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"Children are made readers
on the laps of their parents."

~ Emilie Buchwald

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I can attest to this truth! I definitely attribute my love for reading to my parents ~ we are a book-loving family. Throughout my childhood years, they read to Ryan and I often, and we went to the library on a regular basis. In fact, I think we were "library family of the year" on more than one occasion.

My Granny was also an avid reader; I miss chatting with her about books and the Bible. Isn't it interesting how literature can close the gap between generations?

These days Mom, Dad, and I share a Kindle account and often read the same things. And my dear friend Suzanne and I have had our own unofficial book club for years ~ trading books & passing on recommendations. There's something fun about sharing the joy of reading with others.

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{The kids reading The Wind in the Willows with GG}

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Once I started having kiddos, naturally we made going to the library part of our normal routine. Our local library is super awesome! It's such a creative and appealing space. A&A love library trips.

And at home we have books stored in pretty well every room. Even at their young age, A&A really enjoy chapter books. In addition to all their library and school-related books, we're currently reading The Chronicles of Narnia, Heidi, and Anne of Green Gables. I personally like to stick with one book at a time, but A&A like to switch things up a bit.

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"In the case of good books,
the point is not to see how many of them you can get through,
but rather how many can get through to you."

~ Mortimer Jerome Adler

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JD devours books too! A large percentage of what he knows is a result of teaching himself through reading ~ from Biblical truths to web design to photography to business and marketing, etc. For me reading is more of a hobby and a form of relaxation. I do read to learn for sure, but I also read for pure enjoyment. JD teases me for saying that when I read I feel like I'm "stealing time." Now that I can read on my iPhone, I can read anywhere, anytime. I love it!

That being said, many books go beyond enjoyment for me. They've opened my eyes to amazing things. Or sometimes atrocious things. I find historical fiction and biographies to be fascinating. Books detailing wars and persecution have brought to light the harsh realities of man and sin. They also tend to bring about a sense of thankfulness in my heart...for those that have gone before me, for that which I will likely never have to personally experience, and for those whose lives have allowed me the opportunity to glean wisdom from their insights and trials.

All that to say that I hope JD & I can successfully pass on our love of reading to our kiddos. So far, A&A seem to be easily enthralled and captivated by books. It's quite exciting! And on days when I walk into their rooms after what we call "reading//rest time" and find them buried in a book or sometimes a whole pile of books, it just thrills my heart!

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"Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them."

~ Arnold Lobel

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