Recent Reads

The 5 Love Languages of Children... This was a re-read but I do love this one. This move has been crazy so our kids were acting crazy. Plus, Ryan was dealing with a super long commute and enough important moving-related tasks that he was leaving before we woke up and home after bedtime almost every night for weeks. It was frustrating for all of us and I felt so drained that I thought it would be a good idea to re-read this one as motivation each day. I had forgotten quite a few points and I am so glad I re-read it!

31 Prayers for my Husband... I definitely took a lot longer than 31 days to read this one but I really enjoyed it. I admit that my husband and I already have a strong and sweet relationship so it's hard to be totally fair here, but I really did feel extra connected to him during these prayers and I got at least something out of I think every single prayer, even if the entire prayer didn't always apply to our him/our relationship.

Brambly Hedge... This was our last read-aloud and the kids all really liked it. I never read this one as a kid so I'm glad I got that chance. I thought it was adorable and couldn't believe the detail in the illustrations!

By the Shores of Silver Lake... I'm not even kidding, I don't think I ever actually read this one! NOTHING in it felt familiar to me! It's a pretty good one but I am so excited for The Long Winter, and especially considering it'll be winter when I dive into it!

I Survived series... this is another offering from The Good and the Beautiful's book list. I find it's hard to find good boy books so I was happy about this series. So far I have read and liked The Titanic, Mt. St. Helens, and Children's Blizzard books. I started the WWII book but wasn't comfortable with it and think I'll probably stick to the natural disaster books vs. the wartime books.

I'd Rather be Reading... I've read lots of books about reading this year and when I loved Anne Bogel's first book, Reading People, I was even more excited to check this one out. I don't know why I'm so into books about reading this year but I am and this one is a good one.

A Little Princess... Another re-read... I just love this story and can't wait for my girls to read it too.

The Hundred Story Home*... This was a fantastic memoir about a woman's faith; her amazing work with the homeless of Charlotte, NC; her mother's battle with bipolar disorder, motherhood, and so much more. I was immediately drawn in and found myself thinking about the book so often when I wasn't reading it. It was absolutely inspiring and it definitely encouraged me to make more of an effort with a homeless program I just learned about in my new town. It's easy to forget about how much we have compared to so so many in the world, to really lose sight of just how privileged we are. I am constantly hearing about how "underprivileged" I seem with my simple old phone, 17-year-old car, small homes, one income, etc. These are choices my family makes and they are admittedly very different from the choices many make, but it sometimes does make us appear--not just to others, but even to ourselves--like we have far fewer than most. This is just not true! We are crazy priviledged, crazy blessed!

A Very Modest Cottage... I inhaled this book in one sitting (though admittedly skimmed over some parts of it) because it was inspiring me with regards to our own modest little home. The author and I have very different styles aesthetics but I still really enjoyed this book.

*I received a free copy of The Hundred Story Home from BookLookBloggers in exchange for a completely honest review.