Santa's Visit

Santa came to the circle this past Thursday evening to hand out gifts to all the girls and boys. Here he is giving Sarah a Harry Potter video game. How did Santa know? Because Mom bought the game, wrapped it and Dad dropped it off at the neighbors who coordinated the event.

This year it was cold, but at least it wasn't raining. When Sarah was a toddler, and John an infant, it rained so hard that Santa had to come to the neighbor's garage instead of the circle.

There are a few small children around, but as you can see from the lower photo it's mainly a school-age crowd these days. This year it got a big boost as a new family with three kids, 12, 10 and 2, moved into the circle. Here's Janine with some of them. As usual, she is in the middle of it all.

Wonderful Counselor

Isaiah 9:6-7 (New International Version)

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

One of the best parts of Handel's Messiah is set to these verses from Isaiah. Consider the contrast! The original Hebrew text was written in about the seventh century BC. Then translated to 17th century English. Finally, it was set to music written by an 18th century German immigrant to England. Not bad because it still sounds great. But it's nothing compared to the event it describes - the appearance of the creator of the universe as a baby born in a small Middle Eastern village.

Something to consider this and every Christmas.

Tree Decoration

As usual Janine was the first to get things started decorating the tree. But as you can see she needed help reaching the top. The tree looks pretty good once we got it stabilized in the new tree stand.

After needing to fill the stand for what seemed like every two hours for the first three days, I now only fill it at night. That way I can get some sleep without worrying that the tree will BURST INTO FLAMES.

Now my sister has a much more practical approach found here.

O Christmas Tree!

Last Saturday we got our Christmas tree on a snowy afternoon. It was fat, full and looked great with snow on it. That night I put it in a bucket of water to spread out overnight.

Sunday afternoon we discovered that the tree's trunk was not quite vertical. In fact it is shaped like a nice arc. In fact you can see its slight back bend in this photo. Thankfully I broke the old tree stand.

Let me explain. I was too clever by half when I brought the tree in the front door. I attached the tree stand while the tree was still horizontal. When I raised the tree to vertical, two of the four holes that held the bolts that held the tree snapped.

Janine and I hopped in the car for the four minute drive to Home Depot, and I found the ideal tree stand there. The tree container and the floor stand are separate. You attached the bolts to the trunk then lift the tree into the stand. What's more, the container is a gimbel the rotates and tilts, compensating for a crooked tree like this one. Look at the base. There is a black lever there that locks the tree container in place. A few minutes after this shot was taken we had the tree aligned and looking fairly straight.

Then came the process of hydration. We kept pouring what seemed like gallons of water into the smallish tree container. I guess there have to be trade-offs somewhere. Sunday night I poured nearly a quart into it before I went to bed. Then I woke up about 3:00 AM thinking that I better check on the tree or it will BURST INTO FLAMES! Silly me! Well, it only took a glass of water to fill it then...

Good Fit

How things change! Here is Sarah resting inside one of the IKEA files we used to use in the school room. We liked this design because they had a rolling overhead door like a garage. Look at the date in the corner. I think it reads 9/7/01. Sarah was six and fit quite nicely - then.

We added more bookcases as the kids grew in their reading abilities and requirements. The files moved to my office as of last year when we refurbished both rooms. Now they store my business records instead of school records.

School Room

As we rush up toward Christmas, we have been thinking back on the school year, and beyond

Here's Janine with Mommie just after Christmas last year. You can see the cards on the wall behind them. The school room is a busy place as you can see. Mommie's computer functions as home plate. Janine is in the primary teaching chair.

Just off the lower left in this picture is the working chair. John likes to sit there facing Mommie while he works on his lessons.

Sarah has taken to working in her room or in the small couch behind Janine.

Here's John from a few years ago when we had the school room organized differently. He also likes this integral chair and writing surface. Interestingly, this "college desk" is the only school desk left.

When we first started teaching at home we thought the kids would love having conventional school desks. We got some from a nearby elementary school that was closing, painted them and put them in the school room. I can count the number of times the kids used them on one hand.

We donated them when we realized that our kids liked to do their work in different places. Sometimes here, sometimes there. As a third grader, Sarah liked the deck. Click here to find how Mommie prefers the front yard over the back.

As homeschoolers we love the freedom to teach our children in the best way they learn. The Lord has blessed us that we can continue to do so.

Saltworks Christmas Party

Here's John and Janine with Miss Becky the director of the Saltworks Theater company. They had their Christmas fund raiser this past Friday.

