April

It's true this post has set new records for how long it's taken me to write and publish! April now seems like such a long time ago, but we're only just three weeks past. ::Sigh:: It's been a busy three weeks, though. I'll save those stories for a future post.

The first day of April directly followed Easter Sunday this year, and with it came a new experience in parenting for Matt and I. We try to follow a no-sugar policy at our house, which translated means the sweet stuff is reserved for only once-a-week desserts and 2-5 daily jelly beans as payment for chores done with happy hearts. Well, on this particular Monday morning our childrens' eyes were glued to the abundance of Easter candy showered on them by family members the day before. All were obedient, however, and put the candy in a special place for consumption at a TBD time. Except, that is, for one.

It was later in the morning and I had run upstairs for something, only to come back down and discover Jadyn was missing. Neither of the other two kids had seen her and after calling and searching for her for several minutes I got a bit panicky and called to Matt for help.

A few anxious minutes later we found her. Naked. In the dark. Yes, it's true. We found her sitting cross-legged and naked on a pile of laundry in the dark laundry room, with the door tightly shut, shoveling Easter candy into her mouth by the handful. I only wish I could have captured a picture of that little face when I discovered her. She had chocolate smeared all over her cheeks and was at that moment popping Starbursts (unwrapped ones, at that!) into her little rosebud mouth like there was no tomorrow. 'Twas the first time in my short parenting career that I couldn't do anything but quietly close the door, retreat to the living room, and fall on the floor laughing. So much for taking advantage of a disciplinary moment. I could hardly hold it together!

Needless to say, Matt and I had a good long talk with our little Jady-Bug and after hearing what the consequences of her behavior would be she tearfully admitted her undying love for candy. It was really too cute. Here's a photo of her I snapped a few days later that displays her cuteness, but in a better light :-). Yes, that's a skirt she's wearing in the picture. Yes, she pooped out colored candy wrappers for a couple of days. No, I don't think she'll do something like that ever again.

The other resident cutie-pie in our household is growing like a weed. She turned 7 months old the beginning of April and is still her Daddy's girl. She flashes grins like these at everyone she meets, especially if they are males. Heaven help us, this baby is definitely boy crazy. Ah, I could just eat her up!

April found us enjoying the opportunities to get outside and away from the house. With my business website in full swing I decided it was time to hit the trail and forage for some fresh herbs to write about. Nettle just happened to be the herb of the month and so the kids and I headed for my parent's property to go in search of them. Novice that I am, we discovered what we thought was a patch of Stinging Nettle (not that I wanted to touch them and find out!) and proceeded to harvest quite a bit. Later my grandfather took a look at my "weeds" and declared they were not nettles (as he grabbed a fist-full) and we later found out they were noxious weeds called Garlic-Mustard. Who knew? I redeemed the trip by taking this cute picture of my girlies with some wild Bluebells.

The gorgeous spring weather beckoned us outside for chores as well as play. Matt's lawn is his favorite project and it was green and beautiful this spring... and tall. Keeping to tradition he hoisted MJ on his hip and set out to mow one evening. Later I discovered this precious father/son bonding that was taking place. I think this will be a cherished photo for years to come.

I'll wrap this post up with another picture of our Jordynn. Our nicknames for her have turned out to be Jordy, Georgy-Porgy Puddin n' Pie, Punky Brewster, Lil' Ewok and Ham. Quite an assortment I guess. And as the picture suggests, she is a lover of food! We've moved on to cheerios and pancakes and muffins and... you name it she loves it! Here she's indulging in my Dandelion Banana Muffins.

Until next month... adieu!

March Madness

Yoo hoo, spring, where are you? March found our household waiting with baited breath for the arrival of sunshine and warmth. And we waited. And we waited. There was a collective sigh of relief when the sun's rays warmed one Sunday afternoon to the high 50's. We broke out the picnic table, the sandbox, the sunglasses, the baby pool... every outside toy we could find! It was wonderful, especially after experiencing two March snowfalls. We were sure spring would never come.

