Get Moving!

This week we had beautiful weather where all the snow had melted, then we got a whole bunch more. With the fluctuation of weather, it was inevitable that the littles are battling colds; Chloe more so than John.

We didn’t go on our usual Friday swim this week. We were so busy with prior commitments. We did get in more walks now that the weather is improving. Chloe and John absolutely love taking their strollers on walks. Chloe always takes Ina (the cabbage patch she got for her second Christmas) and John has a boy cabbage patch named Jeffery that he takes along.  They’re a part of the family. We celebrated Ina and Jeffery’s birthday in November, if you remember…

Sorting

We got frozen molten cakes on sale a while ago and I saved the containers. I also saved the baskets from strawberries last summer. I thought both may come in handy for craft time but this week, Chloe has been using them to sort pegs and other items. Sorting by color or size, then counting, rearranging…it’s been neat to see her incorporate them into her play. Who knew they could be so fun?

Choo Choo!

The littles got a train table and lots of trains for Christmas as a combined gift. They enjoy it though often I find the trains veering off the track and through the kitchen, dining room and hall. When I see that happening, I know that a full size choo-choo is following soon. As a child, I remember when mom washed the floor, we’d play choo choo with the chairs. A timeless, fun-filled activity for little ones!

Hats are a Good Thing!

Something that my children enjoy immensely is hats. We have many full sized costumes, including a beautiful “Scarlet O’Hara” type dress, animals and more. Though they enjoy playing full out dress up fairly often, I find that on a daily basis, they enjoy the hats we have more. We have a captains hat (that doubles as a conductor hat apparently), a fireman hat, a rain hat, a Scarlett O’Hara hat, a cowboy hat etc. I’d actually like to find a few more to add to their collection. It’s common to see them wearing one, pretending something or another. The wonderful thing about hats is that the don’t take up a lot of space, young children can play with them without parental assistance to put it on and also in inspires creativity or imagination for the rest of the costume. Yes, hats are a good thing!

Books We’re Reading:

This past week culled and organized our books a little bit. We have quite a few. If you’ve been around a while, you’ll know that we’ve been doing Before Five in a Row for our preschool curriculum (yes, a post about our thoughts is coming!). We bought the literature package; it contains quite the selection of books but we’ve already managed to read through them all many, many times. The children love the same stories over and over but I’m so anxious for new books; especially since I’ve been perusing new curriculum for fall and have decided on Sonlight’s Fiction, Fairytales and Fun for Little Learners for John and Explore God’s World for Chloe. Yes, I know, John doesn’t necessarily need a curriculum as he’s only just three in August but I think he’s ready. They could also do the same package and they will for future years but this year just with the difference in fine motor skills ability, I think it’s best to have their own. (Sonlight Coupon Code SV20318647 will save you $5 off your first order).

I know I could visit the library as a cure for my book boredom but lately the weather is awful, I’m feeling so tired these days or we have prior commitments. One day I was feeling particularly bored with our books so I visited my favorite book site: Book Depository (love the free shipping!!). Our order arrived this week: Sun, Moon and Stars along with In the Castle and The Nutcracker.

Chloe was delighted with The Nutcracker; the colorful illustrations and the story. I think it was particularly meaningful to her since we had the opportunity to see the actual live performance of the Nutcracker Ballet this year at the theatre!

John enjoyed In the Castle . He’s quite taken with swords at the moment so knights, pirates and the like simply fascinate him.

Sun, Moon and Stars was a bit more technical and is factual not fictional. I ordered it because my tots (like most!) are fascinated with the moon and stars. I’m not sure how much they got out of it but they listened and enjoyed the pictures. This will be a handy book as we continue our homeschool journey!

How was your week? Do or read anything interesting?

• Chloe is 4 years & John is 30 months
• This post links to Tot School, Explore, Play & Learn and Preschool Corner
• Don’t miss the BecoPotty Giveaway 4/10/11 Can & USA

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Tot School: Spring Walks is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Last year Chloe and I attended the 3rd breakfast. This year, Chloe, John and I  attended the 4th Annual Kids Can Fly Storybook Breakfast with friends. 

Mommy, John and Curious George & John with the Bernstein Bears (his hand is up because he’s waving to me). These are pictures of the pictures so a little faded. Sorry.

John had his picture taken with the Bernstein Bears and was so excited to see them, he hopped right up on their lap.

