Books we are enjoying

I am reading The Mysterious Benedict Society to Joy and Andrew which Sarah at In the Midst of it recommended on her blog. They absolutely LOVE it. The Good news for them is that it is a series!

Socrates Meets Jesus is a book that really blessed Nathan. He says that it really helped his faith and he wants us all to read it. Zac just finished it and he says he thought the author 'was a genius' and really enjoyed it. So, we highly recommend it for your high school students. (I had Nate read it as a part of his logic class and I plugged it into Zac's studies for world history when Socrates was being studied)

Now Zac is reading Jane Austin's Emma for English and having some trouble getting into it.... LOL Since we've been discussing it, he thinks he might live through it. ha ha
We'll have to watch the movie together when he finishes it. It is what the men around here call a "bonnet movie." Whoo-hoo! One my hubby has sat/slept through many times. He's so sweet.

(Speaking of high school reading, why do all these high school curriculums find it necessary for kids to read something as depressing as Frankenstein?!?! Ugh!)

Some other books being read around here are: Mr. Popper's Penguins, (a fun read) Missionary Stories with the Millers, (awesome) Sarah: Plain and Tall and The Count of Monte Cristo.

~Becky

"Anne with an e" or Zac with an h

When Zachary was born, I resolved to always call him Zachary. I didn't want his name turning into Zack. Fast forward ten years and he decided he liked being called Zach better. So, we all have ended up calling him Zach. I like it!

We have always spelled it Z-A-C-H.
We have definitely not ever spelled it Z-A-C-K, which neither he nor I, like AT ALL.

A year ago, he decided that spelling it Z-A-C-H was not for him and
he started spelling it Z-A-C.
Almost all of his friends know him as Zac now. But we, in the family are still spelling it Zach or trying not to.
So here I go, from now on when I talk about him in this blog, I'll be spelling his name as Zac and no longer as Zach which I've done forever. And of course, never as Zack....
Because it's a little weird to spell his name on a blog as 'Zach' and to spell it on facebook as 'Zac'. It makes me feel ex-ZAC-tly like I have some sort of spelling schizophrenia. lol -And that just won't do!

I'm sure you understand...I know Ann'e' would. ha ha

~Becky

The Talent Showcase

Last week our home school group had our annual talent show.

~I talked my sweet hubby into being the MC since I try to avoid microphones at all costs.

He did such a great job.

He started out the show by telling the 100+ people that "flash photography is not permitted during the performances." You could have heard a pin drop.

-Of course, he was kidding and we all laughed! ; ) We had lots of proud parents taking lots of pictures and I was one of them.

I did introduce this performance because I'm totally crazy about these people:

Here is my family singing and playing Agnus Dei. : )

It was an awesome night! We had 15 performances! What a talented bunch of students we have in our group!

My thanks to my sweet family for their help and for putting up with me when things were so crazy/busy!

~Becky

Wednesdays in the Word

I'm praying Prov. 31:26 over my life (and mouth) this week.



"She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness."



Amen! I want to be just like her, Lord!

~Becky

Quilting and other fun things

During the holidays, I listened to a few of Jan Karon's The Mitford Years series on tape while I was busy cooking or relaxing and knitting. It was so much fun. I LOVE those books! I have already read them but it was fun to have John McDonough read them to me while I did other things. : )

I found some time to finish this quilt

that I had been working on, on and off (mostly off) for the last couple years. I found the fabric at the home school convention.

It isn't that big, but I did quilt all the states.... That is my excuse for why it took so long! I hung it in our family room where our school area is.

I was SO happy to have it finished that I hung it on the wall the minute I finished the binding. If you look closely you can see that I used tacks. lol

(not too classy but at least it's up!)

Then I noticed that I forgot to quilt around Alaska...Oops! Oh well! : )

I'm excited about doing some more quilting in the upcoming year. Maybe when my year as president of our home school group is over and I have more free time. I bought a darning foot in anticipation of that time...even though I don't have a clue as to how to use it.

I also knitted a black scarf for one of my boys who asked for one. (how sweet is that?!)

