Rick Graduated from Law School!

We are so proud of our oldest son, Rick, for completing Law School!
Below, we have included some pictures from this momentous occasion, as well as a speech, by Rick Sr. to Rick Jr. , that he gave at his graduation party.

Dad's Speech:

Today, May 15, 2010 marks the culmination of three years of hard work. The diploma that you received today proclaims you now to be a Doctor of Jurisprudence. That certainly sounds impressive. Most people understand that it means you have endured a very rigorous course of study that never fails to tax the abilities of even the brightest students. But in your case, it means even more. So much more, in fact that only those who know you personally can really appreciate it.

For you, law school wasn’t just a demanding course of study; it was a 3-year forced march. The public knows that you graduated second in your class from one of the most respected law schools in America. Your family knows that you accomplished this while working full time, taking care of a wife and two children with whom you somehow managed to spend enough personal time that they still adore their daddy. Further, despite the demands of a physically taxing job, endless hours of study and family responsibilities, you miraculously found time during those three years to team up with your brothers and many friends to wrest control of the Republican Party in the Fifth Congressional District from "Compromisers" and put it back in the hands of Patriots. In the process, you were instrumental in the election of your brother, Nate, to the chair of the Bedford County Republicans and an 18-year-old home school graduate to the corresponding position in Prince Edward County. You and your team helped place 11 conservatives, mostly Christians, in the chairs of eleven of the 21 local Republican parties in the Fifth District. Perhaps now that you’re done with law school, you can get down to some active politicking.

You don’t need me to remind you that your successes in life and learning are in large part due to the contributions of others. Your mom gave you your early education and a love for learning. Your extraordinarily patient wife has been a rare blessing. Your teachers have been many and their influence profound. You’ve had many political mentors along the way. Your old man taught you to be a hard worker, though I’ve heard you paraphrase Lincoln in saying I never taught you to like it (My defense is that it’s hard to teach a skill if you don’t have it yourself). Your siblings have worked for you in your elections and helped you recruit and elect other candidates. They have also helped you on the drywall job, mowed your grass and babysat your children at sundry times, making your hard life a little easier.

It would be fascinating to know just how much of your makeup is hereditary. On your mother’s side your ancestors include a Minute Man, several accomplished musicians, entrepreneurs and a WWII veteran. They came from the Boston area, so your patriotic roots go deep.

On the Boyer side, which until my generation was pronounced Booyer, you are likewise descended from some very interesting characters. Some so interesting that they’re better left unmentioned. Your ancestors on my side were mostly mule-driving Ozark mountain farmers, hard-working, hard-drinking, fiddle-playing, bass-fishing, coon-hunting, pistol-packing, bib-overall types. Both my grandfathers built log cabins as homes for their families. Your great-great-grandfather was Tobe James, a contemporary of Jesse James and some say, a blood relative. A friend of mine once observed that that fact would explain your interest in politics.

You are, as far as I can ascertain, the first Boyer to graduate from college, certainly the first to obtain a Doctorate degree, and the first to practice a white collar profession. Your forbears tended more toward collars of blue, or in some cases hemp. And though you are the first lawyer in the clan, perhaps your tendency to gravitate toward the company of magistrates and judges is partly to the credit of your DNA after all.

I can’t claim that much of your ability came from me, but I know some of it came through me. Your ability to win friends reminds me of my gregarious, life-of-the-party father. And your seemingly boundless energy reminds me of my mom, who at 78 still climbs trees with her grandkids and can scarcely walk from the house to the garage without breaking into a trot. No wonder she managed to raise four kids in a difficult situation without burning out. She’s a wonder, and you’re like her. I guess diligence, like twins, skips a generation.

With all due credit granted to those who have helped you, still you know that it is, above all the grace of a loving God that has brought you this far in life and will under-gird the success we all anticipate will be yours in the future. His Word has pervaded your thought structures since, at age two you memorized over fifty Bible verses and when at five your were memorizing whole chapters of Proverbs, the book of wisdom. May you always look to Him for guidance and strength. All other sources will eventually eventually run dry, but He never.

But Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for every purpose. And today, as it is a time to celebrate your accomplishments, it is also fitting that we should recognize the personal qualities that you have developed and demonstrated. God as blessed you, others have helped you along, but your own hard work and determination must be factored in.

Did I say determination? Davy Crockett claimed to be part horse, part alligator and part snapping turtle. I wouldn’t use that description in your case because I don’t see that much “horse” in you. Horses spook easily and are afraid of unfamiliar situations. I would adjust the recipe to say equal parts of alligator, snapping turtle and pit bulldog on steroids. That’s the determination side of you, and those who are old enough to remember Bugs Bunny cartoons will think of you every time the Tasmanian Devil makes an appearance.

To your friends you are known for your fierce dedication to principle. To your enemies you are known as a formidable and relentless opponent. Your approach to politics, as to all problems, is overwhelming and irresistible force. Being old enough to remember the Viet Nam war, the term that comes to my mind is “scorched earth policy.” When you were very small, your mother and I researched the meaning of your name, Richard Dean. Richard means brave, strong ruler. Recently however, I traced it further and found that in the earliest Sanscrit manuscripts, Richard means Hero. Dean means Shema. (Hero-Shema....feel free to chuckle)

It’s fortunate that the choleric prophet in you is balanced by the other side of your personality. Your political adversaries would be surprised if they knew the other side. Your humility goes unnoticed in the heat of battle, but was obvious in your visible delight in the honors heaped on your friend, the only one who bested your second-place finish in your class. Wouldn’t you know it, another home school kid.

