I had a friend put the car in forward,hold the brakes,and accelerate a little while I watched.The engine raises about a half an inch at the very front mount.Is this normal or should I anticipate changing them soon?

 

yes, you can pull the rubber cover on front mount back and see if it has broken, but the movement you speak of is pretty normal, if you do change mounts be sure they are genuine honda mounts unless you like a lot of vibration
Frank allen