The only problem is, I still don't know how to end a scarf and have to get help from a friend every single time and it is a little embarrassing.

Speaking of which, it is actually cold enough in Florida this year to use scarves! We have had 2 of the coldest weeks ever! The highs were in the 40's and the lows were in the high 20's and 30's! Did I mention that I live in Florida! I am surely spoiled because after two weeks of wearing sweaters, coats and scarves, I'm all good and totally ready for summer to start! LOL

(I could never survive up North, I know)

~Becky

Keeping it real

The other day, one of my teens and I were making up after a disagreement. (which aren't too uncommon between us)
I gave him a list of qualities that I think are what make him so WONDERFUL.
And he said
"Wow, Mom. I don't know what to say. I didn't expect to hear all that from my nemesis." ;) lol
-He cracks me up. Obviously I've got lots of room for improvement in the 'mom department.'


~Becky

Inexpensive centerpieces

I'm always on the look out for EASY and cheap centerpieces that I can put together for our home school support meetings. I'm not naturally gifted at that kind of thing but it has been fun trying different things with limited resources.
I saw a picture in a magazine that inspired me to make these centerpieces for our meeting tonight out of lentils. : ) (can't beat the price!)

Sorry the photo didn't turn out too well. Here are a couple of them:

I used two different colors of lentils for the stripes, raffia for the bow and pumpkin candles that smell wonderful!
And Joy is REALLY glad I found a use for lentils that did not include making her eat them for dinner! : )

~Becky

An undignified hat

Last year, Joy and I learned how to make sweater hats with the Knifty Knitter looms and that blossomed into a really fun ministry! (a home group with moms and daughters who made them for missionaries to pass out to the needy in other countries) It was such fun!
All that to say, we don't have a shortage of sweater hats around here.
It has actually been cold enough to wear them lately!
I am hearing that this is the coldest weekend of the year since about 1977. (some folks in central FL saw some snow and sleet!) Unfortunately, we didn't.

Joy made my hubby a black sweater hat recently and he really likes it. He's very proud to wear whatever his sweet girl makes him. : )
(and he really loves whatever she BAKES him)
Well, the other day he showed us his sweater hat. And somehow, it had come undone at the top. Do you know what a sweater hat looks like on your head when it is open at the TOP?
(more than a little funny)
It kind of had a Rastafarian look to it. LOL
Anyway, the funny thing was that he didn't know it looked like that and he was driving around town and doing business with it that way. He said the men in the paint store looked at him a little funny...

Oh. My. Goodness. The way he told this story had me laughing, coughing and choking like I was dying. ; )
Joy fixed his hat right away and so I can't show you how it looked... and he said he's glad. ha ha
I guess more than enough people saw it already.
~Becky

Something new

So, there is a new element around our house that takes some getting used to:

A web cam!

My hubby's brother and sister-in-law bought us one for Christmas. We had a fun family to family chat looking at each in our TVs on the day after Christmas. Well, that is how it is suppose to work, anyway. Our cord isn't long enough yet, so we were looking at them in our TV, but to talk, we had to look at camera on our bar. I think they saw the side of our heads most of the time, because we would accidentally talk into the TV and not the camera. : )

Our social-bug is loving being able to Skype with his friends now. I heard him the other day saying, "Isn't this great? We can talk without having to worry about spell check!" (Facebook Chat) Too cute! We have three computers lined up in our family room (which makes it look a little like NASA around here) and he has the camera hooked up to the one he uses for school.

I'm used to being able to walk around the house in PJ'S so it took me completely by surprise one night to walk into the family room and see so-and-so from church smiling and waving back at me. -I think a "head's up, I'm Skypping rule" is in order around here, like pronto. : )

The other night, I counted 6 friends of his who 'came over', so to speak. Not literally but just about!

Technology is just so amazing!

~Becky

A wonderful guy to celebrate

Just when we think that all the parties are over for the season...

Our family has another reason to celebrate!

It is Zachary's 17th birthday today!!!!! Whoo-hoo!

Happy Birthday to our wonderful guy who makes us so proud! : )

~Becky

Happy New Year!