Saturday, December 30, 2017

Books, Books, and More Books

I love to read. When I was a child and a teenager, I read all the time. I did not read much for pleasure when I was in college, but I began reading again as a newlywed. I continued to frequent the local library where I lived and read lots of books until Olivia was born. Then I read a few parenting and baby care type books, but that was about it for my personal reading. Of course I have always regularly read my Bible.

From the time Olivia was a baby until about 8-10 years later, I did not read much of anything strictly for pleasure. I read about homeschooling when I began to be interested in that, but I rarely read any fiction. In fact, the only fiction I read from 1995 until about 2004 was John Grisham's new book each year. Sometime before Leah was born (or maybe after, I can't remember) I discovered the Mitford books by Jan Karon, and I read all four of her first ones. I have not read any of the series past those first four, but I do own them. (Julie has read the entire series, and is currently reading Karon's latest book.)
About 2004 or 2005 Lynn introduced me to the Karen Kingsbury Baxter Family series, and I was hooked. I voraciously read every novel Kingsbury wrote over the next couple of years. My love for reading fiction was rekindled, and I have not stopped since. I have also added works of non-fiction, biographies, self-help, memoirs, and classics to my reading library.

I still go through spells of reading and not reading so much. When we take a vacation to the beach or the mountains, I will read a lot. During my normal day-to-day life, sometimes I read daily, and sometimes I read weekly.  A couple of months ago I tried a new "reading time" with Leah and Sam. After lunch (if we were not rushing out the door to CrossFit) I set the timer for 20 minutes and all three of us read silently. I love doing that, and I plan to continue that routine when we begin school again on January 8. Since I still read aloud to Leah and Sam each day, three times a day (Bible lesson, school, and bedtime), I read numerous books. But I still would like to carve out more time in 2018 for personal reading.

Here are a couple of book lists. Some of these titles are found in the sidebars of this blog.

What I'm Reading Right Now:

I'm taking notes while reading Empty Nest, so that's usually the book I read during our afternoon silent reading time. 
I'm reading Reading People either at bedtime (sometimes) or when I have some downtime while waiting somewhere. This is the book I keep in my purse.
I listening to Rooster Bar on audible while running on the treadmill. I am only letting myself listen to this book if I am running, so it is serving as a great motivator for me to run in the mornings. (I really, really needed a motivation, so this is working well so far!)
I have Soulful Simplicity on my iPad, so this is what I am reading while sitting with Sam at bedtime. I sometimes continue reading it as my bedtime reading.

What Is On My Bookshelf to Be Read:





Friday, December 29, 2017

Happy Holidays

I'm going to just jump right in and try reviving my blog.

The last several days have been WONDERFUL. First of all, Clay came home from college on December 14. Secondly, Julie and Big Sam arrived at 9:30 AM December 18 after driving all night long from Chicago (where they flew to from Romania). Thirdly, Olivia and Brian arrived on December 20. FUN TIMES.

Julie and Big Sam have to fly home on January 2. They are leaving our houses around 6:00 AM that morning.
Olivia and Brian are leaving January 4.
Clay will leave for college on January 8.

While I am super sad that everyone has to leave, I am overjoyed that they were all here at the same time for so long! The best Christmas present ever! My days have been full of cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, and trying to keep on top of the stuff every where....but it has been my joy to do so. I am so happy!

Jimmy gave me a Roomba for Christmas, and I love that thing! I am running it every day. I am amazed at the dirt, pet hair, and dust that it picks up. I hope I don't break it with overuse!

I plan to leave my Christmas decorations up until after Olivia and Julie leave. We have had our live tree in our den since Thanksgiving weekend! I normally have everything down and packed up by this time, but I am letting the girls enjoy it all while they are here. I do plan to take down the Christmas stuff before Clay leaves because I need his help! Plus we are beginning school again as soon as he leaves, and I need a clean, holiday-free house to get in the school frame of mind.

I have been working on my 2018 Erin Condren planner. The planners are actually on sale for 20% off right now if you are interested. I love my EC planner! This is my 4th year to have one. I ordered mine for 2018 back in September when they were on sale then, and Lynn ordered hers at the same time too. Guess what? We got the same exact planner! With all the choices and color combinations, what are the odds of us choosing the very same one? Last year we got the same design, but in different colors. I guess great minds think alike!

I have been making lists of many areas in which I want to improve myself in 2018. I love to make goals, resolutions, lists, etc. I have also spent some time reading a few blogs with ideas for simplifying life, meal planning, homemaking, etc. I am always trying to grow.
I have also been prayerfully considering my spiritual goals for 2018. I haven't pondered or chosen a key word for 2018, but I think I have decided what my focus during my Bible reading and study will be for 2018----worry/fear/anxiety. Now that my two girls are married and live far, far away, and Clay is at college, I struggle with those things. I plan (with the Lord's help) to get a grip in this area this year.  Or at least to make some positive progress.

One goal I am setting is to blog more regularly. I haven't set a specific goal in this area, but I am purposing to get back into writing more.

I'll be back soon with all kinds of goals, lists, and hopefully some motivation!