What I Read in May

I read fewer books this month...let me explain.
First of all, I spent a great deal of time researching curriculum changes for next year. That's now complete and I'm happy with my choices. Second we've been pushing to finish our studies this month because it's getting harder and harder for the boys to focus when they (actually we all) would rather be outside playing, gardening, exploring, etc. So we're almost done! Yay!

Finally, I mentioned last month that I would be reading:

So after reading 1/2 of The Well Educated Mind, I slowed things down. The Author Susan Wise Bauer encourages you to read the classics and to really digest what you are reading...it also says reading a whole lot of books really fast is symptomatic of our society of fast food, TV and the world wide web. (gulp)That we are dumbing ourselves down by not diving into books that require serious contemplation (including FICTION and a different approach to reading scripture). It is one heck of a book with very good arguments...so I've decided to challenge myself to the reading list in the book (which they suggest would take YEARS to complete) Ha!

As a personal note: the below list kind of terrifies me, but many of the books I've always wanted to read, and now I find  so much of our home school curriculum refers to them too. So as terrifying as it is, I'm also oddly excited. PS. I'll still be reading other smaller books as I've always done, but not as many, because I really do want to increase my intelligence and educate my kids in the same way. 


Included in the book are her suggestions of 30 great books to read from 5 genres: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama and Poetry. The books are listed chronologically and she suggests reading them in order. The genres are broken down into 5 chapters with an detail explanation how to read them and a synopsis is included on each title with the best edition to read.

The goal of the mini challenge is to read at least 3 books in each category.  Any book read can be applied to the 12 classics in 12 months challenge.  Listed are the first 15 suggestions in each category, however you may choose from any title listed in the Well Educated Mind.

(Those written in Blue, I already own, and some I've read...so should start there - those written in Purple, I'd like to try next) By the way, this is not a complete list. :) Wish me luck.

Fiction:

Don Quixote - Miguel De Cervantes

The Pilgrim's Progress -John Bunyan

Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

The Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy

The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James

Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

 Autobiography

Augustine - The Confessions

Margery Kempe - The Book of Margery Kempe

Michele De Montaigne - Essays

Teresa Of Avila - The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself

Rene Descartes - Meditations

John Bunyan - Grace Abounding in the Chief of Sinners

Mary Rowlandson - The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration

Jean Jacques Rousseau - Confessions

Benjamin Franklin - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Henry David Thoreau - Walden 

Harriet Jacobs - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself 

Frederick Douglass - Life and Times of Frederick Douglass 

Booker T. Washington - Up from Slavery 

Friedrich Nietzsche - Ecce Homo

Adolf Hitler - Mein Kampf 

History/Politics

Herodotus - The Histories

Thucydides - The Peloponnesian War

Plato - The Republic

Plutarch - Lives

Augustine - The City of God

Bede - The Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Niccolo Machiavelli - The Prince

Sir Thomas More - Utopia

John Locke - The True End of Civil Government 

David Hume - The History of England, Volume V

Jean-Jacques Rousseau - The Social Contract

Thomas Paine - Common Sense

Edward Gibbon - The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Mary Wollstonecraft - A Vindication of the Rights of Woman 

Alexis De Tocqueville - Democracy in America

Drama

Aeschylus - Agamemnon

Sophocles - Oedipus the King

Euripides - Medea

Aristophanes - The Birds

Aristotle - Poetics 

Everyman (14th Century)

Christopher Marlowe - Doctor Faustus

William Shakespeare - Richard III

William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare - Hamlet

Moliere - Tartuffe 

William Congreve - The Way of the World

Oliver Goldsmith - She Stoops to Conquer 

Richard Brinsley Sheridan - The School for Scandal 

Henrik Ibsen - A Doll's House 

Poetry 

The Epic of Gilgamesh 

Homer - The Iliad and the Odyssey

Greek Lyricists 

Horace - The Odes 

Beowolf 

Dante Alighieri - Inferno

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 

Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales

William Shakespeare - Sonnets 

John Donne 

King James Bible - Psalms 

John Milton - Paradise Lost 

William Blake - Songs of Innocence and of Experience 

Williams Wordsworth 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Jennette's post

Maybe dedicating birthday posts was a bit of a reach for me this year, well, just for the month of May I guess, anyways,  Jennette's post is in the works because Yesterday, the actual birthday, I got a nasty case of morning sickness that essentially put me out of commission for the day. I'm using today to catch up on what didn't happen yesterday, so hopefully the post will be up within the next few days.  Happy Birthday Jen xoxo!