Chloe is going through a “crazy smile” phase. She looks beautiful when she smiles when not posing. When you ask her to smile for a picture, it looks something like these – strange.

While Chloe has never seen Beauty and the Beast, she was so excited to see Belle at the breakfast and had been looking forward to this moment all week. {All breakfast attendees are given an autograph book when they arrive.} Chloe greeted Belle shyly and asked for her to autograph her little pad. It was so cute.

Another highlight of the breakfast is that each child gets a book. We got Grumpy Goat and Sadie and the Snowman. I love that this breakfast helps raise awareness of the importance of reading to little ones. You know how I feel about reading – it’s so important!

Usborne  had a book table there so we also purchased a few new books – I’m a sucker for books! I’m thankful that we were able to attend this fun breakfast, that I have littles who love books and that I’m able to read to them often!

What are you reading to your tots today?

• This post links to Gratituesday

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. 4th Annual Storybook Breakfast is a post from Beautiful Calling.

We’re working on C from Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve this week.

The Letter “C”

In November I shared that Chloe didn’t know her ABC’s. Around that time, Chloe started expressing an interest in spelling her name and lately she’s been “writing stories” on her Manga Doodle. They just look like little scribbles but her interest in writing made me realize that we need to do some gentle introduction. We’ve been enjoying the Melissa and Doug See and Spell. We decided to start our Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve and we are starting with C. I thought we would try to learn the letters of her name first. I’m really liking the Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve package but Chloe definitely needs more letters to trace before catching on. I’ve been using this website which allows me to make an entire page with the same letter in dotted lines for tracing. {The only thing is that it has a watermark on the page unless you buy a membership. The watermark doesn’t affect whether or not Chloe can trace the letters though.}

Decorating our Cupcakes

Counting, Sorting and Shapes

The littles got a train table for Christmas from GiGi and Nana. While they play the traditional way, on the table, they also play with the trains in other ways. Lining them up, sorting by color, making them into shapes and counting them. It’s fun to watch them and see what they come up with! Chloe also enjoys her Lockagons but has yet to really build anything with them. She mostly likes to sort them by colors in to piles, then create roads and train tracks with them.

Always Building

Last week we got the M & D Wooden Nesting Blocks and Chloe kind of hogged enjoyed them last week. It seems that it is John’s turn this week. He hasn’t yet caught on to the concept of putting bigger blocks on the bottom as he builds but it won’t take him long; little ones are a quick study when something interests them.

We also played with the Lincoln Logs again but John had a new take on it and likes to walk around with it on his head, claiming to be a robot.

We have a lot of different blocks and such for building; always a hit with the little ones. It’s interesting watching them try to problem solve as they try to make their structures as high as they can without having them topple over!

A new spin on Lincoln Logs & A quick storytime with Nana

Books We’re Reading

That’s Not My Tiger was the new board book we picked up last week “for our new baby” they claimed. The above picture is Chloe getting Nana to read it to her – mommy’s read it enough for one day I love the That’s Not My Series because they have fun textures on each page, a little repetitious so they know what’s coming, short and sturdy. Very elementary but my littles still enjoy them. I think they will also make for great books for first readers.

In A Minute! The children enjoyed this book but I think that the lesson was really for mommy! We picked this up at a local thrift store. The story is about big bear who is too busy doing chores to play with little bear. Little bear constantly hears “in a minute”. Finally big bear finishes the chores and tells little bear they can play. To big bear’s surprise, little bear wants to “play laundry and play sweep the floor” etc. Little bear really just wanted to help all along. It’s a very sweet book and I really enjoyed the illustrations as well. Though this is an out-of-print book by Virginia Miller but you can pick it up for about $5 including shipping through the link provided. A worthwhile read I’d say!

This is a sight that I see often and never tire of seeing. It’s not a mess but rather a little girl learning to fall in love with reading!!

What was your family up to last week?

• Chloe is 4 years & John is 30 months
• This post links to Tot School, Preschool Corner, Show & Tell Blog Hop, Tot Tuesdays, Kids Get Crafty, and Read. Explore.Learn.

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Tot School: C is for Cupcake is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Coloring

Chloe got a couple giant coloring pads from Oma for her birthday last month; Pooh. This week we exchanged it for a Princess one and John picked out a Cars one.

