Thar' She Blows! :)

Well, as we speak, Hurricane Earl makes it's way toward us. Oh boy! I love a good hurricane if it doesn't do any damage! Actually, I prefer Nor'easter, but oh well! I am not picky! I warn people in case we lose our power and I get to read Bleak House and write letters by candlelight, and convince Daniel to take a walk in the middle of it around Friday or so! :D Well, perhaps we wouldn't walk in the middle of the worst of it, but perhaps in the eye of it! :) I love powerful weather! It reminds me of the Lord's might, and His power over all He has made! So while a hurricane behaves itself, I welcome a cosy night or two! Now, when you begin talking hurricanes like Katrina, and others that leave considerable death and destruction in their wake, I waive my compliments of the magnificence of an ordinary hurricane! :)

Now, I would ask for prayer in a certain area- if the hurricane is bad enough and comes over the Outer Banks, our friends the Travers, with their 11 kids, (13 and down) will be staying in our home as a storm shelter. So we could use prayer that our power won't go out, because 24 people living off of one generator would be quite something! Not impossible, but not quite comfortable! either!:)

We went with the Walkers and some of the T. family to see Toy Story 3 today! It was very good, and my favorite of the trilogy. (I did not like 1 or 2 of that series! :) And I do admit, it made me cry. Because I thought up how sad they could make the ending and my own fancies brought the tears! :D Oh well. At least I haven't a heart of stone! ;)

So this was just a little post to let you know about the amazing show of God's power I hope to witness soonish, and about the rare movie-going trip we took as a family this afternoon :D

p.s. The picture is just some hurricane, not our's! :D

-Rachel

So You Think There Are Nuts on Your Family Tree?

"There's no place like home for real comfort!"

"Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first
associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no
subsequant connections can supply..."

-Jane Austen

Doubtless when Jane Austen penned those words, she was thinking of her own home and family. To put it plainly, and in blunt English, we can quote my Grandmama:

"We all love our own weird family!" :D

This does not imply exactly that one's family is weird, only that we are all most comfortable amongst our blood relations! :) I must say, it feels good to have Daniel back in our midst! Like in the Austen quote above, though Matthew did his best as a cousin to fill Daniel's place, there is nothing quite like the original! (no offence m'dear! :) I am so blessed that Dad and Mama have instructed us, and placed great value, in our building good relationships with our siblings! It always saddens me to see grown men and women fueding over simple things, because they have never had good relationships to begin with as children! I know we are not perfect. Far from it! I'm sure every member of my family can testify to the fact that I lose my patience sometimes, and can be quite as snippy as the next person. But the difference comes in the way we handle the not-so-godly times. It is the contrast between Nellie-Oleson attitude being the norm, and a bit of crabbiness once in awhile. Do I throw up my hands, roll my eyes and say, "Why do I even try?!?!" with a self-piteous moan, or do I humble up, apologize, and put my shoulder to the plow and wrangle the attitude? God has given us our families to be in it with us for the long haul, including all our quirks and oddities. We can either fight against it, and constantly pull seperate directions, convinced that the "perfect life" is just over the horizon, or we can look around us, and realize that, all small quirks aside, we are a working, God-created team, built specifically to fulfill a special purpose in His plan. It is easy to put up a good, patient, saintly front for those people you see only once a week. But the real test is among the people you live with 24-7. Do they respect you? Are you treating them with the deference you show to everyone at church? I know I am probably misquoting someone, but it has been said, "A great man is respected best, by the people who know him best." I know that sometimes we can get on each other's nerves. But chances are, truly, that at least half of our "issues" with others, are of our own making. When the Walkers were living with us for 3 months, we had a huge poster up with this verse to remind us constantly of the Lord's will for our relationships: "1 Peter 4:9-11 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as with the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen" Right in these few short verses you have all you need to know to have successful family relationships. If, every time I opened my mouth, I spoke only the words God would put there, I doubt my siblings would have reason to complain! If I ministered to them with the gifts the Lord has given me, instead of maybe saving them for people I felt like serving (in my flesh) I am sure things would always go smoothly. Try it, and you will be surprised at the "change" yo observe in your family. Though I would beg to wonder if perhaps the change was in your own heart! :) Although this may seem like a rambling post, it has an object- I started it thankful for being a whole family once more, and I end it in the same way, merely challenging us all to try to make our home a place that our family members long to return to whenever they are away! :) -Rachel

