The Magic of Words

I have a secret obsession...

I. Love. Children's Literature.
It's magical!

To be fair I love literature period, but there is something so very special about children's books.
You can often find me scouring the shelves in the children's section of the library stuffing my bag with kid's books. If you see me at Barnes and Noble I'll be upstairs in the kid's area sitting on the floor with a stack of books and a smile on my face! Sometimes my kids are with me but often I'm alone just being a creeper reading picture books to myself.
And don't get me started on garage sales where you can buy books for a quarter! A QUARTER!

The thing I love most about books is that we can get lost and find ourselves all at the same time! Books are magical like that!



Austin recently pointed out that he has been noticing more and more random stacks of books scattered throughout the house. I basically have a children's library in my home. And I can't really explain why but books make me happy.
So far Landon doesn't seem super interested in reading on his own but I keep buying books for him anyway because I know it's just a matter of time.
Once he finds HIS book THE book that will change everything I just know he'll get lost in the magic of literature! To those who say they hate reading...I say they haven't found THEIR book yet.

I remember MY book... I'm guessing I was in 3rd or 4th grade and the book was a non-fiction story about Sally Ride. For those  who don't know she was the first American woman astronaut in space! Up until that point I had always LOVED being read to by my mom but reading on my own had always felt like a chore...like homework. After the Sally Ride book everything changed and I was in love with reading!

Maybe reading is in my blood. My mom read to us constantly. My brother, sister and I would lay on her bed while she read aloud to us. My mom loved to read Bible stories to us and I am so glad she did! My dad has always loved to read and his mom; my grandma actually had an entire room in her house dedicated to books. I loved going into her library and seeing what seemed like an impossible amount of books for one person to own. And she would let me borrow anything.
Her library is where I discovered my love for Stephen King and mysteries in general!

I think when I fell in love with books I was actually falling in love with words. I think putting really well worded sentences together to create a beautiful and meaningful story can be likened to writing a music score. All the parts come together in this melodious way to express and convey feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Books tell stories with words and music tells stories with sound. It's pretty amazing when you think about how complex it all is!

I think what impresses me so much with children's literature is the author and illustrators ability to work together to capture so many big and complex ideas and whittle them down to the root.
And obviously not all children's books are conveying big life lessons.
Sometimes kids books are just for fun! In our house we LOVE the fun and silly non-sensical books. The "Stinky Face" books are some of our favorites if you want something light and fun.
Also, read the "David" books by David Shannon! Especially if you have rambunctious little boys!

For this post though I really wanted to share some books that I believe are truly special in that they are written for children but manage to tackle HUGE and REAL issues in life.
The books I want to highlight actually spark real conversations with our kids. Some of these books address bullying, depression, feeling like you don't belong, being okay with being you, and a bunch of other things. I posted a picture but I'll just highlight a few since this post is already too wordy!