March means spring and new life, which always conjures up in my mind memories of Morenna's birth one beautiful spring morning FIVE years ago. That's right, my baby turned five this past month and is maturing into a precious young lady. She's a gal after my own heart, having requested chocolate cake for her birthday dessert. (Here's my favorite recipe, BTW.) We didn't have a large family party this year, rather she had a little friend come for a slumber party. They ate macaroni and cheese for dinner, watched Lady and the Tramp, and played dress-up for h.o.u.r.s.

For her birthday we bought her an 8-week gymnastic class, which she is loving. It's a well done class affording her the opportunity to both learn and play and has become the highlight of her week. 

We also recently switched her "earnings" for work done around the house from jelly beans to real pocket change. Her purchases of choice are mostly gum.

As part of her birthday celebration a beloved Great-Aunt took her and Jadyn (for her post-birthday celebration, too) on an outing to Build-A-Bear and Panera. They had such a wonderful time discovering how those soft, fluffy, teddy bears are made and spending some quality time with a fun-loving Aunt. I certainly enjoyed a quiet morning without them. I wonder why birthday celebrations can't come around more often. I'm sure Morenna would agree. :-)

Here's a short little interview with the birthday girl for your reading pleasure:

And Interview With Morenna

Favorites:

Vegetable: carrots
Toy: baby dolls
TV Show: Wilderness Family
Music: Seeds Family Worship
Game: Busytown
Book: Rainbow Fish
Restaurant: Panera
Holiday: Easter
Animal: Bears

If you could change your name, what would you choose? Bethany

What is your favorite thing about being five years old? I get to help Mommy in the kitchen and I get to cut with sharp knives. (Not sure where she got this latter thought, but rest assured we practice safety in the kitchen. :-) Here's the knife she uses: Curious Chef.)

Where would you like to go? The beach

What is something you're looking forward to this year? Going to see Aunt Rachel and Uncle Bruce at New Years.

Jadyn did really well celebrating Morenna's birthday this year, never complaining or fussing about the amount of attention showered on her big sister or the gifts Morenna received. She's my big three-year old and I am so proud of her.

In February we began more structured schooling time in the morning and she's making her way through some preschool worksheets. She's very good at recognizing letters and their sounds, can count to 10 and loves to play house.

Jadyn is becoming more and more a helper around the house. She can often be spotted doing her chores (for jelly beans) in her favorite princess dress, which varies from day to day.

And honestly, the kids aren't the only ones who enjoy dressing up around the house. Yes, it's true. Matt can be found running around the house dressed up and saying "I'm Batman." It's a sight to behold.

Meanwhile, March found Jordynn turning 6 months old. Right on cue she began sitting up and continues to be the cutest child ever. Her personality really began to emerge this month from the quiet passive type to the ornery, loud, playful type. Her new found discovery is the johnny jump-up where she will sit for 30 minutes at a time and bounce up and down while I make a meal. Silly as it may sound, I'm LOVING her interest in bouncing. I have tried every one of the kids in this bouncer and Jordynn is the first to ever enjoy it. Yay!

I dragged my feet quite a bit on giving her solid foods, but after she repeatedly grabbed food off my plate when my attention was diverted, I caved and offered her veggies and oatmeal at the beginning of the month. She wasn't too sure at first, but now is a lover of all foods offered her. Her favorite snack just happens to be pretzels, whenever the others happen to break them out of the pantry and offer her some.

Last but not least, we celebrated Morenna's favorite holiday, Easter. My parents watched the babies so that Matt and I could take the girls to our Church's Good Friday service. We were so glad to be able to do that, and consequently spent Easter Sunday at home, sharing with the kids the history of the holiday and discussing the complex subjects of death and resurrection. It was certainly a different Easter, but it was a good one.

