Musings of a Bookworm

I participate each year in a 52 Books in 52 Weeks book challenge with a wonderful group of ladies via an online message board.  Pretty much I view my books as my friends, I like to revisit them often, rarely straying out of my comfort zone reading of fantasy and Regency romance.  Over the last few years that I have been participating in this challenge, I have stepped out of my comfort zone a few times and broadened my horizons.  There are always way more books to read than I have time for.   

This year myself and a few friends (in real life LOL) are going to start getting together each month to share what we've been reading.  I'm really excited about this as Robin and I have been discussing doing this for a long time.  I'm looking forward to our first get together in February!

January was a slow reading month for me!  Getting ready for my scrapbook weekend with Cheryl took some time, as well as The Princess Bride becoming a longer read than I thought possible!   Here's what I've finished, though, along with a short review.

As You Wish by Cary Elwes was a perfect book to start off the New Year!  I was so excited that Dan bought it for me for Christmas.  It was not only humorous but touching as well. I thought he wrote with a captivating voice.  Robin said Greg just listened to it on audio, and it was read by Cary Elwes.  I was thinking last night that I might just pick that up and listen to it again!  He really did a great job of pulling you into the making of the movie, making you feel like you were there and that you were just one of the family. My favorite parts were Andre’s fart, Chris Guest, hitting Westley on the head (and sending Carey to the ER), and Cary sharing his "As You Wish" moment with his grandfather.  I have a new appreciation for some of the movie scenes, especially the two mentioned above.  I can say that the work that he and Mandy Patinkin did to prepare for the duel at the top of the Cliffs of Insanity was unreal!  That whole scene was done by the two of them in its entirety (well, minus the acrobatic flips on that bar). What an impressive feat!  I can't wait until my family reads this so we can talk about it, though I have to admit to not being able to keep myself from sharing the part about Chris Guest knocking Cary out.  I rarely read non-fiction, so not only did I start my year with a non-fiction book, but I'm rating it EXCELLENT! A MUST READ! for any fan of The Princess Bride.

Next, I read The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami.  Murukami was the author of the month in my Book a Week group.  I loved the typewriter font and felt the physical book itself was a great little package.  However, it was a strange tale. I didn't find it terribly spooky or creepy, though, and I'm a wimp.  When I finished it, I thought, "That's it!?!"  Where was the rest of the story?  Was I missing some profound meaning?  Was the girl actually the boy’s beloved starling?  I actually had a theory halfway through the book about what was going on but was not even close.  After mulling it over for a day, I think that many short stories are abrupt, leaving questions unanswered.  It doesn't make me want to read one of his chunksters (especially since I don't think they are PG), though I found his writing easy to read.  I would hate to put that much time into a book that is 7x the size and still come out with that unsettled, unfinished feeling.  I'm glad to say that I read a Murakami, even though it's a short one.  INTERESTING but the absence of a concrete ending leaves it lacking for me!  

I was excited to read The Princess Bride by William Goldman after finishing As You Wish.  However, it took forever to read!!  I don't know if I'm disappointed in the book or in the fact that it took such a long time!  Days later I still had mixed feelings.  While I enjoyed the actual story of The Princess Bride, I did not enjoy Goldman's narrator voice.  No matter how many times I told myself that Goldman's interruptive narrations were fictional, I still found myself thinking they were real.  Ugh.  That was so annoying.  I also found Buttercup a little vague and insipid.  Robin Wright did a great job of giving her balance and spunk in the movie.  I love princesses and fairy tales, and happily ever after, but some of the interactions between Buttercup and Westley were over the top.  On a positive note, as far as the fairy tale part of it goes, it was a fun read.  I liked getting the back story on Fezzig and Inigo.  The Zoo of Death was an interesting, and intense, part that they left out of the movie.  Although I'm glad I read it, the movie was far superior to the book!  I would categorize this as an OK read but I’m not sure I would recommend it.  Skip to the movie!

