B is for books and beaches

Books

I love books, all kinds. Children's books, cookbooks, mysteries, novels, theology books, all sorts. I keep getting more and usually like each one. I loved reading from first grade on, when I was a good enough reader to read the colored books of fairy tales, which must have been Andrew Lang's Fairy Books or Andrew Lang's "Coloured" Fairy Books composed of a twelve-book series of fairy tale collections. I am grateful for books, especially all of mine.

Beaches

The times my dad was stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA my mother would often take me to the beach on the base. It was so much fun to play in the sand and go into the water. My mother would ask me if I was cold, and she said I would always declare, "NO" while my legs were turning blue.

I love the rocky and sandy beaches along the Oregon coast and the Washington coast. The rugged coastlines are nice places to climb. Hearing the sounds of the waves is soothing to me, especially at night.

The beaches in south TX are smooth and sandy. When our children were little, we would take them to the beach every Sunday morning where I had a big beach umbrella to sit under with the nursing child I had at that time. Their dad would play in the water with the others.

Babies

Babies are wonderful. They are sweet and need to be held often. I believe that answering their cries increases their trust, which is important to their development. I loved having my babies and breastfeeding them.

Breastfeeding

I am grateful that I breastfed my four babies. I learned how to be a mother by breastfeeding my first child. I had had no siblings and had never been around younger children much, so having baby DC was totally new for me. Breastfeeding forced me to hold him often; it taught me to connect with him and learn what he was like and what he needed. Nursing each child was different; thinking of this brings back sweet memories of each one.

Birthdays

I love to celebrate birthdays. Food seems related to celebrations in our family. For my children's birthdays, they could choose breakfast and dinner menus, as well as which cake I would bake from scratch. DC used to construct a birthday cake from three different cookbooks--cake, filling, and icing. One birthday cake of MJ's was supposed to be a Boston Cream Pie (cake); the top flew off the bottom layer onto the floor when I took it out of the refrigerator! And since he was in grad school, CB always bakes me a cheesecake for my birthday--each year.

Blogging

I am grateful for blogging and the friends I have found here.