When Life Hands You Lemons, Do the Dishes in the Christmas Bin

Life isn't always what we expect, is it?

Today (I wrote this yesterday) we were getting ready for a visit from my sister's family, who are coming from out-of-state to spend a few days with us. We shopped, picked up the house, made a pumpkin bread treat. . .the day went along nicely, but we were unaware of what was lurking around the corner.

I'll give you a little background. Two days ago, an excruciatingly loud alarm rang out from our storage room. We found the source, a little black box on the wall that monitored our septic system, pressed the silence button, and our troubles were over (temporarily). It still disturbed us that our septic system alarm had tripped in the first place, but at least the red button wasn't lit anymore, and we didn't see any obvious problems. Interestingly enough, this happened when our landlords were out of town and we didn't know how to contact them. The next morning they were home, though, and thoroughly investigated the problem. It shouldn't be an issue till the maintenance man is able to come on Wednesday, we were told. And given the information they had, I would have said the same thing.

Fast forward to today. The regular--and by now, comforting--swoosh of the pump bringing our water to the "dirty water tank" had not been heard in our home all day. This means the water is building up. . .and up. . .and up.

It's 3 p.m. Do you know where your water's going? Apparently ours doesn't want to go anywhere, because the alarm is sounding again, and there's a disturbing wetness seeping up and threatening to spill over on our floor.

No problem. We've dealt with this kind of thing before. Until this past September, we rented a mobile home (okay, I'll say it--old trailer. 70's vintage.) and let's just say we were very acquainted with a multitude of issues that made life much more interesting. There have been times when we relied on the generosity of friends for such basic necessities as showering and laundry; and two summers ago we were without a working oven for 8 1/2 weeks. So let's just say we've been through this before, and all the whining and fussing that goes along with it.

Are you expecting me to say that I didn't whine or fuss this time, because I'm used to it? Sorry. :) But I can tell you that the whining and fussing didn't last as long this time. As soon as I was over the emotional upset that came from picturing my guests (who were due to arrive in hours) not being able to shower, use the restroom, or put any kind of water down the drain, I stopped complaining and started thinking. And came up with an idea.

We knew that over the course of several hours, the problem would lessen so that we'd be able to drain a small amount of water. So the bathroom would still be usable in the morning--limited, but usable. Which left the question of the dishes with which we'd been filling the kitchen all day. Who wants to welcome guests to your home with a messy kitchen? Especially since I'd planned a hot breakfast the next day (hash browns, eggs, and toast), for which we'd need counter space and, ideally, clean dishes and silverware.

Which is where the Christmas bin came in. We could use water, we just couldn't drain it. So I asked Jacob to fill the (empty) bin with water so we could do our dishes in it. Then we'd simply dump the water in the yard when we were finished. I had a friend who did her dishes in a dishpan in the bathtub before she and her husband hooked up their kitchen plumbing; couldn't we do the same?

So we did them together. I washed, Jacob rinsed and dried; then we switched after a while. While we did it, I half-laughed, half-groaned at our predicament. Someday will we laugh about this? I asked him. Parts of it, Jacob responded with a smile.

You know, having gone through so many inconveniences (we'll call them that because in the course of life, they're pretty minor), I can say that it really does get easier. What would have pushed me over the edge six years ago, I can now handle more calmly.

Isn't that one of the blessings of trials? That they build our character? At least, they're supposed to, if we respond the way we should.

All the same, I'm looking forward to a quick resolution to this one. Because when it's all over, I'm going to take a long, hot bath. Then listen for the comforting swoosh.

Beginning and End-of-Year Thoughts

from our garden this past summer

As December ends, and 2008 with it, I'm thinking about what God has done in our family over the past year. And I'm looking forward to the new year to motivate me to make some changes in my life. I'd like to share with you some of the steps I took in processing the past year, and planning the next year.

1. Reflect on goals set at the beginning of last year. I had four: a) to establish a weekly prayer phone call with a friend, so we could pray for our children together; b) have devotions with the girls most mornings; c) have family time (some kind of activity together) many evenings or mornings; d) keep meal planning. How did I do? Good progress in each, but some need a refresher. Now will be a good time to establish them again.

