My Reading Goals for 2009

I have been doing lots of thinking about what I want to read over the next 12 months. I belong to two book clubs so I will have some required reading but I am thinking of setting a couple goals for myself this year. The first goal is that I plan to read the entire bible. I think I will follow the schedule from this site. They will even send a weekly email with a schedule of your readings for the week.

The other reading goal I plan to accomplish this year is to read as many nonfiction books as I do fiction. This may be a challenge for me because I prefer a good novel but I do look forward to learning more about this great big world we live in.

Here are a few books that are already on my list:

Do you have any reading goals this year?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas dear friends and family. Thank you for making our world a better place. Hope your holiday season is filled with love, peace and so much JOY!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

We paid a visit to Santa's wonderland this past weekend. Abby got to sign her name in Santa's Big Book.

She had a little visit with Frosty and Rudolph (who I think were on their coffee break).

And she had a nice chat with the big guy.

Here she is telling him what is on her list (a fishing rod).

Abby's Letter To Santa

Dear Santa,

I really love you Santa. I have been a good helper. Please will you bring me a teddy bear, a fishing rod and some snow. Santa, we are going to give you some cookies when you come to our house. Please bring Mommy and Daddy a new snow sled and bring Cleo some yarn to play and roll with.

Love,
Abby

A Christmas Tradition

Abby and I made Chex Mix yesterday. She loved this cooking activity and ate just as much while we were making it as she did after it was finished. Did you know you can make this in the microwave now? Much easier.

If you are a crafter...

Check out this give away and enter to win by Saturday. :)

More Than You Want To Know

31 things about me...


1. Where is your cell phone? purse


2. Where is your significant other? working


3. Your hair color? brown


4. Your mother? gone


5. Your father? the best


6. Your favorite thing? coffee


7. Your dream last night? chatting with Harry Connick while he was cooking dinner.


8. Your dream/goal? help Abby become a caring, smart, independent and happy adult.


9. The room you’re in? bedroom


10. Your hobby? reading and crafting


11. Your fear? losing Abby or Adam


12. Where do you want to be in six years? exactly where I am (maybe with a little more muscle tone) :)



13. Where were you last night? a friend's


14. What you’re not? loud


15. One of your wish list items? a nap


16. Where you grew up? mountains of NC


17. The last thing you did? read to my daughter


18. What are you wearing? sweats, t-shirt and a scarf that Emily made me years ago.


19. Your T.V.? overused

20. Your pet? Cleo the cat


21. Your computer? overused also



22. Your mood? quiet


23. Missing someone? Brian


24. Your car? Saturn


25. Something you’re not wearing? long johns - but back in the day...



26. Favorite store? Book store


27. Your Summer? Fun and Busy


28. Love someone? yes, even more than I did 15 years ago


29. Your favorite color? blue


30. When is the last time you laughed? a few minutes ago


31. Last time you cried? last weekend

Our Favorite Holiday Reads

This week I want to share a few of our favorite holiday books. I keep all our Christmas books packed away so when we pull them out at the end of November it is like reuniting with old friends. Abby can read/sing Deck the Halls and I absolutely love the illustrations in this sweet story. Poor Harvey Slumfenburger lives at the top of the Roly Polly Mountain and you would not believe what Santa has to go through to get his gift to him. Such a fun book.

Jesus' Christmas Party is my all time fave. If you know a child - you must introduce them to this retelling of that famous night in Bethlehem.

What are some of your favorite holiday books?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Each night for the past couple of weeks we have thought of something we are thankful for, put it on a turkey feather and added it to our turkey. This has been a great family activity. A few of the things Abby has listed: tadpoles, lizards, Cleo and chocolate.

Want to add a little excitement to your Playdoh? Add some wiggle eyes. :)

If you are in need of a good book, check out the one I am reading now (over on the right hand side). I am really enjoying it. Click on it for more info.

This Girl...

We have a running list of things Abby has been bitten by: a duck, a horse, a goat and a lizard. So far it was just fingers that had been assaulted but yesterday one of these little guys took a chomp right on her nose. They are harmless for the most part but it did hurt and left a very small mark. You would think that maybe she would leave them alone after having this happen but she was right back on the horse, so to speak, today and caught 6 more. When I became a parent I never thought I would need to say, "it is not a good idea to give a lizard a kiss on the head or anywhere else for that matter."

On to the business of the week, what to do with all these leaves that are falling.

Leaf Art

First we collected some dry leaves and crunched them into little bits.

Then we used glue to draw pictures on paper.
Spread the bits of leaves over the glue and then shake them off.

Then let it dry and bring it in and hang it on the fridge (or forget about it like we did and let the wind blow it to the neighbors yard).

