Making a List for 2009

Miss Jocelyn over at The Homeschool Post has come up with a fitting theme for us as the New Year rolls in: Goals for 2009!

I'm also linking this up to Sprittibee's "To-Do List" post. Take a look at her list for 2009 - she gave me some great ideas.

I'm excited about this theme because I am a listmaker at heart, and I love the fresh beginnings that the New Year brings with it. This time of year always inspires me to de-clutter, re-organize, fill out calendars, try new things - you get the picture.

My list is a combination of goals (habits I want to form in my life) and single "to-do" items that can be checked off. I might add to these as things come to me, and I'm linking the list in my sidebar so that I can cross things off as I accomplish them.

So, without further ado, my list:

In 2009 I want to...

Spiritual
1. Spend more time with God each day - in the Word, in prayer, and listening to Him.
2. Institute a personal daily quiet time for the children - even if it's only five minutes at first.
3. Read through the Bible this year. (I've never done this.)
4. Attend and complete the Kay Arthur Bible study, "Lord, I Want to Know You".
5. Attend our church women's retreat.
6. Forgive quickly.
7. Reach out more to lost friends and neighbors.
8. Memorize one Scripture verse each week.

Health/Fitness
1. Go to bed by 11:00 p.m. each night and get up no later than 7:30 a.m. each morning.
2. Walk/run on the treadmill 4x per week/Do balance ball exercises 3x per week.
3. Take my vitamins each day.

Marriage
1. Really speak my husband's love languages to him and seek to serve him.
2. Complete the Love Dare for Kurt.
3. Read Created to Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl.
4. Have a weekend away with Kurt.
5. Read a marriage book with Kurt.

Mothering
1. Try to learn my children's love languages and speak them often to them. (See The Five Love Languages of Children.)
2. Try to spend some time each day really getting to know my children - really listening to what they have to say and observing them. What are their likes, dislikes, hopes, dreams, gifts? What are they passionate about?
3. Schedule regular individual "dates" with our children.
4. Read Parenting is Heart Work by Scott Turansky.
5. Read the book Good and Angry by Scott Turansky.
6. Do more fun, messy things that they get such a kick from!
7. Stop and pray before I react.

Homeschool
1. Read one homeschooling book that will educate and inspire me as a teacher.
2. Take the children outdoors everyday - unless the weather is just terrible or we're gone most of the day.
3. Nature journaling - once a week.
4. Plan a field trip for our homeschool group.
5. Plant a garden this spring.
6. Visit the King Tut exhibit and the Terracotta Soldiers exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta.
7. Join the local Children's Museum.
8. Participate in some of the homeschool nature programs through the local parks department.
9. Teach Superman to play the piano.
10. Begin some preschool music activities with Sweet Pea.
11. Help Giggly Girl practice her piano pieces 5x a week.
12. Do narration with Superman 3x a week.
14. Attend a symphony concert.
15. Have a family read-aloud time each evening - O.K., most evenings. :)
16. Visit the local art museum.
17. Stay up to date with our unit notebooks.
18. Have a teacher-planning day once every other month.
19. Do circle/calendar at least 3x a week.
20. Have a special preschool time for the girls 3x a week.
21. Memorize three larger Scripture passages. (Genesis 1, I Cor. 13, and one of the Psalms - haven't decided which one yet.)

Household
1. Put together a household binder.
2. Start a monthly meal plan again and have a regular grocery shopping day. (Why is this one so hard for me?)
3. Clip coupons each week and remember to use them.
4. Write a Christmas letter to include with our cards next year.
5. Clean out, organize, and install storage units in Sweet Pea's closet.
6. Clean out and give away changing table in Sweet Pea's room.
7. Hang curtains at Sweet Pea's windows.
8. Hang all wall decor in Sweet Pea's room.
9. Clean out, organize, and install storage units in Giggly Girl's closet.
10. Hang curtains in Giggly Girl's room.
11. Hang all wall decor in Giggly Girl's room.
12. Re-do Superman's room in a Star Wars theme.
13. Clean out, organize, and install storage units in Superman's closet.
14. Clean out and organize our master closet.
15. Hang wall decor in master bedroom.
16. Hang display shelves in dining room/Set up art display area.
17. Finish organizing and setting up schoolroom.
18. Figure out a way to display nature items and craft projects in the schoolroom (or somewhere).

