Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Author: Betty MacDonald
1st published in 1947
Approx. reading level: 3rd-6th

Mommy Mel says: "This is a fun book. Charming Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is a favorite of all the children in town. The moms call her for advice and she gives them a cure like The Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure or The Answer-Backer Cure. This book is great for kids with a sense of humor (and hopefully they will be cured of something too). note: We won't be using The Radish Cure at our house."

8 yr. old Macy says: "This book is very funny. The Fighter-Quarrellers Cure is my favorite because they say "that's my skirt", "no, it's mine", "tis not", "tis too". Poor Herbert tried to drink water out of the hose. The grossest part is the "Radish Cure"... Eeeeewwww!

*this is part of Sonlight's Core B

Loving My Bubble

     So, do you know those high drama reality shows? They drive me CRAZY. I can't even watch the commercials. I literally hold my hands in front of my eyes when a commercial for that kind of stuff comes on. (Jeff says "Things that make your head explode for 1000, Alex"). My family and I enjoy watching TV but we never watch live TV anymore. We DVR the things we are interested in and watch everything pre-recorded. This has been a huge blessing for us. Not only can we pause to take care of the unexpected but we can fast forward through those crazy commercials. It makes me sad to imagine that people really think that high drama stuff is entertaining or normal...
     I go to a bible study on Mondays with 17 other ladies. These ladies vary in age, church denomination, and talents but they all love God. When we pray... we are all focused on the same thing at the same time. We encourage each other, laugh together, cry together, and sharpen each other (Prov 27:17). None of them are plastic. None of them are perfect. We all have our problems. They are the polar opposites of those high drama shows. There is no vying for social dominance. I love these ladies. I was thinking that the people on the TV shows were not normal. Crazy... until...
     A friend of mine was relating her problems within a certain organization. She has been having problems for some time but remained in the organization because she wanted to be a good influence on the kids that come. She wanted to show the love of Jesus to the other leaders. She relates how the problems are growing and different leaders are trying to push their own agendas. She says there are different cliques and arguing (it's getting ugly). She is praying about whether she should stay within this organization or step out.
     Then it hit me. I live in a bubble. I have a strong Christian network around me that loves and supports me. I felt guilty for a minute. I felt like maybe I'm too comfortable and I should be reaching out of my bubble more often... but perhaps this is my bubble season. Perhaps God has placed me in the bubble for this season of my life to strengthen me for the next season. Or perhaps the bubble season is because being a mom is hard and I need all the support I can get. I'll ponder all that some more... But it makes me all the more THANKFUL for the rare group of godly women which God has placed around me. Loving the bubble

March Madness

     
     Here in Central NY, March Madness usually brings to mind NCAA Basketball and the SU Orangemen. I do not follow basketball (I know, crazy - right). March Madness to me this year has been the weather... Oh, it is not making me mad... it has been fantastic. CNY's temperatures have been 30 degrees above normal. Today we reach a record high of  80! So where does the madness come in? Well, every time I go outside I get this overwhelming urge to plant stuff. Shouldn't we all be planting tomatoes? I got out my trusty Square Foot Garden book (I'm a big fan of the square foot garden) where I had written in all the dates to plant. The average last frost for CNY is May 14th. My little notes say to start tomatoes inside on April 2 and transplant them outside on May 14th... but the weather just makes me want to plant, plant, plant... It's Madness. March Madness.
       What are all your garden plans?

*note: I am not complaining in the least... in fact, I'm enjoying the weather immensely! It just seems unreal especially since my family and I were skiing in a snow storm on March 9th

Follow My Leader

Book Review: Follow My Leader
Author: James B. Garfield
1st published in 1957
Approximate reading level: 4th-8th

Mommy Mel says "This was an enjoyable book to read aloud. Jimmy was blinded by a fire cracker thrown by his friend Mike. He must learn to cope with his blindness. The breakthrough for Jimmy is when he has the opportunity to get a guide dog. Great lessons in overcoming and forgiveness. My girls enjoyed this book but it would be a very appealing book for boys."

8 yr. old Macy says "I learned alot about Braille. It was funny when Jimmy thought the walls should wear perfume so he could smell them before he ran into them. It seems that walking with a guide dog is so much better than walking with a cane. I think I could forgive Mike too but it would be hard."

                                                                 buy it from Amazon

About Us

We are a Christian homeschooling family living in Upstate NY. Haley is in 6th grade. She loves horses, cooking, sewing, sports, and especially books. She reads quickly and will bring home huge stacks of books from the library. Macy is in 2nd grade. She loves all things miniature (including miniature horses). Macy's reading skills exploded before she went to Kindergarten. One of the biggest blessings of homeschooling is reading all the lovely books.