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Dec. 14, 2009
Craft Corner ~ Christmas
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in CraftCorner
Christmas is looming closer! If you would like to make a few decorations, or you still need to make a couple more gifts for friends or family, then check out the wonderful links below!
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Owl Garland ~ I'm not really sure what this has to do with Christmas, but I decided to add it, since it is so cute!
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Pine Tree Sachets ~ Make these aromatic trees to give or gifts, or even make a couple to place around your own home!
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Minutia ~ Knitters will love this collection of tiny sweaters ornaments.
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Partridge Ornament ~ This makes me think about Quail more than Partridge, but then, I don't think I've ever actually seen a Partridge...
Homemade Gifts
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Peasant Skirt ~ Every girl will want one of these for Christmas! They shouldn't take too long to make, either.
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Adventure Pouch ~ I think this would be perfect for little boys to carry their treasures around in! Of course, grown-ups might like one too.
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Embroidery ~ Stitch an verse, or inspiring quote, to give to one of your loved ones.
Eyebright enjoys crafts of all kinds, especially knitting and crochet. You can find her blogging at Defective Compositions.
Dec. 14, 2009
Classical Education ~ Christmas
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in classical
December is a hard month to continue on with school. With all of the preparation and excitement that comes at this time of year, keeping to a regular routine is hard for our family. Usually, when December hits, we delve far from our regular school path and sprinkle our learning time with more of a Christmas flair. I found the Teaching Mom's Advent website about three years ago and we have been using it ever since for the month of December.
This site has Bible readings, art history and appreciation, history, geography, music, book suggestions and just plain fun. All of these offerings are rooted in Christmas and Advent. The first page gives you a calendar of the Advent season (the site has not been updated since 2008 but it is still usable.) When you click on a day, it gives you a plethora of ideas and readings for that day. Most days revolve around a theme which make us theme-oriented moms happy.
This is an awesome site and it is used to full capacity by our family, year after year. Our Advent season would not be complete without ideas from this Advent site.
Julia lives on the Canadian Prairies with her husband, homeschooling her 3 children (10,8,6) and is attempting to give them a Classical Education. You can read more at her blog.
Dec. 14, 2009
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in Whats Bloggin
For some of you it's finally snowing, and for the rest of us the wind is merely blowing, but the Christmas season has begun! The one thing we probably have in common, no matter where we live, is a tight budget. Still, making Christmas special is easy if we focus on the meaning of the season and not the material side of things.
How many of you connect oranges with Christmas? I don't just mean because you read about it in a book, but truly associate the fruit with the season? When I was a girl I spent every Christmas at my Grandma's house. There were two, very simple acts that, to this day, I hunger for oranges and look at brown paper sacks with fondness.
My grandparents had a good friend named Bob White. I only remember his name because I would look at him trying to figure out why his parents would name him after a quail. Every year on the day our family celebrated Christmas he would show up with a large box, full of oranges, nuts, and assorted other goodies. All of us grandchildren would run to the kitchen for an orange and the adults would gather around Mr. White to wish him a Merry Christmas and catch up on family news.
On Sunday the family would go to my grandparents church and after the service was over brown paper sacks would be passed out, each one containing an orange, and chocolate covered nuts, and other Christmas candy--the loose kind, not the individually wrapped sort, because back then people could trust each other and we weren't worried about getting germs because someone had handled our chocolates.
So what does any of this have to do with reason for the season and tight budgets? Just that it was the simple things that I remember, not the extravagances. It was Bob White giving what he knew would be useful to our family. It was a church family not in the least bit concerned with making the wrapping as fancy as the gift itself. Not that oranges and bulk chocolates are all together fancy, but the appearance of the gift wasn't as important as the gift.
Give what you can, give what can be used, give it with your whole heart, and no apologies! If a visit is all you can afford, then give it!
To this day oranges are still an important part of my families Christmas. Someone will buy the box, as Mr. White is no longer with us, and the tradition has moved to eating the oranges late at night, after everything has settled down. We sit around the table happily eating our oranges and talking about Christmas memories. That gift of oranges has lasted a lifetime for me! My children have never even met Mr. White, but they enjoy the gift he brought to our family.
I hope you will enjoy the Porch articles on Christmas this week. Some will help you with your holiday preparations and keeping things simple.
Won't you join us? Tell us about your Christmas memories and tips, either in a comment or leave us a link to your blog post.
Merry Christmas!
Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB
Monday, December 14, 2009
Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 3
Posted By Ginny in Words of Wisdom Copywork
The third booklet of my Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybooks is ready. This book uses passages from Luke 1 and Luke 2 and focuses on Gabriel’s visit to Mary and her giving birth to Jesus, fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Next week passages are from Luke, John, and Galatians about the promise from God fulfilled.
Download Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 3 HERE.
If you missed Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 1 or Keeping Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 2, you can find them by clicking on the respective titles below.
Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 1
Christ in Christmas Copybook-Week 2
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Post from the Past: free SHMILY time ideas
Posted By Amy Verlennich
Post made December 8th, 2008
Some of you have written asking for some ideas at little or no cost for The 12 Days of Christmas. I understand COMPLETELY what it's like to be "strapped for cash", especially this time of year as gift giving is in full swing.
Here are some FREE ideas for you to love on your hubby...
- Massages are a great gift to give! You could even make a coupon to give to him in the morning (so he would be looking forward to it all day) or mail it to him at work. To take it a step further, you could even make this a gift for the entire 12 days, picking a different body part to focus on each night (uh... I don't have to tell you what to save for last right?) A good massage is at least 30 minutes. Sometimes it may seem longer to you than it really is, so be sure to look at the clock by your bed before you begin so you don't cut your sweet husband short!
- Breakfast in bed with a smile (and nothing else but a smile).
