Christmas Stories

Recently in our Learning Time, we have been enjoying Christmas stories together--some from our own collection of books and some from the library. I decided to go through our bookshelves and pull out all the books that are specifically for Christmas, then put them in a basket in the living room to make it easy to find them and relish them during this holiday season (rather than, say, discovering a book in February and thinking "oh, I really wanted to read that to Josiah in December!"). So this morning I found 18 books that we own that are children's Christmas books...
...and I put them in this basket...
...books from "This Little Donkey"...
...to "One Wintry Night" and lots of reading levels in between.

It makes me want to curl up on the couch with my boys and do nothing but read! :)

Jeff's Creative Genius

Jeff had been asking me for a while if he could take some maternity photos of me (more than just the weekly "here, can you take a picture of me for my blog?" photo). So yesterday afternoon ended up being the time when everything cooperated to allow us some time for fun experimentation with the camera (and later experimentation with Picasa to crop, change the coloring, etc.). It felt really funny being the subject of so many pictures...and it really felt silly to get into some of the poses he wanted me to do. Plus, my back just about gave out after he had me lie down--on the hard floor--on my back--for some pictures. Getting up from that position was anything but graceful! :)

Anyway, here is one of the pictures he took. Isn't he amazing?

David's Latest Accomplishment

Look what David can do! He can draw an "A"! Isn't this fantastic?

He's so proud of himself...and so am I. :)

Horsie Rides

What boy doesn't delight in a horsie ride from his daddy? The longer, the bumpier, the better, as little boys pretend to be brave cowboys on bucking broncos.
And when the "horse" gets tired and has to take a break, the boys tumble off...and beg for "more, more, Daddy!"

Decorating a Christmas Tree 101

...according to Josiah.

Rule #1 - Wear pajamas while decorating the tree. Being comfortable makes the job easier and more enjoyable.

Rule #2 - Take your job very seriously. Being giddy and silly is for other times and places, NOT while decorating the Christmas tree.
Rule #3 - Be willing to sacrifice your body for the cause. If you must dive headfirst into the Christmas tree to place an ornament in the perfect spot, by all means, do it!

Rule #4 - Clustering the ornaments is a nice effect. Why spread them out evenly over the tree when you can hang them conveniently in one spot? A half-dozen red apples right beside each other is a lovely touch. And if you can squeeze a white bell into the same space, don't hesitate to do so.

Rule #5 - Let your ornament placement make sense. Of course, this angel would need to be looking inside this little olivewood stable to see what was going on in there and how the baby Jesus was getting along. Where else would the angel possibly want to be?

If you follow these valuable pieces of advice, you are GUARANTEED to have a tree that...wins awards? no ...draws "ooos" and "ahs" from all your guests? not exactly ...is a masterful showpiece unsurpassed by the most talented decorators? nah ...is a beloved part of your children's childhood memories? absolutely!!!

More Nativity Fun

When I got home last evening from a delicious and very fun dinner out with my friends Julie and Misty, I discovered that someone had brought some toy trucks to the manger. How thoughtful! I'm sure baby Jesus would LOVE to have something to play with! Hmm...I wonder who put those trucks there...maybe one of the little elves that lives in our house...
...maybe one of these elves...maybe that one on the right, innocently sucking his thumb while big brother gives him a squeeze...yep, I'm thinking that David decided to share his trucks with baby Jesus last night. What a sweetheart!!! :)

Our Nativity Scene

Since we have lived in this home, I've always given the privilege of setting up the nativity scene to Josiah--and now this year, David was able to participate as well. That's one of the main advantages of having an all-wooden nativity; it's not breakable, and I can set it on a low bench and make it very kid-friendly. Our nativity set came from Bethlehem and is made out of olive wood. When my mother was visiting me in Israel when I was a student there in 1996, she and I went to Bethlehem together and she bought this set for me then.

~ this is Josiah, as a three year-old, setting up the nativity in 2005
~ Josiah in 2006, 4 years old, taking his job very seriously :)

Another interesting thing about the nativity set is that when I arrange it, I like to spread out the pieces, grouping the wise men together, the stable figures together, etc. And I also like to clip some greenery to put around the various characters, too (although in the picture below, I haven't gotten to that part yet!). So my arrangement usually looks something like this:

However, I've noticed that when the boys arrange the figures this year (and I let them arrange and re-arrange as much as they want), the characters all end up in a clump like this picture below. It strikes me that this arrangement is probably much more realistic than the way I portray it. In all honesty, I'm sure the various characters of the Biblical drama clustered around the infant Jesus, rather than standing far away. Of course, I know that the wise men didn't show up at the same time the shepherds did, so if we want to be real purists, we couldn't mix them. But my point is that once again, I've been reminded of something pure and fresh...from seeing through the eyes of my children, I realize how real and close and "in-your-face" (and Middle Eastern) the adoration of Jesus must have been, not the sterile "stand back and don't get too close" worship of our Western culture.

The Pie Man

Something has gotten into Jeff.

He's been making pies.