Personal
1. Learn to sew and make at least one apron and one bag.
2. Learn to crochet and make these cute stockings next year at Christmas.
3. Read my Nikon manual.
4. Read a book on digital photography or take a class.
5. Use my gift card to attend a cooking class.
6. Video the children more.
7. Complete two vacation scrapbooks: Disney and Washington D.C.
8. Write a children's story.
9. Learn how to design and install a button on my blog.
10. Learn how to post a video on my blog.
11. Remember to mail all birthday cards/packages to family members on time. (Another hard one for me!)
12. Become proficient on three praise and worship songs on the guitar.
13. Take an art class or read a book about drawing basics, and complete one drawing.
14. Print out all digital pictures and put in albums. (Give copies to Mama.)
15. Back up all digital pictures in online storage.
16. Organize, label, and transfer home videos onto DVD.
17. Get a fireproof safe to store pictures and home videos in.
18. Print out this list and start checking things off!

O.K., so that's eighty things so far. Sounds like a lot, but I've got a whole year to tackle them!

To see more lists, click on the graphic at the top of this post.

Happy New Year and blessings for 2009!

A Family Tradition: Our Christmas Eve Play

When I was a little girl, my two cousins and I put on a Nativity play every Christmas Eve at our family gathering. The three of us vied over who would be the writer and the director. I always wanted to be the writer because that meant that I got to type out our "scripts" on my mother's typewriter. We usually made programs for our loyal audience members as well.

Each year our production grew more elaborate . I'll never forget the Christmas Eve that we staged the play outside in the freezing cold night air so that my older cousin could hang suspended by a rope from a pecan tree, as he portrayed the angel Gabriel bringing the good news to the shepherds. He brought down the house with that stunt. Thankfully he sustained no injuries, and my uncle caught it on video.

Just as the three of us entered adolescence and thought we were too "cool" for such things as Christmas plays, the younger generation of cousins, who had in previous years each played the role of Baby Jesus, reached the perfect age for putting on the production. Since there were only two of them, they needed us to fill all the roles. We gladly obliged, and so this beloved Christmas Eve tradition continued.

Needless to say, Christmas Eve in our family would not be the same without the current generation of children putting on a Nativity play.

Because my own children are pretty big hams themselves, it didn't take much encouragement from me for them to continue the tradition. This is the third year they have put on a play for Christmas Eve. All three were angels for Act 1, bringing "good tidings of great joy" to the shepherds. In Act 2 in the stable, Giggly Girl was Mary, Superman was Joseph, and Sweet Pea remained an angel.

Here is little Mary singing her solo, "Away in a Manger".


Our angel gave us a sweet rendition of "Silent Night".


I had to include this shot of one of the many bows she took. :)


My mother can work wonders with a bed sheet and a safety pin. I know I'm biased, but a cuter Mary I've not seen. :)


I also have a photo of Joseph singing, "Go Tell It on the Mountain", but I can't get it to load...aargh!

Curtain Call - can you tell they are enjoying themselves?

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David.) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

~Luke 2:1-20

Merry Christmas!

May you and your family be blessed with the love and joy that only our Saviour can bring.

Merry Christmas from me and my family!

On the Mend and Making Merry

Thanks to everyone who has prayed for us. Today my strep test came back positive. Meanwhile my kind doctor had already prescribed antibiotics, so I'm feeling much better, and so far no one else is sick! I haven't had strep throat since childhood and none of our children have ever had it, so I had forgotten how excrutiatingly painful it can be. (Makes for a great diet though, when you can't swallow anything except chicken soup!)

I'm praising God to finally be back to the land of the living today and able to get out and do some "Christmasy" things with the family. We hit Bass Pro Shops to visit with Santa, play in "Santa's Wonderland", and choose some last minute gifts for Daddy and others. The traffic really wasn't that bad, the Santa photos were complimentary, and I found the gift I had wanted for Kurt which was sold out everywhere else in town. On top of all that, it was fun and relaxing for all of us - not something I expected at a shopping center two days before Christmas. I think I have a new favorite store!

Santa's Wonderland was an area set up with all kinds of toys and activities - lots of fun!