Gentleness is another trait that you keep well hidden when necessary, but the mother lode of it is revealed to those of us who see you interact with your children—or with anyone who is hurting.

Diligence—in you it’s proverbial. No ordinary man could have done what you’ve done for the last three years as well as you’ve done it. I certainly couldn’t. Proverbs tells us that a diligent man shall stand before kings. We all know that’s where you’re headed. And we know that you will serve Jesus faithfully when you get there.
~Dad

What's been going on since November...A LOT!

Luke turned 5 last month! Carrie made him a race car cake and was he ever excited! Everyone came over for supper and dessert and then he opened his presents which were mostly cars or informational books. The other grandkids had a great time as well eating their cones and watching him open gifts.

Thanksgiving was a special day. It began with having a couple of friends over for a special breakfast. The kids took a hike in the woods near our house in the early afternoon while the turkey was cooking. Dinner began about 5 pm and all the kids were here. We moved couches out of our family room and tables and chairs in and we had a lovely spread. We read George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation just after dinner. The older girls served everyone all the different courses and we all ate together.

After dinner, all signed our Thanksgiving tablecloth stating something they were thankful for during the past year, and we also completed our annual Time Capsules recounting blessing of the past year and goals for the upcoming one. The evening was completed with pies of all sorts.

The day after Thanksgiving, we made our yearly trek to the tree field. Rick and Dusty and Tim and Kari were there as well. It was a cold, windy day, but that made it seem more like Christmas! We all agreed on the "perfect" tree and sure enough when we set it up that evening it fit perfectly! We had yummy leftovers for lunch and spent the day doing the inside Christmas decorating. The next day, Saturday, everyone joined forces to do the outside decorating. This year, I think Matt said they put up about 7000 lights on the house, deck, trees, etc. We LOVE lights. It reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world. Anyone coming to the Boyers house at night in December can tell which one it is long before they arrive!! As they decorate, they play Christmas music and sing all day long.

That evening we set up and decorated the tree. Tim and Kari's family were over and Adam was fascinated with ornaments of past years that had pictures of his daddy when he was little. He and Cass guessed who each one was! They helped hang the ornaments on the lower branches and we continued to decorate after they went home to bed.

During December, we had Anne and her daddy, Nate, one night by Anne's request for Grandad to make doughnuts and hot chocolate. Nate had been telling her about his childhood memories of Christmas and she decided that one sounded real good!! It was a fun evening.
Anne also took her first horse back ride this month on Grandad's horse. She loved it and decided she now wants Grandad to buy a black and white pinto named Checkers. I'm afraid that won't be a dream coming true any time too soon!

The first Friday night of December was the annual Holiday Carols presentation put on by Kari and Emily. It is a fun evening of quality Christmas music performed by lots of singers. They invite the whole community and of course the message of Jesus comes through each year. They did an excellent job and I kept hearing folks just wishing it would last longer.

Last Friday night we had our annual Christmas party and bonfire. It was a cold night. We sang Christmas carols around the fire and our former pastor shared a few words about Christmas. We had lots of food and great fellowship.

We've done a lot of entertaining this month. We love having people over and Christmas is such a special season that we enjoy sharing it with others as well. Next week we'll be baking nativity Christmas cookies for our neighbors and bringing them a gospel witness.

We pray that your Christmas season has been full of sweet memories and fun times as a family.

God bless each of you and a Merry Christmas from the Boyer family!!

~Marilyn Boyer

What's Going On In Our Family

The third week of September, Rick, Matt, Laura, Kelley and I took off for the HSLDA Leadership Conference in Colorado Springs. We visited Focus on the Family the day we arrived on our way to the conference. The next few days were packed with inspiring sessions and plenty of sightseeing. We heard from James Dobson, LTG William Boykin, David Noebel and many others. I always stand in awe of how God is using the dedicated families of the homeschooling movement to change society and help to bring it back to the right path it was founded upon. I am excited to see what He will do in the next few years as we now have a large number of homeschooled kids who have graduated and desire for God to use them to accomplish great things for His Glory.

It snowed on the top of Pikes Peak, so we didn't get to go to the top. However, we toured Cave of the Winds and Garden of the gods and observed the wonders of God's marvelous creation all about us. We fellowshiped with many dear friends and met some new ones too. It's like a big family reunion! Our kids love to worship around the piano each night with other homeschooling families, singing praises to the Lord. They stay up till the wee hours singing hymns around the hotel piano. We didn't even bother to go to bed the night before we left, as we had to leave for the airport at 3 am anyway! It was worth it!

Extra special was the time we had with Chris Klicka, our dear friend who is now in glory, healed of his MS that he bore for 15 years. The kids and I came home on Sunday and Rick stayed on for a few days to try to be of service to the Klicka family. He is thankful for the precious time with his dear friend.

October 1st we attended Tina (our daughter-in-laws) baby shower. She's expecting a baby boy due in Nov., but probably will be here much sooner than that. We are excited for her and Nate as they await the arrival of Anne's baby brother. Anne was, of course, at the shower and had lots of fun with her cousin, Lauren. She enjoyed bringing Mommy each gift to open.

