A Stop at a Resale Shop- for Books of Course

Last night we had a good foot of fresh snow arrive. I am longing for spring flowers, especially daffodils, which are my favorite.

However that has nothing to do with this blog post, just my state of mind.

The other week, actually my terrible Friday a week and a half ago, I stopped at the resale and picked up some children's books.

Here's what I found.

1. Around the World in a Hundred Years, From Henry the Navigator to Magellan by Jean Fritz. Jean Fritz writes a lot of history books for the 3-6th grade crowd. They are simple and well illustrated. If you see them pick them up for your collection.

2. White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt. This book is a children's classic for the preschool crowd. It tells the story of a snowstorm, preparing for it, living in it, getting tired of it and then welcoming spring. I am ready for that part. I picked this up in hardback, but I have a paperback copy that I will send to someone who leaves a comment. Yep, a giveaway. Put comment in by 6 PM on Saturday Feb. 26th.

3. The Little Naturalist by Frances Frost, Illustrated by Kurt Werth. This is an older book (copyright 1959) that has some simple poetry. My Elizabeth loves poetry so this book is a hit with her. She can read it herself, although she prefers to read poetry with someone. Here is the first poem in the book

GREEN HILL NEIGHBORS

When I look at our green hill,

I think of all the wild

Small hearts that live inside it:

The woodchuck's chubby child,

Rabbits with busy whiskered faces

Peering out of rocks,

The big-eared meadow mouse, the dainty

Gold-eyed baby fox.

When I look at our green hill

Beneath the sunny sky,

I'm pleased to have such friends inside-

And glad I live nearby!

4. Dick Whittington Retold by Kathleen Lines. This is the classic story of Dick Whittington and his cat. It is illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. The story takes place in the middle ages. The style of the illustrations are soft and gives you more a feel of the time period than some other versions of the story do. I really enjoyed it. It is more of a 1-3 grade story than the pre-school version.

5.Fish Head by Jean Fritz. The story of a cat that is ragtag and scratching out a rough living on an island until he accidentally ends up going to sea and discovers life at sea. This is a children's picture book.

6.The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins by Lester Laminack. This is a beautiful picture book that is by an author I have never heard of before. The story is about Olivia Wiggins who is an old woman who lives in a nursing home. She does nothing but "sit and look at nothing and at everything all at the same time." Her hands are "fragile, frozen, folded in her lap." She is treated well by the staff and her family visits. She is unable to communicate. Each event in her life triggers memories in her mind that the author allows us to be part of. She is still the same person. I think it would be helpful to read to a child before a visit with an older person. I know it was a good reminder to me. It is a bit of a tear jerker for adults, but light enough to still be enjoyed by children. I am really glad I picked this one up.

~Mom

Ice Storm

Last night we had an ice storm. It left the world looking like a fairy land. Yes, there were a few tree branches and wires down, but it was so beautiful. This is our rhododendron bush.

An evergreen tree with frozen ice jewels hanging from the branches.

The neighbors little pine tree.

A lilac that will have beautiful purple sprays come spring is now encapsulated in an icy garment.

It runs off and looks like a frozen waterfalls.

The gooseberry bush rests in its icy splendor.

The blueberry bush was highlighted by the silvery ice.

The rhododendron got so heavy that the branches bent leaving the icicles to form curls at the end of their tips as gravity moved them to the horizontal. It stretches my mind to see the icicles almost totally horizontal.

I think that ice storms are one of the most beautiful things in God's creation! Especially if I don't have to be outside driving in it. All you warm weather friends can enjoy our winter vicariously. We are having a good time, but longing for a little more sunshine!

~Mom

A VERY Long Day

Some days are really sweet. Some are not. Yesterday was in the latter category. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. ( 1 Corinthians 10:12-14)

Yesterday was our tri-monthly trip to Amish country to see patients and procure food for the homestead. I brought the two older girls along and a friend. It promised to be a delightful day. The sun was shining and the roads were clear. The first two house calls went well. Got in and out of the long FLAT lane no problem. Last time we were there we got stuck and ended up denting the siding on one of their out buildings and dinging the van. No problems yesterday. We had to drive past our favorite resale shop. We decided to stop in and drop some things off and see what they had that we needed. We were in the store about 20 minutes - we hurried you see. When we came in I turned the key in the ignition and NOTHING happened. One quiet click and that was it. Tried again a couple times and then decided to see if we could find someone to give us a jump. There was someone right there with a big F10 pick-up that came right over and hooked us up. He revved his motor and we tried several times to get our big van to start, nothing but the almost silent click. The lights came on and the buzzers were working, but the engine wouldn't start. I called my DH and asked his advice. "Call AAA and see if they can tow you somewhere that can work on it right away. Have someone check the starter. He gave me detailed instructions on how this should be done. Let me call your brother the mechanic."