The Latest Escapade With Daniel

I am my father's daughter, so naturally, he has instilled in me an inherent sense of a good and bad price for something. As you heard, my sewing machine broke down in the depths of an important (to me) project, so I was quite intrigued by a call from Mrs. T. that she was at an estate sale, and had seen a machine. Somewhat assured that it was in good condition, Mama persuaded Daniel to take me down to the sale, and inspect it. Before we left, her parting admonition was: "Offer 30 dollars!" (they asked for 50 originally)
Those of you who know me, will realize that I am quite shy around strangers. We first stopped at a house with a "garage sale" sign in the yard. After knocking on the front and side doors, we determined that it was, indeed, the wrong house! *blush* This unnerved me a bit. We drove further down the road, and found the estate sale. After getting out of the van, we were met at the door by a meek, pale, elderly man with a small moustache. He held the door open, and his wife met us indoors. Daniel, thankfully, did the talking for me: "My sister was looking for a sewing machine?" The woman ushered us into a cluttered room, where a vintage sewing machine sat upon a table amongst a motley array of other items. She was not a seamstress herself, but I sat down, and tried the machine. It sewed in a strange fashion, so I checked, and discovered it to be threaded entirely incorrectly. That being remedied, we soon determined it was a suitable machine for my needs. The only thing now was to offer the thirty dollars. My bashfulness was heightened by the sensibility of this being the pale, meek, elderly man's late mother's sewing machine. I did not want to haggle with them! A desperate plan entered my head. "Daniel!" I hissed, beckoning to him. He returned to my side. "You pay for this! Offer thirty dollars! I'll be out in the car!" and with that, I prepared to flee. But Sarah hemmed me in while my good brother, who will not allow me to slip out of things said, "You must pay."
"But how?!? Please Daniel!" (Obviously my face was neither endearing nor pitiful enough to sway him) "No Rachel, you must just ask them if they are firm on the price!"
I gathered my courage. On the way over, I had played the whole scene out in my head, being a shrewd enough haggler: I would offer 30 dollars, but expect to pay 40, and haggle up to that.
The woman came back into the room. "Well?" she said with a tiny hint of impatience.
"Are...are you all firm on the price?" I asked, sounding to my ears dreadfully cold. She glanced at the machine. "I could maybe give it to you for 40."
Rejoicing, I snapped up the price without haggling. There is where I left behind Dad's teaching. I followed the woman out of the room, trying not to squirm as she whispered the diminished price to the meek, pale, elderly gentleman with the very small moustache. I felt, somewhere behind me, the rolling over of the dearly departed in her grave. ;) I blushingly paid the price, and fled to the car with a polite, "Thank you!"
When I got home, I announced the price to Dad, and told him the story. He merely smiled. "If they offered to decrease it to 40 right off the bat, you surely could have gotten it for 25 dollars!" and he shook his head sagely. But all's well that ends well! I still have much to learn from Dad, but I've now got a working machine! :D -Rachel

Just Wanted to Say......

Happy 22nd Wedding Anniversary, Dad and Mom!!!!
We love you and hope you've had a great day! :)
-Me for All of Us!

~Sarah

p.s. Just realized that our last post was #300!!! *applause* :)

And He's Back! :D

(L.-R. Mrs. T., Alaina, Justin, Danj, Joel, Daniel T, Grace T, and Ray

as they left our house 3 weeks ago! :)

Daniel, we're SO glad to have to have you back! :D -Us Two for Us All! :D

Will He Speak To Me?