Last week our special fall day with Anne was on Wed. and with Cass and Adam on Friday. We packed in a lot of fun , as you can see from the pictures. We had a picnic in our woods, made leaf rubbings, Giant Thanksgiving sticker placemats (the biggest hit of all) , and did leaf scratchings and 'do-a-dot' fall paintings.

Kelley helped the grandkids make turkeys from apples and made cookies with Cass and Adam and gave Anne one of the mini pumpkins she grew in her garden this summer to paint. Next week we'll have more fun fall days with Luke and Melody and Lauren. Tomorrow we head for the Pumpkin Patch for a morning of fun. We'll be sure to share some of those pictures with you, too! Have a wonderful October.

Boyer Highlights from August/ September

~August is a big birthday month at the Boyers. We celebrated first Brittany Grace's who turned 18, then Kate Boyer Brown on Aug 11th. Matt's birthday was the 23rd. Each chose their favorite foods for supper and dessert. Kevin took Kate out of town overnight to celebrate her birthday and Lauren stayed with Nana and Grandad. They came home in time for the family celebration. Matt's was later in the month. We cooked out and ate in as it was a hot steamy day.

~We began the month by doing a webinar for HSLDA entitled Educating for Eternity. Rick and Marilyn were joined by Rick, Nate, Kate, Matt and Laura as we addressed aspects of the way we chose to home educate and train our children. Our children addressed how that affected them and which aspects they wished to pass onto their children in turn to ensure passing on the baton to future generations. It was fun and we got positive feedback from our listeners. A webinar was something new for us.

~We also attended our town hall meeting in August to make our voices heard by our congressman. The meeting was packed and concern voiced over the current health care proposal as well as other issues. It is a reminder that we must be involved and perform our duty to hold our elected officials accountable to the people and to the Constitution of our land.

~During the month we had a marker board on our refrigerator- with a countdown to Aug 29th- the day we left for our annual family beach trip!! All look with anticipation on a time of relaxation, enjoying each others company and a rest from the busyness of life. We rent a beach house and ALL 25 of us spend lots of time outdoors, swimming, bicycling, walking, shelling and playing games. Kelley found LOTS of really neat shells this year! She has quite a collection. We met another homeschooling family on the beach this year. That was fun!

~Each daughter-in-law and daughter takes turns fixing wonderful meals so no one has the whole responsibility. We had seafood one night which several of us thoroughly enjoyed. The grandkids had a great time in the inflatable boat, building castles and body surfing on the water's edge. So far, all the grandkids seem to love the water also! I think I could just sit and think and listen to and smell the ocean breeze and never grow tired of it. I did quite a bit of reading on the beach as well. It is definitely a highlight of our year!!

~It was September when we came home! Tuck turned 16 on Sept. 11 and Rick/Grandad/Uncle Rick just celebrated his 57th birthday on Sunday. Tuck, of course got lots of hunting gear- what else? Hunting season starts next month and he's ready!!

~We started "school" last Thursday. We always wait until after our beach trip and then take a few days to get things organized before we begin. It's always nice to get back on a regular schedule with the start of a new school year, new chores, and an earlier bedtime than in the summer.

~Currently Nate and Tuck are putting new siding on our house and installing new windows to help (we hope) with our high electric bills.

~Today we attended two sessions at Liberty University, one at the School of Law to hear David Barton (www.wallbuilders.com) speak of our Christian heritage and are refreshed again to have new thoroughly documented information to share with others.

~As you begin this new school year, guard against becoming bogged down with busyness and make time in your schedule for fun learning experiences together. Relationships are what homeschooling is all about. Enjoy your time with your kids!!

Some Boyer Family Highlights this Summer

We have been so busy this spring and early summer. Things are winding down now from a busy convention season and we are looking forward to spending the summer with our family. In May and June we spoke at six state conventions: Wyoming, Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. We met so many dedicated, committed parents. I am excited to see what God has in store for our country because of the revival I believe He has begun with home schooling families across this nation. Let us remember to pray for each other and for God to raise up a mighty army to lead our country back to the godly principles it was founded upon.

We had the blessing of attending the Reformation 500 event in Boston with Vision Forum. It was very inspiring and thrilling to see the place where the Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre took place and the spot the Sons of Liberty would gather!! We went from there to spend a few days on Cape Cod with my family.(Marilyn) Grace, Tuck, Kelley and Kasey went with us on this Massachusetts trip. I grew up on Cape Cod, but they hadn't been up there since my dad died in 1999, so it was a treat for them to see the places they had heard of from the other kids memories.

Emily had her birthday in May and Christa in June. We are looking forward to celebrating Cassidy's fourth birthday on Saturday. Rick, Grace, and Tuck are in Missouri right now visiting Rick's relatives on the farm. Next week we will all be together again.

Our garden is doing super this year. We've had enough rain and Tuck has taken wonderful care of the plants. We are eating squash, corn on the cob and cucumbers and tomatoes!! Tuck's ducks have gotten quite large and walk around the yard together. They love swimming in his garden pond.

Kelley has been practicing the piano and is becoming quite accomplished. Kasey has been working all week on her birthday present for her niece, Cassidy. She is making her a dollhouse and decorating it and with furnishing and people.

I am working on preschool character curriculum to help train my grandkids in some of the things I taught their parents as they were growing up. So many of the resources I used are now out of print, so hopefully it will be available soon.

Have a great summer. Take time to do some of the fun things you don't get around to during the school year! That's what I plan to do. Watch for some new pictures to be posted soon. God bless.