I did call AAA and somewhere along the way I must have hit a wrong button or two. Suddenly, I was listening to a "dirty" phone call. The fantasy she was talking about was not a AAA cruise trip. Yuk!! I hung up and tried again. This time I got an old guy who wanted to know the location of where my vehicle was. I told him the road and the place. He wanted to know the crossroad. I told him there was only one crossroad in this town and I didn't know the name of it. He persisted in asking and I told him he should be able to figure it out as there was only ONE in the whole town!! Finally, I sent JoAn into the store to get the address. He said a truck would be out there in an hour and a half. I needed to be on the road sooner.Someone else came along and tried to jump start the van, but that didn't work either, needless to say. What to do.

I thought harder and remembered a farmer up the road and decided to call him to rescue us four damsels in distress. He was willing to come, but reminded me that he was a farm mechanic and not a fancy car mechanic. I decided to take the chance. Joe (his real name) came and did all the things my husband had told me to have done without my saying a word. This gave me confidence. He then checked out the starter. "Yup, the starter's bad, the whatever won't move, gotta have a new starter." He called the closest NAPA store and sure enough they had the part. He took his little boy, the Jr. Mechanic, and drove off to NAPA. He brought the new starter back and put it on in about 10 minutes. He said, "It was as easy to do on this big van as it used to be on my Daddy's old pick up." (His voice sounds just like Jimmy Stewart) I turned the key and it worked. Hallelujah! God bless farm mechanics! Joe is one of my new heroes.

We were so relieved to be on our way after a more than two hour delay. We hurried through our next couple errands. We made a house call on a icy hilly driveway that had some steep turns. When we were ready to go we knew that we would not be able to easily back through the maze. We decided to drive down to the barn and turn around. Key word there is 'down'. Now how to go back up to turn around. We were stuck. We tried for about 10 minutes pushing and rocking trying to get the beast up the hill backwards. The farmer came along and moved some obstacles so we could get to some clear concrete. It worked. We got enough momentum to get the behemoth up the hill and into a spot to turn around. We were once more on the road.

By now the farmer at the next stop was calling to make sure we would be there soon. He was waiting on us to milk. We were hurrying our fastest. It was after 5 when we arrived.

This stop was blissfully uneventful. We hurried on. We were so late that the next stop had rescheduled and the butcher was closed. We will need to do some changes in the menu plans

I was a little worried about the next stop which was a house on a hill. I planned carefully, like a general going to war. We made it in and out without a hitch. Yippeeee!

The temp was dropping as the sun was down and things were freezing hard. The next driveway was pretty flat, but at the end there was a slope down to the barn. JoAn and Michelle went in the milk house and got the yogurt while I turned the van around. Rats! Stuck again. We jockeyed around trying to find someplace without ice and where we could get some traction. After about 10 or 15 minutes we escaped, with the girls help in pushing. My nerves were beginning to get a little frazzled. In the meantime our poor friend riding along discovered that she was ill to her stomach. She said that she hadn't vomited since grade school, but apparently we bring out the best in people. :-( We stopped along the road, next to a fence post. The trip was getting longer by the minute.

The next stop was a drop off at someones house. Never had been there. The house was on a hill (aren't they all in Amish country?!!) with a long straight steep driveway. We pulled up as far as we could until the van could go further no more on the ice. I got out and banged on windows and doors. There were coats and boots lying all over the house and lights on everywhere, but not a person to be seen. I knocked until my knuckles were sore. I went back to the van and looked for the phone. I was standing beside it when all of a sudden it was sliding down the ice down toward the road. I didn't want to get knocked down, so I jumped in. I got it started and put it in drive before a calamity could happen. Can you say seriously stressed? I was. Only one more stop to go.

It was now 8:45 and we were getting tired (er). The mom had kept her baby up so that she could have her adjustment. She was telling us about the way she had helped her daughter's therapist out of the snow when she got stuck, by putting down ashes. Did I mention that this house was down a hill? I had never gotten stuck here before. I even bragged about how well I could back out of her driveway. "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty heart before a fall." You would think I would learn. I knew that if I stopped I wouldn't be able to get up the hill. I kept going- right off the driveway and almost hit the pasture fence. I was in the deep snow. Once more the girls got out and shoveled and pushed, to no avail. Then Martha, ( her real name), came out with her buckets of ashes and helped push out the van. Back downhill first and then up the hill. We learned yesterday, that what goes up must come down, but not necessarily the same way. LOL We were back on the road and heading home.