• I'll start with "Sweety". Sweety is a naked mole rat who totally dances to the beat of her own drum. She is that "awkward" kid we've all probably been at some point. And even if you were cool enough to mask the awkwardness so no one else knew you were insecure we ALL know what it feels like to find your place among your peers. Sweety has a big personality but she doesn't change who she is to fit in. She doesn't hide the fact that she loves studying fungi or that interpretive dance is her thing...In the end she finds her people and it's the things that make her uniquely Sweety that they bond over! The illustrations are great and me and the boys were definitely giggling at Sweety's antics.
• "The Invisible Boy" The illustrator is a GENIUS. The story itself is really beautiful but the illustrations bring the words to life! I think there were so many times as a kid in school where I felt invisible and left out and sometimes I wondered if it was me...was something wrong with me...again, I think most of us have felt that way at some point in our lives. If you've ever been picked last you probably wished you could be invisible sometimes. This story really did a good job of just bringing these kinds of issues into awareness and opens the doors for so many great conversations with our kids. Hopefully our babies never have to feel this way and maybe when they see someone who might feel invisible our kids can be empowered to be kind and include them!
• "The Color Thief" I am just blown away that someone decided to write a book for kids who have a parent or loved one dealing with depression. So often we focus on the person suffering from depression. I love that this author wrote about the effects of depression through a child's eyes. For such a heavy topic I was blown away at how the author could use such clear and concise language that kids can understand without any of the clinical jargon that would just be over their heads. AMAZING!
• "Gondra's Treasures" This one is Logan's current favorite. Honestly I think the story is really cool but I think Logan is obsessed with the illustrations. I didn't know a dragon could be so cute. Gondra's parents are two different types of dragons and she is figuring out that she inherited different traits from each parent. So, though she is like her mom in ways and her dad in other ways she is also uniquely Gondra. We all want to know about our ancestry and who we inherited what from to have a more complete idea of who we are and this book really speaks to this curiosity in all of us!
• I saved my favorite for last. I grab it every time I go to the library and I think I am just going to buy it. "The Remember Balloons" makes me cry every time I read it. The fact that a children's book can do that astonishes me! The fact that people lose their memories as they get older is to me one of the saddest things that can happen. I can't begin to imagine what that would feel like. To just slowly unbecome yourself...to not recognize YOUR people...it's kind of terrifying actually. This story so magically and beautifully captures this in such a profound and bittersweet way. I read it to Landon and we had an interesting conversation. It's amazing how much kids know and really how much they can understand. We are so fortunate to not have this experience with our immediate family members and I hope we never do. I believe empathy is an important quality to have and reading stories from other people's experiences and perspectives can really help hone this quality. 

There are SO SO many children's books I love. Sometime I'll share the books that are in our "Special" basket to keep forever as heirlooms. A few of the books are from my childhood and some go back further than that! Most of them are the boy's favorites and I hope that they pass them on to their kids. Maybe someday I'll write my own children's book. I have so many stories that I have just orally passed on to the boys and they LOVE them so if I can just put pen to paper...

Roald Dahl is one of my favorite children's literature authors and he said 

"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it" 

I think if we look for it we can find a little bit of magic in every day! Here's to looking!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,That's where you'll find me."


Well my Logi Bear, tomorrow you turn 4!
I told you I was whisking you off to Neverland tonight so we could just skip your birthday and you could just stay 3.

Not forever...just a little while longer. It would be quite an adventure I think; going and getting lost together.
You and your brother are my Peter Pans and I love being your Wendy.
If only we had a little pixie dust we'd fly to the second star to the right, and straight on till morning!

Landon promptly reminded me that Neverland "isn't even a real place" so there's that...
He's grown into quite a practical little boy! You though, you're still young enough to believe in magic and fairytales and I love it! Your little world is so vibrant and full of color and I love that I get to be a part of it.
Your world is the stuff dreams are made of.

Sometimes I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Like life is just happening all around me and I am so focused on tasks like laundry, cooking, cleaning, working, etc. It's easy to get caught up and hyper focused on a to-do list and before you know it your world is gray and dull.
You lose sight of the things that really matter.

Then you come along like a little tornado and you sweep me away.
Suddenly I'm caught up in you and you whisk me into a world that is anything but dull and gray.
In your world colors are impossibly bright and anything can happen!

In your world super heroes exist and the only limitations are the ones we put on ourselves.
You are like all the super heroes rolled into one because in your world you can be a teenage mutant ninja turtle (Leonardo) one day and Superman the next. You can even be Spiderman while ALSO being a Knight at the exact same time. Reality is what you make it in your world.

In your world according to you; you used to be a little kid with an entirely different family and in this other life you have memories that are only yours and I just get to hear about them.
And apparently your world has alternate universes because at some point you also used to be a teenager...Sometimes I can't keep up with all the lives you've had at the ripe old age of 4.

I hope you bring pieces of your imagination and the best parts of your wildest dreams from YOUR world into this world! The world could always use more wonder and color.