This year Giggly Girl and Superman decided to bring Santa gifts. Notice the paper in her hand...these are pictures she drew for him. Superman gave him a Rudolph ornament he had made, and Sweet Pea came with hugs. :)

Hope you're having fun and making sweet memories with your loved ones this week.
Just three more sleeps 'til Christmas! ;)

Needing More Prayer

We've been fighting a series of colds here on and off again for well over a month. Now I've been laid low with some sort of throat infection. The doctor did a strep test this morning and sent me home to load up on ibuprofen for the fever and to gargle my day away with saltwater to help ease the pain.

I'm praising God that my parents came in this week for Christmas. I feel badly that they're having to play nursemaid, but I couldn't have survived today without them. The kids have had a blast with them today...finishing up the tree, playing rummy, and even doing a reading lesson together. Grandma and Granddaddy make the best substitute teachers with their wonderful history lessons and family stories. My Mother even sews and does crafts with the kids. I was sad that I couldn't be downstairs joining in on all the fun, but at least I could listen in on the memories being made while I was quarantined up here in the bedroom. (I've cordonned myself off from the kids as much as possible today because I don't want them to get this nasty stuff for Christmas!)

In the meantime, I do appreciate your prayers for quick healing and for protection from this stuff for the rest of the family.

Thanks!

A Musical Debut!

Tonight our sweet Giggly Girl performed in her very first piano recital. She was calm, poised, and cute as a button if I do say so myself!

Oh...and she played her pieces beautifully too. :)

Christmas Freebies!

You may have noticed by now that I enjoy finding new freebies!

Here are a couple that turned up in my inbox this week. They look like keepers. :)

The first one is a Nativity Lapbook from Kingdom Kids. This one will come in handy for us as we learn about Christmas Symbols this season.

Also, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is offering a free bundle of goodies. Here's the description I received in my inbox:

We have gathered a wonderful selection of FREE E-gifts especially for you all and they won't cost you a dime! No purchase necessary. It's a special gift from our family to yours.

This bundle includes:
The Christmas Activity E-Book from The Old Schoolhouse!

Are you looking for a little something special for your children this holiday season? Do you need to keep little hands busy while you finish the Christmas baking? Give them something to smile about with this E-Book, from our family to yours. It's our gift to you!

* Look on page 5 for a holiday placemat that can be printed time and time again. Print enough for everyone at the holiday dinner table.
* On page 6 you'll find a maze, a word find, and more! Just print them on the back of the placemat picture and keep the children content and happy at the table.
* Your kids will love to make and color the napkin rings on page 8.
* Pages 9 through 13 are beautiful coloring pages, made just for this book!
* For a special treat play a family game of Christmas Dominoes! We include the pieces for your children to color and cut, on pages 17 through 19.

The Nativity Story E-Book
from Knowledge House Publishing
Two books in one! You will not only read about the birth of our Savior in beautiful detail, but you will also use the amazing activity guide to further expand your child's knowledge and understanding of the history surrounding this miracle!

* Read Nativity Story pages 2 through 10 for the complete narrative of the birth of Jesus.
* You'll also find the abridged version on pages 20 and 21!
* You'll find a detailed study guide on page 19. This study guide will lead your family into a deeper understanding of what you have read.
* Look at Nativity Activities page 2 to find a quiz to see how much your child comprehended.
* Pages 6 and 7 of the Nativity Activities pages will give your child a history of Advent, including introducing your family to traditions around the world.
* Do you have a child that loves crafts and games? Pages 8 through 10 are chock full of activities that will keep your children learning while having fun.
* Make this a well-rounded unit study with music, art and poetry. Pages 17 through 24provide links to listen to nativity music and to view nativity art, not to mention a list of nativity poetry for you to enjoy with your children.

The Knowledge House Guide to: Last-Minute Gift Ideas E-Book
Whether you need a stocking stuffer for little Bobby or a birthday gift for Aunt Jane, Teri Ann Berg Olsen brings you wonderful ideas for unique gifts inside this E-Book. All the gifts are grouped together based on the specific type of gift you are looking for, making it effortless to find just what you need.

The Birth of Christ Copybook E-Book
This is a copybook centered on the birth of our Savior; just what you need to help pass the cold winter days.

Just email me at gena@tosmag.com and ask for our special Christmas gift bundle. Please put Christmas goodies in the subject line so we can find the emails easily.