Marilyn

Our family in April

We went to Alaska for the first time ever in the month of April. We spoke at a home schooling convention just outside of Wasilla and spent a couple days touring with a wonderful family there. Alaska is awesome. There are tall snow capped mountains all around you. The glaciers were just beginning to break up and we didn't see any green of course, but it was breathtaking. The convention went well. We met lots of moms and dads anxious to raise up mighty warriors for the Lord.

The day after we returned from Alaska, Rick and Laura left to speak at the MassHope Convention in Worcester! They had a wonderful time. It is so encouraging to see moms and dads who want to train their kids to serve Him and and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to do so.

Easter was a fun family celebration for us. I (Marilyn) made salt and flour empty tombs with Cassidy and Anne as well as Resurrection Rolls. That was a really neat illustration and a yummy treat too!! We all got together for dinner Easter night as usual with our traditional ham dinner.

We had two birthdays in April, Tim's and Lauren's. We had our first cook out of the year to celebrate Tim's. It was a beautifully warm day. We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and had plenty of wonderful side dishes. Tim chose caramel squares instead of cake. The kids had a wonderful time having rides in the wagon, Uncle Tim's truck, and on the toy tractors and bikes. Rick Jr. even took a short break from studying for law school to join us for dinner.

Dusty and Luke and Melody are in Tucson visiting her family. The kids are enjoying museums and the zoo. Luke was excited to see a space simulator and get to "work" it. They will return home after Rick completes his last law school final next week.

Chris and Grace got to spend a weekend at the beach with family friends. It was a treat to have such a warm weekend.

Lauren's birthday's was celebrated with pizza for supper, one of her favorites and a doghouse cake with doggie cupcakes that Kate made. It was super cute. Kevin's folks came to town to help celebrate. It was good to see them again. Lauren got a jack in the box, a tricycle,a personalized drinking mug, Busy Bible, Familiar Things puzzles and a little homemade apron and cooking spoons and spatulas. She wanted to make cookies the next day! She had lots of fun. Daddy and Uncle Matt assembled her trike while the grandkids played with the rest of the toys.

Matt, Emily, Carrie and Chris left the end of the month to attend the graduation of their cousin, John, from Maine Maritime. Congrats John!! They drove all the way up and will be home again early May.

Grace has been busy duplicating CD's and preparing for all the upcoming conventions in May and June.

We hope to see many of you in the next two months.

Blessings, Marilyn

New Pictures soon to follow. =)

February Happenings

We had our first snowstorm last week!!! The kids were delighted. We had about 12" of snow and had lots of fun sledding and building snowmen. Kate, Lauren and Grandad even took a sleigh ride-one of Grandad's very favorite things to do!! We (Rick and Marilyn) actually returned from speaking at a home schooling convention in Vero Beach, FL just in time to see all the snow.

We were blessed as always to be with so many moms and dads who love their children and invest their lives in training them in God's ways. We are excited to see what God has in store for the children who are now being home schooled. They were born for such a time as this in this country and we anticipate great things as they grow and learn to engage the culture. We took one extra day after speaking to enjoy the beach. It was too cold to swim, but very relaxing to sit and listen to the surf and wade in the ocean.

Emmy, Carrie and Laura all made trips to Falmouth, MA this month to help my niece who had preemie twins in November. Lori has five boys now! The girls loved holding the babies, helping out and getting to spend time with the extended family! They experienced quite a bit of snow in Massachusetts!

We celebrated Kari's birthday late in January so we're including some of those pictures on this month's blog. Carrie turned 22 on Feb. 23rd! We had a fun party and our pastor's family attended the celebration. As an added blessing, we went sledding after the party on the frozen slope in our side yard. Even Rick and Marilyn took a few turns down the hill.

Christa , Laura, and a friend of the family planned a tea party for the little girls they babysit for. They used fancy pink rose dishes and the girls got dressed up all pretty and made candy necklaces, ate lots of goodies- fancy cookies, sandwiches, and fruit. They had a fun craft making paper mice with dum-dum tails. A great time was had by all!

Chris leaves Sunday for a mission trip to Romania. We'll tell you more about that next month.

Nate is continuing work on his house and he and Tina and Anne hope to move in perhaps in April. They have totally remade an older house. It's beautiful!! We'll try to get some pictures of it to show you next month.

Tim is busy working on organizing a grass roots movement in our area in VA to help restore godly principles to government. It is very exciting that home schooled families really care enough about our nation to be involved in making it better. God has great things in store for us all!!

Rick Jr. is busy preparing to finish up his second semester of law school and loving it, but is anxious also to have time to be more involved in civil government! Kate, Kevin, and Lauren are planning a trip to Ireland to visit Kevin's Grandma Beth, who Lauren Elizabeth is named after. They will be leaving in early April
.

Rick and Marilyn have been real busy preparing resources for families. We have been producing a DVD in which we explain how we home educated our 14 and why we chose to do it that way. Interspersed in our message are video clips of six our adult children sharing from their experiences growing up in our family. If you think questions you would like to ask the Boyer children (now adults), please email them to us. We're collecting questions for our next DVD. We are very excited about this project. How I would have loved to hear kids who'd been through home education as I was starting out my journey!!

