chick-flick talk - Emma

I'm not exactly sure why I'm calling these "chick flick talk" because I read all of the books. I guess I could call them "chick-novel talk" but that doesn't sound right! ...oh well...you know what I'm saying. :)

I read Emma, which was very enjoyable, but ironically, so far, the "draggy-est" of my Jane Austen reads. I thought that I would fly through it, but not so much. I really did like it, t'was very witty. Compared to the movie, it was very long and thusly seemed a little foreign reading through it. Although several of the memorably Emma lines come straight from the book. Also as I said in the N&S post, in Emma, Jane Austen did next to nothing to develop Mr. Knightly's perspective. The movie definitely did him more justice. (Think: "Indeed we are not." I LOVE that line!) But that being said, I enjoyed the novel...and...

I'm looking forward to the BBC adaption that is coming out this year...did you see that?!

I think it will be hard to think of Mr. Knightley as anyone other than Jeremy Northam, but I still squealed when I heard that they were doing a four-part remake! After seeing so many BBC vs. "anyone else" remakes, I have to say, the BBC knows how to do their own work! As much as I love some of the Hollywood versions, the BBC/Masterpiece Theater/A&E do it right almost every time. I can't wait until this is released in the US!

And I love the scene where Emma and Mr. Knightley dance after he rescues Harriet from Mr. Elton's rudeness. Did you know that Emma and Knightley dance to the same song that Darcy and Elizabeth dance to in the 1995 A&E/BBC Pride & Prejudice? The piece is called Mr. Beveridge's Maggot, and I liked it so much in both movies that I went searching for it. I was disappointed that the P&P soundtrack (which I own) did not have much of it on it...Mr. Beveridge's Maggot was hidden in one of the tracks. So back in the winter, I found this CD called English Country Dances. The girls and I LOVE it and when we were stuck in the house, we often popped it in and danced around the family room to all of those lovely tunes! One day maybe we will learn some of the steps to go along with them, wouldn't that be fun. We have such a great time doing that and burning some energy and calories while stuck indoors! (For Joey, I bought some "soldier music" which he likes to blare loudly and march around to with the girls!)

chick-flick catch-up - North & South

OK, girls, I have some major catch-up to do in the chick flick discussion department since my last post on that topic.


I have read several novels and watched several more movies/mini-series since the winter and I would like your thoughts on them. But I have not posted on this topic all of this time because I have so many thoughts on the topic and have never had the time to put them all into one post, so I think I'm going to split it up into a couple of posts (hopefully I finish them all) and see how that works. Here goes...




First I read the novel North & South and for one of the first times ever I actually think the mini-series/movie might be better than the book...dare I say that?? Maybe not better, but the mini-series definitely did the book justice, as I thought the book lagged a bit in the middle and then finished rather hurriedly. But all in all, I was pleased with the novel as my introduction into
British period romance novels. And I know that Elizabeth Gaskell was on a time-restraint to finish the book, so I realize why it ended so abruptly.


One thing I found very unique to this novel was how well-developed the man's perspective was within the novel. Many of the other Gaskell/Austen novels really leave out what the guy was thinking and feeling and in this book, Ms. Gaskell spent quite a bit of time sorting out his thoughts, and I really liked that. I think that translated into the movie too, where you could "see" quite a bit of what he was thinking and I loved that!


Plus I learned quite a bit about the Industrial Revolution just from dabbling in understanding the setting of this movie/novel, which was very enlightening...a part of history that I was not very familiar with but now have a much better grasp of...all because of North & South. :) I still love, love, love that mini-series and could watch it again and again. Except the three cherubs and their daddy would like to have food to eat and clean clothes, and all. :)

Did any of you read the book? What did you think about it? (or the mini-series)

Up next...Emma...

Funny! This will be me in a few weeks :)

it happened again

...this time with a bonnet pulled down over her face. Why, oh why won't she do this during naptime when she is at home in her snug, little bed?

By the way, she picked out her own outfit. I can take no credit for this fashion-greatness. :)

VBS

We had VBS at our church last week and our kids had such a good time, as usual! The workers who put VBS together do a tremendous job...there are dozens of them who put their hearts into VBS and they do it with a love for the children and the Lord, and we really appreciate them. We had the blessing of being able to bring one of our neighbors with us for most of the week. Joey, especially thought it was extra-fun to bring a visitor. And of course the carnival on Friday night was a family highlight...we always have so much fun every year at the carnival, or "festival" as it was called this year to go along with the Medieval/Swords & Shield theme.

Gracie and her little friend dressed up like princesses even though they were too young for VBS. :)

The kids made these awesome castles with my mom on Thursday afternoon. I was going to just let them take Lego castles that they built, but my mom offered to help them with these and they had a great time.

They were complete with chains on their drawbridges and Lily came up with these lilypads and flowers all by herself!