2. Did you choose a verse to be your theme last year? Mine was Isaiah 43:19:

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

This was drawn from one of our pastor's sermons early in the year. It was especially meaningful to me because 2007 was a very difficult year, and I wanted to set the past aside and look forward with hope.

3. Think about your progress. As you think back on the past year, note how you've grown. What skills have you gained? Character traits? How has God changed you during the past year?

Crystal's blog, Biblical Womanhood, was very influential to me in 2008. Early in the year, Crystal's series on time management taught me the value of rising early (before the kids) to spend time with the Lord and preparing for the day. It's a tip I don't use every day, but often; and I know I can fall back it during those times when I need to be very productive. Along with this, one day Monica shared a picture of her dining room table in the evening; it was all set with dishes, cereal, and devotional books to make the next morning go smoothly. My, does this work well for us! Again, we don't do this every day, but things sure go well when we do.

A few other ways there's been growth in my life/our family this year:
~God has always provided for us and extended His grace toward us.
~We potty trained Kardelen (yay!).
~We learned to make our own foam soap and powdered laundry detergent.
~I tried meal planning and grocery shopping for two weeks at a time, and loved it.
~Jacob and I began an annual getaway together each January.
~I have more control over my emotions and don't "lose it" as easily on those crazy days where we're grumpy or the girls are misbehaving. (One of the benefits of going through last year's challenges: hopefully they changed us for the better!)

If you'd like to reflect and plan as well, you might go through the above steps thinking about the past year. Then follow them again looking to the new year. Keep your goals simple--ones you'll enjoy working toward.

I'll let you in on a few of my hopes for the new year.
In the area of relationships: to have short devotions with Jacob four times a week; and to do devotions with the girls more often. Possibly make a habit of reading the Bible aloud during breakfast?

In the area of home/household: learn how to freeze bread dough so I can make it in large batches and raise/bake when needed; use more glass storage containers instead of plastic; add personal notes to my Use-It-Up Cookbook (or make my own); make a master list of meals and snacks to help with meal planning.

I'm still hoping to think more about goals for the girls (how can we help them grow and develop this year?) and I'm sure there are a few other things I should think through (such as, in what areas could we be more frugal next year?). But any amount of thought you or I spend concerning what God has done, or will do, is time well spent.

As far as a verse for next year, I think mine may be Proverbs 3:5-6 (CEV):

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

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I'd love to hear your praise reports from 2008, and your plans for the future! Please leave a comment so we can all enjoy them with you.

Dish Duty Made Easier

You're going to laugh at me. Because I'm going to tell you how to hide your dirty dishes. And other ways to creatively deal with the dish duty that falls to you every day.

If you're a family without a dishwasher, like ours, your best bet is to pray for one. Fervently. Or just have a couple girls and wait for them to grow up. That's what we're doing. :)

Okay, all joking aside, in all my hours of dishwashing (I don't even want to know how many), I've learned a few tips and tricks for getting those dishes done and still having time for--oh, maybe time with your family? Or some good organic dark chocolate?

1. Wash the biggest first. Those big pots and pans make it look like your counter is groaning under the weight of dirty dishes. Tackle them first, and suddenly the dishes don't seem to be taking over your house.

2. Stack them. Ideally as you put add them to the dirty dish counter. Here's a real-world example. When I see the following picture, I think, chaos.



Sixty seconds later, I think, Nice counter. I should do dishes sometime.



Just think of all the ways you could use this tip, ladies! A friend calls and wants to stop by in five minutes. Not enough time to do the dishes? Stack 'em. You've been making dishes all day, but still need counter space for cooking in the afternoon. Stacking them will give you that space.

3. Run a sink of soapy water and creatively "hide" your dishes (as many as you can) under the soapy bubbles. You no longer see dishes streaked with old, hard food--you see what gives you the sense of clean. It's all psychological, sure--no dishes have actually been done. But your kitchen looks cleaner. And sometimes, when your mom-in-law is five minutes from arriving, that's enough.

