Christmas Meme

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Wrapping paper with fancy ribbon. When we were first married, I tried to use the cheap curly ribbon and Sean asked me if I could please use nice ribbon. I'm sure he doesn't even remember that conversation, but now I like to use the ribbon that has wired edges.

2. REAL OR FAKE TREE?

Real! I grew up with 17 foot tall REAL trees. The tradition dies hard.

3. When do you put up the tree?

Varies, depends on Sean's schedule and when he has some free time.

4. When do you take the tree down?

A few days after Christmas

5. Do you like eggnog?

Love it!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

I have no idea! I received a lot of good ones.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

Yes, we have a playmobile one, a clay one, a little glass one from Mexico and an expensive set that my father in law sent to us for Christmas last year. With all that, I'll be on the look out for after Christmas sales to buy one for each of the kids rooms. (Inspired by Kim.)

8. Hardest person to buy for?

Sean

9. Easiest person to buy for?

My mom, we like a lot of the same things.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

The 9 foot tall metal windmill that was supposed to go in our yard.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Snail Mail. Our family newsletter produced entirely by my creative husband is something that at least a dozen people or more ask specifically if they are going to get. But after printing upwards of 150 we're thinking maybe next year asking people to give us their email if they still want to get it. Who knows we may just send it to that dozen who really want it!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

We just watched A White Christmas today so I can't think of much else. But that is a really great movie.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

The day after Christmas. But really in earnest around Oct/November

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Sure, anyone want a 9 foot windmill?!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Dessert.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

I've always wanted to try a clear tree that was elegant and classy. Sean likes colored and all our ornaments are kid made, bought for kids or little santas and snowmen dressed like what Sean does for work. So we always go with the colored. This year we have lights that have an "elegant" sparkle. I put white lights on the windowsill with greenery.

17. Favorite Christmas music?

Live! I love going to Christmas concerts.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

We travel to my parents one year and stay home the next.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?

No.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

In years past we've had a snowflake. This year, I put up a cross ornament for two reasons. One, I didn't want to get out the ladder to put the snowflake up with. (The cross has a loop that I could just reach to the top, the snowflake has to be plugged in.) But mostly because I think it's a cool idea.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

One present on Christmas eve, the rest Christmas morning...unless Sean has to work it, then we get creative.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

My tendency to want to spend too much money.

23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing?

I really miss those 17 foot tall trees and the all day hikes that it took to find them.

24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented?

I really dislike "cutesy" things.

25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees?

I grew up with the homey tree, and I every year we have a homey tree. (see #16) But one of these years, I'd like to have a theme tree. Although our tree is in danger of becoming a "Santa ____ Man" tree and that's not quite the theme I had in mind!

Here are some pictures.

The Gift of Contentment

This article came today in my email box. It didn't have it's own web page (that I could find) so I just copied it here for you. I sooo needed to hear this today. We have been struggling with school this fall. Or rather I should say my idea of what school should look like. Sean's job, my health, and a two year old among other things, have really thrown me for a loop. I have several times felt like I could not do this job anymore. But the reality is I just don't WANT to sometimes. I have wanted to teach on my terms and my life is not cooperating! I'm grateful that God directed me to this article to encourage me and help me to see my sin.

The Gift of Contentment

I believe one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the gift of being a contented mother and wife. Contentment can be an area we struggle with as Christian women. This is evident in the e-mails I receive from moms, and I recognize it in my life. While we should be the most contented women on the face of the earth, we may live our lives dissatisfied and striving for something different. Here is a request that was recently sent in as a Mom's Corner topic. First the mom shared a specific situation with me, which isn't included here, and then she moved on to her question.

Is my dissatisfaction evidence of God leading us to further changes or just my own flesh lacking contentment? I also don't want to throw my family into upheaval when it's just me struggling with the transition of homeschooling. It is my personal tendency to look for greener grass on the other side of the fence. When is it appropriate to press God for change, and when is it best to put your head down and press faithfully on with what you've already been given?
My husband and I continue to discuss it at length. We are not at odds. I am not nagging him. We just continue to discuss topics as they come up, remaining open to the other's heart on this subject.A Questioning Mom

Scripture has some specific verses for us when we begin to think about contentment. Let's start with them as a basis for our discussion.

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:11-13).

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).