Marilyn was greatly excited to see For You They Signed- Character Studies from the Lives of the Signers arrive on her doorstep in February!! It was the result of a year and a half long "treasure hunt" to learn the truth about the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It is so inspiring to hear their stories of sacrifice and learn what many said about their belief in Jesus Christ. We truly do have a godly heritage!! We have begun using it for our family devotions. It contains over a years worth of family devotion times learning character through history as well as Bible verses and character qualities for the family to learn as well. It is our goal to learn to identify each signer (coloring pages are included in a free 180 pg e-book) as well as learn about their sacrifice made in our behalf as well as their acknowledgement of Jesus Christ. To be armed sufficiently to engage our culture today, we must learn where God has led this country in the past, especially in the founding era.

Marilyn also finished her e-book Obedience From the Heart which we will be sharing with you very soon. Thanks to all who submitted questions to be addressed in this new project.

We pray for God's richest blessings to be on each and every one of you and your families. We are looking forward to seeing so many of you this spring at state conventions.

The Boyers in January

We celebrated four birthdays in January: Laura's , Anne's, Tina's and Kari's. We always let each person choose their birthday supper and dessert.
The kids have been waiting for snow, but we've only had a few dustings of snow and a little bit of ice.
Marilyn's niece who lives on Cape Cod had two preemie twins born in November. They came home from the hospital in late December and since then Carrie, Christa, and Emily have taken turns going up to help Lori out with their care.(Lori also has a two year old boy and two school aged boys as well.) Laura leaves this Saturday to go help for a week and then Carrie will return for her second trip. They have enjoyed helping out and been a tremendous blessing to Lori.
Tim and Kari were able to slip away for weekend trip to celebrate Kari's birthday. We were blessed with the care of Cassidy and Adam for the weekend. They spent lots of time with Nana and aunts Kelley and Kasey. We made playdough and did 'do-a-dot' pictures, worked puzzles, read books, played with Ginny dolls and dollhouse with Cass and cars with Adam.
Rick has been busy recording more history books written in the 1800's to share with you and your children soon. We are excited about this new aspect of our ministry.
Marilyn is awaiting the arrival of her newest book, For You They Signed- Character Studies from the Lives of the Signers of the Declaration and is also about to finish up her newest e-book, Obedience From the Heart which will answer the questions so many of you have sent in for her to address. If you have any questions you haven't submitted yet, it's not too late!

Highlghts from December

December was a busy month for the Boyers. We began the month with the yearly performance of Holiday Carols that is organized and directed by our daughter-in-law Kari with the help of our daughter Emily. It was well attended. The building was packed and the night was a real blessing to all.

We did a lot of entertaining of families of friends during the month and lots of great fellowship took place. Our yearly Christmas party was on Dec. 19th. We sang carols around a bonfire and Tina's dad shared a Christmas devotional with everyone. There were plenty of Christmas foods and a great time was had by all. The kids all exchange names with each other and each buys three gifts, so there was lots of planning and gift shopping and wrapping.

Each year we bake and deliver Nativity Christmas cookies and deliver them to our neighbors along with a Christmas tract that shares the gospel.

We celebrated Melody's birthday in December. She is two years old now. Emmy made her a cake and she enjoyed her new baby doll and doll stroller. Her daddy,Rick, finished his third semester of law school after a couple of weeks of intensive finals. He is now half way through his three years. He has been enjoying extra time with the family on his Christmas break.
Kelley and Grace participated in the Home school Piano Recital at our church and did a great job!
Tuck spent a lot of time hunting and shot his second deer of the season at a friend's property. We have lots of venison in our freezer now!

The older kids attended a special formal party on New Year's Eve in the home of Tina's sister. It's been a sort of annual tradition and they all had a wonderful time.

We've all been doing a little evaluating of our goals and plans for the New Year. What things do we need to do more of, what things have we been neglecting? What should our priorities be? We are reminded of the scripture, "Teach us to number our days that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom." That is our prayer as we enter 2009. We pray for God's blessings on your families and look forward with anticipation to what God has in store for us all in this new year. May we learn to see life from God's perspective and busy ourselves in pleasing Him with our lives.

November/ December Family Highlights

November was a busy month for the Boyers. Matt, Emily, and Carrie took a life changing trip to the land of Israel with a group from our church. Our pastor led the group and they all took their Bibles and studied about the places that they visited. It was indeed a trip they will never forget. It added much depth to their Bible reading times to actually be able to visualize the places where Jesus walked.

Grannie (Rick's Mom) visited us for 12 days in November. We had many fun times while she was here. She showed Kasey and Kelley how to work on plastic canvas and Kasey is working on Christmas presents for others now.

On Thanksgiving we all got together for our evening dinner. Rick read from Thanksgiving- A Time to Remember to help us all remember the sacrifice the Pilgrims made that first and second year. We cooked two turkeys, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit salad, rolls and 11 eleven pies. We had 27 people for dinner.

The day after Thanksgiving we went to the tree field and cut down our white pine, brought it home and decorated it that night. We also began putting up our outside lights and indoor decorations (quite a procedure). It's lots of fun. By Saturday night most of the decorating was done. The ceramic manger scene is the highlight of all our decorations. We place it on the hearth in our living room. Marilyn painted it back in 1977 and it is still with us.

On December 5th the annual Holiday Carols production took place at our church. It is a ministry of our daughter-in-law Kari and daughter Emily to communicate the gospel message of Christmas to those in our community. Over 500 people attended and were blessed by the excellent presentation of Christmas music.

