Squashing in a Book Blog

There is not enough time in my days right now, but it appears that there is always enough time to read. When we first got to Virginia, our local library had not yet reopened, but I was so happy to be back with my own books, to have old favorites to reread, and I was so busy getting the house set up, that I didn't really mind. And about the time I was really ready for new reading material and considering panic as a legitimate life choice (or possibly blowing the Man's salary on books and more bookshelves), lo and behold, I met an awesome neighbor who told me that our library had just started back curbside pick up. Perfect timing!

My face with books is about that content.

With that said, our library books have come trickling in so slowly that it's kind of felt like we are men dying of thirst on a desert island trying to drink dew drops off leaves in the morning. The kids and I saw a woman returning a huge stack of library books the other day while we waited for our two that had come in, and we were practically salivating as she put them in the return box one by one for a solid five minutes. From the back row, plaintively: "How come she gets so many library books?" 

When your ten year old leaves The Goblet of Fire
outside and it gets rained on...

It becomes fodder for the fire pit
and your loving husband buys you a new copy...

With that said, a few books that we've been reading!

First up, after many long years of hunting, I finally tracked down Julia Stuart's The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise. This has been on my To Read list for years, but none of my libraries have had it. Finally, the Man moves us to a library system where it is available! Which just proves my point that the military is not helping me break my reading habit. Though I still prefer Stuart's Pigeon Pie Mystery, The Tower (etc) had Stuart's signature quirk that made for some fun reading. All the historical information she included about the Tower of London was utterly fascinating, and there were some truly moving moments that left me a little choked up. I can't give it a 100% recommendation as there are a couple inclusions I could've done without, but I am finally glad to have scratched an itch I've carried with me for years, and any book that can make me both laugh and nearly cry while reading about accidental pig theft feels like a win in my book. No pun intended.

I was so excited to finally find this,
even if it wasn't as good as her other novel.

On a very different note, the Man handed me a copy of Dan Crenshaw's Fortitude earlier in the month, and, wow, we had some great discussions from that. If you are married and don't take the time to occasionally overlap books with your spouse, you're really missing out. I found that Fortitude was really worth a read as we look at our current culture and ask hard questions about it. Also, when you're thinking about skipping a run and your husband looks at you and says, "Crenshaw would not approve", you know he's probably right and you get your rear in gear and go get it done. Politics aside, Crenshaw speaks to some areas we all need challenging in. It's now the Man's current favorite book to give away. 

This is the Man's picture, not mine.
I didn't ask his permission to use it because
I feel like he gave up that right when he married me.

At the same time that I was plowing through Fortitude, I was savoring a gift from one of my favorite people. Opening my mailbox to find Refractions by Makoto Fujimara was the best "Welcome to a new home" present I could ever get. Written by a Japanese-American artist whose studio was right off Ground Zero, this book encouraged and challenged me so much as an artist, as an American, and as a Christian. Beautifully written and with so much food for thought, I was constantly texting the Man quotes from it until he finally just asked to borrow it when I was done. Then he got derailed by grad school reading, but that's another story. I will say, though, that when my friend Marianne sent it to me, I did wonder briefly if she thought I was smarter than I actually am. But pushing myself to read something that truly engaged my mind was really wonderful and made me wonder if I'm finally exiting the blurred mind years of babies and YA fiction.

A fantastically beautiful book, and not just aesthetically.

Speaking of YA fiction (except not, because this is really Middle Grade), for yet another win by Gary D. Schmidt, First Boy is my new reading suggestion for your middle schooler, especially as we head into election season. With political shenanigans threaded throughout, First Boy asks what truly matters to us as humans as well as citizens. I told Littles this was required reading for him as I want him to learn things that the main character, Cooper, can teach him. I want him to ask what he's willing to fight for and why. And I want him to see that, while the world will not always conspire to help him fight for those things, there are good people out there who will come alongside him to encourage him...though it may not always be the people he expects.

Library propaganda--the kind I can get behind.

