"Life of Pi"

I don't know why I thought this book was about math or a children's book. I was intrigued enough to read this and it was fantastic. What skill in keeping me in suspense throughout the whole book. I'm not really sure how I felt after reading the book though. It left me in wonderment, a great feeling I must admit to such a surprise ending. Catch this book but be prepared for some shocking scenes.

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"

Who would have believed I would love a science book? Rebecca Skloot does a great job of teaching while telling the story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman who died of cancer while quite young. The doctors took a sample of her tumor which became known as HeLa. HeLa cells were used to propel science to unbelievable discoveries, including the cures for polio and hepatitis B to name a few. The problem...her family didn't know about these cells until 20 years later. They couldn't even afford health insurance...

A beautiful weaving of science, racism, educational differences and ethics. Nicely done.

Frankenstein - How Did I Miss This?

Cody had to read Frankenstein for British Literature and I realized I had never read the actual book. Oh, yes, I have watched the infamous movies with the screw in the throat and the boots, but never read the original book. What a treat!! I couldn't put it down. I found it fascinating how Mary Shelley portrayed the women in her book as weak and feeble, yet she was a woman ahead of her time. Her vocabulary was amazing! Who says 19 year olds are smarter now than then?

I love this tale of sin and consequences, this portrayal of the dangers of playing God. Warnings not heeded can prove to be expensive for sure. But what about the monster? How do I feel about him? I'm not sure there are as many black and whites as I would prefer, in the book and in life. Too many things can trip us up if we choose all one way or another.

If you haven't enjoyed this book, don't go another day without picking it up!

"Innocent Traitor" by Alison Weir

What a wonderful book!! In her first novel, Weir portrays a truly fascinating Lady Jane Grey, born of ambitious parents and made to suffer the injustices of the era. Her character portrayals are vivid and the book left me in awe of the historical times.

This is a great book, one not to be missed.

The Johnsen Joys for 2009!

In honor of the environment, we have gone digital this year!! In reality, we just didn't have enough hours to get everything done, but don't tell Al Gore that, OK? We wanted to share some of the highlights for our family in 2009 because we love hearing what has been going on with your family as well.

January and February found us playing lots of basketball with our homeschool team. All three of the boys were on the middle school team, which made it very convenient. Cody was a big man down under, since he is now 6 ft. 1 in. Trey and Wyatt played as guards. We had a very exciting game in the tournament where Trey stole the ball in the final 3 seconds, passed it backwards and one of our other players did a lay up to win the game. We finished third overall!!

Spring for the Johnsen's involves lots of time at East Lincoln Optimist's fields, and this year proved to be no different. Wyatt and Trey played on the 11 & 12 year old team this year, even though Trey was only 10. We chose to move him up for a little simplicity and he had no problem keeping up. They ended up playing All-Stars until mid-July, so that turned into a long season. They had a great time and I worked on my reading and baseball tan!

Sheyanne for the first time decided to play Softball. She went from being absolutely terrible to pitching, playing first base and batting third!! The boys told her she had to be good since they had a reputation to uphold at East Lincoln Optimist. No pressure or anything. LOL. She played spring, summer and fall, without a break. Cody asked her if she was planning on playing in Cuba over the winter. She made some great friends and enjoyed it very much. Her team ended up winning the fall tournament and they only lost one game by one run the whole fall season.

Cody decided his sport is basketball so he didn't play baseball this year. That was kind of sad since it was the first year he hasn't played but he was the official scorekeeper for Wyatt & Trey's team. I think I cared more about him not playing than he did. Guess he is just growing up!

July found us going to 4-H Electric Congress. Wyatt & Cody both won their way and it was in Charlotte this year. Cody was asked to give the invocation at the formal dinner and he wore a suit. He was looking very handsome, not that I am biased or anything. Turns out, he was up there because he won 1st place for the Duke Energy Territorial Award which included a plasma TV. He also won 1st place for the whole state of NC in Electricity. He was extremely honored and has a great 4-H leader, Mr. Tyson who helps him out tremendously. We also had three compete at State 4-H in Presentations and they all won a Silver in their age categories. July was a busy month for us in 4-H!

We snuck in a beach trip in August, which was fantastic. It was very restful and rejuvenating. It's always fun to get away to Hilton Head!

The fall found the boys in basketball practice, with our games beginning in November. Sheyanne played softball as I mentioned above.

We continue to home educate and that is great!! That's all we have ever known so it is our "normal." Cody is a 9th grader this year so his workload has really increased. However, he seems to enjoy the challenge. Wyatt is in the 8th grade, Trey in the 6th and Sheyanne in the 4th. I can't believe how grown they are all becoming.

The church has continued to grow beyond our dreams. We now have four services since we added a Contemporary service this fall. Our attendance average is about 670 per Sunday so that keeps Jeff extremely busy. Our life seems to rotate around church and sport activities, but I guess that is just the age.

In November, Cody turned 15 and got his permit. He is a very good driver and has been driving us around some. That is definitely a new experience and I've noticed my prayer life has increased significantly!

God has truly been good to us this year and we are excited to celebrate the birth of His Son, Jesus on Christmas Day!! May you and your family have a blessed Christmas!

Some Days You Just Need A Movie

So, I just wasn't too motivated. I admit it. The kiddos did all their independent school work but I had some things to take care, a few errands to run and I just couldn't get into the teaching mode. What was my remedy you ask? Well, we piled in the den and watched "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid."

While we were watching it, I asked Cody what subject we could consider this movie. He says, "Since it was filmed in 1969, how about Ancient History." Just gotta laugh.