Thursday, December 20, 2012

Traditions.

Christmas is just around the corner and I am eagerly anticipating being back home with my family. I have been looking forward to going for quite sometime now and as it draws near I gleam with excitement! It is going to be so delightful.

Christmas has always been pretty huge in my family. I want to clarify  by huge I don't mean mountains full of presents - although some years there were - I mean we did things and they were big, important, HUGE. We made traditions as children and we continued them. I hope that we are able to create the same exciting atmosphere in our household with our wee one.
It all started at the beginning of December. We would take the decorations out from the attic and we would decorate the tree, there would inevitably be an argument at some point about what should go where and which of our Angles we wanted on top. In the end though, we were all happy and we had a beautiful tree. This year my little sister, the youngest, worked hard to decorate the tree all by herself as there are only two still living at home and Paul was not that interested. I am excited to see how she put it all together.

(As per usual, we always had to make at least one snowman)

The rest of our traditions besides the random making of cookies with mom, and the drinking eggnog with dad, fell on the 24th. It started by going to Church and watching/participating in the live nativity play (or whatever show the Sunday school decided to put on that year), followed by the candle lighting and ending with desserts. We would then drive around as a family and go to the places with the best lights. By the time we got home the Fire Stations Santa was just driving past and we would all wave as he past by our windows.

The late evening was my favorite part. The first year this started by my mom giving all us kids BIG boxes, and we all decorated them to look like a Christmas village and we fell asleep in them in the basement watching Christmas Specials. It has changed a wee bit since. Unfortunately, we can't all fit in boxes anymore. Now we buy a bunch of sweets, head down stairs in our Christmas PJ's and watch our new Christmas Movies (we each get a new one every year) while trying to fall asleep in the basement as
 our parents wrap gifts upstairs.

I am so excited to join my brothers and sisters this year and can't wait to start creating our own traditions with the wee one next year!

What are some traditions that you have with your family? 

Friday, December 7, 2012

A Collage.

Something I decided I wanted to do from the beginning of my pregnancy was to document it. I just love the idea of showing my child photos and saying, "Look, I was growing you inside me. That little bump was you." I feel like pregnancy is such a huge time in ones life it is important to value every moment of it because it is so sort lived with such a life changing outcome.

So, from the day we found out we were expecting I made sure we started taking pictures. Some may think this is excessive but, I had been dreaming of this moment since I was in grade 5. I had always wanted to be a mom and here I was finally starting out on this amazing journey.

So, here is the wee one's progress as it grows inside me. Hope you enjoy seeing the changes.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

My Hope has come.

I am not someone who typically looks backward, I feel like it just doesn't make sense when there is so much to look forward to. Occasionally though, it is important to look back to see how far you've come. That is where I am right now.

At this time last year things were pretty hard, we were going through lots and life wasn't easy. There were moments where things looked pretty miserable. Our love for one another was strong, but there was some brokenness inside both of us. I had just recently finished a job and was working a temp position with no employment opportunity on the horizon. I was so insecure and was feeling very lack luster. I just had no idea or direction.

Ben was dealing with final exams, and papers were stacking up. He was stressed and it really didn't help that it was looking as though I was going to be coming back home after the holidays with no job.

We were both hurting. I was crying a lot. I was asking God "Why?" questioning what he was doing in our lives. Was this necessary?  To be honest, I still wonder sometimes if what we went through was necessary. We learnt through it, he held us his precious ones. Hard things come, the world isn't perfect, even God hadn't planned for it to turn out this way but, with God's strength we endure and we grow. 

Now, a year has passed. We have such amazing Hope. God has given us an amazing gift and we are so looking forward to meeting the sweet child he is working to knit together inside me. God has melted my sadness, and even in the midst of the pain last year he was teaching me to cherish the moments. 

I pray that we will remember that time of pain and build into our child the lessons we learnt during the hurt. That we will have a great affection for the moments of bliss and cherish the small things. That we will rely on God to be our strength and also allow God to build into our child those same lessons, even if it means they too have to deal with hurt. That we will give our child to God and trust him to teach this precious one. 



