Happy New Year!

Waiting for the new year is not easy....

Simon, Jackson and myself made it, but not by much!!

Have a very Happy New Year!!!

Two, Four, Six, Eight...

...who do we appreciate?

My 2, 4, 6, and 8 year olds!!

For the next month I hit that "sweet spot" of having everyone at a nice even age.

How fun!

The End of an Era

Sad, but true, our crib came down for the last time. It's been in four different houses with four different children and seeing as Simon had to rig it when he assembled it for Whitaker we knew when it came down this time, it was final.

So long crib!  We had some great memories!!

Above and right - Jackson

Above and below - Bennett

For Haviland

And Whitaker...

Sweet messages

Recently, I have received the sweetest typed notes from Jackson and Haviland. We've been using My Job Chart to keep track of their responsibilites and the site allows them to send us a note.

Here are some of my very favorite:

From Jackson-

Dear mom I loved you when you played the piano .and I can't wait to go the ?

(The ? mark was in reference to a surprise trip we took the kids on last week - Six Flags!)

From Haviland-

hi mom i love ween you love me


iloveyoumomisawwenyoulovemeyouweresokind
(Translation: I love you mom. I saw when you love me. You were so kind.)

Are these precious or what???

Here a chick, there a chick

Everywhere a chick chick!

Six to be exact!

Some dear friends decided to get their children some baby chicks a few weeks back. We were intrigued, but not won over. Fast forward three weeks and well, look at us now.

Haviland has yearned for a cuddly pet for more than six months now, but we just could not commit to the responsibility long term. However, we have friends that keep chickens for eggs and have agreed to taking our sweet chicks when they grow a bit.

So far, it's the best of both worlds. I have never seen Haviland so over the moon and motherly towards anything.

Lightly Row

Haviland is working just as hard as Jackson and is quickly catching up...

Sometimes you have to stop and...

I've been leaving love notes for the kids from time to time and these notes I purchased recently ask for a response. I love a snapshot into the minds of my children and this time my six year old left me smiling for sure.

Yes Haviland, sometimes you've just got to stop and work the math. There's no way around it! :)

The Birds' Christmas Carol

Just the fact that this story begins with a baby girl that is born at home on Christmas Day is reason enough for me to connect with and love The Birds' Christmas Carol.

This story was authored by Kate Douglas Wiggin and first published in 1886. If her name is familiar, you probably know her from her 1903 children's novel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

I discovered this book a year ago, but it was in e-book form and to be honest, as much as I tried reading it on my computer, it brought no joy and I certainly could not imagine snuggling down with my own Christmas baby to read this book from a screen. So, while I had saved it on my desktop I never thought to look at it again.

Fast forward to this year, would you ever believe that as I was perusing the discarded book section at the library last week this very book was there in the stack staring back at me??? The 25¢ price tag was just the icing on the cake!

Here's just one of the sweet parts in the book:

...I used to think, the first thing when I waked up on Christmas morning, "Today is Christ's birthday - and mine!" I did not put the words close together, you know, because that made it seem to bold; but I first said, "Christ's birthday," out loud, and then, in a minute, softly to myself - "and mine!"  "Christ's birthday - and mine!" And so I do not quite feel about Christmas as other girls do.


In case you can't find this book in print yourself, here's the next best thing.

The Birds' Christmas Carol

Merry Christmas!!

Girl Talk

Such a sweet friendship I enjoy watching deepen over the years. 

Can they really have known each other four years already??

Creation, Fall in the Garden, Cain and Abel...

We're still reading some of our books from last month's picks, so this month I wanted to share our favorite History resources that we've used this year.

Every year at CC, we learn and recite the timeline history of the world - from Creation through Modern America. We've used Veritas Press Flashcards which have a world event on the front and a description about the event on the backside of the card. These are hands-down, the most popular and well used material at CC and throughout our homeschool.

The only downside to the cards is that they are each 5 x 8 inches and are too large to display all at once. I was thrilled to discover History Through the Ages Timeline Figures which are about 2 x 2 inches. This has allowed us to display our entire history timeline in the school room. We have enjoyed having this up and I'm amazed that when we either read a book, see something on tv, or in the newspaper the kids run to the timeline to see where it fits in.

Even as small as the figures are, the timeline takes up 3 1/2 walls in the schoolroom.

And now, in typical CC fashion, here is Haviland reciting her timeline - Creation to Modern America.

(So I don't risk boring you, I videoed her in four segments and this is only part one but the rest is viewable on YouTube as well.)

Note: Yes, she does make a few mistakes, so don't confuse "her"story, with "HIS"story! :)

This was fun!

We had decided to wait and have Haviland's party when Simon's parents could be here so it was about a month late, but it was worth the wait.

Fun was had by all. Haviland chose a Rainbow Care Bear theme and the girls decorated t-shirts with rainbows and thought their masks were terrific.

Of course, my favorite part was the anticipation of the cake that Mom always makes for each of the kids on their birthdays. This year was no exception!

Sorry about the date stamp on these pictures. It's on Mom's camera and not a single one of us can figure out how to turn it off!!

Happy 5th!

My little girl is five!

Happy Birthday Haviland! I love you!!

Note: No, that cake was not her birthday cake. She chose to have brownies and the "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake was given to us. She wanted to blow candles out on it though. Can you tell we're still trying to figure out how to balance Christmas and birthday?