What's On My Nightstand? with Five Minutes for Books

Five Minutes for Books

I do not use my nightstand for books very often, in fact I try not to read in bed because I am VERY BAD about putting books down and I REALLY NEED sleep, so I treat this as a metaphor.

Taggart by Louis L'Amour is the closest to my bed, it is by Ziva's diapers, I snatch a paragraph or two every once in a while. Taggart is a good read, it has good Indians, bad Indians, good cowboys, bad cowboys and a couple of very strong but different women. It's the kind of adventure excitement that I enjoy and takes me out of my little world to transport me into the desert riding horses. (Anywhere riding horses is good anyway!)

The other book I have been reading on a regular basis is a study on Esther - It's Tough Being a Woman, by Beth Moore. I have never had the opportunity to study Esther with a teacher before, some of my favorite commentators never did a commentary on it! So I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the life and times of a Jewess in Persia who becomes Queen. It has been revolutionary and eye opening. I will be posting a piece on What I have Learned when we finish.

I am starting Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias (wink CB!)
I do henna skin art and I am also into a lot of natural healing and health alternatives but I am not into Eastern religion nor am I a New Age thinker, I am a straight by the Bible, loving God fully and simply, try as hard as I can to give Him the glory woman, I am going to read this book so that whomever I talk to I will have a good understanding of where they are coming from and how to address the fact that only Jesus is the Way to Life, and only God is God for there is none other.
Excerpt from book cover;
".. Zacharias considers a unique claim that Jesus made and then contrasts the truth of Jesus with the founders of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism with compelling insight and passionate conviction."
So I am looking forward to having my eyes opened further and hopefully I will blog about that too.

Other then those books we have piles of children's books that are read consistently, I have been blogging a few of those. We just love books so much and if I have a choice of what to do with my time I WOULD rather read then blog....

On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman

Psalm 139:14 "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

"On the night you were born, the moon shone with such wonder that the stars peeked in to
see you and the night wind whispered,
'Life will never be the same.'

Because there had never been anyone like you... ever in the world."

This is a perfect book to snuggle up with your little loved one and tell the the tale of how special and loved they are!
I love that it works for adopted children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, even a child of your own that is now grown!
So if you are a personal friend of mine and you are expecting a little one you ARE NOT allowed to buy this book yourself as I am planning on buying it for you! (CB and AL!!!!)
Buy this, it is worth telling your baby that the whole world celebrated at their birth!

A Hole is to Dig By Ruth Krauss Pictures by Maurice Sendak

Our Yaya and Papa gave this to Tavis for Christmas, it is one of the most delightful books we read together.
The illustrations are so simple and yet ingeniously done to the show the exuberance and joy of being a child. The boys love the silly sentences and definitions! Ziva loves watching our faces as we read.
An excerpt;

~ A castle is to build in the sand
A hole is to sit in
A dream is to look at the night and see things

Snow is to roll in
Buttons are to keep people warm


Little stones are for little children to gather up and put in little piles
Oo! A rock is when you trip on it you should have watched where you were going
Children are to love
A brother is to help you ~

A lovely book to give or have for your own enjoyment.

"In Christ Alone" Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

(My favorite rendition is by The Newsboys on their Adoration album)

Courtesy of my dear CB and the loving reminder she emailed me;

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

~It's Time for Bed~ by Mem Fox Illustrated byJane Dyer

This is one of our all time favorite books, I bought it when Max was tiny and we have been reading it ever since! The colors are so peaceful and lush and the animals are lifelike with an air of sweetness.
My favorite is the mouse illustration, the mother mouse is being loving and protective of the tiny mousling. "It's time for bed little mouse, little mouse, darkness is falling all over the house."

But I also love how there are so many different animals then most baby/kid books, there is a mouse, goose, cat, calf, foal, fish, sheep, bird, bee, snake, pup, and deer. SO much fun for a little animal lover.
The rhymes and cadence are smooth and easy while soothing and calming.

It is short, so it is fun and easy-peasy to read over and over again! (I can actually quote the whole book from memory..)

BOLT the Disney movie

BOLT

We loved it.
Max's take; "The best part is when he (Bolt) jumps over the helicopter. It is a really good movie!"
Tavis: "My favorite is Rhino the hamster and he says;
"Starvin'" and "I'll go get my ball!" "


This is the story of a loyal dog who has been raised in a movie set, every day he saves his person, in this case a girl named Penny, from an evil plotster called Calico!
When they are separated Bolt must find his way back across the States, on the journey he makes friends with a cat and a hamster, learns how to beg, meets some very strange pigeons and learns that true heroes keep trying to help everyone against all odds, even if they have no super powers.

*My* favorite is the hamster as well, he is very joyous of life and hungry for adventure!

The best scene is towards the end when Bolt saves his girl for real.

It is not dark and creepy, it's just sweet, sometimes silly, with a couple of tears and a HAPPY ENDING!

I would suggest that you preview this movie for kids that can't take any action/thematic elements, but it is not scary as Sleeping Beauty or Snow white (Which my kids have not seen yet!) and more in the realms of Nemo; A little tense at times but with the volume down and a parent right there it is fine.
Max is more suggestible to "thematic elements" then Tavis and he was fine through the whole movie.
We went and saw it a second time and enjoyed just as much! (We will also be grabbing it as soon as it comes out on DVD!)

If your kids like action, dogs, cats, or hamsters they will love this movie!

Five out of five stars from us!

ZOOM ZOOM!

If You Give.... Written by Laura Numeroff Illustrated by Felicia Bond

0
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie:
This is an all time favorite, we bought the huge one by two foot one from costco and it is completely dog-eared from being read, re-read and dragged all over the house!
This colorfully illustrated story takes us on a tongue in cheek journey with a boy who shares a cookie with a passing mouse, the unselfish boy learns that a mouse has a great imagination and lightening quick responses too!

My personal favorite in this series is If You Give a Pig a Pancake. The little piggy is so darling, and if you thought the mouse had a crazy amount of energy wait until you meet the Pig!

Both Author and Illustrator get applause, the fun story lines are so beautifully and artfully carried out in pictures!

Other books by these two are;
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies (Have it, love it!)
If You Give a Pig a Party (Need it!)
If You Give a Moose a Muffin(Need it!)
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (The newest one, we love the fuzzy little kitty!)

Suggested age for these books is 0-100 ! (Ziva loves the colorful pictures and I enjoy them as much as the boys!)

Coming Soon: the Savages review one of their favorite Christmas books!

REVISION: Tavis just reminded me of another, If You Take a Mouse to School. (Max enjoyed that one especially now that he is going to school.)