Catching the Kids Reading
Brina relaxing and reading on the couch
I love walking into a room and seeing my kids reading a good book. There is one kid in particular in our family that is always reading any time she gets a chance while the other one I do a silent cheer every time I see her pull out a book to read on her own. It is great seeing them get swept away into the story and hearing their little giggles as they are reading fun part makes me smile.
Reading came really easy for one of our girls while the other one it has been a lot harder. Thankfully we were able to figure out what was holding her back (dyslexia) and have spent the last few years working with reading tutors to help her develop her reading skills. It has felt like a long (and sometimes painful) process for both me as a Mom and my sweet girl, but we have gone so far. Anytime I see her reading on her own it makes my heart so happy. I love my girls and always want to encourage them as they learn various skills throughout their lives even if it means putting forth a lot of extra time and effort on my part.
All smiles as she relaxes and reads
Soaking up a good story
Free Ebooks: Organize Yourself, Life of Abraham Lincoln, Fly For Free, Minimalist Budget, DIY Gifts, Paleo Diet Recipes, and more!
The price to download these books is currently $0.00 (although the price may change at any time, please confirm prior to downloading). The ebooks are specifically for Kindles, however, you can click here and download the free application that allows you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.
Download a free copy of Organize Yourself Starting Today! Effective Strategies that Actually Work and Help You Immediately Take Control of Your Life, Your Mind and Your Future by Nick Bell
Download a free copy of The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Henry Ketcham
Download a free copy of Fly For Free: How To Earn Free Flights Across The US And Around The World by Pascal Wagner
Download a free copy of Minimalist: 30 Days Best Strategies for Living with Minimalist Budget in Simple Ways (Declutter and Organize with Minimalist Living) by Eric Barry
Download a free copy of Diy Gifts: Amazing Recipes For Unique DIY Gifts in Jar With Little Effort and Low-Budget by Lily Ross
Download a free copy of Paleo Diet: Amazingly Delicious Paleo Diet Recipes for Weight Loss by Sara Banks
Download a free copy of Eat, Read, Love: Romance and Recipes From the Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood by Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood
Book: “Guess How Much I Love You” by Sam McBratney
I was thinking about some of my favorite books I enjoy reading to the girls. The book Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney is one I have read to our girls many times. It is a great book for parents to read to little ones. The book is about a small rabbit who is asking how much he is loved and comparing the love to things / objects around him. It helps put “love” in a perspective that our children can understand. The book is a good reminder to the kids and parent both. It is important that we show our love and appreciation for our children not only by reading the book to them but in many other ways throughout the week – a hug, listening, spending time with them, and just appreciating them for who they are as individuals.
Book: “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Our girls LOVE books so we have been trying on as many nights as possible (when it is not too late) to read through a chapter of a larger book each night before bed and devotions. My husband is currently reading the final chapters of Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin which is in the “Treasury of Illustrated Classics” series. It is a story of a little girl who was forced to leave her home because her family was poor to go live with her aunts. Rebecca is a sweet young girl with a lot energy. You learn about her life and adventures throughout the book. She wins the friendship of almost everyone she meets along the way. The girls have really enjoyed reading this story and beg Daddy to read more. If you are looking for a good book for young girls this is a great option to consider.
Free Audio Book: “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom
FREE Audio Book Download:
For the month of April Christian Audio is offering a free download of their audio book The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom with John & Elizabeth Sherrill. This audio book is about the real life story of Corrie ten Boom. She is considered a hero who helped the Jews escape from the Nazis. Corrie has a remarkable testimony, if you haven’t read it then this is a great opportunity to listen to the book for free when you download it from Christian Audio in April. Make sure to submit your order by April 30, 2011 to get your free audio book. Thanks Christian Audio!