Per the recommendation of the Book a Week girls, I picked up and finished Neil Gaiman’s Fortunately, the Milk.  It was cute.  I think that Madi and Makenna will enjoy it as a read aloud.  This was my third Gaiman.  I read The Graveyard Book last year, and Stardust a few years ago.  I can’t say that he is my favorite writer but I certainly applaud his unique stories and creativity!  When you pick up one of his books, it’s like you know that you are not going to get a formulaic story.  I appreciate that.  In fact, The Graveyard Book still floats its way into my mind now and again.  I think I may have liked it better than I thought.  But back to the milk!  I chuckled at the reference to the pink pony with a pale blue star.  Obviously the author is familiar with the My Little Pony craze J   And the image of the nice, handsome, misunderstood wumpire also gave a chuckle.  All in all definitely a CUTE book that is a great read for the kids!

Sometimes I have a favorite quote or two from a book.  This quote reminded me of Matt Smith's Doctor.  I could see him saying this!  Favorite quote:  “We have spoons.  Spoons are excellent.  Sort of like forks, only not as stabby.”

Co-op Ramblings

Our little co-op has taken on a different look these days.  Since it is now down to only four of us, I suppose we could call it just getting together.  But I stubbornly refuse!   Really, though, 

co-op is cruising along, and we are settling in to our different look.  

Sammy adores going to co-op!  I mentioned in a previous post that we bought Sammy a Spiderman backpack for co-op.  Unfortunately, I could not get a good picture of the backpack, but here is Sammy more than ready to go to co-op!  He starts asking to leave as soon as he realizes that Aly and I are there in the mornings.  I think he might push Madi and Makenna out the door early if he could.

Our first co-op of January was cancelled do to ice, so this day was a make-up day.   We had only a partial schedule and then lunch out at Chick-fil-a (yeah!)  Today in science Priscilla and Aly built a well from the K'Nex Simple Machines Wheels, Axels, and Inclined Planes set.  I had purchased this to go along with one of their Physical Science chapters.  There was so much information contained on the teacher's disc that came with the kit!  Originally, I had planned for them to build more than one model from the kit, but between the actual building time and the extras on the teacher's disc, well, we ran out of time.  We are thinking of setting aside a separate day just to dive headlong into the whole kit.

After the well was built, Priscilla and Aly did some experiments.  Eleanor and Sammy were having a snack, well Sammy was having "elevenses" like a hobbit as he had already had breakfast and second breakfast lol!  The little ones were a bit fascinated with the girls' experiment which was made funnier when Michelle found a little person in the toy bin to ride up and down in the well bucket!  Both Aly and Priscilla love the hands on aspect of science.  I love their enthusiasm!  

In Art class we began learning about value.  I've had a value lesson pinned on my Pinterest board for quite a while, just waiting for the right moment.  Which will actually be our next co-op as I found another value lesson that I thought would be a great winter project as well.  The Snowmen at Night Chalk Pastel drawing turned out lovely. We ended up using the book, Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner for our inspiration as Snowmen at Night had a huge wait list at our library!  Anyway, I was so pleased with their results!  

Aly drew on Calvin and Hobbes for inspiration for her snowmen!

Tea time was cut short today, but we were able to fit in Aly and Priscilla's I AM Poems.  I love these simple formulaic poems.  I was assigned to write one in high school, and I love how it shows personality.  Aly's is as follows...

I am a fighter and a geek

I wonder what I can unlock

I hear the typing of the keys

I see the codes of my computer

I want to break them all

I am a fighter and a geek

I pretend the enemy is easy

I feel my sword in my hand

I touch my opponent with its blade

I worry I won't hold him off

I cry when they reach my family

I am a fighter and a geek

I understand that these are dreams

I say that I will do them 

I dream about the time I will

I try to grow stronger

I hope that I'll fulfill this wish

I am a fighter and a geek

Skyeler's little pre-schoolers theme was snow today.  They read The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett, glued cotton balls on polar bears, made puffy paint snowmen (though they turned out just a bit abstract since they thought that the puffy paint should encompass the whole of the page!), and had pretend snow in their sensory bin!  As you can see the pretend snow was a HUGE hit and completely messy!  Sammy made it a full body experience LOL.  

Our second co-op day of the month dawned with a two-hour school delay!  So once again we were strapped for time.  It was our annual Pajama Day, and it couldn't have been a better day for it!  Michelle had the science experiment today which dealt with electricity.  Priscilla and Aly not only lit up a light bulb but tested different objects that they found around the church for conductivity.  They also spent some time with Aly's set of Snap Circuits.  

