I don't quite know how to begin this post. I want to apologize for not writing more. I want to tell you all about what has been going on in my life and I want to mention movies and people and Christmas and a whole lot of other stuff. So, let's begin :D

OK! So, the apology: I'm sorry for neglecting you so and I hope to do better. I hope you are not too angry with me though I will say I have missed you and have meant to post several times. I had a nice long post all written out and had about a million pictures to put on it but our internet was completely nuts at the time and I couldn't upload...Sadly.

Next, what has been going on in my life. Well, my sister's wedding date was moved back to February. From June so it was quite a move. I'm happy for her but sad to see her go. She is really happy and extremely excited and our friend KattyRae has her hands full getting a wedding shower planned and well, things have just been really busy.

Now, on to Christmas! Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the way everything is. It's cold,  families get together, great food, talking to friends you haven't seen in a while and lots of other stuff. This Christmas was awesome. We watched the "Nativity Story", it was my first time to see it, and "It's a Wonderful Life". If you haven't seen them I would recommend both. They are fantastic movies

My soon-to-be--brother-in-law got to meet the family at Thanksgiving and he was invited to join us again at Christmas. He seemed to enjoy himself and the family had a good time too so that was all good.

On to movies!! I saw "Red Dawn" in theatres. It has been forever since I saw the old one so I can't really compare the two. I know that the new one seemed to have a ton of language which I didn't care for at all. I saw the "Hobbit" a few days ago with some friends and it was fun! No, I don't just go to the movies but I enjoy going when it is a good movie. I'm supposed to see the "Hobbit" again soon with a whole group of people and this time in 3D so I'm excited. I like the Lord of the Rings trilogy but they're not my favorite movies. Like a friend said, I just can't justify a Good Wizard. But the movies are pretty good. Some parts of it are disgusting but the "Hobbit" wasn't that bad. The book was supposedly written for a younger audience so the movie is less ugly. Now do not, I repeat NOT, take it that I said that it was not bad. It had some trolls and orcs that were pretty ugly but I didn't find them as bad as the LOTR. I wouldn't recommend this for younger children but use your own judgment.

Well, I have enjoyed it. See y'all soon!!!!

~Emily

"The Day They Came to Arrest the Book" book review

   
     The following is a book report I wrote for school:

     The book The Day They Came to Arrest the Book  has stood out to me among many that I have read this year. It has really made me think.
     It begins by introducing you to a few of the characters at a public high school, George Mason High. Barney Roth, a senior student; his friend, Luke; and their school's principal, Mr. Mick Moore, whom the students have nicknamed "Mighty Mike".
     The story itself is begun by a teacher, Nora Baines, who is teaching a class on 19th century history. The first book on their reading list is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The students are to read a portion of this book as homework. From there, the story gets more and more interesting.
     When Mrs. Baines's class is resumed the following day, a black student, Gordon McLean, and a girl named Kate state that some of the material in the book offensive. Gordon finds it racist, that it speaks of African Americans in derogatory terms. Kate, on the other hand, finds it sexist, in that the women in the book, in her opinion, are stupid and are also looked upon as inferior.
     Mr. McLean, Gordon's father, complains to Mr. Moore that it is offensive and should be censored. Mr. Moore, it is discovered, does not like the controversy and therefore usually deals with book censorship without consulting the school board--which, by the way, is against school policy.
     Mrs. Baines is infuriated by this because Mr. Moore tries to convince her to censor the book without making a fuss. Mrs. Baines tells the school's new librarian, Deirdre Fitzgerald, about the conversation in Mr. Moore's office. Ms. Fitzgerald is just as upset.
     The students seem torn. Barney doesn't like the idea of banning a book and Luke seems to feel the same way. Kate, on the other hand, is all for throwing the book out of the school, as is Gordon.
     A group of parents complain to Mr. Moore and school policy is upheld. The board is elected to decide whether the book should be banned. Among the board members are: Ms. Fitzgerald, a black professor, a newspaper editor, an activist, and two others.
     At the hearing, several arguments are given. One party says that the book should be thrown out in its entirety. Another says that it should be banned, but not completely censored--meaning you would have to have written parent and teacher consent to get the book out of the library. The third party says that it should be allowed to stay on the shelves without censorship of any kind.
     The vote from the meeting is four to three in favor of censorship but not complete removal, just putting it on a separate shelf, or as one character states, "putting it on house arrest".
     Things continue to heat up. Barney, as head of the school newspaper, writes how he is all for letting the book stay public in the George Mason Standard.
     Barney then decides to talk to the school's former librarian, Karen Salters. Mrs. Salters makes it clear that she did not leave the school because she wanted to. She says that she was forced to resign by Mighty Mike.
     She tells Barney that Mr. Moore has been censoring books for years--even going so far as to rip pages out of books that he found offensive, even the Bible. She says that she finally had had enough of his nonsense and argued with him. Mr. Moore decided that firing her was not a good idea as she could go public with all that she knew. He therefore decided to make her working likfe miserable until she resigned.
     Things reach such a climax that it becomes national news. Another hearing is planned, this time on television.
     The hearing goes pretty much the same as the first until the end. A young black student stands.
     He speaks his mind concerning Huckleberry Finn. He says that he is glad that he was able to read the book, that he wasn't forbidden to do so. He speaks strongly.
     The vote from the first hearing is overturned and Huck Finn is enabled to go free, so to speak.
     The Day They Came to Arrest the Book ends in more of a question than an answer. Mr. Moore has just been thinking of how they could change board members and Kate, Barney, and Luke are discussing the outcome of the vote. Kate can't believe that she stood up for the rights of blacks only to have a black student tell her it wasn't any of her business what he read. Barney and Luke are glad it's over and don't harbor any bad feelings toward Kate even though she insulted them several times over their feelings about the book.
     At first, beginning this book, I didn't thinkI would like it.I'm not normally one to try and involve myself in controversy and this is ver controversial. On the one hand, you have those who say Huckleberry Finn is racist and sexist and on the other hand, you have those who say it is actually speaks against racism and sexism.
     My personal opinion is more to the latter. I have nothing against blacks and I certainly have nothing against women being a woman myself, but I believe that every book out there is offensive to someone somewhere.
     In conclusion, I believe that The Day They Came to Arrest the Book is a great book. It faces some very controversial issues, yes, but in its entirety, I believe this book should be read by every student.

