SixSibs

By Adam E. Heironimus

“Erasing Hell”, by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle, is about what the bible says about hell. This book doesn’t try to sugarcoat any of the things God said about what will happen after we die, but merely presents what God said in the manner that he said it, in the light that, as God says in Isaiah 55:9,”As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” and he knows what is ultimately best. Francis Chan said that the fact that there is a hell and that many of the people around us will be going there should be a motivation to us to tell everyone we possibly can about Christ’s love, in order to save them from going there. I would highly recommend that you read this book if you have any questions about what happens after we die and what hell really is, and would give it 5 out of 5 stars.

You can buy “Erasing Hell” on Amazon.com

By Adam E. Heironimus

“Lies That Go Unchallenged in Popular Culture”, by Charles Colson, is a collection of short, 4 page devotions that deal with different moral, ethical, and religious issues facing our nation, and what we evangelical Christians can do to fix them.I was very encouraged by it and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a book to help them combat the decay and decadence in our culture with the word of god. I would give this book 5 stars out of 5.

You can buy “Lies That Go Unchallenged in Popular Culture” on Amazon.com

By Adam E. Heironimus

I recently finished reading “Redwall” by Brian Jaques. It was about the adventures of a mouse named Matthias as he tries to protect the abbey of Redwall from being destroyed by an evil rat named Cluny the Scourge and his army. It’s a wonderfully written and well crafted tale of  the struggle between good and evil, and I would highly recommend it  to anyone looking for an exciting fantasy novel, giving it 5 out of 5 stars.

You can purchase this book on Amazon.com

By Adam E. Heironimus

Today I started and finished reading my siblings “Defeat of the Ghost Riders” by Dave and Neta Jackson. It was about Celeste Key, a “negro” girl growing up in the early 1900′s, who, at the very beginning of the book, lives with her family in Statesboro Georgia. Trouble soon strikes, and after members of the Ku Klux Klan burn down her father’s blacksmith shop, they leave in search of a more friendly place to live, finally settling down in Daytona Florida, where her father finds work on the railroad that’s being built there. While she is living in Daytona, she meets Mary McLeod Bethune and becomes one of the very first girls to enroll in the school that Mrs. Bethune is setting up for “colored” girls there. By the end of the book, Celeste has learned to overcome her fear of the “Klansmen” and serve others, living Mrs. Bethunes philosophy of helping others and improving life for everyone around her. We all really enjoyed this book (as is evidenced by the fact that we read it in one solid 3 hour sitting!) and using the 5 star rating system I would give this book a 5!

You can buy this book on Amazon.com

For John’s Birthday, I had given him a “Super Duper Flip Card” with lots of activities that we could do together listed on it. Two of them had been a hike and a backyard camp-out, so we decided to combine them and take a hike down to the river that runs behind our house, spend the night, and come back the next morning. We had a lot of fun, and I thought you might enjoy some of the pictures I took of our “adventures”, so here they are:

We headed out of civilization at 5:20

Once we got down to the river we immediately began setting up our tent because of the thunder we could hear in the distance 

After getting our camp set up, we did some exploring, finding some sticks that we could use to cook our dinner on

We started cooking our “gourmet” as soon as the sticks were whittled (it was starting to rain)

Yum! (I assume, John ate 5!)We then cooked our dessert: Marsh mellows! (We were manly men and used the same sticks we had roasted our hot dogs on!)

Yum again! We did more exploring until it got darkWe then piled into our tent for the night

John said, “Good night, Don’t let the ground bugs bite!”

We woke up at 6:25 and immediately began making breakfast

John was able to warm two things at once over the campstove!

Yum yet again!

After we finished eating, we packed everything up and left our campsite to make a round-about way towards home

Home at last!