We moved on to our value lesson with painting this week.  Mixing colors was more difficult than I anticipated as getting a gradual increase from light to dark was a bit tricky.  Today's lesson was just to get the background painted.  Next co-op will be adding an image to the value background.  

Tea Time was a bit off kilter since we missed our first co-op of the year.  So we had poetry day again.  I assigned a project for the girls to work on for the rest of the year.  Their mission is to find a poem they like for each of the 36 poets assigned.  Since we alternate our poetry with our literature pick each month, I felt they were not getting exposed to a wide variety of poets and poetry.  I hope this assignment will broaden their horizons some.  In class we studied Haiku (which the girls were very familiar with), Lantern Poems, and Cinquains, as well as a short interactive lesson on cliches and how NOT to use them in your poetry writing.  It was Aly's turn to choose the next book to read, and she chose Sherlock Holmes.  Since there is only two weeks until our next co-op, I assigned only seven of Doyle's short stories.  I look forward to this as I haven't read any of them.

The Arctic was today's pre-school theme.  Skyeler used one of the books from her childhood (thanks Aunt Sherry), Shamu and the Adventurous Seal Pup, as the focus of their theme.  The pictures in this book are so adorable.  Sammy and Eleanor made their very own stuffed seal pup (which was a huge hit), glued marshmallows onto to a seal pup, and painted a seal pup with watercolors (very colorful that!).  We even found a special arctic snack to make, a polar bear ice cream cup!  I love having the little ones at co-op!  Skye does an amazing job with them.  

January

Before I begin...

This sweatshirt sums up how I feel about winter!

I really should have bought it!

"I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth."  

Luke 11:8

The first verse of the New Year to jump out at me.  

I realized that many times the next verses are the ones that get all of the attention:

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."  

Luke 11:9-10

So why did verse 8 jump out when everybody is talking about verses 9 & 10?  Maybe because verse 8 tells us that even though the asker is a friend, the person being asked still will not give him what he is asking for.  Wow!  The person being asked wouldn't give his friend what he was asking for BUT (or until) because of his importunity he will get up and give it to him - as much as he needs.  So what exactly was importunity?  According to Dictionary.com to importune means to demand with urgency or persistence.  I think sometimes we forget that drive-by prayer is not the answer.  Sure verses 9-10 are important:  ask and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened, but we need to remember that God wants us to be persistent in our prayers!   I never feel as if I have a handle on prayer.  Just how much am I supposed to ask for?  How can I be sure it is God's will when I ask?  So maybe this jumped out at me because God just wants me to be faithful and persistent and let Him do the rest.  I'm still struggling with the drive-by prayer, but now I am striving for more.

I enjoyed that quiet time New Year's morning to get into God's Word.  After ringing in the New Year the night before - why DO they call it ringing it in, for me it pretty much involves yawning it in -we were ready for the crazy pace of Christmas to be over!  New Year's Day was lovely, with twelve hours of college football and a new electric blanket to keep the cold at bay (thanks Mom and Dad!).  I do love football (and that electric blanket), and it was a good day as most of the SEC lost which made for a happy hubby.

Ok, so the crazy pace of Christmas was over but we still had some Christmas left to celebrate!  Danielle, Kenny, and the kids came over to exchange presents.  We always have so much fun that we often wonder why we don't do it more often!  The kids were crazy excited, and to be honest so were we!  Last year I did a Little House on the Prairie theme for the girls.  This year was Harry Potter, complete with books, wands, chocolate frogs, and the Wii Lego game all in the coolest trunk I found at Hobby Lobby (which I will admit to wanting to keep for myself).  Sammy's theme was Spiderman!  We got him a Spidey backpack and water bottle to take to co-op!  He kept putting ALL of his presents in his backpack.  It was so cute!  The kids were jumping around so much that most of our pictures were blurry, but here is Skye opening her present from the kids, and Aly, Madi, and Makenna cuddled up watching a movie after all the excitement was over.  

