Good bye, Anne. Sniff, sniff

Last week, I finished reading aloud one of my favorite series of books to my girls. 'Course, it only took me over a year to finish it. I am consistently inconsistent when it comes to reading aloud to the girls. I know - I'll probably be kicked out of the home schoolers' club for that. But it is hard to find a time when we don't need to be doing something else and I can get and keep their attention.

I used to try it at lunch, but frankly I am usually starving and want to eat first. And by the time I'm done eating, they nearly are too and need to start cleaning up and the little ones get restless... However, while Kelly has been working swings we've adjusted our schedule to fit his. So we are eating our big meal of the day at lunch and eating sandwiches or leftovers for supper. And somehow it is easy for me to wait and eat after they do at supper now. So while they eat, I read. Then while they clean, I eat. It has worked great! We've finished two books in the last two months - a record for us.

I spent the last year reading the entire Anne of Green Gables series to the girls. These are hands down my favorite books from childhood. In fact, I still love them. We are reading out of my set I was given when I was about 12 or 13 and they are quite battered and ratty looking. The last book might be my favorite. Set during World War I, that book brought the "home front" home to me more than any history book I've ever read. The only problem is that I choke up all the time. I cry in several places in that book every time I read it, and reading it aloud? Well, it was really hard to get through at time. I'll never get a job recording audio books, that's for sure.

But it was sweet to share these books that I love so much with the girls. I think they have caught a share of my love for them as they would beg me to always "read another chapter." It was sad to have it end. But today we started the Narnia series. I read it to the older girls years ago, but the younger set has never heard it, though Brynna has read them. But it won't be the same.