Interesting

So I found Honey for a Woman's Heart, requested it from my library, and picked it up on Thursday. I absolutely love our library system. I get online, request a book, pick the library where I want it to go for pick-up, and then pick it up at my weekly library run with Nathan! It's wonderful. Truly. I even do it with his books so I feel like I'm actually getting some books that I really want him to read rather than whatever (almost literally) falls off the shelf while I'm in the library with him and Noelle.
Back to what I was saying. Honey for a Woman's Heart just makes me want to read! ha I got Evan to take me to the downtown library that night to pick up several books that I wanted to read. One of the ones I picked was Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. It's a biography by a woman about herself, her mother, and her grandmother. I am about half-way through it, and I am learning quite a bit about recent Chinese history through the eyes and experiences of someone who lived it. Very, very engaging.
So, now I'm loving the Charlotte Mason method of education even more. :-) I can see how much more one can learn by reading a biography than by reading a textbook full of the facts. Chang's story definitely draws you in and helps you understand a litte more why some of the events in Chinese history happened. I am actually about to let myself read for 10 minutes before the kiddos wake up. I'm hoping to finish by Thursday. :-)
On other fronts, I'm just chugging along. I am thankful that God's mercies are new every morning, especially in the child-rearing area. I am constantly brought to my knees by the whole experience, but I suppose I shouldn't complain about that. Maybe I should just learn to never get off my knees. :-) I am learning to let go of (or lay down) things that are not as important and focus on them, especially Nathan. I love having a clean house, complete menu plans, sewing projects, and so on. However, this is a time of intense growth for him, and I feel that I have to slow down and be there. Completely. Training, loving, talking, laughing, telling stories, reading books, looking at whatever in the world he thinks is important to look at, and just being with him. I feel like there are so many character traits that could go good or bad during this time, but I have to be watching and vigilent because the easiest path is not the best. And it's so hard. Because I like to do other things. Like write incomplete sentences. But I have to remember what is important and that raising a child is wonderful but a sacrifice.
How's that for a random post?

Books I am reading

A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola
---So far I'm really enjoying this book. I'm skipping around to different chapters, reading little pieces here and there. The author gives some insight into how Charlotte Mason's methods look in a modern-day home, as opposed to a home that had a butler, cook, gardener, and nurse (okay, well, this home has all those things, too...just wrapped in a smaller package. - ha)

Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt
---I am just now starting to read this book, although I checked it out at the library last week. So many books, so little time. The problem with this book, and several of the others on my list, is that it makes me want to read even more books. :-) Anyway, right now I'm just reading about "why" to read to your kiddos. I'm kind-of skimming since I'm just a wee bit sold on that already.

Home Education by Charlotte Mason
---I'm supposed to be reading sections of this book for a discussion blog, but the owner of the blog has been too busy to post lately. ;-) This book challenges me and reminds me of my goals.

Baby-led Weaning by ??? (I'm too lazy to go look.)
---A friend let me borrow this book, and it's rather interesting. Supposedly you can just let your baby eat whatever food you are eating. ??? I completely understand the concept of babies having a gag reflex so far forward in their mouths that it is almost impossible for them to choke (sitting up and with proper food items), but I can't bring myself to let Noelle "go" with certain foods. I did let her have a go at broccoli, but when Evan saw her chewing on the broccoli top, stem in hand, he couldn't bear it. ha Oh well, that is where the Munchkin feeder comes in handy. The main thing I've taken away from the book is to chill about feeding your baby. Give options, let them play and explore, and eating the food will come as the baby is ready and actually needs the food.

The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie O'Martian
---I think I have never read the book before just because everyone else was reading it. I'm like that sometimes. However, I really like this book. I like having a bit of direction in ways to pray for my husband because sometimes I feel like I'm falling in a rut with my prayers for him. Also, having this book sitting with my Bible reminds me to really pray for him. :-)

A Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
---I'm reading this book aloud to Nathan. We both are enjoying the book. School children are trying to get storks to come to their town and set out to find a wheel to put on their school for the storks to nest in. As they search for a wheel, they learn quite a bit about the people and places around them.

Multiple gardening books
---Ugh. I just need one that tells me what to do, day by day. ha

Bible
---This is a great book. Haven't read it? Try it sometime. :-)

Life

The days are going by so quickly! I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is next week. I am so thankful that I will actually be able to eat a Thanksgiving dinner this year!! :-) Last year I had all four wisdom teeth removed the Monday before Thanksgiving. It was as bad as I thought it would be but no more so. And it's over now! I can't believe it's already a whole year later, and this year I have two wonderful children heading into the holiday season!
By the way, I found my first white hair tonight. Evan saw it yesterday, but tonight was the first time I actually saw it for myself. Interesting. I suppose I've earned it this year. ha
Noelle is two and a half months old already. She doesn't appreciate sleep as of yet, but I'm hoping she will soon be won over. :-) With Nathan I was able to be a bit more firm in my schedule and desires; I could sleep whenever he slept the next day. With Noelle, I have learned to be more flexible. Some nights we do whatever it takes to get sleep because I have to be completely awake the next day, and mommy naps are almost unheard of. So, I will have no clue as to whether her sleeping habits are due to my lack of consistency or her personality. ha
Hmmmm, I was going to continue to another topic, but I think I'll stop and actually start a new blog entry. ;-)

What I'm up to

I’m not being as productive today as I was yesterday. Even though yesterday brought some issues that I didn’t greatly enjoy (my son had bowel trouble which began with him soiling, terribly, two pairs of underwear and ended with me giving up and putting a pull-up on him), I still had a fairly productive day. We went to the library for library time, made bread (my first try in a long time), made yogurt, swept the kitchen, let the dogs in, swept the kitchen again, and vacuumed the whole house. Okay, so it doesn’t sound so impressive once I write it out, but I felt really productive! We all really liked the bread recipe I used, so I definitely think I will be making bread again.
I think I have mentioned making Avocado Yogurt Dip; I use avocado, yogurt, and a bit of red pepper. Yesterday I made the dip, left out the red pepper, and added chopped red onion. It was very good! We ate it with pretzels, but I’m trying to think of something better to eat it with…any ideas? I’m trying to stay away from white flour lately (it and sugar seem to give me grief), so I may just have to buy some whole wheat crackers. I wish there were a veggie that went well with avocado dip. I tried carrots…nope.
Hmmm, what else can I talk about… Oh! I am reading through Charlotte Mason’s homeschool series, and I really enjoy the reading. I am almost finished with the first book Home Education, Training and educating children under nine. I don’t know why I always feel obliged to say this about books that I enjoy, but “I do not agree with everything in the book.” Ha There is so much good in the book, though, so many ideas and useful tips. I would almost go as far as to say that every mother should read this book, whether she chooses home, public, or private school. I have many other thoughts about this book, but I’ll save those for a later post.
Well, that is all for now. I can’t believe I was actually in a writing mood today! Now I need to transfer that motivation to some chores around here.