Who knew

Apparently one can clean the stove better if one's shirt is off. Who knew!

Come to think if it - my husband might find cleaning a whole lot more fun if that was how I cleaned!

what is up with that

Okay so as we are cleaning

the dog decides

we aren't paying any attention to her

And so she throws up ----- just so we will have something more to clean up

how special!!

Christmas Music CD

I splurged and bought Casting Crowns new Christmas CD - Peace on Earth.

I decided to play it while cleaning. It is a very, very good CD. Wonderful way to get into the spirit of the holidays.

Prayers

Pray for Obama

Psalm 109:8

This is just so amazing to us. These are the two that tend to fight with each other but also can be most loving. The little one wanted no one else and curled up - he was so tired. I was reading to the kids and he promptly fell right asleep. It was just so cute we had to take a picture.

Art class - Vessels

We had a wonderful art class. They did two projects - mostly to have something to do while waiting. The main project was making a vessel but we could only go to the kitchen with the stoves in groups of 3 or 4. So the rest of the class worked on making snowflakes out of a CD.

Above Jt is shaping his vessel. We took records and heated them up in the oven at 250 degrees for a few minutes. They were put on top of a bowl so that they would start to bend in the shape of the bowl. Then the kids got to shape them by hand. They were slightly warm but still able to be handled.
Here JL and JJ are creating their snowflake designs on paper first. Then after they added the pipe cleaners - they took permanent pen and drew on the fun designs and shapes that would make up a snowflake.

JL is shaping his vessel.

After the vessels were shaped then they got to paint them. My youngest really LOVES the painting part. And the more paint used the better. It was challenging getting his creation home because there were so many layers of paint - that it did not have time to dry prior to leaving.

Above is a close up of JL's vessel.

Above is JL's snowflake and below is Jt's. Isn't it interesting to see how creatively different they can be, even if utilizing the same materials.

Mrs. Roosevelt Re-enactment

A local lady does historical re-enactments of various famous women. She did a fabulous re-enactment of Mrs. Roosevelt - lots of great information. The timing was perfect as we are currently studying the Roosevelts and the Great Depression.

Book review - White Christmas Pie

By Wanda E. Brunstetter

This was a very heartwarming story that takes place around the Christmas holidays. The main characters are Amish. It is a story about finding forgiveness and healing.

Will is left as a boy with an Amish couple. His mother had died and his father promised to come back for him - but never does until he is already grown. Will is a few weeks away from getting married and his long, lost father shows up.

It is just a nice story with good Christian values.

Black Bean Chicken

I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight. It smells really good and looks fabulous!

2 cans black beans (I used one as that is all I had in the house)

16 oz. jar salsa

1/2 cup brown rice (uncooked)

1 lb chicken breast

Place frozen chicken breasts in slow cooker

Pour beans, rice and salsa over chicken

Cook low 8-10 hours and serve.

the new chair

Our dearest neighbor who is just an amazing women offered my son a desk chair. He is so thrilled as he did not have one and either was standing to do his work or took the time to move a kitchen chair to his room. He usually didn't like to take the time to do that and just stood. I always thought he looked uncomfortable but we just didn't have money for a chair when all he had to do was move a kitchen chair.

Our neighbor's son is moving back in with her and therefore she was making room. The chair is in perfect condition! Below you can see the proud new owner of the chair. He is thrilled.

science in action

Our science was on Mercury and the Moon --- we were learning how craters are made. Both the moon and Mercury are very dusty and have no atmosphere to prevent objects like rocks from hitting their surface. When a rock hits a crater is formed. We put flour in a bowl and practiced making craters. We started out inside but decided that 'some of us' like to hold the rock from great heights thereby causing flour to go everywhere. A lesson that the dog did not learn as quickly as he came in covered in flour!!

