2006 in Review

Here is it.... (drumroll).... the year in Review! Of course, you may not be interested in any of this (unless you're a grandparent), but I love lists and the end of the year lists are the very best kind! So here we go:

Top Family Events of 2006
(in no particular order)

*Philip was Baptized

*The Great Adventure Part I and Part II

*Oktoberfest

*John Mark's First Buck

*John and I celebrated our 15th Anniversary

*Birthdays: I became the mother of a teenager (!); Becca turned 11; Philip turned 9, Benjamin turned 8, and Nathanael turned 5. I turned 37 and John turned 38, but we don't need to discuss that any further.

*Girls Weekend Out (and Guys Weekend Home)

*The Garden Project

*School Days: Nathanael began Kindergarten, Benjamin began second grade, Philip began 4th grade, Becca began 6th grade, and John Mark began 8th grade

*Becca's Purity Ball

*Roadtrip with my brother

*Ben learned to read and tell time!

*A visit from friends

This past year has seen renewed relationships, new beginnings, new adventures, and innumerable other blessings.

O Lord, You have been good.

Christmas Week Recap

Whew... it's over! I love the Christmas season, but I can't help breathing a sigh of relief when life goes back to "normal". I guess I can only take so much merry-making.

We had a low-key Christmas at home this year, just us. John made his splediforous turkey on Christmas Eve, and I read the kids their favorite Christmas Eve books: Mr. Willoughby's Christmas Tree, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and A Cajun Night Before Christmas (once you've lived in Louisiana, you take a little bit of Cajun with you!) John and I got into bed around midnight, thanks to all the present-wrapping I did earlier in the month, and the kids slept in on Christmas morning until- are you ready?- 7:00! On Christmas day, we opened gifts, spent some time with friends, napped, and played with all our new toys. We couldn't have asked for a nicer Christmas... well, maybe snow instead of rain.

John asked the kids what their favorite new toy was and Benjamin really had to think through all the choices. He finally decided, "My Magnetix... and my magnifying glass!" Philip shouted, "My Barrel of Monkeys!" All that money spent on Christmas gifts and their favorites are a plastic magnifying glass (with a bug-holder, I might add) that cost $1.99 at TJ Maxx, and a Barrel of Monkeys. Go figure.

The sweetest moment was at Christmas service. Our friend Keith led the church in communion and asked, "What is Christmas all about?" Nathanael, who was sitting next to me, whispered, "Mom, I know what Christmas is all about!"

"What?" I asked.

"Love" he replied.

And he is right.

Later in the week, things got a little rough. John Mark came down with the flu and is still laid out. I got this fabulous new computer for Christmas, which is a very good thing, but it required all sorts of computer switch-a-roo stuff in our house, which was not so good. John spent the next few days in a perpetual bad mood (computers can do that to you). On the bright side, he is mostly finished, and on the very bright side, we have given each of the kids the exact computer access they need. That is a wonderful gift all in itself! The little boys got the bottom-of-the-barrel computer which (barely) runs Windows 98. It runs John Mark's old Jumpstart CDs and that's about it. The little boys are now banned from all other computers, much to the relief of the older kids. Becca got the computer which had been the kids' computer in the living room. She can listen to CDs and do her schoolwork on it, but no internet access. For that, the kids have to use the main computer in the living room, which used to be the computer in my office. The big boys do not have any sort of a computer in their room, due to a series of internet infractions over the past few months. They can only use the computer in the living room. And me? Well... I have this fancy-dancy new set-up with Media Center and a big ol' 19" screen... and no kids allowed! So is that a great Christmas present or what?

We ended the week with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa from Indiana and we had Christmas Part II, which was just far enough away from Christmas Part I that the kids were thrilled all over again. It's been another fun weekend. Tonight, John and I will go out to eat, maybe catch a movie, and vegetate in front of the TV while we watch the Big Apple drop. Not exactly the pinnacle of excitement, but I get to spend New Year's with my favorite people in the whole wide world... and that's something to celebrate.

Four Hundred Years...

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

Four hundred years.

Four hundred years without a new word from God.

Four hundred years… of silence.

Israel waited.

