Her Stories

Little Bitty loves her books. 

She spends all day bringing me books to read.  

We read the sames ones....over and over again..... ;)

Months ago I had to put away her board books because all she wanted to do was eat them. But the chewing has stopped so she got her books back.

It's a whole new world! 

I hear her in her room and when I check on her, she'll be sitting on the floor looking through her books. Brings me joy. I sit on the floor, she crawls in my lap and we read. 

She'll bring me books and I'll put her on the couch and we'll read. This has turned in to more of a way to get on the couch. She's a tricksy little thing.

One of her favorite books is "Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" that she got from her Nana for Christmas. Our family has a long history with the song so she just had to have the book. 

Although I think the reading it 100 times a day is starting to rub off....

:) Our little jumping monkey.

Today's picture is 'perfect' and when she sleeps, she sure does look it.

Until next time.....

Sideways

These are staying sideways until I have time to finish them! 

Our dining room table is usually covered in half finished craft projects and bills. Half finished is how we roll around here these days. It's okay, I pretend it's "homey". :) 

I got an email yesterday saying my book at the Library was waiting for me! This makes me SO giddy!! Then I anxiously watch the clock until my Beloved gets home. And as soon as we get in the car, I get my Library card out so I'm READY!! 

And I know I have this big huge silly smile on my face the from the time I walk in, find my book (with my laminated name page!!!! EEEK!) and walk out but I don't care!! I started out as #260 on the wait list for this book. That's a LONG time of waiting!! 

GIDDY!!

Today we're heading up to Huntsville for Aunt Shelly's birthday so I'll get to read the entire ride! Oh the joy!

Until next time.....

Outside the Window

Today we woke up to a rainy morning. The lights went out and everything! Friday we received yet another orange note of more sadness saying the construction was going to have our water off Monday and Tuesday from 9-5. Seriously. The city hates me. 

So we packed up and went to Nana's. Alice got to spend some alone time with the Mamaw while I got to spend some alone time with my Momma. It was lovely.

Little Alice likes books - she loves to chew on them and gets so excited when she gets the chance to do so. 

Reading with Mamaw

For Christmas, Aunt Kristl got a "Grandma" book to keep at my mom's house. She LOVES it.

Look at how excited she gets! So cute.

While is still isn't crawling, she's getting SO CLOSE! She is much more mobile and managed to work herself off Nana's lap.

Where are you going, Little Bitty!?

It was a lovely day. And we'll get to do it again tomorrow! ;)

Until next time...

Handwriting

At her shower, we were given pages with her name down the left side and encouraged to write something to her starting with each letter. Months ago I posted what I wrote to her and promised to share more. 

I love reading through them. Some are sweet poems, some are great advice. All are heartfelt. Here are few of my favorites....

For I - Aunt Tami put "If you get arrested, Aunt Tami has bail money." Lovely. And for C she put "Call Aunt Tami for boy problems." Tami managed to get 'Aunt Tami' in to every letter. The L "Listen to your Aunt Tami's words of wisdom" makes me a little nervous.....

For L, Aunt Kacy said "Listen to gansta rap - VERY LOUDLY" and for E, "Eat lots of candy before bed." I'm not sure how much time she's going to get to spend with Aunt Tami and Aunt Kacy.

For A my friend Amanda said "A is for the amazing adventures you will have" and for E "Every time you read these remember how precious the day was that you were born."

Princess Amy used I to tell her invisible friends are okay to have. This makes me smile every time.

Our Alesha used E to say "Enjoy being a kid; don't rush to grow up. There's so much joy and beauty in being young; drink in every bit of it!" She also used her C to say "Call me anytime you need a break from mom and dad." She got this advice a lot..... 

For E cousin Jodi said "Eat! You need to grow!" :)

Nicole told her to "Live every day to the fullest" with her L.

Cousin Debra used her A to tell her she's an "Awesome little miracle." Yes, yes she is.

Aunt Melissa used her L to tell her to "Leave boys alone!" I second this. They have cooties. And they smell. 

Aunt Kelley used her A to tell her she's "Always loved, even from far away" and with her E she said "Experience the world, it is a wonderland after all." 

