Hairdos!

I had about 800 photos on my camera phone, so was clearing them off to free up data this week, thus coming across many photos of my hairdos.

One might ask why I have so many photos of hairdos on my phone.

I read aloud to the children at least half the nights per week (no longer every night!), and, some good subset of those nights, they choose to take turns doing my hair! Then they enjoy documenting the hairstyle with the camera so I can see it from behind.

I love reading aloud and how it becomes a family culture. My children will even ask as we're wrapping up dinner if I will be able to read to them that night. Yes, even the 11-year-old! There is no concept of the television being turned on after dinner unless it is a special, planned Family Movie Night. They're not off playing who-knows-what solitary game on an iPad.

We trundle upstairs, and bedtime routine somehow happens with all these various ages and people. Almost every night still (because it is earlier in the evening), I can read a chapter book to Thomas (3) and Joseph (5), currently "Dooryard Stories" (1903). They don't do hair-styling yet, but they will try to brush my hair sometimes!

Then I leave them tucked in and, if I can stay awake, I join my children ages 7, 9, and 11 to read aloud, currently "Mr. Midshipman Easy" (1836). Often my husband sits with us and listens too, which is a joy. They will style my hair, or paint my toenails, or put lotion on my legs.

It's really a special time and we love it!

And I love how we're all sharing stories. Yes, they then go tuck in and read numerous chapters of their own books that they're reading . . . but the shared culture is around the book that I'm reading aloud.

It's such a delight when one of my kiddos is reminded by circumstances of a character or a quotation from great literature we're read aloud and mentions it to us all.

And since I don't have a clue how to do my hair nicely, it's good they're getting practice!