Now I was beyond tired. But the trip home should be easy. Things were going along fine until we came to the detour sign. What, a detour? Surely it must be for something just beyond the main road we were turning down. Alas, no, it signified the closing of the entrance ramp for where we wanted to go. I was thinking that maybe they put it up just for me. No sign of construction or anything. Just an electronic flashing ramp closed sign. I wonder if they moved it after I went by. Fortunately, I know my way around, and was able to drive through the city without getting lost or too delayed. We were on our way at last.

The last thing that happened was that as I was merging onto the interstate a pickup pulling a trailer came by. He didn't have any traffic next to him or even close. He wouldn't move over and let me on. He forced me onto the berm. My DH says that I should have thrown an egg at him from the back, but I think he was kidding. I am afraid that I did yell at him and call him an "idiot!" . I think it may have been accurate.

I did make it home safely at a little after 11. It was a very LONG day! Over 14 hours. I am taking it easy today and trying to recuperate. Life is never boring at the Mangos.

Grandparents Day at our Homeschool

This fall, the concept of Grandparents Day crossed my personal radar in regards to schools. I really liked the idea. Public and private schools have them at least once a year. I started to think that it would be nice for our homeschool to do it too. I pondered and researched what was involved and it wasn't that hard. For years my Mother in Love would come in August and we would go over what I was planning to do with the children that year. It was such an encouragement to me. I have missed that as my in-laws are no longer able to travel up to see us.

Grandparents have always played an important role in my life. I think it is so important for children to have lots of interaction with older adults. (think grandparents). Grandparents give them the extra time and loving that parents sometimes miss. It is important for children to learn their spiritual heritage.

But what if you don't have any local grandparents? If you have a Home school grandparent's day you have a limited pool to invite unless you think big. We invited some of the grandmas and grandpas from our church and a others that have played a role in our family life. I wanted them to see a home school in operation and to appreciate what the children are learning and doing. For many it is a relatively new concept. I wanted them to see this important part of our life and become more comfortable with it. We ended up with six grandparents present. That fit neatly into our schoolroom along with myself and the children.

So what did we do? Here's a general outline...

1. Clean house so that everything looks presentable!

2.We started the morning with an overview of our homeschooling philosophy and how we arrived there ( Charlotte Mason and her ideas, Not just doing 'school' at home, I forgot to talk about the importance of discipleship with your children- something for next year!)

3. We then went through a slightly abbreviated typical morning for us. We shared prayer requests and prayed together, We read our chapter of scripture, We then sang a hymn for the grandparents.

4. I asked both of my parents to share their testimonies with the children.

5. The children each recited a chapter of scripture individually. We memorize a chapter every semester, so they just brushed up on one.

6. We had a little break and served tea and a coffee cake. During the break the children stood by their books which we had set our on different tables through out the house. The guests went around and looked at them and asked them questions.

7. The children also recited some poetry which we had learned.

8. The children went over some of their lists and Paul finished up by reciting the Gettysburg address. (I know it's not a list, but that's where it gets included in our memory work.)

9. The two older boys then gave an overview of their debate cases and Paul explained how their debate teams and tournaments work.

We started at 9:30 and finished up at noon. We did make invitations and gave them out ahead of time. The invitations stated that the children would be available for lunch dates on that day. (hint hint). Those that didn't have to run off took the children altogether to Chipotle for burritos.
I gave the children the afternoon off from their schoolwork. We ended up going sledding. The children proclaimed the day a success and are more than willing to do it again another time. I must commend the children, they did what they were asked and had good attitudes! It was a positive experience for all. The grandparents came away with a new appreciation for what we do and for the children.

The highlight of the day for me was my Dad's parting comment. He said that he wished he was little again and could be homeschooled in a school like ours. He said he wondered how much more he could have accomplished in his life. Thanks Dad! That meant a lot!

~Mom

Life Happens, Even when I'm NOT blogging

This is a bit of a 'stream of consciousness' blog.

We had a lovely New Years Day with lots of family and friends. It was a planned potluck. Mom and Dad made their traditional pork and sour kraut. Everything was yummy. We had about 35 people for the day. It was a lot of fun. I missed a bit of it as I was recovering from a bad stomach flu.