Although he's much more likely than I am to spontaneously launch into some ambitious project like pie-making, it's still not exactly normal behavior for him. Hmm...is he nesting? :)

On Sunday, he took one of the pumpkins that had decorated our front steps, cooked it, used that to make 3 pumpkin pies, made the crust from scratch, and roasted the pumpkin seeds. I have NEVER made a pumpkin pie using a real pumpkin--canned store-bought pumpkin always seems much too appealing to me--but I salute him for his ability to do things the "real" way!

Yesterday afternoon, he made a boysenberry pie. I have NEVER made a boysenberry pie. It made the house smell so good while I was taking an afternoon nap on the couch, and it was so yummy to eat while we had a family movie night and watched "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" last evening.

Whatever's gotten into Jeff, I'm definitely enjoying the fruit of his labor!

~ Jeff and David making pumpkin pies on Sunday afternoon
~ a scrumptious boysenberry pie Jeff made on Wednesday

First Snow

Technically, our snow yesterday morning wasn't the first snow, since there have been two other days when we've seen a few snow flurries...but really, it felt and acted like our first snow of the season because it was the first snow to accumulate enough to do something with. Although, that "something" was minimal, since our meager efforts at playing in the snow simply involved scooping up enough snow wherever we could find it to make snowballs and throw them at each other. :)

The scene from our front window yesterday morning when I got up... (By the way, the colored lights are from our Christmas tree which can be seen on the left side of the photo...as well as in the reflection of the glass. There are NOT any lights outside on the big pine tree, though it may look as if there are if you enlarge the picture.)
By afternoon when we were outside in it, the snow still had not nearly covered the grass; but fortunately there was enough on the picnic table to have fun with.

Making and throwing snowballs was all Josiah was interested in doing, which was a good thing because we wouldn't have gotten very far with sledding or making a snowman! :)

The Start of a New Tradition?

Jeff arrived home early from work today and announced that he had heard about a Christmas tree farm fairly close to us where we could go and cut our own tree--and it would be cheaper than any we could buy in town, anyway. :) So we eventually got ourselves loaded up in the minivan and set out on this adventure. With no better directions than "it's in Singers Glen, close to the post office, and over a hill," we weren't quite sure if we would be able to find it! After only one stop at the local market in Singers Glen to ask directions (where we saw a dead bear--A BEAR--in the back of a hunter's pick-up truck...which reminds me, I have had way too many scary dreams involving bears recently...anyway...), we did indeed find the place--and had enough daylight left to get a tree (a White Pine tree, which is my favorite for Christmas!) and almost make it home before it got dark.

It was really fun to go pick a tree and cut it down ourselves! That's actually something that I've never done before, so I was happy to finally have that experience. Everything about it was really so great that I can definitely imagine we'll go back next year...and the next year...and the next...

~ our weather has been chilly recently; and when Jeff had to take both hands out of his pockets to cut down the tree, I lovingly :) offered him my gloves...he said, "Oh, I don't need them; this won't take me but 3 minutes"...he only over-estimated by about 2 minutes, since it seemed like in less than 60 seconds, he had that tree down...I didn't even have time to take all the pictures I was planning to do :)
~ Daddy and his boys...I lagged behind, letting my weary self have a slower pace over the hill...I can't figure out why pregnancy affects so many parts of my body! :)
~ one happy kid

Week 33

Here I am at 33 weeks, sitting in one of the rockers in front of our local Cracker Barrel restaurant. I know I really should be standing to get the full effect of my "growth," but who can resist the lure of these old-fashioned rockers? Certainly a 33-week pregnant woman cannot stay on her feet when these are near! In fact, she probably can't stay on her feet for long, even when these wonderful rocking chairs are not around...but that's another issue... :)

At the beginning of this week, I had another appointment with one of the midwives who is caring for me; and it went so smoothly--just like silk. Everything continues to look fine, which is such a huge blessing; and I don't take it for granted.

The one weird thing about this week of pregnancy is the continued strange vision in my right eye. It's mostly just a nuisance, but I do catch myself seeing things that aren't really there: like dirt on a dish that's coming out of the dishwasher, spots on laundry before I wash it, mice on the counter (remember, it's not really there!), a bug on my arm, etc. Strange stuff! It's hard not to be able to trust my own eyes. :)

I talked with the midwife about this, and she didn't seem concerned at all. She said that it's almost certainly a result of increased blood volume during pregnancy which can affect the optical pressure in the eye which can result in the changed vision...which should return to normal shortly after delivery, if not before. She recommended waiting until at least a week or two after delivery before calling an eye doctor to get it evaluated further. Each time I notice my eye really acting up, I think to myself, "I sure hope I'm not going blind!" I can be such a pessimist when it comes to my own health; it's so easy to imagine the worst (and so unproductive...and so essentially faithless...so I try not to dwell on those thoughts).