At the very end of March, I also had the privilege of sharing the release of my new business, the Nourishing Herbalist, in conjunction with my best friend. It's certainly sucked up a lot of my time this month, but it's exciting to see tangible results from all the work. It will be exciting to see how the business progresses over the coming months. 

So there you have it... our March madness. What was new at your house this month?

Here's To Loving The Ones You're With

It's that time again.

Time to sit down and reflect on all the happenings from the past month. I TRY to purposefully savor the moments: the childlike wonder of a snow fall, the twirling of princess dresses, the discovery of a toy train... the oatmeal stuck to the floor. And yet, despite my best attempts it still passes by so quickly and as I sit to write all that comes to mind are mere shadows of memory.

Listen to me... sounding rather forlorn. Truth is... we're busy living life to it's fullest, celebrating each day the best we can, all the while remembering that we are merely sojourners on a journey. This journey's end has not yet come... but when it does and a new chapter begins, I'm sure we'll care most about the relationships fostered here. And we've been blessed with some great ones!

So here's to February! A month for lovers. A month for chocolate. A month for loving the ones you're with! Here's what that looked like for us:

My little love, MJ, is still a momma's boy. I keep shooing away the worried male figures in his life, reassuring them that it's only temporary. While I certainly hope he has a lifetime of love for his momma, I know that his interest in me is short-lived and that one day some other gal shall have his heart (*Hi there, daughter-in-love... praying for you and looking forward to meeting you one day!*) and until he attempts to soar to new heights away from the safety of my lap... well, I'm enjoying his toddler love.

 I don't, however, disregard the concerned faces of the men when they saw this:

 MJ, 21 months

Yes, that's my son. Playing dress-up. In a ladybug costume.

I told my husband that perhaps with a little squinting he could see that MJ was really pretending to be St. Valentine... with the measles.

He didn't buy that description and promptly purchased a Batman costume. MJ retaliated by putting on a purple ball gown. I was forbidden to take pictures of that.

So there you have it.

In other Valentine's news... you've heard the adage you've got to say it with flowers? We put a new spin on it this year: you've got to have your flowers... and eat them, too!

Romantic candlelit dinners don't happen around here anymore. We've traded them in on something better. Bacon roses for breakfast. Need I say more?

Yes. Yes, I did make Jadyn eat the bacon rose she stuck her nose on.

Many thanks to Pinterest and all the wonderful people who dream up such crafty festive concoctions... perhaps during their candlelit dinners. I'm not jealous.

And speaking of Jadyn... she takes the cake (or ice cream, as the case may be) for the best quote of the month:

Jadyn: Pawpaw took me out to get ice cream!
Mommy: Where did you go?
Jadyn: He took me to Wendy's house. She has really good Frosties. :-)

 Jadyn, 3 / Morenna, 4 / MJ, 1.5

Now for some real family fun. As you've probably noticed by now, my camera taking skills were a bit pathetic this month. That's mostly due to... to... all my laziness time spent doing hands-on things with the kids. At our house the quickest way to assemble the troops is using a general call to arms: "Who wants to help Mommy make..."

On this particular day my patience was wearing thin as I not five seconds before had made my summons only to quickly find myself blocked from the very mixer I had been using before they came. How is momma supposed to help-you-help-her-make-you bread?!

In other news... yes, Jordynn is alive and well. She just didn't make the cut this month. No really... she's sitting on the counter in her infant seat in the picture above. I just figured leaving her foot in the picture wasn't necessary. :-)


Matt and my dad had some quality male bonding time finishing our basement crawl space this month. The project may have been fueled by Matt's aspirations of converting half the basement into a theater/movie room like in his bachelor pad our old house. They did an excellent job and the organization of all our junk seasonal decor is wonderful.

Last but not least, the real reason for my failure this month as a family photographer comes from the fact that I have returned to school part-time. After much consideration (and God-led series of events) I decided to return to school for a certification in Clinical Homeopathy. The program is 2-years in length, self-paced, and affords me training under one of the leading U.S. homeopaths. Holistic health care has been a growing passion for our family and we have been blown away by the resulting vitality we've seen in our family from using homeopathy and other forms of alternative medicine.

