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The big girls are learning to play the piano. (Ivy is in her third year, and Charlotte is in her second year.) They love it, although it is often a lot of hard work for them. They’ve learned a tremendous amount from all the hard work, though, and both Scott and I see wonderful fruit in their lives from it.
They’ve had two recitals this Christmas season, and we’ve posted videos of them both. Watch them if you’d like. (Although they will probably be mainly enjoyed by grandparents!)
The first set of videos is from a recital hosted by CAPTA, at the arts center in Cary. It was a bit fancier (and bigger!) compared to what they are used to. (Big stage and audience!) They practiced for weeks on these songs (they had to be memorized!), and we celebrated with buying fancy new dresses for the occasion.
Click on the images to play the videos.
Charlotte:
Ivy:
Their second recital for Christmas was at their piano teacher’s lovely home. Informal and cozy…we love those kinds of recitals.
Christmas recitals are over (now we’re playing carols for fun!), school is winding down for the year, gifts are wrapped, books and curriculum are ordered for January, the tree us up, house is decorated, and the Christmas music is queued up in the cd player. Today is gray and cold, and on the list for this week: gingerbread men, sugar cookies, lots of icing and decorating, and some reading. (Scott started reading Redwall to the kids, and I am so excited. Many memories of loving these books as a child!) I am reading The Railway Children to them, and as I’ve never read it before, I can’t wait to get to the next chapter!
I’ve been thinking a lot the past few weeks about a collection of really great articles I’ve read recently on being a mommy. They were published throughout the summer, but I thought it was a good idea to collect them in one place.
There is a lot I could say about what I’ve been thinking, how it’s affected our days here at home, and what happens around here to make me think of these articles.
But I think I’ll just post the links.
They’re written by Rachel (from over at Femina), and the articles are posted at Desiring God.
“The closer you get to home, the less intriguing the work of sacrifice seems. As someone once said, “Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom with the dishes.” When you are a mother at home with your children, the church is not clamoring for monthly ministry updates. When you talk to other believers, there is not any kind of awe about what you are sacrificing for the gospel. People are not pressing you for needs you might have, how they can pray for you. It does not feel intriguing, or glamorous. Your work is normal, because it is as close to home as you can possibly be. You have actually gone so far as to become home.”
Motherhood is a Calling (and Where Your Children Rank)
“Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.”
“The gospel is not just something to talk about Sunday morning while you are in clean clothes and the kids are looking orderly. It is not limited to quiet times and reflective moods. It is something to apply while you are in a difficult position in the back of the car trying to buckle a child up who is playing the kazoo and needs their nose wiped. “
Most of our reading-for-pleasure books come from the thrift store. We thrift and yard sale often (a trip to the thrift store for books is often used as a treat for getting school done that day!), and our favorite place to buy used books is just down the road. Some of our book excursions are to our other favorite place to buy books, Reader’s Corner (I can’t find a good link for it).
Anyway, yesterday was a good day for Asher.
Someone must have cleaned out their attic and found a box of their son’s books.
I love the illustrations on this one.
These books are old Weekly Reader hardcovers. Remember those? I had several as a child and remember reading them constantly.
Some of the authors we recognize (this book and this one we use for school, both by Clyde Robert Bulla).
Although he’s not at the reading level to enjoy these quite yet, it was fun to find these for him.
(Charlotte’s reading Two Bad Ants by Chris van Allsburg)
We managed a trip to the library this week; which in retrospect turned out to be a wise move: yesterday it rained all day. We had a busy school day, and by the evening the children were all curled up in the living room, reading books and listening to the rain outside.
(Some of Ivy’s library favorites are Freddy the Pied Piper by Walter Brooks, Tumtum and Nutmeg by Emily Bearn, and Rufus M. by Eleanor Estes, from The Moffatts series)
I could probably go on all day about what fantastic fun it is to find great children’s literature. I feel like I’ve spent years reading books about children’s books, reading books about homeschooling methods that incorporate literature (For the Children’s Sake and The Well-Trained Mind, for instance).
So instead of going on all day, I’ll just fill this blog post with a bunch of links and great book titles!
A tiny superman at the end of a very long table.
He really loves his Superman pajamas. Especially the cape.
Not sure what’s going on here, but it looks like fun!
We’re pretty full swing into summer here, and with that comes one of our favorite parts of May in North Carolina:
Strawberries! (Not cats. Although this is our neighbor’s cat and we love her.)
Another big part of summer that we love is time outside. We love doing many of our family activities outside (eating, talking, exercising) but probably one of our favorites is reading.
We get out the big blanket, gather a pile of books, some pillows, and pick a shady spot.
Since another favorite summer past-time is thrifting and yard-saling for books, we feel pretty set with reading for the summer.