When I am asking myself the questions this mom is asking—is my dissatisfaction an indication of God's leading or my own flesh lacking contentment?—I usually become aware that the answers involve my selfish heart. I am not choosing obedience to what the Lord Jesus has told me in these verses that have to do with contentment. Being dissatisfied is a symptom of that disobedience. If I am not being obedient, would He use my disobedience as a vehicle to prompt change? I don't believe He will. Instead, I am to learn to be content, to rest in the Lord Jesus and where He has me at the moment. Then if there is to be change, He will orchestrate it.
My first goal is to repent of the lack of contentment. Paul said in Philippians 4:11 that he learned contentment. It wasn't a state of mind that came naturally for him. It was a process that involved times of both hardship and bounty. Contentment with plenty was obviously not as difficult as contentment with hunger or need, but he said he had to learn it in both states. With God's strength Paul chose to take his thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and be content. That is exactly what I need to do as well.

My experience has been that God brings change as a result of my contentment, not my discontentment. For example, for the past two years we have had no place to practice our family music except our living room. This means we always have instruments out in the living room. For a month or so before a trip, we also have our sound equipment out for practice sessions. The open area of our living room becomes filled with microphone stands and cables snaking everywhere. While I don't prefer the instruments and sound equipment to be out, I have been content with it. Last year, it became evident that our Titus2 ministry had outgrown our present home. We are now building another house that will accommodate the book storage needs, and it will also allow us an upstairs room where we can practice our music.

Discontentment seems to breed murmuring and complaining—a negative attitude toward the problem or situation. However, Scripture tells us to "Do all things without murmurings and disputings" (Philippians 2:14). Whatever we are discontent about becomes our focus and the topic of our regular complaints. Therefore, it also easily leads us to being a contentious woman—certainly a bad example for our children: "A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike" (Proverbs 27:15).

Sometimes there is a problem or need in our school or with the children. As I pray about it and take it to Steve, it isn't discontentment on my part that brings the solution. Rather, it is my accepting the situation and waiting on the Lord for His direction if there is to be a change of any kind. If I am not content and willing to wait on the Lord and my husband, then I become that contentious woman—nagging—a continual dripping to him.

I want my children to be content. Not only do I want them to be content, but I want them to be grateful as well. That begins in my heart and with my attitude. I can't expect from them what I don't have victory over in my own life. They will be aware of my discontent because they will hear my murmuring words and sense my negative heart.

Contentment is not complacency. If my house is a mess, I am not to be complacent by choosing not to clean it while saying I am content with the state of my house. However, if I am sick and can't clean the house as I normally would, then I need to be content to wait on the work until I am well.

I would encourage the mom who wrote to me to work on learning to be content in the area in which she is dissatisfied. Then as she rests in the Lord, she will observe what He will do with the situation. Perhaps He will leave it as it is. Perhaps He will change it the way she is wanting it to be. "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass" (Psalms 37:4-5). Perhaps it will take a turn she couldn't even envision at this point. It all starts with a focus on the questions: What is my delight? Is it in me and what I want, or is it in my Lord Jesus? May I encourage each of us to be known as women of contentment.

Written by Teri Maxwell, co-author of Managers of Their Homes, Managers of Their Chores, Keeping Our Children's Hearts, Just Around the Corner (Vols. 1 & 2), and author of Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit.

Art Class

My parents came to visit for Thanksgiving and got to come to our weekly Art Class. My dad brought his camera and took some great pictures.

The kids have been working with clay quite a bit lately.



But Emily would rather be painting...


Or drawing...

Actually, she's pretty happy at art class.


Outside, our teacher has a wonderful garden that Emily plays in when she's "done" with art. She has a couple of persimmon trees that we had fun picking.

My mom.




Our lovely art teacher!

Some Good Ideas for Next Year

My friend Alicia has posted about her Thanksgiving. The second part of the post she describes some ideas that she had for activities for her kids do this year. Very creative! We needed something like that this year. My kids were bouncing off the walls. Oh, well.

Inspired by Ratatouille

Last night Amy didn't like the Turkey soup I made with Thanksgiving leftovers. So she and Evan went about "fixing" the soup! Evan went through my spices and came up with 6 herbs he thought might work, Amy got more pepper, and I offered a swish of red wine. After some tinkering with her bowl of soup, she pronounced it good, until the pepper started to burn her mouth!

Weekly Report

Here is just a little highlight of school this week.

During our preschool time this week, I read the story, The Story of the Incredible Orchestra. Emily was especially intrigued by the horns. Evan brought down his bugle and she had a ball playing it!