Saturday, December 1, 2012

Enjoy. December.

December is here and Christmas is right around the corner. I love this time of the year, I love the decorations, the lights, the music, I love the crisp air and the frost around the windows. I don't even mind the mall shopping, I know I'm crazy right! I am almost all done the shopping and only have a few small things to pick up.

Months are coming and going so very quickly and so very soon our wee one will be here. There is still much to do, the nursery is a chaotic mess, there is still a lot of organizing to do around the house, and I have yet to really research maternity leave. For now though, I will try and enjoy the month, the season, and moments. We only have a few short months left of being a family of two. I know I will love my life as a family of three but how precious are these moments in our family of two.


Lets enjoy this season and remember what it really is about. A Saviour. Jesus Christ came as a baby with a plan to save us. Save me, my husband, and even my unborn child. Lets spread this amazing love, let us lead the example that God gave us through Jesus. In the hustle and bustle of the season let us remember the baby born in a barn and his gift to the world.

I pray you breath in this Christmas season and surround yourself in the love that this season is about. I hope you enjoy the baking, the parties, the stories and time with family. I hope you create and enjoy past traditions and build memories that will last a life time. Be cheerful in the line up at the stores, enjoy the moments when you are surrounded by strangers in the mall and share smiles while finding the perfect gift for a loved one. Celebrate this season!

While we will be celebrating our last Christmas as a family of two, I pray you too will Celebrate your Christmas...however you have it. Maybe you could share some traditions with me? As I am so excited about creating traditions with my wee one next Christmas.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Groans and Growth.

It is becoming winter. There is a chill in the air that is biting and frost grows thick on the grass in the evening. My belly grows and groans as the child inside me consumes more and more space within my body. Time is passing so quickly, soon enough my wee one will be in my arms and not my belly. I am trying to enjoy each moment of my pregnancy, each kick, hiccup, small moment alone to talk with my wee one. I love the hands of the wee ones I work with as they gently touch my belly saying hi to the small one inside. They use names we've given it and excitedly anticipate it's arrival in "March". Oh how this child is loved.

I read to the wee one in the evening before I go to bed, something I plan to continue as it grows outside of me. That moments peace where I just lay comfortable in my bed surrounded by the warmth of my room. How precious these moments are.

Sometimes I look at my husband and I can already see him as a father. He loves so sweetly and cares so deeply. I am so enjoying these last few months of being two before this wee third comes along, but excitedly anticipate watching him with our child. He will be so great.

My dear child, you are so very loved.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

This November.

Fall is slowly turning into winter and people are slowly retreating inside and getting cozy in front of fireplaces (or T.V.'s) curling up under cozy knit blankets with someone they love. It is an excellent time of the year. This year as I sit snugly and safely under my blanket I think of all the changes that came with this year. All of them were exciting, but most were a little scary too. I have a new job, actually two. We are living in a new wee house. Ben started working doing his dream job. The biggest, most exciting and also most scary, change has been having this wee one growing inside me. Last year I was blogging about healthy eating and showing pictures of the weight loss, this year I am posting pictures of my growing belly. Oh how much change a year can bring.

I am so loving washing baby items and finding homes for them within our home. Folding wee clothes and sweet blankets and tucking them away safely in the dresser as I anticipate the arrival of our wee babe in March.

I am loving the kicks and oh the little hiccups that vibrate within me as my babe grows and develops. Oh, how lovely that is. Such a precious and beautiful reminder of the life I have growing within me.


I am loving...skittles, sweet maria's, kit-kat's, just chocolate in general, warm beverages. I am loving pasta, most of the time. Food and I are friends and I am enjoying that.

I am loving my prenatal yoga class. It has been one of the most relaxing things for me this past month. Life has been filling up so it has been so nice to have a weekly scheduled time for relaxation. I love being with so many other ladies who are also experiencing this amazing gift. I love the stretches, I love the vocal toning, I love that so many of the yoga positions that we learn are also positions we can use when we are laboring to bring our babies into the world. 