We're all busy shopping, wrapping gifts, making cookies for neighbors, and just enjoying this blessed time of year. The Boyers LOVE the Christmas season. We pray your season is a blessed family time, too.

Our Family In October

This month was a busy birthday month for us. My oldest son, Rick was born on my 20th birthday, so we celebrated our special day on October 15th.We have a tradition of letting the birthday person choose their favorite meal and dessert. We decorate with balloons and streamers. The whole family will come up for supper to celebrate. The kids got me a digital picture frame so I can display lots of different pictures of my kids and grandkids. I'm running out of wall space!!

Five days later, was my youngest's (Kasey) birthday. Kasey chose Cheesy Chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans and butternut squash. She completed the meal with peanut butter cake with chocolate frosting and ice cream as well as her favorite Chocolate No-Bake cookies. Then on the 25th was Nate's 31st birthday. His daughter Anne loved the balloons! October 30th is Christina (Dusty's) birthday.

Grannie (Rick's Mom) from Wichita, KS came for a visit. She loves to come in the fall to see our wonderful foliage in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Kasey decorated her room with streamers and we surprised her with a bouquet of roses. We have lots of day trips planned during her 12 day stay. We'll tell you about that next month. She'll be here through the first week of November.

We had a fun day at the Pumpkin Patch. Nana, her daughters-in-law and several daughters as well as all the grandkids enjoyed a fun morning at homeschool day. We have a Noah's Ark to climb on and several blow up jumping activities at our Pumpkin Patch as well as pumpkins for all the children to paint.

Tuck, Kelley, Kasey and I spent a fun day at the Peaks of Otter in Bedford VA with some special friends. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and took a hike around the lake. We appreciated God's awesome creativity in fall colors on Sharp Top Mountain and on the Parkway.

Early in the month, I spoke in Greenfield, IN at a ladies retreat. It was a wonderful bunch of ladies who desired to invest their lives in training their little ones to serve our Savior. It is always such a joy to spend time with like-hearted moms.

Matt, Emmy, and Carrie are preparing to leave for life changing trip to Israel, the land where our Lord walked and served. They are going on a trip led by our Pastor and Co-Pastor. Many of our friends are going also. Our Pastor has Scriptures for them to learn and will lead them in services at key places throughout the land. I'm sure it will revolutionize their Bible reading for the rest of their lives to be able to really visualize all the place talked of in Scripture. We are excited for them. They leave October 31st.

I am wrapping up my latest writing project, For You They Signed. It is a year's worth of character lessons from the lives of the Signer of the Declaration of Independence. I was excited to receive David Barton's endorsement on the book. We look forward to making it available to you soon.

As we enjoy the chilly nights and clear crisp days of fall, I marvel at the goodness of God that He has given us the privilege of training up children who love Him above all and the blessing of watching as our small grandchildren are being trained up to serve our mighty God. God is good!!

September Highlights

September began for us at the beach! We left the week before labor day for our favorite beach destination and spent a beautiful and wonderful week at the beach. We actually came back one day early this year because of the threatening Hurricane Hannah, but regardless of that, it was a relaxing vacation, and we made many new and precious memories of time spent together. The beach we go to is quiet and private. We don't go "to town" very much while there, other than to buy groceries. We prefer to spend most of the day down at the beach, sitting by the water, swimming, looking for shells. Then in the evenings, a few of the girl's alternate who cooks supper. We all went out to eat one night while there. A lot of us enjoyed playing games like Scattegories, Tabu, Sequence, out on the porch, until late in the night. It was a lot of fun.

Once we returned home and settled back in to normal life, the pace picked up right where we left off. Rick left that Sunday morning for the Leadership Conference in Buffalo, NY. Our son, Matt, and I joined him on Wednesday. It was a great an inspiring conference, as always. We were able to hear from speakers such as John Ashcroft and Ted Tripp. Matt enjoyed singing well into the wee hours of the morning with some of the other young people at the conference. He looks forward to that each year. We were also able to visit Niagra Falls, which is, indeed, a beautiful sight to see. We enjoyed that very much.

The week after we returned from the conference, it was back-to-school time. I am only teaching 3 children this year- Tuck, Kelley, and Kasey- this seems very strange to me, as I am used to so many more.

Christa went on another beach trip this month- only this time it was as 'baby-sitter'. Each year she goes on vacation with our Pastor's family, who she takes care of often.

And then, we celebrated 4 birthdays this month. Tuck, Rick (Sr.) and Kelley, and Kevin (Kate's husband) For Rick's birthday, Kevin organized having a special gift made for Rick to honor his time in the Air Force, service to our country. It was a beautiful display of Rick's medals and badges from the Air Force. He was very surprised and pleased to receive it.

I am scheduled to speak as the main speaker at the Touching Hearts for the Creator- Home School Moms Retreat in Greenfield , Indiana at the end of September/beginning of October. Our Pastor's wife and good friend of mine, Tracey, is going to accompany me.

And Grace had the opportunity to play piano at a concert that was held in our local mall on a Saturday afternoon.

So, as always, we are not lacking for activities or responsibilities to occupy ourselves! I'm sure it is the same in your families, as well. I am thankful for my family and all the busyness I am able to enjoy- yes ENJOY- because of them! God is good- and all that He does is good!

What we've been up to in August!

