Sep. 2, 2009 - Fun School Fridays

My lovely friend Suz (who has the most lovely speaking voice and should be paid to talk to people) has some FABULOUS ideas for shaking up school on Fridays.  She has graciously started a blog and she posts  weekly what she and her kids do.

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Her Fun School Friday blog is worth checking out.  I don't know how to subscribe to it or I'd suggest that too.  We haven't "officially" started our year yet, but her latest ideas are fabulous (but ha, you'll have to wait to find out what they are!!)  So, this week I plan to do FSF just because it looks so good. 

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Confession:  I'd ignored the first 2 weeks since I wasn't "doing school" yet.  That was dumb.  Don't be dumb like me.

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And just in case anyone wondered, we have had a rough time of it these last several months.  I'd sure appreciate your prayers. 

Mar. 1, 2009 - Purposefully Untitled

My father is:

angry

mean

unwilling to change

waiting for someone to change him

blaming others for his condition

running out of time

and me?

I am too many of these things

I choose today, for this moment to

get up

move

BE who I want to be

who I ought to be

even

if I don't feel like it.

Feb. 21, 2009 - Things That Annoy Me

Untidy bookshelves

Footprints across the floor

A floor that "holds" everything and is difficult to clean

Dirty walls, doors, light switches and the like

Dysfunctional floor plans

Ill placement of furniture

The fact that all flat spaces seem to be "storage" spaces...

That it matters not that SOME things actually DO have an AWAY in which to be put

Poorly functioning furniture that doesn't fit the space

Visual chaos of cord disorganization

Being unsure as to how to solve the above without being a shrew

Feb. 17, 2009 - Thwarted Again

So, Einar made a sign that said:

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Restaurant NOW OPEN
Daily Specials Monday-Tuesday
until 5

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Feb. 10, 2009 - Audio books, stories and other listenables

        I know most of us know about the Erskine Family's website Homeschool Radio Shows offers a free weekly radio show.  But there are MANY other sites out there offering free downloads.  Some of great quality, some of dubious. But it is worth checking out.  We use the mp3s we find as bedtime stories while we're summering in Alaska.  The laptop lives in our kids' room and I just make up a playlist and let it go.  We also bought inexpensive Sansa Shakers for about $11 (including shipping) on ebay for each of them.

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        Ok, so, on to the links:

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        www.wiredforbooks.org/mp3/ has author interviews, several Shakesperean plays, poems, fables and a couple classic children's titles.  There is a portion of the Aeneid read in Latin and the Iliad in Greek.  I know that some of you classical style homeschoolers will geek out over that.  I grabbed Walt Whitman's poems, several plays, a couple novels and a lecture on African American Oral History.

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        http://wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm has Beatrix Potter's stories read in English,  French, German and Japanese.  These are RealAudio presentations rather than mp3.  I don't know if they can be downloaded for later use.

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        The main site has a HUGE assortment of things you can listen to online, though I don't think they can be saved like the mp3 files can.  I have not listened to any of these yet.

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        The CurioSoft site has several fairytales, Alice In Wonderland, Peter Rabbit and Twas the Night Before Christmas to download.

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        Learn Out Loud has many free and cheap downloads.  You'll need to scroll down a bit to see the list.  There are several podcasts that look good too.  There is a LOT of "spiritual" junk on it, so be careful with what you grab.  But there are many things worth checking out.  One in particular I thought was cool was a series of Art History  "talks" about great paintings.  There is a pdf to download of the paintings too.  So those of you doing Art Study ala Charlotte Mason (or otherwise) may find these very worthwhile.   Several are linked to other sites (which is how I found the ones above) but several can be downloaded directing from LOL.  I grabbed Aesops Fables  (scroll down for the mp3 links) and the Art podcast I mentioned above.  There is so much on this site, I'm going to have to pace myself.  Too easy to sit downloading "important" stuff only to ignore your family!  Not all the links go directly to something downloadble.  Many are simply free listening, not free saving! 

