Our Own Little Library

     There are a few things that I love to buy, and I could spend hours looking at and studying them. One... is homeschool curricula and learning tools. I just "need" so many things I see!  Another is patterns (and also fabric). I thoroughly enjoy finding things I can use to make little girl clothes for my daughter. Now if I could only find time to sew. Ha! Ha! The items that draw me in the most, though, are books.
      I love to read, and have quite a collection of my own, but in the last few years, I can't stop buying books for my children. I bought them books often from the beginning, but after we began homeschooling, I have been buying constantly.
     One curriculum that we used early on gave us a list of books (that complimented what we were learning about) we could check out from the library. We loved this. We were reading between 40 and 60 books per week! The kids just thought we were cuddling on the couch and reading, yet they were learning sooo much!
     Going to the library weekly became more and more challenging though. Hopefully we'll get to do it more often when my little ones aren't so little. We still loved reading books, though, and needed some new ones. It wasn't long until I found out about the semi-annual library sale.
     The first time I went, I was shocked! In the past, I had bought books from a local semi-annual children's consignment sale. At just fifty cents per pound, these books were even way cheaper than that! From what I understand, the library sales its books that they have chosen to retire from their shelves for one reason or another, while others donate used books from home to help raise money for the library.
     Now one might think that the books probably aren't any good, that they are just the outdated rejects. Not true. The variety is wonderful. Plus many of the books, you would not be able to find in a store. We have accumulated quite a bit of sciency type books, biographies, war books, etc. We have found some great living books, and also just some fun children's books. By the way, the sale has books other than children's books. In fact, children's books are the minority. I just never make it that far before my box is too heavy or full to add more books!
     I have been to the sale maybe four or five times now. The last time I went, I purchased 40 pounds of books. If you did the math, you know that I spent $20.00.  And for $20.00, I got around 150 books! New, you could buy one or two books for that price. I want to show you some of the books we have added to our library just from the last sale!
     Here are some books on American history. And there is a really nice detailed book on our national parks.

 



     Here are some biographies on some key people in history, including Benjamin Franklin, Martha Washington, and Louis Braille.

     These are some science books that teach different things about the human body, the importance of trees, how paper is made, etc.



     I found a ton of books on animals and ecosystems. I always do. I think I even got one on granddaddy long-legs!

     Here are some dinosaur books. We really like dinos around here! I have to be careful with these type of books, since there are conflicting views. We already have Dinosaurs of Eden, but I love this book and paid $13.00 for it just last year. Since this same book cost me $ 0.13 at the sale, I couldn't pass it up!! With four kids, I might need another at some point, just in case...



 

     I found some more children's Bible based books too!

  

     I bought these books on different social challenges that the kids may face. I find a few of this particular set every time we go. I should have a complete set in no time. I remember having these when I was a kid, and really liking them!



 

     I usually find a few American girl books. This time was no different. I am hoping by the time Bliss is ready to read them, I will have some complete sets.

     I almost have the complete set of the Little House books from shopping this sale. I am only missing one now. This year, though, I found a "My First Little House Book", for a younger audience. I didn't know about these. Very cool!



 

     I also got a few other chapter books for Silas.

 

     I also purchased several early readers. Here are a few of them. The ones where we both read are neat. They are designed for a parent to read a page, then the next page is at the child's level. Some early readers I found were science or history type books. I think it is great for little ones to be able to read and learn about things for themselves! I think it must feel very rewarding!

 

     We found some fun math books too. My kids really enjoy these books that each teach a different math concept using candy. We have the M&Ms one, the Skittle's one, and the Reese's Pieces one (which we have borrowed...sort of long term) already.

    We always find some I Spy books. Our kids (and their parents) really like these!

 

     Of course I had to get some good books with my sweet babies' favorite characters. Curious George, My Little Pony, Berenstain Bears, etc!

     Here are some classics. Until now, I have never read The Ugly Duckling to our children!

      I found some other books that looked really fun too. The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit, Bigfoot Cinderella, and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig all sound like they will be a fun read! I also got some Robert Munsch books. The boys get a kick out of some of those!

 

     I don't want to bore you with more, but I am always so excited! You can see, that I find some really great books at my local library sale! If I get home, and read some of my new finds, and find they aren't for us, it's no big deal. I usually don't lose more than a dollar's worth. I can set them aside and donate them back.

     It is so nice to be learning about something, or just wonder about something, and to be able to go to our bookshelf and grab a book that can help us out! Many times, I learn right along with my little guys! 



Little Miss Bliss Turned Three!