We did some special coloring pages to decorate Nana’s door to welcome her home. Chloe did fantastic, coloring inside the lines quite well and using many different colors. John was excited to have lined all his pencils up in a line. He tried to count them and made it to 10…good job John!

Building & Driving

We got the Melissa and Doug wooden nesting blocks this week; quite the hit. Chloe loved to stack them so high-in-the-sky. She liked identifying each animal on the side and figuring out which one should be stacked on which; good practice for judging size. Each animal also has a colored back ground. Daddy encouraged her to stack them up with all the same colors on each sides. I imagine we’ll be playing with these a lot in the future. They seem like such a simple toy, like they may be too young for her but I assure you, they are filled with teaching potential!

Chloe also got a Strawberry Shortcake remote control car for her birthday last month. It’s been interesting watching her as she struggles to master the art of driving it; coordinating her finger movements in order to have the car go where she wants. She loves it though and is quite persistent (another good lesson!); getting a little better each time.

Snow Play

I like to hibernate in winter; I’m not in love with cold. While the littles are generally happy to head out to the fenced in back yard on their own; they get giddy with excitement when I head out with them. It warmed up a bit the other day so we headed out together. We made a snowman then dug out a cave for John {who tells me these pictures are of him sleeping in his “cave”}.

Chloe was exploring all the ‘snow mountains’, which are impressively high from the large amount of snow we’ve gotten these past weeks. She also enjoyed “delivering” snow to various places; no idea why.  Neither of them were ready to come in but I was. I bribed them with promises of hot chocolate and a snack; which made them more agreeable. {Oh, how I look forward to the nicer weather!} {and to add in an update: all our snow melted but they are calling for more!}

Books We’re Reading

We’re always reading something around here. I aim to read 6 books or more a day. I choose two and each of the littles chooses two.

The Dinosaur Who Lost His Roar was an Usborne book we got when Chloe was about 18 months old and it was her favorite book for the longest time. At four, we still dig it out. A funny little tale about dinosaurs it opens up a discussion about friendship, being kind, apologizing and how it can hurt someone’s feelings to laugh at them.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt was one of the books we got in our Before Five in a Row literature package. Every day without fail, this is one of John’s two book selections; he loves it. We got the board book version, though there is a paperback version as well. They love doing the actions, and being able to join in because of the repetition. I’m not sure about the survival skills it teaches though; Chloe told me today that if a big bear ever comes to our house, she’ll run and hide in her bed! LOL.

Every day there are loads of opportunities for tot learning. What are you and your tot up to this week?

• Chloe is 4 years & John is 30 months
• This post links to Tot School, Preschool Corner, Show & Tell Blog Hop, Tot Tuesdays, Kids Get Crafty, and Read. Explore.Learn.

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Tot School: Nesting Blocks is a post from Beautiful Calling.

A while back BookSneeze, a Thomas Nelson review club, sent me God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible for review. We have several other story books by Sheila Walsh so I was excited to have a look at this one. Chloe (just turned 4 years) fell in love with it instantly.  It’s the perfect little book to teach little girls about inner beauty and the character qualities that make a true princess, reflecting their position as daughter of the King.

The Cover

The first thing that attracted me, and my little Chloe-Princess (4 yrs) to it was the beautiful cover. You can’t tell a book by it’s cover to be sure but it certainly is the first thing you see. Anyhow, the jewel in the crown is actually a pink sparkly jewel in the crown and the word ‘Bible’ is a glittery pink. Chloe fell in love with the book from the moment she saw it  {because it was pink and sparkly} and begged me to read some immediately. {She was 3 1/2 when the received the book}.

The Pages

Each page is decorated colorfully, with some kind of border, graphics or picture. Pinks, purples, peach, light blue, yellows and turquoise. The color scheme is quite attractive and makes it very interesting to look at for her. Even when I am not reading it to her, she enjoys carrying it around the house in her purse or diaper bag, then sitting down and flipping through it “reading”.

The font is a good size, not too big that there is hardly any content to a page but not too small that it is hard to read or too much content; a good balance I would say.

Content

Speaking of content, this book covers a huge amount of bible knowledge, stories, facts and teachings in a way that little ones can understand. Though I have a younger girl, I would say that there are parts that would appeal to older girls too.With 337 pages, it starts at the beginning with Eve and covers many other women in the bible such as Sarah, Esther, Ruth and more. Not only does it talk about the lessons each one of these important women can teach us but the focus of the book is about princess qualities and how it isn’t outward beauty but inner character that makes a true princess. It’s filled with bible stories, non-bible but moral-building stories which apply biblical truths, songs, activities and questions to help review material covered. It’s quite a comprehensive book in this cute little package!