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        If you know of a site that has great audio downloads, let me know!  I've also been successful finding stories on music sources like Rhapsody and emusic.  You have to get creative with your searching, but we've found Bible stories, ethnic tales, fairy tales and such and often in other languages.  Lots of good stuff for adults too - humor and such.  While emusic and rhapsody are "free", many have unlimited download subscriptions or trials and it is worth taking the time to find some good stuff for your money's worth.  Sort of like a buffet, except you get to keep the leftovers!

Jan. 21, 2009 - A General Mini Office

        I had wanted to make a "general reference" mini-office.  You know, things that are used often and while they may be "subject specific", it is only one aspect, rather than a whole she-bang.  My slick tip is to use large labels to print on.  I used my husband's UPS labels.  2 per sheet and since they're equal in size and the margins are equal all the way around, it was easy to manipulate for printing.  It was very nice not to have to glue very much!

Front Cover

        This is a cursive chart with directional arrows.  The arrows are hard to see, so I'll have to do something to correct that.  (For my daughter's, I found a Princess chart that is so cool from www.lapbooklessons.com.  I wish they had a prince one, but alas.  Not yet anyway!)

Inside

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Inside Left

        At the bottom of the Months of the Year list I wrote "12 months = 1 Year" and at the bottom of the days of the week I wrote "7 days = 1 week" and "52 weeks = 1 year".  Some of the images came from "mini office" or lapbook sites and others are just from Google images.  When using Google images, JUST BE AWARE!  And don't do it when you have kids around!  (Trust me!) 

         You'd NEVER believe what comes up on the 1st page when googling "days of the week"!

        Also note how Alaska and Hawaii are in the "right" places (at least approximately!)

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Inside Right

        By the clock I wrote "60 seconds = 1 minute", "60 minutes = 1 hour", and "24 hours = 1 day".  The music chart is one I found via Google images.  I fiddled with it a bit in my photo software to get the contrast to be better.  I wanted the lines going from the notes on the staff to the appropriate keys to be actually VISIBLE!

        There is also a sign language chart showing finger spelling, a number line from -10 through +10.

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          I'll probably include some basic music theory items too such as common time signatures or even what a time signature means, how to find a key signature, names and duration of notes and the equivalents (such as quarter note = 1 beat, 2 eighth notes = 1 quarter and so forth along with graphics.)

        The back for now is blank.  I wanted to leave some space so I could add as we went along.  I am considering a skip counting chart and a chart of Roman numerals.  We'll see.  I'm open to suggestions so if you have any, please comment! 

Jan. 21, 2009 - Christmas Eve Activities

Einar opening some duplos.

Eme's Betty Crocker Cake Decorating Set

William playing with the Duplos

Eme decorating RIGHT AWAY!  It was good of Wayde to do some cake baking the same day!

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William's new "guitar".  (It's really a ukelele.)  Now everyone has a right size guitar in the house!

Wayde made pigs-in-a-blanket for Christmas Even dinner.  The bread he used was AWESOME.  I am not a big hot dog fan.  When he said he was doing pigs in a blanket, I thought he was going to use pancakes and sausages.  Not so much.  But they turned out looking cool!  And the kids liked the dogs - I liked the bread.  Wayde liked it all.  It worked out!

William enjoyed Eme's cupcakes AFTER he enjoyed the pigs-in-a-blanket.  Gotta love the frosting/ketchup combo.

We were going to try and see my parents that day.  We'd been snowed in for quite awhile (for here at least!) and thought we'd attempt it.  As you can see from the following pictures, I married a LONG SUFFERING man!

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I thought he'd be soaked by the time he got back in, but not so much!  And it didn't even make him cranky.  We had a really, really nice Christmas Eve.  It was relaxed, warm, good natured.  It had the same feeling you get when looking at "pretty" Christmas pictures.  (But it didn't look that good!)

Dec. 24, 2008 - Online Christmas Letter

Christmas Greetings

          It is still dark, this early morning.   EmeRose has been our primary decorator this year and a glob of lights hangs from her big toy.  She wrapped them around the porch railing with Wayde’s help and then later added a loooooong string that was to be wrapped around the big tree trunk out front.   It didn’t make it that far.  It sat in the dirt for several days.  Somehow, they made it to the big toy.   Anyway, they are oddly sweet this early morning.