Then it happened, in a way no one would expect. The first inkling of the surprise was given to an old priest and his aged wife, who were told they would soon give birth to a very special baby boy.

The next event would be even more bizarre… a virgin peasant girl gives birth to another baby boy in a stable far from home, surrounded only by her anxious husband and a few sleepy animals.

The Light of the World had stepped down into darkness.

It was utterly unbelievable…. and unimaginably wonderful.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!

Christmas Party!

Last night our church family held its annual Christmas party. This is one of the reasons we love these people- yes, they love God, but several of them are certifiably crazy too. (If I could show you pictures of Greg in the Green Elf suit, you'd understand.) It's always a fun evening. Here are a few photos:

Here we have Mary and Joseph. I'm sure Joseph's Deer-in-the-headlights look of fear is entirely biblical, even though Luke left that part out. Don't you think it would be accurate for the text to read something like:
"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. And Joseph was shaking in his sandals and collapsed in the hay bale when it was accomplished..."? Not very poetic, is it? I can see why Luke left it out.

Here is the assembled cast. Note the red and green shepherd and the dark brown camel, my personal favorites.

This is my My Ho-Ho-Honey!

Mommy didn't get to kiss Santa Claus because she would have gotten fake beard all over her lipstick.

Happy Thursday, ya'll! Now go wrap those presents!

Deck the Halls!

So, BooMama is having a Christmas Tour of homes, and I think Gee, what a great idea! Yes, the tour was last Friday, December 15, but hey- I was busy. So go take the tour at BooMama's. Look through all the beautifully decorated homes, and if your home looks anything like those, go take some pictures! But if your home is anything like mine, which is occupied by 5 very messy children and would make the decorators on HGTV cry, come back here, and I'll show you around. You'll feel right at home.

My modest home is not fancy enough to have a foyer, but it does have a short hallway as you come through the front door, which I love. I've always wanted a front entrance area to greet guests. I love my tree, on which I splurged $20 at Old Time Pottery. See the little village in the middle? It has fiber-optic lights that change from pink to blue to green to white... my 10-year-old son thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and he spent every bit of his money to buy it for me a few years ago. It receives a place of honor every year.

On the right, my skates hang from the wooden coat peg shelf. I bought these at a yard sale for $1 and painted them (they won Champion at the fair last year!) But I never know where to put them, so they just hang on a coat peg. Maybe one day.

This crocheted Santa wall-hanging was my grandmother's. When I was a teenager, I thought the stuff in her house was so old-fashioned. Now I love it.

Taking a quick peek into the kitchen, we find the ginger bread houses. Yes, there are supposed to be 5 houses, but my perfectionist 13-year-old could not get his house "right", so he ate it instead. I was proud of myself for finding such a great place for them, well out of the reach of nibblers. You can also see out the window that there is no white Christmas in sight. Sigh.

On to the living room... on Boo Mama's tour, you'll see many gorgeous nativity scenes. Here's ours, which would be better described as "The Looting of Bethlehem".

Here we have the loveseat, above which is the mirror, which all the decorating books say "adds space" to your room. Don't I wish. And draped across the top of the mirror is the garland which is routinely "adjusted" by the kitty cat. I made these stockings for me and John the first year we were married. (Lest you mistakenly think I am some super-crafter, rest assured that you have now seen all of the Christmas decorations which I have personally created.)

On the table next to the loveseat is Rudolph. I bought him the second year John and I were married. He cost $5, which was quite a splurge for us at that time.

These are some of my favorite things. The cabinet belonged to my grandmother and is filled with quilts from both of my grandmothers, books, and normally, pictures. But this month, it has Santas instead of pictures. My mom made the ceramic Christmas tree and the carolers when I was a toddler and my dad was in Vietnam. For years, the carolers were the centerpeice on the coffee table in my Gran's living room.

Here's the obligatory Christmas tree picture. The tree looked a lot better when it first went up, but it's been "rearranged" several times by the children and the kitty cat.

So there you are... the down-home tour of my house. You're welcome to visit any time!

