Birthdays!!

In the last 30 days we celebrated 3 birthdays with 3 birthday ice cream cakes!

Happy Birthday to Tim!

Happy Birthday to BigJ, who hit the teens this year!

And Happy Birthday to LittleE!

We have definitely had our fill of ice cream cake, as that is what everyone chooses these days.

I guess I should learn to make my own.

Ya know, I think I might just do that for my own birthday which is coming up next.

A Mother's Day Photo at the Gardens

On Mother's Day last Sunday we decided to stop by the Fellows Riverside Gardens in Youngstown.  I like flowers, and some day I'll actually plant my own.  But in the mean time, I am enjoying other people's flowers, while I dream about having them all in my yard at home.

I found a good spot for a photo of the kids though, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Everyone's usually game for a photo.... except ONE!

LittleJ is such a goof ball sometimes, and he loves to have fun. 

 I like that.... most of the time.

Then, his shoe fell off....

... but in the end, I had a satisfying portrait.

 I love my family!

The Dorm Room Shuffle

Last week we brought LittleA home from Cornerstone U.  She completed her freshman year and is ready for a summer of fun, work, and relaxation.  As you can see, we packed the car as full as possible, including luggage in the car top carrier.  To say the least, it was cozy!

Everyone was glad to finally make it home!  Welcome home, LittleA!!

My Reading List

     My reading list continues to grow this year with the completion of 2 more books.  I finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 5 or 6 weeks ago and enjoyed it immensely, from beginning to end.  Then as I was considering some possibilities, though really not sure of where I wanted to go next, I came across a biography called Tolkien And C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship.

Both of these men are two of my favorite authors so I decided to give the book a try.  The beginning seemed a little bland at first with the discussion of each man's upbringing, but once the author reached the beginning of the friendship the book turned around.

I found their friendship very interesting and enjoyed learning about what that friendship meant to each of them.

So what's next on my reading list?  I'm not sure.  Having read most of Tolkien including The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Silmarillion, I don't have many more places to go with him;  I don't think I'm ready to begin the Unfinished Tales.

With C.S. Lewis I've read the seven books of the Narnia Chronicles and his science fiction space trilogy.  All absolutely wonderful stories, and next school year we will be studying Narnia.  I'm also thinking we'll be doing The Hobbit as well.

But, I put another C.S. Lewis on hold at the library, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold.  It was highly recommended in the biography.  I hope I like it.