*I am going to do a 10 day cleanse coming up in a week and a half.  Hoping to improve my symptoms of Hashimotos Disease and Hypothyroidism.  I am not looking forward to it very much but excited to feel better.

*Cody just wanted to say hello!

~Blessings~

Vacation Reading

We had the privilege of going to see family in Boise, Idaho over Christmas. It was nice to get away for a week. Different scenery, different weather, fun things to do and a lovely family.  We didn't fly, we drove.  We really love road trips and stopping at fun places along the way and I am a big fan of trying to stop at food places that have been shown on Food Networks show Diner's Drive In's and Dives.  We like to make it fun.  This trip we had to get there in a matter of two days because of Steve's days off and Christmas so we didn't have the luxury of leisure.  We had to get there in two days!  (We did go to three DDD places while in Boise though.) Lets just say - by the time we got to our families house we were ready not to get in the car for quite a while.  Anyway.... besides the point.  While we drove I got to catch up on some reading I have been wanting to do. 

One the way there I read Finding Home: An Imperfect Path to Faith and Family by Jim Daly and Bob DeMoss  and on the way home I read  Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent.

Two books in one week!  I haven't done that in years.  What a treat.

Finding Home was written by the president of Focus on the Family.  I love Focus on the Family and Jim Daly which is what drew me to this book in the first place.  I also love biographies. Taking a peek into a persons life that I admire is interesting to me. It's thought provoking and gives me a different perspective on my own life.  Jim Daly has a pretty amazing story.  He went through some horrible situations like being orphaned at a young age, alcoholism in his family that affected him, loneliness and more.  What was so wonderful to read about was how God used each situation in his life to mold him and shape him into the leader that he is today. It is a very encouraging and inspiring story. It will give you hope.  He overcame (through he Lord) and God had a plan for him from the day he was born. If you are looking for a good read and a different perspective along with a good dose of hope then this is a must read.

Heaven is for Real was an excellent book as well.  This little boy named Colton actually went to heaven and came back.  You may think - "yea right..." but there are facts in the book from the parents that back up Coltons credibility and prove that his journey really happened.  I believe heaven truly is for real but this book concreted that fact.  The story that the parents tell about their little guy's near death experience will have you captivated and keep you from putting the book down.  There are some very emotional parts in the book and I particularly like that. A few tears were shed here and there.  You will get a glimpse into the Burpo family and how Todd (the father) and his wife fought together for their son to live.  You will see all the blessings that came out of the trials they went through and you will finish the book with a real glimpse into what heaven is like.  If you want to add a book to your reading list, I highly recommend this one.

Happy Reading!

On my nightstand

I love to read.  I wish I had more time to read.  Actually getting to sit down and read part of a magazine or a few pages of a book is quite a luxury these days.  Lack of time doesn't stop me from having a "to read" list or a pile of books on my nightstand ready for me to dig into.  I can't wait.

Here are the books that are on my nightstand now in no particular order:

• Heaven by Randy Alcorn (My Dad has been raving about this book since he read it and I have been wanting to read it for a long time.  I can't wait to learn all about what to expect in heaven!)
• How to Raise a Modern Day night by Robert Lewis (this is actually a book for Fathers but I would like to see what it says.)
• Family Driven Faith by Voddie T. Baucham Jr. (Love this man.  He is SO inspiring.  I heard him two Homeschool conferences ago and he says it like it is and does not beat around the bush.  I have great respect for him and how he lives his life and leads his family.)
• A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola (My aunt recommended this book and I have been able to read about ten pages of this and have really liked what I have read so far.)

Most times I have a Karen Kingsbury book on the nightstand too. I have read almost every book that she has ever written.  I love the way her books make me feel.  She is a great writer.

I also subscribe (or have been gifted subscriptions) to Real Simple, Thriving Family, Paula Deen, and Food Network Magazine.  I love them all!