In case you haven't met the newest animal member of our family, let me introduce Everdeen.  Granny found Everdeen wandering around the hollar before Thanksgiving.  She thought that the girls and Bryce and Carter would enjoy having the bunny around for Thanksgiving week before finding a good home for him.  Well, we did find a good home for him.  With us!  Like Skyeler was not going to come home with that bunny.  Aunt Cheryl said it was divine intervention.  Skyeler had been wanting a bunny for over two years!  Well, the ornery booger has already wormed his way into our hearts so I had to include a couple pictures.

The highlight of my January was a scrapbooking weekend with Cheryl!  It had been a very long time since we had had the opportunity to get away without all those yahoos!  You wouldn't believe the shopping we got done (see picture below) with no yahoos getting antsy or accidentally pushing open dressing room doors while were are in it (ok, so that really hasn't happened for 12 years but we will never forget it LOL!).  I was excited to finally get to scrapbooking our vacation to Orlando (yes, that was 3.5 years ago, good thing I'm not anal about staying current!).  13 pages scrapbooked over the weekend!  Two more than Cheryl!  Woot woot!

In the midst of the cold, freezing days of winter, there is still beauty to be found.  A beautiful sunrise shining through the frosted windows.  The picture doesn't do the sparkling crystals proper justice.  

And what good would any blog post be without pictures of my girls?  Skyeler channeling her inner Downton Abbey, and Aly rockin' her new outfit and necklace from Aunt Cheryl.

(please excuse the quality of the pictures, obviously I seriously stink at taking them with my phone!)

Skyeler has been reading Harry Potter to Madi and Makenna (hence the Harry Potter theme for their Christmas presents).  Just last week they finished reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets so we decided to have them over for a movie night sleepover.   We watched both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  I had no idea that it would be such an interactive experience LOL!  There was lots of wand waving and Wingardium Leviosa spells.  And Sammy was cheering louder than Hermione during the Quidditch Match!  What a blast to be able to share these with the kids.  Skyeler said it's the closest thing to experiencing it for the first time again.

So January of 2015 is behind us.  Looking back through my Bible Smashbook (thanks, Robin!) I'm reminded of something I wrote down at the beginning of the month...

"It is wise to seek God's direction daily so you know 

where to spend your time."

Jackie Wellwood, One Hundred and One More Devotions for Homeschool Moms

As I see just how fast time flies, I want to remember this quote!  I am striving to spend my time wisely and not waste a precious minute of what God has for me.  

Fall into Co-op

The beginning of Fall brings us back to school, changing leaves, cooler temperatures, apple cider, anything pumpkin, and the start of our homeschool co-op.  Our co-op this year is quite small but very cozy.  Skye is teaching the little pre-schoolers, and the older girls are having Art Class and Tea Time with Poetry and Book Discussion.  Everyone joins in for Gym and Nature Study which we are calling Rabbit Trails :)  We had a great first day!  It is really fun having little ones around again, and Aly and Priscilla are enjoying being the oldest.  

Skye has settled on doing a theme book for every co-op week.  Since we went to the Butterfly House at the Arboretum, she picked The Very Hungry Caterpillar as her first theme.  After reading the book, the pre-school tots made caterpillars with marshmallows.  Eleanor had to taste her marshmallow before painting with it :)

In Art Class we studied horizon lines and learned a new technique with the watercolor paints (in Aly's picture that translates into what looks like the moon, in other pictures it looked like clouds).  I love all kinds of tree art.  I have to limit myself when choosing the Art projects for the year that we don't do too many trees.  

The little boys waiting for their turn.  They needed some constant supervision while learning to stand in line lol!  I love Skye's expression here.  Usually she needs them to "keep your hands to yourself" and I think she is waiting for this to turn south fairly quick.  But seriously, how cute are these little rugrats!

Aly practicing her soccer drills.  Lorin is teaching Gym and had them doing ball drills.  Skye said that Mr. Lorin needed to know that she was not participating in Gym class :)

Even the little ones are getting in on the soccer.  Here they are practicing kicking the ball through the cones.  Sammy plays soccer with Kenny & Makenna so he is a pretty good kicker.

