Nora: Five Years

My baby girl is five! We had a fun and sweet ballet party for her friends last weekend (pictures coming soon). On her birthday, we enjoyed a family breakfast of monkeybread and turkey sausage and fruit (her choices), opened gifts, and then went to her favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. Nora had been asking for a dollhouse for months and she was so excited when her wish came true! She played with her dollhouse literally all day long.

At five, Nora is spunky and cuddly. She loves to give hugs and kisses, but doesn't put up with anything, either. Playing with her siblings is one of her favorite things to do. She enjoys her K4 schoolwork and wants to learn to read this year. She loves to sing and dance and play outside. She has a sweet tooth and an affinity for pizza. We are so thankful for this sunshiny girl!

New-to-us favorite poetry books

We have always been poetry readers and have lots of favorite anthologies. I just stumbled on a series of books that cover one poet each, and we love them. The books are called Poetry for Young People. There are lots of them on several poets! They include a short biography and a sampling of poetry (around 40 pages). The poems often have a two-sentence introduction, and definitions for any obscure words. So glad we stumbled on these! My kids are enjoying focusing on one poet at a time instead of the anthology method we have been using.

Thomas: Twelve Months

And just like that, my last baby is ONE. What an amazing year it has been. Thomas, our family is abundantly thankful for you. I never realized how much joy and healing you would bring to our whole family. The Lord gave us such a gift in you. After a year, your siblings are more enchanted with you than ever. The love they have for you is precious to see. And of course your Daddy and I love you with all our hearts! Happy first birthday, sweet baby Thomas!

Reading List 2019

Reading List 2019
1. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, Jeanne Birdsall
2. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, Jeanne Birdsall
3. Redwall, Brian Jacques
4. The Boxcar Children, Gertrude Warren
5. The Penderwicks in Spring, Jeanne Birdsall
6. The Penderwicks at Last, Jeanne Birdsall
7. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery
8. Book Girl, Sarah Clarkson
9. Race and Liberty in America, Jonathan Bean
10. The Prisoner in the Third Cell, Gene Edwards
11. Henry and Ribsy, Beverly Cleary
12. Knights of the Round Table, Gwen Gross
13. Joan of Arc, Diane Stanley
14. The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
15. Persuasion, Jane Austen
16. Little Lord Fauntleroy, Frances Hodgson Burnett
17. Forever with You, Robin Jones Gunn
18. Home of Our Hearts, Robin Jones Gunn
19. One More Wish, Robin Jones Gunn
20. Happy Little Family, Rebecca Caudill
21. Columbus, d’Aulaire
22. Forever with You, Robin Jones Gunn
23. Home of Our Hearts, Robin Jones Gunn
24. One More Wish, Robin Jones Gunn
25. Sandy Toes, Robin Jones Gunn
26. Salty Kisses, Robin Jones Gunn
27. Sunset Lullaby, Robin Jones Gunn
28. Schoolhouse in the Woods, Rebecca Caudill
29. On Reading Well, Karen Swallow Prior
30. The Mind of the South, W.J. Cash
31. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, Karina Yon Glaser
32. Henry and the Paper Route, Beverly Cleary
33. Tales from Shakespeare, Charles and Mary Lamb
34. The Point of It All, Charles Krauthammer
35. The Way of Abundance, Ann Voskamp
36. Rethinking School, Susan Wise Bauer
37. Books to Build On, E.D. Hirsch
38. Books that Build Character, William Kilpatrick
39. A Biblical Home Education, Ruth Beechick
40. Muggie Maggie, Beverly Cleary
41. The Unhurried Homeschooler, Durenda Wilson
42. Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, Kristen Welch
43. Give Your Child the World, Jamie Martin
44. Stories from Dante Told to the Children, Mary MacGregor
45. The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis
46. Henry and the Clubhouse, Beverly Cleary
47. The Brave Learner, Julie Bogart
48. North or Be Eaten, Andrew Peterson
49. Better Together, Pam Barnhill
50. Ribsy, Beverly Cleary
51. The Monster in the Hollows, Andrew Peterson
52. The Warden and the Wolf King, Andrew Peterson
53. The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
54. Socks, Beverly Cleary
55. The Connected Child, Karyn Purvis
56. The Storm-Tossed Family, Russell Moore
57. King of the Wind, Marguerite Henry
58. Reading Magic, Mem Fox
59. Long Days of Small Things, Catherine McNiel
60. Betsy-Tacy, Maude Lovelace
61. American Tall Tales, Mary Pope Osborne
62. Therefore I Have Hope, Cameron Cole
63. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee and Walker Evans
64. The First Five Years of Marriage, Focus on the Family
65. A Man Called Peter, Catherine Marshall
66. Up and Down the River, Rebecca Caudill
67. The Printed Letter Bookshop, Katherine Reay
68. The Blue Castle, L.M. Montgomery
69. The Enchanted Hour, Meghan Cox Gurdon
70. The Great Brain, John Fitzgerald
71. The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden, Katrina Yan Glaser
72. Ellen Tebbits, Beverly Cleary
73. The Survival Guide for Parents of Gifted Kids, Sally Yahnke Walker
74. First Man, James Hansen
75. The Cabin Faced West, Jean Fritz
76. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
77. A Woman of No Importance, Sonia Purnell
78. Drawing with Children, Mona Brookes
79. The Five Love Languages of Children, Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell
80. Just Show Up, Cal Ripken Jr
81. Schoolroom in the Parlor, Rebecca Caudill
82. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
83. Where Is God When It Hurts?, Philip Yancey
84. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Fannie Flagg
85. Secrets, Robin Jones Gunn
86. Whispers, Robin Jones Gunn
87. By the Great Horn Spoon, Sid Fleischman
88. Echoes, Robin Jones Gunn
89. Sunsets, Robin Jones Gunn
90. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Margaret Hodges
91. Emily’s Runaway Imagination, Beverly Cleary
92. At Home in the World, Tsh Oxenreider
93. The Last Train to London, Meg Waite Clayton
94. The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue, Karina Yan Glaser
95. Wild Things, Stephen James and David Thomas
96. Complete Fairy Tales, Perrault, translated by A.E. Johnson
97. My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George
98. Raising Girls, Sissy Goff
99. Clouds, Robin Jones Gunn
100. Waterfalls, Robin Jones Gunn
101. Woodlands, Robin Jones Gunn
102. Wildflowers, Robin Jones Gunn
103. Pilgrim Stories, Margaret Pumphrey
104. Robinson Crusoe, abridged Daniel Defoe
105. Praying Through the Bible for Your Kids, Nancy Guthrie
106. Gulliver’s Travels, abridged Jonathan Swift
107. The Greatest Gift, Ann Voskamp
108. Songs of Innocence, William Blake
109. Wild Mountain Thyme, Rosamunde Pilcher
110. Christmas with Anne, L.M. Montgomery
111. The Austen Escape, Katherine Reay
112. The Blue Bedroom and Other Stories, Rosamunde Pilcher
113. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, abridged Victor Hugo
114. Mitch and Amy, Beverly Cleary
115. The Bronte Plot, Katherine Reay

Belated Christmas Post

I've been sorting out photos today and thought I'd share these goodies!