:) The words to her are something I cherish and I know she will cherish one day. 

If you missed out and want to add some to her book, email them to me at queentimby@gmail.com. I have some of the paper left - I'll get them printed and added to the book. 

I made it through June! YiPPiE!!!! 

Until next time....

Inspiring Person

I know, I know. "JK Rowling?! Seriously?!"

Let me explain.

I think she's a great writer. Period. 

She had a story to tell and told it no matter who told her no. She created a world we all want to be a part of and characters we want to be friends with. Her story invokes such strong feelings for characters that you cry when bad things happen and cry when good things happen. (Maybe I just cry a lot.) You long for a letter to Hogwarts and dream of having a pet owl. No matter how old you are. 

She is also inspiring because she knew what story she wanted to tell and she knew when to end it. Even though the books are HUGE money makers, she didn't feel the need to continue just to continue. And THAT is what makes her a great writer. Letting go. I have several series I read and some of them are getting extremely tedious and need to be wrapped up however I know they won't be because the books are still selling. Sadness. My friends deserve a rest. ;)

While I do think she's a great a writer, she's not perfect. I do think she made a few mistakes....

1: The death of Hedwig. Seriously?! The bird?! Now I understand her death. Rowling needed to establish early on that no one was safe. Anyone could die. I get it. But it's the way she died that bothered me. If she had died the way she died in the movie - I'd be okay! (This is the ONLY time I've felt like the movie got it right when the book didn't.) I can even pretend to see that she wanted to establish that innocent lives were going to get caught in the crossfire. Whatever. I still don't have to like it. 

2: The deaths of Tonks, Lupin and Fred. Uncool. Again, I see her reasoning but again, I don't have to like it! Tonks and Lupin deserved to be happy. And killing a twin?! That's EXTRA cruel! I'd be okay with losing a Weasley but a twin?! No ma'am. That's just plain MEAN.

3: The fact that Umbridge lives. I think she is the vilest character ever written and she deserves the worst. She's worse than Tom Riddle (Dumbledore called him that - I can too!)! I promise! My rational side can also see how it's important to show that sometimes the bad guys don't always get what they deserve. But still! Stupid life lessons. 

Bottom line, as someone who enjoys writing I find Rowling inspiring. I don't think I'll ever write a Harry Potter type book however writing a book doesn't seem that far fetched. I bet she never dreamed Harry would take her to where she is today. She was just writing about characters she loved. 

Today I'm thankful for a magical world and a boy with a lightening bolt scar. 

I'd be even more thankful if House Elves were real. Word.

Until next time.....

Books

For as long as I can remember, I've loved to read. Our front room is full of books! Some are sets, some are school books, some are just really good books I hope to read again. 

We have two sets of Harry Potter books because we're crazy. I own all of the Stephanie Plum books in paperback form. I have the entire Outlander series even though I no longer care for the series. (Dear Diana, let Jamie and Claire live happily ever after! Yeesh!) While I own the Hunger Games books on my Nook - I have started purchasing them in paperback form as well. They are really good. Real. ;) I have a lovely set of Anne of Green Gables books I hope to read with Alice one day. And the shelf with the menagerie of books are individual books we've enjoyed like The Book Thief. I've mentioned it in a post before and I'll recommend it again. It's a beautiful book. Read it. I also have a collection of Christian books like Max Lucado's And the Angels were Silent and CS Lewis' A Case for Christianity. All very worthy reads. Especially the Lucado book. He has a brilliant way of making God easy and uncomplicated without being preachy and theological. 

Since reading is such a love of mine, I hope Alice enjoys it too! I can picture us sitting and reading before bed. I have some favorite children's books as well. Here are our go to books:

Oh, the Places You'll Go is a classic and I love it. I think the book has lessons that travel from childhood to adulthood. It's important to know you won't always win and sometimes being lonely is just life. I want her to think she can move mountains but withstand the heartbreak when she can't. I just met Olivia and I have to be honest, she's a girl after my own heart! In the Fairy Princesses book, she doesn't want to be a Princess because all the other girls (and some boys) want to be the Princess. She goes through the book trying to decide what to be and at the end she settles on being the Queen. SEE!!! Totally me. ;) You are Special is a children's book by Max Lucado and I love it. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is too. It's another book that has lessons that transfer from childhood to adulthood. It's important to be reminded that it doesn't matter what people say about you, just be you. Isn't that a struggle sometimes. 