We made these fabulous cookies, after finding a great recipe here at Salt and Chocolate. (Hi Mary Beth!) They are really, really good. Really. Please note that she reminds us they are not low-fat. Ahem. But such a good treat.
So, the skirt picture I promised. I got this skirt several years ago from a friend who had brought gifts home from a trip to France. I loved, loved, loved it but it never fit just how I envisioned. Couldn’t ever figure out what was wrong with it, so it just sat in my closet for years. Years, folks. Last week I set aside some time, got out my sewing machine and some scissors, and went to work. After an hour of work, ta-da! Skirt remade.
One note on sewing clothing: the phrase “I’m sure this will go fine if I don’t pin it first!” should never enter your vocabulary.
The girls and I had a little photo-shoot session. I am always looking for places in the house that provide the perfect lighting for pictures.
They wanted to take pictures too, so here is Ivy’s work.
The Bob Book Reading Club is in full swing around here. It’s the most exciting part of our day sometimes, and the girls are getting more into the habit of grabbing a couple during some down time and practicing on their own. I have waited a long time for this, and worked many hours on reading, reading, reading with them to see this picture:
Here is a family photo that Mom took last weekend, one which I completely forgot to include until now. Hope everyone’s having a good week!
Nothing truly exciting is happening around here (sorry if some of you got excited from the title), but we do have some pictures! Now you’re glad you read this site, aren’t you?!
Asher has been really excited to talk on the phone lately. Gramma is his phone lady right now, but if anyone else wants to talk to him, I am sure he’d appreciate the call and the chance to chat.
He has also learned a very big boy thing…drinking out of a cup! I am happy to see another sippy cup phase done, for the most part. He does very well with using a regular cup, and he seems to be pretty proud of himself. He gets very dramatic about it, too…usually after he takes a big drink, he plunks his cup down, gets a big grin on his face, and lets out a very satisfying “Ahhhh!” like he’s just had the best ale of his life.
Yes, I realize these two photos are taken in the same location. I promise we don’t leave him in his chair all day. It probably is due to the fact that so much of our day is spent at the table, eating, that it’s a great place to take some pictures. I’ll try and vary my scenes from now on.
We have all been spending a lot of time outside lately, especially in the evening when Scott gets home from work. Summer is great to cook as much of the food outside as we can, and as Scott grilled the other night I took a few pictures.
The swing in our yard was one of the best toy ideas Scott had for the children (thank you honey!). They love it. Here they are, congregating in the “secret place” for a little meeting. Who knows what they were discussing…fairies in the pine cones? Turtles by the fence? Rabbits in the garden?
Summertime has also meant another fabulous perk to living in a neighborhood…the pool! The children have done great this year in the water, and I am very glad.
Who knew that both water wings and a ring were necessary for a queen to relax in the cool water?
Asher did really well in the pool, and after awhile he walked around by himself with just water wings on. He has also discovered splashing. Our new summer pool motto: it’s much more fun to splash unto others than it is to splash thyself.
Brave Ivy took off her water wings and practiced going underwater. This really surprised me, as the whole underwater adventure was all her own idea. I watched her like a hawk, but she did just great. We are thinking swimming lessons for next summer…?
Our friends Eli and Dawn built a house, and this past Saturday they had a “yay-we’re-finally-done!” party to celebrate all of their hard work.
Isn’t it pretty? Wish I had taken pictures of the inside…she has done a really fabulous job at decorating. Maybe next time we’re out there, I’ll bring my camera and ask if I can flash a few inside.
Here is sweet Meg with the girls…they had a good time pal-ing around together.
I spotted a small gaggle of girls down by the woods, and I heard afterwards that there were tales of a kitten having wandered in to the trees. A few minutes after this picture was taken, Ivy bravely ventured a few steps into the enchanted forest, but I quickly called her out: someone had just warned me that poison ivy lurks in the darkness down there.
There was, of course, some homemade music, and Asher drifted towards the group and stood there for quite some time.
A little while later, the group migrated, and Asher silently followed.
On a completely different note:
:: this is one of the best lists I have read in a very long time. A list of “things that don’t make sense to me.”
:: this is one of the grossest things I have seen in a long time. Emily sent it to me, and I agree with her comment: “sounds scandalous to me…but what if it’s really good?”
:: I somehow found this store online, Tea Collection, and oh man. They design and make the most fabulous children’s clothes. Unfortunately I cannot afford most of it, but the designs are sweet and simple; I think I could copy a lot of it if I found the right patterns. I like this, and this, and this. Oh man, and this. This last one’s even better because I think I could swing the price tag.
:: I found this book at the thrift store, and when we got home I discovered that someone had colored in it (taking three children to the thrift store right before lunch does not afford one the luxury of thumbing through books at their leisure), so we can’t use it. But, it was really great. I would love to teach the children some basic art skills, and I found the book on Amazon. Along with a companion book. I think I’ll get both and add it to our repertoire for schooling this fall.
Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. I am off with three dear friends tomorrow, for a mommy-only trip to the beach. It’s a super short drive, and we’ll be there about 24 hours total, but all of us are really looking forward to it! I will try to remember my camera when we go.
I had the glorious opportunity to visit the Durham County Library book sale on Saturday. Wow. Really fun. Not only were the people interesting to watch (Durham is quite the place), but there were so many books! For sale, and cheap! They had rows and rows of children’s books, and Sara and I stopped there first. It was like shopping for candy…just picking out book after book and throwing it into my basket. So many good ones. Some were rare finds that I never thought I’d run across (like A Hole Is To Dig by Ruth Krauss, a book by Kate Greenaway, and Play With Me by Marie Hall Ets, and we love her). I am able to cross off a few books from our wishlist, which is wonderful! I was also able to find a few books from this reading program, which we are planning on doing seriously in the fall. It is great to book-hunt with a friend, especially Sara who knows so much about good children’s reading. She often introduces me to great books for the children that I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own. Occasionally I do the same for her, and it is a lot of fun to share ideas. She introduced me to this children’s book, Letting Swift River Go by Jane Yolen, which she found at the sale, and I have completely fallen in love with it. The illustrations are just precious, and the story is something we have been thinking about a lot lately with all the new construction going up around here and watching some beautiful old houses get torn down. You’ll have to read it to get the whole story. I introduced her to this book, and it’s wonderful. We listen to the song after we read it, and I can tell it’ll be a treat for this summer. Already a favorite in our summer book basket.
We are all getting ready for a big girl to turn 5 tomorrow. More pictures to come to celebrate that.
Is a caterpillar ticklish?
Well, it’s always my belief
That he giggles as he wiggles
Across a hairy leaf.
–Monica Shannon
Some time ago we made a list of some of our favorite books on here, and I’d like to do it again. Here we go.
Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child’s Book of Poems
This is one of my favorite poetry books. I love story collection books…you just never know what you’re going to find in those things. Wonderful!
Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever by Richard Scarry
We LOVE Richard Scarry. I look for his books everywhere. I found this book at a thrift store and it was very interesting to read about his life. We have also started supplying Silas and Caitlyn with Richard Scarry, too. An even better excuse to look for these books everywhere I go!
“There are Rocks in my Socks!” said the Ox to the Fox by Patricia Thomas
I found this book at a thrift store, too, and Scott was thrilled. This is one he had growing up, and the girls love it. Very rhyme-y and fun to read.
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
I love Virginia Lee Burton. Can I say that again? I love Virginia Lee Burton. We also have Mike Mulligan and his Steamshovel and the girls talk about those books often. My favorite book from her is The Little House, and there are many others by her that I’d like to try out. Maybelle the Cable Car? The title alone has me thinking a trip to the library is in the plans.
I am also excited to learn about this author, Elsa Marten Beskow. We ordered one of her books for the children for Christmas and I am really looking forward to looking at her books in person!
Scott happened upon this movie a couple nights ago. I just couldn’t resist…talk about luscious!
I just got done with this wonderful book, and I was so excited to get it and read it because it was recommended very highly by some women I greatly admire. (thanks for getting this for me, honey!) It’s by Ginger Plowman, who also wrote, among other wonderful things, Don’t Make me Count to Three. Also a very excellent, encouraging, challenging book.
This paragraph was rather convicting for me. The context is on the importance of keeping a home neat and orderly, with an emphasis on Christ-centeredness at the same time we’re doing all that cleaning. Emphasis mine.
“Self-reliance presents a great danger. Having a clean, organized home does not make for a more righteous or godlier woman. To think that it does is to glorify in oneself and one’s own ability rather than in Christ alone. It’s to suggest that somehow our barometer of holiness and perhaps even our salvation are measured by our own achievements. It’s tempting for those of us who feel we stay on top of things to place our value and worth in our daily accomplishments, but this misconception substitutes self-reliance for God’s grace. A good indicator that our happiness and satisfaction are wrapped up in self-reliance is how we feel when self-performance fluctuates. In other words, when we have a productive day, our confidence soars; when we do not have a productive day, it dwindles and brings us down emotionally. Our confidence should not be staked in who we are and what we have done, but in who Christ is and what he has done. To place our own abilities and accomplishments as the determinant of our worth is to place an idol between us and God. It’s to base our salvation on ourselves and our own performances, rather than on the redemptive power of the gospel and the blood of Jesus Christ. … [But] to proclaim oneself a failure by lack of achievement is to [also] assume that achievement is our means of approval. … [Our acceptance before God] has nothing to do with the work we do or don’t do, but the work that Jesus did and continues to do in and through us.” -p 209
