2023 Family Read Alouds/Audiobooks

2021 Family Read Alouds and Audiobooks

2022 Family Read Alouds/Audiobooks

[Update - I started this as a "page" to be updating through 2023. I never finished, and here I am in 2026 try to cobble together our list from that year using Goodreads. What I realized, in hindsight, was that this was a shift of a year. We did a lot more audiobooks in the van and a lot less of read alouds to everyone. I still read poetry collections to all, but I also read a bunch to various combinations of boys, and it's hard to keep track at all, so I didn't include ALL my chapter book read alouds).

Family Read Alouds/Audiobooks

    "Family" is relative since it's pretty rare that I read chapter books to all 5 boys at once.  We often do reading time in the evenings, but that's mostly picture books.  The ones on this page are the ones I read aloud to both Carter and Calvin (and often the younger boys were around for all or part of it, too).

    Family audiobooks include all 5 boys when we're driving in the van.  Often, I will listen to one with just the older boys (11 and 9) when the younger boys aren't around if it's something harder to comprehend.

Audiobooks

Action Bible (New Testament) - 1/28/23 - both older boys have read the Action Bible, but we listened to the New Testament version to kick off the year.  I loved how it included different voice actors and sound effects.  We often listened to this at the table while playing or drawing.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street - 2/22/23 - I enjoyed listening to this with my boys (11, 9, 4, 3). With a baby, it's much easier to do audiobooks than trying to read them aloud myself. I liked this book but didn't LOVE it. I couldn't keep the kids straight, and the plot seemed to drag a bit. The boys enjoyed it more than some read alouds we've done lately. We might continue on with the series.

The Princess Bride ("Good Parts Version") - 3/16/23 - What a delight! I'm a huge fan of the movie and have also listened to Cary Elwes' "As You Wish," but I hadn't ever read the book. I opted for William Goldman's "good parts version," so as not to waste my time on the inconsequential details. I ended up listening to this with my boys in the van, and they all enjoyed it. The movie is based off this version (even some of the specific dialogue), but it's like there were some "deleted scenes" I didn't know about by reading the book (like the Zoo of Death!). Now to watch the movie as a family again!

Among the Hidden - 4/4/23

William Carey: Obliged to Go - 4/22/23

Henry Huggins - 8/19/23

Henry and Beezus - 8/28/23

Henry and Ribsy - 9/13/23

Henry and the Paper Route - 9/21/23

Henry and the Clubhouse - 10/24/23

Ribsy - 10/12/23

Matilda - 10/18/23

The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden - 11/8/23

Mary Poppins - 11/23/23

Read Alouds

Cat Kid Comic Club #4: Collaborations - 3/11/23 - I loved this! I read it in one sitting to my 4 sons (11, 9, 4, 3). There are funny parts and little lessons sprinkled in. There’s variety and not as much of the potty humor as in, like Captain Underpants.

Mr. Popper's Penguins - 3/14/23 - I picked this up in a Little Free Library. I love that it was written a long time ago but still felt accessible to my boys. And I loved that the chapters were short. Some sections were more engaging than others, but overall, we enjoyed this book together.

The Book of Not Entirely Useless Advice - 4/21/23

My Head has a Bellyache: And More Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups - 11/29/23

Kirsten's Surprise: A Christmas Story - 12/20/23

Solitude Reflections (August 2026)

8-25-26

"For all that has been...thanks

To all that shall be...yes"

Reflecting on my life

    as a child, eager to follow You

    as a mother-to-be on my first retreat here, dwelling in darkness

    a year ago, when I last walked these grounds

    I'm grateful for Your companionship all these years

    My soul wells up with hallelujahs

    I cannot hide my love -- my heart will have to sing

    You have been faithful; You will be again

Looking ahead to the future...