I am loving the anticipation, the name lists, the expansion of my belly. I feel I am going through a women's right of passage and what an amazing experience. I am so loving being a mom, and I have yet to even hold the wee child my husband and I created. My heart beats so strong for this child and the rhythmic pounding lulls my baby into a comfortable slumber within me. I just can't wait to breath it in and hold it in my arms and smell it as it is soothed by my voice, my smell, my breath, my heart beat. What an amazing time, I wish it would slow down so I can really breath it in and live it to the full; At the same time I wish it would pass faster so I could hold my baby.

Oh my dear baby you are so beautifully and masterfully made by your God and he is taking his time making you perfect. 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Kicker.

I started feeling this wee one move fairly early. Right around fifteen and a half weeks. It was just little flutters in my lower abdomen, they made me smile. A lovely little certainty. Now, as the weeks have slowly ticked by the flutters have become stronger and our little one kicks as if to say, "hello" and respond to our inquiries. We have placed our hands on my bump and have felt the wee ones movements against our palms, sometimes like waves, other times just like it is knocking against me like one would a door.
(my most exciting baby purchase so far, a wee wooden rocking chair from a nearby thrift store)

Hello wee one, we are excited to meet you. We love you already.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Thankful.

It is that time of year again. The leaves are falling the air is crisp and the mornings raise with a chill in the air. It is lovely, beautiful, and such a time of reflection. I so enjoy the fall.
This morning I slept in, which is not something I do typically, as I woke up I turned over and grabbed my water bottle to drink. Just a moment later my little baby rolled inside me letting me know that it too was awake. I put my hand on my belly to see if I could feel it on the outside and as it moved inside me. I felt it's movements roll over my hands. Bliss.
This year we have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed us abundantly. So this weekend we celebrated. My brother has just recently moved to study at a University near by and we were so happy that we were able to have him join us this weekend. We relaxed, we ate, we watched movies, and just enjoyed each others company.

This weekend was filled with such love. We were loved on by others and shared our love with those we care about. We had dinner with friends and family, had a date with one another, and experienced life to the full.

So, this Thanksgiving I am thankful. I am thankful for my amazing husband who does such a great job loving me. I am thankful for my amazing family who has shown me what love is and does so much for me. I am thankful for friends who have become like family here. I am thankful for my jobs and how I get to do something I am great at. I am thankful for this amazing child growing inside me. Finally, I am thankful that I have such a loving and amazing Father God who cares so much about my life and blesses me so abundantly.

I am blessed and I am thankful.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Growing.

As I child I was always so excited to grow up. I would dream about my life, my future, how someday I would be taller and older, how someday I would be a wife, and how someday I would be a mom. I always dreamed about being a mom. I dreamed about the child I would have, what it would look like, what my husband would look like. How remarkable it is now, my life, where I am right now, is the stuff of dreams. This is what I wanted as a child, I always wanted this. I always wanted a quaint house with character, I wanted a husband who loved me so deeply, I wanted to grow a child inside me.

Growing. I have grown, I am growing, my child is growing. Yet, I am struck with how very fragile life is. I have already written my hopes and dreams on this child and it is only the size of a baseball. How remarkable life is, we all start out so small, so fragile, so easily broken, yet we are all so important and we all have a role.

As my body grows to accommodation this child I am continually reminded of how significant we all are. How even though we were all once just the size of a poppy seed, even then Jesus died for us. My child is already one of Gods children. How remarkably loved by God we are, we are all his precious children. We have all grown in the palm of his hand. He has plans for us, hopes for us, and dreams for each and every one of us. How perfectly loved we all are.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Content.

Today has been lovely. Quiet, easy, thoughtful. Today has been good. Today I layered myself in clothing pulling my shirts over the little bump that is growing slowly as the baby growing inside me starts to occupy more and more room. Yesterday was the first day I felt my bump and it felt like a bump and not just a little thickening. Just a small bump, growing a baby. Growing our baby. 

