Charlotte's Web

" On foggy mornings, Charlotte's web was truly a thing of beauty. This morning each thin strand was decorated with dozens of tiny beads of water. The web glistened in the light and made a pattern of loveliness and mystery, like a delicate veil." taken from Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White.

This morning we awoke to a wonderfully cool foggy morning. The fog was so thick that you could actually see it swirl around you as you moved. My husband found this spider web while drinking his morning coffee on the deck. Jessie and I came out to inspect it and it was truly beauty to the eye. Jessie was so excited she decided to look for more and we found at least ten.
This one was perhaps the most beautiful of them all.

We have been reading Charlotte's Web during our nighttime ritual and we had just finished the chapter where Charlotte wrote the words "Some Pig" in her web. This was one of my favorite books as a child. I remember Mom reading it to us before I could read, and I must have read it five or six times by myself. Jessie asked me one day if there was a book that went along with the movie. I told her yes, and we went to the library that day to get it. She has only seen the movie once when she was four, but she was very taken with it. I am glad that she wanted to hear the real story.

I was so blessed with a mother that took the time to read to my sister and I. Growing up, I can vividly remember sitting in her lap as she read Winnie the Pooh, Wizard of Oz, Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, and many others. I cannot imagine my life without books. I just hope that Jessie will have fond memories of reading in bed with me.

Creatures in my Backyard II

What a brilliant color green. This little guy decided to munch on my basil leaves one morning. Chris had gone outside for his morning ritual and began watering the herbs and potted plants and spotted the insect. He thought that he would use this opportunity to expand on a lesson that Jessie had recently learned about from reading with Daddy at night. They had read a book about camouflage. He brought her outside to see if she could find the little guy. By then he had moved over to the lantana plant and it took them a while to find him. Jessie was so excited and decided to name him Hoppy.

It is so amazing to get to see the world through a child's eyes. I think that sometimes we get so caught up in our routines and forget to slow down and see the little things. I am glad that Hoppy was able to let our family share in a moment of learning. Thank you Hoppy. Thank you Chris for this wonderful photo.