Our Rabbit Trail adventure was at the Arboretum.  We were there to see the Butterfly House before it closes for the season.  But, of  course, there is a lot to be explored along the way!  Missy brought some magnifying glasses, and Ben, Sammy, and Gabe were all checking out the tree.  

There were so many butterflies in the Butterfly House today!  I had never seen so many there before.  I had printed off a Butterfly Scavenger Hunt page for the kids, and they were able to cross off the butterflies they found.  Skye is trying to show Sammy which butterfly he is seeing.  He just liked to mark his page :)

Aly and Priscilla and Ben 

Our little group :)  

After the Butterfly House some of us climbed the Bird Tower.  Not me, the last time I tried I about threw up!  Who knew I was so scared of heights!  Gabe took my hand and said that I needed to face my fears (he's 6) and said he would make a deal with me so I would go up the tower.  He assured me it wouldn't fall over and that it was safe lol!  I walked up about a quarter of the way and then let Gabe go on!  We also checked out the children's maze, and some nice people shared their bread with us and the kids all got to feed the turtles and blue gills.  I'm looking forward to what the rest of the year holds for us!

La, La, La

Basically, I'm ignoring (for now) January through August.  In my alternate life I have the time to catch up on the year and on each month of 2014.  In reality, my laptop stopped working and January to April pictures are on the other computer, and really, there just hasn't been the time to go back and post pics from those months (for now).  So we are just going to start with the beginning of our school year and carry on...

2013 in Review

My blog has felt neglected and alone these past few months.  It doesn't understand that my multi-tasking skills are woefully inadequate as is my tendency toward perfectionism.  My last posts were of our church youth group's history trip.  Even those posts were left undone as I was unable to achieve good wi-fi signal at our hotel.  Upon returning from the history trip, I dove headlong into planning Aly's 13th (yes, I said 13th, how in the world does that happen!) birthday party.  And after that, planning for our school year and our co-op, where I'm teaching three classes this year.  All of this has really taken up a chunk of my time.  Anyway, I couldn't just pick up and post (OCD tendencies as well).  I needed to at least document some of the past things we had done!  And that is where nothing got done!  So here it is, March 1st, and my blog is calling my name.  I've updated her, gave her a fancy new look, and she is ready for me to try again!  Seeing as how I'm still OCD, I couldn't just leave last year unattended :)  So here are a few of my favorite things...

 Christmas in January with Kenny, Danielle, and family

Skyeler, Aly, Madi, and Makenna

 We celebrated Christmas in January with Cheryl and the boys.

Carter, Bryce, and Aly enjoyed the hot tub in the winter weather.

Obviously nothing happened in February because I have no pictures from that month.  I know I 

was busy decluttering the house but I'm not sure what else!

 In March, Aly had a sleepover with Noelle and Priscilla and their American Girl dolls

 Easter was celebrated at Aunt Cheryl's house since Skyeler and I shot Dan's friend 

John's wedding the night before. 

 Aly joined an American Girl Book Club in April and May with Hannah, Priscilla, and Nina.  

Here they are dressed up for Hobo Day while reading the Kit books.

 We spent Memorial Day Weekend with my parents.  It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend.  

The highlight of the trip for Skyeler - the BUNNY!  She has been begging for a bunny but our answer is no.  At least at Randy's farm she was able to snuggle one for a bit.

 Skyeler wanted an updated picture for her blog profile.

 Aly and Granny (and O'Malley) goofing off while I'm taking Skye's pictures.

 June brought VBS.  Instead of doing our normal "Toss for a Fish" game at the VBS carnival, Dan made Ooblek.  All the kids had a marvelous time playing in it.  I don't know if Pastor was so appreciative, it DID make a big mess!  Aly, Kami, and Skyler Ray taking a turn.

 Skyeler and Elizabeth jumping in it.

 There is always face painting at the VBS carnival.  With this year's craze of My Little Pony, many of the girls had Cutie Marks painted on.  Elizabeth-Pinkie Pie, Aly-Rainbow Dash, Madi-Rarity, Skyler Ray-Rainbow Dash, Skyeler-Fluttershy, and Victoria-Twilight Sparkle.

 Skyeler decided to paint her room in July.  She and Aly did it all by themselves!  The turquoise blue color really goes well with her black and white accessories.

