Lord, That I May See

  We're so happy your joyful, tender little soul joined our family, Rosebud!   You came just in time for us to ring in the New Year with you, our rosy, dark-haired, gray-eyed little bundle. It was the perfect beginning to our wonderful first year with you!    Happy, happy 3rd "birfday"!  Here's to 3 lovely years with you! We love you!

This afternoon we celebrated Christmas Eve with hot chocolate, marshmellows, candy canes and ginger spice cookies.  We are looking forward to tonight! Merry Christmas to you all!

#1.   One of my favorite things about this Advent has been the delight I feel every time Rosebud says "Emmanuel."  I love to hear her sing "Come Weemanuwell, Come Weemanuwell, Come Weemanuwell . . . " #2.  I would like to caution anyone with any impressionable, sensitive child never to let them see this picture : by Carl Bloch If they do glimpse this picture in any book in your house, despite your best efforts, you will not be able console them, explain or even stop talking about it for the next hour.   (I am not exaggerating!) And you will need to be prepared to answer the most difficult questions -- such as, "Why is she crying?  Why is the baby dead?  Can they make the baby real again?  Why?  Why is this a sad story?  But we want Jesus to be the King!  How 'bout they could two be king?  What if they killed the baby Jesus?  But WHAT IF?  Did Joseph, Mary and the angel keep Jesus safe?  Is the...

I love Christmas.  But no matter how much I love it, anticipate it and idealize it, it always stresses me out . . . a little more every year. Everything that I have to do, everything that I need to be and every need that I have to meet is all accentuated at Christmas. Every year its a little bit more overwhelming.  There's all the decorating and the organizing and the cookie-baking and the grocery shopping and the menu planning and the gift-thinking-up and the gift buying and the budget balancing and the detail-perfecting so that on Christmas your loved ones and family can be happy, can eat yummy food, can receive gifts that will make them feel special, and experience the physical warmth and celebration that is Christmas.  Then, weighing perhaps even more heavily on one's shoulders, is the job of making sure that the true meaning of Advent is conveyed to your children, and the meaning of Christmas, of providing spiritual helps and enrichments...

I put together two new works for Turtle not that long ago. The first is a take on the Color Tablets that are found in Montessori Primary classrooms.  I got the idea from Melissa at Chasing Cheerios  (can't find the exact link). Basically, I picked up the free color swatch strips from a paint store -- there are nine colors, black/white, blue, red, yellow, green, purple, orange, pink and brown.  I found strips that graded nicely and noticeably from darkest to lightest.  The strips I got were eight shades of color and I eliminated one shade that seemed confusingly close to another to make a total of seven shades in each color.  (It was hard to find bright colors -- guess people don't normally paint in those!)  Then I showed Turtle how to take each color, mix up the chips and grade them from lightest to darkest, or vice versa.   The old jewelry box I got for about $2 at a thrift store.  It doesn't divide into nine sec...

#1.   I miss blogging!  I often want to post, have thoughts to write out and little moments to preserve and share.  It's so hard to find the time.  As with all things that are "for Mommy,"  the back burner is the standard place for this blog.  Those thoughts don't get aired, those moments get forgotten and life rushes on.  I try not to forget why I started this blog , but it seems there is no time to "tell the story," only live it. #2.   These days my life is very full -- in a good way and a tough way.  Wintertime is here again -- always hard for those dependant on construction for income, so that's rough -- especially on my valiant husband. In other, more minor, toughness, my baby Sunshine seems to have become, overnight, my toddler Sunshine!   She's walking faster and faster, dropping her morning nap ( always a big adjustment!), having temper tantrums, playing in toilets and making messes, crying to be bigger and ...