I'm going to call it a night as far as blogging goes, although there is really a lot more I would like to write about--and fun pictures to post from various activities recently. However, I am on a mission to get my Christmas letters sent out early this year, so I'm inspired to remove myself from the computer now so I can go stuff envelopes. Fun, fun, fun! :) I actually did send out the first batch of Christmas letters today, so if you're on my list and your last name starts with A-F, you just might get yours soon. If, however, you are so unfortunate as to have a last name that begins with W, Y, or Z, you might be waiting a while--and depending on how life goes for me in the next few weeks, you may never receive one. If so, please don't be offended--just change your last name to something starting with an A or a B. :)

Still Giving Thanks

A few random things I've been grateful for recently:

1. All the feedback from my last post. The suggestions have really been invaluable in "unsticking" my brain from the useless wheel it was on, and I'm feeling so much better about that last half hour of the day before the boys conk out. A big thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts or even just their compassion and "I've been there" stories! Jeff and I have talked about the various ideas, and have decided to implement a few changes to streamline the bedtime routine and preserve my sanity. :) One change is not always reading a devotional book at bedtime. I don't know why I felt like I couldn't possibly eliminate that, because when I think about it, I realize that in the morning at the beginning of learning time, we read a Bible story...and at supper time before we eat, we read from another Bible story book (a short and simple one). So it's not as if the boys aren't getting any exposure to the Bible around here or any spiritual conversation from us! I know why I started the practice of reading a devotional at bedtime: it was because Josiah was having quite a time with fear as he went to sleep and bad dreams in his sleep, and it seemed like helping him to focus on God and have a particular story to think about as he went to sleep would be a good idea. And it was, I think. But that doesn't mean I have to do it forever! Life changes, and it's OK to let the routine change, too, right?

I've got to respond to the comment Chris left about eliminating the lullabies. :) You might remember that some time ago, Josiah did actually ask me to stop singing his lullaby, which reduced me to tears for a time; but I complied! Well, recently, the boys have decided that rather than jumping on their beds while I sing David's lullaby (which used to be the preferred activity), they now love to chase each other around their room and "get" each other. I think it has something to do with Josiah loving to pretend he's tyrannosaurus rex, and he's got to have some prey to attack. :) Anyway, not only do they LOVE lullaby time, Josiah has actually been asking me to sing his lullaby again, along with David's, so that they'll have more time to chase each other! I don't think that's going to get eliminated from the routine; but it's certainly not the soft and cozy moment that you might have thought, Chris. :)

2. My mom had knee surgery on Thursday; and although I'm not grateful she had to have surgery, I AM grateful that she's recovering fairly well from it. Not that there haven't been any setbacks because there have (like her almost passing out this morning and having a blood pressure of 60 over 40), but overall she's doing well and is able to basically just sit and rest and read and nap and watch TV and just be (rather than just do, which is her normal mode of operation). One interesting thing about this recovery time is that she has spent some time watching old episodes of "The Waltons" on TV, which brings back to my mind so many memories of my grandmother who, when living with my parents after her shoulder surgery and also in the months leading up to her death from a brain tumor, used to really enjoy watching "The Waltons." Yes, my grandmother, who never owned a TV and knew as much about pop culture as a flea does (which is actually a good thing!), became quite the Waltons guru in her last days. Because her hearing wasn't quite as sharp as it had been, she had to turn the volume way up to hear the program, so everyone in the whole house got to hear all about the Waltons, too! "Goodnight, John Boy..."

3. Time to reconnect with Jeff last night. I'm sure most married couples can relate to the "ships passing in the night" feeling that had been afflicting us recently. It was SO GOOD to catch up with each other last night and feel like we were connecting on a much deeper level than "this is what we did in homeschool today" or "did you feed the calves?"

4. Jeff & Josiah went to the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir Christmas concert tonight, leaving David and I here to keep the home fires burning. David, being his usual self of late, finished his supper very slowly. I'm not sure when he'll realize that it's actually a lot more fun to eat quickly and then have time to play before bedtime, but he's still in the mode of "let me look at this food for an hour before I finally eat it." The good side of this is that while he was sitting in one spot, occupied with his spaghetti and bread, I had time to work in the baby's room and finish getting it ready for him. The preparations were not too extensive--putting a sheet in the crib, putting the bumper back in the crib, changing a few pictures, moving a few stuffed animals, getting out the wipes warmer (essential piece of baby equipment, especially for a winter baby!), adding a little more to the bag I plan to take to the hospital--but it was really fun to have time to focus on those small tasks, and also to simply enjoy being in the nursery and daydreaming about the little fellow who will soon be occupying it.

5. The Christmas season which is fast approaching. I've been in slow motion when it comes to taking down fall decorations and putting up Christmas ones. In fact, I'm probably averaging putting up one Christmas decoration per day. At this rate, it sure will be quick and easy to de-decorate in January! :) But I really do love Christmas; and as soon as I get the energy, I'm eager to get out the Christmas boxes and dive into those "treasures" again, feeling the rush of memories that always consumes me as I see old "friends" again. Today the decoration of the day was this paper countdown chain that Josiah made this afternoon. How blessed I am to have a paper Christmas chain made by my son. Not even Martha Stewart, with all her beautiful arrangements and elegant decorations, can top this one!!! :)