...and I'm a binge reader.
I was thinking about that as I stirred the cider syrup for our apple pancakes last night. When I start reading, I can't stop! That's why the only books I'm reading right now are the ones I'm reading to/with the girls for school (Escape Across the Wide Sea and The Minstrel in the Tower, to name a couple), the Bible, and Beth Moore's Daniel study. (Wouldn't it be great if the Bible was one of those books I couldn't stop reading? Hmm)
My love affair with books started before my memory did. I can't remember not knowing how to read. Or not loving to read. My favorite books became friends to me. I loved the way they looked and smelled and felt and made me feel. I would read the same ones over and over and over (still do). Whenever I see a favorite book from my childhood, I want to buy it, or at least make my girls read it, hoping they'll love it like I did. Mr. Pine's Mixed-Up Signs, The Tiny Family with their tiny little things, Katy No-Pocket, with her sweet little face. Here Come the Tuckers--they moved, just like I did! And when we moved across the country, the books I owned got to go with me, and most of the time my favorite library books were there in the new library, easy to find by the author's last name. The only beloved book I only found in one library and never saw again was a doll book called Merry, Rose, and Christmas Tree June. I looked it up on Amazon out of curiosity, and it's there! I didn't buy it, though. Yet. But back to the library--mmm, I love the smell of a library. It smells safe, and home-y, and a little exciting, with so many old friends to connect with and new friends to be discovered.
I guess what started this reminiscing was taking Jessica to the "Nifty Vintage" store yesterday, to try on silly clothes as one of our mother/daughter dates. When I asked if she saw anything she wanted me to buy her, she went straight to the books. :D That's my girl! She is completely absorbed by the Anne books by Lucy Maud Montgomery right now--I think she's read more of them than I have! I ended up bringing home Swiss Family Robinson for her, Trixie Belden #1 for Mikayla (I know they're not quality literature, but I loved them at that age!) and a collection of all the Madeline books for Rebecca. I still have the original Madeline memorized, along with many others that I read to them when they were little. As an older child I read the Little House books so many times I think I even had some of those practically memorized! The Narnia books, too. (Again, maybe if I read the Bible that much...)
I'm so glad my girls love to read as much as I do, even if I do get frustrated when they're in "book world" and don't hear me talking to them, or when I find them reading under the covers with a flashlight. I'm fussing on the outside, but on the inside I'm gleeful. With friends like Anne Shirley, Laura Ingalls, the American Girls, Madeline, and yes, even Junie B., I think they'll do just fine.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
10 on the 10th of 10
It's bedtime, and I just realized today is the 10th! I've been wanting to share about my FABULOUS weekend anyway, so here are 10 memorable moments:
1. Angie (and Will, who was going to spend the night with Coleson) picked me up at 1:30, but as I left my 13-year-old in charge of the other 2, I had to kiss good-bye the feverish forehead of my 7-year-old, so it wasn't quite as exhilerating as I expected. :( Then on our way there, Mike called from Little Rock to say his car was acting up and he didn't know if he was going to make it home! So I was then worrying about him and feeling guilty about leaving Rebecca. The next time he called me we had a "misunderstanding" (?) and I almost started crying.
It was not how I expected my fun weekend to begin.
We talked and texted and made up before I finished supper, and he made it home to the girls by 7, and then the fun could really begin!
2. We went to Ouachita first--I always get excited driving onto that campus! We met the ladies Coleson works with, then were walking across campus when Tauna called, and she was waving at me from the amphitheater! We hugged her and snapped a picture before going on to the bookstore...
3. ...where we ran into Susan and Amy! It was so much fun! We were standing there talking and laughing and catching up, when I looked behind them and saw Carlos and Shannon, friends I had made in Conway the year we lived there before Magnolia, who now lived in Texas.
4. After a beautiful (and chatter-y) drive up to Hot Springs, we turned into Cupid's Lingerie by mistake and Angie shook her finger at a man going in there on purpose.
5. We ate pizza with Jennifer, Sandra, and Angie J., and eventually Stephanie. All of us lived on the same floor our freshman year in college, and eating pizza with them again was just like going back in time--I keep wanting to listen to the song by Huey Lewis!