By Adam E. Heironimus

Today I finished reading my siblings “The Bandit of Ashley Downs” by Dave and Neta Jackson. ”The Bandit of Ashley Downs” is about an orphan boy named Curly, who lives in London during the Industrial Revolution. One day Curly overhears a man telling a church congregation that there will be  £3,000 traveling by private coach to Bristol in several days to benefit the orphanage there, thinking no one outside of the small group of people overhears. Curly takes this bit of information to his criminal friends, and they make a plan to hold up the stagecoach, taking the money intended for the orphans for themselves. Their evil scheme succeeds, but after only a few weeks, they are found out and jailed. Curly, because he is so young, is taken to an orphanage run by George Muller called Ashley Downs, where he learns about God’s love and provision by watching God provide for the needs of all of the orphans there. The book ends in a somewhat surprising (and thoroughly good) way, and I would highly recommend it to you, giving this book 4.5 out of 5 stars

You can buy “The Bandit of Ashley Downs” on Amazon.com

By Adam E. Heironimus

Today I finished reading my siblings “The Only Sister” by Dorcas M. Mast.

“The Only Sister” is about a girl named Carrie Seymour, who, although having 6 brothers, is, as the title says, “The Only Sister”. Carrie struggles being the only girl and often wishes that God had sent her family another girl, but in the end she finally realizes that God’s plan for her life is best, and becomes content with the situation God has placed her in. That’s not the whole book though! “The Only Sister” also chronicles some of the many adventures that Carrie and her 6 brothers have, frying eggs in the microwave (with disastrous results!), falling from horses (also with disastrous results!) and building, baking, and inventing all sorts of other things (with varying results). We would all highly recommend this book and using the 5 star rating system I’d give this book a 5!)

P.S. We’ve read this book aloud three times and Rachel has read it to herself an additional 7.- I hope that removes any of your doubts as to whether or not it really is a good book!

You can buy “The Only Sister” on RodandStaffbooks.com

By Adam E. Heironimus

Yesterday I finished reading “Jesus Freaks II: Revolutionaries” by dc Talk. It was a collection of short stories about Christians who were willing to be revolutionaries, people who went against the “norm” and were willing to be “Jesus Freaks”. I was really blessed by all of the stories, but  the story of an Indian believer named Sundar Singh, who was imprisoned, beaten and threatened multiple times and eventually disappeared on a missionary journey to Tibet in 1929, was one that really stood out to me. He said “The true Christian is like sandalwood, which imparts its fragrance to the ax which cuts it, without doing any harm in return.”  I was amazed by how many people were willing to be “like sandalwood”, and continued to pray for and share the Gospel with their enemies, even as they were being tortured in ways almost too horrible to imagine. I was very blessed by reading this book and would highly recommend it to anyone.

Using the 5 star rating system, I would give this book a 5, and I would highly recommend you check it out from your local library or buy it on Amazon.com!

By Rachel M. Heironimus

I recently read “The Seventeenth Swap” by Eloise McGraw. It was about a boy named Eric Greene, who wants to get a pair of red cowboy boots that are on sale for $17.99 for only one week. But the problem is, he doesn’t have any money. So he starts swapping things. There are several times when he wants to give up, but at the end, he’s glad he didn’t. I liked it and would give it 4 out of an available 5 stars.

You can buy “The Seventeenth Swap” on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

I finished reading “Thimble Summer” recently. It was about a girl named Garnet, who lives on a farm with her father, mother and three brothers. One night, she and her oldest brother Jay are outside together, and Garnet finds a silver thimble. She thinks it’s magical. That night it rains, and ends the long drought. After that, many wonderful and exciting things happen to Garnet and her family. I liked it and will give it 4 stars.

You can buy “Thimble Summer” on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

I recently read “In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson”. It was about a girl named Shirley Temple Wong, who recently came to America from China with her mother, because her father was in America already. She can’t speak English, and she doesn’t like America at first, but in the summer she hears about Jackie Robinson, and that changes everything. It was an okay book, so I’ll only give it 3 out of 5 stars.

“In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson” is available on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

“Gone-Away Lake” was about a girl named Portia and her little brother, who went to visit their cousin, Julian. One day, Portia and Julian decide to go exploring. They find a swamp, and on its banks, a summer resort! They also find two people still living there. I liked it a lot and would award it 5 stars!