When did she start looking so grown-up? Almost every night when Scott goes in to kiss them goodnight after they have fallen asleep, he says, "She looks like a teenager in there! How did that happen?" I've tried putting a brick on her head, but it's not working.

Here they amped up on sugar with the puppets at the Festival!

All Gracie cared about at the "carnibal" was getting "something pink" painted on her face and eating food. Both desires were met, she was a very happy girl. :)

just summer life

Well, another week has begun and we have not yet recovered from the last one. :) But it was a good week, albeit hectic! We were busy with VBS all last week, more about that in another post.


In other news... as of the last few weeks, I am finally back in the saddle of drugstore shopping. I got out of it sometime in the spring, and then with the craziness that we had in our family in May and June, I haven't managed to get into the swing of things until the last few weeks...but they have been good ones! Just last week I got all kinds of things (including free backpacks for the kids) for pennies. I got well over $100 worth of merchandise at Rite-Aid alone for under $4 out-of-pocket after rebates!

Our Juliet tomatoes beat the other varieties to begin ripening first. We've picked a few and are waiting for the others to turn red or yellow, whichever the case may be, shortly. There are hundreds of them on our monster-tomato plants!

We finally got landscape mulch and mulched our beds...it's only the middle of the summer and all. :) Our hands and feet turned black and I have spent the last week finding and cleaning up black hand and footprints around the house. :)

On the homeschooling front I have vacillated between tears over the fact that our summer is half-over and excitement about starting school soon! I'm such a bi-polar homeschooling mother. :) But mostly I am growing in anticipation to start school! This is an answer to prayer alone, because this time last year I was not even ready to start thinking about school...let alone be too excited about it. I got some science lab kits in the mail this week and I finished our first Scripture memorization book, and this week my sister and I are going to place our last "big" homeschool order. Although I find myself placing little orders for books/curriculum etc all year long! I've started brainstorming about scheduling and how to increase in certain areas over what we did last year. The Lord is good because just when I start to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the task before me, He gives me comfort from His Word and direction in even the smallest of areas! I would like to post about some of our plans for this next school year...hopefully I will get around to that this week!

I got my first homeschool affidavit notarized last week and now I feel so official. :) As if we haven't been homeschooling for three years already. It feels so weird to be "on the books" now that Lily is 8.


Anyhow, life has been sailing by at break-neck speed. I hope you are having a lovely summer too!

môj zlatý chlapec

During our visit to Czechoslovakia (my father's homeland) when I was a child, my grandmother often rubbed the back of my brother's blonde head and murmured to herself, "môj zlatý chlapec..." which means, "My golden boy." She really loved my brother, the only male heir of the family.






Today my golden boy is turning six. And even though he no longer has that adorable, edible dimpled elbow and those ginormous, kissable cheeks, he is still my golden boy.

The one with the stick-up hair still today, who looks at his mother just as adoringly as he did as a baby. The only male heir of my husband's family. The one who still likes to eat and sleep, and not necessarily in that order. Who likes things done fast and furiously, just the way he came into this world on a hot July night. The one who hasn't lost his enthusiastic shriek or grin. Who has perfected a mean "mouth trumpet" and also likes to space out quite a bit. The one who loves animals almost more than life itself, but is still a little timid in the presence of real ones. Who has come up with some amazing Lego creations. The one who is bold and "get the job done-ish" when necessary, but laid-back and unassuming most of the time. That one. My golden boy. He's turning six today. And even if I lived to see him turn eighty-six, he will still always be my golden boy.

Happy Birthday, Joey. I love you, son.

my little knight

Here is my little knight (in a costume borrowed from one of his friends...thanks!) reciting the memory verse that the kids are working on with Scott. Appropriately, it's about boldness. And I would say my man-child makes a very bold knight. :)

Miss T??

This is typical-Gracie. Wearing as many pieces of play jewelry as she can find, sporting her Strawberry Shortcake slippers and winter nightie.

We can't decide if she is the poster child for girls' fashion jewelry or as Scott puts it, "the cute three-year old version of Mr. T."

someone is excited about VBS

This is my little knight in his self-fashioned helmet.

He's SO excited. :)

new toy...I mean "tool"

For the last several years, I have gotten by with a 3-cup chopper and had no need to purchase a food processor. Until the chopper died at least six months ago. I got by for several months without it, but when it came time to make strawberry jam, I bit the bullet and bought a food processor. A real one with a couple of different blades. And I have been having so much fun with it!


I've used it to make:

• strawberry jam
• chopped nuts (so much easier than the meat mallet :)
• guacamole
• cole slaw
• hummus
• blueberry jam
• shredded carrots
• shredded cheese

I am now a believer in the food processor and am looking for different ways I can play, I mean "use" it. Got any good ideas/recipes?

finally, family portraits

We were only about a year behind in getting our family picture taken, but a few weeks ago, we finally got'er done!

homeschool rally

A few weeks ago, the homeschoolers at our church got together for a year-end Homeschool Rally. It was the first of its kind that we have had in our three years of homeschooling and we had so much fun! For months, the kids begged us to do a play...apparently, they have a strong urge to act. :) So we got together with cousins and friends and they performed Stone Soup for us. It was a little "rough" at parts, seeing as it was being performed by many preschool-age children, but it was adorable nonetheless! Plus, they had a blast doing it!

