It's so hard to believe that my little girl is another year older! And not so little anymore.
For her birthday she wanted to redecorate her room. She picked out this cool bedding set and her grandparents, great-grandma, and I bought it for her.
She had the added fun of performing in "The Music Man" on her birthday. She was amazing! She is an all-around amazing young woman! I am one lucky mom.
While my kids plow through books they HAVE to read this summer for Honors English in the fall... I get to read to my heart's content! (I don't have to feel bad because I remember well those days of summer reading lists!)
Here's what I've been reading by the pool...
1. The Fetch - Laura Whitcomb - A fascinating story that hinges on the mysterious disappearance of Anastasia Romanov. It's sort of like the author's idea of what "really" happened, with a supernatural twist.
2. The Last Knight (book #1) - Hilari Bell - Fun and funny adventure of a knight and his squire. A twisty plot and great one-liners. Always fun to read a book with a male voice.
3. A Countess Below Stairs - Eva Ibbotson - Another story set in the Russian Revolution (I was on a kick this month I guess). This story follows a Russian countess as she flees to England and becomes a maid on a large estate. Great story!
4. The Hound of Rowan - Henry Neff - Thank you to my cousin Melissa for blogging about this series. It's very Harry Potteresque but a great story all it's own.
5. The Second Siege - Henry Neff - The second book in the series. Loved following the hero and his sides as they battle the bad guys. Classic story line but very well done.
6. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Gabrielle Zevin - A fun and poignant look at what it would be like to wake up at 17 and not remember the last 6 years. Great characters and introspective themes about who a person is.
7. Wishing Moon - Michael Tunnell - Ever wonder what happened to the magic lamp when Aladdin was done with it? This is the story! I really loved this book (of course the Arabian Nights are one of my favorite!) Great protagonist, great themes, great story.
8. Only the Good Spy Young - Ali Carter - Thank you to my sister Megan who lent me her copy. I read it in 3 days. :-) I love this series that follows the girls at the Gallagher Academy where they learn to be spys (among other things!)
I still have lots of summer left and the stack of books by my bed is getting small. Send recommendations! I've got to work on my tan!
Now that school is finally over we are feeling like we are "out of the woods" for a little while! Phew! What a year it's been!!
Before the year was out, the kids went "Into the Woods" for their final Starting Arts Dream Team performance.
My daughter played the Baker's Wife in one cast.
My son played the Baker in the other cast.
And he also played the wolf in the first cast.
Here we are after the show. His wolf make-up looks like a serious 5 o'clock shadow!
Here are the girls! We have both been mistaken for each other in the last week. It cracks me up!So... I took the last blog post I did and submitted it to "The Power of Moms" - It was published on their site today:
http://powerofmoms.com/articles/better-together.html
Enjoy!
Why do we think we have to do everything by ourselves? Somewhere in our culture of independence and self-sufficiency, somebody goofed. These are excellent virtues, yes... but they can be taken to the extreme.
The past few weeks a group of women I am part of have been participating in a fun activity. On Sunday we draw one of the other women's names and then we do something to help her that following week. I've been so surprised when I ask what I can do to help and the answer I get is, "I'm fine."
Really? Cause if you were perfectly fine then you wouldn't have anything left to do here on planet Earth.
So... I did something anyway... for each of them... unbidden. I'm such a rebel.
But it gave me pause. Why do we have such a hard time asking for help? Is it because we don't dare admit that we can't do it ALL? Heaven forbid!
I think we forgot that we are MEANT to help each other. We are MEANT to work together. We are MEANT to learn from each other. Besides, it's more efficient, more fulfilling, and more FUN.
Another friend and I have made it a regular habit to get together and help each other. I'll go to her house and do her dishes while I put my laundry in her washer (I don't have one!) and we'll talk and work and come up with great ideas for the world's problems... or at least our own.
It reminds me of days when women did their wash together at the stream. Or sewed a quilt for a young bride. Or sat out on someone's lawn during the long evenings of summer while the kids played together.
We were MEANT to work, play, laugh, cry, BE TOGETHER.
Stop saying, "I'm fine." Start saying, "Let's wash our cars together."
Just a thought.
My daughter's high school show opened this weekend. They are doing, "Lucky Stiff" a little known musical comedy.
My daughter is Dominique, the French Lounge Singer. She can pull off an amazing French accent!
I feel lucky that my family enjoys the performing arts so much. I feel lucky that my life is filled with singing and dancing.
I'm feeling pretty lucky!Lots of good stories showered down on my imagination this April. Here they are:
1. The Glassmaker's Daughter - Fantastic story! I love the setting - sort of like Venice but better (if you can imagine that). I also love how the main character is devastated when her life doesn't turn out the way she thinks it's supposed to... and then it turns out even better.
2. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell - The same author who wrote The Tipping Point comes up with a brilliant look at what made "successful" people a success. It's a fascinating look at sociology and pure luck.
3. Artichoke's Heart - Suzanne Supplee - A sweet story about an overweight high school girl that is both realistic and hopeful at the same time.
4. Princess Ben - Catherine Murdock - Imagine... Fairy Tale Princess meets Harry Potter. This is a fun story that has little nods to many of the famous fairy tales all cleverly woven into a magical storyline.
5. Kung Fu Princess: Daughter of Light - This is book #1 and it left me hanging! Got to find book #2! It's a fun adventure/mystery with a young woman who finds out she's got a warrior's job to do.
6. So Yesterday - Scott Westerfield - If you LOVE the other social commentary novels by Westerfield (Uglies, Pretties...) then you will love this one too. It's a fantastic look at our commercially driven world. It will make you stop and think about why you bought the last thing you bought.
7. Believing Christ & Following Christ - Stephen Robinson - If you haven't read these books yet, go get them now. Yes, right now. They will change your life. They have totally changed the way I think about myself (in a much better way!)
All for now!
