Got this one from Jen...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  YES! lol  Usually bags for friends and wrapping for family.  Don't know why, it just ends up that way.  My FAVORITE wrap is brown paper tied w/twine or raffia w/some sort of CHRISTmas Stampin' Up stamps.

2. Real tree or Artificial?  We used to do the real ones, but I pick up quills ALL year, so we have used a fake one for years.  Last year, however, we got the most wonderful tree!!  It's very rustic - just the way I like it - it has just a touch of "snow" (so it doesn't look 'cheap') and pine cones and we put only vintage and rustic ornaments on it.  LOVE IT!  I hate to take it down!

3. When do you put up the tree? If not the day after Thanksgiving, then the weekend following.

5. Do you like eggnog?  No. 

6. Favorite gift received as a child?  Hmmm...my Barbie Dream House.  I'm old enough that it was the second edition, still cardboard, but it was WAY cool!! 

7. Hardest person to buy for?  My mom.  She's very well off and has 2 of everything.

8. Easiest person to buy for?  My dog, Maggie!

9. Do you have a nativity scene?  Yes; it's the one my family has had since I was about 3 years old and is starting to fall apart.  I'd like to get replacement Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus and a few animals from the company that does the wooden angels for all occasions (shoot, can't think of the name).  While I'm at it ... I CAN'T STAND to see the wise men in a nativity scene!!  They didn't find Jesus until He was 2 years old, for Pete's sake...so put them waaaaay over on the other side of the house that they can make a journey of it! 

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?  Both.  If I have your e-mail address, you'll probably get an e-mail; family and friends w/o e-mail get cards. 

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  OK...I'm serious here...no joke...My dear grandma was a very frugal gal, having lived through the Depression she was always thinking of USEFUL things to give.  The first CHRISTmas we were married she gave us a can of Crisco w/a bow on top!!  lol 

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?  White CHRISTmas.

13. When do you start shopping? Usually in December.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  Yes.  'Nuff said.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  My mom's stuffing!

16. Lights on the tree?  White.

17. Favorite Christmas song?  O Holy Night and I Wonder as I Wander.  I have a really beautiful arrangement of 'I Wonder...' that I worked out on my hammered dulcimer.

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?   We usually go to my mom's house.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s?  Possibly...um...no.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?  A rustic star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?  We have our OWN family CHRISTmas on CHRISTmas Eve morning - when the girls were little we were always rushing all over the place and we weren't making OUR OWN memories and they couldn't enjoy their news clothes or toys.  So, when our oldest was about 5 we started our own tradition on the day before. 

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year.  The emphasis on Santa and stores putting up CHRISTmas - eh hem - I mean 'holiday' decorations BEFORE halloween!! 

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?  Rustic, vintage.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Didn't I answer that?  My mom's stuffing.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?  A digital camera.

The holidays are near so I want to know...

1.
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
 Hot chocolate!

2.
Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
 Nope, never did the Santa-thing.  Jesus supplies the gifts – that’s what we’ve always told them.

3.
Colored lights on tree/house or white? 
 White

4.
Do you hang mistletoe? 
 yes

5.
When do you put your decorations up? 
  always right after Thanksgiving :) 

6.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? 
My mom’s stuffing.               

 7.
Favorite holiday memory as a child: 
When I was about 11, I couldn’t sleep one Christmas Eve night and I had my radio on.  It was about 2a.m. and Nat King Cole’s “Chestnuts Roasting” came on while huge, fluffy snowflakes floated down outside my windows.  Ahhhh.

8.
When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? 
 2^nd or 3^rd grade.
9.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? 
Yes.  So that OUR family can make our own Christmas memories, we open our own presents on Christmas Eve morning so that it’s not interrupted by having to leave to go to someone’s house.

10.
How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? 
  We got a new Christmas tree last year that is very real-looking w/just a little ‘snow’ and pinecones on it.  We put away many of our more trendy ornaments for the girls to have one of these days and now only use the more vintage and backwoods-looking ornaments.  It’s very rustic and I LOVE IT!!
11.
Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I love snow...especially when I’m inside looking out!