The Chocolate Chef

On Friday night, I returned home from a haircut appointment to a house that had the appealing smell of... chocolate! Lo and behold, I was not dreaming. John Mark informed me, "I decided to bake cookies." He just got bored and decided to bake cookies. Where did I get this child? He definitely knows how to make his mama happy- and let me tell you, these are fabuloso! (And I believe I've solved my cookie-exchange problems for next year!)

John Mark's Colossal Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies

2 c flour

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 c butter or margarine, softened

1 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar, packed

1 t vanilla

5 T unsweetened cocoa

1/4 c milk

1 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugars and vanilla. Blend the cocoa and milk into the butter mixture. Slowly add flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop 1/4 c portions onto foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 325 for 12-14 minutes, or until tops look dry. Cool cookies on sheet for 5 minutes, then remove cookies cookies from the foil to finish cooling.

December Daze

I had a brief moment, last Monday, of rest. Then it was over.

TUESDAY - Homeschool Moms' Christmas Party

Like a lunatic, I signed up to participate in the cookie exchange this year. Why did I do this?? I do not like cooking, or baking, and it stresses me out to do it for other people. I have no idea what I was thinking. I made chocolate truffles (that were pretty yummy, if I say so myself, although they were not quite as pretty as the picture in the cookbook). I did come home with a large amount of other wonderful Christmas goodies, as well as Galloping the Globe, the geography curriculum I won in the white elephant exchange... but who knew that chocolate could cause so much stress?

WEDNESDAY- Mom's Taxi Service

Children's Chorus Concert at the Rotary Club. Doctor's Appointment at the same time. Take returns back to three stores amid all the lunatics at the mall. Take three teenage girls back to the mall to take pictures for the Purity Retreat. Praise Team rehearsal at church. Sigh of relief that this day is over.

THURSDAY- Piano Recital

I have to admit, even though I spent the day doing laundry so my kids would have matching clothes and clean socks to wear, this was wa-a-ay fun! The kids' piano teacher, Miss Kim, had all of her students and their families over to her house for the recital and a holiday feast. The adults ate at a table that looked like something out of Southern Living. She did all the cooking, fed the kids while the parents sat and talked, and sent us all home with gorgeous gift baskets and homemade goodies. Wow. And Nathanael played his first recital piece ever, called "The Snowman". Too cute!

FRIDAY- SATURDAY - Purity Retreat

Our church hosted a Purity Retreat this weekend for teen and preteen girls and Becca's friend Erin stayed the night with us. The girls made scrapbooks with different pages for each of the things they discussed. The books are beautiful and will be a reminder of how priceless they are as daughters of the King. Moms came in at the end of the retreat to eat dinner with their daughters and have a mothers' discussion about how we can help our daughters keep their commitments to be pure in a society that glamorizes promiscuity. It was truly a priceless weekend.

I also finally got all the sandals and flip flops out of the shoe basket, and I tied the sock basket to the shelf in the laundry room, to keep "Not Me" from dumping clean socks all over the laundry room floor again. I know, it sounds insignificant, but I have to enjoy the brief moments of Victory Over Chaos.

SUNDAY- Roadtrip with my Husband!

John has been looking forward to this day for months! He was given tickets to the Titans vs. Jaguars game at work, and we farmed the kids out to different friends from church and took off! The seats were in the club level, which was fun- we got to skip a lot of the long lines, park at the stadium lot and grab a bite to eat at the stadium restaurant. The weather was warm and sunny (in December??) and the Titans won, 24-17. Very fun.

Afterward, we ate dinner at the Melting Pot, where every course is served Fondue style. My hands-down favorite would have to be dessert... cheesecake, poundcake, brownies, marshmallows, strawberries, pineapples and bananas with your choice of chocolate. In fact, I would be perfectly happy to just skip the salad and meat and go straight from the cheese to the chocolate... After we finished the dessert plate, the waiter asked, "Would you like some additional dessert to finish off that chocolate?" Was he serious?? He was. I actually had to leave cheesecake on the table because I was so stuffed. Pure heaven.

And that was our week, blessed with friends, faith and lots of fun. I hope yours was blessed as well.

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time...

