Gamble in the Devil's Chalk

This is kind of a random one....  I did not actually read the entire book.  I never intended to.  You see Gary Bryant, my father-in-law, was interviewed for this book before he passed away in March.  This book has been such a gift from God.  I loved getting to read stories about Gary from his early days....  Gary was a man who kept his cards close to his chest, so there was so much that I never knew about him. He was an awesome man and truly the best father-in-law a girl could ask for...

This book is about some of the men who were drilling for oil in central Texas (between Austin & College Station) in the 70's.  If you are interested in reading about Gary specifically he is in chapters 32, 33, and 49.

Read:  November 2011
Pages:  571

101 Things You Should Do Before Your Kids Leave Home

I got this book recently when I needed to spend a few more dollars to get free shipping at Amazon.  This book is not exactly what I thought that it was going to be...  it was very Christian centered.  Which I appreciate, but maybe some wouldn't.  

It had lots of fun ideas of things to do with your kiddos from a young age all the way to their teenage years.  I would say get this soon rather than later even though you won't be able to do many of them early....  you will want to know what to plan for.

Some of these I already had thought of...  swimming with dolphins, Laundry camp....

Some it reminded me of what we want to do... go camping, camp inside!

Some where new ideas... teddy bear hunt in the house...

I liked this because each idea was one page.  So I could read it for just a few minutes before bed or just after James had pottied and I knew I had a few minutes before I had to be on accident patrol.  ;)

I want to leave you with a great quote from the back...

The soul is healed by being with children.  Fyodor Dostoevsky


Pages:  213
Read:  December 2011

Favorites of 2011

I think that 2011 was a pretty good reading year for me!  It was really, really hard for me to decide...  I could have added a couple more...  There are way worse things!!  Number one was far and away the #1 though!

Here are my top 5 favorites!

Honorable Mention:  Reason to Believe

5.  The Help

4.  Heaven is for Real

3.  Water for Elephants

2.   Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

1.  The Hunger Games series

Free Spirit's Best Behavior Series

Now as you may know sweet James is a little over 2.5.  At times he tests boundaries like all two year old.  When the needs arises Aaron and I talk to him about using gentle hands, etc.  But when I saw this one the other day at the library, I thought a little reinforcement couldn't hurt {a certain someone may or may not have been in time out numerous times at school for unkind touching recently...}

The first book in this series that I found at the library was Diapers Are Not Forever.  It is still one of my favorite potty training books.  {We have read TONS of those lately!}  I wish I knew about Pacifiers Are Not Forever when we were getting rid of the paci!

Anyway this is another series that I think is great!  We may or may not need the Tails Are Not For Pulling edition around here....

Begin Smart Series

I don't always write about specific series for kiddos books, but this series of books has really grown on me.  They offer books for all age ranges of little ones.  This is awesome for anyone {including a former Reading Specialist!}  Sometimes I am not exactly sure what James should be expected to know/do since I was not an early childhood person....

When James was little we had quite a few of the black and white ones for birth-six month olds.  Those were really some of his favorites!  At the library recently I found the book pictured above {along with 2 others in the series}, and after reading these I can say I think they are great!  I loved all of the fruits and vegetables in the book.  The pictures were great and really gave us a lot to talk about.

Talking about the pictures and not just reading the words in books can be really helpful for little ones.  It can really help improve their vocabulary.  Sometimes I just want to read what it written, but in these sorts of books you just feel like you should do a little more talking.  Exactly what James' speech therapist wants us to do!

If you run across these book, I highly recommend them!

Train and Truck Mice

These are a few of the favorites that we have gotten from the library lately.  When I ask James what he wants to read when it is bedtime, he will often say trainmice!  Which is kinda funny because I think that they are kinda silly.

Just goes to show that just because you as a grown up think it's a great book doesn't mean a toddler will and vice versa!  All I care about is having books in young children's hands.

These are some of those books that are not in print any longer, so it shows how valuable it is to get to the library.  Please, please if you have not taken your little one to the library, give it a try!

PS-  be on the lookout for Christmas time favorites.  I can't wait to find out which ones he likes!

Heaven Is For Real

Y'all I did not even have time to put this in the currently reading column on the blog because I read this book so stinking fast!  I have been really looking forward to reading this book for the last few months {especially since I was not a huge fan of our last two book club books!}  And can you believe this is the December book...it's still November when I finished this!!!  That might just be a first!

This is the story of a four year old boy who during emergency surgery went to heaven.  The book is what he told his parents about his trip.  Y'all this really got me thinking about heaven!  {I am not a fan of thinking of afterlife...}  I loved what this sweet boy had to say about heaven and it makes me want to try even harder to be a better person so I can meet {and stay with} Jesus one day.

One of my favorite parts of the book is how although this little boy is Wesleyan, there are many things that he saw in heaven that fit my Catholic beliefs.  For example, the people he encountered in heaven had halos.

I would definitely recommend reading this one even if you are not ultra Christian.  It is a really feel good book...  I mean it's heaven and a four year old boy.  Does it get any better than either of those?

Read:  November 2011
Pages:  192