I love the ways the Lord grows our understanding of Him over time! :) When I was little, I often wondered what it would be like to have the Lord speak to you, and could it ever happen?!? I believe I labored slightly under the delusion that the only manner in which He could speak was a sort of Samuel experience! :D You know, an actually audible voice! So I sort of figured that it would be once in a blue moon. But over time, as I have come to know Jesus better, I have discovered so many more ways He can speak to me. Most often, it comes as I am in a conversation, or reading my Bible. And generally, it has a good dose of humor in it. For example, me reading about the nation of Israel- "Good Heavens! They were so incredibly stubborn! Why couldn't they see the right way to go and just stick to it for pity's sake?!?" and then the Lord flips my question and says to me: "And you always stick to your promises, and are always as compliant as I desire for you to be?"
"Well...not exactly...but they were so stubborn!"
(At this point, I get a feeling that the Lord is looking at me in a way as if to say, "And...?" with a fond and yet earnest expression in His eyes.) By the end of this little conversation, Jesus has showed me something new, and my pride has been once again taken down a notch.
Other times, His voice just comes through a blessing, like an uncommonly cool day, or a beautiful flower. It is not an instructive voice at these times, but a brief reminder He gives as He says, "I made this for your pleasure- enjoy it, and remember Me!"
I think of the verse in John 10: "And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." (emphasis added)
Learn to recognize our Shepherd's voice- you will be surprised how often He will speak if we will be still enough to listen! I am still learning these things, and I tend to be a busy person, always doing something. So too often I tune out the quieter voice in my heart; the only Voice that really counts. Now that is a challenge for myself as well as anyone who reads this post! :) -Rachel

A Threat! ;)

It didn't have to be that:

I would have been content with something like this:

But all I wanted was to be able to do this:

So I could finish that:

But my machine has designs against its owner, and went nutty. (And I only had the green vest to finish! So close to being through!!!! ) So now I am threatening to do the only other option:

Oh well! :) -Rachel

Charlotte Church - The Prayer (with Josh Groban)

Hey everybody~ This is one of my new favorite songs! Awhile back The King's Daughter showed this to me and said that someday she'd like it at her wedding! Agree that it is a beautiful song- only I think that Josh Groban and Charlotte Church are the only pair that could do it this well! :D Enjoy this amazing song! It is so sweet! :) I posted the lyrics below!

I pray you'll be our eyes

And watch us where we go,

And help us to be wise

in times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer

As we go our way

Lead us to a place,

Guide us with Your Grace,

To a place where we'll be safe.

La luce che tu dai

I pray we'll find Your light

Nl cuore restera

And hold it in our hearts

A ricordarci che

When the stars go out each night

L'eterna stella sei

Nella mia preghiera

Let this be our prayer

Quanta fede c'e

When shadows ill our day

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

Give us faith, so we'll be safe

Sognamo un mondo senza piu violenza

Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza

Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino

Simbolo di pace, di fraternita

La forza che ci dai

We ask that life be kind

E' il desiderio che

And watch us from above

Ognuno trovi amore

We hope each soul will find

Intorno e dentro se

Another soul to love

Let his be our prayer

(Let this be our prayer)

Just like every child

(Just like every child)

Needs to find a place

Guide us with Your gace

Give us faith, so we'll be safe

E la fede che

Hai acceso in noi

Sento che ci salvera

Sorry that the formatting is off! :P -Rachel

"The Ballet of The Faun" You've got to see this! :P

Question: What do Rachel and Sarah do with a broken pinata, and a camera?
Answer: Well, you will soon see.
Now I have two disclaimers:
1. Daniel needs to come home. Our humor is becoming cheaper than ever. Not so witty. More....like this video! ;) I'm teasing- we are having good times, and we all thought this was pretty funny! :)
2. The singing- I, Rachel, am the star of this film. I did the dancing, and the singing too. You must understand that I was half-choking with laughter and I forgot the tune to some of the last song, so it sounds naturally...funny! So don't take this as a sample of my singing voice PLEASE! :D Sarah did the filming, so she has all the credit for the second half of the title. The stage, by-the-by,was Daisy's milking stand. The lovely green curtain was my blouse. :)

Now sit back, and enjoy this video entitled: "The Ballet of The Faun: Viewed from eye-level with the stage" ;)

Well, there you have our brief masterpiece. Pretty entertaining for a spur-of-the-moment show, don't you agree? :) -Rachel

Pictures of Our Day Trip =D

Hello! Sorry we haven't posted as much, recently, but we've had (like Rachel said) an abudance of visitors along with our usual busyness.:) So here are some pictures from our day trip:

Jamestown Historic Site. (taken while on the ferry)

Us on the second deck! :)

Gracie looking out over the river.

