True story: I thought it would be a great idea for us to paint pottery at one of those craft shops one year. I figured some of it would make nice gifts for Christmas. In particular, I wanted something unique for Sierra's godmother. I found a clay plate that I painted a simple angel onto. Just a circle head with halo and a triangle body. Then we would have Sierra (then 1 or 2 years) put hand prints on either side for wings. What kid doesn't like sticking their hands in paint?
Apparently, my kid doesn't.
After the screaming fit we decided to leave and go to a restaurant nearby, hoping she would calm down before the shop closed. After she ate, we returned to the pottery shop. The best we managed were two fist prints. And this from the child who would eventually decorate my wall when she was five (I dug the picture out of my archives for your amusement)...
I don't know how many of you watched the Hallmark Special A Dog Named Christmas ...it was on a few weeks ago. We taped it and watched it as a family. The jest of the story is that a family adopts a dog for Christmas and then the boy asks the entire community to adopt a dog for the Holidays.
We had just recently found a stray kitty and gave her to a dear friend.
We missed her terribly. All of the sudden there was a hole in our family. See?
There's Fred, the now 20 lb cat. And Cruiser, another stray who found his way into our home about a year ago.
After contacting PetFinder unsuccessfully we decided to visit our local shelter to see what they had available.
We found a very sweet loving 7 month old cat. We really had hoped for a younger kitten but, hey, everyone needs a home. So we adopted her with the help of a dear friend from Bible Study. She paid for the adoption fee. Thanks so much!!!
Here she is being held captive by my youngest in the school room.
Oh that's better, now she's relaxed!
Needless to say she gets lots of love!
So can anyone guess her name?
Yep.
"Christmas"
So now the unfilled sofa cushion can have a nice warm kitty on it too....
...once we let her outside.
This year I think Christmas is going to be different for a lot of people. Just like us.
It took a good friend to show me that the other day.
I know the economy is tough everywhere. And I'm guessing a lot of folks are bypassing buying presents for fellowship.
And I'm thinking that sounds kinda nice.
Fellowship.
Here's Webster's version:
1 : companionship, company
2 a : community of interest, activity, feeling, or experience b : the state of being a fellow or associate
3 : a company of equals or friends : association
4 : the quality or state of being comradely
5 obsolete : membership, partnership
I think we could all use some more fellowship (company, community, association, partnership) don't you?
Christmas really isn't about the presents.
And I tell myself that every year but this year I think God is helping us all to understand it's about relationship, not gifts. And I find myself relieved, in a way, that we can't buy, buy, buy for Christmas. Because it makes me stop and think. What really is important to me at Christmas?
Is it that I want to have enough gifts under the tree for my kids?
Or is it teaching them about love, and fellowship, and togetherness?
What do I really want my kids to learn?
I'm sure, in my heart, that it's about relationship.
Now, if I can only get my brain to follow my heart I'll be in good shape.
IN HIM ALWAYS...
#152 Promotion of Felony Crimes in High School Musical
Can you imagine your children being encouraged to practice a lifestyle that could give them diseases and cost them their lives? Only in our public schools can you get this teaching. When will Americans finally have enough?!!
Reading instruction for D1 has settled down into simply sitting down together and reading whatever book looks interesting and manageable to her. We've done most of Fox All Week (not recommended); some other early readers that were lying around; Even Steven and Odd Todd; and The Night Before Christmas. Obviously with The Night Before Christmas I was helping her out with a lot of the longer words, but it was still fun for her. She's got all the most common sight-words down and can easily sound out short words; she is starting to learn common digraphs (sh, oo, etc.) and can tackle some multisyllable words (especially where it's just -ed or -ing added to the end.) So I'd say she's reading pretty solidly at a first grade level.
D2 wants to practice reading occasionally. We've gotten the Word Bird books from the library and he enjoys learning the short words from there. One day we got out a bunch of cereal boxes and he made up "puzzles" and copied out words onto them. (Hat, cat, fan, etc.)
One topic we've been reading a lot about has been outer space. We've read a few books about the planets and have been singing a song about them. We are trying to go out star gazing on clear nights (not, alas, very common). They wanted to make a rocket, so I showed them how to pump up a balloon and send it fizzing across the room.
Hmm...It appears I forgot to post this last Friday. I'm thinking I just didn't want to admit that I turned 41. Or I've become forgetful in my old age. :o) Things are going much better now.