Book: “Never Sniff A Gift Fish” by Patrick McManus
I was thinking about the books I have read over the past few years and decided to chose one that is a little more “unique” from some of my other recommendations but nevertheless I have really enjoyed reading Patrick McManus books. Never Sniff A Gift Fish by Patrick McManus is one that we have at our house. The author has a way of making you laugh sometimes until your sides hurt. He is funny and his short stories are great to read. We have had his books in our magazine racks for years and I cannot count the number of times people have borrowed or taken the books for a short period of time to read them. I am looking forward to reading them to the girls soon too. A lot of his stories have to do with outdoor adventures, kid mischief, and fun. Each chapter is another short story. Some are more hilarious then others but there have been times I have had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard. Life is short so why not have fun. If you haven’t read one of his books you really should, you’ll enjoy some extra chuckles reading the adventures in his books. As the warmer season comes upon us it makes me think of camping and reading his books around a camp fire, great memories! Patrick McManus actually has several books if you prefer one of the other ones instead:
Book: “The Millionaire Mind” by Thomas Stanley
As I was thinking about the various books I have read over the past few years “The Millionaire Mind” by Thomas Stanley came to mind. In this book Stanley explains the research he did on how America’s wealthy got there. You don’t need to make a substantial amount to be smart with your money. Living a flashy and fancy lifestyle isn’t what it takes to be wise with your finances. I found it fascinating learning more regarding the millionaire “mindset” and the questions he asked in his research.Our family has been trying to stick to our budget and be more responsible with the blessings we have been given. We are by no means millionaires but we feel it is important to always continue to learn and grow. My husband and I listened to the audiobook version of this book together. If you are trying to wrap your mind around finances this is fun book to read or listen to as you work through the process as a family. I encourage you to communicate and pray as a family as you go on this journey together. When we were first married it became very clear that Jake and I had different patterns and views on finances. Taking the time to listen or read these types of books together helps encourage and strengthen your relationship while providing a positive outlook on finances. What works for one family may not be doable for the next family, however, we all have been giving many blessings in life. We still continue to make mistakes, pick ourselves back up, and learn from the lessons God continues to teach us. We want to purposely chose to be wise with what we have been given so we have more opportunities to share with those around us.
Book: “Green Eggs & Ham” by Dr Seuss
In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday this week the girls have been celebrating by reading his books at home and with their class at school. One of our projects earlier this week was to pull the Dr Seuss books we have in our home library and take them to school so they could read to the class. After gathering all our books together I was surprised to see how many we had accumulated over the years but after much exploration I realized that we only have just a handful of the ones he wrote. Since Dr. Seuss has been on my mind this week with all the celebrations and he was a successful children’s writer I want to highlight one of our family favorites by Dr. Seuss – Green Eggs and Ham. We have read this book so many times over the last 6 years I think we have it almost memorized. One of the reasons I like this book is because it teaches a valuable lesson, sometimes we have a preconceived notion that something is bad or that we won’t enjoy it but unless we try it we will never known. Taking the opportunity to try something different (it can be as silly as a strange looking meal as illustrated in the book) can often lead to a pleasant surprise and had we not tried it we would have missed out on fun, excitement, blessings, or even the simple pleasure of eating strange looking food.
We have several other Dr. Seuss books that we read quite frequently but “Green Eggs & Ham‘ ranks pretty high up there with my girls. Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss thanks for writing some amazing books that we can read to our children!
Book: “The Multiples Manual” by Lynn Lorenz
A friend gave me this book “The Multiples Manual: Preparing and Caring for Twins and triplets” by Lynn Lorenz. I had the first edition of this book. It was one of the best books I had to read for Twins because it was easy to read, fun, and practical. It was neat getting some insights from from a Twin and a Mom of Triplets. If you are having twins or triplets…..as my friend once said to me “Welcome to the ‘multiples’ club!”
Book: “God Gave Us So Much” by Lisa Tawn Bergren
I recently read the book treasury “God Gave Us So Much” by Lisa Tawn Bergren to my twin daughters. “God Gave Us So Much” is a limited-edition treasury of three books. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the depth into creation, love, and heaven the author went into for a children’s book. The author created a pretty steady stream of “Questions” and “Answers” dialogue between Little Cub, her parents, and grandparents.I read the books to my girls in three separate settings. The first book “God Gave us the World” which was a huge hit with the kids. One of my daughters is fascinated with earth, planets, traveling and science so she had a lot of wonderful questions about the story. It was neat hearing Little Cubs questions about all the different types of bears that live around the world and how God made each bear unique.
The second book was “God Gave Us Love” which I read to the girls on Valentine’s Day. It was a great reminder of all the people who love us in life and especially that God loves each one of us. It had practical applications on ways to show love to others. Ultimately I liked how the book encouraged the kids to know that God loved them.
“God Gave Us Heaven” was the third book in this treasury and it paints an amazing picture of heaven! Little Cub asked a series of common questions kids ask regarding heaven and the author did well in answering them. I especially liked the analogy of Jesus being our “bridge” to our forever home. She painted a pretty clear picture for children regarding heaven and salvation.
The books mention God and many of the questions little ones ask regarding God, the world, love and heaven. I really like how Lisa emphasized on how our world was designed by God, that he loves us and wants us to live in heaven with him. The only thing that caught me off guard was there is no mention of “Little Cub’s” gender until the end of books and all three of us assumed by the conversation that Little Cub was male so we were surprised to find out Little Cub was actually a female. These books had a good mixture of adventure and giving credit to God. Each book peaked the curiosity of my girls enough to allow us the opportunity to continue the conversation for several minutes after reading the book and answer their additional questions about life, love, and heaven.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher through the Waterhouse Multnomah. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
