Christmas Traditions

I love tradition. It gives me a sense of security and connectedness. I also like mixing it up a bit and adding something new each year. It's been fun reading about the traditions that other bloggers observe during this Christmas season. It inspired me to share some of ours.


We put up our family tree the week after Thanksgiving. We play Christmas music and have Andes Mint Hot Cocoa and Cookies together.


We start our Advent readings that correlate with our calendar. The kids enjoy putting the correct person or animal or symbol in the little pockets of the calendar.


We sit down and make out our baking list and each of the kids choose 1-3 kinds that they want to help make. This year our list included:

• Spritz Cookies (Ladybug)
  
• No-Bakes (Busy Bee)
  
• Reindeer Noses (Bookworm)
  
• Imperial Cookies
  
• Peanut Butter Temptations
  
• Almond Butter Cutouts (Ladybug)
  
• Oreo Truffles (Ladybug)
  
• Peppermint Pattie Cookies
  
• English Toffee
• Almond Biscotti
  
• Walnut Crescents
  
• Ande's Mint Cookies

We celebrated Christmas with our Family Fellowship group as well. We give each family homemade gifts. This year I gave them each a sampling of my Christmas baking and a bottle of homemade Vanilla Extract. My husband taught the lesson this time and it was on the Uniqueness of Christ, it was a great lesson for the season and we sang some carols with it. We had a good meal and wonderful fellowship. The Lord has really provided for us with this group. I am so thankful for these amazing Christian families.

We go to a neighborhood in our community that really goes all out with lights and displays. We drive through and listen to Christmas music and choose our favorite displays.

We visit our great group of friends in Ohio for a week. They are really more like family. We have been friends for over ten years. We started out the homeschooling adventure together. Now we are all in different phases of life but the fellowship is better than ever. They are truly my brothers and sisters and our relationship has proven to be Christ affirming and edifying. Whenever I feel low these women are my PEOPLE! They come visit us at the lake every summer, we ladies have our retreat in February and we are truly there for eachother. My hope is that you all have people like that in your lives. Okay, done with the sentimental!

On this visit we went to the Creation Museum and went through the living Nativity- very cool. We have a Christmas Party with all six families each year. Our menu this year was:

• Rob & Rosie's Ham
  
• Steve's Mashed Potato Casserole
  
• My Sweet Potato Casserole
  
• Sandy's Green Beans
  
• Sandy's Corn
  
• Karen's Cabbage Casserole
  
• Karen's La Comedia Salad
  
• Susan's Fruit Salad
  
• Rolls
  
• Deb's Kringla and Krumkaka- sp? Norwegian yummies!

We exchange gifts and stories and laughter. We close the evening with carols. On the day of the party, the guys always go to the air force museum while the ladies cook and fellowship. We moms always make sure we have time out together. The last couple years, we've gone out to breakfast. One new thing we did this year was to go to inner city Cinncinatti and help a friend with an outreach program. The kids that came were very blessed and it was nice to see Christ being shared with the community.

On Christmas Eve we have my whole side of the family over for a nice sit down meal. There are 14 (soon to be 15) of us. Our menu included:

• Fried Ravioli with Sauce
  
• Shirley Temples
  
• Soda, Milk, Juices, Ice Water
  
• Brown Sugar Glazed Hams
  
• Creamy Herbed Potatoes
  
• Baked Mac and Cheese
  
• German Green Beans
  
• Glazed Carrots
  
• Fluffy Fruit Salad
  
• Buttercrunch Salad
  
• Papaya Chutney Dressing
  
• Homemade Ranch Dressing
  
• Herbed Dinner Rolls
  
• Blueberry Cheesecake
  
• French Silk Pie
  
• Banana Cream Pie
  
• Cookie Tray

We open gifts, fellowship and play games. It's always a good time.

On Christmas Morning we open gifts and have breakfast beside the tree.

Brad and Busy Bee's big gifts were Red Wings hockey tickets! They are very excited!

Ladybug was thrilled with her IPod Touch!

Bookworm finally got her laptop. I thought she might get up and start singing, "Oh, Happy Day".

We put Baby Jesus in the manger and move the wiseman closer to the stable. We stay in our pajamas most of the day. We work on a new puzzle and play with the new gadgets, toys and technology. In the afternoon we get out all the ingredients for a smorgasbord:

• Prosciutto
  
• Capricola
  
• Salami
  
• Summer Sausage
  
• Black Forest Ham
  
• Honey Turkey
• BBQ Glazed Chicken
  
• Brie
• Boursin Cheese
  
• Norwegian Havarti with Dill
  
• Colby Jack
  
• Pumpernickel
  
• Ciabata
  
• Honey Wheat
• Assorted Crackers
• German Potato Salad
• Cucumber Salad
• Deviled Eggs
  
• Papaya Chutney
  
• Cream Cheese with Onion and Chives
  
• Herb Butter
  

Sometimes we visit my mom's in the late afternoon for cookies and cocoa and sometimes we just stay in and watch a Christmas movie or take a nap. It's a very relaxed and peaceful day. We make sure the kids are mindful of Jesus' birth and its meaning throughout the day.

