The Book List - January

I wrote recently that the puppies celebrated their first birthday.  Tabby and I were delighted when I received several pictures from the young woman that got the puppy Bongle from us.  He looks like such a noble dog.  :)  She renamed him Biggie and just adores him:

Now for the books I read last month:

Living Virtuously: A Wife's Complete Guide to Keeping Her Heart & Home by Erin Harrison - I actually received this book for free along with another book I ordered.  I am glad though, as I really enjoyed the book.  The author is a very interesting woman and the book is filled with lots of stories about her life, to help illustrate all her points.  She is a homeschooling and homesteading mama of 5.  (You may be familiar with Erin and her family through their "Homesteading for Beginners" DVD series.  FYI - This series is cheaper bought from Erin's shop, than amazon.)  The book is basically an application of Proverbs 31 to our lives today in this modern world.  I learned some new tools for my arsenal in a variety of things from dealing with children and money to spring cleaning.  Erin blogs at Keeper of the Homestead. 

Solomon loves to pretend to "feed" Lucia

 Raising Godly Tomatoes: Loving Parenting With Only Occasional Trips to the Woodshed by L. Elizabeth Krueger -This book was actually re-read for me.  A many times re-read.  I try to re-read it once every year or so.  When my oldest was born, I read a variety of modern day books on raising children.  (She is a very strong willed child.)  Oh my, what a mess.  I don't know if ANYTHING I read worked.  (I mean really - the best way to stop your child's tantrum is to throw yourself on the floor and wail and kick and scream with them so they see how stupid it is and want to stop?  Puh-lese! (And yes I tried it once to humor myself but the result was not humorous!))  Unfortunately I didn't learn about Raising Godly Tomatoes until she was much older.  But some has helped with her.  The book is really geared towards younger children (grade school and under).  The strategies are simple, Biblical, and work very well with my youngest two.  (As long as I am being consistent!)  The book is filled with examples from real life, and solutions.  You can actually read this book for free on the author's website: Raising Godly Tomatoes.  She also has many additional articles posted that are very helpful, including help in raising older children.

Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time by James Cloyd Bowman -This book was assigned for Tabby's Veritas Press online history course.  She was really excited when she saw it.  She said she had once checked out a shorter, heavily illustrated version of Pecos Bill from the library and read it over and over.  She said it was tall tales about the cowboy days.  Hmmm - I thought "Yuck.  I don't really like stories like that."  But - it turned out I did like this book!  Pecos Bill was raised by coyotes as a child and then found by one of his brothers when he is older.  He goes with his brother and becomes a cowboy.  He does all sorts of crazy, amazing things.  And through it all, he remains humble.  This book is well written and entertaining.  The author did a good job of collecting tall tales. 

Kitty My Rib: The Heartwarming Story of a Woman of Courage and Devotion by E. Jane Mall - This book is about Katherine and Martin Luther.  I read another book about Katherine a few months ago, and was so interested and inspired by her I wanted to read another.  "Kitty my rib" is an affectionate term Martin had for his wife.  She was an amazing woman, doing all she could to raise a family and support Martin in his work as a great reformer of the church.  (She married Martin several years after escaping from a nunnery.)  Katharine was not perfect of course, but she really is a wonderful example of what a strong, hard working Christian woman should inspire to be.  The Luther's lost two children, and those sections were extra touching to me.