Much to Janine's disappointment, I arrived a little bit late because I took Nana home after dinner. Janine sobbed on my shoulder for a few minutes after I walked in. Finally I asked her if she had the sniffles.

"Yes Daddy, how did you know?"

"Just a wild guess, I suppose."

Janine recovered enough to want to pose with Miss Becky and to be gracious enough to ask her brother to join in. Quite a young lady that one...

Junior Toolbelt

John was a big help putting in the living room baseboard. In this photo he is installing the toughest section. The two baseboard vents in this wall meant that we had to cut a precise notch in the baseboard to fit around the vents.

Also this wall is a full 18 foot run and the longest baseboard length is 16 feet. So we put two splices on this wall both on or near the vents. John's favorite job was using the tape measure and stud finder to determine where to nail. I suppose we could have counted it as a math class, but we want the kids to simply appreciate and apply learning, not simply look for ways to "punch the ticket."

A couple of weeks prior, John helped by sanding the vents to prep them to be painted. The previous owner had put masking tape on the vents, then painted over the tape.

We had to go to a millwork dealer to buy the right baseboard design to match the foyer. Both Home Depot and Lowe's no longer carry that design. The millwork dealer not only had the matching design, it was $.10 per foot less than the big boxes and they cut the 16 foot lengths to my specs to fit into the van. Let's hear it for independent businesses!

Garage Surprise

...I opened my garage and there it was!

Earlier this fall we had our driveway repaved and the event provided some strange sights, like a paver in the garage or a dump truck in the driveway.

The crew came by to pave a neighbor's driveway and then knocked on doors to finish with their load of asphalt. The price was fairly reasonable compared to previous estimates we received.

The driveway was over 15 years old and beginning to dissolve in spots. Now we have a good surface for the winter snow. But moreover we have a nice hedge. Asphalt is a petroleum product that will probably get pricier in the coming years.

Much to be thankful for...

"Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

Psalm 117:8-9

Weak Excuse Department

Sorry to post so infrequently in the past few weeks but my internet connection has been slow and intermittent. For example, I have yet to be able to upload the video of the pinata burst from Janine's birthday party.

But it's not completely Verizon's fault. My computer is four years old and full of digital wool. Yesterday I ran Ad Aware and found a couple of things that were probably slowing things down.

Sometime over the holidays I plan to perform a computer lobotomy and reinstall the OS. It will be an exciting day full of disk shuffling, downloading and holding my breath. If, as the Brits say, all becomes pear-shaped, I can borrow the kids' computer while mine is in the shop.

Father/Daughter Dance

Janine just started with a Brownie Troup this past September. So two weeks ago we went to the Girl Scout Parent/Daughter dance as noted on the invitation here. (For us and for most it is the Father/Daughter dance.)

We had a great time overall practicing steps the day before. Then we went out for dinner at our favorite nearby Mexican restaurant before the dance.

The older girls were nice enough to take our picture at the entrance. (see below) But once we got in the school gym it was bedlam. Torrents of 6 to 10 year old girls were running around the place while all the dads stood at the edge and chatted.

Janine and I danced to YMCA which negated the need for any practice at all. But we both had fun and will return for more next year.

Party Line-up

Here's the partial line-up for Janine's party.

From left: Janine, Sara, Jenny, Kaitlyn, Jesse and Anna. Big sister Sarah, and brother John are in the background.

The party activities got going with multiple crafts in store to keep us all occupied. Sarah P. as usual was a big help leading the activities and herding the girls around.

Here's Grace, who had not yet arrived in time for the top photo, painting a picture with Sara.

Then there's Anna and Jenny doing the same...


Because the girls arrived and left in stages, Sarah P. planned the cake and ice cream in the middle of the party with activities both before and afterwards.

Birthday Decorations

Sarah really pulled out all the stops to decorate the family room for Janine's birthday. While it was not a complete surprise, Janine slept in on her birthday, so she was pleased with the volume and theme of the decorations.

My favorite touch is the Christmas lights. Sarah had them strung across her room and shared them with Janine for the celebration.

More on that next...

That's NOT a dog...

...it's a fox. Sarah snapped this photo this morning as a fox came through our yard and lingered by the swing-set. Naturally, all school work stopped with this excitement. (Sorry about the resolution. Because the fox was moving quickly, Sarah took the photo through a window that still has its screen in it.)

I am glad to see a fox again. This spring we saw a female fox guiding her kits across the street. Then this summer a fox was hit and killed on a busy road nearby.

I was concerned for the kits as well as for control of the local rodent population. Perhaps one of the kits has grown to patrol this area. Good for him.