We try to get a sledding/skiing day in before we visit my in-laws for our Chritmas with them. This year the girls have a sleepover planned with a friend from volleyball. I have a little shopping trip planned with a friend for some after Christmas deals before the visit. The kids enjoy playing with cousins and celebrating together.

Then we come home and everyone helps take down the decorations and pack them away for next year. We listen to carols for one last time and put those away until next year.

What traditions do you and your family value?

Deck the Halls

I love this time of year. I know for many it's hectic, but for us life slows down quite a bit. I get my shopping done in November. School wraps up the first week of December with the kids finishing up on their own during the second week. Clubs, classes and activities finish up early in December too. Then the fun begins.

The fancy tree goes up in the living room amidst carols and cocoa. The trimmings are pink, cream and gold. It's a Victorian tree with ornaments we've been collecting for 17 years.

I love the Dickens Village under the tree. My mom and husband have given me all the pieces. Ladybug loves helping me set up the village each year. We have fun talking about the period and imagining what it would have been like to live during that time.

The tree ornaments include parasols, ballet slippers, china tea cups, angels, Victorian dolls, pearl beaded stars and pink and cream floral bows.

The family tree goes up in the great room with a classic Christmas movie playing in the background and bowls of buttery popcorn nearby.

Most of these ornaments are ones that the kids have made or ones they have been given. Some of Bookworm's favorites include her polar bears and her snowmen. Ladybug loves her angels and Busy Bee loves his hockey skates.

My favorites are all the ones the kids have made and the ones they buy me each year. I appreciate the effort they make to find just the right one.

The manger scene gets put up without Baby Jesus in the manger and we keep the wiseman off to the side.

The kids take turns putting Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning. We also move the wiseman a little closer each day after Christmas to symbolize the Wiseman's travel to the Christ Child.

We usually read a nativity story or 2. This year we read one we bought at the Creation Museum last year. The kids arrange and rearrange the manger scene frequently throughout the season.

The dining room gets decked out too. I love the fresh burgundy poinsetta. It goes great in there. I made a pair of window swags for the corners of the window. I love the brown, cream and icy blue together.

One of the fun parts of blogging is learning about other's Christmas traditions, family recipes, craft ideas and heirloom recipes.

I have several ideas that I want to try out for next year that I got from other blogs. The Jesse tree is one I am planning on implementing. The other is to have a friends party that has a service focus. What traditions do you hold dear? How do you hold up Christ during this time of year?

August Activities

August was pretty eventful for us. Initially I planned to start school the first week of August but everyone else had other ideas. Our new volleyball coach scheduled 2 a days for the first week. Our speech and debate coach found a good speech and debate camp for the second week. The third week my girlfriend and her family were able to come to the lake for a visit.

The best laid plans is really code for I need to learn to be more flexible. Flexibility is overrated! It really means I'm not getting anything accomplished and I'm trying to be okay about it. All the activity was fun and I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of it, but it also put me behind with lesson planning, gardening, home keeping, etc.

Amidst all the fun this summer, we received troublesome news about Brad's grandfather. He was diagnosed with cancer. He is scheduled to have surgery soon. The family had a party for him and we were able to visit with him. The kids call him "Candy Man" because he always has oodles of candy in his pockets. Ladybug was ill so she wasn't able to come. Below is a picture of Candy Man and his wife Joan with a small portion of his great-grandchildren.



We made several more trips to Lake Michigan with friends. Busy Bee really enjoyed his new wake board. He stayed busy on the shoreline most of the day riding on it. People were stopping him constantly and asking him about it. Grown men were tumbling into the surf left and right trying to ride the board. Busy Bee made it look easy but he was also much lighter than they were.

Ladybug, Bookworm and her friend had a great time together. The waves were huge that day and I was still recovering with a bout of vertigo. Let's just say that I wasn't always sure which way was up. The kids thought it was pretty funny.



We walked the beach and watched the big ships going through the channel. The sailboats were so pretty to watch and I've always liked lighthouses.



Now it's time to buckle down and get moving on all those lesson plans. I also have some Charlotte Mason mp3's to listen to. I am definitely ready for a schedule again. Hope you're enjoying your summer.

