Nightstand (September 2017)

My busy summer is apparently not quite over – at least not as far as reading goes. Between starting “school” with Tirzah Mae (which means LOTS of picture books, but not a whole lot of grown-up reading), trying to put extra meals in the freezer (at least a couple a week), weeding the gravel driveway (possibly a fool’s errand, but we’d rather not spray more than we need to), canning applesauce, and attempting to get that porch railing done before the baby comes… Well, I haven’t finished much reading this month. In fact, I’ve only finished TWO books!

Finished this month:

• The Midwife by Jennifer Worth
  I checked this memoir out of the library because it was in the pregnancy/birth section and I’ve read all the clinical and “how-to” stuff in that section. I figured since I haven’t done any pregnancy reading this pregnancy, maybe I’d glean something from the birth stories within. Turns out that wasn’t to be – there’s not near as much about pregnancy and birth as you’d expect from a book called The Midwife. But, this was a fascinating story nonetheless – a coming-of-age and coming-to-faith story of sorts. I enjoyed it greatly.
• Keys to Toilet Training by Meg Zweiback
  At the point I checked this out of the library, I was starting to wonder if my “wait until she’s obviously ready” strategy for toilet training Tirzah Mae was going to backfire. Maybe I needed to step things up and get her trained before the baby comes. Turns out, the author of the “keys” is pretty into relaxed potty training herself – and I was about two chapters in when Tirzah Mae up and trained herself, with only minimal input from me. I finished the book, which I thought gave generally good advice (mostly consisting of “relax, give it time, keep at the gentle process”). Tirzah Mae asked me once what the book was about and I told her – and periodically since, she’s been asking if she could read “Keys to Potty Training” (of course, I let her!)

Actively in Progress:

• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley
• For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage by Tara Parker-Pope
• The Weekend Homesteader by Anna Hess

Passively in Progress:

• Free to Learn by Lynne Oldfield
• HypnoBirthing by Marie F. Mongan
• Learning to Talk by James Christopher Law

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

Postscript: For those wondering about my pregnancy – thank you so much for praying! We had a doctor’s appointment today and all is well so far. My blood pressure remains low, my weight gain is appropriate, and there’s no protein in my urine. Baby is quite active, with a good heartbeat and good uterine growth. Praise God! Please continue praying for health, yes, but also that we would have grace to trust God with the uncertainty that comes along with the last trimester for us.