Tanner (the dog) is helping! Ya think!

food savings

Our local grocery store had meats on sale. If you bought the ham (which was a bit of money) then you got the turkey, breakfast sausage and eggs free. That is a savings of $13.94. The ground round was also on sale - and due to my husband's cholesterol issues we only get the better cuts of ground beef - either ground round or ground sirloin. So when it is on sale I buy several of them. Those are all roughly 3 pound packages and I got 5 of them. In the end I ended up spending $84.01 but I saved $47.99. Interestingly enough I saved so much that they needed a manager to come okay the order. For the most part I had only bought things on sale.

Funniest thing - I had also bought bagels and when I came in my oldest wanted to dive into the bagels. I wouldn't let him. He was totally confused - why wouldn't I let him eat them. Were they for something special? Nope!! I told him to put them on the table. He watched me in disbelief. What on earth are you doing, Mom? Well, I have to take a picture.

Next came the "you're going to blog about what food you bought??? No way! I gotta call Dad and tell him this one! He's just not going to believe it!"

Okay - ya know you are over the top with blogging when there is no eating until the picture is taken!!

Christmas Books

I just love to get the latest sappy, wonderful Christmas book and read them at this time of year. It is just my way of 'getting into the Christmas spirit'. I love to sit up late, drinking tea and reading wrapped in a nice warm blanket with the lights of the tree on. And no we have not set up our tree but that is my ideal. The Christmas books don't tend to be in the library at Christmas time and so I start early so I get to read them before Christmas - and I save the money on purchasing them.

I just finished the latest one by Donna VanLiere titled The Christmas Secret and it was fabulous. A warm, touching story. Full of all the good things and feelings that make us feel so good about Christmas. Great story - easy, quick read. It has a great moral about how God calls us to relationships and that we are to help out others less fortunate than ourselves. An especially great message at Christmas.

I have also decided to start reading our Advent stories. (I know I am rushing the season!) What I found last year was that we never finished Tabitha's Travels which so disappointed the children. Jotham's Journey was the highlight of the season for them the year before. But it is during hockey season and we end up with tournaments out of town during December. Plus we have practice most nights of the week and rarely is the family all at home together. I kept putting off the readings so all would be present. And we never got to finish the book. This year I have decided to start earlier and therefore if we need to miss a day or weekend due to travel and practices - we can still finish the book. Well, that is my goal. What is important is the message and not when or what date the message is delivered on. So we are modifying the Advent schedule. It does feel like I am rushing the season, kind of like the retailers do to squeeze every last dollar out of the buying public. Although, clearly my reason for rushing the season is not as much of a negative. Although I do feel badly that somehow we weren't able to make a family advent reading a priority last year. In my heart it was but that didn't seem to carry through to the schedule. I am striving to be better this year even if it means starting early.

Sadly, I have to confess I have also started the Christmas shopping but that is because financially spreading out the purchases is easier on the budget than doing it all at once. Plus I found deals and knew the person I was buying for would love it.

I wanted to read Bartholomew's Passage since I got that one new this year. The kids wanted to read Tabitha's Travels since we didn't finish it last year. So we compromised and are doing a reading from both each night. Hopefully, that won't mean that both books end up not finished this year. Wouldn't that be a sad ending to my over-diligence!! Maybe, by blogging about our readings I can stay more faithful. We did such a good job with Jotham but as my kids get older their sports schedules get far more demanding. The saving grace is that it will count as a full credit for phy ed on my oldest's transcript! I have to keep reminding myself that when I feel like it is getting in the way of school and learning. It is school, too!

Well, now that this post has rambled from books, to Christmas, to school - I have no real idea of what category to put this one in. Hmmmmm!

But for any of you looking for great Advent reading with your children - I can highly recommend the series - Jotham's Journey begins the series and then Tabitha's Travels and Bartholomew's Passage. They are extremely good for children of all ages and my children really love them. Bartholomew does have some darker themes and can be 'scarier' for littler or more sensitive children. The other two are not. All are great Advent stories and help to stay focused on Jesus during the season. Ultimately that is the goal and honestly, staying focused on Jesus for two months instead of just one - might turn out to be a real plus! Of course that is all dependent upon actually finishing the books - otherwise I have just stretched it out to no avail.