Book Club

I've decided to start posting monthly about book club. There are about five of us that get together each month and discuss a book. Whoever hosts chooses the book for that month. We usually eat yummy food (if the host is feeling ambitious, she tries to pull a food theme from the book), drink some wine and spend time talking about the book. It's always hard to stay on topic and somehow we eventually talk about our kids.

June was "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. I had gotten the idea from my mother in law's book club list. She's part of a different group and they select a book each month from a specific list. Anyhow, the book was excellent and I would recommend to all if you're looking for a good, quick summer read by the pool. I loved many of the characters and the way the story unfolded.

A short synopsis.... The story is about Lily's life in the south during the 60's. Her mother tragically dies when she's little and she eventually escapes her abusive father and heads to Tiburon, SC with her nanny Rosaleen. Lily chooses Tiburon because she finds a photograph left by her mother picturing a Black Madonna. The location was written on the back.
Her journey leads her to a honey house where she and Rosaleen live with three black sisters. Here, she learns about herself and her mother's past.

Visit to the Farm

Our friends, Amy and Jeff have a farm out in PA, a little over an hour from us. Tuesday, Anna and I piled all five kids into my van and went out for a visit. We told them we were going to a farm and when we arrived Carter asked, "Where are the farmers?". I pointed to my friend Amy, definitely not what he envisioned....she wasn't wearing overalls or driving a tractor! Nonetheless, they do own a tractor and have two horses with lots of land.

Amy had invited us out because she knows how much the kids love dirt. They are having a garage built and happen to have a huge pile of dirt in their driveway. The kids played in the dirt and ran through the field. We checked out the horses, but the only willing riders were Anna and Trenton. The other kids were a bit scared and would only feed them carrots.

Baby Paul Joseph Arrives

My brother, Joe and his wife, Barbara welcomed the arrival of their son last week. His older sisters are thrilled and want to hold him all the time!! Leah wasn't feeling well throughout the week so Jeremy and I weren't able to meet him until Friday after they got home from the hospital. Paul has blond hair and is super cute, weighing in at almost 9 lbs. The kids and I went shopping for clothes, as this is their first boy and Carter insisted that we get him something with trucks and camo. I think he's pretty happy that he has a new boy cousin! Congratulations Joe and Barb.