Speaking of... the business my girlfriend and I have been working on is just about ready to sprout wings and fly. Tune in next month for information on that!

As I draw this rambling note to a close, I am reminded of Jim Elliott's relevant quote: Wherever you are... be all there. I hope that rings true of your today... and your tomorrow.

A Time for Resolutions... or Not

January is typically a time for resolutions, but this New Year found us having such fun that we forgot all about any resolutions! 

Crazy we might be, but Matt and I decided to brave potential chaos and make a 10+ hour drive with all four little ones to Charleston, SC for the New Years holiday. We broke the trip up into two days (stopping over at hotels that had a pool!) and set smiles on our faces... come what may. Turns out: we had a wonderful time! 

The kids did wonderfully in the car. We kept back a few of their Christmas gifts and allowed them to be opened at designated stops along the way. Our van's entertainment system had quite the workout as did our prepacked activity bag of toys and snacks. But we arrived there as one happy family... and one week later returned happily too. 

The kiddos taking a soak in our beachhouse tub.

Some dear family friends joined us in renting a beach house for the week on Edisto Island. Our house set directly on the shore and it was such a joy to pursue normal household chores/activities (which of course must be continued whenever little ones "vacation" with the adults :-)) while a direct view of the waves filled every window. 

Daddy and his kiddos exploring the beach.

This was MJ and Jordynn's first time at the ocean. Jordynn was obviously unimpressed, but MJ enjoyed the miles of sand just beckoning him to dig through. Of course there were times during our family outings where he'd plop himself down in the sand and refuse to move. The joys of a toddler.

Matt spend part of the week working, but on his days off he was either out on the beach with the kiddos or taking a guys-only kayaking trip with a buddy. What a relaxing way to ring in the New Year with good friends, my favorite Charleston Coconut Cake, a terrific view... and a bourbon cocktail. Ahhh....

Once we returned home I worried the rest of January would drag by slowly, but somehow it sped past as all the months do. How are we already in mid-February and I'm just now posting this? January was so busy, in fact, that as I perused my camera for pictures I found only a handful!

Jordynn, 4 months (Taken at Edisto Island, SC)

Our little Jordy-Bug continues to bloom. She turned 4 months old while we were in SC (she's 5 months at the time of this posting!) and we just made it back home before she decided she was too old to hang out in a carseat for more than 5 minutes. She likes her freedom! I'm pretty sure I witnessed her first attempt at the army crawl a few weeks ago. She's quite determined and will figure out quite quickly the best way to get what she wants. Even if it's by throwing a tantrum. Yes, it's true. And guess who's the softy around here? Daddy. That's all I'll say about that. 

 

Jordynn uses her swing to nap meditate sometimes.

January brought us Midwestern-ers a few small snow storms.  The weather in January was actually quite bizarre, with a 70 degree day and a 4 inch snowfall occurring within the same week. The kids love the weather changes though. With the warm weather comes the ability to dig in the mud, pick Mommy's parsely in the garden, dig for bugs and picnic on the back porch. With the snow comes trips to Mawmaw & Pawpaw's for sledding, snow ice cream, and hot chocolate. MJ experienced some snow last year but has been able to play in it more this year. It takes me about an hour to get him dressed. :-)

MJ, 20 months

When we weren't running around on sugar-highs because of our snow ice cream and hot chocolate, most of the month found us living a pretty predictable schedule. Morenna and Jadyn enjoy helping me with tasks around the house, doing schoolwork, playing dress-up and attending their weekly kid's Bible study.

And that was our January! Now to go decorate those Valentine's Day hearts...

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like... December

Better late than never, right? As in most American households, December arrived rather abruptly, sent us reeling and then swooshed passed leaving us to pick up all the pieces and highlight on our 2013 resolution list: TAKE TIME TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!