BIRTHDAYS:August is the beginning of a long string of birthdays- we have 11 between August and October! So, we have been enjoying the different birthday parties this month, as it is always fun when we are all together. Grace, Kate, and Matt were the August birthdays.
ANNIVERSARY PARTY:At the end of July, the kids threw a surprise anniversary party for me and Rick. We have now been married for 35 years. Hard to believe! Kate made a beautiful cake and we all watched the video of our wedding and also a video of our 25th wedding anniversary when we had a very large surprise party with many guests. So- that was fun. I was commenting on how much changes in 10 years. Your babies are now teenagers and your teenagers are married with their own babies!
SUNDAY SCHOOL:Rick and I have been teaching Sunday School the past few weeks- our teacher, Pastor Brodie, has been teaching the class about having building a "forever family". So he allowed us to share our vision for families and some of the things we have done over the years. Kate joined me last week in sharing. We represented 3 generations, as she has her own little girl!
CHURCH BBQ:Emily has been working non-stop on a barbeque that our church had last Sunday night. It was to kick off the school year for the school that is associated with our church. There were pony rides, inflatable toys to jump on, singing (which many of our family participated in) and some speaking as well. There was also a "bake-off" contest for desserts. Most of our girls made at least one entry- and one of Grace's won. That was fun. But, Emily was in charge of putting the entire event together. She worked on it for 40 hours just last week! It went well and it was a lot of fun.
LAKE DAY: In the middle of the month, our dear friends, The Coopers, invited us to join them at their lake house for a Saturday. We enjoyed good food and fellowship, boat rides and swimming. It was a blast, and the whether was beautiful.
MISISONS TRIP: Carrie was offered the opportunity to accompany our youth team to a missions trip to St. Vincent. A teenager dropped out at the last minute and Carrie was asked to go along to help with the Youth Pastor's wife with her 2 very young children. So, only a few days later, Carrie was flying to St.Vincent for almost 2 weeks. Shy says it was so hot you stayed wet with sweat almost the entire time. She also had a chance to go snorkeling while there. She said it was a good and eye-opening experience.
OTHER: Other than those highlights, we have been savoring the summer- Lots of reading and playing outside. Tuck has continued working on his pond he made- it is now stocked. Kelley and Kasey are still working on cake decorating.
So, that's our month! I hope you are enjoying these last days of summer. As always, cherish each moment with your family. As I said before, just 10 years changes everything so drastically. Don't let it just slip by!
Marilyn

July Highlights

July has been a HOT month in Virginia. It's hard to believe the year is halfway through already! Here are some of the highlights from the Boyer family this month:

We began the month by celebrating our nation's birthday- Independence Day! We actually held our 4th of July cookout on the 5th, so that the whole family would be able to come. We invited some good friends and the weather allowed us to cook out. The food was plentiful and the fellowship was sweet. A particularly special time that evening was when we took a few moments to reflect on all that Independence day represents. We read a few articles and speeches written about our great country, and then I passed out little cards with the name of different founders of our country. The cards also included what each man did for his country in order that she might be free. Many of them died after losing family and fortune- so much was given so that you and I could be free. So- we went around the table and people read their card. We followed this up with our own comments about our involvement in our country and then we stood and sang the Star Spangled Banner- it was a very moving time!

Cassidy, our first grandchild, celebrated her fourth birthday this month. We went to the mountains, about 30-45 minutes from our house and celebrated with a picnic and playing in the creek. It was a lot of fun.
July brings 3 Boyer anniversaries: Nate and Tina celebrated their 8th anniversary on the 21st, and Rick and Dusty were married 7 years as of July 7th. And then Rick and I will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary on July 29th!

Two of our sons, Matt and Tim traveled to Missouri for about 6 days to visit with some of Rick's relatives who live there. They enjoyed operating tractors and assisting them in making hay. The drive is about 16 hours long- it's a biggie!

Marilyn spent July doing fun activities with Tuck, Kell and Kasey that we don't get a chance to do during the school year. Kasey did a sewing project, making a tote bag to take to church and also a pillow for her bed.

Kelley and Kasey began cake decorating practice with Mom. We used a basic course and made up a big batch of icing. Each day for 2 wk we practiced different skills and this week will end up making cakes and using all the skills we've learned.

Tuck has also started some projects. He got wood to build a big tree house, and he also built a garden pond and is watching the different animals and birds it attracts. Soon he will stock it with some fish and plants.

Luke spent a week with Nana and Granddad while his Mommy visited her Dad in Arizona.

Uncle Rick has been recording wonderful history stories for his little buddies and researching to find new books and stories to tell- so watch for those!

Remember in the busyness of each month, week, and day- to cherish the moments you share with your family! Take some time this coming month to make some special memories that will last in your heart forever!

