Read with Me

 When I was a little girl I would bring Dr. Seuss books home for my mother to read to us at bedtime because they were tongue twisters and she would sometimes stumble....and I liked that.  She would probably laugh about it and that would be my favorite thing.  Laughing together.

My three favorite Dr. Seuss books for beginning readers are;

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

One fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Hop on Pop

They rhyme and are silly.  The Grinch even has a message I can get behind.

A few other children's books from my childhood that I find are wonderful for early readers are books by P.D. Eastman;

Are You My Mother?

Go Dog Go

and two more very beloved teaching books...

Put me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

A Fly Went By by Mike McClintock

These last two seem to be more unusual but I just love them.  I've brought my own copies in to school to read with my struggling readers.  The stories are lively and both have surprise endings.

I love Harold and Piggie by Mo Willems...they are two funny dudes and I love Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel.  

What are your very favorite beginning readers?  

Encourage one another,  Donna Elsie

Joy bringers

I always have a story.  I'm not sure if it is annoying or not.

But so much of this year has been about not doing anything so I am recalling more than usual.

Having grandchildren bring memories of our own children.

Patrick and Shelby's baby boy Silas is one year old today!  

 

Look at those blue eyes!!!  

Love you little ones.   Little joy bringers.

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie aka Yaya

Center part vs side part

Apparently the word around town is that old ladies wear the side part and young cool girls wear a middle part.   If that is is the case it's because they are ill informed.

The middle part was 'in' in the 70's.  I clearly remember my father having an opinion about this.

Here is what he thought of the middle part.....

It made an impression on me and I have never worn a center part.

Also...

I watch too many period dramas to think a middle part is attractive.

Ruth with a middle part....

I rest my case.

It did, however seem to suit Cher.

And what can I say, who looks more chic than Ali Macgraw in the 70's 

tearjerker, Love Story.

Love means never having to say I'm sorry about my middle part....I guess.

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

Ruffles have ridges.

"It's a father's duty to give his sons a fine chance."

~George Eliot

I absolutely love this picture.

Big Patrick and Little Patrick.

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

 

Dear Fellow Humans by Brad Montague

 

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

~Albert Einstein

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

Much too clever

“But where do you live mostly now?"

With the lost boys."

Who are they?"

They are the children who fall out of their perambulators when the nurse is looking the other way. If they are not claimed in seven days they are sent far away to the Neverland to defray expenses. I'm captain."

What fun it must be!"

Yes," said cunning Peter, "but we are rather lonely. You see we have no female companionship."

Are none of the others girls?"

Oh no; girls, you know, are much too clever to fall out of their prams.”

~J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

 

Whispering

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience,

but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.

-C.S Lewis

This video makes me feel so peaceful and dreamy.

Thank you to Ambient Worlds on YouTube.

Encourage one another,

Donna

Add to the beauty...

Yesterday I was at the local grocery store...these beautiful cheeses caught my eye.

Super cute packaging!!

I saw this amazing kitchen on Zig and Company on Instagram.

That scaloped hood!! Those wonderful colors!!!  LOVE at first sight.

******

The lantern and the life jacket have my name on them!!!

*****

If you are not on twitter or other social media you will not know that the funniest meme of the century was Bernie and his Mittens.  Bernie was sitting alone in the stands at the inauguration and he looked a bit lonely and forlorn and cold.  So clever people photoshopped Bernie into a million funny places.

I loved this one of course.  He is also doing the Lambeau Leap in one of the memes I saw.

People are funny.  I like that about people.

*****

Yesterday I was on Facetime with Emma and River.

River hadn't napped and Emma said she was feeling tired.

I suggested River just play in her crib so Emma could lie down too.

I started to sing to River.

*****

Stay Awake from Mary Poppins

Even tho I did not expect it...

River hugged her baby and laid her head down.

Popped up.

And laid down again.

That song IS pretty magical.

Worked for Mary Poppins and apparently worked for YaYa.

River slept.

Emma did not.

Facetime has been a real blessing to me.

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

 

Excuse me.....

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

 

Cindy wins a prize.

Did you know my sister Cindy was honored by a magazine in Columbia Mo.?  She chose as her prize a visit from the Oscar Mayer wienermobile.

The wienermobile came to her house and drove her to the school where she was teaching kindergarten.

Yes.  It's true!  She was able to hand out little wiener whistles to the children!

And that is only one reason we Glyman girls are all crazy about the Oscar Mayer wienermobile.

This young man came over to say hello as I was taking pictures.  You must be friendly to have the job of driving this amazing vehicle around the country.  (This one was called RELSHME.)

I told him about Cindy and her prize.  He loved it!

Find joy in the small things....and the really big odd things too!

Love ya!

Donna Elsie

Thirsty Birds

 

This morning I was in the bathroom and I heard some banging on the roof.  What could that be I wondered?  A squirrel?  Tap. Tap. Bang. Bang.