JoAn turned 20 this year. We are so blessed to have her in our family. She is working hard at college and will have gotten 30+ semester credits since October. The family she works for as a 'mother's helper' is pregnant with twins. Now that's job security. She is still teaching at a Children's Evangelism Fellowship after school club as well as AWANA at church. She is a real peach! I am glad she has chosen to stick around. She is a real positive influence on the other children.

Mr. Boots, who we will call Paul from here on, is now 18. Not sure how that happened so quickly. He is a big part of the reason this blog has slowed down lately. He is on my computer ALL the time. He is really enjoying playing volleyball on a church league. He is growing up so well. We have decided that he will school at home for another year. There are a lot of good reasons for this. It is because he is doing so well, not because there are problems, that we have made this decision. He still picks up his violin and plays it for church. He is starting to grow and has passed me up by over an inch.

Here is Paul in his birthday suit. Yep. He and Thomas have joined a Speech and Debate team. He was required to have a suit for it. He and his partner won the Best novice team award for their club round robin. The big tournaments start in 2 weeks. This club involves lots of studying and research. I can really see it bringing a big change in both boys. Their comportment and clarity of thought is really improving. But it does hinder my blogging efforts, as he uses the computer in my office all the time.

We have made several trips to a local sledding hill. The children love it. We have had a cold snowy winter. We have kept both wood stoves going 24/7. They do a good job keeping us warm unless the temperature drops into the teens consistently. The basement, family room and bedrooms are warm, but the living room, dining room, and kitchen didn't get above 52 degrees today. We thank the Lord for warm sweaters and a big wood pile.

We are homeschooling and working hard at many things. Keep following this blog as you never know what you will learn soon.

~Mom

CHristmas Eve Celebration and Traditions

My DH brought me these beautiful flowers on Christmas Eve. He did his last minute shopping at Trader Joe's the grocery store. With our children, you can never go too far wrong with buying them food.
I made a cold cherry soup and served it with whipped cream and a touch of cinnamon.

We got our traditional crab cheesecake from a local restaurant. She makes it Gluten Free for us, so that everyone can enjoy it.

We set the table with our china and fancy glasses. We don't sit down to eat until the kitchen is cleaned up.

This is our Christmas tree just before the family festivities begin.

Michelle was more interested in her book than the gifts in the beginning. She just had a little bit to go before she was finished.

I love my children!!

The simple things please them. They don't prepare long lists of things they 'have to have'.They are content with socks, underwear, and whatever books or little things that they receive.

They are appreciative and enjoy spending time together as a family.

Thomas was very excited to get an eight GB thumb drive.

The Boss enjoyed surveying the progeny.

And T-Bob was thrilled to get his very own cleaning kit, for cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms. The dear child actually requested this present. At least it wasn't more Legos.

Mr. Boots was happy for some new t-shirts and other unmentionables.

His favorite gift was his OWN tube of toothpaste. He doesn't like sharing it with the younger children. Something about cross-contamination. I sort of understand.

Joan got a requested book. The trouble with giving books is....

that people start reading them right away. LOL

Elizabeth was very happy with the special necklace that her Daddy gave her. They make her look so grown up.

We did have a wonderful Christmas. It is such a blessed time to stop and reflect on our salvation, the best gift of all, and which came through Jesus. He truly is the reason for the season!

~Mom

Fetching the Christmas Tree

The Mangos have along tradition of fetching our Christmas tree from Red's Tree Farm about a half hour from our home. This year was getting near dusk when we got to the farm.

This year Mr. Boots had constructed a new very cool sled. He was tired of the ones he bought breaking. This sled was made from a 55 gallon plastic drum. It works great and is nearly indestructible. Even Dallas the dog can't chew this one up. The price is nearly free, too. He has also refined the harness for Dallas and Dallas has grown and filled out. He can easily pull the sled now.

This is our traditional 'pose the children in front of the selected tree' picture. It is a beautiful blue spruce. It cost $25 for any blue spruce on the lot. Big or small.

Elizabeth is no longer a little girl. She has transitioned into the big girl state ever since she lost that first tooth!

T-Bob is the 'king of layers'. At any moment he has 5-9 layers on. He will often have 2 hoodies a couple long sleeve shirts and a couple short sleeve shirts all at once. It makes him look chubby, but he still needs slim jeans. He likes it that he can just walk outside and not need a coat on. I don't know how he stands it in the warmer areas of the house. He also likes the fact that when one shirt gets dirty, he can just remove it and be clean again. Not so nice for the laundry lady, but I guess there is a certain 'boy' logic to it.