 On one of the hottest days of the summer, Danielle and I took the kids to Cox Arboretum.  

We enjoyed the Butterfly House and splashing in the creek.

Makenna, Aly, Sam, and Madi on the Butterfly Bench.

 Skye and Makenna taking a break.

 I posted some about the history part of our teen trip.  So here is a little fun.

Dan and Aly running down the beach at Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey.  

It was cold and overcast and the sea was rough, but anytime you are on the beach is a good thing!

 Aly and Dan come down the Alpine Slide at Seven Springs Resort in Pennsylvania.

I was too scared to ride the ski lift to the top :)

 In August Dan and I met Gene and Sue at the Columbus Zoo for the Day.  We enjoyed 

spending the day with them until a huge storm moved in.  It flooded the gift shop of the manatee exhibit

and the tunnel leading back to the other side of the zoo.  The ONLY tunnel leading to the other side

of the zoo!  We had to take our shoes and socks off and wade through almost knee deep water.  Ick.

 Aly's 13th Luau Birthday Party!  We had a BLAST! 

We had crafts (you can see their flip-flops we made in the picture), swimming, lots of food, candy kabobs,

hula and limbo contests!  Everyone was exhausted by the end of the day but Aly enjoyed it so much!

Abigail, Skyler, Nina, Madi, Aly, Makenna, Noelle, & Brianna

 We lost Sparkles to Congestive Heart Failure in September it was sudden and heartbreaking

for all of us.  We still miss him all the time.  Here he is at Aly's Luau party with a Lei around his neck

courtesy of Skyeler.  

 Dan ran the USAF Marathon in September with his best friend Roger who was in the 

country from Kenya.  Dan not only ran with him, but also trained three others who ran 

with them that day.  I'm always so proud of him, and I know he was excited to have 

people to run with!

 Skye, me, Dan, and Aly after the Marathon

 Aly had to do a Nature Scavenger Hunt for her Science book and we took Madi along too.  It was a very warm September day but we enjoyed walking around the Arboretum.  Aly and Madi were very serious about their hunt and were upset that we didn't have more time to complete it.  Here they are looking at a woolly worm we found.

 Sam enjoyed the Arboretum as well!  He likes it when he gets to go on field trips :)

Skyeler likes it too, until she realizes just how tiring taking Sammy on a field trip is lol!

This was such a cute picture of the two of them!

 We had snow on Skyeler's birthday in October...that should have been a warning to the horrible, horrible winter we were going to have.  Aly got the chance to Trick or Treat again this year with Priscilla.  The were both Elvish Princesses.  It was cold and rainy and by the time we finished we were all soaked through and the cape Aly was wearing must have weighed 10 lbs!  The girls still had a ton of fun, though!

 What's our favorite thing to do in November?  Thanksgiving at my parents with Cheryl and Glen and the boys!  This year it snowed!  That hasn't happend.  Granny was so excited that she and the kids could get out and go sledding.  And they did, every day!   This is my favorite picture from the weekend :)

 Our annual picture of the Yahoo's.  I remember the first year when Skyeler had to hold Carter!

Now they are growing up so fast we are afraid to blink!

Aly, Carter, Bryce, and Skyeler

 Thanksgiving around the table, yes I make everyone wait to eat until I've gotten a picture :)

 Me, Mom, and Cheryl

At this point in the year I have lost 19lbs, and darn it if the picture doesn't seem to show it!

I'm glad, though, that we got an updated picture of the three of us.

 We always look forward to Granny and Papa coming for Christmas.

Papa and his girls

 Granny, Papa, Aly, and Skyeler

 Our Christmas tree-Doctor Who style.

In celebration of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary, Dan and the girls wanted to make our tree a Doctor Who themed tree.  So we have a Fez, Fez's are cool! and red bows, bow ties are cool! and Sonic Screwdrivers, 3D glasses, Snowmen and Snowflakes, Bad Wolf, Weeping Angels, and a Tardis ornament.

 Aly and Elena looking all grown up!  

Dan's family

So now I can begin 2014 with a clear conscience.  

Hopefully, it won't be another seven months before I post again :)