Weekly Wrap-Up ~ Summer

From the Heart ~

My husband and I had a wonderful date for our anniversary. We went to a pottery place and painted ceramics. I made a plate that I have wanted for a long time. It is a "You are special" plate that we will be using to recognize different members of the family when they accomplish or do something special. I saw this on a friend's blog and really loved the idea. I'm looking forward to putting it into practice.

Learning Time ~

I am looking forward to doing some learning of my own this summer. I have pulled out a big stack of books to read and I am building in reading time for the whole family during the heat of the afternoon. I have been doing this for some time but inconsistently. I hope that I will see a stronger interest in reading develop for my Goldilocks from this modeling. Also, I will get through a stack of books that I have been wanting to read for some time.

• The Places in Between -- This is about a man traveling through the small villages and big cities of Afghanistan. I feel we need to know so much more about this region of the world so we can understand the pain and hate that is coming out of this region.
• Stones into Schools -- I am almost done with this book. It is another book set in Afghanistan and Pakistan about Greg Mortenson, who is building schools for all children, including girls in this region. I think this book is better than his previous book, Three Cups of Tea.
• The Worried Child -- I have a worried child so I hope this book will give me some guidance on helping him.
• The Well Educated Mind -- I have flipped through this one. Now I am hoping to read it in depth.
• Last Dinner on the Titanic -- We are planning a Titanic dinner party for later this month or next. This book has great menus and recipes.
• Sundays In America -- This a neat book that tours different Christian faiths throughout a year of Sundays. I am about halfway through. It's very interesting.
• Heart Smart Cookbook -- My dh has dropped his cholesterol 50 points, but there is still work to do so we will be doing  a lot of menu planning around this book.

Summer Fun

This week our field trip led us to the local children's museum. We wanted to see the Wizard of Oz exhibit. The kids had a great time learning about tornadoes, playing dress up, building the yellow brick road, acting out the story and building the scarecrow.

In the Way of Parenting~

The children are growing like sunflowers as children do. It all goes by so fast and there often seems to be not enough time to impart all that we have to share with our children. I am trying to enjoy each stage! I wish I could slow it all down a bit.

Blessings, Dawn