12.
Can you ice skate? 
  That’s up for interpretation…I’ve roller skated all my life and only ice skated once.

13.
Do you remember your favorite gift? 

Christmas of 1998, Ty got me my hammered dulcimer!!

14.
What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you? 
Remembering God's gift to us in His Son Jesus and having my family all together for Christmas. 

15.
What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
 Pumpkin pie and red velvet cake.

16.
What is your favorite holiday tradition? 
The big family meal – everyone together and happy.

17.
What tops your tree? 
 A rustic star

18.
Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Definitely giving 

19.
What is your favorite Christmas Song? 
  O Holy Night and I Wonder as I Wander

20.
Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? 
 Yum.

21.
What do you want for Christmas? 
A digital camera

22.
Do you attend an annual Christmas Party? 
 Ty’s work and – if can call it a party – our annual Christmas Eve service.

23.
Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs? 

When I was little we dressed up for the meal.  Now we just wear ‘nice’ jeans and maybe a ‘dress’ blouse/shirt or sweater.

24. Do you own a Santa hat?
 nope – don’t do the Santa-thing here.

25.
Who do you normally spend Christmas with? 
Our family ~~ Christmas Eve day is for our own family; the weekend before Christmas day is w/Ty’s side of the family, Christmas Day is usually w/my side of the family.

I really enjoy my Old Farmer's Almanac newsletter and I have learned so much from it.  Today's newsletter offered and link to "Gardening Jobs by the Month," which is of interest to me as a novice gardener.  So many of those of you that I've spoken to lately are considering either planting a kitchen garden next year or expanding the one you already keep, so I thought you might benfit from this information, too.  Here's the link:

http://www.almanac.com/garden/jobs/index.php

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

Final Call To Vote for Your Faves!

Filed under: Just For Fun, Links   by Jacque

As of today - Thursday here in IN - you have only two days left to vote for your favorite blogs in the Homeschool Blogs Awards!
If you have not been able to do so yet, can I ask for your vote? I won't promise you any big promises that won't be kept, or any small ones either. There are a few blogs I have a personal interest in, and if you see fit to, could you vote for them?

Each family is allowed a max. of 5 votes, 1 for each person old enough to use a computer (up to 5, of course).

I have linked the categories so that you may go directly to the page to vote. If you are not familiar with my choices, their blogs are linked on the voting pages.

My Picks

City on A Hill is our very own Rachel from Rachel's Reasoning. She blogs sweet little stories, great recipes, chicken and goat updates, and she is just a super blog-friend!

On the Road To Manhood is Eric's blog. He is just beginning to blog, and we use it as a part of his school writing. He is tickled to have been nominated, and I have enjoyed him watching as the few votes he has gotten has gone up.

Resting in the Arms of Grace is Miss Hannah's pretty blog that Jocelyn designed. Jocelyn cannot be in the awards, as she is a writer and author on the Homeschool Blog Awards site, but we are thrilled that this pretty frivolous blog design she created is!

Growing in Grace Magazine is a personal preference of ours. We have 5 in our family who write for this online blog-magazine to encourage moms and young ladies of all ages. It is published almost daily, with a special magazine issue each month. The graphics change each month also, and we are reaching into girls' lives and having a positive influence!

Feelin’ Feminine is a group blog borne from Jocelyn's heart to see women know that being feminine and lovely is a good and desirable thing. It is not just something that silly, mindless lazy women do, but a lovely way to live!

Never A Dull Moment is a NEW Mom blogger I just met IRL! She is such a wise and sweet woman. I know you will love her if you get to go over and check out her blog for yourself!!

See The rest of my Homeschool Blog Awards Picks , if you are interested.

Thank you friends!
blessings,

Sisterlisa wanted me to let you know that you can win a $20 gift card if GGM wins! Here are the details:

The Countdown!

Growing in Grace Magazine is counting down to the final results of the Homeschool Blog Awards and we want YOUR vote! You only have til Friday!

