Dec. 18, 2009 - It's Snowing, It's Snowing, It's Snowing!!!
We are under a Winter Advisory here in Northern Virginia, expecting 10" of snow this weekend. Wow! Really? I've been in scant snow before in Texas, one morning I actually woke up to over a foot of snow in central Texas, and I've landed in an airplane to lots of snow in Jackson Hole, WY, and we followed a snowstorm into Virginia when we moved here last March (thankfully we drove in sunshine) but I have never seen it snow much. The kids and I haven't experienced a major snowfall before. My son said the snow had started and was taking pictures. Hmmmm, I yawned, "Here a snow flake there a snow flake." He insisted there was much more than the Texas variety. I finally got up to look and wow! This is about one hour after it started!!! The kids and I can't believe it! What is morning going to look like? My husband, the New Yorker, is taking it all in stride and laughing at us.
Here's the view from our front door...
And this is from our backdoor...
Stay tuned for more pictures this weekend!
December 17, 2009 - Nature Walk
I was reading and writing about Charlotte Mason today, so I decided that I should do what I feel is central in our style of education - and get myself outside with my children, even during these dark, rainy days.
So we went to see the falls. It's hard to believe there are so many beautiful falls and pieces of river so close to where we live. They are just breathtaking. Even this time of year.
Charlotte Mason talks about visiting special places not just during one season, but during multiple seasons - to see how nature changes over the seasons and to make observations about those changes.
I searched through my old photos to try and compare the river now with the river is summer or early fall. It's really amazing the difference - the fullness, the smoothness, the swiftly moving and even swirling currents. All I could find is this picture - which isn't the exact picture of anything I took today. But you can see how different this look. Nowhere on the river do you see river rocks sticking up this time of year (except for the very biggest boulders).
December 16, 2009 - Do You Do It All?
Do you ever find that your homeschooling doesn't happen in a vacuum. We should and do try to institute 12 steps to a cleaner house. We have the kids help out with chores. We try to limit how much the kids are allowed to get out at once. Yet, if we allow them to be creative at all, if we allow them to enjoy learning from time to time, then order turns to chaos. Well, at least for me. I know of a few perfect people, but I'm not one of them. I'll keep trying though. I'll keep trying to be a loving mom, homeschool with a passion, keep a clean house, eat well and feed my family well, love God, and take time for me. But, I for one, although I believe we should keep pressing forward, don't do it all. Do you?
Dec. 16, 2009 - Christmas Traditions
A friend recently posted about things they do as a family for Christmas. So, I thought this would be the perfect time to share my own. There are many things we do this time of year that I would classify as a 'family tradition' but there is one that I'm so glad we implemented.
The first year we were married I had read an article about a military family who, being low on funds, had adopted this tradition. At the time funds weren't low but I was very discouraged with how commercialized Christmas had become. I was looking for a way to downsize Christmas without giving up gift-giving all together. When I told my husband my idea, he was all for it. Now that our family is much bigger, it helps financially to know I won't go overboard.
It's plain and simple. 3 gifts. Jesus received 3 gifts from the wise men and in turn we give each of our children 3 gifts, to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas. If you ask them, they know exactly why we do this. They know we are celebrating the birth of Jesus. The focus then turns to gift-giving instead of gift-receiving. I love hearing their ideas for something my husband might like or even one of their siblings. And they're usually right on.
Over the years I have realized there are added benefits to this tradition.
- You don't overload your house with toys that won't be played with in a month or two.
- You don't overspend.
- It has helped our children learn to not be greedy. They actually think about what they want instead of making a list a mile long - and actually, up until this year, they never asked for anything.
- They appreciate what they get just a little bit more.
- You are teaching your children that it's not about what they get - it's the thought that counts.
- You are keeping Christmas focused on the birth of Our Savior.
This is one tradition I'm so glad we started. I'd love to hear some of yours. We're always looking to make new memories with our kids.
~Kristine
Dec. 16, 2009 - Here's Maggie!
I'm sorry this took so long, but it ain't easy having an Advent baby in a pastor's family. ARRRGGGGHHHH!!! Busy, busy, busy!
So here are the particulars:
Maggie was due to be induced on the 30th at 7am. She decided she wasn't having any of that and came of her own accord at 4am. It was a fast and furious delivery. She was fast and I was furious - ouch! The first contractions started at 11:30 pm and went from 6.5 minutes apart to 2.5 minutes apart within one contraction, and they stayed that close together for the next 4 hours. No fun!
But she's here and she is totally worth it! She was 8 lbs 14 oz, 21 3/4 inches long with a perfectly round 14.5 inch head! She's my smallest by a smidgen. She dropped down to 8lbs 7oz by the time we left the hospital and as of Monday was 10 lb 1oz. Did I mention she nurses like a champ? Anyway, we're all doing great! She sleeps well for a newborn and is just an absolute joy! The boys are over the moon, at least while she can't grab their stuff. 