    the immediate when I return of final preparations for Japan

    the pinch-myself family adventure to Japan

    Carter's final years of high school

        and the ticking clock for whole-family memories

    the foreboding joy knowing that life can't always be this good

        and the scary unknowns

But I say "Yes" to all that shall be

    because I know the One who holds tomorrow

        and I know who holds my hand

8-25-26

Walk slower

    No one's in a hurry

    There's no need to rush

    Take time to notice

        what God might be wanting to show you

Eat slower

    Set your fork down between bites

    Savor each bite

    Look out the window

    Let good food nourish your body

        while God nourishes your soul

Talk slower less none

    There's no need for words

    It's here in the silence where you meet the living God

    Pause long enough to hear

        what God might be wanting to say to you

For it's here

    in the slowness

    in the silence

                that He speaks

Or at least

    it's where we're aware

                of Him speaking

Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening

8-25-26

The Garden is multi-faceted

EDEN

It's a place of creation and communion

It's a place of purpose and passion

It's where I walk with You and talk with You,

    and You tell me that I'm Yours

GETHSEMANI

It's also a place of dread and surrender

    When it gets hard, am I going to follow You or not?

    Am I going to take up my cross or take the easy road?

It's a place of failure and shame

    I am the disciples

        who could not travail in prayer

            for even an hour

    My flesh takes over, and I give in to temptation so quickly

But I'm grateful that the Tree of Life

    is not in an earthly Gethsemane

        where we'd be stuck in an endless loop of failure and shame

    for there's another Garden

        at the end of time

            and when we eat from the Tree of Life,

                it will be in a place we want to live forever

Face to face

All our Gethsemane trials and pains

    recycled to bring You glory

And forever walking and talking with You

You'll walk us through this garden

    to the next

8-25-26

I marvel at Your creation

    the tiny traveling inchworm

    the chittering, skittering chipmunks

    the resourceful, watchful squirrels

    the flitting, fighting hummingbirds

    the stately, stout sycamore trees

    the creative, cunning wolf spider

    the melodic, musing birds

I marvel at the way You set up the world

    ever growing and evolving

    ever learning and understanding

    able to love and be loved

    able to make and appreciate music

    depending on You

    depending on each other

    colors and beauty for our appreciation

    all kinds of food, not only to nourish us, but for our enjoyment

    Oh, the order and variety and creativity of this world You made!

And I even marvel at man-made inventions

    like the flashing yellow and red traffic light

    which seem to interrupt nature

    but although they weren't part of Your 7 days of creation,

        You made humans able to think

                                            and tinker

                                            and design

                                            and dazzle

What a wonderful Maker, who made all this out of nothing!

        

2025 - family trip to Gatlinburg!

    For our 2025 Thomas family vacation, we went over Fall Break to Gatlinburg! This was our 3rd time together there as an extended family (at least since I've been in the family!). The first time, we stayed in Townsend -- "The peaceful side of the Smokies" in cabins right by a mountain stream. Then when Colson was 2 months old, we stayed in the Park Place condos. My mom joined us on that trip, while Lucas stayed home to work. This time, we stayed in Park Place again, and it was the first time for all 7 of us to be together in Gatlinburg.

We were split between three condos at Park Place but came together for games and dinners

There were many bear sightings from our balcony!

Hillbilly Golf! This is a must-do every time we come!

Creek stompin'

We were going to do a simpler, shorter hike, but there were no parking spots. There was, however, a parking spot at Chimney Tops, a hike Lucas and I did while we were dating on a day trip to Gatlinburg. It's long and uphill, and we had a two-year-old with us, but step by step, we made it!

Lucas and I had recorded a video of ourselves back in 2010 on one of these bridges to "future us"

The final scramble to the top is now blocked, unfortunately

Beautiful! We did it!

Chance was a trooper!

Mamaw and Papaw with the grandkids in age order

Lucas and I did a date out one night. While we were sitting on a bench on a river walkway, a bear started coming our way! We had to scramble up the hill to get away

On multiple early mornings, I'd walk down to the stream for some Jesus time

Because we were running late, we ended up finding a church in town that started 15 minutes later. We lucked out, though, because it was potluck day at Roaring Fork Baptist Church. Nothing beats a church potluck!

   

Abbey of Gethsemani - August 2026

    I have gone on 18 solitude retreats since 2005, so about once a year. Even though I'm an extrovert, I crave this time away and alone with my Maker. I recently returned from my 3rd retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani, about an hour and a half away from where I live. I cannot recommend this experience and this place highly enough!