            We’ve had quite a year!   Do any of you feel as though you live in a soap opera?   Looking back, our family life has been so full; it seems almost over the top.   The beginning of the year found us in pretty dire financial straits.  Wayde hadn’t worked the previous summer in Chignik (because we’d just had William) choosing instead to work for an outfit in Lacey.  We counted on his being able to work all winter and that pretty much didn’t happen.   

Right about August, the hours fell off and by September he was calling in to see if there was work.   By mid month, I think even that was abandoned.   So, the long months of fall and winter were upon us.   Our big expense was propane: over $700/month.   He had a little unemployment he was able to collect and sold things on eBay.  By February, unemployment was done.   We’d already decided by then he’d go back to Chignik this summer.   He left in early April. It was still really cold.  We still  didn’t have money. I remember running the oven and trying to bake just to supplement the heat. The propane was just too dear. (So much for global warming in our neck of the woods!)

 The kids and I joined him about two months later. It was a grand summer for the kids. They had an absolute ball running and biking around the docks and to the donut shop (yum!) and playing in the tidal slough.

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Einar being Huck Finn

Einar befriended John the Welder (if any of you know the song “Oh John the Rabbit” that always goes through my mind when Einar talks about him). John let him hang out in the shop and answered a lot of his questions. John had a son that wasn’t able to be there with him. I think Einar filled some of that void. Einar learned to ride a bike over the summer too! Eme would pick from the profuse wildflowers and make the just gorgeous bouquets. She surprised me with her knack. (I’ve recently discovered she can arrange food plates beautifully too.)

            Chignik was harder on me and Wayde this year. Having a toddler up there is NOT easy!  William was just over a year old when we left. He started walking almost immediately upon our arrival.

Wayde’s schedule changed several times and he just never got into a groove. That was hard on both of us. It was sort of a tense season up there employee-wise too. His dad had to be medivac-ed out for an apparent heart attack. It wasn’t, but he did end up having a quintuple bypass. Yes. Quintuple.   Kids and I saw him in Anchorage when we left at the end of August. Wayde stayed until the first part of October. Oh, and there was a small matter of the main processing plant catching fire in July.

             October brought my birthday and folks, I had the best birthday I think I’ve ever had. It was relaxed, I got good presents (you know as an adult, that doesn’t happen so often!)

               Einar gave me a “Walk Around the Block with a Flashlight”. He’s kind of a funny one. Eme’s was the best gift though. She colored some shells with crayons and gift wrapped them. But that wasn’t the cool part. I found a bunch of buttons for her summer before last at a garbage sale and had put them away. She got into them when we returned from Chignik. There was one batch that had the most beautiful buttons.   They really reminded me of my Grandma Edna’s button stash. I tried to beg or buy some from Eme to no avail! She did finally relent and let me have the tiniest handful. Well, what do you think was in that bag with the crayon-colored shells?? Those buttons.  All of them. I think I cried! For a selfish little stinker, she can be pretty thoughtful.

 November was a nice uneventful month.  Regular in our home school and family life. We did go down to my cousin Natalie’s for a really great Thanksgiving time. There was only 1 marred moment there and even it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. (Involved my ever-sensitive Father of course, but thankfully, his joy wasn’t directed my way for once!)

 The significant happenings in December are Eme’s birthday (8th) and our Advent celebration.   Advent isn’t something I grew up doing. I know mom tried as I have memories of the calendar with the flippy doors, but I didn’t really understand it as a time of anticipation or preparation for Christ’s  arrival. I belong to two online forums for homeschooling and the mommies there talk a fair amount about Advent. Well this year, I decided to do something. It is really basic, but it has been something *I* don’t have to do the reminding on and there is no flippy calendar filled with chocolates for motivation either! I found a list of suggested scripture readings so Wayde does that.

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The Kids loved holding candles during carol singing.

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We all color a page that either matches the scripture or adds the kids’ nativity scene. It is slowing filling. We light the candles and sing carols relevant to the scripture portion. The kids’ favorite is the Seven Joys of Mary. I know.   It isn’t an Advent song.   It isn’t a Christmas song.   It is fun though! We’ve had a lot of dancing happen during our singing time. Mostly Eme and William. I have a video of William dancing in one of the Advent entries.