Note: my mom-in-law is wonderful, and would never fault me for a less-than-perfect house. I just used the term for dramatic effect. :)

4. Set a timer. When I'm tired, especially at the end of the day, I do not want to do dishes. Sewing or a hot bath sounds much more attractive to me. But I know that if I do even a few dishes, the kitchen will seem more manageable when we wake up to it in the morning.

So I set a timer. Wash like crazy for 10 minutes, and I'm done. Often this gets me motivated to finish the rest of the job, but not necessarily. Sometimes I just scrub for 10 minutes, then go on my way, not having to feel guilty for "ignoring" the housework, but still giving myself time to relax--a sometimes difficult balance. Setting a timer helps.

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I'm writing this the day after Christmas. The girls have just gone to bed, we've had a fantastic day, and I'm in an edgy mood. (edgy? quirky? whatever.) It's fun to be goofy once in a while, and I've had a lot of fun writing this post. Hopefully you'll be able to get something out of it, too. :)

God bless, everyone.

Merry Christmas!

It appears I'll have to save those great books I'd hoped to share with you for another time. I'll be taking a break now for the holidays, and wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

We're off to make Christmas cookies at a friend's house today. But before we go, I thought I'd share this recipe for Peanut Butter Granola Bars. We brought them to Kardelen's ECFE potluck yesterday, and two friends asked for the recipe. We like these granola bars because they're a healthy snack, and much less expensive than buying granola bars in the store. :)

I adapted the recipe from one I found online several years ago.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup butter, softened or melted
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup nuts (any kind you like)
1/2 cup raisins (or other dried fruit)
1/2 cup wheat germ (or mini chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir first six ingredients till smooth. Stir in rest. Press in greased 13 by 9 pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned at edges. Cool before cutting.

I make this differently every time by adjusting the amount of mix-ins at the end. Yesterday I used 1 cup craisins and a few sprinkles of mini chocolate chips. I also used 1/2 cup corn syrup instead of 1/4 cup corn syrup and 1/4 cup honey since there were small children at the potluck who may be too young for honey. I usually shy away from corn syrup, but some kind of liquid sugar is necessary for this recipe so the bars hold together and don't crumble.

Hope you enjoy them!

More Fun Christmas Activities

This Christmas with the girls has been more fun than any other so far, as the girls are old enough to really enjoy our activities. I thought I'd share a few more fun ones with you today.

This Christmas season, we have:

~danced to Christmas music with jingly ornaments. Jacob's Mom made us pinecone-bell ornaments which we take down from the tree and dance around the house with.

~wrapped presents in homemade wrapping paper. I really didn't plan for this, but I've saved so much of Kardelen's artwork that we have plenty. Yesterday we sat down together and began wrapping presents in her paintings, and surprisingly, she really caught on and wanted to do it again and again, with very little help from Mommy!

I've also given the girls small pieces of tissue and wrapping paper so they can pretend to "wrap presents" anytime. They love this, and I've received many gifts of stuffed animals this year. :)



~made more Christmas cookies: I batch of our family-recipe Toffee Squares to deliver to the neighbors--after which we got snowed in, so our family ate them all. :) And one batch of dipped Nillas (dipped halfway in melted chocolate and then generously sprinkled), since we had these on hand and wanted to find a use for them. We'll share them with friends, Kardelen's ECFE teachers, and maybe finish delivering to the neighbors (if we don't eat them all again).

~painted with pinecones. I thought it would be great fun, but Kardelen preferred to use a paintbrush. Bia had fun with it, though. We made more homemade wrapping paper with the paintings.


~made a Christmas ribbon stick for dancing. Ingredients: 1 card tinsel, 1 25-cent quilting hoop from the thrift store. (Pieces will fall off. Hang them on your tree.)

~at Kardelen's weekly ECFE class, the teachers set out new seasonal activities each week, and I really appreciate how creative and educational these are! One week I especially liked the gingerbread playdough with gingerbread cookie cutters. (The playdough was homemade playdough mixed with spices--it was actually supposed to be pumpkin pie playdough, because she used pumpkin pie spice, but it worked as gingerbread, too.) That week, the kids also dipped gingerbread cookie cutters in shallow tins of paint and made prints on construction paper. So fun!

