Grandpa Joe and Some Awards! =)

Naomi sculpts people's faces out of clay, Play Dough, and stuff like that.  They are really quite good.  A couple of days ago she made-- out of green Play Dough-- Grandpa Joe from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the book she's reading right now.   I thought you might get a kick out of seeing him.  =)

I keep forgetting to mention that my blog-- this blog-- won an award!  I entered the Book Arts Bash, a writing and arts competition, in a couple of different categories.  I entered my poem, Exiting Eden, the first three chapters of Jacob's Peak, and my blog, all in their respective categories.  Apparently the novel and poetry competitions were the stiffest, with hundreds of entries from around the world in each age group.  Bethany and Josh both had poems chosen as finalists, Elizabeth had a movie preview and a book cover (made with Rachel and Sadie) chosen as finalists, and my poem, book and blog were all chosen as finalists!  Pretty darn good for one family, if I may say so myself!

The judges were a great group of people, including Lois Lowry (The Giver), Jack Prelutsky (First Children's Poet Laureate), Bruce Coville (Unicorn Chronicles, Shakespeare retellings and lots more), Robert Pinsky (US Poet Laureate),  and Mir Kamen, (eminent blogger and author of Woulda Coulda Shoulda).  

Bethany's poem, Finishing Twelve, won first place!  Elizabeth's, Rachel's and Sadie's book art for The Goose Girl won first place!  Elizabeth's movie preview for Saving LiZZy Fish won first place! And my blog-- the very one you are reading-- won first place!   =)  

Here's what Mir Kamen had to say about my blog:

Rebecca's blog has everything I tend to look for in a regular read-- she has a sense of humor, but it's not all comedy; she writes about serious maters, but in a genuine, thoughtful way; the topics are varied.  I come away feeling like I've learned something about her, but without the over-sharing that can result in TMI or stultifying boredom for the reader.  My favorite blogs feel like a chat with a friend, and that's what I get from Rebecca's writing.  A little of this, a little of that-- a lovely little peek into her life, her family, her history and her writing.

 Thank you Mir!  What a wonderful compliment, especially from someone who knows blogging like she does.  =) 

And just one more note.  I recently finished reading A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was fun, lighthearted, page-turning, old-fashioned romance, and I highly recommend it.  =)