     The End
   

     Be warned, though, if you do get the notion to read this book, it has some language in it. Not very much, but this author seems to find that it adds emphasis to curse. I disagree, but I was willing to overlook it since there wasn't very much.

     Talk to ya later!

     ~Emily
   

My lovely sister's engagement photos

     I promise that I haven't forgotten you. I've just been really busy. :)    

     As promised, several photos of the happy couple. These are some of the official engagement photos:

     I was gonna put just one, but they're so darn cute!

     Talk to ya soon!

     ~Emily

Good News

     We had some great news Thursday. My sister is now engaged as of Thursday night. It is amazing. I'm so happy for her but sad at the same time because she will be moving out in no time at all it seems. They have a rough date set in June, but it could be moved back anytime. The date is set to accomodate his brother who is overseas with the military right now. He is supposed to get back in May, but they don't know for sure. Also, her husband-to-be is finishing college and will graduate in May, so they are planning around that.

     I'm so glad to see how happy they are together. They are always talking or texting or chatting on the computer or somehow communicating with one another. It's so sweet to see them together.

     I knew that he was going to ask her before she knew. She was talking to me about him and telling me how happy she is and I could only nod and smile. I can see it every time they are together! If it is alright with them later, I'll post a picture of them together.

     Talk to y'all later!!!

     Emily

To my Mom

     Today is the birthday of one of the greatest ladies I know. She has always been there for me. She has been a wonderful mother and friend.

     I want to devote this post to my Mother, for being a best friend, best ally, best buddy and best Mom ever!!!!!! She has been a great Mom and I am so thankful that I have her! I couldn't ask for better as there simply is no better.

     So, Happy Birthday, Mom!!!! You're the best!!!!!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!!

     

A Flip Flop Mile

      Last weekend was our vacation for the year. We went to camp. It was a homeschool camp and it was amazing. I had so much fun meeting new people and I played volleyball every single day! I learned something about volleyball. When you have a lot of guys playing, put the really tall ones on the front. That makes it easier to win. :) We arrived Thursday and stayed until after Church service on Sunday.

      The inspiration for this title "A Flip Flop Mile" came from my little sister. About a week ago, she hurt her ankle in a bike accident. Her foot hung in the spokes or something like that. (I wasn't there so I still have no idea how that came about.)

      Grace has been looking forward to Camp because of a 1-mile run that the kids 8 and under do. She was really disappointed when she hurt her foot because she wanted to race, but she ran it anyway....in flip flops. She was unable to run in tennis shoes because of her ankle (the tennis shoes tend to rub and make it sore).

      When she topped that last hill, I was so proud of her! She was still trying even though her ankle was bothering her some and she ran across that finish line. She didn't finish first, but that wasn't what I was worried about. I wanted her to race across that finish line because I wanted her to finish strong. That was what meant more to me.

      And there was a 5k race. You know I told you a couple of posts back that it only takes 20 seconds of insane courage (or just insanity) to do something that'll change your life? Well, I had a 20 seconds moment. I put my name on that clip board for a 5k. No, I didn't win. Didn't even come close actually. My time for the whole thing was 33:59, so almost 34 minutes. The first mile I believe was the hardest. I don't know why, but that is how it seemed. I started out running with some girls I know, but they got way ahead of me. I didn't care. I wasn't worried about winning. I just wanted to finish it and finish it I did.

      Just to let y'all know how bad I did, the winner of the women's best time was 27 minutes and some seconds. And the winner of the men's best time was 19 minutes and I think around 38 seconds.

      After the run, I took it easy for a bit, but by that evening, I was playing volleyball again. The next morning, I was sore and it carried over a little into yesterday.

      Yesterday was interesting. It was volleyball practice and we got our t-shirts for volleyball, but that wasn't the interesting part. The dads were the ones who played against us. My dad even played. It was a lot of fun!! They beat us......bad!! I don't think any of the teams won against them. Our games were like 15-6 and 15-3, but one of the teams actually got it up to 15-13. I had a great time though!

     Have you ever noticed how guys can barely tap the ball and it'll go about 50 feet? I noticed. I have to hit it and they just tap it. I noticed this at camp as well. It's like it's nothing for them.

      Well, I'm going to end this post now. I may post a little more about the camp and some pictures. Like I said, it was a lot of fun and I hope we may do it again next year!!

      'Til next time!

                         Emily

Memories

      Ok, so I just got back from Florida. I wasn't on vacation, unfortunately. We went to my great uncle's funeral.  I remember him as being someone who was quick to laugh--or rather chuckle-- and one who loved to read. I have a clear memory of he and my sister talking about the lost island of Atlantis in my Grandmother's dining room. It was an interesting conversation.

     He loved to play Phase 10 and Dominoes and was always up for a good game. I can remember watching him play a card game on the computer. It was FreeCell and he played lots of FreeCell.

     Rest In Peace, Uncle Tom. I'll never forget you and I will recall those memories made fondly.