I don’t know what happened to April. It seemed to zoom by more quickly than usual.

We’re still in up-and-down weather, but we’re gradually having more warm days than cool ones. We’re getting plenty of “April showers,” so hopefully that will make up for the dry spell and fire warnings we were experiencing and prepare us for an abundance of “May flowers.” I’m relishing these warm days before the heat of summer sets in.

We celebrated my grandson’s birthday and Easter this month. I don’t think we had any major outings.

Timothyisms

Last week I included in my “Laudable Linkage” this video of a new baby who seems unimpressed with the outside world.

When I showed it to Timothy, he said to the baby, “You’ll get used to it.”

Creating

I only made one card this month, for Timothy’s birthday. For years he has loved “balloon men,” or, as we discovered they were called, air dancers. I had seen a couple of cards with them on Pinterest, but I didn’t want to copy them exactly (especially since they were both items the makers were selling.) But Cricut didn’t have any images of them, and I couldn’t find a template of them. I’ve mentioned before that I am not at all good with freehand drawing. But I printed out a couple of samples and got out my ruler and pencil, and came up with a reasonable air dancer.

I cut out the eyes from white cardstock with a hole punch and then used a Sharpie marker to color in all but the little white dot. I thought about using tissue paper for the “hair,” but in the end decided to make it simple by just cutting slits in the top and then fanning them out a bit.

Watching

Jim and I saw a few movies, but the only one I thought really good was The 12th Man. It’s based on a true story. Twelve Norwegian men disguised as fishermen sabotaged several German facilities in Norway during WWII. But then they could not find a man they were supposed to meet, running into another man by the same name instead. That man, fearing he was being tested by the Nazis, reported the group. The Nazis found and killed all but one of the Norwegian men. The head of this Nazi group followed the escapee, Jan Baalsrud, with Javert-like persistence. Jan headed toward neutral Sweden, but the brutally cold weather, lack of supplies, injury, and other factors hindered his progress. Jan became something of a national hero, symbolizing hope to his fellow countrymen.Those who helped him were taking their lives in their hands. The majority of the film is in other languages with English subtitles, but after a while we got caught up in the story and didn’t mind watching that way. There is an annual event in Norway following Jan’s pathway. (Warning–a few bad words).

Reading

I felt a little bad that the first couple of weeks, I only finished reading and reviewing one book each week. Then the last couple of weeks, I finished and crowded in several. I’d like the book reviews to be spread out a little more evenly, but that doesn’t always work out.

Since last time I finished (titles link to my reviews):

• Be Restored (2 Samuel & 1 Chronicles): Trusting God to See Us Through by Warren W. Wiersbe.
• Be Encouraged (2 Corinthians): God Can Turn Your Trials Into Triumphs by Warren W. Wiersbe
• Another Gospel: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity by Alisa Childers. This will be one of my top ten books of the year.
• I Must Decrease: Biblical Inspiration and Encouragement for Dieters by Janice Thompson
• The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope, the final book in his Chronicles of Barsetshire series.
• To Sir, With Love, an autobiographical novel by E. R. Braithwaite.
• The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
• When We Were Very Young and Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne (I’ll review these along with the other Pooh books when I finish them.)

I’m currently reading:

• Ten Time Management Choices That Can Change Your Life by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims
• “Don’t Call Me Spry”: Creative Possibilities for Later Life by Win Counchman
• The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis
• The House on Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
• IBS for Dummies by Carolyn Dean and L. Christine Wheeler

Usually I read much more fiction than nonfiction. But somehow, I’ve been dipping into more nonfiction lately.

Blogging

Besides book reviews, Friday Fave Fives, and Saturday Laudable Linkage, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Dormant Souls. “Believers have their winters too,” says John Newton. Yet dormant is not dead. With the light of God, the nourishment of His Word, and “springs of living waters,” He can bring us out of dormancy and into vitality and growth and fruitfulness.
• What We’re to Be Before We Teach. Most teaching from Titus 2 centers on the content older women are to teach younger. But first, Scripture talks about the character of older women.
• Lamb of God, who died to take away our sins when we believe on Him.
• Why Is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Important? I really enjoyed this study. It gave me new appreciation for all the resurrection means and accomplishes.
• “At Least I’m Still Good for Something.” Sometimes we’re so caught up in taking care of loved ones’ needs, especially elders’ needs for safety, that we forget to let them know they still matter.

As we change the calendar over to May this weekend, I look forward to a short road trip with a friend (more on that later), Mother’s Day, and filling our planters. Jim takes care of the yard work and what landscaping we have, but I enjoy arranging two big planters in front of the house and one on the patio. Somehow these plants survive my lack of green thumb more than houseplants do. I want to try planting peonies somewhere in the yard. I may start a sewing project. I’ve mended and made curtains and pillows, but I have not sewn clothes in ages. I’m not looking forward to a scheduled colonoscopy except for getting it over with.

How was your April? Looking forward to anything in May?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)