A Heavy Calorie Christmas

A Heavy Calorie Christmas

T'was the month after Christmas, and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste

At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!

When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;

The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The cakes and the pies, the bread and the cheese

And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt

And prepared once again to do battle with dirt

I said to myself, as I only can -

"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"

So, away with the last of the sour cream dip,

Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished

Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie, not even a lick.

I'll only chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,

I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore ...

But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

The Christmas Play

Tonight was the Christmas play at church and all of the children did an absolutely fantastic job! If you didn't get to come, you missed out on a great evening.

Here are a couple of videos. They are much better than the ones from practice yesterday. And nope, you don't have to turn your head 90 degrees for this set!

Notice the camera focusing on the hair on the left corner of the video? Will I EVER get it right?

I will warn you to skip over the last 5 seconds or so on this second video. Jay didn't turn it off before handing it back to me. It's pretty bad and might make you a little sick if you look at it closely!

Did you notice the sisters fighting over the microphone? Rebecca is determined to baby Emily. Sad truth is, she's no longer a baby and can do things quite independently! Rebecca really wanted to sing with Em but finally, Emily put her foot down and yelled at her. "I don't want you to sing with me Rebecca!"

This last one is of a friend of the girls. She did such a great job singing it at practice yesterday that I wanted to record it tonight.

Well, I have MANY preparations still to do to get ready for the party here tomorrow afternoon. I really should stop procrastinating and get busy, huh?

Merry Christmas!

Children's Christmas play at church

The girls are singing in a Christmas play tomorrow evening at church. It is called The "S" Files. Emily and Rebecca are singing a verse each of 2 different songs. Today was a dress rehearsal so I took my camera in to try to get some photos of them. I know it'll be too much of a distraction tomorrow so I thought I'd get it all done today. Here are a few shots of them singing and then you'll see my big goof up! You'll see why when you scroll down...

Rebecca is passing the microphone to Emily for her little piece.

The sweet manger scene.

And now... turn your head sideways... Yes, I'm still a dunce when it comes to videoing them! I turned my camera sideways not thinking that when I put it on the computer it wouldn't be the same as on the camera.

A little embarrassing. I wasn't going to put it on here but thought you could use a little laugh at my expense. So keep your head turned for a bit longer. Enjoy...

Tonight, we went to the zoo to see a live re-enactment of the Christmas story featuring animals. It is called Miracle of Christmas. I didn't take my camera so I pulled these photos from the zoo's website. It was very good and very cold. I wish they had taken a photo of the angels in the sky announcing the birth to the shepherds. That was my favorite part. The pictures don't show you how many animals they used or the smell from the animals but you can use your imagination! Enjoy looking at these. Please remember in all the rushing and preparing for Christmas to stop and think on the true meaning!

Merry Christmas!

Luke 1:26-27

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary."

Luke 2:7

"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."

Luke 2:8-11
"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."

Matthew 2:9

"And, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was."

Luke 2:15-16
"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." Luke 2: 15-16

Luke 2:17

"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."

Matthew 2:7

"Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared."

Matthew 2:8

"And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also."

In making room for those new toys the girls will be getting for Christmas, I made them clean out the playroom. We really need to get rid of more toys than we did but that's for a day when they aren't around. (evil grin) Here are some photos I took during the cleaning process.

In the first picture, Rebecca is not too thrilled with having to clean up the things I was pulling out for them to go through.
More things to be put away or junked.

A nice clean room. I moved the playhouse in the corner because we have a big (7 ft. long) Christmas gift for them and will need the room. We've debated on selling the playhouse or putting it outside. The girls still use it almost daily so I hate to get rid of it so soon.

Not perfect by any means but doesn't it look much better?

How long do we want to guess it'll stay like that?

This is a photo of the girls bathroom from before. I told you in a post back in July that we were going to redo everything. Because of money and time, Jay just painted, put up lots of new hardware and made it look pretty.

Here's the view of the tub from the toilet.

Isn't it much better? It has a Hawaiian theme going on with the hibiscus flowers and surf boards. Truthfully, the photo doesn't do the bathroom justice. Jay worked hard and it turned out fantastic. I'll have to take another photo of the new lights he put in. They look great.

Now, I think I'm going to go rest and read. Cleaning sure is hard work...

A Christmas Blessing

Last night, I went out by myself to finish up the last of the Christmas shopping. I was only gone for an hour or so and when I got home, Emily came up to me balling. I wondered, "What in the world happened to make her this upset while I was gone!" So I picked her up and asked her what was wrong. She said, between sobs, " I'm going to hell and I don't want to go to hell."

What in the world????

While I was gone, Jay did family devotions. He took the month of Dec. to go over the Christmas story with the girls to reinforce the true reason for the holiday. He did a very powerful conclusion to the lesson and Emily said she was going to go to heaven because she was good and wanted to be a missionary when she grows up. They must have told her that doesn't get you to heaven.

So, I asked her very open ended questions and she remembers clearly the day last year, where she was and all that she accepted Jesus in her heart. She said she prayed because Daddy wanted her to. Then she started crying all over again realizing that she didn't do it on her own.

So, last night, on the living room floor, we all got down on our knees and Emily prayed a very simple but heart-felt prayer on her own. She told Jesus she was sorry for her sins and asked Him to forgive her and take her to heaven when she died. It was amazing!

The cool thing about it was that yesterday was Rebecca's spiritual birthday. She was 4 when I led her to the Lord but got her reassurance on a Wed. night in girl's club at our previous church.

To know that both my girls are saved and KNOW it without a shadow of doubt is the best gift any mother could ever have.

Thank you Jesus for being willing to be born, lead a perfect life and die a horrible death for our sorry, worthless souls. We really are unworthy. Glad Jesus didn't think so when He took our place on the cross and took the debt of ALL of our sins upon Himself. What a wonderful Saviour we have.

