"Decem-blur"

This post is brought to you by..... a virus! Not a computer virus, but rather a virus that has invaded Ray's body and has given him several days of achy yuckiness and a high fever. Blah! Unfortunately, this virus hit Ray right as we were preparing to head up to Michigan to celebrate Christmas with Jon's family this weekend. So, Jon and Adam are up in Michigan partying with the relatives and Ray and I are here laying low with the virus.

 

Although I've been worried about Ray and disappointed to miss celebrating with my in-laws, I have to admit that this surprise three days of "downtime" is a very welcome gift. It's such an under-statement to say that the last several weeks have been crazy busy. 

 

I had the privilege of speaking at a parish afternoon of reflection a few Sundays ago. Ironically (but not coincidentally I'm sure), I was asked to speak about Advent as a time of waiting and opening ourselves up to receive and celebrate the Love of Jesus in a new way at Christmas. When asked to give the talk I so wanted to say that I was too busy, but I knew that God was calling me to be less busy and focus on Him this Season. I think I gave really good insights and reflections at that talk, but I had to humbly admit to the people that I was struggling mightily to walk the talk. And it's been a continual struggle throughout this beautiful season. Many nights I've stayed up way too late baking, wrapping, crafting, decorating, fretting.... and haven't gotten to the computer to blog. But some nights I've lit the Advent candles, sat on the couch, recited the Psalms, and enjoyed the quiet Presence of God.... and haven't gotten to the computer to blog.

 

And so, to follow up on the "Novem-blur" post, I humbly submit the "Decem-blur" edition. Enjoy!

 

We found this beautiful angel on our dining room table on the First Sunday of Advent. She brought a beautiful scroll inviting us to spend Advent completing activities she would bring us each day. She brought us a lovely Advent reflection book to read each day as well. As a family, we have had some nice Advent devotions, discussions, rituals, and prayers. The boys keep accusing me of being the Advent Angel, but I keep assuring them that I'm no angel. We've all enjoyed the treats and activities she's brought and we'll miss her when the Season is over.

 

I worked with some friends to craft/create 34 of these "Mass Kits" to help teach our children about the vessels used at Mass. It was a fun, but time consuming project. My boys really like it  and it will be helpful with Adam's First Communion preparation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The girls and boys book clubs gathered together for a Christmas book swap and party. We watched the movie of a book we had read, "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey." We love our book club friends!

We got to spend a fun day with Ava (as she was off school for some kind of teacher meeting). We enjoyed some Christmas crafting!

 

 We went to see Carter's school Christmas play. He was a Wise Man. The blind camel (see below) stole the show! It was a fun evening.

Due to weather and illness, our Friday Geography class only got to meet one time in December! So much for the big, fun Christmas Around the World unit we had planned! We did have a great time on Saint Lucy Day though!

The boys dressed as "star boys" according to the custom in Sweden.

Check out these cuties in their Santa Lucia wreathes!

Ray gave a report on Christmas in Germany. Adam hasn't gotten a chance to give his Christmas in Ethiopia report due to the cancellations.

We made these neat little "Christingles" (a German and English custom that is full of Christian symbolism).

We have made lots and lots of cookies and Chex Mix! Here's Adam getting caught "sampling" the treats!

We've slowly assembled and decorated our Christmas tree (just FINALLY finished today).

 

Our tree has a bit of a new look this year. New lights. AND.... a train that circles right around the middle of the tree (brought by Santa last year). As you can see (above), Mary and Joseph were placed (by some mischievous child) in a rather precarious position as they've been journeying to the manger scene. I'm happy to report that no figurine was injured.

 

We have enjoyed praying and singing our Advent devotions after dinner during Advent. I love this shot of Ray with the tree and Advent wreath in the background.

We taught Daddy all about the Christingles and used them as an Advent centerpiece.

Did I mention cookies? Jon surprised me with a new electric cookie press. I have always loved my Grandma's old press, but this one is so much easier to use! And these cookies -- with almond extract -- are awesome!