As I sat in my living room this afternoon, quietly enjoying the company of my hubby and cat, I found myself overcome with joy and had a few tears. I haven't really allowed myself to really enjoy my pregnancy yet. It has all been so very surreal and there have been small disappointments, and truthfully I've been scared of miscarrying. It was the first moment where it just felt so perfect and real. I was just so filled with joy and contentment I couldn't hold it all in and so a few delighted tears filled my eyes as I smiled over at my husband. It was a perfect day to end summer on.

Dear Baby,
We are so excited for you to join our wild and crazy life. You are so very loved and so very wanted. God is taking his time making you perfect and knitting you together in my body. You are the one God has decided we need in our family. We are so happy we get to be your parents.

Mom loves you.


(a small progression)


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

June 30th 2012




Dear Baby,

Today I took a test when I got home, a test that told me that I was growing you. Your dad didn't believe it, so he went and bought a digital test, and it confirmed the truth, I am growing you inside of me.

We are so excited. We have been dreaming about you my child, we have been hoping and praying that someday we would be ever so blessed to have you. It is still so surreal. I have a hard time believing it but, it is the truth. Soon we will be filling up our wee house with things for you, a crib, toys and teddy bears, clothes, and so much more. Soon you will be here filling our house with so much joy.

We have so enjoyed being two but we are so excited to make it three. We love you already. Keep growing strong my love.

Mom Loves you.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Expectations and Anticipations

I am someone who anticipates with great gusto. I love the excitement in the wait. I have great expectations for everything and enjoy each minute while anticipating a fantastic grand ending to the wait. With many people they would think, "What are you doing? You are lining yourself up with disappointment!" Lucky for me, my anticipation although great and full and my expectations though large are often also very simplistic. I am easy to please and I enjoy moments of simplicity. 

Not to say that I am never disappointed. I am. It does happen. I guess I just so enjoy the anticipation, the excitement, the waiting that I often look past those occasional disappointments and see the sweetness in the moment and get excited about those. So...right now I enjoy anticipating and the expectations and know that they will be exceeded.

Life, simply, is beautiful.


Monday, August 6, 2012

Summer

I love summer. As a child I lived for it. I love the beaches, I love the fruit, I love the lazy days laying in your back yard reading magazines. I love summer. The thing I loved most though, was going to my grandparents cabin. Oh, the days I spent there. Right on the water, that is the place I learned to swim. The campfires as night where we would all sing "free falling" and my Uncle would play the guitar. Our parents would put us to bed but we would be able to hear them minutes after tucking us in all still chatting by the campfire. The smell of it, I know that may sound weird but I love the smell.

(cousins and I at the cabin)
To me as a child summer was the cabin. This year we have yet to make an appearance, and I long to be at the cabin. I would love to be there with family and friends and enjoy this summer. I would love to walk through the corn maze at DeMille's farmers market, enjoy some gelato at The Pink Cherry, and spend time jumping off the dock seeing who can make the biggest and smallest splash. 


I look forward to years from now when all of us kids have kids of our own and our grandpa takes them on wagon rides pulled behind the ride on lawn mower.
 

We haven't gone yet this summer, and I doubt we will go. I will miss it this year but, next year it is going to be awesome. This year, I will have to learn to have a summer without and enjoy the moments here, at home.

What does summer look or mean to you? What is your symbol of summer?



Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Waking Up Early.

These past few weeks I have been working 7 days a week, I haven't had a day off in almost three weeks. So, one would think that when I finally get the opportunity, a day off, I'd sleep in. No such luck. I was completely awake by 6:50. I do love early mornings and raising with the sun but, this is just to much. I will most likely end up going to the grocery store picking up some things to make myself a good breakfast, come home, eat, then go back to bed. Ridiculousness. Anyone have any suggestions as to how I can start to sleep in again? It would be very much appreciated.


(a picture of me at the fireworks on Canada Day)

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Last Few Months, a recap.


 The last little while has been busy. Since moving into our house we have really been non-stop full tilt thrown into life. Don't get me wrong, most of it has been very pleasant but there  comes a point where it begins to feel a little much, I think I may be finally reaching that point. 