- Making coffee every morning and greeting your hubby with a cheerful "good morning". How we start our husband's mornings have a HUGE effect on the rest of their day, as well as how eager they are to come back. (I know that I wouldn't want to come home to me some days!) Make it your goal to be cheerful each day for the 12 days. Start his morning with a happy wife. If you work outside of the home and leave before him, then having the coffee pot with coffee and a sweet note would be a thought too.
- Pray for him each day. You could use The Power of a Praying Wife for this as well. Whatever you choose, and regardless if your husband prays with you or not, get out of bed each day with your knees hitting the floor before your feet do. Pray for the man God has blessed you with. Thank Him for your husband. Even if you're struggling in your marriage, ask God to give you the strength to get through the 12 days with love and compassion and to renew your marriage. You might be surprised what happens when he finds out that you're praying for him every day. Cover your husband in prayer each day... it may seem crazy, but YOU will become a better woman for it.
- Hmmm... this next one... well, it's REALLY simple and may get one of the biggest reactions from your sweetie... but if you can't afford to get some "blessings" to wear... you can always do what God intended from the beginning! That's right... NO panties. Be sure to whisper it in his ear at the grocery store, church, or before he leaves for work.
- One of my personal favorites (and my Beloved's)... Clean Lovin'.
- Take a marker and write SHMILY somewhere on your body for him to search for.
Some more ideas (some cost involved):
- Ice cream in bed together naked... one spoon. For the ice cream lover, you could get the pints of ice cream and have ice cream in bed every night. Don't worry about the diet... this is only 12 days... get fat on each other's love!
- Some "Christmas socks" you wear... and that's it!
- 12 pair of sexy panties... one for each day.
- Mistletoe (need I say more?) You could used this throughout the 12 days as well by having it show up in various places in the house... or various times... and it could mean more than just kissing. Write up a note and let your hubby know... you may want to even make it a "treasure hunt" by hiding it in various (obvious) places... and then follow through when he finds it!
- Three bows (or other wrapping ribbons for all over your body and hair) and place strategically on your body for him to "unwrap".
Remember, the whole idea here is to do what HE would like you to do. Some men may like to take walks. Some may like to stay home and watch TV. You may bless your hubby with a coupon that says he can watch his favorite sports team uninnterupted, or it may be by letting him read a book. Find out what it is that HE would appreciate... and then do it!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
~40 Loaves by C.D. Baker...book GIVEAWAY~
Posted By FaithfulGrace in BookReviews
I have another blog where I review books, mostly from Christian publishers.
I am currently giving away a copy of this book @ my book review blog:
Faithful Grace Reader.
Please click the above link, leave a comment with your email address.
Only comments with their email addresses listed will be eligible in the contest.
I will draw for the winner on December 28, 2009.
Dec. 12, 2009
Christmas Fun
Posted By ApplesofGold
We had so much fun at our Christmas party yesterday!! My friend, Louisa has quite the flair for entertaining. There were close to 50 kids there & many of them played outside sledding & participated in the mystery scavenger hunt. There was a bonfire out there, too. The dads hung out there. There were kids running every which way-it was so fun to watch from inside the warm house. LOL
There were also games in the house that were really fun. They played a game called "Catch Phrase" that was a big hit. There were all sorts of yummy treats to eat & warm drinks, Christmas music playing in the background.
All of us moms shared about the cookies we brought, including special stories that went along with them. I only knew 3 adults there, but everyone was so friendly, it didn't matter. I don't usually like to do big crowds without my dh. He had to work a double shift & couldn't make it unfortunately.
Alyssa had a temper tantrum at one point because she loves cats & their cat wouldn't cooperate with her & stay still to be petted. LOL. They have a gorgeous slate gray European Great Dane who gladly tolerated all of her attentions, though. He's used to 7 kids in his household & is amazing with children. When you sit down, this dog rests his head on your shoulder, not your leg. LOL
Today, Jonah has 4-H from 10:00 to 1:00. His group is metals & machines & he loves it. Today they're tearing down an engine. He can barely wait. :)
Hannah helps out with a therapeutic riding class every Saturday, so she has from 12:00 to 2:00. The riders are either physical or mental challenges or have learning disabilites. She really enjoys helping with this.
Tonight I'm super excited because we're going Christmas carolling. We've not ever done this before & I can't wait! We're going house to house in a group. I hope it won't be too terribly cold for Alyssa, though. That's my only concern. She's a tough little nut, so hopefully we'll be good to go.
Merry Christmas, everyone!!
Dec. 11, 2009
The BEST Christmas cookie dough!
Posted By Tiany in Holidays
A friend made these cookies at our ladies tea last night and cut them out with tiny Christmas cookie cutters and decorated with icing and sprinkles, they were adorable and delicious! I can't wait to try them with the boys.
The original recipe is for Santa's Whiskers cookies but she simply used the dough from that recipe to make her own cut out cookies to decorate.
Best of all, the raw dough is safe to eat because they have no Egg! My chunky monkey can eat them and the boys can eat the raw dough! (the best part)
Easy kid-friendly recipe for slice & bake refrigerator cookies.
1 1/4 cups butter, softened (2 1/2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
In a large mixing bowl, preferably with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add milk and vanilla, beat again and scrape bowl. With mixer on low speed, add flour one cup at a time and beat after each addition. Shape into logs approximately 2" in diameter. Roll the logs in parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat liner and give them a light spray with vegetable shortening. Unwrap logs and slice into 1/4" thick slices or roll out to cut out shapes. Place cookies on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until very light brown and the sides are slightly firm.
Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack. Cool completely before storing in air tight containers.
We are sharing and discussing Christmas Cookies at The Forum on The Homeschool Lounge... come join us!
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