Oh yeah, Ray also had a birthday! (I'm working backward through the month here.) Ray turned NINE on December 3rd! He is growing, learning, and maturing so quickly. I just love this boy and I'm so very proud of him!

 

We really lucked out as far as a birthday celebration for him. Jon's firm decided to have their Christmas party on Ray's birthday.... at a super fun place for the whole family.... and let us invite our extended family to join them! I can't emphasize enough how blessed we are to be part of this firm. They are so good to our family and we love being a "work family" with them.

Ray raced down this giant slide yelling, "It's my birthday!"

Our monkey --- upside down as usual.

The climbing wall was the main attraction for Ray, Adam, Carter, and Ava.

Jon and his business partner, Mike.
(All of us who were trained to chaperone the bouncers had to wear these crazy orange bandanas...
that's not their standard issue accountant-wear.)

So many sweet and kind gifts!
I got this fun friend.

I just had to post this awesome picture of my mom's new do! ;)
Ava got a hair painting kit and gave us all makeovers.

We brought Ray's presents to the party and he was in heaven!

Our book club also read and studied Homer Price this month. We really loved this old-fashioned fun tale that is set in Ohio and written by Robert McCloskey.

We HAD to make donuts after reading Homer Price!

And finally.... a cute shot of my cute friends!
We really enjoy learning and playing together.

 So, that's the blur that has been December. We've wrapped up school and are on a winter break. YEAH!!!! The frenzy of Christmas preparations is winding down and we are more than ready to enter into a time of true celebration of the Birth of Jesus at Christmas. 

"Novem-blur"

Zoom... zoom.... zoom! November was a quick month full of learning and fun.It really flew by so quickly and I didn't get to blog nearly as much as I would have liked. Here are some highlights.

 

 

Adam got to make "weapons" (aka "tools") in his nature class and he was thrilled.
Both boys really loved all 10 weeks of their fall co-op.

Blue Man Group!
Jon and I got to go to this crazy, weird show with his co-workers.



Trick-or-treating in November... postponed due to storms.
Lots of fun with cousins and friends

 

We studied the 13 English Colonies.... and we built this 3-D puzzle model of Jamestown.
It was a fun family project.
Thanks Dave and Karen for this great gift!



Lego Fun!
The boys have really been enjoying building and playing with their Legos while I read aloud to them. We read Homer Price, The Knight's Castle, and  Alice in Wonderland this month (in addition to a lot of interesting reading about the colonies).

Adam and Ryan using a cipher wheel to crack a code at book club.
The boys cracked codes to complete a treasure hunt.
We read The Unbreakable Code and learned about the Navajo Code Talkers in World War II.

 

I helped my mom set up her display at our parish craft bazaar.
She makes AWESOME baby things and scarves and holiday napkins and wallets....
She's so talented. I'm proud of her.

Adam showing off a Lego flag at our Geography class.
We are loving our around the world adventures on Fridays.

Ray working on a flag sticker project at Geography class.



Adam - at Frisch's - right after celebrating his First Reconciliation.
He's really excited to begin his preparations for First Eucharist.

Crazy weather! (And crazy kid!)
I had to laugh when Adam came down in this outfit...
 a snowman shirt with shorts.
But that's truly how crazy --- up and down --- the weather was all month.

Jon and Ray baking cookies for a bake sale at our co-op.

The champions of the leaf gathering!
(Although we STILL have leaves on the ground and in the trees.)

Adam and Ray at the Co-Op Showcase

Sorry for the blurry picture, but this is Adam and Ray's music class performing at the Showcase.
It was awesome to hear them sing. Adam seemed particularly animated and excited about this.
He and Ray are in the back row to the right of the cross.

A few days after the Showcase, the co-op presented an AMAZING performance of Alice in Wonderland.
I was surprised at how much the boys loved this book and play.

 Perhaps the biggest and most fun part of "Novem-blur" for us was a trip to San Antonio, Texas! I'll do a more detailed post about it soon. We had so much fun visiting my bestie, Susan, and exploring this great city.