Please take this time of year to think on this.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Jack-o-lantern Smile

Jay has been saying for a couple of weeks now that Rebecca has a jack-o-lantern smile. The bottom tooth she lost before our trip to Florida in Sept. is just barely beginning to pop up. The top tooth that she lost in Orlando is coming in quite nicely. The one she lost just shortly after with the apple hasn't even started to grow in. And the most recent lost tooth (gap in her top right) is still a gaping hole. The next one to go will be that little chicklet on the top left.

So much happened in the past few weeks that I gave up on reporting an update. I didn't mention the story of the most recent tooth loss.

The week before her birthday, her tooth was READY to come out. It was flapping in the breeze. Everyone who came in contact with her mentioned it. We both told her that it needed to come out but she refused! She wanted to wait until her birthday which was on a Thursday.

She has spent the night at my in laws the Sat. before and her grandpa even said he'd pay her $5 to let him pull it. It was hanging by a thread and was quite gross. She didn't give up. Even her Sun. school teacher, the piano player and the preacher (amonst others!) told her it was time for the tooth to come out! So, Sunday afternoon, Jay pulled it- much to Rebecca's disapproval. When we went back to church Sun. evening, several adults asked her if it had come out yet. All she had to do was smile.

She held on to the tooth until Thurs. She wanted the "tooth fairy" (she knows it is me) to come on her birthday. She expected $8 for her 8th birthday. She was disappointed! Oh well.

Dear Santa...

For those of you who don't know, we do not "do" the whole Santa thing in our house. It's a lie and I hate lying to my children. They know he is as real as Mickey Mouse- someone dressed up in a costume- but it's fun to pretend. Anyways, a friend sent me this letter in an e-mail and I thought it was fitting. Enjoy.

Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and have made over 80 goody bags for birthday and school parties. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season.. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Elf Yourself

You've got to check this out. Click on the link belowe. It's so funny!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1524196910

Merry Christmas!

The 14 days of homeschooling

The 14 Days of Homeschooling (sung to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas")


On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can you homeschool legally?"


On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"


On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"


On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"


On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"


On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"


On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"


On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"


On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"


On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"


On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"


On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"


On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They *can* go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, we don't like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY.


On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How can I get started, why didn't you tell me, where do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE?. I think we can do this, if you will help us, we'll join a sports team, and we'll homeschool legally.


Borrowed from Homeschooling Your Child. Merry Christmas, homeschooling families.

video

Another homeschooling friend sent me the link to this video.

http://www.doublesharpevideo.com/HomeSchool2/Homeschool2.html

Are we all sterotyped???

New feature on blog

There is a guest book at the bottom of the blog for you to sign. I would love for you to just sign it once when you get the chance. Just scroll down to the bottom, catching any missed posts on the way. Click on the "sign this guestbook" option, enter your name, location photo and message if you desire. I think it'll be neat so please play along. If you haven't noticed the map at the bottom, click on that too. It's pretty neat to see where in the world people have viewed this blog. Thanks!!!

I can't believe she is 8!!!!

Every year for Rebecca's birthday, Jay takes the day off and they usually go somewhere, just the two of them. Last year, Emily, my sister and I crashed their day and joined them at Chuck E. Cheese. This year, Emily, Brysen and I joined them on their trip to the Children's Museum. We had a great day there. Later, Rebecca's friend came over and they are playing together right now. There are a bunch of giggles coming from the playroom right now. After Brysen leaves, we'll all go out for her birthday dinner- something we do every time someone in the family has a birthday.
With so much going on this month, we couldn't fit in a party so she'll have to wait until next month. That's fine with her because it means her birthday will last a month long!
Time to join in on the fun in the playroom...

Lost address book

Last year, after Thanksgiving, Jay remodeled his office. He put everything in boxes and put them in the garage. One of those items packed up was our address book. I looked up most addresses last year in order to send out Christmas card but didn't write them down. I figured that the book would be found by now. Well, it's not! So, to our extended family and friends, if you do not get a card this year, it's not because we aren't thinking of you. I just couldn't find your address!

Below are some pictures of the girls that we took yesterday. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Gingerbread house

I bought the girls one of those do-it-at-home kits to make a gingerbread house. We do it every year and it's a joy watching them get more hands on with it each year. Although I'll be honest, I've put it off this year thinking of all the mess it makes in the process.

But the smiles I get is well worth the mess the icing makes...
Rebecca is so serious when it comes to putting the candy on it. It has to be just so!

And here is the finished product. Of course it doesn't look the way the box does. Does it ever? Also, the girls saved a big chunk of the candy to eat because they know once it gets hard, there's no chewing into that candy.

The past week...

So much has happened in the past week. I'd love to sit down long enough to tell you all about but unfortunately, I don't have the time at the moment. I just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten to post an update on our lives. It's just been very hectic with all of the Christmas rush going on. I'll post the highlights tomorrow.

If you haven't read the post from Nov. 27th, go and do that now. Then read this one.

Maybe it's only certain things that she has a hard time remembering.

Last night, after church, I was stopped and asked if I'm Emily's mom. The lady said she was in Emily's class and spoke of how smart she is. She finished her book last night (which I knew she would) but then proceeded to do 12 review sections. I asked her if we were talking about the same Emily. Maybe there is another one in the kindergarten class?

Nope, the same child who lost her AWANA vest for 3 weeks actually knew 12 verses from Sept. and Oct. I'm so glad that my little Emily is learning scripture and even though she may not fully understand the meaning, she's hiding it in her heart for later. As frustrating as it is for her to constantly lose things and not remember her schooling, she's learning (and remembering) the most important tool she will ever need in life.

How many other 5 year olds can remember scripture that they were taught months ago? *Without help too!