Books...books...

Twy's twavels...

I love books...no - that isn't strong enough, I don't just love books - I'm a walking/talking book enthusiast.  I'm known to say more than once in a single conversation "so I'm reading this book"... Much in my life is influenced by the learning I gain by reading the thoughts and experiences of others.   (My latest book-learning has been with Brene Brown.  Fantastic truths about relationships and resilience in both Daring Greatly and Rising Strong.)

It's not surprising then, that my Children are also big into books.  We are frequent users at the library and find new-to-us and exciting books that inspire us at the local Sally Ann.  I've packed a big crate of books to read beside the campfires and for our Children in the vehicle.  We regularly download books to listen to as we drive - as a matter of fact, the last time we went on a drive with a story, the kids didn't want to get out of the vehicle when we got to the campground cause the story was so good (Roald Dahl - The Story of Henry Sugar).

One of our concerns when thinking about this whole year away from our library which also includes part of the year being away from easily found English-written books was were we would find material to read.  Our Boy can sit and read for hours (Andrew Clements, Roald Dahl, biographies)...and our Girl is totally excited about Pippi Longstocking right now.  Very thankful for Overdrive - an online book service our local library offers...we are huge fans.  Arden and I gave each other e-readers for Christmas and both Children received Nooks which are compatible with Overdrive for gifts...reading will still happen.  Problem solved.  There will be posts about the books we read...wait for it!

Currently, we are listening to Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman at breakfast - the one on book lice (yes, look them up...we have enlightening learning for all) and fireflies are incredibly well written poems!

I don't believe in coincidence...I believe I'm here in this time, in this space for a reason.  I believe that the people, experiences, books and journey that I walk is about connecting and learning.  I try to teach our children the same thing - that they read books that grow their soul gardens, that they see others as people that they can learn from, that they choose to use the life-hurts in ways that help them to not pass along more sadness, but instead develop a deeper care for those around them.

A while back I was shopping for new-to-us books...and came across one about connecting, picked it up, put it in my stack and kept on shopping.

Out tumbled three envelopes with birthday cards inside when I got home...curious - I picked them up and read the names of the givers.  With awe in the moment, I realized that I knew this family and that they had suffered a devastating loss of life in their home.  I was able to return these cards on a day that was significant to the remaining family members and come along side them in their mourning.

I love my books...