All Things Supercinski

We Supercinskis have been serious readers this summer, and I have read so many great books that I want to recommend them to you, our faithful readers.

Finished
A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. This is one of the most painful memoirs I have ever read. It is about a twelve-year-old boy forced into war where he witnessed and participated in some of the most horrible violence imaginable, but he tells his story honestly and without self-pitying.

Same Kind of Different as Me: A modern day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. I read most of this book this afternoon, and I am thinking about reading it again. My review doesn’t do it justice, so just read this one. Really, I can’t recommend it enough–go get it!

Stepping Heavenward by Elisabeth Prentiss. As Elisabeth Eliot says on the back cover of my book, I recommend this book “to any woman who wants to walk with God.” Not that it is that necessary, but I found it, though fiction, to be such an encouragement to me in growing in Christlikeness.

Currently Reading
Don’t Make Me Count to Three: A Mom’s Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline by Ginger Plowman. Her book is a wonderful compliment to Shepherding a Child’s Heart, but more on the practical side. She offers many suggestions of the “how” to reprove which I have found to be very helpful.

What Jesus Demands from the World by John Piper. I just started this one after getting it for only $2.50–what a deal! I am excited to read more.

Real Food by Nina Plack. Another that I just started, which is similar to The Omnivore’s Dilemma, one of our favorite food culture books. Another book I can’t wait to get into!

Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John de Graaf. This was loaned to us by a friend, who was right on the money in thinking that we would like it. It is a wonderful reminder of why we are told to lay up our treasures in heaven, when the world around us (and our minds) are always wanting to acquire more on earth.

Do you have any recommendations you want to share?

I’m launching my home-based business for all things baby. Not really, but some cute items that I think are great! Check it out: Super Slings. I think I should rename it Super Slings(ki). What do you think?

The jar of peanut butter I bought a mere 19 days ago is almost gone. Perhaps I’m over-indulging?

This weekend, I spent the longest stretch apart from Josiah in over two years (if you count pregnancy). I think it was harder on me than him! Since he weaned, I had been mulling over the idea of getting to go somewhere someday, but had not planned for it to happen so soon. When a great weekend opportunity of seeing family and good friends came together, Thomas decided I should go. Mind you, I didn’t really think I should, backed out twice, but went at my husband’s insistence, and I’m glad I did!

I left Saturday morning and enjoyed a long drive to Dallas, able to listen to whatever I wanted and be alone for a while. Before I left, I put Josiah down for his nap, snuggled him close and cried like a baby. It was ridiculously hard to leave that boy!

I was able to attend my sister-in-law’s baby shower (she’s the pregnant one in the middle), where I caught up with my mom, another sister-in-law (also pictured), and my brothers.

After the shower, I drove farther north in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and enjoyed the company of friends from the good ole days of college. I had a wonderful time catching up with these beautiful ladies!

Pictured: Sarah (a faithful reader), Erin, Your’s Truly, Kelly, and Lacy.

You gals are such great friends, and I enjoyed uninterrupted and minimally distracted conversations with you!

And I can’t post about a trip alone without thanking Thomas for keeping Josiah all by himself for 24 hours. What a way to celebrate Father’s Day by being such a wonderful dad!

We’ve been enjoying our boy a lot this month. Some of his favorite activities have been exploring the pool (the perimeter of it mostly, the grass areas and the fence), playing at the splashpad, playing at parks, digging in his sandbox, playing in Big Bath, playing dress up, playing with toys and Dean. As you can see, this boy loves to play!

Josiah has been communicating even more this month. He is still signing, but mostly prefers to speak his words. The signs come in when he is desperate for us to know what he is saying. Some new (and fun) words this month are: turtle (I’ve GOT to get it on video), potato (ta-toe), toe-toe, heavy (hea - sounds like he is straining to go to the bathroom) and hand (ha-an). Hand is a helpful word to know as he often gets a finger stuck somewhere and says that to alert me. He also started combining two and three words together this month. The first time it was “bye-bye Daddy car” after Thomas left for work. We’re also hearing “big bath”, “big truck”, “heavy truck”, “Iah car” (Josiah’s car), etc.

He figured out how to undo the velcro on his BumGenius diapers–even underneath his clothes if he’s wearing a one-piece outfit. He enjoys pushing his push-car around the house (and turning it around when he gets stuck!), and reading books. He will sit still long enough for books with more of a story, and has stopped tearing up non-board books. He is eating much better these days and tries our meals most of the time. Here he is enjoying his breakfast of a banana and some cereal.

At some point this month, Josiah was replaced with a toddler who throws tantrums when he is frustrated or doesn’t get his way. He throws himself onto the ground, kicks and screams and causes us to wonder where our sweet boy went. Thankfully, we are learning how to deal with these and prevent them from occurring (by giving warnings that soon it is time to go inside, etc.)

This video highlights his month’s achievements including: running through the house after bathtime, eating with a spoon, yelling “no” all of the time, and just being cute. Enjoy!

If you were to stop by our house sometime during the day, there’s a pretty good chance you’d catch us looking like this:

Josiah loves hats, and now he has decided he will wear one on occasion. It’s great fun. He also decided last week that he wanted to dress up with new shoes he found in his closet.

Today, we entertained ourselves for a full half hour (which is eons in Josiah-time) with one of Daddy’s shirts Josiah was carrying around. Seeing this makes me feel like our little guy is really little!