Amy has started her new spelling program and is loving it! Unlike her mother, she is a natural when it comes to spelling. She whipped through the first lesson and was so eager to start the second that she brought it in the car! The curriculum involves listening to a CD and writing out the spelling words. I had to draw the line though and told her she couldn't bring her clipboard, headphones, CD player and pencil into J.C. Penny's yesterday morning. Apparently, she planned to do her spelling in the shoe department while I tried on a pair of boots!

Evan had a hard week. When his Tourette's Syndrome flares up, school is more difficult. And almost always he wants to do school in a fort. So much of this week our living room looked like this!





Math in a fort, spelling in the car and bugle on the couch. We do have these cute desks and a great school room that we sometimes use! My kids would hate public school!

More Fall Decorations

Here's what I ended up doing for the piano. By the time I went to Michael's to get supplies, all the fall stems where marked down to $1. I decided to stick with the brown bucket for the piano and use the burgundy vase at the entry way. I still had some orange berries leftover and I was surprised by how good they looked in the vase.

At the kids art class we have been doing a lot of ceramics. This is a leaf that I made there. It was really fun! The picture above was taken close in with a flash so you can't see the mess of fort blankets etc. behind the picture. The little one below shows all the junk I had to move over to take the picture. Just keepin it real so you don't think (falsely) that my house is always perfect!

Weekly Report x 2 Plus Pictures

Emily all ready to go to our homeschool group's class day.

The past two weeks have been a bit different from the usual routine. Sometimes this really stresses me out, but this time, God gave me the ability to just go with it and have fun.

We usually drive to "town" (about 30 min.) once a week for Amy's choir rehearsal. Last week we made the drive 4 times!

Last Monday we went to a great musical called "Seussical" based on the books by Dr. Seuss. Emily loved it! She keeps asking if we can go back to the show. The big kids liked it too. But then getting to go to a performance and not having to do math is a good deal any day in their minds.

The kids waiting outside the theater.

The stage before the show. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance. These are special matinee performances for school age kids at a very reduced price.

Amy and Emily waiting some more for the show to start.

Tuesday is Amy's usual day for choir. She has been involved in a children's choir for a couple of years now. She has grown so much in her ability and confidence in singing since joining this choir. We have been very pleased with what she is learning.

Thursday, I had to go and get my permanent crown put on. The dental staff and my kids are on a first name basis now.

Saturday, Amy had a special rehearsal with her choir. Evan and Emily and I went to a wonderful little farm and bought 35 lbs. of apples. Then we went to the beach and played for a bit until Amy was done. Needless to say, we've been making apple pies and apple sauce this week too!

This Monday, Sean finally had a day off! So I asked him if he'd take the kids back to the beach and let me have a morning to get house things back in order! The kids had a great time. Emily keeps telling me that Daddy took her to the beach, and Daddy took her to go and get hamburgers and french fries, and Daddy took her..... You get the idea. Mommy takes her to the grocery store and the dentist. Daddy is much cooler!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we had the opportunity to have friends over. We usually don't invite people over during school hours (8:30-3:30). But I strongly felt that God was leading us to be hospitable this week and we were so blessed!

Emily and our friend Zeb enjoying some play time.

We did do some "regular" school too. I took some pictures of what we have been working on in Science this year. It comes from a book called "The Body Book". Evan has loved making these paper models of the human body.

Mr. and Mrs. Bones. Evan is a little further along than Amy.

Evan's latest "Junk-Bot" creation.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

This dessert is sooo good! A perfect holiday treat. From Fine Cooking.

Baking soda (known as bicarb to Brits) plays two roles in this recipe: It helps soften the dates, and it helps the wet, heavy batter rise during baking. If you can only find golden sugar in regular granulation, just blend it in a food processor for 1 or 2 minutes to get a superfine texture.Serves six to eight.Yields about 1-1/3 cups sauce.

Ingredients
For the cake:

2 oz. (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature; more for the pan

6 oz. (1 cup lightly packed) pitted dates (Medjools, if possible), coarsely chopped

1 tsp. baking soda

6 oz. (3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs.) golden superfine sugar (or white superfine sugar), sifted if lumpy

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

6 oz. (1-1/4 cups plus 1 Tbs.) self-rising flour, sifted

For the sauce:

1/2 cup packed light or dark muscovado sugar (or light brown sugar)

1/4 cup honey

4 oz.(1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

How to make

Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 11x7-inch nonstick baking pan that’s at least 1 inch deep. If your pan isn’t nonstick, butter the sides and then line it with enough parchment to come 1 inch up the short sides; butter the parchment as well.