The next week we did a simple collage. The kids chose a cut-out paper stocking (you could use any shape you like) and glued or taped on scraps of Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and ribbon. Kardelen was so immersed in the project, she spent half an hour decorating it and filled both sides of the paper! It will be proudly hung in our home each Christmas. (I'll post a picture later.)

~In the next few days, we will drive around looking at Christmas lights around town (my family's Christmas Eve tradition) and get together with a friend and her little boy to make Christmas cookies together.

Depending on how the week goes, I may or may not blog again before Christmas (though I'm really hoping to share two last Christmas books with you). If not, I wish you a wonderful Christmas. May you be blessed by the Savior's birth, and may your celebrations bring blessing to Him!

Christmas Books about Jesus

Favorite Book Friday fell off the bandwagon the last few weeks while Jacob was in the middle of final exams, and while we basked in the family time we had when he was finished. I'm realizing I should probably make a few changes: I'll plan to do Favorite Book Friday quite often, but not necessarily every week. Along with that, I'll share good books during the week, too, not just on Fridays. :) I'm trying to balance our family time and my blogging, and this is an attempt to make that balance a little better. :)

Now, let's talk today about more Christmas books to share with children. Here are a few focused on the Christmas story that the girls have enjoyed this year.


Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck, illustrated by Felicia Bond (board book): Each page has a short poem about the characters in the Christmas story, ending with Jesus: I am the baby asleep in the hay, and I am the reason for Christmas Day. The foil star in the book seems to "shine."


The Story of Christmas by Patricia A. Pingry (board book): excellent for toddlers/preschoolers with its short, focused text. Begins: Do you know why we give gifts at Christmas? We give presents because it is Jesus' birthday. Then briefly tells the Christmas story. Ends: We give gifts at Christmas to show our love, and to say, "Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!" Nice that it shares the Christmas story, and then applies it to our celebrations.


We Were There: A Nativity Story by Eve Bunting: In poetic language, the story follows a scorpion, toad, snake, cockroach, bat, spider, and rat as they follow the star to the stable that wondrous night. A fresh take on a common animals-in-the-stable theme.

I mentioned The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats and its fun activities a few weeks ago--find it here.

I'd still like to share a few more books before the season is over, and they'll be the ones Jacob has given me for Christmas. A few years ago, he made a tradition of giving me a new children's book for Christmas, one I'd never read before. He has exceptionally good taste, so I'm greatly looking forward to sharing them here. Stay tuned. :)

Tagged

Fun, fun! I've never been tagged before, but Lesley tagged me yesterday! Here's what it involves:

~I had to open my sixth picture folder, go to the sixth picture in it, and post it on my blog.
~And I have to tag five other people!

So here goes.


Vintage April 2007. Kardelen, at 17 months old, poses with a dashing pair of sunglasses. She's about to have a new sister, and she's feelin' great.

By the way, Sofia just wore that shirt yesterday. :)

Now for the second part: I'm tagging two ladies (I'm feeling a little rebellious today): Laura-IH and outdoor.mom. Have fun, ladies! Thanks, Lesley, for the fun game.

Kardelen's First Poem

Kardelen was playing in her room today when all of a sudden out came a poem:

Close the door
Turn off the light
Go to sleep
Very tight.

Her first poem! I wrote it in my little book of cute things the kids say.

My Favorite New Christmas Song

Last year as the sounds of carols filled our home, one particular song grabbed me. A little girl was singing "Happy Birthday, Jesus" and sharing how "all the tinsel and lights and the presents are nice, but the real gift is You." Her sweet young voice, coupled with the lyrics that spoke the heart of the Christmas message, made for a song I'll not easily forget.

This Christmas season, wanting more than the occasional listen on the radio, I requested the CD from our public library, and have listened to it so much that Kardelen asks to sing it together.

Christmas at the Brooklyn Tabernacle includes several old-favorites, such as Carol of the Bells (Ukranian Bell Carol) and O Come All Ye Faithful, plus many original Christmas songs I hadn't heard before. Track 7 is my favorite, Happy Birthday Jesus.

Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't offer a preview of this song, but I did find a rather interesting homemade movie with Christmas lights synchronized to the song, so you can hear it here. It starts with a chorus of children singing the traditional Happy Birthday song to Jesus, after which the little girl sings her sweet version. Here are the lyrics:

Happy Birthday, Jesus
I'm so glad it's Christmas
All the tinsel and lights
And the presents are nice
But the real gift is You

Happy Birthday, Jesus
I'm so glad it's Christmas
All the carols and bells
Make the holiday swell
But it's all about You

Happy Birthday, Jesus
Jesus, I love you!

It (almost) goes without saying that this simple song would be an excellent one to teach your children this Christmas!

If there's one new Christmas song I would love to share with your family, it's this one.

Grocery List Template

It's a snow day today in every sense of the word. The drifts are high around the house, and it's lovely to see our ground-level windows banked with snow. Since Kardelen's ECFE class was canceled due to the thirty-to forty-below windchill, the girls and I stayed warm and cozy at home. It was a carefree morning, playing together and doing whatever we found to do.

One of the projects I looked forward to working on is my printed grocery list. For the last few weeks, my grocery list has looked like this, and it's driven me crazy:
I wanted to get back to my old way of writing things down as I think of them on a pre-printed list, organized according to the store aisles. The list was always ready to grab at a moment's notice for an organized, sane shopping trip. (Unlike the Wal-Mart + holiday season + disorganized list equation, which always results in disaster.) I first wrote the template last winter, when I was grocery shopping for two weeks at a time. It made the huge trip go much faster!

As my last copy is gone since we no longer have the software it was written on, I sat down this morning and made a new one. It still needs some fine-tuning, but I'm happy to have my nice organized list back! Click here to see how it turned out. (You'll notice there aren't many things on the list, but remember these are the items we buy frequently, not our entire grocery list. I always write in items throughout the week.)

For those who live in my area and shop at the same Wal-Mart, feel free to use my list if you like. (To print it, scroll your cursor over the iPaper button next to the small Scribd logo.) I'll even e-mail it to you in a non-PDF document if you'd like to suit it to your family's needs (just e-mail me).

Here's how I made it, in case you'd like to make one.

1. Make a list of the aisles in your store, and summarize the items found in each. For example, Aisle 13: dish soap, ziplocs, cleaners, paper goods. You'll probably want to actually go to the store to do this. You can use the signs hanging above each aisle if you like, but feel free to skip listing some of the items if you never buy them. And feel free to add in ones that aren't listed, but will be on your shopping list frequently.

2. Add to it. Once you've typed these into a word processing program, begin adding frequently-purchased items under each aisle number. I figure that if we're going to buy peanut butter every few weeks, I'll save time by typing it on the list, then simply circling peanut butter when we need it. Then I won't have to write the words over and over again.

3. Fine-tune your list. If you regularly buy two kinds of milk, simplify to just one entry by writing milk (whole, skim). When you need skim milk, just circle the word skim. Another way to save space: combine aisles under one heading if there are very few things you'll buy from them.

If there are aisles that flank the side of the store, write the items sold there under the number of the nearest aisle. You'll see on my list that lunch meat is listed under Aisles 9 & 10, even though those aisles hold snacks and cereal. Remember, it's all about how you'll walk through the store on shopping day. You want to make it as easy on yourself as possible.

4. Print and enjoy. Hang the printed grocery list on your fridge (or wherever you'd like) and begin using it. Circle the items you need and write in those items not listed under the correct aisle number. If you use a pencil, you'll be able to re-use your list many times before you need to print another. Just make sure you have an eraser handy after each shopping trip.


Do you have any grocery shopping tips to share? I'd love to learn them!

Christmas Book Display

Since putting wrapped presents under the tree before Christmas would test our children's patience way too much, I came up with another idea instead: displaying Christmas books under the tree. One could even set out a new book each morning before the kids arise, and it would be a little game for them to find it amongst the others. Or you could build the collection book by book over several days.

It's fun to be able to use the space under our tree, so it's not so empty before Christmas!