We have a special treat for you! If you vote for GGM at HSBAPost's Awards Page for Best Family/Group Blog and promote the vote to your friends we'll enter you in for a chance to win a $20 Toys R Us Gift Certificate to use for the holidays and a CD of the PDF versions of all our issues from 2008! **When we win, you win!

You have 3 Chances to win!

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Well, Thanksgiving will be here in . . . 8 days!  Yippee!  I love Thanksgiving.  Cooking is quite honestly one of my very favorite things to do.  My husband said he'd like to try frying our turkey this year, as we haven't done that since 1997, when our friend the turkey-frying-expert  flooded our back patio in oil, but created a very yummy turkey as a result!    When I double checked the frying plan with him a couple of days ago, he admitted he was beginning to chicken out because he would miss the smell of turkey in the house!  So we're going to have the best of both worlds . . . as I'm usually dealing with a 25-lb turkey anyway, the job can be split.  He'll fry a 12-lber in the back yard, and I'll roast a 12-lber the traditional way!  I'm an equal opportunity kitchen manager.  I've got to sit down with my mother in law and make a plan for the day soon, as they'll be joining us, and then I'll be able to decide what I'm making in advance.  I've got some free Thanksgiving projects that I downloaded at the TOS website; if you haven't subscribed to their newsletter yet, I definitely recommend it!  They've always got great stuff offered, often for FREE!  Here's where you can find them: www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com .  Click on "Join our email list."

Tip of the day: clean your oven!  Mine was a wreck.  I cook all the time, and though I *love* to cook, I'm not a neat cook by any stretch.  The last thing you want is to be messing with this next week, and the second-to-last-thing you want is for your mother-in-law to be asking "Where's the smoke coming from?" when you were expecting the delectable smell of turkey to be wafting through the house instead!  I've got a non-self-cleaning oven (don't ask; we were trying to save some money!) myself . . . so I just bought a can of the blue Easy-Off (it doesn't give off fumes, since I have kids in the house.)  You could spray it on overnight and wipe it out in the morning, but since I wanted to finish mine today and just read the directions a little while ago, I sprayed it in this morning and will wipe it out this afternoon.  You'll have to remove your oven racks (not sure exactly why; I guess the spray might damage them) so I've done the same thing I did with my refrigerator shelving and doors--put them in the bathtub with a few inches of hot water and a gelpack of dishwashing detergent!  I'm looking forward to having a sparkling clean oven.  I'm going to make a list of what needs to be done in advance and try to post them here each day til Thanksgiving!

I Remember Being A New Homeschool Mom

Categories: Are you Wondering If You Should Homeschool, Oh LORD, Help Me Live Biblically, Teens and High School, Training Hearts ~ Parenting  

If you can stand the inane chatter, you can watch a recent program of The View on YouTube video over at Extraordinarily Ordinary. Comments on Joy Behar's contradictory thought processess are being discussed there as well.

Joy comments that homeschoolers are, "demented," and don't get enough socialization. A fascinating thing for her to say in my mind, seeing as she is pitching for the Obama family to teach their daughters from the White House. When called on to state how the Obama girls would get their socialization, Joy says that they can invite their friends over.

Sounds vaguely familiar, I can't quite put my finger on it. . .oh yeah, homeschooling!

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

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For the past several years, as I've set up my Christmas decorations, I've said to my husband, "Gee, I'd really like to have a nativity set that the kids could actually play with!"  I knew they'd enjoy it, but wasn't about to let them get into my breakable one!  Last year I noticed that Fisher Price had a set, but I never went back to purchase it.  Imagine how thrilled I was one afternoon a few weeks ago to receive *this* in the mail!

Yes, Christmas has come early to our house this year!    This fun set is from a company called One2Believe.  They believe that there's a "battle for the toybox" going on, and I'd have to agree with them.  So much of what we see in the stores is contrary to what we want to encourage in our children.  One 2 Believe has created toys in answer to that challenge.  This particular set is 17 pieces, starring Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus in the manger (*note--He comes out!  This is my favorite feature of this set, as I've always wanted to build my nativity set as December rolls on, placing the baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning to complete it--yet most nativities have baby Jesus permanently glued in!  The only problem so far . . . since my kids are already reviewing this product with me, baby Jesus is currently AWOL!  Hopefully we'll locate Him before Dec 25th!  ) Supporting cast includes three kings, two shepherds, two angels, one camel, one donkey, two sheep, stable, hay bale, and tree.  The pieces are sturdy but not-sharp pvc, and they're *cute!*  It also contains a mini storybook to help you tell the story of the birth of Baby Jesus.

