A note to my feed readers:
I just replaced my Christmas header with a winter theme. Snowshoeing, sliding, skating, snowmobiling, shoveling, igloo, cookout fires, bumpy road for next 12 km sign, (left out the snowman pics)… The pictures are from as far back as 1978 of my brother and me and my collie dog. That’s me in the red coat skating on the frozen river. Most of the pictures are of my family during the past few years.
A Carol from Flanders
by Frederick Niven (1878-1944)
In Flanders on the Christmas morn
The trenched foemen lay,
the German and the Briton born,
And it was Christmas Day.The red sun rose on fields accurst,
The gray fog fled away;
But neither cared to fire the first,
For it was Christmas Day!They called from each to each across
The hideous disarray,
For terrible has been their loss:
“Oh, this is Christmas Day!”Their rifles all they set aside,
One impulse to obey;
‘Twas just the men on either side,
Just men — and Christmas Day.They dug the graves for all their dead
And over them did pray:
And Englishmen and Germans said:
“How strange a Christmas Day!”Between the trenches then they met,
Shook hands, and e’en did play
At games on which their hearts were set
On happy Christmas Day.Not all the emperors and kings,
Financiers and they
Who rule us could prevent these things —
For it was Christmas Day.Oh ye who read this truthful rime
From Flanders, kneel and say:
God speed the time when every day
Shall be as Christmas Day.
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Poetry/a_carol_from_flanders.htm
Hat Tip: http://realchoice.blogspot.com/
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.O come, Thou Day-star, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads to Thee,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.O come to lead us Adonai,
Who to the tribes on height of Sinai
In ancient times did’st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
I have been on the snowy roads a couple times during the past week, and I got thinking that we are NUTS to live in this country and NOT have a big gas guzzling 4WD SUV. Al Gore has no clue.
Here is our driveway following last night’s blizzard. Derek had to spend the last few hours in the freezing cold wind, working hard to snowblow the driveway so we can go to a Christmas party this evening.
This year and last year, were the first white Christmas’s we have had in YEARS.
Will Canada see its first white Christmas since ‘71?
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081221/winter_storm_081221/20081221?hub=CTVNewsAt11
Winnie the Pooh’s blustery day was a day at the beach compared to today. Last night, the wind blew… and blew… and the snow fell… and fell. Here is what I saw looking out this morning.
It is still wild out there.
Sort of puts the damper on last minute Christmas shopping around here.
Each of the four children bought a gift for a sibling. Derek and I exchanged gifts, and they exchanged gifts on Saturday night.
Yesterday, we awoke to the “chilly” temperature of -22 degrees Fahrenheit (about -30 C). We went to church. I spent the afternoon in front of the fire wearing two sweaters, a blanket, and watched Anne of Green Gables, eating Toblerone chocolate.
Last night, we were invited to Nana and Papa’s for supper. We were happy that Ruth and Jordan had just arrived home. It was fun watching our cat and their cat get acquainted annoyed with each other all evening. Nana made a delicious seafood stirfry and had lots of desserts. Huckleberry had some tall tales. We had fun playing losing the movie game, Scene-It.
We walked home when the blizzard was just beginning. Here are the pets when they came in.
B10, C7, and L4 rolled, cut out, decorated, and ate Christmas sugar cookies the other day.
Charlie Brown Christmas
I recently wrote a Christmas card that said Dear Grampie… without Grammy.
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/09/28/remembering-grammy-1921-2008/
The Holy City
Words: Frederick Weatherly, 1892
Music: Michael MaybrickLast night I lay a sleeping,
There came a dream so fair,
I stood in old Jerusalem
Beside the temple there.
I heard the children singing,
And ever as they sang,
Methought the voice of angels
From Heav’n in answer rang;
Methought the voice of angels
From Heav’n in answer rang:—
“Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Lift up your gates and sing,
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna to your King!”And then methought my dream was chang’d,
The streets no longer rang,
Hush’d were the glad hosannas
The little children sang.
The sun grew dark with mystery,
The morn was cold and chill,
As the shadow of a cross arose
Upon a lonely hill,
As the shadow of a cross arose
Upon a lonely hill.
“Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Hark! how the angels sing,
Hosanna in the highest,
Hosanna to your King.”And once again the scene was chang’d,
New earth there seem’d to be,
I saw the Holy City
Beside the tideless sea;
The light of God was on its streets,
The gates were open wide,
And all who would might enter,
And no one was denied.
No need of moon or stars by night,
Or sun to shine by day,
It was the new Jerusalem,
That would not pass away,
It was the new Jerusalem,
That would not pass away.
“Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Sing, for the night is o’er!
Hosanna in the highest,
Hosanna for evermore!
Hosanna in the highest,
Hosanna for evermore!”
We brought home the tree which needed to thaw.
Decorating the Tree
Taking a Break to Play Tennis
They RARELY play the Wii because the older boys prefer PS3 by far.
I thought the younger two might like to play the Wii for a change.
The Christmas Tree is Done!
(Note the black cat on the left)
The Living Room Ready for Christmas
In the evening, we watched the Nativity Story with hot chocolate and popcorn, and earlier in the day, while I was making apple crisp and biscuits, we watched Mr. Bean Merry Christmas.
Family Pictures with faces here:
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/12/15/weekend-in-pictures-private/
These movies were watched this weekend by some or another.
I had been looking forward to seeing Horton Hears a Who for the first time, especially for the pro-life message. I felt they diminished that as much as possible, and I was sooooo not impressed with the nasty kangaroo and her pouch schooling. Argh!!!
Log in to see the rest of these pictures.
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/12/10/c7-and-her-doll/
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/12/10/my-four/
Email me with information about yourself if you want access to private pictures and stories about my children.
Last night, we went to a performance of Handel’s Messiah. Did you know Handel wrote the music in 24 days in 1741? We enjoyed the orchestra and choir very much.
L4 fell asleep during the first song, so that sure made it easy to take care of him. Giving C7 a lollipop and lots of arm hugs and pats kept her smiley and happy. Every little while, she would make her hands conduct. Cute. So glad the older three children enjoyed the experience, and an older lady described L4 as having the “sleep of the just”.
The people around us liked the children. As far as I could tell, they were the only children there under about age twelve. One lady said how good and sweet they are, but just wait until they are teenagers. I said, “Well, my oldest is fifteen, and he is great.” When I told her we homeschooled, she said, “That explains it!” Several people told me how good the children were (Too easy when L4 was sleeping! LOL). I never tell anyone that they are never punished. It never seems appropriate in a conversation. I think people would be surprised that children can be brought up without spanking and time-out, etc. (acknowledgement of God’s grace - and also, they have their moments).
Two people thought my mother was my sister. Maybe I should change my mind about letting my hair go gray. Nope. I earned those gray hairs.
These are my favorites:
For Unto Us A Child is Born
Hallelujah
Last night, we went to the Parade of Lights, formerly known, in non-politically correct days, as the Santa Claus Parade. It makes me (who doesn’t even do the Santa tradition) want to claim Santa Claus!
It was funny (nobody else could hear him) when N15 called out, “Imposter! Imposter!” when Santa went by, just to make his brother laugh. I told him he can’t be an imposter unless there really is a Santa Claus. 
I walked over to order pizza before the parade, and we enjoyed the hot snack while we warmed up in the van after the parade.
It was the first time this year that someone wished me a Merry Christmas. Actually many, many people in the parade were saying “Merry Christmas”.
I have a five dollar bill in my purse saved to tip the first person at a store who wishes me Merry Christmas. My shopping is almost done, and nobody has said it yet.
On this topic, thanks to Joel at Proud to Be Canadian for making the nice and naughty lists that I added to my first right sidebar.
Here are most of our Christmas traditions. Some of the pictures are new, but many are from years gone past.
Advent Candles and Wreath:
On each Sunday in Advent, we light the candles and add some extra comments to our Jesse Tree devotions.
