Rediscovering the Library...

I like to read. I forget that I like to read, and then I re-remember. :)

These all came highly recommended to me (and the Power's book was recommended to Dustin) lately. I've read all of one, most of a 2nd one, and dabbled in the other two. I haven't read leisurely in a looong time, and I've really been enjoying it. Hamlet's Blackberry is especially interesting and helpful. Go check it out for yourself. Little Women (the unabridged version) has been my middle-of-the-night-I-can't-sleep go-to. Why Motor Skills Matter was recommended at a little seminar thing I went to recently, and it's really interesting. Finally, I read Guernsey in a matter of days, it was just really fun. A historical fiction, written completely in the form of letters between characters. Anyway, I thought I'd pass them on to you, although I wish I could tell you more about each one and write a more thoughtful review of each of them. I should probably do more important things though, like go clean... or grab a snack and finish Little Women before Timothy decides to come.

Anyway, I thought it was a random list of reading, which kind of made me laugh. We've mainly read more theological books (we do live in SBTS land and near the beloved Book Nook, after all) over the last few years, so reading like this has been a change, but it's always nice to find a good (free) unwinding hobby! So, hey, pull a Hamlet's Blackberry (you'll see what I mean when you read it) and take a little break on your facebook or e-mail and go check out one of these at your local library today!

Let me know what you think.

We're OLD! :)

These were 5 of my 5th graders from the first year I taught at Christian Academy. They now answer to Mr. Butts for their Math needs (in 9th grade). All of my old boys were taller than me. I saw one of my old kiddos who is now 6'4"! It was soooo fun to see them. They were such a special class! And, it's always fun to take Nate to see his daddy at work! Going down the halls is a wild experience though... kids call Nate "Little Butts" and "Mini-Butts" and "Buttsey" - hmm....

Ah... exhale! And rejoice!!

I love this growing family SO much!! Rejoicing!!

More Pictures!!

I mentioned that my sweet friend Lindsay took some maternity pictures and some of Nate. She did an awesome job! We hoped to do some of Big Bro Nate with the belly, but he was melting. So, we got some sweet, crying pictures instead. But, those are part of the memories, too! Anyway, here are the rest of the photos she took! Our inspiration on the block/belly picture was my talented friends The Cozarts. You can see more of there stuff here. They took similar belly pictures with Nathaniel (and Lucy, since we weren't finding out gender that go-round)!

Tips for Two Under Two (Document Attached)

Photo Courtesy of my sweet and talented friend, Lindsay Crosby!

This is one of my faves! More to come...

1. Most of these tips could be applied to any newborn situation. Some could be applied to any busy household, children or no children. I was (in many ways) even busier (or at least, busy in different ways) when I was working full-time. I don't discount that working and keeping a home is a busy time! Maybe these tips (especially the cleaning ones) could be useful to those in that life season as well.


2. I do not endorse all of these sources (blogs, preschool books or otherwise). Mainly, because I haven't read them all. I just dug for stuff I liked.


3. I think I quoted everything correctly, but you can get on to me if I didn't.


4. Any more tips? Add them to the comment section. Perhaps I'll add them to the document eventually!


5. When I can't sleep at night, this is one of the things I've been doing (besides reading Little Women, ha!). I'd like to add my own thoughts on a future post and some verses. These tips are mainly practical, not getting at the heart of mothering and probably not for everyone. But, I liked them.


6. The formatting is shabby at this point. If I get bored, I may play with it sometime. For now, it's tips first, the source they came from second. Categorized by sources, not topic.

This link should get you to the document: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/75185699/Tips-for-Two-Under-Two