I wanted to give you some more info on One2Believe, so here's a quote from their site:

Our Vision

one2believe's passion is to help children learn important Bible lessons and to have them come to faith in Jesus. Our goal is to provide fun ways of teaching children about the greatest people who ever lived. Through the toys that we design, children will learn and play out exciting stories about real people. Our toys teach children that there are real superheroes they can believe in!

one2believe has a great desire to support parents in their battle for their children's hearts and minds. We pray that parents will take the lead by engaging their children in faith and get them excited about Jesus. In Phillipians it speaks about pressing on. At one2believe we believe that we will either influence the world or the world will influence us.

Great folks to be supporting, don't you think? 

This set is $24.95 and well worth it in my book.  My younger kids are really enjoying playing with it, and it's a great addition to our Christmas celebration this year!  Check them out yourselves at www.one2believe.com and you'll find they feature Bible stories as well as coloring pages you can print from your computer!

Here's something I found and thought it would be a great lesson for our children with Thanksgiving coming... {KW<><}...

In the White House, Abe Lincoln was pacing the floor of his office.  He felt more troubeld than he had ever felt before.  The fate of the Union was at stake.  He felt as if he were almost alone in his concern for the outcome.  Friends and aides appeared to be almost panic-stricken.  Abe felt that this was the most critical hour of the [Civil] war, perhaps the most critical hour in the entire history of the United States.

In desperation he left his office, went into this room and locked the door.  There he fell before a chair.  With his head in his hands, he wept and prayed.

Now, more than at any other time in his life he turned to God.  In deep anguish he told God that he had done all he could.  He pleaded for help.  There was nothing more that he could do.  He must leave the result of the battle in the hands of God.  He now knew that if his country was to be saved, it would be only because God willed it.

It was a heartbreaking hour of prayer.

When he unlocked the door and came out of his room he felt that a great burden had suddenly been rolled off his shoulders.  His intense anxiety and torturing concern had been relieved.  He felt a quiet and calm trustfullness...

On his desk was a copy of the Thanksgiving Proclamation.  He had proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a day of national Thanksgiving.  The nation had never before had such an annual Thanksgiving Day and he had decided that it was time the nation remembered in a special day what God had done.

Now he read slowly the proclamation:

We have been the recipients of the choistest bounties of heaven; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown.  But we have forgotten God.

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

Tears slipped down his cheeks as he read these words, for he believed in them deeply.  It was because of this belief that he ordered the Treasury Department to engrave the words, In God We Trust, on American coins.

As he was sitting at his desk, thinking about these things, an aide rushed in and excitedly exclaimed, "There's good news from the battle at Gettysburg, Sir..."

But in spite of this great victory, his days were filled, dealing with generals, listening to the problems of many citizens, and handling endless administrative details.  For help he turned to God through the Bible and in prayer.

Almost daily now, he felt the need to go to his room to pray.  More and more, he became conscious of the work of God in the affairs of men.

Writing to a friend, Byron Sutherland, one day, he said,

I believe we are all agents and instruments of Divine Providence.  I hold myself in my present position and with the authority invested in me, as an instrument of Providence.  I am conscious every moment that all I am and all that I have are subject to the control of a higher power, and that power can use me or not use me in any manner and at any time as in His wisdom might be pleasing to Him.

One day, Mr. Chittenden, the register of the Treasury, asked him if he believed that God actually directed national affairs.  With a deep feeling of emotion, he replied,

The the Almighty does make use of human agencies, and directly intervenes in human affairs, is one of the plainest statements of the Bible...I have many evidences of His direction, many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannont doubt that this power comes from above.

~~~Reprinted from Honest Abe by Harry J. Albus.