Happy Fall, y’all! I know that claiming this as my favorite season is about as basic as it gets, but the heart loves what it loves, and this heart of mine can’t help but love all things autumn. I’m hobbling into the season this year, with our family rhythms still more summer-like as we continue to (try to) adjust to life with our newest little member (who is incredibly cute but has wrecked havoc on all of my finely-tuned habits and systems). But I’m thankful for the cooler mornings, shortened days, and sense of excitement that surrounds the approaching holidays. September was a little crazy but also really good. Here’s a look at our month.
|| READING LATELY ||
I felt as though I hardly read this month, but between audiobooks, read-alouds, and some personal reading I managed to get through ten books. I loved this found-family feel-good story, as well as this second-chance romance. This short story collection was not for me, and while I found a lot to like in this dual timeline historical mystery, the overt feminist agenda was a little much. I laughed my way through this book after Charleston pressed it into my hands, and the kids and I liked (but didn’t love) our reading of this classic.
In nonfiction, this book on applying a Biblical worldview to all aspects of sexuality and the human body is an absolute must-read. I also had some good takeaways from this timely book on rest and from this one on parenting.
|| WATCHING LATELY ||
The Wild Robot ~ The kids and I read Peter Brown’s The Wild Robot as our first read-aloud of the school year, and it wasn’t until after we’d finished the book that we discovered it was being made into a movie. What great timing we had! We went to see the movie this past weekend as part of the twins’ birthday festivities, and we were all blown away by the retelling of Roz the robot who is shipwrecked on a deserted island and finds herself the adopted mother of an orphaned gosling. It’s rare for me to prefer a movie adaptation to the book, but the kids and I all agreed that this is an instance of the movie outshining its source material. The film is quite a bit different from the book, with several character changes, shifts to the storyline, and a greater emphasis on the parent/child relationship between Roz and her gosling Brightbill. There are many positive themes including kindness, perseverance, overcoming prejudice, sacrificial love, and setting aside one’s instincts for the greater good. But at its heart this is a mother/child story that tugged at my heartstrings and had me sobbing through the entire second half of the film (nearly every parent in the audience was in the same boat). The film earns bonus points for its gorgeous animation and absence of any objectionable content. I absolutely loved this and am already looking forward to a rewatch when it comes to DVD. My Rating: 5 Stars.
|| LISTENING LATELY ||
Focus on the Family with Jim Daly—a Lighthearted Look at Wedded Bliss
ThinQ Media Podcast—Why Idea Exchange Matters: Clay Travis | Episode 298
Raising Parents with Emily Oster—Ep. 2: Have We Forgotten How to Discipline?
|| LOVING LATELY ||
We did a newborn photo shoot when Nico was just ten days old and I was absolutely thrilled with the results. They translated to the sweetest birth announcements that I somehow (through my sleep-deprived haze) managed to get ordered, addressed, and sent out to family and friends right at his one-month mark (my goal). I ordered a few extras for the baby book and to frame for display in our home; I LOVE how they turned out.
|| MONTHLY KID-ISMS ||
CHARLIE-ISMS:
+ “Mom, you must be so sad all the time. Because you had three babies who were as cute as this (referring to Nico) and now we aren’t as cute anymore.”
+ “I know you’re supposed to be most excited about your own birthday, but I think I’m more excited about the twins’ birthday. I want to give them the surprises that I never had because I didn’t have a big brother to do it for me.”
+ “What’s that cloth on the baby carrier?” Me: “It covers his head so that it’s dark and quiet in there for him.” Charleston: “Oh, I thought it was to muffle his crying.”
KALI-ISMS:
+ “I really want to go to Heaven to see what it’s like!” Me: “Well one day you will.” Kali: “But then I’ll be too old!”
+ Overheard singing, “Who ate the salsa? Who, who, who, who?” (Mishearing of Who Let the Dogs Out)
+ Also overheard singing, “The wise man built his house upon the bed.” (Mishearing of The Wise Man Built His House Upon a Rock)
+ When a police car with its sirens on drove by: “I love police. They’re my favorite people! When I grow up I’m going to be a police officer. I’m not gonna be a princess anymore.”
+ At a playground: “I’m sad because my friends are leaving. But at least I have one friend, God, who is in my heart and will never leave me!”
SULLY-ISMS:
+ When Kali asked if she could join Sully in a game he was playing: “No, Kali, you’re not old enough.”
+ “Is why babies cry because they don’t have any teeth?”
+ “Mom, look, this bug toy has the name of the bug on the bottom! Can you read it to me?” Me: “It says ‘China.'”
|| HAPPENINGS AND HIGHLIGHTS ||
Luke and Charleston had their first Trail Life campout of the school year. Despite brutally high temps, they had a great time. And the twins, Nico and I survived the weekend on our own (barely). Trail Life has been such a blessing to our family this past year and we’re happy to be embarking on a second year.
Kali and I went to the nail salon for our first mother/daughter mani-pedi. She LOVED getting to do something girly with mom, and has been leaning into the mother/daughter activities ever since: inviting me to play Barbies, reading girly books together with just the two of us, and playing dress-up in my closet. Our relationship is shifting now that she’s a little older and it’s been so special.
The twins turned five (as fully documented here) and I think our whole family can agree that their birthday was pretty great. It began with a trip to the donut shop for breakfast before dropping Charleston at his extracurricular program for the day. Then the rest of us went to a new-to-us play spot in town for a morning of play before heading to HEB to pick up birthday cakes and balloons. That afternoon, after picking Charleston up from school, we went to Chuck E. Cheese’s for game time and pizza with my in-laws. Then everyone came back to the house for cake, presents, and the homemade piñata that Charleston had constructed (it was a huge hit!). The festivities continued the following day with a trip to the theater to see The Wild Robot, followed by lunch at Hat Creek before church. I’m still in denial that my twinsies are five years old, but loved celebrating them.
October is looking to be another fun month, beginning next week with a family vacation to the beach with my in-laws. I’ll be popping in here and there with family update posts and hopefully a much-delayed Quick Lit roundup with reviews of all that I’ve read in the past few months. Thanks for being here today and for your continued patience with my erratic posting schedule. I hope that you are enjoying all that fall has to offer!