 I hope this finds you all well. We are well for now. I don’t anticipate any major change to that status, but one never knows. There are rumblings in our extended family on both sides with health and personal issues so who knows what the next few months hold. Thankfully, I know Who knows! I pray that you do too.

Blessings,

Carriejoy (representing the rest of my family)

Dec. 23, 2008 - Snowmen, Igloos & Birdseed Cupcakes!

Round Two of Attempting This Post

        Yesterday was just a banner day for us here on The Dirt Farm.  Eme made a GIGANTIC snowball.  This thing just DWARFED her.  (and she isn't a little thing!)  These are a little hard to see, but here is the snowball.

And look closely, you'll see her pushing this thing along.

And a video.  This is all done with my cheapo Sanyo.  It doesn't like dusk, things far away and snow all at once!

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 Igloos

        Remember Einar wanting to build a snow fort?  Eme started building an igloo.  Einar did some helping.  Not so much though.  She used a small tote and packed it with snow to create her bricks.

      Wayde helped her stack the bricks.  They didn't finish but we still have snow, so who knows.  Making an igloo was one of those things in my childhood I would have been simply mad over.  Alas, I never got to make one.  It is fun to see my kids being able to do many of the things I couldn't.  My mom will read this and feel guilty.  I could tell her not to feel guilty, but it won't matter.  Hi mom!

Doesn't Eme just look so cute sitting there in her creation?

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BIRDSEED CUPCAKES

        I know you've all been dying to see these.  Wayde started off by boiling lard, peanut butter, birdseed and water.  Looks scrumptious, no?

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A couple ingredients. 

Eme stirring and stirring.

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Doesn't he look as though he's just been "caught"?

While Eme stirred, Wayde placed wool string into the cupcake pans so we could hang these up outside more easily.

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Einar had to get in on the act

Eme filling the molds.

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Cooling and hardening in the snow

The top picture has 2 different mixes in it.  Wayde ran out of room in one saucepan so he transferred some to another.  I'm not sure what happened to the ratio of ingredients, but one was definitely soupier.

Eme and I added seed to the top once she'd poured.  It made them much prettier, no?  I know.  The birds don't care too much.  But I like to have a little fun with it.

        If you note the directions in the recipe, you'll see we didn't follow them to a "t".  That may explain some of the not so hot results!  We also did not use the peanut butter pictured above (which has hydrogentated fats added to keep it "together" so you don't have to stir it.)  Wayde used my "good" organic, need to stir it peanut butter.  It's possible we didn't "cook" it long enough too.  I think the runnier peanut butter really made a difference in the soupiness of the project.

        The string, while a great idea in theory, didn't work so well in practice.  The cakes fell from the strings.  I suspect the cakes just weren't hard enough.  The ones we first put out did not go in the freezer.  They just hardened outside and didn't get really firm.

        Recipe we used:

BIRDSEED CUPCAKES  

2 quarts water

1c butter/lard/margarine

4 c cereal (cornmeal, oatmeal, farina, cream of wheat, roman meal)

(note we used old cheerios - that may have made a difference!)

1 c pb (crunchy’s best)

1c chopped fruit (apples, raisins, currants, dates)

(our seed had dried fruit in it.  don't know if Wayde doubled up the seed or not to compensate)

1 c birdseed chopped nuts or sunflower seeds (optional)

        Bring water and butter to boil in a large pot.  Slowly stir in cereal and cook until thick, 5-15 min depending on kinds.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and fruit.  Let cool before adding seeds or nuts.

        Spoon into small non-metal containers (not necessarily necessary).  Store in fridge or freezer.  (we used metal)

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Dec. 21, 2008 - Snowed In in Western WA

I have to tell you that it is just gorgeous here right now.  HUGE flakes falling from the sky and everything covered in 4+ inches of snow!  I don't think my boots are tall enough to go walking in it!  They're just over my ankles!  Might hvae to figure something out though.  I love it when it's like this. 

