We're Back!

                                 “Not all those who wander are lost.” 
                                          – J. R. R. Tolkien

Well, we have returned from our adventure! On Memorial Day I headed out with these two lovely ladies for a "4-day get-a-way" and visit with my birth mother.  It was almost heartbreaking to leave the others behind, but what a precious time we had!   In an attempt to comfort us all, we took a little bird from home with us and had him participate is a mini-photographic documentation of our journey!

And, of course, lots of phone and text chats along the way! ( The others fared quite well in our absence, by the way, thanks to their wonderful father and energetic grandparents! I think I should have left something with them so they could create their own photo documentary!)

 The Lord was in our whole trip...the "adventure time" with my young ladies, the time and memories shared with my birth family, the weather, the travel (and fellow airplane travelers...a post in itself!), seeing houses from the Underground Railroad, Memorial Day exploring graves of Revolutionary War soldiers, inspiration from a wealthy family's home and focus on hospitality, getting lost way back in beautiful Amish country, discovering magnificent Amish bulk food stores and hardware stores, learning about an amazing woman who changed the lives of many special needs children ( book review to come!), being served by some of those who benefit from her legacy today, seeing the Mennonite church in action..... AMAZING, as my girls would say :).

Thanks to all those who made it possible...from suitcases to child care, to hospitality to prayer ...and many things beyond. And a special thanks to Michelle for her lovely guest post.  I am looking forward to getting back into the normal swing of things around here, but feel quite refreshed and thankful for our adventure!

 Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.  ~Seneca

Quality Movies for Girls

(This photo was taken before I left, and I am holding an adorable,teeny- tiny tissue box. My daughter Love won it in a basket at a charity auction and gave it to her sneezing, snuffling mom as a get well present. Wasn't that kind of her?)

Well, life here has been a bit crazy since my last post. Toward the end of the week I came down with the icky virus that has been plaguing my family. With tissues in hand, and still under the influence of Advil, I transported myself to a rather intensely scheduled regional home school conference. It was a delight to see some of my favorite authors in person ( and even get to visit with a few of them!), but it was exhausting. After returning with my brain full of valuable information, my dear husband had to leave for a short business trip.Whew!  Thank goodness we began a week of spring break today!

All of the sickness that has been swirling around in our family has reminded me of the value of a good movie. There are sometimes when you just can't muster up the strength to read a book, and that was just where this particular virus left us...stuck in bed and a bit bored. I am picky about what our children watch. I believe we must fill our children's world with beauty, particularly in the things they read and watch. Beautiful and noble characters, beautiful words, beautiful scenery are all virtues in my understanding of things.  I am not attempting to shelter our children from what is really out there, but rather to counter it with something better.  Our family lives in the city and we see the ugliness that is the result of sin every day. ( We also live rich lives filled with all types of people, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but that is a post for another day!) We are called to live beautiful lives in the midst of ugliness. Wholesome literature and entertainment not only can to empower children to live lives of  godly beauty, but our high value of these things serves as a testimony to a watching world! I don't think you can beat the following two DVDs, both put out by Masterpiece Theater. 

The first movie is The Railway Children.   I enjoyed reading this  book to my little ones years ago. It is a wonderful story of perseverance. The plot if full of mystery and action, keeping even the boys in our home engaged.  This DVD version is beautifully done and my children have watched it over and over. 

I am equally impressed with the Masterpiece Theater production of Pollyanna. We have not read this book, although a friend recently told me how much her family enjoyed reading it aloud. This version gives the character Pollyanna a dignity and nobility that I personally always thought was missing in  the cheesier versions I watched as a girl. The costumes and scenery are beautiful, and the acting is top quality. And, of course, the story is an inspiring one about seeing the blessings in every circumstance and dealing with suffering. You will enjoy this DVD as much as your girls!

We have checked bot of these DVDs out from our local library, although we have since been give Pollyanna as a gift.  They are both worth owning.  I will include an Amazon link for each in the side bar if you would like to order either one from my affiliate link. Enjoy!