It was a wonderfully fun month, though. We were able to make it through nearly all of our family activities to celebrate the season. 

Our homemade treats we took to our neighbors!

One special seasonal event on our list was my dad's annual firehouse Christmas party. Though our family does not traditionally celebrate "Santa Clause", the kids do still find joy in pretending that there is a "Santa" out there who brings them gifts. 

Our "santa" happens not to make an appearance down our chimney flue, but rather lands with a thud on Paw-Paw's firehouse roof -- or arrives in his bright red sleigh firetruck -- during our annual firehouse Christmas party.

 

There are presents for each of the kiddos, yummy firehouse pizza... (seriously the BEST pizza you could ever have. Firemen not only know how to put out fires, they also know how to build them just right for baking pizza crusts... Who's hungry?) ... and a Santa so believable even my dad whispered a few things in the big guy's ear this year.

What? You don't see a picture of MJ or Jordynn with Santa?! Hmm, that could be because they cried their eyes out at the very sight of him. I'm not bitter. No. Not one BIT.

Something not listed on our activity sheet for December was a viewing of the holiday ballet, The Nutcracker. My parents purchased tickets for all of us girls and we had a lovely time. It obviously didn't hold Morenna & Jadyn's interest entirely, but they did a darn good job at sitting through the 2-hour performance. We had a marvelous girl's night out at one of the fanciest old-time theaters around.

A notable household event this month included MJ's discovery of my crafting bag of feathers. Between him and his dad they had the floor covered within a matter of minutes. Wish the clean-up job was as quick. :-)

Matt's family was unable to join us for the holidays this year, but his mom had a wonderful way of spanning the distance by sending the kids Christmas art projects during the early part of December. They had such fun doing the same crafts that Nana was doing with the preschool class she teaches.

 MJ not only discovered feathers this month, but also that glue needn't always come in a stick. 

One huge milestone: Morenna and Jadyn had their first sleepover! Here they are with their little friend B... I don't think any of them took their dress up clothes off the entire time. And contrary to popular belief... Matt and I did get some sleep that night. :-)

Christmas Eve found us with my Dad's side of the family as is tradition. We endured enjoyed the chaos of 17 children ages 4 months - 11 years (?) stripping their festively-wrapped gifts bare in a matter of seconds. Afterward, we packed our kiddos up and made the long trek walked them next door to my parent's house and put them to bed. Matt and I then enjoyed a relatively quiet evening at home wrapping gifts until 1AM.

Christmas morning was wonderfully relaxing. We returned to my parent's house to rouse the little ones and passed nearly no one on the drive there. The sunrise was breathtaking! And for those of you who claim my children are always smiling... I give you the first take of our Christmas Morning Photo:

 

As you can see... it takes a bit of song and dance to get our kids looking happy sometimes. :-) I give you, Christmas 2012:

 

Of course we still had a couple of unhappy people to contend with... but one of them made up for it later with the winning entry for "cutest picture of the month".

  

No, her ears don't always resemble those of an elf. Observe: sometimes they appear at random on the top of her head.

 Jordynn, 3 months

At any rate, from our home to yours... a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And thank you for reading this rather disjointed little update. I believe I'm in need of a nap...

November: Thankfulness At Our House

And another month begins. 

As we head into the busy season of December, I'm enjoying the chance to pause and look back at the month of November. The Thanksgiving Holiday is my favorite! In fact, I wish Christmas took it's cues to be more like it's predecessor holiday. 

Sometimes it's disheartening that we take the time to be thankful for all the Lord has blessed us

with and then only hours later Black Friday attempts to herald in a different message. May we all seek to carry the thanksgiving message with us through December as we celebrate the biggest reason to be thankful... the birth of the Savior! Anyway...

What November would be complete without the traditional romp-around in the leaves? The weather here in the Mid-West was sunny and warm most of the month, affording us lots of opportunities to play outside.

