Some Kind of Busy Saturday

     Saturdays are blessedly full days here.  Today we are blessed to overflowing with work!  We're remembering to keep our priorities in order, I think, and are moving along.  We're up against some time deadlines, though, which means time is of the essence.  So long as we meet our deadlines and have our things ready for the Lord's Day by bedtime, we'll be doing good.  The rest?  Well, the rest will wait for another day, or it won't.  Though I'm mindful of being a good steward of our home and homestead, it is more important that we meet our promised obligations and are ready, heart and mind, for the Lord's Day tomorrow.  If we lose a few strawberries or vegetables in the garden, then so be it.   

     There are a few pictures from our Independence Day celebrations for you to see at that quiet place.  I know we're quiet there, but I want to say here that my solitary photo this week was meant as a bit of sweet nostalgia for myself and my family.  My mother-in-love's cookie jar, filled with Mother's iced animal cookies (which was her standard cookie jar cookie), sitting in front of her Oklahoma plate.  Oh, I miss that woman, but I'm happy to have so many of her lovely things to not only remind me of her, but to bring beauty and fun to my home.

     Remember to keep praying for Mighty Joe.  Remember, too, to praise God for the work He has done in this wee little man's life so far!  We don't want to give in to complacency now.  Let's continue to pray for Joe's complete healing and pray him right on back home where he belongs!

     Have a blessed Lord's day tomorrow!

God bless you as you look well to the ways of your household!
Proverbs 31:27 

Swimfest, Scrapbooks and Something New

     This is the first year in.....in.......well in a very long time, that I have not decorated my home, inside and out, for the Fourth of July.  I just had that realization last night.  Things have just been busy and any extra time I've had for such things has been directed toward other projects.  If it were Christmas you'd have to call my Mr. Scrooge, I guess.  Not sure what you'd call me for failing to decorate for the 4th.  Of course, my home has quite a few permanent statements of our family's patriotism on display.  Even though we haven't decorated for the holiday, we're still planning a glorious, fun celebration of our nation's independence!

     Since he is in law enforcement, my husband works a lot of holidays.  He gets most of the Monday holidays off because Monday is his regular day off.  He will work tomorrow, as usual, and then join us for the evening.  The rest of us are headed to a large park in a near by city that hosts a lovely, family-friendly 4th of July celebration.  There are bands on stage and booths to visit.  The only fee is a $10 parking fee.  We will, as we have in years past, pack our rolling ice chest with plenty of drinks and our picnic supper, and pack our wagon with folding chairs, blankets and a few things to keep us busy during our times of just sitting and relaxing.  Well after dark there will be a huge, aerial fireworks display set to music. 

SWIMFEST 

     Corin and the kids were here for our Thursday Library Day at Grandma's house and Swimfest.  We all look forward to their arrival!  Will, though, is always the most excited for them to get here, and always the saddest on the Thursdays that we can't get together.  We have several little things we do each week to get ready for their arrival.  First, the boys' homeschool day is shortened so that they are done by noon.  We try to eat lunch quickly and I try to get the kitchen cleaned up before they come.  I never manage to get that done!!  Either Dani or I, and usually Dani, prepare a treat for us to enjoy together. 

     Someone, usually me, selects four picture books from our Heritage Library for our read aloud time.  Today I chose the following:

     The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash, by Trinka Hakes Noble, and illustrated by Steven Kellogg.  We are all Steven Kellogg fans here, and this is a book I remember Dani enjoying as a little girl.  I found a well-loved hard cover copy a couple of weeks ago on the shelf of a thrift store in their three books for a dollar section.  I was thrilled!  The story here is a fun conversation between a mother and her little girl who has just returned from the class field trip to the farm.  The illustrations are whimsical and a non-reader who has heard this story a couple of times, could retell it by just looking at the illustrations.  Be sure not to miss the final page - there is no text, but the illustration gives this story a fun finish.

     Ballet of the Elephants, by Leda Schubert, illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker.  While searching for books for our current homeschool study of Russia, I found this treasure.  It is the true story of the Ballet of the Elephants, a 1942 collaboration between John Ringling North (of circus fame), composer Igor Stravinsky and ballet master George Balanchine.  The illustrations are lovely and quite colorful.  Though they are a just a bit abstract in style, I thought they were quite pretty.  The book includes very brief biographical sketches of each of the three men involved, but each is just a paragraph or two, so the younger set doesn't lose interest.  I had never heard of this great event, so I read today with as much interest as the children had.  Towards the end of the book, when the ballet is finally revealed, one of the pages folds out to give a wonderful view of the enormous proportions of fifty elephants and fifty young ballerinas dancing together.  When I folded the page out today, my six year old grandson said, "Wowwwwww!".  I have a couple of doubters in my bunch, when it comes to "true" stories.  I love that this book ends with a few black and white photographs of the real life Ballet of the Elephants.  My skeptical Will was immediately amazed when he knew for sure that this story was real and wants to reread the book again himself! 

      The Seven Silly Eaters, by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Marla Frazee.  This book will appeal to any mom who has a picky eater and especially to the moms who have more than one picky eater.  This tale of the Peters family who enjoy the births of each of their children one by one (and finally a set of twins), find that while indulging that first picky eater might be a pleasure, and then indulging the second picky eater is still fun, having seven picky eaters is no picnic at all.  Marla Frazee's illustrations are colorful and engaging, and I especially liked these today.  Personally, I took pleasure in watching Mr. and Mrs. Peters' expressions through the years as each new child's own food likes or dislikes came into focus.  The story is told in rhyming text, which is especially appealing to younger children.  All is well that ends well.  Though these parents never deal with the children's picky eating habits, the family does come to a delicious compromise.

     Yankee Doodle - A Revolutionary Tail, written and illustrated by Gary Chalk.   This book has been a favorite in my home for many years.  With Independence Day only a day away, I was sure to pick at least one book to read that would tell us something about the holiday.  I love books that have various reading abilities/choices in one cover.  For example, today I read aloud only the sweet, rhyming text from each page that gave us just a brief history of our nation's discontent with its British rules, and saw us through the Revolutionary War, ending with the words from the chorus of the song Yankee Doodle.  The book's subtitle is appropriately spelled as a revolutionary "tail" because the main characters in our nation's history (George Washington, Molly Pitcher, Von Steuben, among others) are all depicted as mice!  The characters ride hobbyhorses and shoot popguns, too.  For older children, or independent readers there is accompanying text on each page, beyond the rhyming text, giving further information about each step of America's road toward independence.  As a bonus, all SIXTEEN verses and the music for Yankee Doodle are included at the beginning of the book.  What fun!

     By clicking the links above for each of these books, you will be able to take a peak inside each of them (except for the Gary Chalk book).  These books (and many others) can be found on my ever changing list of Recently Recommended Picture Books for Reading Aloud or Sharing With Your Child.

     It is summertime, though, and temperatures today were in the mid-90's, which means that everyone spent the rest of the day in the pool!  I love my roll at poolside! 

      I can cheer for newly acquired swimming skills......

.......run a little one in to the bathroom, or take the baby in for dry clothes and a nap.  I can wrap little ones in towels for a break from the pool and cuddle them up in my lap to warm them up enough to get back in the water. 

      I took lots of pictures and today I even took my laptop out to begin writing this post!