Blogging from New Hampshire

The day after Christmas and all is well. We had a festive Christmas Eve with my side of the family, a peaceful yet fun-filled Christmas morning with just the five of us and are currently enjoying a leisurely visit in New Hampshire with Mike's side of the family.


In addition to our home having DOZENS OF COOKIES LESS than it did on Monday, it is also now filled with things like...

a wooden doll bed

lacrosse sticks, baseball glove and football

a wooden barn with animals

a Kitchen Aid mixer (okay, I've been wanting this for nearly EIGHT
years and had really given up any hope of owning one...)

lots of new books, coloring books and paper dolls

an amazing cookbook- "Nourishing Traditions"

an art set
and many other exciting new things that will hopefully stand the test of time (and Elias!!).

But in the end, it wasn't about the gifts. It was about the spirit in our home that really kept the true meaning of Christmas alive.

We hope your holiday was as full and blessed as ours...

Waiting...

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

This just about sums up what's been happening in our house for over THREE weeks now! We have really enjoyed our "school holiday" and have really prepared our home and hearts to celebrate Christmas this year.

For us this has meant LOADS of family time, a very good attempt at memorizing Luke 2:7-14 (the birth of Jesus), baking massive amounts of sugar and gingerbread cookies, watching the "classic" Christmas movies ("It's a Wonderful Life", "Charlie Brown Christmas", "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (the claymation version!) and "Miracle on 34th Street"), playing Christmas music all through the house morning, noon and night, handmade Christmas decorations and some very special visits with friends and family.

The children are of course quite interested in just how many hours more they have to wait until SANTA visits our house! Last year Mike found this website that tracks Santa and his reindeer during his journey through the world. Really neat.

So now we wait for our celebrations- tonight at my parent's house and tomorrow as we head up to New Hampshire to celebrate with Mike's family for the week.

So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...

Laughing at a "Homeschool Family"!

This video clip about a "Homeschool Family" has got my day off to a good start! Sophia and I just sat here and watched it a half dozen times.

Click HERE

Throwing in the Towel (Again and Again)

Literally. That is what I have been doing all week- throwing in towels TO THE WASHING MACHINE!

We were visited by the dreaded stomach flu this week and are now just recovering from a week of belly aches, massive amounts of laundry and isolation. But at least this bug was friendly, for it SHARED with all five of us.

So, needless to say that after a week of challenging, yet necessary work, I am in the mood for a good laugh.

Thank you to Amanda for posting some of these cards by Anne Taintor and giving me the idea to do the same.

Had I not already prepared and piled my Christmas cards, I just might be tempted to mail one of these cards out after the week we've had.

Just "Point and Click"

This just about summarizes my evening. Online shopping... how can you beat it.

My mind is full of gift ideas but my daily "time budget" just doesn't let me live out these shopping fantasies. BUT, thanks to the internet, I am able to browse shops and boutiques from sea-to-shining-sea (yes, there's something special about those shops out West...).

Tonight was spent browsing and purchasing books for personal use and for gifts for a gift basket I am making for some special friends. Coveting, I mean, looking at fabric (yes, I am feeding the obsession). Looking toward next year's curriculum on Ambleside Online (sigh... I'm getting ahead of myself here). And looking at my most-favorite store ever for some helpful gift ideas for my husband. Yes, it is Anthropologie.

And yes, "O-POLOGIES" are exactlty what I would have to make if I "pointed and clicked" at every item I wished to see in my home this holiday season!

needle and thread

I have been a little sewing crazy over here. I have about a million ideas running around in my head and enough time, energy and resources only to make a fraction of those!

A while back I started thinking about sewing fabric-covered books that the children could write in or in which I could print some of Sophia's oral narrations from the term. I had a lot of questions until I read about these adorable little cloth books here.

I sewed a few and will surely make some more before Christmas. Who wouldn't want their own book?

I made this little art smock/apron for Elias. It was just an idea and I have learned what I will do and not do for the next time. I love the little pocket in front- perfect for holding some crayons or whatever else my toddler wants to stock away in there (hopefully not food)!
The older pair wanted to sew one day last week and we spent the afternoon stitching various pieces of fabric. Sophia ended up (perhaps mistakenly, but it was darn cute) embroidering a balloon onto her fabric, which I later made into a pocket/envelope for her to use.

I love this image of Nicolas sewing for the first time. He was taking it pretty seriously. Notice "the slouch"... a very masculine sewing pose.
Okay. Forgive me if you can hear the giddiness in my writing over these crafty little fabric Christmas trees!! I first read about them on my all-time favorite blog- SouleMama- and went nuts over them. Once I saw there was an online tutorial posted I just had to make them happen. And now, my entire mantle is lined with these handmade folky-fabric trees.

Ahhhh, now that's living.

Next? I really want to make stockings for the five of us for Christmas Eve, a tree skirt for the Christmas tree, curtains for my kitchen door and now that I've seen these, I just might attempt a little holiday jumper for Sophia. Who knows... with 19 days left until Christmas ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!!!