Wayde is out with the olders right now hopefully having fun.  He was "shooting for" an hour :eyes:  I'm shooting for 2-3.  First sign of being wet, he'll haul 'em home which is too bad.  It's 32 degrees and we're close and they're active so I'm not worried for frostbite or anything.  He's just kind of a Nervous Nellie.  I'm hoping his "inner child" will come out and play with the kids.  Einar's been dying for a snowball fight and also to make a snow fort.  We might get enough snow to do the fort!  (Don't think Wayde was counting on that!)

Dec. 18, 2008 - The Recent Faces of William

        Our little boy is a charmer.  A friend described him as a "card".  This little one has a very purposeful sense of humor.  He's recently "discovered" the camera as something for which to ham it up.  He does a funny scrunchy face when he realizes there might be a picture opportunity.

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And a short video demonstrating that Scrunchy Face process.

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        I wrapped presents last night and didn't get to his huge truck.  He found it this morning.  He is cute despite the darkness!

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      He enjoys hanging out with Wayde so very much.  This is a common position - in Daddy's lap at the computer. 

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        We recently got a copy of the Chinaberry catalog.  I don't recall seeing it before.  Lots of neat stuff.  Anyway, William sat on my lap for at least 30 minutes paging through this catalog.  The video below shows his careful perusal and occasional commentary.   (If you look closely in the background, right at the begining, you'll see Eme doing a little foot tapping.  This is her "dance" she does all. the. time.)

        And his latest trick is feeding himself.  He's been capable for a while.  I just haven't wanted to deal with the mess.  Last night, Wayde set food down for Eme.  Well!  William scampered right up the chair  and started digging right in!  He didn't make much mess until the end either.  He just chomped and chomped and chomped! 

Dec. 17, 2008 - Advent Day 18

        Just quickly for you as last night grandma and grandpa whisked Eme & Einar away about 8:30!  Below are the links for the scripture and coloring pages.  We attempted to sing What Child is This.  It was not pretty!  Ah well, in years future, perhaps.

          Lk 2:21  Jesus is named

       Since the topic was the naming of our Lord, this coloring page of  Jesus' name was appropriate.  I also added some animals for the nativity.

        It is beautiful here this morning.  Just about an inch of snow makes everything look so wonderful.  From my computer I can see out the window.  The sky in this direction gets just the faintest rosy glow.  I am always reminded of The Odyssey and the "rosy fingered Dawn".

        Blessings to you this day.

Dec. 17, 2008 - We are soooo "Sanford & Son" or "A Day of Snow"

        We had our first snowfall here just a few days ago.  Those of you from actual snow climes will wonder where the snow is!  You'll have to look closely. 

        Einar is scraping the snow off of available surfaces to make snowballs.

        The Human Sam is over to play in the snow too.  Note the flat white surface in front of Eme.  It too is being "harvested".

        Moose getting in on the act.  He is just a "kid" when it comes to snow.  He gets that doggy happy look on his face.  It is fun to watch the old bugger.

        This is the "Sanford & Son" backdrop. 

Dec. 16, 2008 - Advent Day 17

Song of the Angels

William Bourguereau 1881

       I am thrilled beyond words that we are still going at this so strongly!  Yesterday we baked some Christmas cookies and delivered a few.  (Goodness, I know how that sounds.  We honestly aren't that family.  Wish we were, but we're not.  See my other posts with the messy pictures.  THAT is how we really are.  But maybe God is changing us.)  Anyway, I mention it because it made us a little later than usual getting started and I was pretty tired.  Baking makes me tired!  And I didn't even have to mix up the dough!  My mom did that for us.

       Lk 2:15-20  is about the Shepherds coming to adore the new Lord.  Wayde read yesterday's scripture again as a sort of preface to today's.  Einar was so sweet.  He had to come crawl in my lap because "sometimes it makes me cry" says he!  Love that boy.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't want him to grow up to be a weeny, but truly, understanding what is worth tears is a skill too many boys don't learn.  And tears of joy are wonderful to have.

