Book Review: The Noticer by Andy Andrews

I recently had the privilege of reviewing The Noticer by Andy Andrews for Thomas Nelson Book Publishers. This is the first book that I have read by Andy Andrews and was quite impressed by the unimposing way that he ties fiction with simple pieces of wisdom for various life situations. The story features an old man named simply "Jones" who sees more of people's lives than they can often see themselves.

This book encouraged me to try to be a “noticer” in people’s lives…to try to get to know them just by watching them and observing how I can encourage them in their journey. The author is great at using descriptive words in unfolding the stories to paint a vivid picture in your mind of what is happening. The story is suspenseful in that you wonder what could possibly be included in Jones’ brown suitcase that he constantly carries with him.

At the end of the book, there is a reader’s guide that includes thought-provoking questions to help you understand and get even more out of the book.

Homeschool Opportunities

For those of you that live locally, here are two homeschool field trip opportunities coming up in the next few months.

May 12 is Homeschool Day at the Space Needle. Ticket prices and the online reservation form can be found here.

June 12 is Homeschool Day at Wild Waves. Ticket prices are $10.99 plus tax. Go to their website and enter the promo code "homeschool" when purchasing tickets and the ticket price will change to reflect the correct price.

One of Those Days

Oh boy...it has been one of those days today. It is laughable now, but we got to the point where we were wondering what else could go wrong! Here are just a few of the highlights from today.

1. We had a flat tire on the way from Columbia, SC to Charlotte, NC. Garth changed it while I kept the kids on the grass on the side of the highway. I had memories of the COPS shows (that I watch way too many of!) where cars run off the highway and hit people on the side. We were thankful that a DOT truck came by and lended a hand.

2. Benjamin got his finger stuck in a small hole in the side of Rachel's carseat. We struggled with getting it out for 20 minutes and were pretty close to calling the fire department for some help. We used lotion and cold water (what we had in the car) to try to get it out. After we got it out, we had to stop and get an ice pack for his finger. It was very swollen and many different colors.

3. I pulled a muscle in my leg, trying to hold Rachel and get up from the ground at the same time. Hopefully it won't be too painful while walking around in the airport tomorrow!

4. Sarah has had a very upset stomach the last three days. The poor girl has hardly eaten anything and gets sick at the thought of food. We've made several quick bathroom stops for her!

5. We left Anderson this morning and figured we'd find breakfast on the way to Columbia (a 2 1/2 hour drive). Well...we didn't realize that we would be taking rural roads so we didn't get breakfast until 11 am. Not a big deal for some...but we were not happy people to be around without breakfast. ;-)

And to top it all off...I now have a migraine (no surprise!). We loved seeing many friends and family this week, but are definitely ready to be home in our own beds.

A Family Holiday in New Jersey

We are having a wonderful time with family in New Jersey. Sarah and her cousin, Karis, are such great buddies. They have loved each other so much since they were just so little. They enjoy reading together, talking, laughing, and just being girly.


We enjoyed Sunset Beach last evening and found many neat pebbles and shells (on the beach and in the gift shop). Behind the kids is a wrecked ship that is still partially visible above the water.


The kids played on a nearby playground one morning this week. The weather has been amazingly warm and sunny, which we are thoroughly enjoying.


This photo was taken before church on Wednesday evening. Benjamin was not too sure if he liked being stuck in the middle of all these girls!


Here are Karis and Elissa on Sunset Beach. We've sure enjoyed spending time with family!

Happy Easter!

We are so thankful that it worked out for us to spend Easter with Garth's brother and his family over on the Jersey shore. The Sonrise service is at 6:15 am...so while you all on the west coast are sleeping soundly we will be watching the sunrise and remembering Christ's resurrection! Happy Easter to you all!

This morning Benjamin had a multi-colored highlighter and wanted to draw. I gave him two pieces of paper and said that was all he could have to draw with for now. When he finished, he showed me his picture of Jesus dying on the cross and then of Jesus rising from the grave. What a blessing this was to a mommy's heart!