Eight

Jessica from Trivium Academy tagged me so here goes!

8 Things I am passionate about:

1. living an authentic faith my kids (and others) will see and by it know Jesus is real
   
2. loving my husband
   
3. raising my kids to love God and love others - in that order
   
4. food
5. being healthy and keeping in shape (this is greatly complicated by #4!)
   
6. cooking and baking
   
7. running
   
8. organizing
   

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. grow into a person who can truly say she lives her life for an audience of One
   
2. travel, travel and more travel - Greek islands, a Civil War tour down the East Coast, Yellowstone, Redwood forests, Italy, revisit Cayman Islands where we honeymooned...
3. see my children cross the line of faith and live out godly lives - get married and have children of their own, too!
   
4. decorate my home... I often tease that God gave me an extra dose of the organizing gene but forgot to give me the decorating gene! I can't pick paint colors, coordinate furniture or accessorize to save my life. Lol.
   
5. take culinary classes
   
6. run a marathon in less than four hours
   
7. complete a half-ironman race
8. read all the great classics I never read in school
   

8 Things I Say Often:
(mostly to my kids!)

1. Focus, Thatch.
   
2. I love you.
   
3. Use "Honey Words!" (I will blog about this soon.)
   
4. People are more important than things (usually said when my guys are arguing over a toy).
5. Make the wise choice!
6. You bring me joy.
   
7. It's not fun unless everyone is having fun.
   
8. Time to clean up!
   

8 Books I've read recently:
(For me this category should be "The 8 most recent books I've read" since most have not been recently read and it would be most accurate if was an altogether different category: "The 8 books waiting on my bedside table to be read!")

1. Taste and See by John Piper
   
2. The Birth Order Book by Kevin Lehman
   
3. The Well-Trained Mind (the Logic section) by Susan Wise-Bauer
   
4. Wisdom and Eloquence by Robert Littlejohn and Charles Evans
   
5. The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise-Bauer
   
6. Creative Correction by Lisa Welchel (I read this a few years ago but refer to it regularly)
   
7. Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs
8. Chronicles of Narnia (our bedtime read-a-louds the past several months)
   

8 Songs I could listen to over and over:

1. most anything by Kenny Chesney - right now my favorite is Never Wanted Nothing More
   
2. Something in the Way She Moves by James Taylor - actually the entire Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (except Steamroller)
   
3. Piano Man by Billy Joel (okay I realize I am cheating by naming entire CD's - but the entire Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 and 2!)
   
4. the entire Soundtrack from Les Miserables
   
5. Sitting by the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
   
6. Drift Away by Dobie Gray ( I loved this way before Uncle Cracker redid it and the original version is so much better than the remake!)
   
7. Levon, Philadelphia Freedom and Rocket Man by Elton John
8. Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art
   

8 Things I've learned this year:

1. I have constantly been reminded that I am a sinner in need of a Savior and I still have a lot of growing to do.
   
2. Homeschooling is as much (and somedays more) a tool God is using to disciple me as it a tool I am using to teach and disciple my children.
   
3. I love coffee and dark chocolate
   
4. I am becoming more of an introvert as I get older. Solitude re-energizes me more than time around lots of people. I still am not sure if this is because I am a mom of 3 young kids (and get so little solitude) or that my personality is shifting.
   
5. Even though #4 is true I still need good friends in my life who will love me no matter what and speak truth into my life.
6. I need to not take things so seriously and I need to laugh a lot more!
7. I was always under the illusion that because I made excellent grades all through school and college that I am an educated person. Just one year of formal homeschooling (third year counting pre-k and Kindergarten) has exposed that myth! I have a lot of learning to do still and most of it has to do with teaching myself how to read and engage texts in a thoughtful way.
   
8. I really do like Star Wars!
   

Eight People to Tag:

Heidi
Kerri
Jenny
Tami
Tammy
Sheryl
That's only six but anyone else who wants to jump in, please do. Leave a comment and I'll read yours, too!