        Attitudes weren't quite as good as they have been.  But DADDY'S and MINE weren't bad, so hurrah for us!  We're working on it.  Being so tired, we didn't do any real singing.  I sang while we colored and that was about it.  Our coloring page was a group of Angels.  I think they look a little weird myself.  I called them the Three Muses.  If that's blasphemous, someone should tell me.

      The angels should have been yesterday and the shepards today.  But I'll file that away for next year if we follow the same reading schedule.  Blessings to you all. 

Dec. 16, 2008 - Shoe shopping - when did it get so hard?

        I just bought 3 pairs of shoes for my daughter yesterday. Other than nasty crocs (and they are GROSS from too much wear!) she didn't have anything she could wear.

        So we bought her rubber boots, a pair of sneakers and a casual dress pair.

        So here's the weird part. I used the foot thingy to measure her size. One foot is a 4 and the other a 4 1/2. (ok, that's not the weird part). The WEIRD part is that EACH PAIR we purchased is a woman's size SEVEN.

        What is up with this? I have noticed this trend before for myself - having to buy "up" from what you actually measure. I am a 10 but I tell you what, not a SINGLE pair of ladies 10s fit me. I have to buy a men's 9 1/2-10. My birkenstock size hasn't changed. My good rubber boot (x-tra tuffs) hasn't changed sizes. But honestly, ANY other shoe doesn't fit in the "size" I'm supposed to be.

        Same is true for my husband. The snarky comment I get here is that all the shoes are made in China and the Chinese don't have big feet.

        We ordered 3 pairs from ebay recently for her and the only pair that fit was a size 6. Oh, and btw, I couldn't find ANY shoes size 5 and very few 6. I think she could wear a 6. Oh, one pair of kids shoes (boys) was a 4 1/2 and it fit.

        Any explanations out there?? It is only a *tad* frustrating to have this phenomenon (sP?) I don't feel confident ordering shoes now! I know you can return from lots of places, but ugh - what a hassle!

        I'm in the "used to love" to buy shoes camp. I think they've changed things on us and we can't get what we used to because it just isn't there!

        Tell me I'm not the only one.

Dec. 14, 2008 - Advent Third Sunday!

Dec. 13, 2008 - 99 Things on the Wall Meme

Ok, I don't even really know what a "meme" is.  All these words...  I've resisted finding out, but I DO like lists!  I found this on my FIAR friend Debbie's page and decided to participate.

Dec. 11, 2008 - Advent Catch-Up

        Forgive my lack of commentary.  I know you all are just dying to know what I think about everything! ;)  No pictures either.  I cannot believe how much time blogging takes when adding in links and such!  All you regular bloggers out there - kudos.  You've all seen my messy house so you know that Advent isn't only place I don't "have it together"!  Regardless, I do hope this blesses.

Day 9

        Lk 1:46-55 was Day Nine's scripture:  Mary's song of praise.  We talked just the tiniest bit about the "Magnificat" and how there were songs even now that people sing with Mary's words.  Since we'd done several Mary pictures, we colored we colored Joseph  to go in the paper bag stable!  Remember the paper bag?  It's finally getting some characters!

Day 10

        Mt 1:18 was the scripture dealing with the conception of Jesus.  Because Jesus is the light of the world, I choose this picture of the earth with a star over it.  The star to me represents Jesus and being over the world can represent so many things.  I chose to emphasize the savior of the world as the visual picture from it.

Day 11

        Mt 1:19 dealt with Joseph's consideration of divorcing Mary quietly.  I couldn't find an appropriate coloring page directly related to the topic so we colored this angel for our stable scene.  (Yay!  More "characters"!)

Day 12

        Mt 1:20-21 tells about Joseph's dream where an angel appears to him.  The coloring page cannot be right clicked and saved, so print it when you go to the link, or save the webpage on your desktop or your Christmas/Advent file.  The "home" site has some great Nativity printables.

Day 13

        Mt 1:22-24 let's us know that Joseph and Mary got married.  We did not do a coloring page for the day as it was LATE when we got home to do our celebrating together.  I don't think we even did hymns and carols!  Quick lighting of the candles, a reading and a prayer and then BED!