Tuesday's Thoughts

I was over at Katharine's Blog today and thought I'd copy her idea for today's post, just to get myself writing again.

For Today...

Outside my window... 

            I can enjoy the flowers, herbs and veggies I planted in urns/ boxes on our back deck.

I am thinking...  

           I should pull out my day timer in case I'm forgetting somewhere I'm supposed to go today  ☺

I am thankful...  

           for the great visit and dinner with friends and their kids last night. mmmm homemade perogies~!

In the kitchen... 

            a plate of muffins is calling my name.

I am wearing...   

             yoga pants and a blue t-shirt, standard home school mom attire.

I am going...  

             to my midwives appointment tomorrow. I'm 21 weeks!

I am wondering... 

            when I should schedule the boys' haircuts? Buzzed for the summer!

I am reading... 

            The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer - it's challenging but awesome!

I am hoping... 

            The dirt I ordered comes on Thursday so I can finish planting the raised veggie gardens. 

            It was supposed to arrive yesterday.

I am looking forward to...   

           Chris' cousins wedding on Saturday. I love a good wedding!

Around the house...  

           I need to get the office cleaned and organized, but I'm very afraid...  

                                                                                             maybe we'll go to the zoo today instead!

I am pondering... how to celebrate our anniversary next week - 14 years ♥

One of my favorite things...  a good cup of coffee with a great friend.

Here's one of the better shots I took from the fireworks at the Virgil Stampede on Victoria Day - Happy Summer everyone~!

Andrea

 

So today's post is tiny bit overdue. It is dedicated to my younger sister Andrea as it was her birthday last week. We'll blame it on the fact that I had the flu, then it rip-roared through the house, so though I had intended on posting it last week, I didn't. So here we go. Happy Birthday little sister!

  

Here's the sisters before the youngest showed up. In this pic Andrea was the youngest. Her tenure as the baby of the family was very short lived. I was in grade 6 when she was born, So I actually remember quite a bit of her early years first hand. (aside - Yes I have sacrificed my pride with showing this hideous picture of me in a black velvet pin-striped jumpsuit to show you how cute she was - very) She was all dimply, and happy and quiet and the easiest baby....EVER. She would rock herself happily in her playpen to music only she heard, ALL DAY, with her mouth open - not talking, just open. I barely remember her crying, always smiling and always quiet and gentle.

She's still pretty much like that...

Well, except for the rocking thing, I think.

As she got older, she got sneaky. I think that it was her quiet form of payback to my parents for having my youngest sister just months past her first birthday.  She was very good at being sneaky... and good at lying, and blaming older siblings. 

She has these huge brown eyes that you have to trust, and my parents did. But she was a liar.

Thankfully she grew out of that... I think.

After she adjusted to the presence of the youngest sibling (which didn't take much), they were fast friends. Becca made up for Andrea's lack of talking. When she finally did start talking she couldn't say my name, so she called me Mimi. Dad loved it. It stuck. She also couldn't say Jenny's name - she got Gigi, and Rebecca got Becca or for awhile I think kaka. She couldn't say her own name either, so she named herself Aya. She never had a problem with Steph's name...funny. All the nicknames have pretty much stuck too.

She was the best snuggler, and the had the best baby fat roles to pinch and tickle. They were luscious. My son Carter reminds me of toddler-her a little bit - so kissable.

