Candy Land

Christmas Caroling

This, this right here is what the holiday season is all about to me.  Simple selfless acts of kindness in efforts to share God's love with others.  

What a warmness it brought to my heart to join together with fellow citizens (of whom 95%  were strangers) to share the joy of Christmas with the residents of Autumn Care Nursing Home.

We walked around the halls singing various Christmas carols, stopping sporadically to give a Christmas greeting, a warm smile and even a few hugs. 

We brought up the tail end of the line as we passed out a few homemade Christmas ornaments to the residents. This sweet lady in the picture below ended up with three baby Jesus ornaments. One from Gabriella, one from Josiah and one from Nathan. And she loved all three just the same. 

Even though it's a blurred picture, I just love the joy that radiates from her face as she opens her arms wide for a hug from Gabriella! 

What a wonderful experience we had. We've (I have) since made it personal family goal to visit the nursing home at least three times this coming year.

I was really excited to have the chance to talk with Gabriella after this experience.  I was eager to hear her verbalize what feelings she felt as we walked those halls singing Christmas carols and spreading cheer. She didn't have a whole, whole lot to say but did mention how good it made her feel. It lead to a wonderful conversation about life and how we will all grow old one day, even mommy and daddy. We talked about the fact that some elders need a bit more assistance with their daily activities as they age. I asked Gabriella if she would help mommy and daddy when they grow older and of course she responded with a humongous hug and a "Ohhh, YES!". As I knelt to squeeze her tight she informed me that she knows how to make toast and get water so she can take good care of us. Oh my heart, that girl is something else! 

After we got home, it only seemed appropriate to watch a Christmas movie and enjoy a few sips of hot chocolate before snuggling under the covers and dozing off for the night.

Cheers! 

What A Duo

Homeschooling can be quite the challenge most days with all of the noise (the bickering, the tantrums and the constant interruptions) that accompany this pair. They are very much a part of everything we do and I like it that way but it doesn't come without it's frustrations while trying to explain how to find the area of a parallelogram to a nine year old or while explaining to a five and six year old how valuable the skill of skip counting is and will continue to be. 

Even so, I refuse to allow the difficult times to steal my joy of watching these two interact and learn in their own, very beautiful, ways. 

Here's a little background on the next set of pictures...

Josiah sat working earnestly on his drawings. He'd take a break to, every so often and not so gently, tap Mikey on his back in order to bring his attention to what he'd drawn. We all got quite the giggle out of watching him do this over and over and over again. 

Very serious work.

A few side notes: 

Allowing you two to use my beloved sharpie markers was the easiest way I could get through the literacy activity I was working on with Gabriella and Alyana. 

Also, I was using and very closely supervising the paper-cutter in the bottom right hand corner of these picture.  :) 

Santa and Library Bags

Santa decided to give our library group a visit the Wednesday just before Christmas. How very nice of him to take time out of his busy schedule to do so. 

Mikey and Josiah weren't very comfortable with Santa and didn't care to get too close. 

(Thank you for these pictures, Emily.)

My sweet crew

Santa even had a personal letter delivered to each of the kids. How thoughtful.

That particular Wednesday was also the first day we got to sport our new library bags! The weekend before our dear friend, Emily, invited Gabriella and I over for a dreamy sewing play-date where her and I got the chance to just be together. She taught me how to sew a beautiful bag with canvas fabric. As if time with Emily and learning from her isn't enough of a gift in itself, she gifted me with enough fabric to make FIVE beautiful library bags for all five of my little ones. What a HUGE blessing! It was such a special time.

Aren't they gorgeous!?! I've spent a lot of time staring at them. 

We will be sure to get years and years of use from these guys! :) 

Snowflakes

These three are really, really good at making snowflakes. I modeled once cutting only one then they took off. They got busy right away cutting and creating beautiful, unique snowflakes.  

Cousins are quite the companions. 

Aren't they just gorgeous?!

Grandma Cindy grabbed a picture of the view from outside our school room window. 

So pretty! 

This Chalkboard

Having a chalkboard that spans from ceiling to floor may very well be a dream come true for a teacher. I, for sure, am really, really enjoying it. 

I admit to checking on (and correcting) the spelling of parallelogram before taking this picture. 

It is so very hard to erase a masterpiece like this. So hard. 

Rivers's Homeschoolers: December Activities

Our second get together with the homeschoolers of Rivers's went so well. Regardless of the age differences the kids all genuinely enjoy each other's company and get along so well. We started off with a fun game of Christmas Bingo. 

I love this picture of all of them lined up in ascending according to their height. 

A fun game of Pin the Nose on the Snowman.

Denise prepared an adorable snowman craft for the littles. We stood back and couldn't help but admire their creativity. I love that each one of their snowmen were unique and true to their own personal character. 

We also made a few candy-cane Reindeer with a message attached for sharing the joy of Christmas with others.

I loved the interactive devotion Amy shared with all of us. Perhaps on day I'll get my hands on a copy for the Sanchez household and include it in our traditions for the next dozen or so Christmases we are privileged to share under the same roof.  Gosh, I almost can't even believe I came to that realization or that I said it aloud. A dozen (well, more like twelve to fifteen) or so Christmases. Oh my. (Note to self...savor every single day.)

My Soon to Be Two Year Old

This morning, there was no hiding the fact that two is right around the corner for this little boy. 

There was just something different about the way he was walking and talking. 

Something different about the way his cute little face looked. 

There even seemed to be something different about the way his clothes fit. 

100% cute, cute, CUTE! 

Polar Express

For the four years that I taught public school, the day before getting out for Christmas break, we watched The Polar Express in our pajamas while drinking hot chocolate and snacking on popcorn. It was a wonderful thing. We, teachers and students alike, looked forward to it. I am so excited that my little five get the chance to look forward to the same. Thank you, H.E.A.R.T of Raeford Homeschool Group. 

The kids really loved decorating their sugar cone Christmas trees. 

Cheese! 

I snuck a selfie with this handsome little boy. Goodness, he's SO adorable! 

Pizza

I believe God knows exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. Every single one of my friends are my gifts from God. They are my angels. God gifted me with my angel friend, Emily, a little over a year ago. It seems a little vain to bring her up while writing about pizza but I'm so very thankful for her - for so many reason and pizza dough is just one of the zillion reasons why I love and adore her. 

A few months ago Emily took on the huge challenge of teaching me and my littles how to make her AH-mazing pizza dough. Since then, I'm pretty sure we've made it once a week. Did I mention how AH-mazing it is?! 

Tonight was the first night we strayed from the tradition cheese or pepperoni pizza. We tried our (mommy & daddy's) favorite pineapple and ham (or bacon) pizza. It definitely didn't disappoint.  Sooooo good! 

Everything looked so pretty sitting there on the counter while (impatiently) waiting for the dough to rise, I just had to take a picture. 

My Wealth

I recently came across a scripture in my devotional that really ministered to me.

"It is a good thing to receive wealth from God and good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life, that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past for God has given them reasons for joy." Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a homemaker. What calling could be more fulfilling in life? What incredible purpose I have. I accept my wealth from God and the good health He has given me to enjoy it. I pray not a day goes by that I get so distracted with life that I cannot enjoy my work. I pray that I recognize every moment I'm given in life as a gift from God. For you, God, have given me reasons for joy. 

"I am convinced that the whole world is better when we, as individuals, capture and savor each moment as the gift that it is, embrace the challenge or joy of it, and thereby transform it with the magic of creative possibility. Life, for the most part, is what we make it. We have been given a responsibility to live it fully, joyfully, completely, and richly, in whatever span of time God rants us on this earth."

Luci Swindoll