Going down the stairs of the ferry.:)

The Tercentennial Monument up close.

More pictures of the monument.:)

The Old Church Tower



We saw a real native while we were there! ;)

It was really encouraging to see the Ten Commandments still up there inside the church! :)



The Union Jack's still around! ;)

In the fort looking out over the river.

It really was fun to see a HUGE cross up! I loved to see that they acknowledged the foundation of our nation.:)



The inscription on the base.

There you go! A real picture post! :) Hope you enjoyed 'em!

-Sarah

Autumn and My Gypsy Wind

"Sumer is a'coomin in"....so goes an extremely old song. Think...midievil times. That old. But I've edited the song to fit my present mood. I'll change into a long, swishy, gown, I'll let down my hair, and if I had any inkling how to play some little twangy intrument, I'd stand outside and warble: "SUMER IS A'GOING OUT!" ;) I'm kidding! But I am truly excited about the change of seasons. This summer has fried us. Or steamed us. I can't decide which. Maybe both equally! :P It has been a good summer nevertheless, but give me Autumn any time! :) Daniel agrees. You can't deny that that picture up there thrills you to the very core, and involuntarily turns your mind to apple cider! :) There is just something about the fall that makes me feel alive! I can already see the change out of doors. The light has changed to be more clear and almost liquid. It is fast loosing Summer's heavy golden look. The landscape across the field is beginning to show just the faintest hints of it's Autumn garb. The breezes are cooler, and more playful. The other day I actually saw a brilliant patch of goldenrod! Any day now I am expecting to feel my Gypsy Wind! Yes, I have named a particular wind. Don't laugh at me! :) It is a certain wind, during the late part of summer, about through October, and it makes you feel that summer is truly over. Haven't you felt it? It's that sort of grown-up-breeze that cavorts by and makes you glance up and notice a crimson-painted tree, or the deep azure of the sky, and makes you think of firesides, and shawls, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. This particular wind also makes me want to go "A-gypsy-ing" which merely means, a sort of restless feeling that makes you want to ramble through field and forest, or go traveling, or do anything except stay inside and do ordinary things! :) Please tell me you know what I'm talking about! Sarah just smiles at me! But she is just as eager as I for the fall and all it brings! :) Do try to see if you have a Gypsy Wind anywhere about your home! I can't imagine that it would merely be a breeze peculiar to our land, for I've felt it at all three of the homes I've ever lived in! Be on the look-out for my Gypsy Wind this fall, and let me know if you've felt it! :) It is one of the biggest blessings of the end-of-summer! I like that verse in Psalms: "Fire and hail, snow, and cloud, stormy winds fulfilling His word.." and I often think of the Gypsy Wind in that way. It seems like a bit of a promise of God to remind me of the beautiful, riotous, Autumn coming. Try to notice it! We have become so focused indoors, (most of us) that we never stop to notice the transitions between seasons. They are nearly as important to me as the real seasons themselves. Like anticipating some special event! I don't know. Maybe I'm just strange that way! Hope not!-Rachel

