Messiah

I miss a song in my heart. One piece of music, however, that always stirs me like nothing else is Handel's Messiah. No one is at home at the moment, so I am enjoying the awesomeness of the words and powerful music of this amazing oratorio. My mom and dad enjoyed a performance of this piece in New York City, and they reminded me how so many sing the words without ever thinking of the Scriptural origin.
It doesn't take much to bring tears to my eyes. To think that God went to such great lengths to prepare to send his Son to earth as a tiny baby who would grow to be a man who then would die blows my mind. His purpose - to make a way to spend eternity with me. Crazy love.
Merry Christmas friends. May your joy be full in the remembrance of the tiny babe who brought us salvation.

Polar Express

Have you ever tried lapbooking in school? I was introduced to it last year, and I have enjoyed experimenting with it. Unit studies have their pros and cons, but for special occasions, they work exceptionally well. This Christmas, my little one worked with my little man and me to complete a lapbook on The Polar Express. The material for the lapbook is available free online. I was amazed at how much my little one could comprehend in the way of vocabulary, geography, biomes, and figurative language.

Today we climaxed our study with viewing The Polar Express movie. Of course, we had to pop some popcorn and mix up some hot chocolate "as thick as melted chocolate bars".

It was kind of a nice way to spend a sunny, snowy Monday before Christmas.

White Stuff

Not often seen in great amounts in my neck of the woods. The official count by my 8yo son is 20". That translates into going nowhere yesterday or today. Churches are even closed. Not a bad thing for me, necessarily. I know that makes me sound like a heathen, but, honestly, church can be difficult for me on varying levels. Too much to say here so leave it to say that it is a good thing that I am home today.

It is quiet in the house right now. Outside – another story. Our snow blower works. Enough said.

Our big girls are going to try to make some money shoveling/blowing the neighbors' driveways and sidewalks. I hope they are successful. In any case, they are working together well which is always nice to see.

For my East Coast friends, I trust that your snowy day is enjoyable. I plan on it. Hopefully, the wrapping will get done.

Now for my cup of hot chocolate . . .

Tree House

A friend introduced me to a special treat – a coffee shop settled on the quaint main street of a small town nearby. The fact that this comfortable hangout is owned by a young Christian couple who do not appear to be fearful of being obviously Christian adds additional charm and appeal.

Having only been there three times in the last month, I have not gotten tired of this treat.

My friend and I have shared tears, stories, and a good cup of mocha latte. All the while, the little ones played (There are toys provided so moms can talk), read books, or sat and enjoyed Swedish Fish.

I brought my mom along recently. What a blessing to talk, share, cry, and laugh together. We don't have a problem talking together, but I have enjoyed sharing my time with her without the bigger kids who have listening ears.

This past week, the Tree House calendar stated that homeschoolers would meet for board games. The kids and I were intrigued and tried it out. Unfortunately, we were the only ones there. No matter. The kids enjoyed their hot chocolate and I my tea. My mom came and challenged me in Farkle, and the kids played among themselves. As the games wound down, the kids found the comfy couches and books that lined the storefront window. I think we will try again at meeting some other homeshoolers. In the meantime, one cannot go wrong with a cup of chocolate, a book, games, good music, and good company.

Unusual Saturday

Today was strange. I didn't leave the house for anything.

I did some laundry, cleaned a bit, read to my little one, played Wii with my son, took a brief nap, watched a movie with my sweetie, read some, finished a few Sudoku puzzles, prepared a simple dinner, and welcomed my angel home after being gone for a few days at a basketball tournament (which they won).

I rarely enjoy this type of day in my home. Usually our schedule fills our days. For some reason, this turned into a restful day.

My sweetie will beg to differ, as his day was filled with one on one activities with the kids: BJ's shopping with our little one, bowling with our princess, Christmas shopping with our little man, and pick up duty for our angel. I can't thank God enough for the blessing I have in my sweetie. I love watching him interact with the kids and take advantage of the little things to make a difference in their lives.

Tomorrow will begin another filled week as we move closer to Christmas. Today, I will be thankful for some pleasant quiet.

Technology is Cool

We enjoy the privilege of homeschooling in our family. I hold most of the teaching responsibility. However, we do "sub-contract" sciences past 6^th grade as well as foreign languages (at least until next year). My sweetie has joined me in teaching the high school history for which I am thankful. I enjoy history, but since he has a degree in it, he is the better choice. We recently acquired a webcam to assist us in this.

My hubby has the opportunity of being self employed and, therefore, can set his schedule to adapt to our family. Even with that, it has been a challenge for him and my daughter to find time at home after work to discuss the curriculum. Thus the webcam. Today became the maiden voyage of this endeavor. As my daughter uses her own computer, he was able to contact her via the internet and they could discuss more effectively. It is a cool thing to be able to use such technology in our classroom.

Oddly, it seems like the Jetsons. Remember that cartoon? Who would have thought how predictive that would be.

If you are on who also educates your children at home, I would love to hear how you have been able to incorporate technology into your learning experience. Technology is not the end-all, for certain, but it has been fun to experiment with it in order to enhance my children's education.

Thankful

For blue skies,

Puffy clouds in various shapes and sizes,

Imaginative kids,

A husband who does "pick up" duty for two kids,

Something in the freezer to make for dinner,

And overall, chances to smile today.