Enjoying the Christmas Season

I always begin the Christmas season brainstorming the most important activities and traditions to share with the girls. I want to be purposeful in our Christmas celebrations, not missing an opportunity to bring home the real reason for Christmas: Jesus' birth. But I never end up making detailed plans to make sure we do all these important traditions. This year after my brainstorming, I requested a few CD's to share with the girls, but after that, I've been pretty informal about our activities. You know what? It's a lot more fun that way. (Plus, why should I stress about implementing every valuable tradition? Why not just enjoy the season and enjoy doing what we can?) With that in mind, I'd love to share with you the special ways we've welcomed Christmas so far.

The high point was getting our first real Christmas tree! The day after Thanksgiving, we tromped through the snow at a Christmas tree farm (okay, there was barely any snow--but enough to give the idea) and picked out a perfect Balsam fir.



The farmer gave Kardelen candy canes while Jacob tied the tree to the roof of the car. At home, we brought in the tree and had snacks and cocoa while Nat King Cole crooned Christmas tunes. The tree filled our home with the scent of balsam. Aah. . .exactly the experience I was hoping for.


The girls took turns hugging the tree (Kardelen's idea). Then Kardelen stood in the tree stand herself before we put the tree inside--should we decorate you, little girl? As soon as the lights were on the tree, Sofia moved from light to light saying, "Ooh! Ooh!"


This year I'd like to finally follow-through with my idea to give each of our neigbors Christmas cookies. One morning while Jacob worked, the girls and I dipped pretzel rods in almond bark and added Christmas sprinkles. We delivered them to two neighbor families. There are seven families left. I assumed I'd have to do it all in one big day, but this has been my downfall for years: not feeling outgoing or energetic enough to go knocking on every door in one day! So we'll do it little by little as we make treats throughout the Christmas season.

My grandpa moved to a nursing home last year, and one thing I like to do with the girls is make him seasonal decorations for his room. This year, Kardelen and Nana (my mom) worked together to make a cotton-ball snowman. Kardelen had never made a cotton ball craft before, so I thought it would be a great time to try one!



We're decorating our home for Christmas little by little, too. Our manger scene came out the day we put up the tree, and Kardelen likes playing with the figures. I think we're still missing a few, though, and there's a funny story behind that. Last year, I packed up the manger scene before we went to my parents' home for Christmas Eve, wanting to use it to tell the Christmas story in the morning. When I began to set it up for the telling, I found angels, shepherds, sheep, and a donkey. . .but where were Mary and Joseph? And most importantly, where was Baby Jesus? Then Jacob clued me in: Kardelen had been playing with them, and our stash of gift bags, a few days ago. Note to self: next year check the pieces to make sure none of the main characters are missing!

Speaking of my parents, their Christmas tree is always groaning under the weight of years of homemade decorations. (Yes, the toilet paper roll I fingerpainted in kindergarten is always hung with pride by my parents, too.) Our Christmas tree, on the other hand, shows bare spots when you turn off the lights, so I figured we'd better make a few ornaments with the kids. Each year I make a photo ornament of each girl, and that will be done before Christmas. In addition, the girls and I sat made sparkly pinecones for the tree.



Sofia played with pinecones while Kardelen painted glue on the edges of a pinecone, then rolled it in glitter. (It would have been easier to shake the glitter on, but live and learn!) The cones look gorgeous sparkling on our Christmas tree, but I ended the project early because my three-year-old was getting very hands-on with the glitter (what did I expect?) and I was having flashbacks to the warning of doom from one of my fellow education students: glitter should NEVER be used by children, because these little pieces of foil can easily get in children's eyes. I thought I could be somewhat careful, but glitter is all over our house now. I'm even finding it in our dishes. So much for careful! Ah, well. I'm sure multitudes of children have used glitter safely. Right?

I'll close by sharing a few pictures of our Christmas decorating.


Above: I'm in love with pine boughs (actually more Balsam left over from our tree), pinecones, and stars. I love the natural look, and it gives me the feeling I'm outside!



Dwarf palm Christmas tree (with more pinecones!)

I'll share more of our Christmas-enjoying activities as we go through this season! May God bless you richly today.