June Highlights

Wow! June has come and gone! Time flies by, doesn't it!
The Boyer family has been a bit more scattered this past month it seems, with different trips and obligations and general 'busy-ness'. Both Kate and her husband Kevin and Tim and Kari went on beach vacations with their other families, Christa was away for a couple of weeks at the beach and also in Florida with a friend. At the end of May, many of us were able to go to the VA. Republican State Convention in Richmond. It was a fun day and many of our kids were able to help some of the candidates in passing out signs, stickers, etc. Tim actually served as one of the coordinators for our area, for one of the candidates- Bob Marshall. It was a neat experience, as always, and a great way to be involved in the future of our state. Rick and I along with our daughters, Laura and Kelley, attended and spoke at the HEAV convention in Richmond, VA. We always look forward to this convention each year- it's only a few hours from our home. Rick also attended Megan Klicka's graduation party- they're dear friends to us. Congrats, Megan!
Most of us were able to be together on Father's Day, when we honored Rick for the wonderful father he is. Good and committed fathers are so important and so crucial to the family! We Praise God for you fathers who are striving to raise a godly generation for Christ!
This month we also celebrated Grace's graduation from High School. She is only 16, but she is also very driven, so she was able to complete her schooling a little earlier than most. So, as we do with all our kids when they graduate, we held a big party for her. Many of Grace's friends, and our pastors, and our family were all there to congratulate Grace for her accomplishment. It was a fun night. Good Job, Grace! We're proud of you!
Laura, our 18 year old, purchased her first car this month, in cash. All our kids have been very diligent in saving their own money they have worked for, and all have bought their first vehicles in cash. I think that's exciting. So, obviously, Laura is excited to have a car of her own. Rick and I took our 3 youngest kids (Tuck, Kelley, and Kasey) to the Asheboro zoo in NC. That was a fun day trip!
And then, at the very end of the month, we all celebrated Christa's birthday. Kate made her, by request, a delicious cake called the "Shoney's Hot Fudge Cake"- it is out of this world!
So, as always, we wonder where June went! You blink, and it is the next month already! This reminds me of some verses - Psalm 103: 16-18: "As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer. But the loving-kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them."

May Highlights

I don't know about you, but May was a very busy month for the Boyers! Here are some of the Highlights:

We celebrated 3 birthdays in May. Early in the month, we celebrated our Grandson, Adam's 2nd birthday. We also celebrated his dad's birthday (Tim) which was actually in April. We all enjoyed a "John Deere Party" for that time. Our daughter, Carrie made a John Deere cake and we used yellow and green plates, napkins, and tablecloths!
Later on in the month our daughter, Emily, celebrated a birthday and we all came together for another party, and a cookout, that ended up being an "indoor cookout" due to rain!

We also enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day- I hope you did too. What a wonderful time to, not only enjoy being honored as a mom, but also to give thanks for the precious children you have been given.

A surprise came our way in the middle of May. Tim and Kari discovered four orphaned kittens at their place, not even 1 week old. They asked our daughter, Grace, if she would like to care for a couple of them. And of course, Grace wanted to. She is absolutely excellent with animals. She's been a great "mom" to them- bottle-feeding them every few hours, even at night, grooming them, and of course, loving on them! They are very cute. Their eyes opened up after about 1 week and they are becoming more adventurous all the time!

We spoke at 3 conventions this month- Georgia, Iowa, and New Brunswick, Canada. We enjoyed speaking with and meeting so many of you!

Memorial Day was a fun time. The weather here was beautiful and we all enjoyed a big cookout with the family and a few friends as well. We are so thankful for those who have sacrificed their lives for our country, so that we are able to live in freedom, which is what Memorial Day is all about.

At the very end of the month, many of us attended the Virginia State Convention held in Richmond.

So, as I said, May has been filled with many different activities. On that note, let us always remember, maybe especially in these extra busy times, to "Be still and know that I am God".

Marilyn

April Highlights

Spring is such a beautiful time of year! And our family has been enjoying the warmer weather, reading outside, taking more walks, planting flowers, and just being outside more, once again! I'm sure your family is enjoying it as well! March and April were very busy months for the Boyers! Let me fill you in on some of the reasons why:

Beginning in March, our 2nd oldest son, Tim, made the decision to run for a position within the Republican party, chairman of the 5th district in VA. So, most of March and all of April were filled with the demands of the campaign. Tim was running against a 10 year incumbent, with a lot of name recognition. We kept his 2 children often during this time so he and his wife, Kari could travel the district and meet the people, etc. This position was one that wold be determined at a convention in April- the delegates there would determine the outcome. You can hear a clip of his speech, given at the convention, at this link we happened to come across the other day.
Tim did not win- but he came within just a few votes of doing so! We are confident that God wanted Tim to run for this position- we are very proud of him for doing it! You can also check out his blog and see some of went on during the campaign. He also posts conservative pieces on the blog frequently.

Easter was in March this year, and we all enjoyed the festivities around that special season- coloring Easter eggs, making EMPTY tombs, special Easter meals, and Resurrection music filling the home.

Our daughter, Christa, took her 2nd solo trip to Wichita, to see Rick's mom- aka "grannie". Crista flew out there and stayed for 2 weeks. In the meantime, Rick's oldest brother, Dean, visited us for about the same amount of time. They enjoyed fishing, and Tuck and he did some work in a creek to make a dam at Rick's other brother's house, nearby.

In March, the moms of our grandkids began to have little get togethers at their homes where they can visit with each other and the cousins can play together. It's a fun time to have

We also celebrated 2 birthdays in April- Tim's (32) and Lauren's (1) -kate's daughter. Kate threw a "Puppy Party" for Lauren. Kate thought up many cute ideas to add to that theme. Lauren's other grandparents also came in for the occasion and celebrated with us. Lauren also had her first taste of cake at her party and she LOVED it! (it was shaped like a dog, of course!!)
April also meant preparing for the many Homeschool conferences where we will be speaking in May. You can see a calendar of where we will be speaking next. We would love to meet you!

We give thanks to God for His mercies which are new, not only every month, but every day!