He did share two chapters and then they lent us the book to read at our leisure. My children couldn’t wait to finish it and hated to see it end.

O Ye Jigs & Juleps! A humorous slice of Americana by a turn-of-the-century pixie, aged ten is a collection of essays written in the early 1900s by a young American girl, Virginia Cary Hudson. Her view on life around her is charming and hilarious. You cannot read it without a smile and a chuckle.

She shares her thoughts on the Sacraments to the Library to Church Etiquette.

“Sacraments are what you do in Church. What you do at home is something else. Cooking and sewing and running the Bissels sweeper and eating and sleeping and playing and scrubbing yourself are not sacraments.”

“The library is a memorial. A memorial is something that somebody says or gives or builds after you are dead and can’t hear it or get it or see it. And now may God grant us all a good night’s rest and not let the fire whistle blow. Amen. Hallelujah and so be it as it may.”

“Before I go into the house of the Lord with praise and thanksgiving, I lift up mine eyes unto the town clock from whence cometh the time to see if I am late. It is not etiquette to be late.”

If you have not read this delightful book, you must find it! We will sadly be returning our borrowed copy but it is a must have for our family bookshelf!

I remember reading Chronicles of Narnia as a child. Although, as an adult, I didn’t remember much of the actual stories, I did remember enjoying them tremendously. Then my children entered Narnia and someone is reading or listening to Narnia around here constantly. I have become reacquainted with Narnia and have read a bit here and there. It is way past time for me to give a thorough re-reading to these books so I will be taking this challenge.

Want to join me? Head over to Reading to Know and grab the button! Let me know if you join in.

Now, to convince Bekah to let me borrow her copy…….

(**Please note: Book Sneeze sends me a free copy of a book and I read it and share my review with you. I am not compensated in any way.)

This week I had the opportunity to read The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews.

The Heart Mender is about Helen who is overcome with anger after losing her husband to the Nazi war machine. She is put to the test when Lt. Josef Landermann, officer on a German U-boat, washes on the shore near her home and his life lays in her hands. Does she give into her anger? Or is she able to overcome and help someone who needs her for survival?

The Heart Mender is listed as a self-help, motivational book. I’m not a big fan of self-help books. However, I was so surprised when I began reading. By page 2 I was hooked. I was instantly intrigued by the story line and curious to see how it would work out. In my mind I had ideas about what was going to happen to certain characters and I had to know that I was right! I finished the book the day I started and with 7 kiddos that is no easy task!

The self-help aspect deals with anger and forgiveness. There were a few points in the book I was felt was a bit overkill but I reminded myself that it was a self-help book so it was to be expected. I don’t think I would recommend this book to someone struggling with anger or forgiveness.

The historical aspect of this book was fascinating. I learned a good bit about WWII and the German U-boats. Very interesting! And one thing I loved is that the book ended with a “where are they now”. You read a book and get involved with the characters and then the book ends and you wonder…what happened next??? Mr. Andrews lets us know what happens with Helen, Josef and those around them.

Now to the best part! THE GIVEAWAY! BookSneeze and Thomas Nelson publishing was generous enough to give me an extra hardback copy of The Heart Mender to share with my readers. So if you want to travel back to WWII or need a bit of self-help, just leave me a comment! I’ll pick a winner next Thursday, May 13.

And that once upon a time is now!

Reading is one of my most favorite pastimes. I love nothing more than to cuddle up with a good book. I am so blessed to share that with my children. No matter the time of day, I can usually catch one of them with a book and sometimes I catch one reading past lights out. I still do that every now and then. Shhh, don’t tell them.

Due to all the changes and moves and life the past several months, reading aloud has fallen of the must do list. I truly missed it. Missed that time of sharing a book I loved as a child or sharing the excitement of experiencing the story together.

This week we are getting back to reading aloud. I was a bit concerned that it might be a struggle to get us back into the swing of things but it was like putting on that old comfy sweatshirt. A perfectly cozy fit. Ahhhh……

We are almost to the end of our current read aloud and as we read this afternoon, I loved hearing all the “just one more chapter”…”I’ll get you more water”….”Want me to hold Sam?”….. I read as long as I could but finally said we had to stop. Hee hee. 3 chapters left. Under 20 pages to go. You would have thought I had banished them to a dungeon with no dessert.