Our Family Trip to Jamestown

Hey guys! :) We have some company in town, so yesterday we...*blush*..skipped church and went on a day-trip! We left the house around 9:00 and ate breakfast at the VA diner. Good place, that! :D Then, we drove on down the the Jamestown-Scotland ferry. (The closest I've ever been to Scotland! I stare hard at the reddish cliffs covered in green vines at a certain point, and pretend it it Scotland! :P) There are three ferries that take cars across the river, 24-7. On the way over, we got the Pocahontas, which is the biggest of the three! She has a second deck, that we stood on the whole way over! I love it! On the way over, we had a stellar view of Jamestown itself. That's what I love about the ferry: literally, you see the historic sight. The original church-tower all that. I don't believe I will ever (happily) cease to be thrilled by the knowledge that I am looking upon the very same things John Smith dwelt in. The state slogan is "Virginia is for Lovers". I'm loving the bumper sticker I've seen: "Virginia is for history lovers!" :D Anyway, once across, we drove over the Jamestown visitor's center. Last year we looked through the gift shop, and at a couple of posters, before driving the Colonial parkway. We did't quite have the margin to pay 10 dollars a person just to see the real stuff! :) But it was a huge blessing because the 14th and 15th, (yesterday) of this month, was Free National Park admission! So all of us got to go to the actual historic site! YAY! I was super excited! So we hopped onto the end of a tour and listened! We stood inside the very walls of the original Jamestown fort, and we walked through the very church tower made by the settlers, and we sat in the church too! :) The tour guide was....ahem...very animated to say the least. Think "DEATH COMES UNEXPECTEDLY!" from Pollyanna, and you'll get him just about right. But add a squeaky voice and a NY accent to it! :) Then we went in a building with 1000's of artifacts! Very cool! Anyway, by the time that was all over, it was 2 o'clock and we hadn't eaten lunch, so we drove along the Colonial Parkway, and stopped to eat lunch and wade at a nice little beach. Only, ahem.....we had to look straight out in front of us to avoid seeing quite a few ladies in "zucchinis". That wasn't so great. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we only left when the tide started coming in from behind us! Like on Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang! Scary! :O
We learned that the art of chivalry is not dead. At least among young men trying to impress their gals! ;) Abigail (5) and Mr. Mark (our company) were carrying a cooler between them, and then this Mr. Macho-young-guy came up and said, "I'll take that for you!" Mr. Mark said, "Why?" and then the guy said, "Do you have to owe something to get something?" and he proceeded to carry the cooler on one shoulder, the very picture of chivalrous generosity. ;) He set it down near the van and said, "I just got here so I still had some energy! I thought I'd help someone out!" and then he went back his little merry way to the lassie at their beach towels. I do not mean to sound cynical. He could have just been being a gentleman, like I always wish people to do! So sorry Mr. Strong-man if you were simply being genteel! :D
Anyway! It was a great day, and a blessing since we've been so busy! -Rachel
p.s. Sarah will post some pictures later!

When It Rains, It Pours

Heylo everyone! :) I am sorry we haven't been posting quite so often as we maybe should. But we have been having an flabbergastingly crazy summer. Essentially, we have had an extra amount of people traveling than usual, (mostly Daniel) which makes a bit more work than usual, (or at least, a bit heavier distribution of the normal work) which makes time a bit more crunched, which for some reason, attracts visitors by the droves! ;) I am not kidding! We have had so much company this summer! (And I love it all!) I think we can, in imitation of the American Indians or something, name our summer: The Summer Of The New-Yorkers. Really. I do believe that we have had.....3 or 4 seperate groups of people from NY come down to stay with us, and then, several other groups of friends! I love company, and it seems that part of the reason the Lord has blessed us with a large house, is to host it all! :) Doubling our family size for 3 months certainly put us in good shape to be able to host 6 or 7 more people without batting an eye! :D It is so funny! Prior to moving out to this house and land, we never hosted anybody for more than a day or two, and that very rarely. Our house was just way to small! But apparently God has plans for us to broaden our "hosting-horizons" and the past two or three years have been absolutely chock-full of ministry in that way! We love it, because we love people! :) So anyway, I hope I have made my excuses in a convincing manner? ;) Sarah, Leah, Anna, and I are off to a 6-hour watercolor class, and then we have company coming this afternoon and staying till Tues. or so. (We cleaned yesterday! Yay!) Well, I must fly! :) -Rachel

"Feeling Peachy" ;)

Okay. So here is my latest painting! :) What do you think of it? I took the idea from a line in a poem that I have always loved: "...and the peaches stole the blushes from the girls that shook them down..." It comes from "Cobbler Keezar's Vision" by John Greenleaf Whittier. Anyway, this is what I did this morning! :) Tell me what you think of it! -Rachel

Blocked For Glamour? Maybe After All! ;)