 Day 14

        Lk 2:1-6 introduces us to the journey to Bethlehem.  So tonight we added the carol O Little Town of Bethlehem.  I was in a pinch and downloaded a free instrumental version.  We just sang through the first verse of it twice.  I hope to get the lyrics printed for Wayde so we can work on more of the hymn.  Our carol singing is extending by leaps and bounds!  No one is complaining and I rather think they like it.  Eme and Einar are still holding "singing candles".  They like the idea of holding a candle while we sing.  They also do a fair amount of dancing  - esp with the Seven Joys of Mary! 

        I think the only other carol we added is The Holly and the Ivy by Celtic Lore.  We've been singing it all week I believe, but truthfully, I couldn't tell you at this point!  I'm sure I could do a file search on my computer and see when it was added, but I'm tired!

        Now, if any of you know where there are good coloring pages relating more specifically to the scripture, I would dearly like to know!  Please either leave me a comment with the link or email it to me!

Dec. 11, 2008 - Getting Ready to Decorate For Christmas!

        My friends at the Five in a Row forum have a daily Decluttering Thread.  I have participated a fair amount in the past and recently not so much.  The house shows it!

        Anyway, today I posted that we were doing a clean up of the kitchen, dining room and living room and that I might post pictures.

        Well, I have some ready.  We aren't done with the kitchen and dining room, but the main part of the living room was done this morning.

        So, here is the before.  And sadly it is like this ALL the time.  We had a time when we were doing regular picking up (when I was a regular on the Decluttering Thread!)  See, I'm not kidding when I say I need prayers.

And a close up of the TV/rug area.  See our Advent Candle area??

And now the "after".

And one more from a sligthly different angle.  All the "floor" space you see is where the couch used to be.  It is now where the tree will go.

        See what I mean with the bookshelves looking messy even when the stuff is "put away"?  I actually don't always have the books leaning over.  The paper sorter is a perpetual "mess" even when it's not, too.  I'd love suggestions!

        Planning on showing you the dining table by the end of the day!  Say your prayers for me please!

Dec. 7, 2008 - Advent Days 7 & 8

Day 7

        We had the opportunity to share with our neighbor and my daughter's friend, April.  Poor girl was quite down.  Her parents are divorced and she had been trying to get ahold of her mother with no success.  She told us her father told her it is because her mother doesn't care very much about her!  Can you imagine?  Sadly, I know all too many of you can.  She is a dear girl and has been a good friend to Eme.  Please pray for her as you feel led.

        The scripture was Luke 1:26-38.  We printed an extra page for April and talked again about Mary visiting Elizabeth.  I cannot find the link for the coloring page, but if anyone emails me, I'd be happy to send the file.

        We did not do any new songs.  I am hoping to find recordings or sheet music for the neat Mary songs recommended to me.  I just haven't had the opportunity.

        It sounds nice and boring doesn't it!  Well, it went really well.  The kids listened well, the singing went nicely and it seems as though we might be starting to get a clue!

Day 8

        Today Einar had his chance to light the candles.  I forgot to look up the symbolism for the second candle.  But here it is NOW for those of you reading.  The second candle is the Candle of the Way and points to Jesus being The Way.  We'll discuss it tomorrow.

        Luke 1:39-45 was today's scripture.  I was struck by Mary being blessed because she BELIEVED what God said.  Do you think we'd be blessed if we believed?  What a simple and profound thought.  I know it isn't new at all.  But it was a lovely reminder this morning.

        Since we'd done a picture of Elizabeth earlier and one of Mary visiting Elizabeth yesterday, we colored Joseph and Eme added hers to our paper bag stable.  (We're going to be reading a little about Joseph over the next few days.)

        For songs, I added Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and The Seven Joys of Mary.  Not so sure about the theology on that second one, but my goodness do I ever have a rolicking version by Great Big Sea.  It is available FREE at emusic.  (Hey, if any of you decide to join emusic, would you email me (waydesharpe AT hotmail DOT com) and let me know?  I'll send you back the reference page from emusic?  We both get free downloads if we do it as a referral.  I've gotten FABULOUS music from there btw.)