Fun days! We've had a very busy Christmas sort of week, with a homeschool field trip to the KY Opry Christmas show, a space mission at the Challenger Learning Center, all kinds of rehearsals for choir and piano and best of all- a visit from GranMartha and Uncle Matt! They wanted to see Becca, Philip and
John Mark perform at the Symphony Children's Concert on Saturday.

John Mark is not in the children's chorus this year, but he agreed to be the boy in the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas story. He was perfectly agreeable about the whole thing until he found that he would be wearing a victorian-style night shirt and long johns up on stage, in front of all his friends. Not a cool thing for a 13-year-old boy. Somehow he managed to endure the humiliation and the concert was a success.

After the concert, we went out to eat and Uncle Matt treated us all to Happy Feet, which the kids had been dying to see. John laughed so hard I was worried he was going to spew his Dr. Pepper all over me. The kids loved it, but John and I left wondering if it had been financed by Green Peace or the Sierra Club... a perfectly cute little movie was hijacked by an "evil humans are destroying the environment" message.

GranMartha and the kids made ornaments the rest of the evening; then church on Sunday (ask John about the red corvette); and youth Care group at our house Sunday night. GranMartha and Uncle Matt managed to escape before Youth Care Group. Somehow during the weekend we also managed to fit in a visit to Patti's, do a little shopping, get presents wrapped and get the house clean!

And today? Absolutely, blessedly nothing except watching the pretty lights and enjoying my clean house for a few brief moments before the kids decimate it again.

A Christmas Prayer

I found this beautiful prayer on Miss Judy's blog and thought it should be shared:

Dear God,

As I look through my gift shopping list, I hold up to you each person listed on it. Slowly, one by one, I ask that the fire of your abundant love burn within each of them. I pray that the gift I find for each person will bring joy into that life.

But, help me to keep a balance this season, Lord. Let me keep my buying in perspective, not to spend more than I need to or can afford. Let me not give in to the pressures of this world and not equate love with money spent. Let me always remember the many, many people who have so much less in material things. Help me to buy wisely, so that my choices will not burden those in other countries who are so deeply affected by this country's economy.

And finally, loving God, help me to find time in the frantic moments of each day to become centered on you. Walking through a store, riding on the bus, hurrying down a street: let each of these times be moments when I can remember your incredible love for me and rejoice in it.

Amen

Wordless Wednesday- The Nativity According to Nathanael

I believe that's a shepherd and a Wise Man... now we know why they didn't show up in Bethlehem at the same time.



For more Wordless Wednesdays, go to Wordless Wednesdays or Five Minutes for Mom

Ring My Bell!

Tonight, our family rang bells in front of the mall for the Salvation Army. It's "officially" a community service activity for our homeschool 4-H club, but we don't do it as a club; rather each family chooses a time during the afternoon or evening. Our family always rings at night so John can come and participate too. This is right up his alley, since my husband is the kind of guy who never met a stranger. While we ring, the little ones dance around from the cold and excitement, and the big ones try to maintain their "cool" and hope that no one they know comes by. Personally, I love these opportunities to witness the generosity of our community. I still get a little thrill when someone stuffs coins or a few bills inside the bucket. Although it would have been nicer to stand outside during the spring-like weather we had last week, I suppose it wouldn't have been very "Christmasy". Besides, how often do you get to stand in front of the mall and make as much noise as you please? Next year I'm bringing the reindeer antlers.

Singing in the Season

When some people think of Christmas, they think of Santa, Christmas trees, presents, a nativity scene... when band, orchestra and choir parents think of Christmas, they think of their tuxedoed offspring on stage with a choir, a clarinet, a tuba, or- if they're particularly unlucky (or particularly patient)- a snare drum. It's that time of year: the commencement of "Concert Season".

Veteran parents patiently endure the same arrangements of the same holiday songs for years on end as each of their children reaches the proper age to hold a flute or a cello, or sing on key with a gaggle of their classmates. They enthusiastically applaud every performance of "Sleigh Ride", "Carol of the Bells", "Russian Christmas Music", and "Hallelujah Chorus" as if they were hearing it for the very first time. I sit in the audience now instead of on the stage, and I realize that Christmas just would not be the same for me without sharing in the magic and mayhem of childrens' holiday performances. I love this time of year.