Christmas was coming….(a simple, and I mean really simple, poem)

The signs were everywhere. Christmas was on it's way!

Small group caroling denotes the approach of that glorious day…

Black Friday evening shopping leads the way.

As I follow my blocker, and he nabs the big deals of the day!

Home from school for the holiday, the computers are humming; modern-day communiqué

Christmas cookie baking's a must, we all say…

A foot in the dough, requires no dismay…

'tis a Tarheel house through and through we portray!

A tradition through the years, where the bright colored sprinkles rule in disarray.

Then, off to an afternoon spent with the D family faraway.

Where techno-junkies are allowed to play.

and the more athletic types compete, showing their round-ball prowess (or so they say)

A kindly big brother's height requires no repay.

The new Grand-baby is admired and displayed.

While the matriarch, aka Grandma, watches the whole display.

Treasured traditions leading up to that day that makes us all jump and shout, "Hip-Hip-Hooray!"

Elijah's musings

There are times when one of my kids makes a statement that I want to remember. Of course, as the years flow by, who said what sometimes becomes blurry. Lately, Elijah has said several things that I want to remember.

Last night during bedtime rituals, Elijah touched my heart with his prayer. He said, "God, please help the poor people. Maybe give them some pennies, or nickels or quarters? And they need toys." This was totally unprecipitated by me and struck me that he was developing a heart for others. He's also starting to get some things spiritually as shown by his statement as he said the blessing one night. "Jesus, thank you for you."

The other day while Christmas shopping with my two youngest side-kicks,  Abbey picked up a little negligee thingy and held it up towards herself. Elijah matter of factly looked at her and said, "Abbey, you've got to grown some bigger boobies before you can wear that. Right now, you have little bitty boobies."

It's fun to see how kid's brains work by listening to what comes out of their mouths.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

One reason big brothers are fun to have around.

Spinning the merry go round, while we peruse the trees

It was too cold to take too much time to discuss, so we chose pretty quickly, got it home, set it in the living room and began the decoratin'.

Layla and Dad supervises

Setting up the nativity sets.

All that decorating can tire out both man and beast.

Our family Christmas trees aren't beautiful productions to the untrained eye. To the eye trained to look for precious memories, our tree is a treasure trove. Most of the ornaments have pictures of our family from the previous years, or they were actually made by the kids. I do a walk down memory lane each year as we go through the ornaments.

Voila`

The weather outside might be frightful….

but the indoor pool is always delightful!

Elijah wished he was tall enough for the water slide, but still enjoyed swimming.

The joys of homeschooling...

The joys of homeschooling are many, but last Friday was a great example of a perk of homeschooling.  The weather was majorly unseasonably warm, (try upper 70's). We spent the first part of the day at the "Castle Park", playing with friends and the second part of the day Abbey got to finish her work like this..

while Elijah rode his bike.

We've also had a great experience with our homeschool co-op group. We meet on Fridays, and the moms take turns teaching extra-curricular classes. Abbey and Elijah loved "Legacy", as it's called. The highlight was the "show and tell" they got to participate in every week. Not a single week went by that Abbey and Elijah did not go up on stage and share about something, usually it was a toy, but their topics ranged from special shoes to their newly born niece.

 Here, Abbey shared her homemade bow and arrow. (made from a clothes hanger and a stick)

This day Elijah shared his macaroni snake

They've had classes in Spanish, geography, art and large group games. It is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to socialize and take advantage of the expertise of other moms. (I usually choose to  take care of  2 yr olds).

Through our homeschool group, we've had some great field trips. Earlier this year we went to Bennett Place.

The soldier was quite animated and actually fired the musket for us.

Today we went to Oak View historic park to learn about Christmas traditions from the early 1800's to the 1950's.

and the highlight for the kids- petting the goats.

The history museum's presentation of American Indian Heritage day was fantastic.

We saw some dances

played some games unique to the Indian culture

tried our hands at making clay pots

visited a wigwam frame

sat in a long boat

while watching how the Indians burned out the inside.

Of course, no field trip downtown is complete without a visit to our favorite doughnut place.

I've loved the opportunities we've had to cultivate a love of theater.  (I've got to make sure I always have someone who loves to go see musicals with me.)

We've been to see Slim Goodbody's show

and along with Layne, we went to see "Frosty the Snowman", a musical.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to homeschool these kiddos. I'm also thankful for all the opportunities that we've had to make learning hands-on and fun!