Recently, a friend of ours set up a website for her wedding. But Morgan Wilson told me on Sunday, that their computer blocked it for "glamour"! :P I found that so funny, and then thought, wow! I wonder if I'll ever qualify for a "glamour blockade"? ;)
Last night I was reading the latest issue of the Above Rubies magazine. As I do every time, I skim the articles, and then study the pictures of the families, seeing how many kids they have, what their ages are, how many girls, etc. And then I read about the young women who are being "Above Rubies helpers". These young women come to stay at Mrs. Nancy Campbell's home, and help with the ministry and magazine. Many of them are near my age. And it set me to thinking about two things. The first thought that entered my head was, "Oh wow. That would be really cool, to do something like that." And it does seem so....grand to be a Christian young woman and be an intern in some ministry like that, or do a missions trip for several months, or something equally interesting.
And then the second thought entered. "But you know, your life could sound like that." and was closely followed by, "Some girls are chosen to do the "glamorous" things!"
Often times, we young ladies spend too much time gazing pensively over the fence to the green grass on the other side. We see some girls in the certainly intriguing position of office helper to a well-known ministry, or some other such thing, and we begin to devalue the place God has prepared for us right now. I will admit, that as a young lady, telling someone: "I worked in the Above Rubies ministry the past 3 months" sounds a whole lot more....amazing than: "I spent my summer working in our home, working in our garden, and in our family business." And yet...is it so much more valuable? I beg leave to say that if your heart is right, it doesn't matter what you are doing- to Jesus, you will be an amazing success! Too many times I know I am guilty of understating the ministry the Lord has portioned for me, in lieu of wishing I was "one of those girls". Really, if I stopped and described my family as the intricate workplace it is, I'd be truly surprised. So here it goes: "I have spent my summer working in our family business as the office manager, learning to make my own clothes, preserving the harvest from the garden for the winter, hosting multiple families in our home, hosting church every Sunday, finishing my remaining school-work, editing a book I am hoping to publish very soon, and ministering in many other ways." That all is honest-to-goodness truth. The same summer I so blankly described before. When presented this way, suddenly my life appears almost as glamorous as those young ladies in the homeschool magazines! This may not sound quite so dainty as you may like to hear, but in speaking of the season the Lord has placed us each in, we can say with the assistant coach in "Facing the Giants", "It don't have to be perfect. It don't have to look pretty. It can look like a dyin' duck!"
But as long as our heart is in it, and our minds are focused on Christ, I have a feeling the glamour will no longer matter. So next time anyone asks you how you have spent your summer, try thinking of your life in Jesus' eyes, and I am certain you're description will sound amazing to your own ears as well as their's. :) -Rachel

Some Pictures!:)

So.....I thought I'd do an update:
Saturday was Leah's 13th Birthday Ceremony!:) We were preparing for it all week. Cleaning, making cakes, doing presents, decorating cakes, going to florists, making several grocery outings, etc. Rachel and I (with instruction by Aunt Christy) decorated the cakes! We got to do basket-weaving with the icing and use flowers whatever way we wanted! Here's a picture of the finished product:

Aren't they pretty! We're very proud of the way they turned out.:) "As is tradition" (in our family;) Dad made Leah a hopechest! It looks beautiful!

Here are some random-ish pictures: (the reason I'm posting all these pictures is because I got a new camera for my birthday!!:)

My Icecream cake!:) The magnet for the film-tour van!;) ^

Here's cute little Gracie doing a "curtsey" :)

Alright! I'd better go! Hope you enjoyed the pictures. :)

-Sarah

Answers Are Finally In! :)

Hey Guys! Here are the answers to the Period Drama Movie Quote Quiz Rachie did.

#1"She won't even allow me to reapply the blacking to her hair! There is a great grey streak going right down her centre part!" Miss Pole from Cranford
People who got it right: Abigail

#2 "She seems to expwess herself vewy fwankly, Clare!" -Lady Cumner from Wives and Daughters
People who got it right: Abigial

#3 "I made money overnight? How very clever of me!" - Ms. Margaret Hale from North and South
People who got this right: Abigail

#4 "Roger Riderhood. Sometimes known as "Rogue" Riderhood. But that's a friendly name used by thems that don't know me well."- Riderhood in Our Mutual Friend
Nobody got that right!