 

    Well, better late than never. A month and a half ago,  my baby girl had her third birthday. I will post about her little party later. But today, I celebrate my Lovely and her past year. When I found out I was carrying a little girl, I prayed for her to be all of the things I thought a little girl should be. Thankfully, God gave me everything He knew our His little girl should be. We feel so blessed that God chose us to be her parents. As I did every time I was expecting, I prayed that this sweet little child would grow to do BIG things for the Lord. I can't wait to see what He has in store for Miss Bliss.
   
    So what has she been up to this past year? Well, she grew hair! Yay!! This is her on Christmas just a couple months after her second birthday.

 

 

    And this is her, in the first part of August, just a couple of months before her third birthday!  What a difference seven and a half months make!  

 

     And she even had two trims between these pictures to keep things even. This is a picture of her first hair cut!

 

 

It's even longer now!

 

 

     With the arrival of Zeb, she has become quite the little momma. She likes to do everything with him and for him and to him, but she does not understand gentle, so we really have to watch her with him. She really enjoys her baby dolls too, but will tell you that Zebby is her baby!

 

     She likes a little tea party and a good book before bed most nights. She likes books with real pictures that we can point to and label. My boys preferred this during their second year too. She also likes her purse book and pony books. When being tucked in at night, she has an order to how she wants her blankets stacked. We never know what she is going to sleep with, but she always has to have something. Sometimes, she wants a purse and a book, sometimes a doll, sometimes Curious George, sometimes My Little Ponies or La Loopsy Ponies (they are just so cute!).We just never know.
     Bliss is a little meat eater. She can do without the bread, which is something she did NOT get from me. She also loves fruit like all of my kids, and would eat it all day long. She likes chocolate too.
     Her favorite color is pink, which makes me happy. We were looking through a jewelry catalog a few weeks back, and when we turned to the pages full of pink jewelry, I thought I was going to have to get a paper sack for her to breathe into. She was beyond excited! When asking her what flavor of something she wants, she says pink. Ha! Ha! I wasn't aware pink was a flavor, but that is all that matters to her. Crazy girl!
     Having three brothers, she is rough and tough and doesn't take much from anyone. Anything they can do, she can do too!

     Her favorite DVDs are Curious George and one of our Scholastic DVDs that has "Dry Bones" on it. I think that song seems like an odd choice for a little girl, but she can't get enough of it.

            
     She likes to wear boots and has many pairs. She is wearing legwarmers over these boots. I just love legwarmers!

 

 She likes playing outside, and doesn't mind getting dirty. Here, she stole my "healthy" ice cream cone! Stinker!

 

 Bliss also likes going to town, only when she wants to leave home, she says she wants to "go home". I think she is driving to T.J. Maxx in this picture. Ha! Ha!

     She is obsessed with her dad right now, and that is fine with Matt. He loves it! When we got home from therapy one day, she woke up from a small nap refusing to get out of the van until Daddy could unbuckle her. He was at work. I think she would have waited too, if I had let her. Here she is that day crying for her daddy. Just pitiful.

 

She is also a loud talker. I think that comes from the Parker side of the family. Ha! Ha! She has some phrases that she says that are sooo cute. "Close your eyes...." is our favorite phrase. You would just have to hear her say it to understand! She does has some articulation issues and is taking speech therapy for them. We have heard from more than one person that she sounds like a little minion. I...would have to agree! Sweet girl!

 

     While this does not cover all about how Bliss has changed and grown and stayed the same this past year, it is a pretty good start. Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I like her little "cheese" face too!!! 





 

 

Can You Say That With An Irish Accent?

     Yes, I'm up after midnight YouTubing how to speak with an Irish Accent. Isn't everyone? Ha! Ha! Actually, for some unknown reason, Silas, my newly 8 year old has all of a sudden taken an interest in how to speak like an Irishman. So...like any mom would do, I am up previewing YouTube videos to find ones that are appropriate for Silas to watch, so that he can expand his knowledge on Irish accents. He will be so excited tomorrow!
     Doesn't this seem like a little bit of an odd interest to me? Yes. With Silas, it doesn't surprise me though. Each day is a new adventure with him, and tonight is yet another reminder of how blessed I am. I am so excited to see who he will be and what he will be doing in ten years!
     Since I like to have pictures with my posts, I will leave you with one that will perhaps help you to understand a little better who we are dealing with here. This is Silas as a wall (at his request) at Fall Festival when he was three! My husband did a GREAT job making his costume, by the way!

Can we keep 'em?