Happy downloading! :)

Christmas Symbols Unit

This year I intended to continue our Colonial Times unit into the Christmas season by doing "A Colonial Christmas". A little bit of research revealed that the colonists didn't make nearly as big of a deal of the holiday as we do today. In fact, any celebrating of Christmas on their part began on Christmas Eve and continued through the Twelve Days of Christmas until Epiphany on January 6th. There were balls, feasts, hanging of greenery (but no Christmas trees), and small gifts for the children. Most of the Christmas traditions we have today didn't appear in America until the early 19th century with the coming of German (and other) immigrants to this country.

So...we decided to take a break from "Colonial Times" to do some fun Christmas activities. But I absolutely must have some sort of theme to plan things around - I just can't help myself. :) I decided to put together a mini-unit on Christmas Symbols. For each day we'll talk about the symbol of the day, read a Scripture that explains the symbolism, read a children's book that ties into the theme, and then do a craft. I've listed several craft ideas for each symbol. Because love to make ornaments with my children and I cherish these memories that we can hang on our tree, the crafts that we do will be used tree ornaments. (We did something similar with our Christmas unit last year.)

Here is what I have planned so far. We began with the Christmas Tree today.

Day 1: Today's Symbol: the Christmas Tree
Read The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt.
Talk about evergreen trees representing eternal life.
Read John 3:16 - Jesus gives us eternal life.
The tree also reminds us of the Cross on which Jesus died.

Christmas Tree Craft Ideas - We'll only do one of these. :)
Christmas Tree Handprint Ornament/Craft
Tissue Paper Christmas Trees
Mini Felt Christmas Trees
Recycled Magazine Christmas Trees

Day 2: Today's Symbol: the Christmas Tree (continued)
Re-read The Tale of Three Trees.
Re-read John 3:16 and talk more about how the tree reminds us of the Cross and Eternal Life.
Finish handprint Christmas trees.

Day 3: Today's Symbol: Candles and Lights
Jesus is the Light of the World. Read John 8:12
Read When Christmas Came by Eileen Spinelli. Look at the illustrations. Point out the contrast of the light-filled, candlelit church with the dark, cold night outside. Talk about Jesus bringing light into the darkness.

Candle Craft Ideas:
Torn Paper Candle Art - I'd like to use this idea as an ornament by making a single candle, glue it onto a colored paper background, cut out in the shape of a circle, and glue onto a small plastic coffee can lid. (Did anyone else make those plastic lid ornaments when you were little?)
Votive Candle Holders.
Mason Jar Candles

You could also make candles.

We'll have a candlelight dinner, and then go for a drive to look at Christmas lights!

Day 4: Today's Symbol: Ornaments
Early trees were decorated with fruit, nuts, flowers - the bounty of God's provision. Later cookies, other foods, and candles were added.
Today when we see round ball ornaments we can think about our world being created by God, His love for the world, and Jesus' dying for all the people of the world.
Ornaments are typically beautiful. They can remind us of all of the beautiful things that Jesus does for us.
Read Mouse and Mole's Christmas Walk by Doug Cushman

Ornament Craft Ideas:
Cranberry Ornaments - I like this idea because it can remind us of how early trees were decorated with food.
Painted Glass Ball Ornaments
Tin Foil Festive I think we'll use this idea and cut the finished project into the shape of a ball ornament, punch a hole in the top, and hang with a ribbon.
Fabric- Covered Ball Ornaments
Tissue Paper Ornament Silhouettes (O.K., these are so neat. Maybe we'll do these instead of the Tin Foil Festive idea. :)
Easy Felt Ornaments - These would be a fairly easy sewing project, even for youngers (and me!)

Day 5: Today's Symbol: the Star
Read Matthew 2:1-2. Star decorations remind us of the Star of Bethlehem that led the wise men to Jesus.
Read This is the Star by Joyce Dunbar

Star Craft Ideas:
Popsicle Stick Stars
Beaded Star Ornaments
Paper Stars

Most of the history for these symbols came from a unit I found here.

That's all I've put together for now, and it might be all that we'll get to between now and Christmas. But...if we do delve into any additional symbols, I'll share those activities in a "Part 2" post. :)

Hope you're enjoying the Season!