Features:

“Features included are: Beauty Secrets, Bible Princesses, My Hero (Scripture promises), Take a Bow (Easy plays that are Bible-focused), I Adore You (Put girls energy to use with songs, scripture and worship), Royal Truths, Down In My Heart (Scripture Memory), Princess Charming, Worthy of Love (Ideas to show how to love her royal subjects: family, siblings, friends and those in the community).”

Use in our Family:

Chloe loves the book and we do read the book but it is quite a girls book from the colors to the content (though the title of the book was a pretty good indicator too!). Since I have two tots, a boy (2 1/2)  and a girl (just turned 4), we don’t actually use this book during our daily devotional time but rather it is something that I might read during a special alone time with Chloe. The scripture is from the International Children’s Bible. I’m a King James girl myself but know that most children’s books do not use the KJV.  Overall, I think God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible is a wonderful book to help teach a budding princess that the most beautiful women are those who love and serve the Lord.

• Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible Review is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Pregnancy Newsletters

With all of my pregnancies, I signed up for the Penn Pregnancy & Parenting newsletter. I enjoy having a little something to read each week about our baby. There are tons of prenatal pregnancy newsletters out there. What’s your favorite? According to Penn Pregnancy, our baby now weighs approximately 9 ounces (255g) and measures about 6.5 inches (16 cm) long.

Our Ultrasound News

We had our ultrasound last week. I was shocked {but pleased} to find out we are expecting a boy. My Intelligender prediction was wrong! The baby looks healthy and was busy trying to eat his hand during the ultrasound. It was so neat to watch! We were planning to name our baby Ethan George but Chloe is quite taken with the name Isaac. Scott and I are still deliberating. Either way, I’m so happy. I cried at the ultrasound when the technician said the baby looked fine. Life is a miracle, blessing and privilege. And I thought of Isaiah, who was a miracle, blessing and privilege too, and shed some tears for him as well.

I have a prenatal appointment next week so I’ll find out then if I’m on target for dates…

Pregnancy Books

One of my favorite pregnancy books, one I highly recommend, is Your Pregnancy Week by Week.  It was recommended to me by a friend when I was expecting our first. She lent me hers {thanks Carm!} but I loved it so much, I ended up buying my own copy along with all the other books in the series. I know many women love “What to Expect when You’re Expecting” but it seemed so overwhelming with information. Your Pregnancy Week by Week had just the right amount. Anyway, each week has a chapter and the first several weeks, I loved the “actual size” pictures. It had some facts about baby, some things to be cautious of and just was helpful to me overall! I read it through all of my pregnancies and then gave it {and the father one mentioned below} to a couple at church who was newly expecting since we were done having children. {Surprise!} This book is definitely a great gift idea too.

There are actually a few books written in the same series with questions and answers, a book for the father, pregnancy after 35 and about baby’s first year. We had them all. I’m not sure the father’s book was all that helpful. I read parts of it, I’m not sure DH read any of it. They did have some silly “myths dispelled” sections assuring you that if mommy eats ice cream, the baby will not be born with a cold and other such things. Slightly amusing I suppose.

Simply Baby Giveaways Ended

Congratulations to the following winners and a big thank you to all who entered. There are several more giveaways coming up for Simply Baby and remember, if you would like to submit your birth story, just send me an email!

Winners, I’ll be sending you an email shortly.

Intelligender Giveaway Can & USA 12/8 to 12/23

OCD Gift Certificate Can & USA 12/9 to 12/23

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Winners Call and 20 Weeks Along is a post from Beautiful Calling.

My friend Sherri, whom I had never met, sent me an invite to an Usborne party. How could I resist? I love books, especially Usborne books, and we’d get to meet. My very first bloggy friend in real life!

What a fun night. Cassandra {yet another blogger!} was the Usborne rep and I can say with certainty that there has never been a home party demonstration that I enjoyed as much as this one!