 Here are we burying my dad in a leaf pile. My hair is pretty long here...would you believe it now hangs in beautiful ringlets around my face? Yeah, neither would I. It does, however, now have a perm thanks to a little grown girl I used to babysit in high school who is now achieving a degree in cosmetology. True story.

 I'm not sure if I've posted a photo of my childhood home here before... but here she is. In all her Fall glory. It was a pretty special place to grow up.

 Being that November is the "thankful month," at the inspiration of a friend we attempted to name a few of the many things our family is thankful for using a "thankful tree". Some of the random items selected by our littles included: the living room ceiling fan, loveys, family members, and... of course, cheese.

 While cheese is pretty amazing, Matt and I had no trouble naming our four little ones as what we're most thankful for this year. Our youngest little member continues to be such a sweet joy to us. She is by far our easiest baby, very laid back and content. And those blue eyes never cease to intrigue us. This little angel is wildly adored by her siblings who are always up for entertaining her by singing or dancing within a few feet of her. In MJ's case he'd be happy to climb all over her, but we try to keep that sort of sibling love to a minimum.

 Isn't she just the cutest thing? This month she started sleeping more through the night. We're now getting around 7 hours from her during the first stretch of the night, which has been wonderful. Sleep deprivation is still a real threat for Matt and I, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Jordynn's hair is coming in with a bit of a red tint. Achievements on her baby calendar this month also include rolling from tummy to back!

And speaking of cute... here's the male version: 

 This little guy exhausts all parental energies. His favorite activity continues to be playing in the water, which now that it's too cold to play in water outside means that all the water play now happens on my kitchen floor. Thankyouverymuch. His vocabulary has grown this month to include phrases like "I don't like that," and "no, no diaper change," and inquiries like "pee in the potty?" This latest phrase is the direct result of the many reminders spoken to our 2nd born... who just in time for her 3rd birthday, is finally POTTY-TRAINED! Praise the Lord.

 Allow me to skip the Thanksgiving Holiday and first mention that at the end of the month our little Jady-Bug turned 3 years old. Her achievement of potty-training is just one of the many areas of maturity that testifies to her growing up. She had a "Finding Nemo" birthday party with some friends and enjoyed receiving new panties, sparkling pink shoes and a ballerina jewelry box on her special day. Her birthday wish: a day with MawMaw... and so that's where she spent a good majority of her day, after a morning romp-around a the local children's museum with her Daddy & Mommy.

 And now for Thanksgiving: The Day. Like much of the country, we enjoyed a warmer-than-usual holiday in the mid-60s. This afforded the kids ample time for outside play while the adults were able to enjoy some rare moments of uninterrupted turkey coma  dinner.

While everyone was outside, though, I was able to snag some good shots of Morenna and MJ (and who is that good lookin' man?), as seen above and below. It was a beautiful day of celebration - especially for Morenna who spend the day on a sugar high chasing her cousins around - brought to close by our traditional viewing of "Miracle on 34th Street."

 Bring on the Christmas decorations!

 It's true that children really bring on the wonder of the season.  Matt and I enjoyed decorating the house one afternoon while the kids were napping and the joy and tears that appeared on their faces as they came downstairs was priceless. Yes! We had accomplished Operation Winter Wonderland. 

In addition to the annual decoration fest, Matt and I also had a few enjoyable grown-up happenings this month. Matt was able to have a night away and attend our church's men's retreat. He really enjoyed getting to know the men in our church more. 

And I was able to attend an 8-hour course in homeopathic medicine and herbal studies. It's a little-known secret that a close friend and I are in the throws of starting an herbal business called the Nourishing Herbalist. We're in the process of getting the webpage put together and the content live, but I'll be sure to post more about it when the time comes. In the meantime, I have other projects my book that needs to take up most of my free time.