You can Purchase “Gone-Away Lake” on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

“All-of-a-kind Family” is about a family of five children, all girls. They have lots of fun together, going to the library, visiting the seashore, visiting friends, and much more, including lots of surprises. It was very good and I would give it 5 out of 5 stars!

You can buy “All-of-a-kind Family” on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

I finished “The Terrible Wave” today. It was about a girl named Megan, who was the daughter of one or the richest citizens in Johnstown. She was one of the survivors of the Johnstown flood. It was very good and I would give it 4 stars.

You can buy “The Terrible Wave” on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

Today I finished “Old Yeller” by Fred Gipson. It was about a boy named Travis, who’s papa had gone on a cattle drive to Abilene. They found a dog who had stolen some meat from them. At first, Travis doesn’t want to keep him, but the dog ends up saving his and his little brother’s lives. It was very, very good. I would give it 5 out of 5 stars!

I would highly recommend you check “Old Yeller” out from your local library or buy it on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

“Shades of Gray” is about a boy named Will Page. His father and brother were killed by Union soldiers, his two sisters died of sickness, and his mother died of grief. So he goes to live with his mother’s sister and her family. After a few months, he receives a letter from a friend back home, telling him that they would be happy if he would come back and live with them. At first, he is happy, and wants to go, because he thinks his uncle is a coward for not fighting for the Confederates. But then he realizes that you should do what you believe in. It was very good and I would give it 5 stars!

You can purchase “Shades of Gray” on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

“Turn Homeward, Hannalee”,written by Patricia Beatty, was about a girl named Hannalee, who worked at a mill in Georgia at the time of the Civil War. She, her brother, and a friend, were some of the two thousand textile workers shipped north to make Union uniforms. It was a good book, and I would give it a 3 star rating.

You can buy “Turn Homeward Hannalee” on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

“The Perilous Road” by William O. Steele is about a boy named Chris Branson who lived in the Tennessee mountains at the time of the Civil War. He never liked the Union soldiers, but never more so than when some of them took all of his family’s food they had stored for the wintertime, and their only horse. Then he sees that war is a horrible thing, no matter which side you are on. It was a good book, and I’ll give it 3 stars.

You can buy this book on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

I recently read “Freedom Train” by Dorothy Sterling. It was a true story about Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman leads hundreds of men, women and children along the underground “railroad” and into freedom. “Freedom Train” was very good and I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

“Freedom Train” is available on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

“Sing Down the Moon” by Scott O’Dell is about a Navajo girl named Bright Morning who gets kidnapped by slave traders and then escapes. Then Englishmen come to drive her people away. It was very good! I would give it 4 stars.

Yo can purchase “Sing Down the Moon” on Amazon.com

Our parents bought us a 5 pond chunk of dry ice this afternoon, much to the delight of everyone!

John was prepared

Paul wasn’t quite so prepared for what the dry ice would taste like mixed with water- “blech”!

Our pool is already starting to cool off, so John decided to speed up the process a little bit!

Paul’s own personal fog machine!

Dry ice is sooo fun!

By Rachel M. Heironimus

“Tikta’liktak” is about an Eskimo boy who is looking for food for his family, how he  gets stranded on an iceberg and how he learns to keep warm and survive. It was good and I would award it 3 out of 5 stars.

You can buy “Tikta’liktak” new and used on Amazon.com

By Rachel M. Heironimus

Today I finished “By the Great Horn Spoon!” by Sid Fleischman. It is about a boy named Jack and his butler, Praiseworthy. They are going to California in search of gold. It was a very good book, worthy of 4 stars.

You can buy  ”By the Great Horn Spoon!” on Amazon.com

Beware of the robot man, for you never know who he will strike next! (and being struck by an empty Wal-Mart bag is bound to leave a mark!)

Rachel and I made a batch of chocolate pudding yesterday

But that’s not the funny part.

Not wanting to be outdone, Paul and Isaac also decided to make “pudding”- in a much less contained, clean (and boring) way!

Oh the joy of being 3 or 6!