Jesse Tree:
Complete details and pictures of our Jesse Tree are found here:
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/12/04/family-christmas-tradition-jesse-tree/
Mistletoe:
We have a little cluster of mistletoe that we hang from a small hook in the ceiling above one of the two entrances to our living room. C7, in particular, is always thrilled to see the mistletoe, and I hold her up to hang it. It is in a spot with some traffic, but not too much, so it does get used. L4 said, “I am going to run under the mistletoe, and when Daddy gets home, I’m going to tiss him!”
Ceramic Christmas Tree:
When we were first married, my grandmother gave us a small green ceramic Christmas tree with lots of little lights. When I store it each year, most of the lights stay on, but enough fall off to give the children the fun of decorating without getting sick of the job. The tree has a special place on the entry shelf.
Hummel Christmas Ornaments:
My mother-in-law added to my Hummel collection by giving me quite a few Hummel Christmas ornaments. They are very cute little children celebrating Christmas and winter. My children are very careful when unwrapping the little figurines and pass them to me after I have the evergreen boughs situated on the mantle and organ. I also decorate a couple wall wreaths with the Hummels. They look very cute nestled among the white lights and greenery.
Fisher-Price Little People Nativity Set:
Even though the children are getting older, there are still cheers when they spot this nativity set among the decorations. It has its own place on a cabinet, but gets brought down to the floor for play.
We also own the Playmobil Nativity Set, but we really don’t like it. It has a paper stable and the pieces all fall apart.
Baby Jesus in a Manger:
This is one of my favorite Christmas decorations. My mother-in-law bought me a lovely realistic boy doll, and my father-in-law made a manger filled with straw. The children, especially my daughter, just love playing with the Baby Jesus doll. Last year, they dressed up as Mary and Joseph and acted out the story. This year, I laughed when C7 said to B10, “You have to be Joseph. L4 is too young to be Joseph.” He wasn’t impressed, but she, of course, is looking forward to being Mary.
Box of Christmas Books:
We have a box of quite a few Christmas books that we store all year and bring them out only for the month of December. The books feel new and exciting to the children, and they spend hours looking at them. I try to read most of them aloud some time during December. I also get some at the library. Here are some of the Christmas books in our box.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever:
We read this chapter book every December. It is always a hit.
Lego Advent Calendar:
Instead of chocolate advent calendars, we bought the Lego Advent Calendar this year. Next year, I would like to get one of those wooden advent calendars that I could fill with my own ideas. I could reuse the Lego toys, or fill them with candies or chocolates, maybe even love notes. There are lots of options.
Paper Chains:
Early in December, the children usually make paper chains and decorate them with stickers. They rip the links off to count down until Christmas.
Nativity Story Movie:
The Nativity Story is a beautiful account of the Biblical story in the historical setting. The movie makes it “more real” rather than just reading the story (which we will do anyway, of course). It is easy to focus on what IS TRUE in the movie, rather than look for imperfections. My favorite part was how God provided Mary with the comfort of Elizabeth for the six months. I also appreciated the portrayal of the kind and gentle character of Joseph. To raise boys to such standards would be a blessing indeed.
Christmas Movies:
The Grinch (old traditional cartoon), etc.
Mr. Bean Merry Christmas
Christmas Socks!
Christmas Caroling:
My mother prepares little Christmas treats, including homemade fudge, and the children and I and my mother visit some of the old people in our family. We usually sing a few Christmas carols (typically Away in a Manger, Silent Night, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas). We visit for a short while at about seven or more homes.
Old Folk’s Home:
We make sure we visit the Senior’s Home before Christmas and sing Christmas carols with a group of people. This year, B10 played two Christmas songs on the keyboard and read from Luke 2. C7 froze and couldn’t sing the song she practiced, “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”.
Christmas Cookies:
We always make sugar cookies before Christmas. The children roll the dough and cut them out with Christmas cookie cutters. Then they add bright icing and sprinkles.
The Christmas Tree:
Since we always get a real evergreen spruce tree, we don’t put it up until a week before Christmas. When we decorate, we turn on Christmas music and put on a fire in the living room. We bring down the large storage container of teddy bears for the children to play with while I walk from chair to chair around the tree attaching several strands of white lights. Then, we all put the teddy bears on the tree. Lastly, I wrap a wide ribbon around and around the tree. We wait until it is all done before turning on the lights. Lah di dah!