Favorite Book Friday: Christmas Sing-a-Longs

This week I thought I'd share with you three Christmas books you can sing with children rather than read. On Wednesday I led a little Christmas Sing-a-Long at the preschool where I used to teach, and used three favorite sing-a-long books.


We started with Jingle Bells, illustrated by Darcy May. I'm especially partial to this version; I love the illustrations and how one phrase of the text is featured on each two-page spread. (This keeps the pages turning quickly, and keeps the attention of little ones!)


For fun, I had the kids guess the title based on clues I gave them (a sleigh ride; bells on a horse; jingling bells).

Next, The Twelve Days of Christmas, illustrated by Jan Brett. We had the board book version of this, and it was the perfect size for copying each gift to use during the song.


Each child got one of the true love's gifts to tape to the board when it was featured in the song. It was fun, but would have been easier for the children to sing along if they had read the story first to grasp the complicated language (nine lords-a-leaping, for example).

Last, we sang The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats. I saved this till the end because I wanted to stress the real reason for Christmas, which I simply described as Jesus' Birthday. The Little Drummer Boy is about a boy who wants to give Jesus a birthday gift, but thinks he has nothing to give.

What would you give Jesus for His birthday? I asked the kids. Responses surprised me, of course. I was expecting "a baseball bat" or "a doll," something on their Christmas lists. Instead, they said "a board and hay" (thinking of his manger, perhaps?) and "meat." (Not sure where that came from!) Then we read the story and drummed on our laps for the pa-rum-pum-pum-pums. Very simple, no prep work needed, but very meaningful.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Do you have any favorite Christmas sing-a-long books? I'd love to hear about them!

Finished Projects

Our front door is painted! And decorated, too. I was excited to have extra balsam boughs left over from our Christmas tree (we had to cut them off to make the tree fit in the stand), and made a spray with them yesterday. We'd picked pinecones in the fall, and had ribbon in our stash, so this Christmas decoration didn't cost a thing! The forest green paint looks so nice with it.

I actually painted the door in October (when it fit in our budget), and the next morning, to my dismay, I woke to find huge areas peeling off! The paint can says you can apply it on a 50 degree day, but I wouldn't try it if the weather is cold and blustery like in Minnesota! Luckily, we had just one more 50-plus degree day where I was able to sand and repaint it. It will need to be touched up in the spring, but hey--at least it's green!

Now for the second finished project: our bedroom curtain is up! The girls think it's for peek-a-boo. :)



Isn't nesting wonderful?

A New-Favorite Blog

Our lovely Kardelen hasn't been sleeping much lately--she's up even before my alarm, falls asleep late, and has skipped nearly all of her naps. This hasn't given me much time to develop the ideas I'd like to share with you, so for today I'll simply share one of my new-favorite blogs.

I like Having Fun at Home probably because the author and I are so much alike: we love making ordinary things fun. Katey's got great ideas for crafts, activities for children, and seems to be such a sweet mom. Plus, she's mentioned that she used to be a middle-school Latin teacher, which is very cool. (Jacob wishes more schools still teach Latin!) If you'd like to check out her blog, it's here.

Hopefully I'll be able to share my ideas with you soon. (I want to present them well.) In the meantime, I'll be thinking of you and trying to creatively keep our 3-year-old happy!

God bless you today.

Thank You Prayer

On Tuesday of last week, the girls and I were invited to a Thanksgiving Dinner at the preschool where I used to work. One of the teachers read Thank You Prayer by Josephine Page as a mealtime prayer, and I liked it so much I wanted to share it with you. (Thanksgiving weekend has flown by, but I hope thankfulness is still on your mind.)

Thank you for the food we eat
Thank you for the world so sweet
Thank you for the birds that sing
Thank you, God, for everything. . .

A simple two-stanza rhyme, this poem is easy for kids to predict and chime in as you read. Toddlers and preschoolers will like it best, as it's at their level; but it would be great practice for beginning readers, too. It made a lovely Thanksgiving prayer, and I'd like to buy it for our family Thanksgiving meal next year. All through the year, it provides a simple, easy way for young children to talk to God.