Christmas!!

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2 down, 3 to go....

So far, we have had 2 Christmas, and we still have about 3 more to go...

This morning, we had Christmas with all 5 girls. One of the older ones will be leaving in the morning to head back to her home, (and hopefully beat the snow and ice we are supposed to get), and the other one just got in last night, so today was the "overlap" to have a Christmas with all the girls home. We opened presents, then ate a German casserole my husband made. He loves German food, and just got a new cookbook that had some recipes in it he wanted to try, and this was one of them.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all the gifts I have received, but wanted to share some unique ones the 3 younger girls and I received. They were made by a relative of my stepdaughters, who is an artist. One cool thing is she works with metal art, and her last name is Eisenhauer, which in German translates to "metal worker". Anyway, we received angels, made out of screen wire. She also makes wreaths, flowers and more. She works with other metals and paints also. Visit her online store, called Village Designs.

A good Christmas

We had a great Christmas. It was the first time in several years that we had all the kids at the house at the same time! We have had them in town at the same time before, but it has not worked out to have everyone under the same roof at the same time. It was wonderful. Taylor took the little girls shopping before Christmas, and Tysa took them shopping after Christmas. We had a beautiful white Christmas. Snow and sleet started on Christmas Eve, and we have had some daily since. Several days ago it was measuring 11 inches in the front yard and 17 inches in the back. Some has melted (it got up to 42 degrees once day, but not for long), but new snow has replaced what we lost.

One of our Christmas get togethers got snowed out, so we still have one to go with my family.

The girls have played in the snow, and gone sledding, we have been stuck in the snow, pulled out and even had one kind stranger with a CASE backhoe dig out the end of our driveway. Whomever you were, thank you!!! Tomorrow I think we are going to make some snow candy or snow cream.

All 5 of our Christmas calves are doing well. The little white one blends right in with the snow.

On the homeschooling front, we have taken a break for the past 8 days. We have done some reading, home-ec and history, but have taken a break on our other subjects. We will start back on it this coming week.

Even though the Christmas holiday is over, I pray everyone keeps the Christmas spirit in their hearts year long, and remembers that Jesus is the true reason for the season.

Everyone have a happy and safe New Years.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Notice I said Christmas as in CHRISTmas, not the holidays. They have taken Christ & God out of the schools, tried to remove him from our money and most public places, and now the movement is on to remove him from Christmas. What do people think Christmas is about? It is a celebration of his birth. How can you have a birthday party without the birthday boy? Someone didn't think this one through very well. We have several friends who are without jobs this Christmas season. One thing I have noticed however about the friends from our church and our homeschool coop is that those who have their lives centered around Christ are adapting well. I am not meaning materially, I am talking about their attitude. They are focused on the true meaning of Christmas, and not about what they can not afford to buy this year. It is a lesson many of us should study.

Our tree is up (finally), gifts are under it. I still am not quite ready, but getting closer. For today and tomorrow, all our daughters are in town. We had a good lunch today and then we split up for Christmas shopping. There is still a huge pile in my bedroom to wrap. I did a big part of my shopping with no kids and it was wonderful!!! Tomorrow we will have a Christmas with all the girls, then Thursday a Christmas Eve celebration with JD's side of the family, followed by a candlelight communion service at our church. Then on Friday, my family is coming up for Christmas. Three family Christmas celebrations in a row, all involving food. Wonderful!!

We have been moving slowly the last few days due to sinus infections. Not fun at anytime of the year, but worse yet when you have baking, cleaning, painting, sewing and shopping to do.

Sunday night the church had their Christmas program. It was very good. The story centered around the kids trying to decide what to do for their program. To help them decide, they watched videos clips of older programs--so we got to see some clips from 10 years ago--it was interesting and fun to watch the kids grow up during evening on video. Our minister and his daughter wrote the play and did an excellent job of it.

This week we have taken a break from our formal schooling, although the girls have been raking in some home-ec hours with their baking and sewing projects. I will post some pictures later in the week of some of their sewing projects, but since they are gifts, I can't post them now or the cat will be out of the bag.

