What We Are Reading

We have spent a lot of time reading lately - especially since we are home so much. Our governor has issued a 'Stay at Home' order until June 10th. That sounds so long and so far away right now. But, we are reading and baking, making art, and going through our seeds we ordered online since we couldn't go to the store to buy them. We are planning our garden and dreaming of all our flowers and vegetables we will have this summer. We have found a new bird feeder online to order and will also order seeds for it. It's pretty amazing how much you can do online and never leave your house. 

We have had a good time reading lately and have read a lot of really good books. We finished the book Pie by Sarah Weeks. We really liked it a lot. In this book Aunt Polly, the Pie Queen of Ipswitch, dies and leaves the recipe for her famous pie crust to her cat, Lardo. When we first started the book I wasn't sure it was something I would enjoy, but we all really liked it a lot. More than just discovering the secret recipe took place in this book -  like learning the importance of friendship, family and just doing the right thing and caring about others. We also made a lot of pies while we read this book as every chapter has a different recipe. The kids really loved that. 

We also read Peachblossom by Eleanor Frances Lattimore, and Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill. They were quick reads and the kids said they liked both of these. 

We also read James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl and the kids laughed their way through this book. I am sure most people have read this and know the story. 

We read Mandy by Julie Edwards again as it is something we read every spring and the kids love it every single time we read it. I'm pretty sure I have written about this book and the story so many times. So, I won't say anything except it is a lovely story of a little girl that lives in an orphanage and she dreams of a place to call her own. One day she climbs over the orphanage wall and discovers a deserted cottage in the woods and she falls in love with it, and is determined to make it her own place. It is a sweet story and we love it every single time we read it. 

We read Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski and we also really liked this book. I read it as a child and had pretty much forgotten most of the book so it was nice to read it again. 

We just finished the book Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright and this is a book we absolutely love. It is wonderful. The kids begged me to read it constantly. In this book Portia and her brother visit their cousin, Julian, for the summer. They spend time exploring the woods looking for bugs and butterflies and just relaxing and playing. One day they discover a deserted old resort community with big old houses left as they were over half a century before. The homes used to be on a lake, but the lake has turned into a swamp. Everyone has left and the place is forgotten. It is like stepping back in time and seemed even more-so when they met an old brother and sister that still lived there - each one in a different old house. This is the start to a wonderful summer. This book is magical to us and we have spent our past few days in a magical filled summer. The story also led us to look up butterflies and turtles and the kids have drawn and studied a lot of nature. This is a great book. 

Several of the kids drew pictures of Gone-Away. Our next book will definitely be Return to Gone-Away.

We also had Popsicles and grilled out several times and enjoyed the week of really nice weather - it turned into not so nice weather today. 

A New Baby

Yesterday evening our daughter, Katie, had a beautiful baby girl. We are so very happy. It was a little sad as I had wanted to be there with her when she had the baby, but they have new restrictions at the hospital right now and only one person is permitted and no other visitors at all. So, obviously her husband was with her and he is great so it was a good experience for her regardless of the new rules. We got to FaceTime not long after the baby was born, and all the kids were so excited they crowded around to see. It was not the same as being there, but next best. I did feel a little sad that Katie could have no visitors, but these things happen and she really didn't seem to mind much at all. She just took it in stride. 

Katie left the hospital this evening and was glad to go home. We can't wait to see new baby Kennedy in person. 

Pictures From The Past Few Days

We have stayed home. We have baked cookies, brownies, made chocolate chip pancakes, and read together for hours a day. The weather has been nice so the kids have played outside and gotten plenty of exercise and we have taken walks around the neighborhood. Bill has been home from work since the beginning of last week and will be for several more weeks as far as we know. Life is a little different, but good. We have each other and we are definitely spending time together. 

I have a few pictures from the past few days  - kids outside playing and Bethany inside doing hair for the kids. They do have a lot of fun together. 

Time Together

Since we homeschool, we spend a lot of time together every single day. I really enjoy being with my kids a lot and teaching them and just having the extra time to be together. Now that we are supposed to be practicing social distancing it does seem a little harder - mainly because we are limiting our contact with not only other people, but also family because Bethany does have cystic fibrosis, asthma and diabetes. We feel we have to definitely be extra careful about who even comes to our home. That is hard for me as my family is always in and out of the house and I enjoy that. But, we are doing lots of things to keep busy and the kids are always thinking of new projects to do or things to bake. Eventually, family and friends will be running in and out again. 

Yesterday Tess wanted to make cookies so a few of the kids did that. It seems as if they are always making something. They made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and they really were good. 

Today I took a walk with four of the girls. The others were busy doing other things. Anyway, we took a walk around the neighborhood and just relaxed and talked and it was great. Even though I am home a lot I still usually run out to places and do things, and since I have basically not gone anywhere for days and days this was very relaxing and enjoyable. There were lots of trees blooming and flowers and it was just really nice. The girls kept saying how beautiful it was and that they can't wait for summer when it will be warm all the time - probably way warmer than they want it to be. But, we walked for about an hour and then came home for dinner and the brownies they had made earlier. 

Chocolate Cream Pie

The girls made another pie from the book we just read - Pie. They are so loving making these pies and we absolutely loved the book. Anyway, this time Bethany basically took over making the crust and Tess did most of the filling with a little help from Piper and Bella watching. They really love baking and Tess especially seems to like it. Since this one had to chill, it took a lot longer for them to be able to eat it. The filling did take quite some time to firm up so we could cut it - took till the next day. We thought it must not have turned out right, but all the kids said it was delicious - just perfect. So, another good pie. 

It has also been so beautiful that the kids have played outside as soon as school is over. They stay out until dark.