Books!

“A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them with books, if he has the means to buy them.” - Horace Mann

Everyone is feeling much better today, so this morning I grabbed the kids and took them to one of our favorite places to visit. The library.

The kids have both gotten their love for books from mom and dad. There is this passion when they pick up a new book, this twinkle in their eye as they turn to the first page and immerse themselves in whatever story they are reading. In a book there is NO limitations, you can be in your bedroom one minute and sailing across the world in the next...or flying through an amazing rain forest surrounded by the most beautiful and colorful birds you've ever seen.

A room without books is like a body without a soul. (Seneca)

One of their favorite rooms is the Children's area, with it's bright stuffed toys and pillows, tons of books everywhere, from tiny ones to child size and even a piano to practice on.

We always have this kind of ritual when we enter the library, our first stop is the Children's Room and then the Young Adult Room where Jasmine gets to browse the computers and throw herself into American Girl Books, Junie B. Jones and now....just you wait....NOW.....she's into Little House on the Prairie.

My word I never thought I would be more excited to see my daughter reading the kind of books I have always loved and remember loving as a child. It was great sitting there side by side looking through them all and picking which ones to read.

I also have Little House on the Prairie on my Netflix Queue and she wants to watch them when they come in. How fun will that be?

Let books be your dining table,
And you shall be full of delights
Let them be your mattress
And you shall sleep restful nights.
~Author Unknown

So we got a couple of those and Nicholas also picked up a bunch of books about animals and a huge Beatrix Potter Hardcover. I can't wait to read those to them.

There's something so relaxing and calming about a library, isn't there? It's like life slows down dramatically, everything moves at a snails pace and no matter how busy you are outside of those walls, you tend to stop and take it easy inside.

I could spend hours browsing the cookbook shelves and I have to force myself to keep my little hands off. If not, I would probably bring the whole collection home.

We were in there for an hour and then headed out to run some errands. I had to post this photo because both kids look so out of it *snicker*
One is yawning and the other looks like she's already taking a nap.

Back at home, the books go on the shelf in the entry way, this way I always know where they are and don't forget to return them to the library, on time.

A closer look....I rechecked out the two Tana French books, I never got around to reading them last time.

In the Woods - Tana French
The Likeness - Tana French
Home to Holly Springs - Jan Karon
Little House in the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder
By the shores of silver lake - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Town on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder

And to end this off I just want to say that I miss my husband...so very much. I know it has nothing to do with books, but the kids and I have been really missing him, these 13 and 14 hour days that he is working is resulting in us not seeing him at all. It's been about two weeks since we've shared a meal, sat down for more than 10 minutes and enjoyed each other's company.

To top it off, he has weekend duty which means, if they don't get everything done today, he will be working tomorrow and Sunday too.

So I miss him, I miss his hugs and his kisses and I miss his voice and his laughter. He looks exhausted but he puts on a brave face every day and heads off to work....leaving in our minds, one specific image....his uniformed back heading out the door.