While we're talking about the kids, we are currently plowing through The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander together. These are books that stand the test of time. My mom read them out loud to my sisters and me when we were kids, and now I'm thoroughly enjoying reading them out loud to my own kids. There is humor; there is conflict; there are life lessons to be learned. Most importantly to me, there are characters who change and grow. Also, there are witches who lovingly threaten to turn you into toads, and Bee may have been a little too excited about that part. If you're looking for a new series to enjoy with your kids: these are a win.

Including this picture because I want to know how the words
are reflecting onto the table. Science minds, teach me.

Another series option, though not in the continuing plot line sense, is the Trailblazers series. You know you've landed yourself in the right church when your pastor provides reading material for your ten year old. Littles has really enjoyed both of the books he was given and is asking for more. He started with The Girl Who Loved Mountains about Francis Ridley Havergal, but then raced through A Slave Set Free about John Newton, which definitely captured his adventure loving mind. He's also liked the books he's gotten to read from the Christian Heroes series, so if you're looking for historical reads for your kids that will teach them more about history and hopefully also encourage their faith, both of those series appear to be wins.

Reading makes for happy kids.

But, if you're needing something on a younger level, I can help you there too. I had a friend suggest Trish Cooke's work, and I am so glad she did! Twinkle has enjoyed Full, Full, Full of Love this week, and I have too. I want her to read books where she engages with cultures that are not the same as hers and people who look differently from her. This applies to all of my children really. And Trish Cooke does a great job of presenting family from a different perspective. We read So Much! at our last library, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else we can find of hers.

Included because, come on, that is adorable.

The last two books on my list are impactful reads for very different reasons. First, I finally got a copy of Myquillin Smith's Cozy Minimalist Home (new libraries that have books I've been wanting are my favorite). As a constant mover of homes, I fully admit that I love Myquillin Smith (otherwise known as the Nester) and pretty much anything she writes. I don't read a lot of decorating blogs/books, but hers have been worth my time. Honestly, I wish I could've read this before we moved in, but a lot of the principles she'd shared on her blog, so I was able to implement more than I realized. With that said, the book was definitely worth it. So much so that I completely moved my living room around (the living room that I just set up two months ago) last Tuesday morning--and I am so glad that I did. Even the Man has commented on how much better it feels. This also involved rehanging a set of pictures that I didn't manage to get perfectly straight this time because by the time I got around to the rehanging, I was feeling more than a smidge guilty about making my kids "homeschool" while I moved furniture around them. If you are someone who moves often (or just someone who doesn't feel comfortable in their own home and isn't sure how to fix it), this is a great book to grab. Smith breaks down the how to of setting up a room into accessible steps that made an immediate difference for me.

I meant to give you before and afters of the living room
after it was Cozy Minimalized. I forgot.
Somehow, we will all survive.

Finally, though I was making YA fiction jokes earlier, that genre will always be near and dear to my heart. One of the YA authors I keep an eye out for is Sharon Cameron who recently released The Light in Hidden Places, which is based on the true story of a young Polish girl who sheltered thirteen Jews in her home while simultaneously being forced to provide housing for a pair of Nazi nurses. Cameron tells in the afterward the handful of things that she tweaked to make the narrative run more smoothly, and I could not believe how little she had changed because I could not believe that anyone could survive what Stefania Podgorska survived. It was hands down Cameron's best book to date and well worth the read. I tell the kids often that we study history so that we can see our present with clear eyes. Without the bigger perspective of history, we miss out on understanding our now. Find a copy and let me know what you think.

Such a good read. Highly recommend!

Honorable mention goes out to two excellent books that I'm enjoying during my morning quiet time. The only get honorable mention because I'm not quite done with them yet, not because they aren't great books. First up, Andrew Murray's Abide in Christ. The chapters are short and the writing simple, but the eternal truths so necessary for my soul. If you are wanting more from your relationship with Christ, this is a good place to start. My brother-in-law gave it to me when I was still in college, and I was so glad to rediscover it on my bookshelf.

Globe, white board, and squashy bean bag in the background
clue you in to how this room is used when the kids are up.