I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas. I probably won't be back until afterwards, but I'll try to stop in on my friends page soon.
Jennifer
Dec. 13, 2009 - Christmas Tree and Faces Aglow
Chicken (my daughter, not the hen in the last entry) took these just now and wanted to share:
Dec. 13, 2009 - Deck the Halls with Bits of Refuse
Here's a wreath I made with baling wire, bread ties, leftover Christmas tree, and ends of ribbon. It's a bit scraggly, but better than paying $20 at the grocery store.
And here's lookin' at you!
Dec. 12, 2009 - Let it Snow!
We are toasty warm tonight, thanks to a "new" woodstove. Hubby purchased it locally through a Craigslist ad and spent the last couple of weeks working through the installment and inspection process.
I took a few (emphasis on few) photos of the installation. I wish I'd gotten more "before and after" pics, because he really made it look like new. Oh, I should add that he also removed the light fixture that hung over this area (you can see a bit of it in the second picture) and installed a new one further away from the stove.
Here's the dura-rock stuff that went under the hearth:
And here's the heat shield going up:
Here's a really dark shot of the heat shields installed (along with the installation mess). He did all the ceiling/roof chimney work himself:
Neatened up a bit:
A "Before" shot of the back of the stove:
I thought using the portable hydraulic jack (that orange and white thing) to move the (very heavy!) stove into place was a brilliant idea on his part.
Rust removal...
The finished product!
Isn't he handsome?
Dec. 15, 2009 - Your Christmas Decorations Might Have Originated in Colonial Williamsburg
A few years ago my mom put electric candles in the window for Christmas and left them up year round because she liked the ambiance they gave. Surprisingly last Christmas I learned that these lights orginated in Colonial Williamsburg! When I told my mom, she was surprised too. Not knowing their history, she only started using them because she liked them.
In the 1930's, when the historic area of Williamsburg was being restored to its colonial past, contemporary Santa Clauses and flashing electric lights outside the residents' homes didn't quite lend themselves to a colonial ambiance for the guests. At that time, there were only a few exhibition buildings and many homeowners in the historic area who had lived in their historic homes for years. Pondering how to treat visitors to a colonial Christmas feel at the newly opened Colonial Williamsburg, while not stepping on the toes of the current homeowners, researchers set out on a quest to discover charming colonial Christmas traditions.
After much research, it was discovered that there weren't any historical Christmas decorations in the colonial times. When Virginia was a colony of England, the state church of England was Anglican, which observed Christmas as a solemn religious time. Festivities didn't start until after Christmas, with the 12 days of Christmas. Hmmmmm, what to do?
One gentleman suggested an old tradition in his family that went back to the 19th century, that of putting a lit candle in the window. This idea made the founder of Colonial Williamsburg nervous, so special attendants were hired to put candles in a bowl of water in the few exhibition homes. When electric candles were invented, they were used instead. Not only the local homeowners of the historic homes, but also guests to the area, liked the idea so much, that they bought out the supply of electric candles in the local stores. As guests took their candles to their own homes, the tradition spread around the country.
By the time I discovered all of this last Christmas, I decided we needed to buy electric candles for our house in San Antonio, Texas the next Christmas. About a week later, my husband started interviewing for a job in Washington DC, since he was retiring from the USAF. When we moved to Northern Virginia this year, I was excited about putting electric candles in our own colonial house. My husband could not understand why in the world I would want to do such a crazy thing. No, he would not do it, no matter how much I explained to him about the Colonial Williamsburg tradition. (sigh) I dropped the subject last summer. Imagine my surprise when last month, when we were at Colonial Williamsburg for the Coffeehouse opening, my husband said we needed to stop by the visitor center store on the way home to get a supply of electric candles to put in our windows this Christmas!
We decorated the house Thanksgiving weekend and my husband wanted my ideas on how to decorate the outside of the house. In San Antonio we always put up string lights around the edge of the house and bushes and trees and put luminarias along the driveway and sidewalk. I preferred my husband not put lights on the house since it is a t-a-l-l house, three stories high on two sides. We agreed to do garland, wreaths and candles, like we see in Colonial Williamsburg! I am so thrilled to have a Colonial Williamsburg decorated house! After decorating our house, I was surprised to see how many other Virginians have done the same thing! This is an extremely popular look in Virginia. The labor involved is not only simple, the resulting look is simply beautiful. Do you have candles in your windows?
Another decoration that Colonial Williamsburg implemented was a recent Colonial Revival idea gained from popular decorating magazines. Knowing that historically some greenery was used here and there, the historic area began to bedeck the outside of their doors with greenery and natural elements for swags, garlands and wreaths. To encourage the homeowners, a contest began, which continues to this day. Amazingly, the idea that was neither historic nor original to Colonial Williamsburg, was in fact popularized by Colonial Williamsburg because of the publicity it generated. To this day, decorating magazines feature the vastness of lovely decorations throughout the historic area. I cannot tell you how many times my favorite magazines have featured the variety of wreaths on the doors.
