Books Books Books!

I'm bogged down in books again this week. Books to type up onto my lists for PreLovedBooks, my home business. Books to move around the house. Books to check and clean. Books to pre-read for the kids. Books to make decisions about. Books to research on the internet. Books to sell and books to buy.

Sometimes I don't like them. They take up too much space in my small home. If we didn't have any books our house would be so clean and uncluttered!They are such dust magnets and they get underfoot...ah but I owe so much to them. It was through books I developed a relationship with Jesus (one in particular), books taught me how to parent when I'd had no good role models in my life and books taught me 90% of what I know, including how to cook and how to care for my family. I suppose I can't begrudge them a little house room.

Thursday
The kids (That doesn't seem quite right)...the young adults in my home went out to an all day Shakespeare workshop with a group of other home-educators. These workshops have been held in and around a barn on a farm with woods. The day was based on A Midsummer's Night's Dream. The actors they were working with helped them to act and direct scenes from the play. They even did some practical fun things, like creating the fairy bower where Titania was to sleep. Grace really enjoyed decorating the place in the woods with flowers ready for the scene her group was doing. What a great opportunity these workshops have been. I do hope they will continue next year.

Friday
Book work all day for me. Jack finished a piece of writing he's been working on for weeks. It's been like getting blood from a stone and he's made 3 drafts of it. But it was good! Grace had a singing lesson and Jack had dinner with friends. Jamie went out to a music rehearsal for Sunday.

Saturday
Work, work work all day for me. Jamie did some essential home and garden maintenance. Grace cleaned her room and practiced her singing. She's now watching the truly painful 'Eurovision Song Contest' on tv. Jack is away for the weekend with friends. They are celebrating their son's birthday with a trip to a safari park, and some overnight camping. Perfect for Jack. He loves all that sort of thing.

I finally finished the books tonight. The lists will go out on Monday and I can look forward to a flood of emails to deal with next week. It's been raining practically non-stop since the other day when I said we hadn't had much rain lately.{g} I've been trying to get washing dried all day, but have been constantly running in and out to get stuff in off the line as it started to rain.

I rescued a wee mouse from Tessie's paws this afternoon, but it died. It was tragic watching this little creature fight for life and then curl up and die. I don't know, it just seemed a picture of all that's wrong with the world and made me terribly sad. I so wanted God to heal that mouse! Maybe I think I'm just tired.

Annabel, our pastors wife is making progress of sorts. She can sit up in a chair for part of the day, hold up the right number of fingers when requested with her left hand and can meet the gaze of others. But she still has no swallowing reflex, a spinal fracture which may need surgery, facial fractures and no responses on the right side. She still also seems to be not quite awake for most of the time. I don't understand the different levels of consciousness there seem to be. Please continue to pray for her, Richard and our whole church.