I'm also only part of the way through Francis Chan's Forgotten God (another early morning quiet time and coffee read), but was informed by the library that it's due back tomorrow and someone else has requested it so there's no fudging by continuing to renew it endlessly. it's been so good that I may try to really plow through it today at intervals between giving spelling lists and picking up groceries. Again, along with Andrew Murray's book, this is for the Christian asking for more from their walk with Christ than just check marks in their day. It has been excellent so far.

Yes, I took most of the pictures sitting in the recliner.
Sue me.
But they were all on different days, so be impressed by that.

And for now, that's it! May your reading time abound, your book choices broaden your mind and enlarge your heart, and your library allow for curbside pick up, which right now seems the biggest book blessing I can pronounce.

Seeds and Surprises

A little over two months ago, we were in the middle of our move. One of the things we couldn't bring with us was our little pallet garden (though I did manage to bring our potted lemon tree, which rode shotgun from Florida to Virginia, scraping its spiky arms against the dashboard through four states). We are only here for eleven months (ish) unless the Powers That Be decide to keep us. One of the casualties of being somewhere less than a year is that I'm not trying for another garden. I did, however, buy some indoor plants and a handful of herbs (that I'm already killing).

The lemon tree has really liked VA.

So, I've been missing playing in the dirt a little. Also, gardening is like outside the house decorating, and if you like that kind of thing (which I do), it's kind of fun. Also x2, it's more fun to eat something you grow yourself. And then my sister sent me a picture of her wall of morning glories that she planted this summer which are now a riot of blooms and leaves. I'm not saying I was jealous but I definitely wondered how it would feel to be able to plant seeds and then actually see them grow and thrive. That doesn't often happen for us simply because we move too quickly. Our pallet garden was primarily starter plants.

With those thoughts in my mind, I was astounded to look outside early one day and see a vine tapping its way onto our back deck. We haven't purchased a weed eater yet, so I went out to investigate, wondering what I would need to pull up by hand, only to find that it wasn't a weed--it was morning glories! Someone must have planted them at the house before we even rented it, and here we get to enjoy the blooms for which we didn't even work.

I benefit from someone else's planting.

This felt incredibly significant to me in light of all plants that couldn't come with us. Their roots were too deep. They stayed behind to be enjoyed by someone else. The strawberries and lavender and bell peppers we left behind are hopefully being harvested and enjoyed by someone else in the RV park we called home for the last 18 months. And that is good, but seeing bare garden patches at our new home (bare patches that I am resisting the urge to fill in) can be disheartening. But I am realizing that, while it feels like we move and have to start all the way over each time, I see more and more that this is not completely true. Though certainly the seeds I may have planted can't necessarily come with us, there are some left behind by others that we can then tend into full growth. 

Happy surprises

Naturally, this applies to more than just gardening. I see this in our homeschool community, where I benefit from a community that is already set up and structured, which allows them to let in our transient family and enjoy us while we are here. I see this in our church, where we can be blessed by people who are already growing in the Lord and seeking to support and encourage other believers. I see this in our neighborhood where we can benefit from programs that are already in place, using the library, going to stores, picking up food at restaurants. These are things that someone else has worked for, and we get to step in and be a part of them for a little while. Just like I get to enjoy the morning glories I haven't planted. 

Photo credit for this one goes to my sister.
Genetic credit goes to my mother-in-law.

So as I watch morning glory blooms opening their trumpets to soak in the early morning sunlight, I find myself praying:

May I be brave enough to keep planting (whether flower seeds or seeds of truth and encouragement) what I may not see bloom, knowing that someone else might be blessed weeks, months, or years later because of it. May I keep my eyes open to see beautiful surprises for which I can take no credit. And may I not be afraid to let my roots sink deep, even knowing that some may not come up the next time we move, knowing that there is the possibility of a painful uprooting or a severing of one part of myself from the other, because what I leave behind may be just what someone else needs. And may you be encouraged to keep planting the seeds God has called you to plant, not knowing how they may benefit someone else along the way.