While we were visiting Colonial Williamsburg during the Grand Illumination weekend, we went from door to door to admire the decorations. The decorations for the exhibition buildings are done by the nursery staff. Some of the buildings are not exhibition buildings, but are private homes. The home owners may decorate their doors and enter the contest that originated in the 1930's. There are two categrories for the entries. Those in the homes may decorate the doors themselves or they might decide to hire professionals to design and make their wreaths. The day I took these pictures, the judges were going from door to door with their clipboards. We have wondered who won in each category. Did we choose the same winners?
These are wreaths from the homes:
My son was extremely intrigued with this one. You can see it close up on the CW web page. Using coffeebeans, it looks like coffee is being poured into a mug.
Here's the Palmer House with its interesting niches for apples. I highly recommend reading the article that is linked, which is full of historical tidbits and morsels of hilarious humor.
I think all of these are done by the colonial nursery. They are usually thematic. I challenged my kids to figure out the themes. We didn't guess all of them. This is the site of the cooper's trade...
This is the gaol (jail) with its sparse wreaths.
Christiana Campbell's Tavern had wreaths full of nuts and fruit...
Raleigh Tavern, an unofficial meeting place when the House of Burgesses was disbanded twice by the Royal Governor in preRevolutionary days, has clever decorations. My kids understood the cockades, but the bundles of wheat stumped them. I think they represent fasces from Ancient Rome. My son insisted it couldn't be fasces because they were neither true bundles nor did they have axes sticking out. I stood my ground and insisted they were mere artistic representations of a historical theme. Afterall, real coffee was not being poured into the mug in the coffee wreath. The fabric bundles for the Milliner's wreath was not real garments. The intricate wreaths at the Silversmith shop were not real jewelry. Okay, okay, my son laughed and insisted I had made my point! 
The Silversmith shop had intricate wreaths mirroring the intricate designs of some of the silver jewelry in the shop...
The Milliners had a wreath with bundles of fabric...
The Courthouse with apples...hmmmmm, to represent sin from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?
the Roscow Cole House...
The Kings Arms Tavern had the characteristic clay pipes of the era that would have been smoked by the gentlemen who gathered here...
The Mary Stith House, where the actor/interpreters often appear, had decorations with musical instruments...
Market Square Tavern...
The Greenhow Store...
The Geddy House...
The St. George Tucker House...
The George Wythe House...
The Governor's Palace...
For more information on Colonial Williamsburg Christmas traditions, from music to Christmas trees and everything in between, here are more interesting articles. There are also popular walking tours throughout the historic area where guides tell about the decorations. Incidentally, at the link, there is a poll in the lower left hand corner, where you can vote for your favorite Christmas event in CW. I chose the decorations...and so did most of the others who took the poll. Merry Christmas!
Dec. 14, 2009 - Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip: "Jamestown Unearthed"
Last week "Jamestown Unearthed", a Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip, made affordable for homeschoolers by Homeschool Buyer's Co-op, premiered. This EFT was a bit different from others we've seen. Instead of being acted out by actor/interpreters, we saw a genuine archaeological dig at Jamestowne. We heard from archaeologists on the process of digging up history.
Tuesday we read the background historical information in the teacher's notes and did all of the activities together, orally. Wednesday we watched the broadcast and did the on-line activities. The computer based activities had us compare primary source documents with artifacts that were found at the dig. The kids also did the on-line vote.
Thursday was the live broadcast, with an actor/interpreter portraying one of the soldiers. There was also the head of archaeology at Jamestowne and the curator at Jamestowne. After the first broadcast, my kids thought of questions to e-mail to the archaeologist.
You might think we didn't do much with this EFT. Actually, we did more than usual! A few years ago we went to the living history center at Jamestown where the kids got to see the fort,
go on the ships and work at the Powhatten village.
Last September we went to historic Jamestowne, where the actual fort was located.
All that is left now is the church tower,
from which the lead archaeologist based his theory of the fort being in the near vicinity under the ground instead of washed into the river as previously thought. We got to see the area where the digs are, but due to rain the day before, it was covered in tarps. We plan to return another day to see the archaeological dig.
The kids have been to other archaeological digs too! They've talked to archaeologists at Mount Vernon, Montpelier, and Colonial Williamsburg. This is the Ravenscroft site at Colonial Williamsburg last July,
where they even got to do hands on activities.
Even I got a thrill to actually touch artifacts sifted from the soil. How often do we get to touch history?
And how can I forget the CW archaeology dig in 2004 and 2008
which resulted in the opening of the Coffeehouse!