In the movie Dorothy wants to leave Oz and return home. She says; "there's no place like home".
She is right, there is no place like home.
Home for me is where you are.
You and your brother are my ruby slippers.
So anytime my world starts to lose it's color and shades of gray and sepia take over the landscape
I'll know I'm far from home.
I'll click my heels and let myself get carried away; somewhere over the rainbow with you.

I love you rainbow baby. Happy Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Us

Those eyes

I can actually hear your smile! Also the scared boy makes your smile like REALLY funny to me

Your face!!

Just you being your best self!!

This picture makes me laugh...

Christmas Shepherd Logi

My punkin

Your friend thats a girl but NOT your girlfriend LOL

Soldier Logi

This is what pre pre-school graduation looks like

that smile #trouble for real

Who knew Spidey likes cammo

Always shooting webs!

"THWIP"

This is what somewhere over the rainbow looks like

Great Expectations

Landon,

Right now you are upstairs warm and snuggled up in your bed.
Tomorrow when you wake up you will be 8!
So, while you are drifting off to sleep I am continuing on the important tradition of your birthday letter.

I wrote your first official birthday letter 4 years ago and now it has become something I look forward to every year. I love to go back and read about the things you were doing and it's interesting to see my thoughts and perspective as your mother throughout the years. I just finished reading the very first birthday letter I wrote you.
You were 4 years old and I am astonished by how much you were already you...
Your little personality has always been there, it's just that you are MORE of yourself.




It's the hardest thing to explain but I guess it's like a house. Like, when you were born there were blue prints, and then the foundation was laid and the concrete poured. Then the beams went up and the  windows and doors were framed out. The insulation, plumbing, electrical, all of those things were done and I could see in my mind's eye the finished product.

I could see the potential and I had ideas about what the finished house would look like.
I suppose I still have ideas about what you will look like, and what kind of person you will be.  Sometimes I imagine different scenarios and situations you will face as you get older and I imagine how I think you might react. I imagine different careers I could see you in. I imagine the kind of teenager I think you will be. And of course as a parent its normal and natural to think and wonder. Since I have seen your blue prints and have been a part of laying your foundation and building out the framework for who you are I imagine 4 years from now when I'm writing to you for your 12th birthday maybe I won't be so shocked when I realize you are just MORE of who you are.
And over the years details that I never imagined will be added.

My one dimensional blue prints didn't include any landscaping so I just pictured lots and lots of sunflowers.
The thing is, you prefer red tulips and neat organized flower beds.
And, I didn't realize that the one thing the blue prints were missing was a wrap around porch with hanging swings but you knew that was a must.
In my mind I pictured the house brick and stone but you like the color blue, so now the house is blue and it looks better that way. The blue prints I saw had designated one of the rooms as an office but you decided to turn it into your art studio and now there are beautiful and original one of a kind pieces hanging on the walls of your house.
I pictured generic and safe neutral colors for the walls but you envisioned something different so now one of the rooms has an orange accent wall and it just happens to be the thing that ties the room together.
And I swear the original blue prints had an attached mother-in-law suite (for me obviously)
I noticed you turned that into a music studio...

I am so honored that I got to be a part of the initial design process. And your dad and I have tried to lay a solid foundation and we will continue to ALWAYS check for any cracks. The integrity of your foundation and walls and the plumbing and HVAC stuff largely falls on us while you are in our home.  Leaky pipes and roof issues thats where we step in. YAY fun!

But you...you get to add the colors to the walls, you get to designate how the space is used.
You get to pick out the flowers for your garden. The rooms should reflect who you are as a person and I know over the years there will be some major renovations. Your cute little airplane bedroom that you share with your brother will one day be all yours and I'm sure Dusty and Skipper will be replaced with sports memorabilia and pictures of fast cars.
Your dresser will no longer hold all of your special lego creations that you don't want Logan to be able to reach. Instead there will be manly smelling cologne and deodorant..maybe even a picture of your girlfriend instead of the
"I love you to the moon and back" picture frame I got you.
Your stuffed monkey with the crocheted scarf I made will be packed away in some box labeled keepsakes.
By the way that scarf was supposed to be for you but...Yeah... I DON'T crochet.