So, here is a brief summery of our life these past few months.


We tried, and succeeded in fitting 40+ people into our little houses kitchen,

 
We said goodbye to some good friends,


We thoroughly enjoyed the company of my mom and younger siblings,


We worked really hard in fundraisers so that we can get our local kids to camp,


And we had our last Young Life Club.


*     *     *     *     *

On top of all that I've been busy pulling 65+ hour weeks and Ben has been starting the daunting task of fundraising his income so he can start on staff for Young Life hopefully by September (I'm pulling for August). 

I sometimes feel like I am the energizer bunny, I just keep going and going and going. Not all of that going is by choice as much as it is by necessity. I just look forward to getting a little me time. Luckily, I will be getting me time quiet soon, maybe I can slow down a bit....maybe. I do tend to find ways to create busy-ness around myself.


I do plan on getting better and keeping up regularly, just don't hold that to me.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A Little Blue House Called Home.

This month has been crazy. We have been so busy; I've been so busy. I feel like April just began yet, here we are half way through May. We have recently moved and are really enjoying our new place. It is so bright and airy, it has a huge backyard, it just feels like home, it is little and blue and perfect. I love waking up and have enjoyed sipping tea on my back deck as I watch the rest of the world wake up around me. I feel at home in this place. 







Thursday, April 12, 2012

100.

I have been meaning to write this for quite sometime but, I was slightly intimidated.

When I was five years old my parents were getting ready to sell our house. They had found where they wanted to move and were just trying to figure everything out with the house we were in. I remember telling them that our house was big and nice and they should sell it for One Hundred Dollars. I thought that was so much money.

Here I sit now and it still feels like One Hundred is a lot; At the same time though, it feels like so much more than it actually is.

Happy Hundredth Post little blog!

I wanted to write something smart but, the more I think about it the less I come up with. There will be more.


Sunday, March 18, 2012

Some words on a page.

I sit in the living room while my husband is curled up in the bed sleeping. I've just woken up from a much needed nap and am loving this moment. Sitting, listening to music quietly fill this sleepy room. The fullness of the music is such of perfection, it is almost as though I am in the cut scene of a movie where the music lives and for a moment has a chance to tell the story. 

My toes are finally warm although rather clammy. They have been cold all day and now after a nap they are curled up under a knit blanket, I am enjoying their heat as it slowly escapes. I know in a few minutes they will once again be chilly and I will be forced to put them in some warm woolen socks.  


Fingers slide slowly over the keyboard I am hoping they will come up with something I dub sufficient. They slowly pitter patter making music as they find letters to create words. My fingers are one of my favorite assets, they are long and slender and I love how they feel in my husbands hands. They are the one feature that make me feel like a dainty little lady. My fingers are my crowned jewel. I remember being so excited to be able to wear my engagement ring once Ben proposed. Finally my fingers got the most beautiful yet perfectly simple crown they deserved. I still am excited for people to notice my ring, my perfect ring, it means they have been looking at my beautiful fingers.

Love songs quickly pace through me as I absorb them feeling rather sentimental. I can't believe I have been with my most amazing man for over five years. I can't believe that we are quickly coming up to our third anniversary. Life has been amazing. God has directed our paths and I am so glad that he directed me to this most amazing man. He is my best friend, and although there are times he aggravates me, there are so many moments I am just so amazed that someone can love me so deeply and care about me so strongly. He is my most amazing man.

Today is a good day, this excellent moment to myself as I remember. I remember some most fantastic moments. God has blessed me. I have a fantastic husband, two wonderful jobs, and such a loving family. I am blessed.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Happy Anniversary Little Blog.

I've been writing for two years. This little blog is two years and two days old, it feels so weird. This blog holds posts that are difficult to read, ones that I look back and remember where I was and that it was hard, it holds posts filled with optimism, posts that make little to no sense, all of what is in it is authentic and real...it holds it all.

It holds thoughts that I have yet to be able to verbalize. This blog, this tiny blip in the world of internet, this space...is mine.