She developed a maternal streak very early. She loved to take care of our pet cats and dogs. She would dress them up, and "torture" them, but they fell victim to her gentle ways and those brown eyes...

My

Andrea was and is very kind. Soft hearted and loyal. Almost to a fault, if that can be faulted.

People trust her, and they should, her heart is a vault. She's also probably the easiest to get along with of all of us girls. That's the honest truth.

Some of the things people outside of the family may not know about her are some of her favourite past times.

Probably her number one favourite is SLEEPING. If you are trying to call and there's no answer, she's probably sleeping...it doesn't matter the time. She's probably sleeping. She's impossible to wake up too. Here's a pic of her son doing the same thing. She's passed the hobby on. Apparently he even prefers sleeping over eating.

She also loves dressing up. She's very pretty, so who can blame her. It's probably all the sleep.

 

People may not realize She's goofy. We pretty much all are, it comes from my parents. 

Of all of us, Andrea is probably the most legitimately funny. She's very subtle and quiet about it, so you don't realize you are laughing hard enough to pee your pants, until you actually are. It's embarrassing, but she's that funny...sometimes.

 

I have a matching pic. of my dad in these bunny ears to illustrate, but of course, 

I can't find it right now.

She's really tall too, all of my sisters are, just not me. I'm cool with that. She could have been a model I think, look at her in her wedding gown. Need I say more?

She's a really great friend. Some of her best friends are her sisters. This is a pic of her with the youngest  of the 5 sisters. I have a matching one of them on a bed like this from about 20 years ago, but of course I also can't find that one. These three have been inseparable forever.

These are pics of Andrea with her two boys. She's a great mom. All those qualities mentioned before are her strengths, yes even the sneakiness I think, it makes her more suspicious of her boys, and successful. The only time they get away with stuff is when she's sleeping.  J

So, that's an ode to my lovely, gentle, kind, tender-hearted, beautiful sister who I love like crazy. Happy Birthday again! It's only a week and a bit late, 

but at least I got it done before Jenny's Birthday! 

♥♥♥ Mimi

What I read in April

Here's what I read in April...

I  already wrote here about my foray into these two

Rilla of Ingleside by LM Montgomery

Bonsai Conspiracy by Paul Anderson Walsh

I took a day to read  the latest Mary Higgins Clark paperback

I'll Walk Alone
    I've said it before, I like reading fiction, at least a couple books a month, it keeps my reading speed up. If I spend all my time in non-fiction, it's slow going. I liked this book, it was full of twists and turns and an unexpected ending.


Then I finished the Hunger Games Trilogy with

Mockingjay
    I'd been given mixed reviews on this from friends. Those who didn't like it, probably wanted a different "romantic" ending, but I kind of liked it. I like books that make me think even after I've finished it. This was one of those books. It made me reflect on our society today and where we're headed in North America, how similar we are to Rome, etc. Very interesting (especially on the heels of  reading Rilla of Ingleside (WWI) and the Story of the World - The Fall of Rome in our history lessons.

I read

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
Which i love the refresher on the teachings of Charlotte Mason who I think was a genius, far ahead of her time.

Then I read this doozy

Also interesting following the Story of the World and the role of Babylon through history and the Bible. Lot's of intersting factoids.

I finished out the month with

I like to review this one every once and while to help me make the most of each season. This spring I'm inspired to try finally learn how to sew and to make nature notebooks with the kids. :)

It was a great month for reading!

Just arrived via UPS (eee!)

Taking a Day Off

Yesterday I took a day off...from almost everything. Once the boys were done their school work, I sat down and read, and read, and read. They played and played, and for a few hours only interrupted by lunch and a load of laundry,. I escaped into my imagination thanks to Lucy Maude.

Yes, yesterday I dove into the dream world that awaits whenever I  pick up a book by L. M. Montgomery. 

I love her. I love her books.

I love the Canadian content.