Now for her book. I got a coupon for a free Shutterfly book. That's how they get ya! It's so easy to put a book together I'll be ordering books left and right!! ;) Since I had a coupon, I thought it would be nice to have her pictures from the NICU in one place for people to see. People always comment on how small she is now - if only they knew! So I put together a book that is small enough to fit into her diaper bag. And I love it.

It's hard to imagine she was so tiny! And we're just to unabashedly proud of how well she's doing. Our tiny little mighty one. ;)

Books can take you to new places, make you fall in love with new people and their adventures, think. And they are totally worth it. 

I'm thankful for Harry, Olivia and a girl named Anne. I'm grateful for all the places I've been and will go thanks to pages in a book. I'm hopeful Alice will have the same passion. 

Until next time....

Day 31 - Stuff

I was going through some old stuff a while back and found these. They're old bookmarks that are dated 1983 which means they once belonged to my mom. And I still have them. And I still use them. 

;)

Until next time....

Patronas vs. Patronus

My Boss was in all week last week which is unusual. While sitting in his office, we have the following conversation:

Him: Have you ever heard of Patronas?
Me: Sure - it's the spell used to repel Dementors.
Him: *look of utter confusion.
Me: You can also send messages with it. Harry's is a Stag.
Him: *still baffled* WHAT?! It's an Oil Company.
Me: (mumbly) Maybe in the Muggle world. Yeesh.

See why the word "strange" was appropriate?

And I might need a Magic Intervention.

Until next time....

Take a look, it's in a Book....

This is one I take for granted. Books and the ability to read them.

I'm currently reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak; it's about a little girl growing up in Germany during the start of World War 2. She steals books and longs to read them. She rescues one from a burning and it broke my heart to realize they burned thousands of books simply because they were scared of what they said. How sad! I'm only halfway through the book but I highly recommend it! I'll post an update once I'm done - it's narrated by Death after all, there's bound to be sadness.

So today, I'm thankful I can read. There are those that can't.

I'm thankful I can read what I want to read! There are those that don't have that choice.

I'm thankful I LOVE to read. There are those that don't.

I'm thankful for authors with passion who had a story to tell. And book-friends who suggest good books. And pages. And lunch time book clubs! And the worlds I get to escape to.

I also thank my Dad, LeVar Burton and countless teachers for encouraging my love of reading. And my Mom for never fussing when she caught me reading by flashligh after bed time. :)

Until next time....

Day 4 - Something Green

I keep this in my wallet at all times. Go ahead and judge, I don't care! :)

Until next time...

Muggle seeking Magic

So I'm a total nerd and I'm totally okay with that. I love all things Harry Potter. I've read the books several times and I listen to the Audio books a lot. (Jim Dale reads all the voices just like I read them - it's fantastic!) And I now own all of the movies minus 7.2 that doesn't open until next week. And trust me - I have plans to see it. Not at midnight because I don't like people - but I will see it! And it's like it's goodbye. Reading the final book was hard but I knew there was going to be a movie so.....

But now, now it's just done.

I love reading. I love what books do for me. They take me away and immerse me in a new world with new friends and new adventures! And JK Rowling offered me lots of new friends. She writes characters we love like Neville and Luna and Dobby! She gave us a family you wanted to be a part of. Made us care for a boy who doesn't really exist. Had us crying when our 'friends' didn't make it. And characters we loathe like Tom Riddle, Snape and Umbridge - who in my opinion is the most vile character ever written. Ever! Trust me - the woman is HORRIBLE!!

And she makes us so comfortable with their world that we always want to go back.

So next Friday I'll march with the masses to say goodbye to my magic friends. I'll cry the entire time - I already know which of my friends aren't going to make it out. Sadness. But I'll go to put my friends to rest....

...until the next time I need a little magic in my world.