I just had to add this great picture of Jon milking a fake cow at the San Antonio Children's Museum.
He actually pulled off an udder!!!! (But quickly fixed it.)
I love this man!

And then, THANKSGIVING! We had a wonderful day with my family at my Mom's house. Dinner was great and then we played a fun card game that we grew up playing with my grandparents. It's called "Schnitze" and the kids FELL IN LOVE with this game. I don't know why they're all hiding their faces in this picture, but I know they had a great time!

We enjoyed attending our town's annual Holiday Lights Parade.

 

And we ended the month with a fun evening of square dancing with some families in our homeschool group. At first Adam vehemently opposed participating in any kind of dancing. But we dragged him into the first dance ("The Chicken Dance") and then he stuck with the first square dances (mostly clinging to my leg). After a while he declared that he LOVED square dancing and insisted that we dance every dance. I love that kid!

 

And I couldn't resist posting this random shot of the boys and Carter making a "laser" maze in our hallway. These kinds of impromptu projects are just part of everyday life with kids. I love their ingenuity and the pure, innocent fun they have when they do these kinds of things. This was quite an elaborate and long-lasting project. I had to crawl over and under it to get to the bathroom.... and it was a workout! (The cats loved this too!)

So that's what we've been up to... and why blogging has not been happening much. Thanks for your patience. Thanks for reading!

Saint Nicholas, pray for us.

Hello. I'm still here. I apologize for my long absence here. What busy days and weeks these have been!

Happy Feast of Saint Nicholas!

We put out our shoes....

... and found sweet little treats this morning.

Adam's holding tight to some chocolate "dollars" an Ray's excited about a Lego mini-figure.

It was a topsy-turvy mixed-up kind of Friday. Our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Geography classes were cancelled due to an icy mix this morning which was followed by four inches of snow. We had my nephew Carter here as well since his school was cancelled.

Right after Jon left for work Adam looked out the school room window and said, "Something is dead out there." Aggghhh! Sure enough, a large rabbit was laying right outside our window.... with no head!!!! So of course I called Jon and he came right back home and took care of it... with Ray's assistance. Such big brave men!!!

And of course I've spent the day pondering and fretting about what got that rabbit.... right outside my window. Poor little bunny, rest in peace.

Once the excitement settled, it was nice to have a bit of a break and a change in our schedule at the end of this very busy week. We played and relaxed this morning... mostly. Then we met my mom and Jon for lunch (since the ice had melted and it wasn't yet snowing).

We did manage to do Spelling tests, Math, Reading, Religion, and Social Studies this afternoon.... so I was happy with that.

The boys enjoyed playing in the snow before dinner and then Jon got last minute tickets to the Blue Jackets hockey game. He and Adam went to the game and Ray and I set up the Christmas tree.

So there's a rambly post about my day.... I guess I'm a bit rusty on blogging. I've started to get complaints from my faithful readers (all three of you) so I knew I had to get something posted here. Saint Nicholas and dead rabbits. Beggars can't be choosers.... but I'll try to get caught up soon.

 

 

How Quickly Things Change

Sunday ---

 

Tuesday --

Ray was very proud of his first "snowman" of the year!
Yes, Adam is likely licking the slide.

 

One change that I'm really happy about is that they don't even ask me to go out in the snow with them anymore. Yeah!

 

One change that I'm not happy about is Ray's change from healthy boy on Sunday to "virus boy" today. Negative strep test.... but sore throat and headache and lots of whining.

 

Gotta love Ohio!

Dancing Leaves

At the turning of the season

as the trees begin to wane

one might see children run about

for a reason that's quite plain.

 

 

 

They seek to trap but just a few

of the leaves that slowly fall

from branches on the many trees

they find so very tall.

 

 

 

They stay alert

and watch intently

the colors coming down.

 

While in their minds

they search intensely

for where they'll touch the ground.

 

 

 

Though to those who do not know their game,

It appears a blind confusion

The aimlessness

that strangers see

Is but the leaves' elusion.

 

 

 

***I found this poem online but couldn't find an author to credit.