Odds and Ends

First of all I am SO incredibly thankful it is finally November.  And it finally feels like it today!  My girls and I went on a long walk this morning and it was SO beautiful.  Leaves are not only gorgeous colors but they are falling like snow as the wind tugs them loose from the branches they stubbornly cling to.  

That crunch of walking through leaf piles is one of my favorite, favorite things about fall.  That and hot chocolates, cinnamon or pumpkin spice candles, hot creamy coffee, birthday chili (I had a birthday last month and my husband makes enough that I can freeze it and enjoy a mug of it every so often - BEST chili in the world!!), sweaters and comfy slippers - although this year has been so hot, it is still tank tops, shorts, and flip flops more days than not. 😟

I did read this week - The King's Captive (book one of another trilogy by K.M, Shea)  This trilogy is supposed to explain what was happening in the background during Hazel and Leila's stories.  I njoyed book one and look forward to tying off that series.

This next year I am going to change things up a bit.  I am going to track my reading on Goodreads.  I might mention a book from time to time on here, but my main focus is going to switch back to my walk with God.  I miss writing about that.  Last year I wanted a change and I tried to have a second blog for book reviews, but it was just too redundant to keep up with, and since I already post on Goodreads, I think it will be just easier to figure out how to post my book reviews from Goodreads onto my reading challenge sites.

This fall the book of the Bible that we are studying is 1 John and I have struggled my way through this book.  I am SO thankful this class chose this book - I have always heard if you ever need reassurance of your salvation - READ this book.  Well, when I have read this book I have struggled to understand - TRULY grasp what John is saying.  Thanks to this study and to several conversations with my teacher, I feel like I am beginning to see the reassurance so many have spoken of.  I just want to encourage anyone who is in a teaching or leadership position of any kind, try your very best to make time for the questions.  The seekers who are genuinely trying to understand - you have NO idea what a gift your time is!!!

Have a beautiful fall week.  🍁🍂🦃

The Borrowers

by Mary Norton

It took us a bit to get into this story, but so glad we stuck with it.  I read this aloud and I will say some of the expressions and word choices were awkward to roll off the tongue.  

We have tried several movie adaptations, but never stuck them out past the first five or ten minutes.  I am SO glad we gave the book a try instead.  Our favorite character was Homily, but I do have to say every single one of us felt quite a bit of sympathy for poor Pod.  He literally had to have patience woven into the very fabric of his being to survive both Homily and Arrietty.  

I also relistened to  The Queen's Crown by K.M. Shea.  Loved it even more the second time through.  I think this may be my new favorite trilogy written by K.M. Shea.  

This week

I ended up simply re-reading / re-listening to the Crown of Shadows and Crown of Moonlight (books one and two of the Court of Midnight and Deception Trilogy) by K. M. Shea this week.  Honestly, I loved the books more the second time through, so I am glad I took the time to do this.

It was another doozy of a week, but the repair work is (finally) done and we are so very relieved and thankful.

We watched (& LOVED) "Despicable Me 4" (the best one yet!!!).  We also watched the Jane Mysteries (the first three) and liked the first two, found the third one SO weird.  We made it to Bible study this week (yay!) and had some doctor appointments (not so yay - we like our doctors, but at the end of the day...they are still doctors).  

Hope you guys had a great week 💖

Sarah Clarkson's new book...

I signed up to be a part of Sarah Clarkson's launch team for her new book (due out here in a few weeks!) It is titled Reclaiming Quiet and I cannot think of a better title or subject that I need to spend time digging in to.  I am running a bit late, so I need to finish week one's activities before I post more about it.

This has been a crazy week this week.  We are having work done at our house and it is overwhelming.  Of course it hasn't helped that there have been several minor irritations compounding the situation...it has been a reeeeaaaaaalllllly looooooooooooooooooooooooooong week.  I know this is so small compared to what other people are walking through (cancer, hurricane damage, loss of loved ones, surgeries on the horizon...and so, so much more).  

I know it could be worse.  

But it has still been hard.

This week I read Despicable Me 4 movie novelization - I LOVE when movie companies release a novelization for their movies - it is SUCH an effective way to preview content before scheduling a movie night with your family. With that said, I cannot wait for us to watch this movie this weekend.