6. Once Stephanie got there, we followed Jennifer to her dad's lake house(s). We got to meet her 5-year-old sweetie, then picked our bedrooms and talked around the table, showing pictures of our families and getting caught up, while Steph ate her pizza. Then we migrated to the couches with old photo albums, scrapbooks, and yearbooks. We talked, we laughed, we ate pie. I haven't stayed up 'til 1:30 talking in I don't know how long! Motto of the night: "Didn't Kecia have a crush on him?" Yeah, yeah-
7. Breakfast and coffee by the lake was so relaxing I could have stayed there all day.
8. Jennifer's and Sandra's husbands and kids met us at the on-campus bbq, which was fun. We saw Sharon standing in line, plus I saw a girl from my church in Magnolia that I've been praying for. Then I saw Shelly Breen, and noticed she was talking to Karen, a girl who lived on our floor our sophomore year. We walked up and said, "Hi Karen" and she looked at me and squealed and hugged me, and looked at Angie and squealed and hugged her, and we all 3 stood there grinning and talking. So fun.
9. The football game was hot and I got sunburned and it was really hot. We did talked to Dean Dixon and Snookie, and saw some people we know, but I'm not sure they remembered us. I was glad when it was time to go meet our husbands and kids at the Flippen lobby. We hung out there, visiting and cooling off, until some girls came in with a movie to watch; then we went to the Student Center for some ice cream and lemonade.
10. Tiger Tunes was fun, and I had entered my I'm-so-tired-it-makes-me-goofy stage, so I laughed a lot--at the show and at things Angie and I said and did. I laughed so hard coming out of the auditorium I almost wet my pants!
And now I've run out of numbers and didn't even talk about Cracker Barrel and running into more friends there. We got home late and tired (and Rebecca's still sick) but it was a great weekend.
1. Angie (and Will, who was going to spend the night with Coleson) picked me up at 1:30, but as I left my 13-year-old in charge of the other 2, I had to kiss good-bye the feverish forehead of my 7-year-old, so it wasn't quite as exhilerating as I expected. :( Then on our way there, Mike called from Little Rock to say his car was acting up and he didn't know if he was going to make it home! So I was then worrying about him and feeling guilty about leaving Rebecca. The next time he called me we had a "misunderstanding" (?) and I almost started crying.
It was not how I expected my fun weekend to begin.
We talked and texted and made up before I finished supper, and he made it home to the girls by 7, and then the fun could really begin!
2. We went to Ouachita first--I always get excited driving onto that campus! We met the ladies Coleson works with, then were walking across campus when Tauna called, and she was waving at me from the amphitheater! We hugged her and snapped a picture before going on to the bookstore...
3. ...where we ran into Susan and Amy! It was so much fun! We were standing there talking and laughing and catching up, when I looked behind them and saw Carlos and Shannon, friends I had made in Conway the year we lived there before Magnolia, who now lived in Texas.
4. After a beautiful (and chatter-y) drive up to Hot Springs, we turned into Cupid's Lingerie by mistake and Angie shook her finger at a man going in there on purpose.
5. We ate pizza with Jennifer, Sandra, and Angie J., and eventually Stephanie. All of us lived on the same floor our freshman year in college, and eating pizza with them again was just like going back in time--I keep wanting to listen to the song by Huey Lewis!
6. Once Stephanie got there, we followed Jennifer to her dad's lake house(s). We got to meet her 5-year-old sweetie, then picked our bedrooms and talked around the table, showing pictures of our families and getting caught up, while Steph ate her pizza. Then we migrated to the couches with old photo albums, scrapbooks, and yearbooks. We talked, we laughed, we ate pie. I haven't stayed up 'til 1:30 talking in I don't know how long! Motto of the night: "Didn't Kecia have a crush on him?" Yeah, yeah-
7. Breakfast and coffee by the lake was so relaxing I could have stayed there all day.
8. Jennifer's and Sandra's husbands and kids met us at the on-campus bbq, which was fun. We saw Sharon standing in line, plus I saw a girl from my church in Magnolia that I've been praying for. Then I saw Shelly Breen, and noticed she was talking to Karen, a girl who lived on our floor our sophomore year. We walked up and said, "Hi Karen" and she looked at me and squealed and hugged me, and looked at Angie and squealed and hugged her, and we all 3 stood there grinning and talking. So fun.
