For the Love of Books

This year our Church Ward has focus has been on something different every month. For example 100% Family Prayer or 100% Family Scripture Study. For the month of July it was 100% Temple attendance or to prepare a name to submit. Well of course Saturday the 31st July I managed to make it in. Better late then never and it was so what I needed.


Well on the way home I stopped at a yard sale. I haven't been to one in a very long time because I have more than enough to deal with here. But the big signs and balloons got the better of me. I had no children on board who would always want toys which is out of the question. So I stop, I knew i wouldn't be long as i only had $6 in coins. Well, sitting in a lovely cane basket over in the corner was a box of old books. So while everyone else was looking at the dvd's and computer games I dived into this little basket. The woman must have been mad. She had 5 books from the little house in the prairie series from 1970's. Heidi from 1950. 5 books from the Anna of Green Gables series from the 70's and a Anne's House of Dreams from 1938. Seven Little Australian's and the Diary of Anne Frank, Black Beauty, and several other classic books. I took them all to the lady and asked how much for the lot. She said $1, not each for the lot and $1 for the basket!. I nearly passed out. When I got home my girls were just crazy with excitement. Even though the have read or are reading them at the moment, to hold these old beautiful books in their hands was just amazing to them. Like me they couldn't understand how anyone could part with them.


While my find was such a blessing, the best part was to see my girls reactions. Not of 'yuck' those books are old and worn but the opposite. They saw the beauty and value (not monetary) but the literary value and appreciation of the books for what they were.

They have all their special books on a shelf, and they treasure them and each girl has a box set of books like Little House on the Prairie because they want to read them again and read them to their children. To treasure them. I love that. My girls aren't natural learners and reading has been a great challenge to them but I have never pushed only lead them into loving books. That is a great gift and I'm so glad to watch them curled up in the beanbags reading and reading. They are also blessed to have a Dad who every single night spends over an hour each night reading aloud three separate stories (chapter books) to the girls. This time for them is incredibly special. Night after night he reads, but you always hear "oh dad you can't stop now, what happens in the next chapter". he then sings them to sleep night after night. Sometimes the stories get the better of him and I will find the children long asleep but him still reading away to himself because the story has got the better of him.

"What a splendid day... I pity people who aren't born yet for missing it. They may have good days, of course, but they can never have this one". Anne of Green Gables

You just can't beat reasoning like her's can you!