It’s the middle of winter here and I’m anxious and restless as I wait for spring. The girls and I went down to Florida last week to take advantage of the warmth, which was lovely. I always love being with my family, and I’m glad I can roll it in with some much-needed self care. :-) Hopefully it will last me until spring hits Atlanta!

Savannah, Caroline, and I in Florida… I love this picture!

Not to leave out Elizabeth :-) She’s getting so grown-up!

I finished two of the three books I mentioned in my previous post, and here is my current stack.

Madame Bovary
This is my attempt to read something deeper than my previous selections. ;-) I have started it and am enjoying it so far, but I accidentally left it here in Atlanta when I was in Florida last week so I haven’t gotten very far.

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself
This book has been on my “to read” list for a while, so when I was in Florida without anything to read and I spotted it on my mom’s bookshelf, I picked it up. I’m a few chapters in and it’s been really thought-provoking so far. I am convicted already in my own responses to poverty, and looking forward to reading more.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
I know this is going to the shock a lot of people… but I have never read Harry Potter, or seen any of the movies. I think they were a little after my time, and then there was controversy about how appropriate the series was for Christians, and I just never read them. I decided it was time, though, especially since before I know it Savannah will be old enough to read Harry Potter. I’m excited to start this but am forcing myself to finish my other books first.

The Crimson Cord: Rahab’s Story
This was on the library’s “new books” shelf and looked interesting. I love books like this, and we have been reading through the Old Testament in school and recently read the story of Rahab and Jericho.

Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good
I read all the Mitford books years and years ago, and really loved them. For whatever reason, I don’t think I realized she had written more than I hadn’t read yet (I thought she ended the series? I don’t know why I thought that). I probably won’t get to this one, with the rest of the books in my stack ;-) but I like having options in case one of the other books doesn’t work out.