When I was in grade school I loved poetry. I would sit and read, I understood it and it understood me. I sat in my room with my notebook writing poems because it seemed the best way to get my thoughts out. My feelings would pour onto the paper and lift of my shoulders.

That is what this little blog has become. My notebook. The pages are filled with my thoughts and feelings, it eases my spirit. Two years.



Seeking Adventure.

My stomach turns as I sit here on the couch, I am not sure if it is because I haven't eaten yet today or because I am actually just feeling sick. I have a sneaking suspicion that I may just need to eat. I get in these moods sometimes, where I just want to sink into the couch. I have been in this mood for a few days and as much as I feel like that now I feel like I have to get out of it, I have to seek an adventure. I need to do something besides checking my Facebook repetitively or finding things on the internet that need pinning.


Today I am going to seek adventure, I am going to go out and find something to celebrate. Today I am going to seek God and see his glorious world, creation, children. Today I am going to have a great adventure. I am going to celebrate this moment in time, I will live in this moment. For these moments will soon pass.

Tomorrow comes quickly, so why wonder about it. Instead today I will be here.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

My Valentine

He is kind. He is compassionate. He is sweet. He is funny. He is so very smart. He is charming. He is empathetic. He is typically a good listener. He can be ever so romantic. He loves me through and through. He is my husband, and he is all mine. I am so very blessed. 


We have been with one another for over five years and have been married about half that time, boy what a marriage it has been. I am one to be very honest, marriage can be difficult but it is so very rewarding and for the most part it is fun. I get to spend so much time with my best friend. He knows me so very well. We enjoy having picnics, going for walks, finding new burger joints, having lazy days watching movies and favorite T.V. shows - I make the popcorn, and just on the whole spending quality time with one another.

So to my dear Valentine. Thank you for caring about me. Thank you for being so kind to me. Thank you for charming me, and not some other girl. Thank you for making me laugh, holding me when I cry, being with me in all those moments
. Thank you so very much for loving me.

I love you my dear.

Sincerely your wife,

Friday, February 10, 2012

Oh...Life is Beautiful.

I am a morning person. I go to bed early and wake up early. I sit sipping tea and eating porridge and listening to birds slowly decide it is time to wake. I smile as I hear the sweet sighs of my sleeping husband in the other room. Oh....Life is Beautiful.
As I wake my little cat calls to me excited that I too am now awake. Often times bringing my a little toy mouse that I can throw for her to fetch. Eventually she curls up on my legs as I surf through my sites on the internet. I quite enjoy my morning friend.

As time drifts by I start to hear more and more cars pass by our apartment on their way to work and the birds singing becomes part of a larger song of the business of the morning. I love my slow mornings and know that someday they wont be so slow. So I'll enjoy them now.

As a young child I used to sit on my fathers lap and eat porridge with him in the mornings. Even though he lives so far away, sometimes in the morning while I eat my porridge I think that maybe he too is eating porridge and we are enjoying it together. Weird how a such a simple memory triggers things and becomes much less simple and so much more lovely.

The rain has been falling for a few days and I am really looking forward to the lovely blossoms we are bound to get someday soon.

Happy Weekend,

Thursday, February 2, 2012

You Have Got To Read This: Yuck, A Love Story

Have I ever told you that I am one of those people who will pay extra for a hardcover book? What to know why? Not just because I feel it will last longer and stand up to the wear and tear for children but I also feel the need to be able to read the title of the book when it is sitting on the shelf. I find I get irrationally irritated when I have to pull out a book from the bookshelf just to read the name. I  have occasionally grabbed a book thinking it was the one I wanted only to find out later when I pull it out of my backpack that I actually grabbed the wrong book. I am not sure if I am the only one out there with this weird obsession or not but either way when it comes to my book buying I will always prefer the hardcover. 

That said, here is a lovely hardcover book that my mom bought my a few years back that I may be slightly in love this.