It's been almost 20 years since I read this little treasure but it was such a great little break from my daily realities.  It's the last in the 8 book series that begins with the classic Anne of Green Gables and I just love falling in love with the unique characters (again) and it's portrayal of a simpler, slower time.

This book takes as World War 1 breaks out in Europe and really gives an idea of Canada's spectacular involvement. The reader also gets a glimpse of the beginning of many changes in North American society, not all of them good. 

Ah! it was such a lovely day off.

Then I tried not to feel guilty about the nasty floors, dirty dishes, dirty laundry and untended gardens and the fact that I hadn't showered or planned dinner. I got caught up on all but the floors and garden before dinner any ways, so the break was well worth it I guess :)

Then I picked up this book before bed.

It's my second reading of  The Bonsai Conspiracy by Paul Anderson Walsh. What a challenging new perspective on the Gospel and Christianity. I was particularly moved by his take on the story of the Prodigal Son.

Anyways, back to the grind. I got some boys who need attention behind me!

Have a great day, maybe you should take a reading break too :)

lots of Love,

Tammara

Things i would tell my 27 year old self...

I'm going to preface today's post with a general countdown of the past 10 years of my life... since many of you may not be aware, and I haven't posted about it like this before.

2002 In a really fruitful and happy season personally, professionally & spiritually.

In retrospect, I believe much of the ability to hang on (or be held onto by grace) through the next number of years was due to the immense amount of studying both Chris and I spent in scripture, finance and relationships. We had no idea how much our faith and our studies would be tested and proven and how much God loves us.

We came to terms with 2 previous miscarriages/ infertility, continuing to trust God.

Worked with a great team of people and spent much time pouring into students lives, travelling quite a bit and prospering financially in our investments.

2003 Went to visit my sister in France in the Spring.

Took a leave of absence from work.

Found out we were expecting our first born after returning home from Alberta.

Our Church/ Ministry/ Spiritual Community (aka my job) began to go through the first of several upheavals (was asked to return to work early to help with troubleshooting)

2004 Our son Lucas was born, began my maternity leave.

Sister got married in Tulsa.

2005 1st Nephew born.

Went back to work in a new position at the church which was still struggling.

One of my closest friends moved to California. Another, moved far away shortly thereafter.

Found out we were pregnant with our second son.

We moved to Niagara Falls.

Another sister got married.

Had our son Max just after Christmas. Began Maternity leave.

2006 Went back to work early. (should not have done this)

Another sister got married.

A good friend went through hell. It affected all of us.

First niece born.

2007 Found out we were pregnant with our 3rd son.

The last sister got married.

Two days before the wedding, my father in Law who lived with us, passed away suddenly in our home. I was the one to find him and call 911.

Months later my dad was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

Our third son, Carter was born.

More upheavals at church/work.

2008 I returned to work part time at the church, which was in the process of a leadership change.

The end came suddenly and we buried my dad a year and a week to the day we buried my father in law.

A week later, another nephew was born. My sister had a health scare.

Chris left his job and joined me at the church.

Late in the year we decided to "diversify" and bought a business.

2009 Very soon we realized we had been lied to, and began losing serious money.

Serious stress on all fronts. We all deal differently.

Experienced some betrayals that almost crippled us.

2010 Some of our other investments began to falter.

Another nephew was born.

It got very dark.

Chris went back to his former job in a new position.

2011 Hallelujah! Just when it seemed the darkest... things began to turn around...

We were able to begin to rebuild

We sold the business. Another Nephew was born.

We made some serious decisions - leave job, leave church, invest in direct sales business, homeschool, etc.

2012 Today - I'm happily homeschooling, pregnant again, though things are far from perfect and still not where they were, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are growing and moving forward in Jesus.

Things i would tell my 27 year old self...

On the call of God/ my life's purpose/ etc.

Relax. No really….RELAX. I say this knowing you are a type A personality. Knowing you perpetually deal with feeling useless especially having so many things that I want to do each day, and maybe getting ONE thing done.