I am also finishing up For An Audience of One by R.T. Kendall, today.  I LOVE R.T. Kendall's books and this is one I desperately needed to read.  Will write a longer review later.  But I wanted to say that I HIGHLY recommend this book.  

This week

So, I wrapped up reading Wednesday Wars out loud.  Crying through the last few chapters.  I LOVE this book SO SO much!

Finished a K.M. Shea book called, The Lies of Vampires and Slayers.  These are NOT the typical books I like to read, actually they are way outside of my comfort zone because I am NOT a big supernatural fiction reader.  However, I really like K.M. Shea's style of writing.  She is really, really good at drawing a reader in and making them forget they are actually sitting at home in a living room sneaking in a few minutes of reading between all of the zillions of things they have to do - that is why I like her books so much.  So, when I pick up one of her books and I have to try really hard to dive into the story and find myself wanting to get to the next chapter simply because I hope the story improves, not because I cannot wait to see what happens...that is SO disappointing.  So, this week, I kind of feel like I wasted my reading choice.

Okay For Now

by Gary Schmidt.

After finishing Wednesday Wars (on my own, I am still reading it aloud) I immediately checked to see if Mr. Schmidt had any other books and was delighted to see that there was a sequel (of sorts) for Wednesday Wars.  When I began reading it, I realized I had read this book years ago (2018, I checked this blog for the dates) and had no idea at the time that some of the characters were from another book.  I loved it then, and I loved it even more now, reading it on the heels of Wednesday Wars.

Okay For Now, dives into who Doug Swieteck is (besides being a punk trouble maker that is). I loved his story as much as I loved Holling Hoodhood's in the first one.  Whereas the first one takes place with the Vietnam War being the historical turning point, this one unfolds  during the aftermath of that war, when the sons start to return home, when families are desperately still searching and waiting for any news on MIA, and also during Apollo 11's journey to the moon.  

You HAVE to read this book.  

Actually, if there were two books I would recommend you read this year, it would be these two.  They are so, so beautiful.

I also read another trilogy by K.M. Shea.  But again, although good and fun and fluffy, in the shadow of this book, it is just that - fun and fluffy.  So, no review.

Bible study has resumed and once again I am making my way through the Bible chronologically.  Fall is supposed to also be on the horizon, but it still feels like we are knee deep in July right now, and I am REALLY tired of July weather.  Hopefully, hopefully, cool weather will return and I will be able to take my Bible reading outside in the morning without feeling like I could possibly melt.  

Books that make you SO happy to be...

a teacher, even at home. 

There are a few books each year, that have proven to breathe fresh life into our journey as we speed toward the finish line of homeschooling (at least in its current format).  Those books have served as a sort of trail marker, they have guided our journeys and marked the paths we have chosen to take.

There is a book that has popped up on many recommended reading lists, that I finally made the time to check it out from the library.  Technically it shouldn't even be one that we were interested in given the ages and stages we currently find ourselves in...but that is the beautiful thing about a well written book.  You can read it at any age and enjoy it.  If well written, it will even broaden your perspective, ignite or deepen your interest and understanding of events that have shaped our country, our world, and find its way into daily conversation and thought processes, no matter how old or young you are.

Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt is one of those books.  

WOW 😍.

I cannot tell you how much I personally loved this book.  I found myself having to stop to give context to many items (chalkboard eraser cleanings or the pull down maps that used to adorn the front of every classroom) as I read it aloud, which made me realize just HOW much has changed in a relatively short amount of time.

I also realized afresh just how awful the Vietnam War was, how many lives were irrevocably changed (not always for the better either), and how excruciating those changes were to live through.  

I laughed and I cried through this book.  

It is SO, so, SO good!  Highly recommend!!

I also completed the trilogy of Court of Midnight and Deception by K.M. Shea.  I was going to write a review because it was good.  But in comparison to the last two books I read, I don't know what else to say except each book was fun and fluffy (I realize most people think it is a waste of time to read fun and/or fluffy books, but I think there is a spot for the fun and fluffy in life). 💖  I also use books like this to motivate me to do something I keep putting off.  For example, I can earn another book if I complete all of my tidy goals this week or if I stick to my eating plan.  It works for me 😋