Honestly, I'm glad the details are up to you.

You are so much better that anything I could imagine! You surpass every expectation because you add something no one else can...YOU.

Know this; I expect great things for you!
And because I know YOU and  your blueprints and foundation I expect great things from you.
I can't wait to be right about how great you will be and all of the amazing things you will do in this world.
But, I also can't wait to be wrong about the specifics of what that looks like.
I can't wait to see how YOU work out the details, because I know anything that I imagine is missing your imagination. And it's your dreams and imagination that will bring depth and profound life to my one dimensional blueprints.

So go on Landy, innovate, develop, re-design and break the mold.
Feel free to demolish, move walls, and build additions.
Modernize, and restore; renovate to your heart's desire!

Willy Wonka sang it best in "Pure Imagination"

We'll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation
What we'll see
Will defy
Explanation

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world?
There's nothing to it

I want to see a world of your creation

Stud

I could watch you watching helicopters all day

I LOVE that you are still okay with being silly

New Hair

Air Show 2019

Loving this less toothy grin

Little boys should never be sent to bed.
They always wake up a day older.
-Peter Pan

Here's to turning 8 and GR8T EXPECTATIONS!

Ode to Austin

Since it's Father's Day I just wanted to take a moment to honor the best dad I know.

Austin, I have never seen a man father the way you do. You are all in all the time. Your patience and dedication inspires me every day. You are a man of integrity and it shows in how you live your life. Nothing about you is for show.
Your goodness, kindness, and generosity are genuine. Its one of the things I love most about you.

I love that you make spending quality time with our boys a priority. You take the time to explain and teach things to them. You are so intentional and it shows. I love that our boys get to see you use your talents to serve and love God. I love that you pray REAL prayers with them. I love that you bring bible stories to life for them. I know you think it's not that big of a deal the things you do because in your mind thats just what a dad should do. Today I just want to remind you that it is absolutely a big deal.


You are raising future men of God and this world needs more men like you in it. I can't wait to see the men our boys become. I think you should know that I believe they will aspire to be the kind of man you are. As a father is there really any higher honor than knowing your boy's dream is to grow up to be just like you? I can tell you with certainty that you are Landon's favorite person in this world.
Yes, it pains me to admit that but for now I've still got Logan!

You are this family's anchor and you are absolutely irreplaceable. Because I am a weird and morbid person we have talked about death way too much but seriously...you can't die first.

You are the heartbeat and rhythm of our family. Because you love music so much I was thinking about the parts of a song and how that if our life was a song you are the best parts.
Give me a mic and I MIGHT be able to do some backup and harmonize with you..
You could maybe throw me a tambourine if you're feeling lucky...But you...

You are the chorus, you're what the listener is waiting for.
The best and most memorable part of the song...the hook.

As if being the chorus wasn't enough you are also the bridge. You break up the repetitiveness and add an element of surprise. You go rouge and mix up the chords, rhythm, and melody...
you make the song interesting.

And when things start to get crazy you are the break the song needs. You give space and time for the music to breathe. If the atmosphere is right you might build the music up for a complete shift in where the song is going. Sometimes you might even go into a new song..seamlessly because you are that good.

I guess what I am trying to say is you are the melody to our song...

mel·o·dy

/ˈmelədē/

Learn to pronounce

noun

1. - a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying.
   - musically satisfying sequences of notes collectively.

   
   

   
   

   
   

Anyway, I just wanted you to know you are so loved, appreciated, and admired today and everyday. Today was just a good excuse to remind you and myself how truly blessed we are to have you.
Here are some pictures of you and the boys that I adore!

Here you are just being you with our boys. Laughing, and having adventures together.
I have a feeling that it's in stolen moments like these and just watching you live your life where our boys will learn to live theirs.

"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom." -Umberto Eco

This one!

Logi's 3rd Bday

Logi's Smile

There are not enough words for how much I love you in this  moment

This was a good day!

My boys

Best. Photo. Ever.

Just a couple of nuts

I am so glad I married you!