    In a spirit of hospitality, the monastery provides:

• a private furnished room with private bathroom/shower
• three meals a day, eating with other retreatants in silence
• an agenda-free, expectation-free experience
• gardens and forested trails to sit or hike
• opportunity to join the monks seven times a day as they sing the psalms and pray (but again, no requirement)
• the best 360 degree panoramic view of the surrounding knobs and hills during sunrise and sunset
• a library
• one Monday-Friday or Friday-Monday retreat per year

They rely on donations to cover their operational expenses, but there's no suggested donation amount, so you can truly give whatever you feel led to give.

    Every retreat looks different for me, depending on my season of life, mood, and what I'm needing. My first retreat at Gethsemani was when I was in my first year of marriage and pregnant with our first son. I was in a dark place spiritually and emotionally and barely hanging on. Then my second was last summer, and I was back this year. 

    I kind of fell into a routine of sorts during my time this year. 

• wake up with the monk's chimes for 5:40 Lauds
• walk up the hill to my favorite spot at the base of a cross to awaken the dawn 
• drink some hot lemon water or hot chocolate while writing more poems
• work on my Japanese textbook
• eat lunch looking out the window at the hummingbirds
• take an afternoon hike on the grounds
• eat dinner in silent community
• join the monks for at least one of their gathered times
• turn on a my phone briefly to check in and report that I'm still alive
• walk back up the hill for the sunset
• walk back to my room in the darkness 
• read until I was tired and ready for bed

    I spent much time in reflection, Scripture, and prayer, and Jesus really did restore my soul. It was a bit jarring to return to daily noise and responsibilities. I prefer Monastery Mary over home Mary, but I am called to this life I'm in the middle of. I'm grateful for these pockets of time away, and I plan to keep returning as long as I'm physically able.

Never Forget...

25 years ago today...

I was a senior in high school.

It was ISTEP testing week, so we had one of our classes in the auditorium.

When I got back to a regular classroom, the TV was on a news station, and I asked out loud, "What's happening in our fine world today?" having no idea that America was under attack.

For days, it was all we could think about or talk about. Watching hours of news footage. Reading of the wide scope but also individual stories of lives forever altered.

Wondering...

Will we go to war?

Will my brothers be drafted?

Will anything ever be the same?

Patriotism was at an all-time high. Our school even played the song over the loudspeaker: "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free..."

I'm a lifetime away from that high school senior

and yet that high school senior is still inside of me.

I often spend the 9/11 anniversary reading memoirs or historical fiction related to that day. One of my all-time favorite audiobooks The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff. Fascinating and gut-wrenching to hear so many personal accounts from so many different angles.

This year, the day has come and gone with hardly a thought of 9/11 aside from reading some Facebook posts and reflections

But I'm proud of the way I spent my day...

I spent it in the Word and in prayer when my day first started

I spent it at Friendship International with over a hundred women from around the world who have found themselves in Lexington, Kentucky for this season of life

I spent it with four Japanese women around my table sharing lunch and playing a board game

I spent it talking with my husband

I spent it preparing food for a guest to come over for dinner

I spent it in reflecting on countless good memories from the past few years on trips taken as a family

Reflecting

Building bridges

Preparing a table

Thanking God for all the good

In math language, subtraction is what makes a difference

but I've found that these small kindnesses add up to make a difference

Bible in 50 Words

I didn't write this poem, but I sure like it! We memorized it years when we were first starting homeschooling. It's a great overview of the Biblical narrative.

God creates - Genesis 1-2

Adam ate - Genesis 3

Noah floats - Genesis 7

Abraham's oath - Genesis 12?

Jacob schemes - Genesis 25

Joseph dreams - Genesis 37

Bush lit - Exodus 3

Sea split - Exodus 14

Law spoken - Exodus 20

Tablets broken - Exodus 32

Judges appointed - Judges

Kings anointed - 1 Samuel - 2 Chronicles

God forgotten - 1 Samuel - 2 Chronicles

Rulers rotten - 1 Samuel - 2 Chronicles

Kingdom broke - 1 Kings 12

Prophets hope - all the major and minor prophets!

Mary favored - Luke 1

Baby Savior - Luke 2

Crucified - Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19

Jesus died - Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19

Third morn - Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20

World reborn - John 3:1-21

Spirit glows - Acts 2

Love grows - early church

Earth awaits - Revelation

God creates - Revelation 21:5 (He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”)