#5 "...I encourage him in that, too."- Charlotte in Pride and Prejudice
People who got it right: Jo March and Abigail

#6 "What care I for a cold, when there is such a man?!" -Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility
People who got it right: Abigail, Jo March, Always Narnian, and Leanna!:)

#7 "I abhor the notion of being over-trimmed!" -Mrs. Elton from Emma 2009 version
People who got it right: Abigail

#8 "She says that Colonel Wallace says, that Mr. Elliott says"--"That's enough!!" -Ann and the widow lady in Persuasion
People who got it right: NOBODY!

#9 "Do you think he could be a captive like Smee in Nicholas Nickleby?" - Jo in Little Women
People who got it right: Abigial, Always Narnian, Shi of Narnia, and Leanna

#10 "People's ideals change sometimes." -Diana from Anne of Avonlea
People who got this right: Abigail, Jo March, Always Narnian, Shi of Narnia, and Leanna.:)

Okay! So the winner of this contest is:::::::::: ABIGAIL!!
Congratulations, and good job to everybody else, as well! :) Ya'll give yourselves a pat on the back! Thanks for entering.
-Sarah

The Child: Fan Trailer

Hey Everybody! This is the fan trailer for "The Child" which is the documentary that Daniel is traveling around helping to film! One crew member, Ray, put this together, and I hope you all enjoy it! You can follow the progress of the film crew right here: Enjoy, and please tell all your family and friends about the Parental Right's Amendment, because we really need to get the information out there! :) -Rachel

Fare-Thee-Well Gentleman From Virginia! :'(

Hello Everybody! First off, if you want to enter our Period-Drama Movie Quote Quiz click here: That being done, I have to tell you guys something. We'll be brotherless by tomorrow afternoon! :'( The Gentleman From Virginia is leaving for a three week long tour across the country filming "The Child" documentary with the Watchman Cinema film crew! Yay for him! In case anyone hasn't heard, "The Child" is a documentary being made about the Parental Rights Amendment, by some dear family friends of ours. They are officially affiliated with Parental Rights.Org, and hope to release the film in November! I have heard that they have a Facebook page, and a blog, but I have not seen either so you'd have to find them yourself! :P We are so excited! But anyway, Daniel is going on this trip, and we shan't see him for 3 whole weeks! Abigail Taylor sweetly reminded me that 3 weeks is not quite so nerve-wracking and terrible as having your brother deploy to Iraq for 7 months, but still.....what will we do in the evenings? :/ We have dubbed Matthew the replacement for Daniel, but....it isn't quite the same. (no offense intended sir! :) You'll just have to entertain us jollily (is that a word?) and perhaps put up with some showings of "girl movies" and juggle for us if you wish to fulfill your role. ;) I told somebody the other day, that the only problem I have stumbled across with homeschooling, and close family relationships, is that we all become so close and so intertwined with each other's lives, that when one person pulls out for so much as a week, it is as if there was a death in the family!
:( But we are so blessed at this opportunity the Lord is placing before Daniel. It really combines all his gifts and interests so well! (filmmaking, politics, he'll be the trip "chaplain", etc.) Please pray for the trip, the interviews they'll be doing, and the general well-being of the crew: Daniel, Daniel T., Grace T., Mrs. T. , Little Joel T., Ray M., and Justin W.! Have fun Daniel! We'll miss you, but have a great time anyway! :D -Rachel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH AND LEAH!!!

Happy Birthday Sarah and Leah!!!!

Yes, Sarah and Leah share the same birthday! They are three years apart, but born on the same day: Aug. 6! :) Happy birthday girls! Here are the 6 top things I admire in each of them:

Sarah:

Her craziness (This includes "Mrs. Ricardo?", "The Beggar", "The Blind Girl", and many other things, Sarah! :)

Her love of, and great skills with young children

Her aptitude for mechanical and technical things (Sarah was the one who finally found the right breaker to turn off all our fire alarms the other night, Abigail! :)

Her generous spirit

Her practicality (The Lord put us two as sisters for a reason dear! You balance out my fancies with a good dose of reality, presented in a polite way, and I educate you on how to dream! ;)

Her love of tradition- Sarah's kids will never lack a holiday. She'd be the one to visit Mount Vernon on George Washington's b-day, or something equally fun!