Our Favorite Christmas Books and A New Tradition

This Christmas Season we're trying something new in our family.
I've read about this idea in several places over the years, but can't really remember right now who I should give credit to!
You wrap up twenty-five different Christmas books and place them in a basket. Beginning on December 1st, you let one of your children open up one book, and you read it together as a family. You continue opening up one book per night through December 25th. When the basket is empty, it's Christmas!

So far the kids have been really excited about this, and they look forward to each night's new story. Sweet Pea (age 3) is having a hard time understanding that we only open one book each night. She'd like to tear into the whole basket if she could. Other than that, this has been a big hit that will probably become a standing tradition for us.

The following are our favorite Christmas books, twenty-five of which were wrapped up for our basket this year:

Stories about Christ's Birth
Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers
A Christmas Story by Brian Wildsmith
Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck*
O Come Little Children by Anita Reith Stohs
Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell*
Who Is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate*
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado*
The Friendly Beasts illustrated by Tomie de Paola*
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats*
The Shepherd's Christmas Story by Dandi Daley Mackall
This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten*

Stories about God's Love
The Christmas Troll by Eugene Petersen
The Candymaker's Gift: The Legend of the Candy Cane by David Haidel
The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Wahlberg
When Christmas Came by Eileen Spinelli

Christmas Around the World
A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert (Post-WWII Europe)
An Early American Christmas by Tomie de Paola (19th Century New England)
Hark! A Christmas Sampler by Jane Yolen & Tomie de Paola (a collection of songs, legends, etc. from various countries)*
Jingle the Christmas Clown by Tomie de Paola (Italy)
The Clown of God by Tomie de Paola (Italy)
The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie de Paola (Mexico)
Waiting for Christmas: A Story about the Advent Calendar by Kathleen Long Bostrom (possibly Germany)

More Christmas Fun
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
Harvey Hare's Christmas by Bernadette Watts
Mouse and Mole and the Christmas Walk by Doug Cushman*
Santa's Toy Shop by Al Dempster (This is an old Disney/Little Golden Book - probably would be considered "twaddle" by some, but the vintage 1950's illustrations are special, and my kids love it. :)
The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett
Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

New (to us) Stories - I hope to get to these this Season. If they're winners they might make it into the basket next year. :)
Asleep in the Stable by Will Hillenbrand
Christmas in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Harold at the North Pole by Crockett Johnson (because my kids are huge fans of Harold)
One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham
The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs (I'm having a terrible time getting my hands on a copy of this!)

* I used these stories as the basis of our Christmas unit last year, Around the Manger: The Animals of the Nativity. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the entire lesson plan.)

So what are your family's favorite Christmas books? I'm always looking for new ones! :)

Washington D.C.: First Day in the City

We've been back from D.C. for two weeks now, and after much sickness and a lot of laundry, we've finally gotten back into the swing of things...I think!

If you read my post I made while we were away, you'll remember that the weather in Washington was unseasonably cold, and a couple of us had nasty colds. In spite of that, though, we had a great time. It was definitely not a restful, sit-around-the-pool kind of vacation, but that's not what it was supposed to be. This was a jam-packed, see-all-the-sights kind of trip, and I have to say it was wonderful. We experienced first-hand our nation's capitol, and we made some very special memories too.

Superman really got into the history of the place, and of course that wasn't of any interest to the girls. But they were troopers and enjoyed just being out and about seeing the sights, sounds, and people. (And riding on the Metro was great fun for them too!)

Some photos from Day One (Sunday) of our trip:

We had our first glimpse of Washington Monument blocks before we reached it. The kids (and grownups too) were so excited when we first saw the very top of it as we exited the Metro. It was amazing to be standing on the Mall right under the monument.


Our first view of the Lincoln Memorial. We didn't actually visit it until the next day.


Next stop was the National Air and Space Museum. We were able to see many of the famous aircraft we learned about during our Glorious Flight unit last year.


Kurt and Sweet Pea looking at the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle. We also saw some other neat "relics" from the Apollo missions such as moon rocks and Buzz Aldrin's space suit.


When we left Air and Space to head back to the Metro, it was already dark. The night view of the Capitol was gorgeous. I had to wait for a break in the traffic and run out into the street to get this shot!

Hope you enjoyed this photo tour of Day One of our extended field trip!

There will be more pictures to come. :)