Thursday, February 09, 2006

Books that I'm reading

I'm not sure I'll be able to keep my resolve to write a book report for myself on each book.....maybe....{g}




Sad Birthday

Poor Josiah is so sick that he’s spent most the day in bed. His voice is bad….and his throat is very sore. He is feeling so poorly that he staggered out an hour ago and said, “Would you all mind if I didn’t open gifts today?” It seems that this thing is striking on their birthdays…..I hate to see anyone so sick they can eat ice cream on their birthday. {G}

Books, books, books!

I love having these paperback books show up in my mailbox. What a great idea Paperback Swap is. I've been mailing out books I know I won't read a second time and finally am starting to see some new books show up! I requested two Elizabeth George books today...an author I've always "meant" to read but never got around to ordering. The ones I recieved in the mailbox? "Miss Julia" mysteries....a new series to try....in a bit...still waiting for the first one. Ya'all know I can't read a series until I have them in order. {g}

Happy Birthday Josiah!


Seventeen. Wow. I’m not thrilled about this birthday. It is very close to EIGHTEEN and I’ve come to realize what THAT means this year. There seems to be no stopping the clock. We are surely in the “nest down-sizing” phase of life….

BUT – some words on Josiah. This young man amazes me. He is becoming such an awesome example of a man of God. Hey, he reminds me of his daddy. When the girls left home this fall, he stepped right into the “leader of the pack” role. The other children admire, respect and crave his approval. He steps in and lends a hand when he sees me beginning to falter. He is quick to offer assistance in a variety of ways throughout the week. He still has a phobia about diapers…but I can live with that. {g} He has a marvelous sense of humor. He is very nonchalant and drops his zingers with a totally serious face. He is content to let it slide if you don’t catch the joke – which makes it even funnier.

In the Philippines the oldest brother is “cuya”. This man has the responsibility of over-seeing his siblings. He is asked and gives final approval for many of the decisions that siblings make. He is well-respected and loved in most families. He cares and nurtures the younger ones and in later years his parents…. Josiah defines this role. It’s been a joy to watch him mature from childhood to youth to adult. This would be a good place to share a link to an article that influenced the way we view the “teenage years”. We read this when BreAnne was 6 years old. We’ve been able to apply many of the thoughts shared in this article and currently have 4 children who have navigated through the transition from child to adult without passing through the “terrible teenage years”. Please understand when I mention this, that I am NOT saying that if your child has some rough years during this time that you did something "wrong". I am only sharing that this article challenged us not to EXPECT that ALL children will rebell etc...you know the pop psych stuff that we so often hear both in and out of the church. It helped to shape our vision of how we'd parent during these years. This was important to me personally as I was living in a borading school during quite a few of my "teen" years and so never watched how a parent parents through this phase. {G} Click here to read “The Myth of The Teenager” by Dr. Michael Platt.

Happy Birthday Son!