Detroit Zoo

Bookworm wanted to go to a zoo for her birthday. She LOVES Polar Bears. I'm sure you all think Polar Bears and right away the Detroit Zoo pops into your head. Right? Well that is what popped into Bookworms head. I admit to some very low expectations, but it was her choice. We each invited a friend and off we went.WOW! I was blown away. The zoo was clean with beautiful gardens, reflecting pools and fountains. The exhibits were huge and the animals seemed content. I never saw one thing referring to evolution. I know, I was shocked! The signs were educational and focused on the animal and it's habitat as well as what the zoo keeper's do to enrich the animals lives. They also shared about their research and ongoing efforts to save endangered species.

The Arctic exhibit was awesome. The Polar Bears were active and moving around their 4 1/2 acre exhibit. We went through 3 separate times and every time they were doing something different. This was definitely the highlight of the day for us.

The girls at the reflecting pool. I highly recommend this zoo. The prices were very reasonable, especially compared to Cincinnati or Indy.

This guy had me a little concerned. He kept staring at me and I don't have a good track record with the Gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo. He threw a clump of sod over the ravine and it narrowly missed my head.

Early July Highlights

We made a few trips to Lake Michigan in July. The kids like the bigger waves. I prefer our quiet and much calmer lake.

Bookwork with one of her best friends who was visiting from Ohio.

Busy Bee had the girls bury him in the sand. I admit that I don't get why this is fun, but he was thrilled.

I love this shot of the kids watching the sun set. They knew their time was drawing to a close.

Bookworm found this injured butterfly. She made it some sugar water and put it in a protected spot. After about 10 hours the butterfly flew off on it's own.

Busy Bee got a lead part at Drama Camp- Waldo Pointer, the GPS Operator who was directionally challenged. He had a lot of fun and did really well.

Busy Bee got up on skis, a very big deal to him. Ladybug learned to slalom and even to start off on just one ski.

Sandhill Cranes have been seen all summer. I missed all the babies crossing but so beautiful.

Woodchucks invaded the garden shed. They make such a mess but are soo adorable.

It's perfect! The waterlilies have been beautiful this year. I'm having a Monet moment.

June Highlights

Here are some highlights from the month of June...

The girls had TLC Volleyball Camp.
We spent about 98% of our time at the lake, submerged.
Bookworm got 8 mowing jobs at the lake.
Ladybug babysat a few times for some friends up there.
Busy Bee dog sat for some friends.
They were happy to earn some extra spending money.
I got absolutely no lesson planning done.
We had lots of friends visit- no pictures- I guess we were having too much fun and forgot!

If really feels like we have been in a month long episode of "Wild America" around the lake. Here's a list of what we have seen or heard: Box Turtle, The Large Snapping Turtle above- you can't tell from the photo but he was bigget across than my elbow to my fingertips, Painted Turtle, Muskrats, 2 Beaver, 3 Otter, Deer- running up and down the dirt roads, Rabbits, Coyote, Barn Owls, 2 Blue Herons, Sand Hill Cranes, Geese, Ducks, Cougars- think we heard one, some neighbors saw one, DNR finally confirmed one in the area, Wild Cats, Barn Swallows, Orioles, Humingbirds, Goldfinches, Fish- all kinds, Snakes- mostly Corn and Garter, normal summer birds, Turkeys- everywhere, still haven't seen the Eagles though.

My personal highlight- catching 4lb 6oz and 3lb Large Mouth Bass on the same morning. My friend and I caught 50 some Bass in 3 hours that day. I was actually in the lead of the Summer Bass contest for a whole 6 hours. Dinner really is in the Freezer!

We surprised Brad with at Father's Day Weekend trip to Frankenmuth. We had a great time at the waterpark/hotel. Ofcourse a little shopping at the Christmas store and a Zehnder's Chicken Dinner was a must. We kind of rolled to the van that night.

I feel a little bit guilty for not getting any projects going around the house, but not guilty enough to change anything for July!!

Easter Weekend Blessings

Point of Grace Concert:

My good friend won tickets to see Point of Grace from our local Christian Radio station. She decided to make it a girls night out and invited me and two other friends. We had a great night of music and friendship.

The ladies of POG are wonderful, they harmonize so well together. They have an excellent message. It was fun to sing along with the songs that I knew, but I really enjoyed the songs off their new album. We even had our picture taken with the ladies of POG and got their autographs. Thanks, D!

Easter with Family:

We had a lovely Easter with family at my brother's home.
I am blessed to have a wonderful family and to be able to celebrate the resurrection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus. I thank God for the freedom to gather in worship.

Bookworm, Ladybug, holding my nephew, and Busy Bee

I am off to Midwest Homeschool Conference tomorrow. It should be a good time of refreshment. Maybe I'll see some of you there!