My Big, Fat Book Post- Part 1

Can you tell I'm on a book kick? It's because I'm thinking summer, and what we'll read this summer.

Meanwhile, one of my college friends who also loves books asked me what my top 10 children's books are. I thought that would be easy. Then I started to think about it, and it turns out, that's HARD. I can't possibly pick 10.

I am going to answer Becky's question in two blog posts (to avoid one RIDICULOUSLY long post). I'll sincerely apologize to you FOR Becky...she's sorry you are being subjected to this because of her! :)

First of all, I'm not going to state the obvious here....you won't find any Eric Carle, Sandra Boynton, Tomie De Paola, Bill Martin Jr., Jan Brett, Dr. Seuss, or Jane Yolen on my list. Neither will you find Goodnight Moon. Not because I don't LOVE them, I do (so much so that Sawyer's nursery was an "Eric Carle" theme, I still sing Sandra Boynton songs to my kids EVERY NIGHT, and I have Goodnight Moon memorized). But, these are the Gold-Standards of Children's books- everyone knows them. I'm going to list my favorites that go beyond these all-stars.

Now, I have lots of favorite books, but more than that, I have a bunch of favorite children's book authors/illustrators. These are the authors/illustrators whose books I buy every time they come out. We LOVE them, and every book by each of these authors is fantastic! We read, read, and re-read these books all the time! I am including pictures of one or two of their books, but each of these authors has several books out that we own and love to read. So, that's where I'll start today, with a list of.........

My Favorite Authors/Illustrators

• Rob Scotton...Russell the Sheep and Splat the Cat are just simply wonderful, and the artwork just makes the story even better! Russell the Sheep might be among my all-time favorite books.

• David Shannon- another author and illustrator whose books are SO fun to read. Good Boy, Fergus cracks us up every time! Notice how well-loved our copy of No, David! is.

• Todd Parr- the four books pictures below are our absolute favorites of Todd's books. My kids love to read Todd's notes at the end of each book. They always end the books by saying "Love, Todd." Both of my kids have a copy of The I Love You book with a note from me written in the front. Never has a better book been written to express the unconditional love of a parent for a child. It is a PERFECT book for kids who have been adopted too as a reassurance of a parents love for them! We love Todd Parr at our house!

• David Wiesner- Sawyer giggles out loud reading his books. Many of them have few, if any words, but the stories are ridiculously creative and fun to read! Tuesday is our favorite David Wiesner book.
• Chris Van Allsburg- ok, this guy is sort of a classic too, but we love his books. And, if you've never seen his book, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, you really need to, especially if you have elementary-aged kids.

• Greg Tang- his books help kids build math skills, and he throws in a touch of poetry with it. I would highly, highly recommend buying these books and reading them to/practicing them with your kids! You'll enjoy it, and your kids will learn a ton (and not only about math either). These books are among Sawyer's favorites.

• Anna Dewdney- My college room mate introducted us to Ms. Dewdney when Chloe turned one, and we have loved her Llama Llama books ever since. There are three of them, and they are all GREAT! Her books are fun, fun to read out loud.
• Judy Schachner- Speaking of fun to read out loud, holy guacamole.......Skippyjon Jones might be the most fun book to read out loud ever! I LOVE reading these books to my kids. Scot refuses to because he can't "get the voice right". You'd have to know the book to understand what he means. I'm not sure the books actually make any sense, but in this case, making sense is over-rated. They are just goofy fun- and there are lots of "Skippyjon" books, so the fun never ends!

• Robert Neubecker- I've talked about him before, so I won't repeat myself. Absolutely wonderful books. Can wait for more!
• Anthony Browne- Great books for mother's day, father's day, baby's births, etc.....really lovely books.

• Last, but not least, Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser- I just love these books for so many reasons, and the illustrations make the stories even better! I could read these books all day, every day. We are BIG Fancy Nancy fans here, but only of the books that are illustrated by Glasser. The Step-Into-Reading Fancy Nancy books just aren't the same. Even Chloe can tell the difference in the illustrations. Maybe I love them so much because I can relate to Nancy's mother- she's a Plain Jane with a very posh daughter. I think we'd get along very well.

EDITED TO ADD: I don't know how I failed to mention the Olivia books, by Ian Falconer. I WANTED Chloe's nursery to be an Olivia theme, but supplies were scarce, and I don't know how to sew. Oh well. ALL of the Olivia books are fantastic!!! She's an absolute riot!!

As if you haven't had enough of my favorite books, I'll be back later this week with my list of favorite children's picture books!

A List

No....not THAT kind of list. :)

No, this is a list of my own making. One that is 100% for me, but maybe you will be interested. Maybe not.

It has been a LONG time since I posted about books. I've just been busy, but I have a stack I've been meaning to share. I'll have to do that soon.

However, this list is a list I want to make as a reminder to myself of the MUST READ TO MY KIDS books. The books that I am literally counting the days till I can read these books to them. It's been percolating in my head for some time now, and I know I'll forget some if I don't get them down now. This list is a work in progress though, as I realize I will add to it a lot over the next couple years, I'm sure.

But, here it is, the books that I consider to be the books I want the pleasure of introducing to my kids, the ones I (school-district be darned) want to be the one to read out loud to them, to live vicariously through these stories WITH them. Please feel free to add your favorites to the comments.....you might remind me of ones I have forgotten. ( I will list the author to all books I can remember them for.) If you haven't read these books- you should! They are some of the best books I've ever read, and most of them I read as an adult!!!