I might just surprise them and finish the read aloud before math. I’m cool like that, well, at least they will think so.

***

And speaking of books and kiddos and cuddles, I just have to share a few pics…

Bekah, of course, is reading silently and Sam is just content to be held and chew on his fingers.

However, with Hannah he wanted to be a bit more help. I heard Hannah “reading” to him. Her story went something like “if the little boy would keep his hands off the page, then the girl could finish her book”. Hee hee. She is such a patient big sister.

If you are in need of a good book, I highly recommend Ready or Not by Chautona Havig. She is hosting a contest at Chautona.com for a free copy! Please note that I am going to win. Thought you should know.

She is also the author of Shadow and Secrets; the first of an enchanting children’s series. It should be added to your must read list!

These are not her only books so be sure to look around and find other great books by Chautona Havig!

Thankfully, my library had a few titles from them and I was downright delighted when I saw this one:

I knew that I had one child in this house who would give a squeal of delight when she saw it. All of my children love Chronicles of Narnia, but Bekah was the first to enter the land of Narnia. She was delighted when she saw it and devastated when I told her she had to wait. Hee, hee. It is the little things that make life fun, right? After a short time of torture I gave her the book and told her to let me know when she finished it.

Naturally, she finished it that afternoon. This is why the library lets me go over the 100 book limit.

Then I asked her to tell me all about Mr. Lewis. She shared wonderful details of his life; things I had no idea about! I was going to read it myself but after her thorough narration, there isn’t a big rush.

Bekah and I highly recommend C. S. Lewis: Master Storyteller and the other wonderful biographies from YWAM Publishing!

Oh, I almost forgot. One fact about Lewis that brought a huge smile to Bekah’s face was that Lewis was fan of E. Nesbitt. We adore her books as well.

Please share if you decide to read about Mr. Lewis and any other great biographies we should read!

However, I no longer make finding a good book for ME a priority. This, my friends, must change!

I need your help! If you know of a great must read book, share it with me! I’m going to start a list and enjoy some good reads over the next several months. I would love fiction, biographies, books on family, motherhood, marriage. Anything! Expand my horizons. Make me think.

I’m waiting…..

An 8yr old boy walks up to you with a book and a bookstand in his hands and asks if he can eat some nuts while he reads. Sure. Go right ahead! Enjoy.

So the boy heads to the kitchen. He sets his book on the bookstand on the kitchen table, grabs the big bowl of mixed nuts (thanks to the granddad for that yummy treat) and the nutcracker. He sits down and gets to work. Cracking and eating while reading. Thanks to big sis for lending the bookstand. It comes in some handy in those times of decisions: eat or read? Read or eat? Now we don’t have to choose!

Soon he tired of nuts and moved on to an orange. But never fear! The pages will not become sticky from the juicy orange. The pages are safe in the bookstand. Ok, except for the corners when he has to turn a page.

I missed the opportunity to capture that moment on camera but so glad I didn’t miss seeing it. He was so intent. And quiet. And still. A rarity for an 8 year old boy. Trust me.

While we are talking about 8 year old boys..

He walks up to me holding what I think was a hazelnut. I can’t remember now. It had a small hole in it. He says, “Hey look at this nut. It’s hollow.”

I said, “Cool, that is one you don’t have to worry about cracking.”

He shifts it in his hand to show that he had cracked he nut.

He laughs and says, “I cracked it and ate it.”

“Was it good”, I ask.

“Yeah, a little rotten but not bad.”

Boy. Yep. Boy.

Good-bye, My Lady by James Street

It was written in the 1950s and set in the swamp of the Mississippi woods. You step into the simple life of Skeeter and his Uncle Jesse who live and sometimes work in the swamp. One day Skeeter finds a dog. His dog. And this is their story.

I had never heard of this book in all the many hours I spend searching for literature for my children and I am so thankful to my friend for mentioning it to me. You do not want to miss an opportunity to travel to the Mississippi swamp.