The sound of music

I recently finished reading " The Story of the Trapp Family Singers" by Maria Augusta Trapp. The book belongs to my parents and I have read it before. I enjoyed reading it again so much that I ordered a copy to have on our shelves from CBD . We had recently watched the movie (the first time I had seen it since I got married and the first time, period for Ken and the kids) and we all really enjoyed it except Ken wasn't sure about the singing conversation.
The book had some great thoughts on how a family should be and I thought I would share a couple quotes with you.
The first one is Maria visiting about celebrating birthdays and such: "But whatever the day may be, it is turned into a feast only by that genuine affection of which a large family is a real powerhouse. If people would only understand that you cannot buy feasts with money. They must come out of your heart, out of that love which makes one inventive. I don't want to say that money must necessarily spoil a feast. If used rightly, it can enhance it and add a good deal to it; but only- and this is very important- if it comes on top of the other, never as a substitute. The foundation has always to be this mutual fondness without which there can be no festive spirit. A birthday table can be laden with flowers from the fields, and presents made with the clever fingers of your children, the monetary value of which is only cents but which to you are priceless." It is birthday season here at our house (all except one of our birthdays are from late August to early December) and I really like what she says here. The love of family and the joy of celebrating together is what really makes the day special - never how much money is spent.

Later on she speaks of family life and uses this quote "A family which sings together, plays together, and prays together, usually stays together." After that she speaks of how things were in that era (which was in the 1940's), and gives a message which is even more true today. "Our age has become so mechanical that this has also affected our recreation. People have gotten used to sitting down and watching a movie, a ball game, a television set. It may be good once in a while, but it certainly is not good all the time. Our own faculties, our imagination, our memory, the ability to do things with our mind and our hands- they need to be exercised. If we become too passive, we get dissatisfied."
I would definitely recommend reading this book, I believe you will enjoy it. There is a lot of Catholic doctrine in here, stuff about saints etc that I know I do not agree with (that doesn't come from the bible) but I did find it interesting to read about it but overall just to learn from their family life. What are your thoughts?