Here is a one-of-a-kind photo of the time Derek let us put a tree on top of the van.
Christmas Music:
Musical Special:
This year, I am thrilled that we have a family ticket for all of us to go to Handel’s Messiah.
Grandma’s House:
Each year, the children (never a child younger than three years) stay at Grandma’s for the day while Derek and I travel to a nearby city to go Christmas shopping.
Gingerbread House:
Every year, we buy a prefab gingerbread house and the children have fun decorating with icing and candy.
Nana’s Birthday:
On the 23rd, we get together with the rest of the family to celebrate my mother’s birthday. It is usually at Grammie’s. Last year, we did a group rendition of the Addams Family Theme Song which Derek had written. Snap, snap.
Opening Presents at Our House:
One unusual tradition we have is that we have NEVER had the children open their Christmas presents from us on Christmas morning. Depending on various factors, we always open them one, two, or three days before Christmas. We go to Derek’s parents’ house early Christmas morning, and then to my parents’ house later in the morning and for dinner.
Christmas Parties:
I usually host one large party and one or two family get-togethers.
Christmas Church Services:
We never know where we will end up.
Edited to add more traditions as I think of them:
Christmas Lights
We also drive around the community to look at the houses with lots of Christmas lights.
Old Home Movies
Some years, we watch old family Christmas videos or old home movies.
Christmas Story Night Before We Open Presents
Grammie
We love to visit at Grammie’s when she has just made homemade doughnuts and cinnamon buns.
For our Jesse Tree, we have a small, artificial fir tree trimmed with white lights. We have been collecting ornaments to represent each symbol, finding them mostly at the Dollar Store. N15 thinks our Jesse Tree looks kind of tacky, but the rest of us like it. It has made a fun tradition.
We follow the children’s section of The Advent Jesse Tree: Devotions for Children and Adults to Prepare for the Coming of the Christ Child at Christmas
We try to do the reading every evening in December, but sometimes we double up or even skip a day or so. We want it to be fun, rather than a burden. If we know the suggested hymns, we sing. The children enjoy these special evenings before Christmas. They take turns putting on the ornaments. On each of the five advent Sundays, we add in the lighting of the advent candles and a few extra comments.
a globe or picture of the earth
an apple with a snake wrapped around it
an ark with a rainbow
(We found this little Noah with a storybook backpack.)
a camel and a tent
(We just have a camel, although we could use the army guy tent from upstairs.)
a lamb
a ladder
(Not exactly a ladder, but this part of an old toy does the job.)
a colorful coat
(We found this Joseph who also has a storybook backpack)
a tablet with ten numbers
(We wrote on a smooth rock.)
a cluster of grapes
a sheaf of wheat
a slingshot
(Uncle David made this sling shot for N years ago.)
No picture
a scroll or Bible
a stump with a fresh shoot or green leaf
(We had this Christmas decoration.)
a lion and a lamb
a dove and a crown
(I forgot to put them together for the picture)
a lamb and a shepherd’s staff
(Not so great, but haven’t found anything better yet.)
No picture
a cross
a heart with writing on it
(Forgot to write on it.)
a Bethlehem town silhouette with star
a fiery furnace
(This was originally a small lion’s cage, but we took it apart and threw in some flames.)
a brick wall
(More like a door, but it does have a brick wall.)
a star
a candle or light
an angel
a baby in a manger or a nativity scene
(This was our Jesse Tree in 2004.)
Here is B10’s presentation for the Old Folk’s Home this evening.
Silent Night, Luke 2, Away in a Manger
During the past couple of weeks, C7 had been busy wiggling her top two baby teeth until they fell out. She just happened to lose the first one on the same day she attended a little girl “fairy” party with some other homeschoolers. It was fun to have the “Tooth Fairy” visit that very night.
This is the perfect time of year for C7 to sing “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” with her new smile. She and her doll plan to wear matching dresses and sing this song tomorrow evening at the Old Folk’s Home.