This book is so sweet. It really captures the childhood crush perfectly. The whole "I like you so I am going to pretend I am not interested and do nice things for you and be mean to you all at the same time" thing is so true and real, at least it was for me. Although it is a children's book I would say the theme is quite an adult one. Not to say that it is bad for children, no it is a great read for children and I read it to children often, I'd just say that it speaks to adults just as much, if not more, than it speaks to kids. It really is a fantastic little book with a sweet message about love.

On top of the sweet story it also has lovely illustrations. The pictures are bright and colorful, they are cheerful and for some reason remind me of my childhood. They just bring me right back to my home on Minter Street. I am a big fan or Marie-Louise Gay.

Don Gillmor may just be my new favorite romantic writer, I'll have to do some research on other books he has written and see if there are an more love stories.

So, if you have some free time this week and you feel like a love story pick this one up...you wont be disappointed.

Cheers,

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

You Have Got To Read This: Where The Wild Things Are

Some people may say I am a wild thing, and I can see their point. I am by no means your "normal" run of the mill type girl. I like things that are big, loud, bright, and different. Some people may say that I am loud, bright, and unique. I like being able to read a book and act parts out. I like making noises and getting rather interactive with a book. (Lets be honest I just like being interactive, period.) As a child this book may not have caught my eye right away, it doesn't have the brightest most beautiful pictures, oh how I missed out. The illustrations are in darker colors but they are fantastic.
"And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and shower their terrible claws"
How can I not be interactive this such a lovely paragraph as that. Not only is this book interactive, it is one of the best books for reading out-loud. It is just so fun and kids really get into it.
Something that Maurice Sendak did that I really appreciate and was that the boy in the book, Max, was able to be in control of the wild things. What a good message for the kids who are scared of the things under their bed. I am sure that reading this book and showing them how Max could do it would really help them to feel like they could too.
So this book although it doesn't exactly have a sweet little message for moms and dads is an all around fantastic book that I think every family should have. If you don't have this book, or haven't read it...it is about time that you do so. You really have got to read this book.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

You Have Got To Read This: Someday

I have decided to do a short series this week and if it turns out to be popular I may try to do it once a week. So here goes it:

The book Someday by Alison McGhee has got to be one of my favorite children's books of all times. I believe it tells a timeless tale that can affect all ages. It tells a tale of a mother and daughter growing older and the daughter eventually leaving home, yet her mother never really leaves her side. It really captures a mother and daughters relationship perfectly. 


The illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds are amazing and really bring the words to life. He uses simple colors and drawings that fit the book perfectly without distracting from the words. He has quickly become one of my favorite illustrators, I will buy a book just because he illustrates it.

Simple put, If you don't have this book already you should probably go out and by it...Now!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Hello.

I swear I didn't forget. I've just been rather busy. I've been out of town for the past two weekends and I am finally home, and it will hopefully stay that way for a while.

Life gets away from me sometimes and I am instead left with chaos. So, I am just trying to work through the chaos and get myself re-organized. Lainey Organized....Ha....a wee bit of an oxymoron there. I am getting better at it though.

We have been really blessed this past month, God has really shown us himself in such cool ways. He has been caring for us and loving on us and it has been great. He opened a door and I am now working in a job that I absolutely love, it was totally a God thing. He keeps pouring into our lives. We are excited to see the plans he has for us in this coming year and are eagerly anticipating.

Blessings,

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Oh how I Love...

Books.

I have been a fan for quite sometime. I have quite a collection and if we had more bookshelves I would be collecting more books with great vigor. I am not a collector of just any kind of book though. I don't read novels, I am not a huge fan of non-fiction, I like my books to be short, sweet, and from the children section. 



I have admittedly spent hours sitting in bookstores, tucked away in a corner, reading. I take great pleasure in breathing in the distinctive "book smell", especially the even more potent "old book smell" that tends to accumulate in second hand book stores.

I prefer hard cover books. I will pay more for a book just to ensure that it has a hard cover. They last longer. They look prettier on a book shelf. They are worth the little extra cash.

Why am I telling you this? Because that is how I spent the day. I spent at least two hours perusing Chapters and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Maybe I will do a little series on my favorite children's books, ones that I think are must haves in every household.

Happy to be back!