Put the dates in a small saucepan with 1 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the baking soda, and set aside. (The mixture will foam up and take on a greenish color; this is normal.)

Combine the butter and the golden sugar in a bowl. Beat with a hand mixer on high speed until the mixture is well combined and lighter in color, about 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and then stir in the date mixture; the batter will be sloppy. Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake until it's risen, a deep golden brown, and firm to the touch but still a bit spongy (it should spring back a little, but not entirely, when indented, 35 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce:
Put the muscovado sugar, honey and butter in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer and cook until it gets thick and bubbly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cream, let it bubble down and then remove the pan from the heat.

To serve:
When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes; then turn it out onto a cutting board and invert it onto a wire rack to cool slightly. Cut the warm cake into slices or squares, put on serving plates along with a scoop of ice cream, if using, and drench with the sauce.

From Fine Cooking 61, pp. 34

Weekly Review

This week was much easier than last week. No one had a fever or was throwing up, and my tooth stopped hurting. It's amazing how much those physical pains expose our weaknesses. Now that things are a bit back to "normal", I'll have to remind myself to still come to God for strength daily and hourly. Even though I physically feel strong now, it is God's sustaining Grace that gets me through. How easily I forget, when I'm back on my feet. The sermon that was preached this morning was such a good reminder of God's amazing grace for when I'm sick or well.

We were able to tackle quite a bit more school work since everyone was up to par.

Evan grappled with long division this week. It has been encouraging to see him gain speed and accuracy with addition, subtraction and multiplication. We went back to drilling with flash cards this year and that seems to be a help.

Evan has really taken off with his baking. He even asked if he could do his school work on Saturday so he'd be freed up to do more baking on Thursday. He has been selling bread to other homeschool families that we meet with on Fridays. He got half of his work done. Sometimes his start is better than his finish, so we're working on that character trait with him!

Amy is enjoying cursive handwriting. We use Italic so it's a bit different than traditional cursive. She is also a great speller! We are just about done with Modern Curricular Press Spelling workout B (which Evan hated but she loves) and then I'll have her start IEW's Phonetic Zoo spelling program.

Someone had suggested saving those credit card, magazine etc. applications and having your kids use them as practice for handwriting, learning their address, and filling out job applications later on. Amy filled out one for Sierra Trading Post this week. It was great practice for her and I realized she still didn't quite know what town we lived in! She guessed the town we go to church in instead. There were two spots to fill out so she got double the practice. Next week I'll try to find one for Evan.

Emily asked several times this week to cut. She is really getting the hang of scissors. We also worked on tracing and letters.

For our Bible curriculum we are using Nancy Ganz's commentary on Genesis in the "Herein Is Love" series. It has been a challenge for Emily to sit still and not interrupt while I read. But she is learning quite a bit too. She has been asking all week, "Jesus made bananas? Jesus made my kitty cat? Jesus made my big girl bed?" She is also very curious about angels now.

One of the other subjects that Evan and Amy do together is Latin. This only works when Emily is taking a nap or going for a walk with dad. This week we learned more about conjugating verbs and declining nouns. Evan is really getting it this year. Amy is having a harder time, but it is her first year. She however, loves learning the songs and prayers.

On Thursday we got to go to a Harvest Party with a homeschool group that we used to be a part of three years ago. We had such a fun time visiting. The kids had sack races, played tug of war, and bobbed for apples. Then we had dinner on my friends porch overlooking the valley as the sun set. I wish I had taken some pictures, but it seems these days my hands are always busy taking care of Emily!

Pumpkin Recipes

We're bringing these to a harvest party tomorrow!

Pumpkin Cookies

Cream together: 2 cups of butter (or Earth Balance)
2 cups of sugar (or Sucanat)

Add: 1 16 oz can pumpkin
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Then add: 4 cups flour (can be white whole wheat)
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp. salt

Optional: stir in 2 cups of raisins and 1 cup of nuts
Bake on greased cookie sheet for 12-15 min at 350.

These pancakes are a fun way to add a little vit. A to your morning!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Whisk together:
1 1/4 cups flour,
2 Tablespoons sugar,
2 teaspoons baking powder,
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground ginger and salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cloves

Mix together in separate bowl:
1 egg,
6 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup of milk (or soy milk)

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Heat a buttered skillet over medium heat and cook a couple min. on each side.

