Happy Birthday Jodi Hurlow!! We had a wonderful whirlwind visit to Mansfield. I cry every time we leave there but where we are is definitely "home". We're so very blessed to have such wonderful friends, most of them just happen to live over an hour away in several directions. We went to celebrate Jodi, watch the game *sob- OSU lost*, sleep a little, and back home so Gary could get to work. For several years i've been keeping track of the books I read annually. I used to post them on MySpace but since i'm trying to do better keeping this blog updated (THANK YOU to my readers! Hi Shari!! Hi Amy!! Hi Hannah! Hi Jackie! Grandma, are you reading!?!) I'm going to post it here... ignore it. ;) This blog helps me to journal and keep track of what's going on in life so someday when my kids ask me questions about their lives I can have them read it. I also hope it helps me when I get around to scrapbooking their lives... you know, in 2040 or so. :) Feel free to skim past the stories of "what we did today". Today Giant Grace destroyed my train and crashed it into a "mountain!" She was sorry though so she put all the trains and tracks away for me. :) I've also drunk about a gallon of play "tea" (air- not toilet or any other water as the forward I got a few months ago suggests) She then put her babies to bed and now we're "patting" with Little Einsteins. She pats and sings through the show (the 3 minutes she sits still) and Tyler stares at the TV as if the rest of the world has melted away and he's IN the show. So cute! Her favorite word this week is "NO!" and my favorite she says is "bi-bber" which translates to "slipper". Tyler's favorite activity of late is the new Story Reader we got in the mail Saturday. It reads books and you turn the page- kind of like the records we had as a kid... which I still have. {Anyone have a working record player that plays 33 1/3rd's? } Anyways, he's listened to each story a minimum of 6 times now. I was leery of it at first, as I am of all things that require a battery or electric to work. Not only did the sender include batteries, but it's really been fun for him and encouraging his love of books so it's a win-win! Grace was playing while I was teaching Tyler today and when we were writing on the chalkboard she came over and was making circles (kind of) and was babbling so while Tyler practiced his shapes I wrote her name and said it to her and spelled it to her and she repeated all the letters! I couldn't believe it, so i had her repeat letters for me- she can say almost the whole alphabet! She's so funny how she'll try anything. :) Book List 2008- Heather The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe ~CS Lewis The Wind In the Willows- a kid version testing as a RA Harry Potter book 3,4,5,6,7 ~J.K. Rowling A Merry Heart ~Brunstetter Looking for a Miracle ~"" Plain and Fancy ~"" The Hope Chest ~"" Queen of Babble ~Cabott Someday ~Kingsburry The Wedding ~Sparks Searching for Eternity ~Musser Crossroads ~Hannon An Honest Life ~ A Voice in the Wind ~Rivers An Echo in the Darkness ~"" Leather and Lace ~Mills Lanterns and Lace ~Mills Lightning and Lace ~Mills Captivating Confessions of a Shopaholic Texas Charm ~Mills One Night with the King ~Tenny Parenting isn't for Cowards ~Dobson The Secret Life of Becky Miller ~Hink Wedding at Wildwood ~Worth Renovating Becky Miller ~Hink Shopaholic Takes Manhattan Shopaholic Ties the Knot Queen of Babble in the Big City ~Cabott Homeschooling the Early Years ~Linda Dobson Dakota Born ~ Real Life Homeschooling ~Barfield Flee the Night Sunset ~Kingsburry Going Home ~Brunstetter The Strong-Willed Child ~Dobson? On Her Own ~Brunstetter A Sisters Secret ~ "" Multiple Blessings ~Gosselin Dear to Me ~Brunsetter Allison's Journey ~"" A Sisters Test ~"" A Holiday to Remember OT: Exodus, Leviticus NT: Mark, Luke, Acts - Philemon,