     When we were expecting our first born, we planned for his arrival. We decorated his nursery and thought of a name. We bought his little clothes and hung them up on little hangers. We collected tiny diapers and soft little blankets. We were blessed with baby showers and had pretty much everything we needed. We even secured his carseat in the car so it would be ready for him. All that, and I guess we still didn't truly understand what was about to happen.
     When Silas was born, we were instantly amazed and in love. I NEVER wanted to put him down. When someone else was holding him, I missed him SO much. Matt and I did everything together, because we didn't want to miss out. We changed his tiny diapers, and put on the tiny little hospital shirt, and heard the tiny little baby noises, and I just remember thinking, "Wow! I am so completely overwhelmed with love for this little chunk of precious." He was so soft and smoochable and beautiful. I just. never. dreamed.
     Then the day came to be discharged. We were loading our cart with all of our things, and I remember Matt and I just looking a each other both knowing that we were thinking the same thing..."This is it? He's ours? We get to take him home?" It was. He is. We could. I knew this because I asked the nurse as much when she returned. She confirmed that he was in fact ours to take home and keep and raise. We were the most blessed parents in the world. The most precious thing ever, and he was ours! There are no words...

Silas

Then we were blessed enough to repeat this process again...

Camden

 

 

And again...

Bliss

 

 

 

And again.



Zeb

 

 

While we knew what to expect after our first experience of labor and delivery and postpartum, it was still such an amazing and overwhelming feeling with the others. I don't take it for granted. I thank the Lord for my babies, and for the special kind of love He gives to daddys and mommas.

 

 



Softening the Blow... with Trout

     Camping is always great fun for our family. We only go once a year (so far anyway) as a family, but Matt and the big boys also go on a camping trip in the spring. They have a blast, and are always looking forward to the next. Recently, though, my husband has been preparing to go on a camping trip with his brother and a friend…without the boys.
      When Camden saw Matt making some “new inventions” to try while fishing, he got so excited! He knew that kind of fishing meant camping. A few days later, when Matt found out about Camden’s assumption and broke the news to the boys that he would be leaving them at home this time, the reactions were pitiful. Silas got a bit teary eyed, but tried not to let it show, and handled the news with integrity. I was proud of him.
      Then there was Camden, who had already built his excitement up thinking he was going camping. Oh, how the tears flowed! It was a silent cry at that. When Camden gets upset, he usually runs off to someone’s bed (this time Bliss’) and lies there for a long while. He just laid silently, tears flowing. When Camden’s heart is broken, the look on his face does a number on us (especially me). Our hearts break too. This is true with all of our children, of course. But Camden has the most pitiful heartbroken look, by far, when he is sad.
      Since Matt was going to be gone for a couple days, he wanted to do some things with the kids before he left. The final thing he decided he would do was take us all trout fishing, which requires a little bit of traveling for us to get to. The first spot we reached had too many people, so we tried another. Not one single bite the whole time we were there, but the kids did work hard making a “frog habitat”. I know the frogs are forever grateful.
     After a while, we decided to pack up and go to another city and try some fishing spots there. When we reached our favorite spot, the water was too low. So, we moved on to our final option. Matt said there was one area that might be deep enough to fish in. We decided to give it a shot and unloaded our gear.
    The shore was made of soggy, muddy sand. Camden decided to pick some up to feel, and then he washed his hands in the water. He loved watching how the sand mixture dispersed into the water. He said it looked like what a sting ray does, whatever that means. He then decided to scoop more up and repeat over and over just to watch it in the water. Then Bliss joined in.

 Before we knew it, Camden and Bliss were each using one of Camden’s shoes as a pail.
They would scoop up water and pour it out.

 

They got wet! The water was cold by the way, but the kids didn’t let it bother them. At least somebody was actually doing what they came to do.

Matt did catch something not too long after we got there. Someone else's lure.

 Zeb just had a great time exploring! He played with rocks and sticks and rocks and dirt and rocks and water (and a shoe)!

 

  Sister bear put a little mud on Zeb’s back.

  Zeb put a little mud in his mouth.

  Once when he was on all fours trying to pick up another find out of the water, he slipped and took a face dive into the water. I picked him up promptly, but he was not happy. The water was cold, so that’s why he is stripped down to his diaper. He recovered quickly, but when Bliss slipped and fell, and got a bit more wet than she had planned, I took her and Zeb to our van and changed them into something dry. Of course, when we made it back down to where the boys were, they had caught a fish while I was gone. Matt took a picture for me, and then they let it go. It was too small to keep.

 

 

      I heard Matt say to the boys something like, “Now, when did we catch a fish?” Their answers were “When we were quiet.”, and “When we were out of the water.” Ha! Ha!

 

      When Camden slipped and fell, he was ready to go change too. So, he and the littles came with me to the van. Everyone got dry and seated, and then we waited for the devoted fishermen to catch “one last fish.” After a while, up they came. Silas, got all dry, Matt packed up, and we headed home.

     So, though the actual fishing was not successful, the fishing trip was very successful. The kids had a great time, and almost everyone fell asleep on the way home after a hard day of play.  We got some quality time with Matt before his trip, and, while it didn’t make up for the boys not getting to go camping, I think it lessened the blow a little. A little.