Here is the motley crew waiting for the play to start...

Lily was the Miller, Joey was the Blacksmith, and Gracie was a "town girl" because that was all I could come up with spur-of-the-moment when she asked me what she was going to be. We weren't going to have her be in it, but she would have been heartbroken, so we let her sit up there. Although you might not have known that she had no lines, because she knew the thing by heart and kept jumping in and stealing the other children's lines. It was hilarious!

And here is the whole group of homeschoolers with our pastor and his wife...




All of the homeschoolers were invited to perform in some way. There were musical selections, poems and Scripture recited, and it was all so well-done! We thoroughly enjoyed each one! Also on display were some of the portfolios and displays of different activities and interests of the various families. We had such a great time and our kids are even more excited about next year's rally!

Our kids recited Psalm 139. Here is a clip of it...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Praise the Lord for the opportunity to educate our children and watch them blossom!

our little herd

Mooing for free food

We met up with some friends and the cousins for Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila! Even daddy walked over and donned some spots and a cow hat to get some free food too! Our kids have been talking about dressing up like cows ever since we did it a year ago.

The cutest little calf

while my Man was home...

...last weekend, he also hung some ceiling fans. Thanks to your reassurances, I went with the "bowl" fan pictured here.




And the kids' rooms got fans too...

I love having my Man home! But alas, the bread must be won and the bacon must be brought home, so it was back to work for him. We miss having him around the house!

the sentiments of my heart

And how much more appropriate than on the eve of the day that we are all going to dress up as cows to get some free food at our favorite little place. :)

a rare miracle

Can you find Gracie?

There she is! But what is she doing??

No, impossible! She can't be SLEEPING! Why, it's the middle of the day! The child NEVER sleeps in the middle of the day when children are supposed to*gasp* TAKE a NAP!




Doesn't she look angelic while sleeping? Look at those beautiful long lashes!

::sigh::

It was lovely while it lasted. But her brother came up behind her and gave her a kiss on the top of the head and she woke up...ready to start the afternoon. I miss the days when she actually slept at naptime.

finishing what I started LONG ago

A long time ago, I posted pictures of styrofoam plates on my walls. That was over a year ago in our old house. Last weekend, we finally got around to hanging those crazy plates on the wall.

It started like this... My sister and I made various arrangements of the plates on my bed a few months ago. Then we forgot the "perfect" arrangement, and had to start all over again.
This time we used the camera, so that we wouldn't forget...

Then we decided to bag the camera idea, and break out the butcher block paper. We traced the plates on the paper and then hung them on the wall with sticky tack, like so...



When we, again, came up with the "perfect" arrangement, I sweet-talked my handsome husband into hanging the plates on the wall...

Isn't he awesome?

And Voila!

Plates!

Why do I wait so long to do these things?

raging tomato jungle

Remember this?



My late-planted garden filled with free tomato plants from my neighbor and a few herbs and juliet tomatos?

This is what it looks like just one month later...





Thanks to the Lord for sending sun and what felt like 45 weeks of rain. :)

The herbs aren't looking too poorly either. Only there are some beetles who seem to like my basil as much as I do.

Now there is a race going on between the juliets...

...and the beefy boys...

...to see who can ripen first!

happy 233rd birthday, America!

I'm just popping on here to wish you all a Happy 4th of July! (or "foe-ith" of July, as Gracie would say) I am loving having my Man home for a few days in a row. We're getting some house projects done (yay!) and enjoying being together.

On the menu today:

• baby back ribs
• pasta salad
• deviled eggs
• patriotic cupcakes that the girls helped me make
• and some other yummy desserts that my mom and sister are bringing

And then later we're headed to our local fireworks...the kids are so excited! I'm enjoying using this holiday to teach the children about our nation's birth. (I love history!) May God continue to shed His mercy on our great land!

Happy Independence Day!

my man

Father's Day 2009

Last week was fraught with surprises, tears, and much chaos, but it was not without its blessings too. My Man became a shareholder of his company last week! He has done such a good job at his career...always striving for excellence with integrity and I am so proud of him for it.

He is in the consulting field, so has to bill his time to his clients. When I say that he accounts honestly for each minute that he works, I am not exaggerating. If he takes a four minute personal conversation, that four minutes doesn't get billed to the client. Before stamping his license to any plan, he takes some time to be absolutely certain that the work was done ethically and accurately. My Man has a good reputation among his peers and I'm so thankful for his godly testimony!

A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

--Proverbs 22:1