Our new calves are doing well, and we are still awaiting the birth of the remaining ones--hopefully before next week when some are being sold.

I did get our upstairs office painted. I had hoped to also have the living room done before Christmas, but this sinus thing I have been fighting got the best of me. In fact 2 days I didn't even get out of bed until after noon. I think I am on the mend now, hopefully.

Free Christmas events

This list came from my friend Bonnie.

Saturday, December 5, 2:00 - 7:00 p.m., Christmas on the Farm at Watkins Mill State Historic Site. Come see the Watkins' house all decorated in candlelight for Christmas including the Flaming Plum Pudding. For questions, call Watkins Mill State Historic Site at (816) 580-3387.

Sunday, December 6, 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. Open House, 1602 Park Lane, Kearney, (Regency Park). Come see old time crafts (jewelry, crochet, weaving, pillows). Call Gerri Spencer @ (816) 628-4397 for more information.

Sunday, December 6, 4:00 - 8:00 p.m., Christmas at Pharis Farm, Clay County Historic Site, 20611 EE Highway, Liberty (off of H Hwy, east of Liberty, near the Liberty Hills Country Club). Come see a Victorian Christmas featuring music, period decor and costumed historic interpreters, guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit. Refreshments will be served in the 1820's cabin. For questions, call Clay County Historic Site at (816) 736-8500.

Saturday, December 19, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Open House at the Kearney Historic Museum, intersection of Washington and Jefferson (33 Hwy), Kearney. Come see displays of Christmas during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Christmas Program tonight

Tonight is our childrens Christmas Program at church. They had their final practice this morning during childrens church. So, we are only home for about 3 hours this afternoon before we head back to church. That is just enough time to do chores, eat and bake cookies to take for after the program. Hopefully I will get some good pictures from the program to share with your later.
It continues to be cold and windy outside. I am to the point I am ready for spring. Of course the kids like it, because they like to go sledding.
I found out last evening that all my family is coming here for Christmas. Since JD has to work and can't go to Christmas at my families, they decided they would all come here. So, we have 6 coming for sure, and possibly more.
My parents at least (if not more) will be staying on-at least that is the plan mom and I had. Each time they visit I have my dad repair or install something electrical. So far he has put in 2 ceiling fans and repaired one. Next on my list is a few more outlets in our homeschool classroom we made in the basement and one for my downstairs stove. (I have a deep freeze, stove and refrigerator in the basement and has been such a blessing when canning, freezing or having company for dinner) I also need electric brought out to my chicken coop, but it is too cold to even think about that right now.
Rebecca was the one who ended up making our cookies to take to the program. She got both a home-ec cooking lesson out of it, and also a math lesson (she had to triple the recipe, and work with fractions).

This is for Friday

I just noticed...Fridays entry is not here..So, I will put it in now. Maybe I can even figure out how to get it in the proper place...maybe..

Friday we worked on school work and then went to our 4H wrapping meeting. This party had been rescheduled several times due to weather. Our 4H group had adopted a family for Christmas. Everyone chipped in and brought the gifts and we all wrapped them together. Then we delivered them to the family. My daughters really got an eye full. I never made a comment to them, but they brought it up on the way home themselves. They had already been told that the family didn't have much money and that was why they were being adopted. But, they picked up on stuff during their visit, and quizzed me about it. This is what I heard on the way home.

"If they were so poor, where did they get the money for all those cartons of cigarettes they had?"

"Did you see their TV? It was a flat screen plasma and it was huge"
"Forget the TC, did you see how many DVDs and movies they had? They had more than the library has"

"Mom-why do you think they bought that TV instead of fixing the holes in the floor and walls. Snow was coming in through one of them"
"Maybe that was why they had the huge pile of dirty clothes (really huge-touched the ceiling) in the living room. Maybe it was covering up another hole"

"Did you see all those cats?? Boy did it smell bad in there"

But the killer was this one..."Mom, soap really doesn't cost that much does it?? and it doesn't cost anything to be neat and clean...I guess that is why mom makes us clean up our messes...we are lucky. I think they just had their priorities wrong".

Out of the mouth of babes..

It really was bad. Very similar to what you see on some of those TV shows.