We got to see so many awesome books up close and personal. The Night-Night Stories, See Inside Your Body, Fat Cat on a Mat and Picture Atlas were four books I didn’t have on my list but went with with after getting to see them in person. WOW!  Cassandra was also really knowledgeable about all the books, even the ones she didn’t have with her {Usborne has something crazy like 2000+ books}. Anyway, she was great and helped me choose a book that I know John will love Christmas morning, On a Pirate Ship. Oh, I know that in real life, Pirates are not happy, friendly people. But they should be! My little John, who is 2, adores pirates. It was hard to find a book that I thought was appropriate for him. Cassandra also provided plenty of information on  How are Babies Made and at her reccomendation, I bought it to help answer Chloe’s questions. I’m very happy with it; complete honesty and just enough information.

We’re “homeschooling” but right now, that mostly consists of reading a lot of books. Picture books, read alouds, chapter books…they littles can’t get enough. I completely believe that all these little stories that don’t seem like much are cultivating a love of stories/reading which goes hand in hand with a love of learning. Their little minds are being exposed to new ideas, a vocabulary they may not otherwise hear, sentence structure and so much more.

If you do nothing else with your child in their little years, read to them! Especially good, quality stories. Yes, at times I struggle with putting down the broom or ignore the laundry so I can read to them. I like to accomplish things, but reading to little ones is so much more lasting that a temporarily clean floor!

This is not a review, or anything. I was just super excited about my books. We buy many fantastic books at our local thrift store, Bibles for Missions but books are one area where I am willing to splurge. I know the littles will be as excited as me to delve into these new ones!!

Have you ever heard of Usborne? What’s your favorite children’s book?

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Usborne Books For Christmas is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Publisher’s Blurb

“When Rachel Balducci looks for material for her writing, she doesn’t have to look far. Her subject matter can be found climbing through the window, hanging on to the edge of the roof, and rummaging through the refrigerator. Here she chronicles the exuberant, awesome life of boys through bizarre conversations overheard, unbelievable rules she’s been forced to make, and the many episodes of boy behavior that continue to mystify mothers worldwide. From the care and feeding of her team, to travels out in public, to their wide-eyed adoration of Chuck Norris, this laugh-out-loud celebration joyfully explores the sweetly wild side of boyhood.”                                

from the Baker Books Website

Who is Rachel Balducci?

I’m Rachel Balducci. Welcome to my world! I am married to Paul and we are the parents of five lively boys — and one daughter! Here you’ll find my musings on life in a male-dominated household.
I’m a writer and a newspaper columnist.
If you’re passionate about swords, army guys, Chuck Norris and basketball, you’ve come to the right place.”

from her website Testosterhome

Thoughts

Initially I was a little disappointed as I read it. I had the impression that I was reading a boy related parenting book with tips and advice on raising them. Once I moved past my preconceived idea and embraced the book for what it was, I did enjoy it. It was lighthearted and entertaining.

The book is actually a collection of two page chapters with little stories about her everyday life as a mom with 5 boys. Some where funnier than others. I found her list of the advantages of single gender siblings quite humorous. My favorite was, “You like his shirt? Don’t worry, it’s yours in 12 to 18 months!” It’s fun to chuckle at others’ mishaps and often throughout the book I felt empathy for the author because {though I do not have 5 boys} I could identify with her. I think that is an important aspect when it comes to the author/reader relationship.

The book did capture and my attention, I read it in it’s entirety during a plane ride earlier this month. I wouldn’t recommend that though. I think it is more suited to a bit here and there, much like you would read a “Chicken Soup for the Soul” type book.

I think it would make a lovely gift idea for any mom “in the trenches”; a nice light read for a busy mom who maybe doesn’t have much to read. I actually plan to gift my review copy to someone I know who can definitely relate to Rachel with 5 boys of her own.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book for review from Graf-Martin Communications. I was in no other way compensated for this review all opinions expressed here are solely my own.

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Book Review: How Do You Tuck In A Superhero? is a post from Beautiful Calling.

I hope that you will consider any reviews that you find here at Beautiful Calling to simply be a shared conversation between friends.

Who is Julie Klassen? She’s a fiction writer with a background in advertising. She has loved writing since she was a child had has published three books thus far. All historical fiction. She and her husband live near St. Paul, MN. She is a mother of two.

“I was asked recently why Regency-period novels remain popular, and I think it is because its characters are so noble. Restrained by a high moral code and the rules of polite society, they must overcome obstacles of class, situation, and misunderstanding to gain what we all long for—true love.”