On Facebook I posted a video of Dallas pulling the tree out of the woods. He did all the work. In fact the children were asked several times if he wouldn't help someone else get their tree out too. Mr. Boots is sure that he could make quite a bit of money offering that service there, come another year.

This is one tradition that the children really seem to enjoy.
~Mom

An Assortment of Books

I recently came across a box of books I had bought at a book sale. Somehow it had not gotten put away and so I thought I'd share a couple treasures from it.

When I was a child, a few years ago, my grandparents got Ideal magazine. It was made with heavy paper and no ads. It was composed of beautiful photos and paintings, short stories and poems. I could sit and look at them for a long time. Then they disappeared. I didn't see them for a long time. Now I pick them up whenever I come across them. Each issue is themed to a holiday or season. This one is a Christmas one. It was fun for me to see Elizabeth sitting and enjoying it also.
As the Christmas season is upon us, I wanted to share about another book I found. It is called 'The Great Story' published by Harcourt, Brace and Company. It is the story of the life of Jesus. It is the words from the KJV Bible. Each page has a little bit to read and then they have a famous painting. It tells the story of Christ's life simply and gives an excellent exposure to great works of art. If you find a copy, pick it up. You will be glad you did.

'The Matchlock Gun' is a classic story. It is short enough to read in one sitting, yet it is an exciting, and true tale. It is the story of a boy who's father goes off to fight the Indians, but while he is gone the Indians attack their home and the boy must fire the gun to save his family. He behaves manfully and fully obeys his other's instructions and thus is able to save her life. It may be a little intense for a 4 or 5 year old, so pre-read. The artwork is great and draws you in. Walter Edmonds has written some other good stories for younger readers. The ones for young adults should be pre-read by parents. I do not have them on my shelf.

This is one of those books I picked up just because, and I am really glad I did. It is all about how animals communicate. It has a wide variety of critters that it talks about also, the usual insects (ants,bees, etc) but also penguins, deer, chimps, wolves and even alligators! I would put the reading level at about 3rd grade, but it is jam packed full of information and has lots of illustrations. It is one I am planning to read to all the children for nature.

Every family has to come to their own philosophical position on fairy stories. We like them and feel they have value. Andrew Lang has a number of Fairy Books that have the classic fairy tales in them. Ambleside uses a number of them in their curriculum. He has a very rich vocabulary and tells the old tales well. I pick up his books whenever I find them. There is also a whole series of 'Umbrella' books. They have all different kinds of classic stories in them. I remember reading them as a child. We had a number of them on our bookshelves when I was growing up.

This is the Walter Piper version of 'Famous Fairy Tales'. If the name is familiar to you, it is because he wrote 'The Little Engine that Could' . This book is lavishly illustrated in the typical Piper fashion. Elizabeth really enjoys having this book read to her.

This book is called 'American Songbag' by the noted American writer and historian Carl Sandburg. The copyright is 1927. He goes through a number of classic American Folk Songs. He gives all the verses he can find and gives a brief history of each song and author. You really should make folk songs a part of your family culture. They are a lot of fun and teach a lot about American thought, politics and history. It is also a lot of fun to learn to sing as a family. We spend time on hymns, folk songs, and classical music. We are trying to develop a rich musical palate for the children. The world will expose them to the junk food soon enough.

This was a real find at the last sale I was at. I got a whole boxful of Happy Hollisters for 25 cents each. All with an intact dust jacket. They would resale on eBay or Amazon for at least $5 each. I will hold on to them for my children and grandchildren though. This is another one of those classic series from the 30's and 40's. I remember reading them when I was growing up. They are sweet. I also like the fact that the family has more than two children. This series fits in well for that second or third grader who is on a reading tear and isn't ready for the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. There is a little mystery in them, but nothing scary. This another one of those old series that you should pick up when you see them. Under the cover the books are a brick red hardback. You can kin of see it at the top of the book where the cover has slid down.

The Book House is another old series of story books. Some have fairy tales and some have history stories. They were produced originally in Great Britain in the early 1920s. It was edited by Olive Beaupre Miller. There is also a series of 12 volumes of 'My Bookhouse'. 3 volumes of 'My Travelship' and 6 volumes of 'My Book of History'. I like the fact that the covers feel good in your hands. They are beautiful and are embossed deeply. I guess I am a tactile person.

I am trying to stay away from book sales for now. I am totally out of bookshelf space. A friend gave me a number of boxes of books and I still have to process and digest them. There is no such thing as to many books, just insufficient space. "Read on Macbeth!"

~Mom