It is a blessing that Thanksgiving weekend was so peaceful, because we have been very, very busy this week. Chase has been making some final preparations for his second-degree black belt exam this evening, which included a paper on the history of tae kwon do, several extra classes and a last minute photo session of the poomse he made up, followed by several hours of me fiddling with computer programs to help him put it all together and print it out. And two last minute trips to buy ink cartridges for the printer (the first trip resulted in the wrong cartridge.) All I can say is that homeschooling does not make one immune to the phrase "Oh, and I need it by tomorrow." At least I got a nice thank you card from my son for the help. My husband's car went in for repairs on Tuesday and to coin a phrase, "It's dead, Jim." Our poor little 17 year old Camry is now about as useful as a paperweight. We are back to being a one car family. Oh well, I don't suppose it would be difficult to chauffeur one more person around when he needs me to, and on the bright side, hubby will get a little exercise sprinting for buses. In the midst of all this activity, Sierra has turned vegetarian, which involved a extra long grocery store trip as I tried to figure out what to feed her. Long story. I can't make this stuff up. Oh yeah, and...today's my birthday.
Update: My birthday is now past and Chase did well on his 2 hour test. Check out the video on this post at my other blog.
At some point, I'm hoping to start preparing for Christmas. I'm thinking I should have some free time by the end of the month. Good thing we celebrate Little Christmas!
Update: Hmmm...I still haven't really begun my preparations except for some small things like folding my cards and hanging stockings. I wonder if I have a free day next week...
As I watch my children struggle with ungrateful hearts I find the same wicked heart in myself.
It's ugly.
I don't like it.
God has so blessed our family with a job, a warm house, a healthy family, good friends.
But I find myself sometimes staring into the abyss of what once was, how living in debt (although a total lie) was so much easier than trying to live life without it.
Why do our hearts ever wander to what is not?
Why, when He has proven Himself faithful time and time again, do I still struggle for control?
Sometimes I really want to smack myself. Or take my heart out of my chest, give it a stern talking to and return it to it's position within my body.
Thankfulness. Gratefulness. Contentment. Peace.
Great-Full-Ness.........GOD.
"Lord, let me walk with the wise so that I may be wise. Give me a thankful heart. Forgive me when my doubt and unbelief become bigger than you."
...no actually I was reading Miss A LA MODE's ever-so-eloquent post POLLYANNA I"M NOT
Then it took me twenty minutes to figure out how to spell eloquent.
I'm thinking, "Darn, if my friend wasn't so good with words I wouldn't be struggling with spelling this darn word."
If you read her words you'd think she never leaves her house but just like you and me she sees herself so differently than others see her.
Don't we all?
She's got the sweetest spirit of anyone you will ever meet. She's always quick to help anyone who only asks and she gave me shaving cream one time. A whole bottle! Of shaving cream!
Now that's love!
She shares the feeling most stay-at-home mom's have. By five o'clock we do meet questions from our wee ones with blank stares. Thinking to ourselves, "How can anyone have any questions left? There were none when we were discussing The Great Schism today." Why now? And who really cares where asparagus come from or the fact that it's a Veggie Tales character.
See our kids give us those same blank looks when we're trying our hardest to homeschool them.
You know that look...... "DUH"......... "HUH?"
I know those of you who know her know what a wonderful friend she is. My life is a better place because she is in it. She's openly honest with her struggles. She cracks me up. We've sworn to bake cookies in our PJ's one day next week and drink coffee all day. Home Economics Day, we're calling it.
I've known her for years. We met at a Women's Bible Study we both still attend----then with barely one kid and pregnant, then pregnant again. We've made it up to three kids for her and four for me. At Bible Study this week we openly admitted to the sensation of lactating just holding the latest newborn in our group. We think we'd like more kids.....at least in that shiny pretty place in our heads. But we sometimes sleep through the night now and let me tell ya, that's hard to give up, even for that newborn baby smell.
So don't let her fool you.
She's just like you and me. She see's herself differently than others see her.
She listens to the nasty inner voices.
She fights the secret inner mommy monster we all do.
And she smiles, slaps on another layer of deodorant, puts her hair in a pony tail and says, "Come on in. Please excuse the mess." As her littlest peanut meets you and with his sweetest little "not two" voice and says, "Pee Pee Potty" as his little boy curls plop here and there.
She's potty training her youngest boy in the same manner I did.
Just go ask another mom who's raised a boy.
I'm not giving any secrets away here.
Power to ya sister!!
IN HIM--