So anyway, there it is folks. Our month of November. Not logged were the 85+ meals made, 28 loads of laundry, 300+ diapers changed and 10+ toilet scrubbings. I'll leave you to fill in the rest. But I'm trying hard to be thankful for it all. :-) How about you?

'Tis The Season

It seems that the yearly approach of the Christmas season continues to take me off-guard. I have such dreamy expectations of celebrating the holidays to their fullest, yet Christmas still arrives out of nowhere leaving me woefully unprepared. Not so this year, my friends. 

A few weeks ago I queried friends for meaningful Christmas activities and received some excellent responses. Coupling that with a hodge-podge of great resources found online and a little of my own originality I ended up with this: a great listing of holiday festivities for our family to brighten the season. I hope this sneak peak of what we'll be doing this year is helpful to you as you seek to make Christmas a meaningful time of faith, family and friendship. And in light of it all, may we never forget the real Reason for the Season. 

Merry Christmas!

A Mid-Western Family Christmas Celebration!

 

Putting Christ Back Into Christmas (Advent)

• Build a Jesse Tree (free devotionals and ornament prints, guide for doing it at home) or you can build your own and read one of the many Jesse Tree devotional books
• Make a birthday cake for Jesus

Simple Holiday Pleasures

• Put up Christmas tree & decorations
• Make a new Christmas CD & listen to it.
• Operation Christmas Mouse*, December 1^st
• Given: watch lots of Christmas movies and listen to lots of Christmas songs while sitting around the tree. :-)

Christmas Crafts

• Make a hand-print family Christmas tree (use as our Jesse Tree)
• Make a Christmas countdown chain
• Make candy cane playdough
• Make and decorate Christmas trees
• Make Christmas Ornaments (here, and some for Grandparents’ gifts here)
• Color Christmas sheets
• Make Baby Jesus in the manger

We won’t be getting to these this year, but here are two fun count-down-to-Christmas activity ideas:

Child’s Book and Activity Advent

Ornament Advent

Celebrating God’s Love

• Make Christmas baskets for our neighbors w/ Scripture (to include: candy cane play dough, Peppermint Popcorn Bark, Poor Man’s Toffee, Gingerbread men)
• Sort through toys and give a box away to Salvation Army
• Hang Shepherds’ Pouches on the mantle in lieu of stockings

   

Yummy Christmas Goodies

• Make marshmallow snowflakes and hot chocolate
• Make cranberry candy canes (breakfast treat)
• Make White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn Bark
• Make Poor Man’s Toffee
• Make gingerbread men

 

Places to Go

• Visit Christmas in Canal Winchester, OH
• Attend church Lifegroup Christmas Party
• Attend Station #4 Firehouse Christmas Party
• Visit Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo
• Visit Dickens Victorian Village in Cambridge, OH
• The Fantasy of Lights at Alum Creek State Park
• Just a drive around town to look at lights

 

Special Christmas Books

We have appreciated this resource of quality Christmas books to read during the season:

The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne

The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg

The Legend of the Christmas Stocking by Rick Osborne

The Story of St. Nicholas: More than Reindeer and A Red Suit by Voice of the Martyrs

The Three Gifts of Christmas by Jennie Bishop

The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Hunt

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs

The Gift of the Magi by O Henry

The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (adapted picture book version)

The Candle In the Window by Grace Johnson

Jacob’s Gift by Max Lucado

One Wintry Night by Ruth Graham Belle

Christmas Carols for Kids Hearts by Sergio Martinez

Josie’s Gift by Kathleen Bostrom

We Believe in Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

The Indescribable Gift by Richard Exley

Also:

God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Bergren (Our all-time favorite)
The Birds of Bethlehem by Tommy DePaola
The Lion in the Box by Marguerite De Angeli
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
All Is Well by Frank Peretti

*There are many variations of the Christmas Mouse. For our family, the Christmas Mouse quietly visits the bed of each child on December 1st leaving them a brand new pair of Christmas pj’s to wear for the season.