I am in the process of making a Leaves of Our Yard book to help us identify what trees we have and we will also add some leaves to my composter.

Another way Abby has enjoyed the leaves is by staying in Adam's path as he uses the leaf blower. If you decide to try this at home better leave time for a bath before bed. :)

The Renaissance Festival

We spent the day at the Renaissance Festival on Saturday. We had a blast and yes we had one of those giant turkey legs. My hands were way too greasy to get a picture of it though.

Abby and her buddy Jacob were so excited to get their very own knight helmet, hood, not sure what the proper name for it is.

It is not every day that you get to meet a fairy.

Coming up next week: what to do with a yard full of leaves.

Our Little Ladybug

Happy Halloween everyone. We spent the evening with our good friends, The Queens. We were in no way using them for their great Trick-or-Treating neighborhood. :) The girls had such a good time.
We were also lucky enough to have Grandma Gail come for a visit. She and Abby had so much fun together and Adam and I enjoyed a few nights out alone. Thanks so much for making the trip Gail.

The Time Is Near - Election Day 08!

I can not wait for Tuesday to come so we can get this election over with and move forward. If your guy does not win I have some words from the Veggie Tales to comfort you...

God is bigger than the boogie man. He's bigger than Godzilla and the monsters on tv. Oh God is bigger than the boogie man and he's watching over you and me.

I am in no way implying that our future leader is a scary creature (so many jokes I could make here) but I am trying to look at the bigger picture. Regardless of who wins/loses, our world will keep on turning and we will all go on with our lives. Things will be okay. :) So go vote and let's get this show on the road.

This post was not sponsored or approved by The Godless Americans. (a joke for my NC residents) :)

A Day on the Farm

We recently spent the afternoon at Riverbend Farm. This is by far our favorite farm to visit in the fall. It is about 45 minutes from our house but well worth the drive.

They have a real pumpkin patch that you get to by riding on a big covered wagon and all these really cool slides made from old silos.

Hope you are having a happy fall. :)

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

We took a road trip to the Riverbanks Zoo last weekend. We were very excited to see the 4 month old lion cubs. When Adam wondered out loud where the mommy lion was Abby says, "I think she is out shopping." For the record I really don't shop that much.

a sleepy koala

feeding nectar to the birds

and of course the mandatory ride on the merry-go-round (actually I think she rode it 4 times)

Notice our girl is wearing glasses. Isn't she beautiful.

Abby got a sucker from the eye doctor this week and she asked me what flavor it was. I told her butterscotch. She said, "Oh, I taste the butter and the scotch." :)

One Fish, Two Fish...

Last weekend my brother Mark and his family took Abby fishing for the very first time. We went to the lake in our neighborhood. It was a good lesson in patience but both girls ended up with fish - that we threw back in of course. Abby had a blast. I think we may be asking Santa for a fishing rod.

Cousin Lacy with the fish she and her mom landed.

Some food for thought...

I read this on another blog and just had to pass it on -

We tend to focus on the bad things that have happened to us or worry about the negative possibilities ahead. But just as suddenly and quickly as a bad thing can happen, something wonderful can happen. We can be blessed at the most unexpected moments, but we're never waiting, focusing or hoping for that. Instead we're either waiting for or trying to avoid the bad. I will begin to expect something wonderful to happen at any moment. After all, I have already been blessed a thousand times over, why would I not expect for it to happen again and again and again?

--People's character can be judged by how they handle their money, how they handle their drink and how they handle their anger. I like this last part. It accepts that we all at times feel anger or other less than lovely emotions, but that we have choices in how we handle those feelings.

and no blog post would be complete without pictures so here are a couple of Abby making some new friends while at a zoo in Canada.

More Visitors

I know this is not a great picture but wanted to show you our latest visitors. We have been putting corn out in the yard for the last couple of weeks and it did not take long for our forest friends to find it.

Back To School

A few years ago those 3 words (back to school) caused me to go into a deep depression (maybe that is a slight exaggeration.) BUT NOW those words have a much different meaning at our house. :) To the person who invented preschool I say THANK YOU! To the teachers who are willing to teach preschool I say THANK YOU! Abby started back last week. She is going Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9:30 to 1:30 and she loves it. I love it also if you have not picked up on that already. :)Here is Abby with her teachers Ms. Nancy and Ms. Lorie.

A few other things we have been up to:

M&M sorting and counting. You can find this worksheet here.

Beginning sounds with stickers and clothes pins.

and here is one for all of you that wanted more pictures of Adam - with Abby at a baseball game.

Meeting Caroline the Dragon (Homer's girlfriend). Mascot for the Knights.