Now for Leah:

Her generally peaceful attitude about pretty much anything! :)

Her gentle manner when in a conflict (She proves out the "gentle answer turns away wrath")

Her "tee-hee-hee-shiver-the-pop!" laugh! :D (anyone who has seen Beatrix Potter's "Peter Rabbit" will recognize this laugh as either Flopsy's, Mopsy's, or Cotton Tail's! :)

Her willingness to do things other won't do

Her preference for being an early-bird and waking up perfectly cheerful and ready for anything! ( :D )

Her vision for our home

Happy birthday girls! I love you both and can't wait to see all the Lord has in store for you as you get older! :) -Rachel

Period-Drama Movie Quote Quiz

We have been having a drastically busy few weeks, so do pardon our lack-of-posting here! Hopefully things will even out next week or so! :) We were rudely awakened this morning by all our terribly ear-piercing fire alarms going off, for no good reason. Hmph. Didn't much like that! :) And Dad had to scurry around for 1/2 an hour trying to shut them all off. He turned off the power, but they defaulted to battery, so he had to find the troublemaker, take its batteries out, and then it finally stopped! :) But any-who! I thought we'd do another movie-quote quiz, because this is something I can leave up for a bit, and let people comment on. In previous times, we have only had 3 or 4 people enter. So pretty please comment and guess! Even if you only know one, it will make us feel better! :D Hint: all these quotes are from period-dramas. And in that category, I'd include Little Women...even Anne of Green Gables. (Though I'm not promising I'll use quotes from there. Just that sort as well as others!)

Here we go!

1.) "She won't even let me reapply the blacking to her hair! There is a great gray streak going right down her centre part!!!" :D

2.) "She seems to expwess herself vewy fwankly, Clare!"

3. ) "I made money overnight? How very clever of me!"

4.) "Roger Riderhood. Sometimes known as "Rogue" Riderhood. But that's a friendly name used only by thems that don't know me well."

5.) "....I encourage him in that too." ;)

6.) "What care I for a cold when there is such a man?"

7.) "I abhor the notion of being over-trimmed!" :D

8.) "She says that Col. Willis says that Mr. Elliott says--" "That's enough!"

9.) "Do you think he could be a captive like Smee in Nicholas Nickleby?" (By the way, I've read the mentioned book, and it is "smike" not "smee"! :[ )

10.) "People's ideals change sometimes...."

There you have it! Please enter if you have a single inkling of a single quote! :) If this works better than some I've done, then maybe we can have another one soon! :) -Rachel

You Might Be A Homeschooler If.....

You might be a homeschooler if:

During family devotion you depart from the main topic to get a dictionary and determine the difference between "effect" and "affect", and debate the point for 1/2 an hour. :)

When you watch cable t.v. at your grandparents' house, you blush every five minutes, and finally stick to the food channel where the worst thing in the recipe is wine! :)

You know your multiplication super well from doubling recipes, but your division...not so much. Who ever heard of making half a recipe of something? :P

Someone asks you what grade you are in, and you proceed to give them a lengthy answer comprised of "well, technically", "but didn't finish my physical science" "so really" "But by April", "While we were building our house", etc. Or worse yet, if you are a little kid and say, "I don't know." or "We don't do school."!!! :]

You go out to the mailbox and periodically find it is a holiday you hadn't seen coming, and the post office took a break for the day. (i.e. "Presidents' Day", "George Washington's b-day", etc.)

You perfect your handwriting (or not) in the places most inconducive to such an occupation, like reclining on the couch, sitting on the trampoline, around a baby in your lap, or while mixing up a batch of cookies! ;)

You are out in public on a weekday, and begin to wonder why all the adults are looking at you askance, as if either you must be sick, or playing hookie. :D

You finally are in highschool, and comfort yourself that no truant officers can nab you, even if they wanted to, because you are allowed to drop out of highschool if it pleased you to do so! :D

Homeschooling is great! Thanks Dad and Mama! :) -Rachel

p.s. I want that shirt up there! :D