Here they are, in no particular order other than the book at the top is my all-time favorite:

1. The Giver by Lois Lowry
2. Number the Stars and Gathering Blue also by Lois Lowry (there are others by Lois Lowry too, but those are the MUST-READS)
3. Wringer and Loser by Jerry Spinelli
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
5. Frindle and The Invisible Boy by Andrew Clements
6. Harry Potter by J.K Rowling (ALL of them)
7. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
8. The Witch of Blackbird Pond By Elizabeth George Speare
9. A Wrinkle in Time By Madeline L'Engle
10. Holes by Louis Sachar
11. Charolotte's Web By E. B. White
12. A Cricket in Times Square
13. ALL the Ramona Books along with the Mouse and the Motorcycle books by Beverly Cleary
14. Superfudge by Judy Bloom
15. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
16. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
17. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
18. Homer Price

OK, I know there are more, but that's a good start......

BTW- I know there are lots of great "classics" I left off the list, but this list is more a list of books that swept me away or books I just remember loving when I read them than it is a list of classics.

Maybe you'll find one to enjoy yourself!

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I don't even know what to call this post.

Let me start with the facts. Scot and I prayerfully decided that the time had come to "open up" our file- to allow our agency to match us with a child that fits within the age range and needs range we are comfortable with. Unlike many families (or so I am told), we are open to adopting a boy.

So, maybe I set myself up for disappointment when I thought this month would be our month. Who am I kidding? I think that most months. But, this month seemed more plausible, because while we asked our agency to still look for our little guy on the list, we gave them much more to work with by opening up our file to be matched to another child.

The CC*AA has begun announcing when the new Waiting Child lists will come out, and I (against my better judgement) have been checking to see when that would be. A new list was due this week.

But, every time I checked, nada. Nothing.

Imagine my surprise then, when I got an e-mail from my agency today saying that the CC*AA did release a new WC list last night- with 600 kids on it!

600 kids. No phone call.

600 kids. Surely one of them was the little guy we pray will be ours....OR a little boy within our range of ages and needs.

I can't even figure out how I feel. The best way to describe it is I feel nothing.

It is numbness or peace? I'm not sure. Confusion? Maybe. Disappointment? No....not really. Discouragement? Well....it might be tomorrow. Normal? Yep, kind of.

I guess what it feels like is that if we couldn't be matched in a list of 600 kids, then when can we ever be matched? According to our agency, we are one of the few families on their list open to a boy. Out of 600 kids there wasn't one who would be perfect for us.

Maybe it is unbelief.

Or maybe I just feel kind of stunned.

I'm starting to feel like this is never going to happen. Like it will never be us....it's to the point where I can't even imagine it being real.

*sigh*

Sorry, I just needed to vent, and unfortunately for all of you, I have no "in real life" friends who have been on the adoption roller coaster. I know God has our child chosen for us already, and that He is never late. To steal a line from one of my favorite Steven Curtis Chapman songs: "I am weary from believing, Lord, please help my unbelief."

I'm just praying for peace to wait and not try to rush God's perfect plan for us. I trust His timing.....some days that is just easier than other days.

Today, it's not easy.

***Updated to add: I just got an e-mail from the woman at our agency saying that she checked the list for our little guy, and he wasn't there.

Now what I'm feeling is (selfishly) relief.

Have I mentioned I can't seem to let this little guy go?

25% Irish

The faces of what 25% Irish looks like.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day in just about that proportion as well: we wore green.

And Chloe spent the day throwing up. I was tempted to feed her green Jello to make the "festivities" more.....um....festive, but I didn't. And, I think it was a good decision.

Interesting Milestone

So, today I realized that we had reached an interesting milestone.

I've been reading adoption blogs since before I thought I'd actually say "Yes" to God on this. Many are listed in my sidebar (which hasn't been updated in nearly 2 years), but others are not. But, I'd say there are about 8 friends I have made by following their blogs, learning their stories, and sharing their joy come referral and beyond. It has been so amazing to be on this adventure with them. Truly, it is hard for anyone not in this process to fully understand. So, it has been an absolute blessing to share this with so many other adoptive moms.

I've jumped for joy at referrals. Prayed hard for speedy travel. Prayed more for good adjustment, proper medical care, wisdom beyond the ages for tough situations. I've cried watching "gotcha" moments. Lived vicariously through travel tales. And, been encouraged that, yes, even the most ordinary of families can do this.

And, today I realized that all of the families whose stories I have been following for two years have now been matched. Every single one of them (at least two of them have been matched TWICE....). The last one just this week.

For months I have realized that others were closer than we were, and I have expectantly waited for their referrals along with our own. Sometimes waiting for other people is WAY easier than waiting for something of your own. So, that's what I would focus on.

But, I just realized.....we're it. No one else to focus on.

I don't feel bad about it at all. I'm not sad. In fact, I'm thrilled. Truly thrilled to have been able to witness so many precious children being united with their families- especially knowing how eagerly anticipated and absolutely loved they all were for months and YEARS before their moms and dads saw their faces.

I also am excited, because it also means our time is coming sooner than I probably even realize (*instant butterflies*.....the nervous kind).

Anyway, just an interesting milestone I noticed today.

"But I am trusting in You, O Lord, saying 'You are my God'.

My future is in Your hands."

Psalm 31:14-15a