Emily Quote

"You have lots of pretty shoes!" Spoken to everyone at the shoe store. What's a daddy to do! Of course he bought her new tennies with butterflies on them!

Relief at The Dentist Office

This past week my kids were sick, my back and neck hurt, my husband was working extra hours, school was not going well, my house was a mess, and I had to go get a crown put on one of my molars. I'm pretty faithful to go to the dentist and it doesn't usually bother me. But I've had a crown put on before and my tooth hurt for a solid week afterward. It was not fun.

The day before the dentist appointment, I had a melt down. I felt melancholy and blue. Sure, my circumstances were not what I'd really like, but they weren't that awful. Others suffer much more than loneliness, laundry and dentist chairs. But I was full of tears instead of hope.

Before I left, I put "The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God" in my purse. It is one of the books that I bought from Desiring God back in June when they had their $5 sale. I don't really know why I bought it. But God used it at the dentist office to draw me to Him. I almost cried as I read it. It is a beautiful poem on the sovereignty and goodness of God in the midst of suffering. John Pipers words echoed my heart in the misery I felt that day. But more importantly, they gently reminded me that God not only knows about my suffering, but orchestrates the events in my life to help me know Him more. He is sovereign and He is sweet.

"He is not poor nor much enticed

Who loses everything but Christ.

It won't be long before the rod

Becomes the tender kiss of God."

I left the dentist office in more physical pain, but much lighter in my spirit. The tears were gone. They were replaced with renewed hope in God who showed His mercy to Job and who is showing His mercy to me.

Costume Preview

The girls have been sick this week. Amy decided that dressing up would make her feel better. Of course everyone else wanted in on the action!
Jengo Fett
Molly (from the American Girl series)

Dorthy and Toto

The crew

School This Week 10/12/07

My blogging friend Leslie, has started a new weekly post. I thought it was a good idea so I'm copying her! I don't know if I'll be able to post every week. But I like the idea of giving a little weekly report on what we did during the week for school. It also encouraged me to look at the little highlights and bright spots of the week since I far too easily remember the discouraging and hard times.

This week Emily learned how to use scissors. I bought a little book from Timberdoodle called Let's Cut Paper that we started to use. She was so proud of herself! Each morning she ran to her dad to show him what she'd done. It was too cute!

Amy went to her grandparents this week. That made our school week look very different. We do science, history, Latin, writing, and Bible together with Evan. She enjoyed her week off being spoiled by her Grandma and Papa. She got to go swimming and shopping quite a bit. And she had a lovely tea party with her Great Grandma, her Auntie and her Grandma. Usually the kids take turns having a week at Grandma and Papa's house during the summer, but it didn't work out this year. So we're just fitting it in where we can! We love the flexibility homeschooling offers.

Since Amy was gone, we didn't try to work on the subjects that we do with her. Instead Evan and I worked a little more intensely on math and grammar. And it just so happened that this week his spelling was particularly troublesome. So we were able to spend some more time on that as well. But yesterday, Evan said, "When are things going to get back to normal. I mean when is Amy coming home?" *big sigh*

We did get to do some fun things together too. Evan loves going to thrift stores and Alicia told me about a good deal at a local one. So we took off mid morning, something we never would have done had it been a regular school day.

We have all been various levels of sick this week too. Emily had a fever much of the week. So like Evan, I am hoping that things get back to "normal" soon!

Fall Arrangement

I love decorating for Fall. I bought a huge bunch of preserved leaves several years ago and each year I reuse them in different arrangements. This year I combined them with some fun berry twigs that I got on clearance last year. I really like how it turned out. But Sean was a little disappointed that I took the berry twigs off of our piano. I had a big brown flower bucket full of them. So I'm on the lookout for something new for the piano. I picked up a beautiful burgundy vase at the Goodwill last week. I'm hoping that I can find something to fill that. Any ideas?

Home, Sweet Home

This week we officially joined our new church as members. We've been going there for about 7 months now but there was something fun and exciting about being "official". After a couple years of not being sure where we were headed in our church search, it is really nice to have a home. God has been so faithful and good to us through it all!

I am so thankful for this group of believers. I appreciate the pastor's commitment to the Word of God through expositional preaching. Boy, is it convicting!!! It's so exciting to see the Holy Spirit use the words that John Marc preaches on Sunday to impact our family throughout the week.

We have also made many new friendships and renewed some older ones. Here are some pictures of Evan's Sunday School pool party held earlier this month.

Amy and her friend Savannah playing in the sandbox.