Merry Christmas!

Um.. Hi Mom. What was I supposed to say?


Mom, what is this?


Oooooo, pretty! Oh - Mom, was I supposed to be doing something?


Merry Christmas from The Bookworms!

(By the way, because we are the Bookworms, I feel obligated to tell you that if The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey isn't part of your Christmas book collection, you need to pick it up! It's a beautiful story about how Jesus, a little boy, and his widowed mother change the heart and the life of a grumpy widower.)

And also, aren't my mother-in-law's tree and staircase lovely?

Electricity, UncaBilly, and Christmas Cheer

Though I didn't mention it, the ice store knocked out our power for about five days. I do, however, have VERY generous in-laws who allowed us to occupy the second story of their house for the duration. So, we all had a bed to sleep in. It made for a very interesting week. At least the roads weren't bad - we were able to get out during the day and travel around town fairly well.

This week, UncaBilly has come to visit. He took #2 out for the afternoon - they went hiking. It was apparently great fun and included frog-spotting, rock-tossing, and an unplanned swim - #2 got a bit too close. We were very blessed that he can keep afloat.

We've worked a bit on Christmas school - parts of Live And Learn's Grinch lapbook and a nativity lapbook. For the rest of the week, we'll be working on Hands of a Child's Christmas Cheer lapbook. And then we're taking a week off. Currant read-alouds include Mr. Popper's Penguins and The Best Christmas Pagent Ever.

But right now I'm going to sleep.

Ice Age

Our pretty shade tree in the front yard:


#2's favorite climbing tree:


Random areas of the South side of Bookwormsville:

Update on Bookworm #3

Here's #3. He's busy. He's 21 months old, and he thinks he's five years old like #2. He climbs anything and everything. I snapped this picture to remind me of the rare occasion of him going THROUGH the tunnel instead of OVER it.

He is the king of the one-word sentence. "Shoes. On." "Lights. Off." And my favorite: "Whole-deeeeee!" (Hold me, please. I need a snuggle.)

And there is so, so much more I could say about this little boy - but I STILL need that shower and the Bookworm King just handed me a paper to proofread, so I'm signing off for the night.

I was updating you - so there were three posts in one night. However, in the future, ya'll will be getting snippets, remember, and that is ok. It's appropriate for my season, and it's OK.

Update on Bookworm #4

See these baby blues? He looks just like #2 did at this age (7 months, by the way). Only #4 is happy - #2 pretty much cried until he learned to crawl.... which #4 is doing rapidly. He has reverse down pat. Forward motion should be forth-coming - maybe the wrapping paper will get him going on Christmas morning. Lord knows there will be a ton of it available to play with.

#4 is just sweet - he loves to snuggle, he chews on his toys, he laughs, he chows down on both fruits and veggies - but he doesn't like rice cereal. His brothers think he's some kind of living action figure - and sometimes he's a bump in their road or a boulder on their train track.

Again I could say much more, but I still need to go take that shower...

Update on Bookworm #2

Look at those beautiful blue eyes! This is one place you can usually find my energetic Bookworm #2 - he's swinging from a tree in the backyard. And he is happy, so very happy, when he is OUT. IN is very hard for him - he is the epitome of boy - one definition I've read is "a noise with dirt on it." While he has many other wonderful qualities, that is definitely true. He likes to make messes - but he also likes to help clean them up. He has the muddiest pants in the history of the world, but he loves to help load and unload the washing machine. He tracks in more outdoors than he leaves out, but he likes to vacuum. He's a wonderful helper.

As for school, he's reading pretty well - when he wants to, and he's learning the additions facts and coming along in mathematical know-how - when he wants to. He loves to be read to. He hates to write. He wants to know, but he doesn't want to work. This has left me trying to find a balance in our homeschool between having school and working with his whims. He is only five. There is no reason for us to stress over school. I am more concerned with him ENJOYING learning and wanting to know more and read more than I am with filling out workbook pages and doing math problems. SO, I've made some adjustments in our homeschool to accommodate him - because he's the only student at the moment, and the whole program can revolve around him and his needs. We've swung way more towards the ideals of a Charlotte Mason education - but that is another post.

His behavior is coming under control. Temper tantrums are rare now, and obedience is quickly becoming a habit. (Hallelujah!)

There is much more to say about this enthusiastic bookworm, but I need to go take a shower.

I am giving myself permission...

I love to write. It's just as easy for me to blog as it is to write anywhere else since I'm anal about grammar and spelling and usch regardless of where I'm writing or for whom.

I had all these grand plans to post book reviews, to write interesting things that others would read, to post things that might help others.

Obviously that isn't God's plan for my blog

because I haven't posted in two months.

I've had things to say, but this isn't my season for brainiac blog posting.

SO...

I'm refining my vision for my blog. This is going to be a catalog of events - photographs and verbal snapshots of our family and our activities and such. You will often find here, a day in the life. You'll find things I want to remember - a scrapbook, in many cases, of events and moments that I never want to forget (yes, my nerdy husband makes sure that my blog is periodically backed-up)

I'm giving myself permission to post one paragraph in a day - or a picture and a sentence - or a series of snapshots with no words at all.

Life in this season is moving so quickly that I can't take it all in. I'm missing memories right and left - and I have to get them recorded. I love to crop, but scrapbooking isn't fitting in well right now. We'll see if I can do better by just blogging often instead of blogging deep thoughts and important decisions.