9. The football game was hot and I got sunburned and it was really hot. We did talked to Dean Dixon and Snookie, and saw some people we know, but I'm not sure they remembered us. I was glad when it was time to go meet our husbands and kids at the Flippen lobby. We hung out there, visiting and cooling off, until some girls came in with a movie to watch; then we went to the Student Center for some ice cream and lemonade.
10. Tiger Tunes was fun, and I had entered my I'm-so-tired-it-makes-me-goofy stage, so I laughed a lot--at the show and at things Angie and I said and did. I laughed so hard coming out of the auditorium I almost wet my pants!
And now I've run out of numbers and didn't even talk about Cracker Barrel and running into more friends there. We got home late and tired (and Rebecca's still sick) but it was a great weekend.
Friday, October 7, 2011
I'm baa-aack!
I didn't plan to ignore this blog for so long, but a) my computer cord broke, so I could only charge up when Mike brought his cord home, and sometimes he forgot; and 2) it seems like every night when I would turn on the computer I would read a few things on facebook and then the letters would all start to swim in front of my eyes and my brain would say, "Go to bed!" and I did.
But we've been staying busy around here, with school and other stuff. The fair came and went--I didn't enter anything this year, but Jessica won first place with her cake, Mikayla won second place with her cookies, and Rebecca won second place with her painting. I got them arm bands for the rides one night, and one night "Jessica" (and Mike and I) worked the booth selling water for the youth group at church, so Mikayla bought another arm band and Jessica and Rebecca were given some freebies by generous passers-by. Another perk to living in a small town is that I let them run around without me and didn't worry (too much).
BCM is going great--Mike showed a movie called "Beware of Christians," with the makers of the film there for a q & a time, and I think about 170 students showed up! Last night about a dozen of the guys came over for hamburgers, and when they finished their game of croquet, they played all over our girls swing set/jungle gym. It made me laugh.
I skipped BCM this past Tuesday night, because the ladies' ministry at my church had a soup supper with a panel of moms giving parenting/marriage advice. It was really good--like a pep talk for me. Here are the things I jotted down:
Now here are some just-for-fun pictures:
And finally...yes, it was time to see Mike with hair again! With help from...
Personally, I like mine the best. How about you?
But we've been staying busy around here, with school and other stuff. The fair came and went--I didn't enter anything this year, but Jessica won first place with her cake, Mikayla won second place with her cookies, and Rebecca won second place with her painting. I got them arm bands for the rides one night, and one night "Jessica" (and Mike and I) worked the booth selling water for the youth group at church, so Mikayla bought another arm band and Jessica and Rebecca were given some freebies by generous passers-by. Another perk to living in a small town is that I let them run around without me and didn't worry (too much).
BCM is going great--Mike showed a movie called "Beware of Christians," with the makers of the film there for a q & a time, and I think about 170 students showed up! Last night about a dozen of the guys came over for hamburgers, and when they finished their game of croquet, they played all over our girls swing set/jungle gym. It made me laugh.
I skipped BCM this past Tuesday night, because the ladies' ministry at my church had a soup supper with a panel of moms giving parenting/marriage advice. It was really good--like a pep talk for me. Here are the things I jotted down:
- Slow down.
- Pray with and for them, specifically.
- Create memories.
- Partner with God--turn them over to Him.
- Be consistent in your own Christianity.
- Teach them that privilege comes with responsibility.
- Pray about everything with them, out loud.
- When they fight, make them hug and kiss each other. They'll never want to do that again!
- Remind them to "do everything without grumbling and complaining."
- Make sure they know you want them to be best friends.
- Teach them each others' love languages and help love them on purpose.
- Marriage: have fun together!
- God's will is not one small dot you have to somehow find, like a needle in a haystack. It has wide parameters, and if you seek Him, He will make Himself known.
- Pray 1 Peter 3:1 daily.
Now here are some just-for-fun pictures:
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| Team Spirit night at AWANA...I let her wear it since the Hogs BEAT THEM last week!! |
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| Jessica |
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| Mikayla |
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| Rebecca |
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| Kecia |
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