10 years ago, you were in a very fruitful season, you loved working with the students, serving in ministry, creating, doing things you thought had “eternal value” (and they did) – but those things had no more value than what you do now. The only difference is that those things had results that were quicker to spot and you had a lot of people encouraging me all the time. Now, it’s very “quiet” on the encouragement front (as in you have to encourage yourself most of the time - though God always brings ppl along to help with this). The results of you “work” are yet to be seen. When I say relax, I mean, you are walking with God right? He’s well aware of what you are up to and is well aware of what you are meant to accomplish by the time your life is over, and He knows how to see it through, what’s the rush? He’s not worried, why are you? The most important things in life are good - the people in it. Is that not more than enough? Matthew 6:19-20

On God's Provision

I caution you, don’t close out the provision of God by being small minded. When He provides, HE PROVIDES. More than enough… but you have to expand your mind/ life “tent” to be ready for it, otherwise you will not be able to contain it or hold onto it long enough to learn how to manage it. Isaiah 54:2-3

One of the voices you keep hearing is, “I should be helping my husband provide financially… he works so hard, I want to make his burden easier…” All I can say is that this is up to each couple and how they deal with it. Men are designed to carry this burden, we are not. Just like we are designed to carry the burden from the beginning of time for home and family. It’s just how we’re designed. Obviously we are able to bring in income too (Prov. 31) but I wonder sometimes if Godly women are buying into the worlds idea of family, roles at home, etc. more than we should. Chris has told you that he is happy and fulfilled knowing that you and the boys are being provided for…what's the problem? Also, are you being a good steward of the money that does come in? – ie. Budget for food, clothes, etc? There are many ways to be a financial asset in the home.

On feeling like you aren't able to express yourself fully

You have a voice, and the only one who is limiting you from using it is YOU. Maybe you have not locked onto the message you want to say, and that’s why you are frustrated, or if you have found it, you are not ready to give it voice, even if you feel like you should be. No one else has the power to stop you, except you. You have a tremendous ability to effect people. To soften hearts, to encourage, to build up, to extend the love of God to the world around you and that in the end, that is of the greatest value.

On not using your gifts right now

Yes, you are an extremely creative and artistic person, so this will inevitably lead you through seasons of melancholy. To be able to capture beauty the way you do, to understand light and darkness and contrast the way you do, unfortunately means that you live it in a way that many others don’t. It’s just who you are. As much as you know yourself, you need to trust yourself more too. As dark as feel, you also get to experience the highs and the “light” in a more intense way than others do. Count the cost. Remember Kind David? He was all over the place too, yet he was a “man after God’s own heart” and one of the greatest songwriters who ever lived. Ps. 139 Bloom where you are planted right now. The time to sing, teach, create is now, inside your home. Someday it will grow beyond that. Relax.

Finally…

Know the Season you are in. Perhaps you feel limited because of the demands of your time and energy (kids, etc), and all I can say is Yep, you are in that season. You are a mom, a wife, a sister, a friend, a woman. You know what though? It’s not really going to change. You will always be these things, there will come a time when you have more time for yourself, but it's not now. However, you can change how you embrace your now, how you see the moments that are making up this season of your life right now. This season will soon be gone, and you will look back with longing. Enjoy it. In the next 10 years, you will lose 2 parents and some great people (friends and family) to illness and circumstance. You will wish you had enjoyed more time with them. You won't miss doing your more of own thing, or ministry, or business or making money or other things that seem “worthy”. In light of eternity, they don’t matter as much. I know it’s a bit of a dichotomy – life is too short, aren’t we running out of time? No, I believe it’s too short to get it wrong. Life is too short to focus on the things that AREN'T happening, when I believe that He wants us to fully embrace the things that ARE happening. I also believe that we get so caught up planning and living for the complicated things when we are designed to find extreme pleasure and benefit in the most simple things. Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 esp. verses 11&12

PS - Hang on for the ride of your life!

Lots of Love 20 something Tammara - I love you, He loves you more and the best is yet to come!