Little Hobbit All-Stars

Our year-round school year has finally made it full circle. Eowyn finished her school year two weeks ago, but the little hobbits and I took a couple of extra weeks to finish. Since I previously published Eowyn's all-stars, I will now publish the favorites of Frodo and Pippin.


Frodo:
Bambi by Felix Salten
Mattimeo by Brian Jacques (not an AO book, but he loves the Redwall series)
Lassie, Come Home by Eric Knight

It's not a very long list, but then Frodo will never admit to liking any book. He was especially certain he wouldn't like Lassie due to the title being "girlie", but this turned out to be his favorite book of the year. I'm sure there were others he enjoyed, yet won't admit to.


Pippin:
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (he liked this one so much we're reading it again this year)
Little House in the Big Woods (he especially liked the little stories about when Pa was a boy)
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (he carried this book around for days after reading it)
Buffalo Bill by Ingri D'Aulaire
Aesop's Fables
The Burgess Bird Book by Thornton Burgess
James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot

Coming to the end of our first year of AO is bittersweet. Some of these books have become like friends to us, and we're sorry to be moving on. A few were so greatly loved that they will surely make their way into the rotation of bedtime stories with Papa. I am looking forward to making new friends though. Come Monday morning I will be saying, "Welcome!" to AO2 and AO5.

What's So Amazing About Grace...

...land? Apparently not much by the look on Pippin's face.

I guess if you really want to have a good time in Memphis you'd better hit Beale Street...

...for a plate of ribs. (check out Frodo's bowl of rib bones!)
And, the always entertaining Elvis impersonator!

Then it's time to head back to the hotel for some real fun...the pool and hot tub.

But, if you're from the Shire, you'd rather see wildlife than nightlife. The world may know Memphis for Elvis, Graceland and Beale Street, but the hidden gem of the city is their pretty cool zoo.

Eowyn's All-Stars

Eowyn has finished Ambleside 6 and has now moved into House of Education 7. What started out as a year of grumbling and complaining has turned into a year of joy and new discoveries. Eowyn has learned that she does like to read after all, and here is a list of her favorites from the last year:

Story of the Greeks
Story of the Romans
Where the Red Fern Grows
Call of the Wild
White Fang
The Hidden Hand
The Bronze Bow

She also learned that just because you don't LOVE a book doesn't mean you can't read it. There are other books from the AO6 list that she read and enjoyed, and some that she read and tolerated, and a few that she read and despised. Through it all she learned that she can accomplish more than she realized.

Now that she has started House of Education 7 she has already found a book she loves in the first week, The Gammage Cup. I wonder what other great books she will discover this year?

You're Never Too Old...

August is finally upon us. That can only mean one thing in the Shire...Pippin's birthday! He has made his own countdown calendar to hang on the refrigerator on which he faithfully crosses off a day each morning. Hmmm...I think there's only 23 days to go.

You may wonder why I would put a picture of Arwen up when I'm talking about Pippin's birthday. That's because, at 17, she still gets excited about where Pippin will choose to go for his celebration. Today she nonchalantly asked Pippin if he would be choosing Chuck E. Cheese's (for the fourth year in a row). He said, "Yes." At this point there was no pretext of being cool or mature; she raised her fist in the air and shouted, "YES!"

Little Hobbits' Garden

Pippin my boy, full of joy,

How does your garden grow?

With basil leaves, tomatoes and beans,

and marigolds all in a row.

Pippin is eager to check his garden every morning. Often times he will be out there before we've even had breakfast. And, if I'm not able to go out with him to open the gate for him, he will go into the garage and enter the garden through the doggy door. I can't believe he fits through the doggy door! I guess little hobbits can squeeze themselves into small places.

At any rate, Pippin is very pleased with his garden. He and Frodo had been asking to make a garden for about two years, but I just never quite knew what to do about our horrible rock and clay soil until I found the book "The All New Square Foot Garden" by Mel Bartholomew. With book in hand, we went to the local home center and bought our boards, peat moss, compost, vermiculite and seeds. Voila! Instant garden, just add time...and water.

We have planted...

zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe,

sweet and cinnamon basil, five kinds of tomatoes, green beans...

and marigolds, cucumber, dill, parsley, oregano, and cilantro. Pippin also planted one piece of our popcorn to see if it would grow. It did, and we now have a little corn stalk about 8 inches high.

Pippin is seriously looking forward to the watermelon and cantaloupe! As for the veges, he doesn't like many of the summer veges. What he's really looking forward to are the cool weather veges. He's counting the days until he can plant his carrot seeds and sugar snap peas. Frodo, for the most part, likes lettuce and carrots. We will have to plant some more lettuce next month to carry us through the fall.

I think it's amazing what children will do if given the opportunity to make something of their ideas. Childen shouldn't be relegated to making macaroni necklaces and other useless twaddle just because they're young. Frodo and Pippin were only 8 and 4 when they first developed the desire to plant a garden. At the ages of 10 and 6 they were able to bring their idea to fruition. We are now reaping the harvest of their notion...literally!

OSA National Event 2007

We're home safely from the OSA National Event 2007 in Birmingham, AL. My only regret is that we weren't able to be there for the whole event. God willing we will be there for the entire week next year.

Ahhh...there's nothing like standing in the hot sun proclaiming the truth of God to a God-less nation. If only we would repent of our wickedness and turn our hearts toward God, then He would hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land. Without repentance our nation is headed for great disaster. It is only a matter time before the heavy hand of God's judgement falls upon us. Like the ancient Israelites, He will use our enemies to plunder and destroy us, and no one can turn back the hand of God.

The Battle of Two Seeds is displayed on the streets outside the abortuary. On the left are the proud sign-wielding supporters of murder on demand. On the right is my friend Mrs. W "giving them heaven", as our pastor would say. She is surrounded by several other Christian messengers ready to deliver God's message to America.

The ridiculous owner of this abortuary actually told me she was doing "God's work".

God's work?I think not!

Aside from the important work of exposing abortion for the heinous act of violence it is, we did have the honor of hearing from two distinguished men of God speak. The first is Alabama Senator Hank Erwin. I was very impressed with his honesty and the intensity in his desire to rid his beloved state of abortion. There was no hemming and hawing like you get from most politicians who are unwilling to offend any one. (meaning, unwilling to lose any votes!)

Next, we got to hear Judge Roy Moore speak after Senator Erwin. Judge Moore is an eloquent man of principle, unwilling to compromise the name of God Almighty for the sake of political correctness. During his talk, he walked us through some American history to show us how the current liberal tide has twisted the words of our founding fathers to further their flagrantly wicked agendas.

If only he would run for president. But, alas, American does not deserve a godly president. We will have to suffer under the judment of God until such a time as we as a nation repent.

Mom My Ride

Just a little ditty to make you chuckle and smile...