I looked out the window and saw a shiny black crow fly away from the gutter.

There was more tapping....

And I spied another big crow.

Last week I saw three crows fly into our yard. One was carrying a piece of toast.

A whole piece of toast.  This kept them interested for a few days.

I think what was going on this morning was the crows were trying to find some water in my gutter.

I think I'm going to see if I can provide water and feed them.  

I looked up this morning if it's okay to feed them and I found this sweet video story.

It seems that dog food is fine and scraps and eggs and peanuts....they like peanuts in the shell.  

Have you ever feed the crows?

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

Full of hope

 

Twenty years ago we drove Patrick to college in Omaha Nebraska.

Patrick with his enviable model figure of 6,1' 130 lbs, Matthew with braces, Emma at eleven, and Katie is a little cherub of 8 months old.

*****

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

~Maya Angelou

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

For such a time as this.

Joan of Arc. By Charles-Amable Lenoir.

 

“Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be. God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident. Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God. Train them up in the authority of His Word. Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control. Empower them to know they can change the world. Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it. Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan. He knew Daniel could handle the lions den. He knew David could handle Goliath. He knew Esther could handle Haman. He knew Peter could handle persecution. He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it! Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose you to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime. Rise up to the challenge. Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters! God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world. He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth. Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed on them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.”

~Alex Cravens

With everything going on in our country now I have had many fears for my children.

I read this on an Instagram story and it was just want I needed to hear.  

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

Christmas past.

 

The relatives came!  We really had a nice visit. 

Stayed home for the most part.  Lots of togetherness in our small nest.  

My easy delicious meals were delicious but they ended up not so easy.  

I've got the tenderloin recipe perfect so I am going to put my method on my recipe page;

Recipes I have know and loved

Matthew and Melinda helped Katie celebrate her 21st!

Grand children minus Dottie and Silas! 

River, Malachi, Lorelei, Asher, Ezekiel

They are full of life.

River would not let me hold her.  So before she left I cuddled up close to her and pretended.

Excuse my wacky hair.  I was not thinking of my appearance.

Birthday girl and her boyfriend, Chandler.

Hi River!  Do we have enough blankets to peekaboo with you?

Little sledders!  

Party girls!

So wild.  haha

So that was Christmas!!!  A few weeks ago.  

I had this all ready to go but forgot to post it.

It's always Christmas when you believe.

Encourage one another,

Donna Elsie

Christmas yet to come.

 Hi Friends!  

We had such a nice weekend!  Patrick Jr. came for a visit!  We have exciting news about Patrick and his family, they are moving to Omaha!!!  Everything has fallen into place beautifully!  The job, the house, the timing...just perfect.  Wouldn't it be nice to know that and really believe it as you are approaching a big life change???  I know God tells us that he is working it out for the good ....  but gosh, we humans are such doubting Thomas'.

Okay.  So yeah.  I forgot about our clothes.  haha.....

But I got the photos!!!

*****

Do you remember when you were young and you would ask your father what he wanted for Christmas?

And he was always say, for us to be good or not to fight?

Plus there was the fact that when he wanted something he would just buy it for himself.

Well.  We are there now.  At a certain point. We have all the stuff we need.  Except for Cornishware. 

( I actually have a box stuck in Memphis, for some odd reason. It's been there since Dec. 2)

In fact, do you want some stuff.  Come on over.  You can have some of mine.  I've run out of room.  

During covid I have been stocking up, but the cabinets are full so I call putting the bags of paper towels, toilet paper and groceries under my piano my overflow area.  

Too much stuff

Too much stuff

More than enough

More than enough.

(three blind mice)

Thank you Elisabeth Elliot.  

I caught Katie singing this yesterday as we unloaded the groceries!!!

Emma and James and girls are coming to town tomorrow and so are Matthew and Melinda and boys!  

We are so happy to be together this year.  

Katie will be twenty-one on the 24th and she asked her sibs to come and celebrate with her and it worked out just great for everyone!!!

I will try to cook delicious and easy meals.  

We will make Patrick's cookies.

Hope there will be some sledding and maybe a little bowling.

And I'm sure the guys will find a football game to watch.

I have saved watching White Christmas so we can watch it together!

I'm counting my blessings.

Oh my gosh!  Tiny hat with big pompom!!!

Thank you mom!

Yes, I have a full size FP barn.  It moos.  

This ornament is the cutest.

A shiny bean to remind me of our fun visits to Chicago at Christmastime.

This little gal is on my card this year!  

Such a pretty ornament!  Thank you Nancy!

Little Matthew made this CUTE Rudolph!

Grade One!

Sending love to you dear ones.

I feel at peace and that's a good feeling to have in my heart.

Merry Christmas and love to all,

Donna Elsie