Julie’s Official Web Home

The Silent Governess is a well written historical Christian romance and is just up my alley. I will be careful not to spoil the ending but I will say that it ends happily. When I escape to the land of fiction, that is an important factor for me. While many books often start out slowly, developing the characters at the onset, Julie just dives right in and you are immediately involved in the story. A lot happens during the first few chapters and I loved it! She does a great job of developing the characters through the story, events, their speech and actions. I feel that I know them; I have empathy, sympathy, excitement, and concern along with them and for them. They became my friends.

“Olivia Keene is fleeing her own secret. She never intended to overhear his.

But now that she has, what is Lord Bradley to do with her? He cannot let her go, for were the truth to get out, he would lose everything–his reputation, his inheritance, his very home.

He gives Miss Keene little choice but to accept a post at Brightwell Court, where he can make certain she does not spread what she heard. Keeping an eye on the young woman as she cares for the children, he finds himself drawn to her, even as he struggles against the growing attraction. The clever Miss Keene is definitely hiding something.”

Baker Publishing

I thought the book was a great length at 438 pages I felt like I really got a story. I picked up this book and then had a hard time putting it back down again. This can be a good thing or a bad thing I was anxious to get to the end, to know how it would all turn out. Yet, when I arrived there, it was kind of a disappointment. Not the ending itself, but disappointed that the book was over. I was caught up in their lives; they were so real to me and now the friendship was over.  It’s hard to explain. Does anyone else ever get that feeling? You know it is a good book when you feel that way!

The book had just enough. Just enough trials, just enough  adventure, just enough opposition, just enough romance. I thought it was beautifully balanced which makes for a great read!

I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more to the characters “finding God” near the end and would have liked the plan of salvation presented though I suppose it was written the way it was to appeal to a larger audience regardless of denomination. That is the only thing I would change.

My Verdict? Rush out and buy it or better yet, Buy It Now though my Amazon Affiliate Link.  It is well worth your time and money! I loved the Silent Governess by Julie Klassen. Based on my experience with the Silent Governess, I definitely want to read the other books written by Julie.

Available January 2010 at your favorite bookseller. Thank you to Graf-Martin for the book for review.

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. The Silent Governess Book Review is a post from Beautiful Calling.

In 2009 I read:

• Small portions of scripture each day most days
• Little House in the Big Woods with the Chloe (I’d love to get the set; Chloe loved them and so did I!!)
• Passionate Housewives Desperate for God (Which was an incredible blessing! Highly recommended!!)
• The Love Dare (only part of it)
• The Unfinished Gift and The Christmas Dog
• Many wonderful blogs!

Wish List for 2010:

Books I Have and Hope to Read:

• Living Life on Purpose by Lisa TerKeurst
• The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace (I am super excited to read this one though my knees are shaking at the prospect. This is one comprehensive looking book that came highly recommended!)
• Youniquely Woman by Kay Arthur, Emilie Barnes & Donna Otto
• Biblical Womanhood in the Home by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
• Habits of a Child’s Heart by Valerie Hess and Mari Watson
• With All Their Heart by Christine Yount

Refresher Reads (Previously read, would like to read again someday!)

• Loving God with All Your Mind by Elizabeth George
• Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George
• Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• To Train Up a Child by Michael & Debi Pear

• Laying Down the Rails: A Charlotte Mason Habits Handbook
• The Early Years: A Charlotte Mason Preschool Handbook
• I don’t know why the above two books have a strike-out through them and it is frustrating me to no end! **grrr**
• The Early Years: A Charlotte Mason Preschool Handbook
• Steady Days by Jamie Martin (I read her blog Steady Mom and enjoy it greatly! This is her first book and it officially comes out in a few days!)
• No Greater Joy by Michael & Debi Pearl

Now I have a serious love for self-improvement books (my "self help" books as DH calls them) and I have to watch myself! I love books that give me fresh ideas for home-making or organization, or books the provide encouragment and motivation to a higher plain in my walk with the Lord, in my marriage or as a mother. I enjoy books that give me new ideas in teaching my tots about the Lord, life, crafts and education. And you know, I have to admit that reading blogs fills a good portion of these catagories but you know what is missing? Reading a nice story just for fun. My favorite kinds? Historical Christian Romance with a happy ending. My goal? Getting one of these in during the coming year!

• This post links to Life as Mom

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Bookin’ It 2010: My Reading Goals for the Year is a post from Beautiful Calling.