All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth,
My two front teeth,
See my two front teethGee, if I could only have my two front teeth,
Then I could wish you ‘Merry Christmas.’It seems so long since I could say,
“This is Susie sitting on a thistle”
Gosh oh gee, how happy I’d be,
If I could only whistle ( thhh-thhh ).All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth,
My two front teeth,
See my two front teeth.Gee, if I could only have my two front teeth,
Then I could wish you ‘Merry Christmas.’
If it HAS to snow, I like it when you can see the detail of each snowflake. That is what happened today. I took these pictures of snowflakes that landed on our deck and BBQ.
Inspired by Leann and reminded of how soon Advent begins by TulipGirl, I thought I would decorate my website for Christmas. This is just a heads-up to those of you who use a reader and never see my header picture anyway. *grin* How about clicking through to my site.
The six of us (and Nana) went on our annual trick-or-treating rounds last night. During the drive up around the river, we make the same jokes year after year. We visit all the “old folks” in the extended family.
Huckleberry Hound (Papa’s puppet) was dressed as a clown and was met by cheers and giggles from the children. When we stopped at my great-aunt’s house, I asked her to be my accomplice in crime by sparing a roll of toilet paper, so I could T.P. Melanie’s car. At another great aunt’s, we asked to borrow a spoon, so Derek could tease his mother about her fudge which usually needs to be eaten with a spoon. Almost every house served us homemade fudge. Elizabeth gave us a little fireworks show. We visited my baby niece who was dressed in the same little pumpkin costume that all four of my babies wore at her age.
I’m sorry to report that the drive home was roadblock-free. We ate junk all the way home and then dumped the rest on the living room floor as usual. We made a big pile for Derek to take to work, and after eating lots and saving some, we went to bed.
As a Christian family, we have long ago claimed Hallowe’en as a good, fun, and fearless tradition that has resulted in many happy memories.
You can hear what Sarah Palin really has to say is when she is live on Fox News. I enjoyed her speech a few minutes ago in Pennsylvania. We don’t often get to see her introducing her family.
Piper and Trig were wearing Hallowe’en costumes. Sarah said Piper could hardly wait to dress as a Snow Princess, and you could tell how pleased Piper was to be wearing the pretty white costume. As usual, she stood there as good as gold during the speech, enjoying every minute.
Trig was a cute little elephant. You could see him sucking his thumb while in Willow’s arms during Sarah’s speech.
Piper Palin as Snow Princess
Willow holding Baby Brother Trig
Trig is dressed as a little elephant with pink satin ears
(Photo courtesy of Associated Press)
Baby Trig as an Elephant
I love the fact that the Palin family is one that STAYS together, unlike the Obama family. Michelle Obama is proud to say she CALLS her girls on the phone every night.
Here are some new photos of the Palins.
Sarah Palin and Piper
Sarah Palin and Daughter Piper
Sarah Palin and Piper
Sarah and Piper Palin
Piper whispering to her Mom
Willow, Piper, and Sarah Palin
Piper resting beside her Dad
Todd and Sarah Palin and Piper
Photos Courtesy of Yahoo News.
For more Palin Family pictures click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IunQALzGjaE
And for pictures with commentary, click here:
http://parentingfreedom.com/category/politics-sarah-palin/
http://parentingfreedom.com/category/politics-sarah-palin/page/2/
When we go trick-or-treating, we almost always come across a flaming roadblock on the drive home, sometimes forcing us to take a detour. Here is N in front of one of those roadblocks in 2002. We thought he looked like Harry Potter.
C7’s Choice: Pippin, Our Black Cat
L4’s Choice: Mater (from Cars)
B10’s Choice: X-Box 360
N15 let me choose the pattern for his pumpkin: Sarah Palin
Besides Lego, K’Nex, blocks, army guys, dolls, Barbies, and Polly Pockets, what have you found to be the BEST toys for boys and girls? What do they play with for HOURS? Please share…
He did a good job, eh?
In case you’re interested, here is the Sarah Palin pumpkin carving stencil:
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_lifestyles/political_pumpkins/patterns_examples/palin_pattern.pdf
