Birthday Breakfast in Bed

We had a very snowy Thanksgiving in western PA in a spot where wi-fi and cell reception is so dicey we feel like we are back in the 90s, but we appreciate that. Back home, the girls and a little friend helped me decorate for Christmas in our new home.  We had a blast figuring out how to arrange all the beloved old decorations in the new window sills and shelves.  This year we have a hearth for the first time.  It holds firewood, not a fire, but it came with five old, hand-made nails. So the stockings are hung by the...woodstove...with care.





We also had the last Youth Group meeting of the year. We have hosted it in our home so far this semester, so I never quite know what I'll find when I come home from Awana with the two little girls on Sunday nights.  This week my husband thought he'd try bobbing for apples.  I had suggested putting the tub on the porch, but he assured me they wouldn't make to much of a mess.  Then one of the high school seniors slipped and went into the tub, sending a tsunami of apples and water all over my kitchen.  So, I ended up with a well-mopped kitchen floor. 

I had my first experience with a radio interview. It wasn't my best ten minutes ever, but I did get to share a tiny bit of what I've learned about Christmas.  The interview is the result of the October publication of my recent book.  It is available in hardback and for the Kindle. I have two more interviews lined up so far, each of them longer time increments. My husband has kindly been helping me prepare by throwing tough questions at me.  I know he enjoys this more than I do.

I also had the chance to give talks developed from my book this week.  I shared about the origins of Christmas with the ladies of my mother's church, and I talked about the astonishing characters of Christmas at my campus library.  These were a lot of fun.

Today was my birthday, and I had my most successful breakfast in bed ever. No one bounced my tea out of the cup, no one tried to take my food, and it came speedily, so I wasn't stuck in bed waiting very long (they once tried to make pancakes--from scratch--while I was more than ready to roll out of bed).  This year's success is partly due to my husband's thoughtful preparations ahead of time.   The girls were so excited to participate as my little maids.  Later we went out for lunch, and then I had the thrill of taking a child to the ER for a totally over-cautious, potential rabies-exposure visit.  Don't worry, all is well, but man, can Sapphire put up a fight when she sees the needles coming at her.

Thankfulness

We've had some family gathering lately, including a forty-fifth anniversary party for my in-laws. I think we really surprised them. Then we tortured them by making them reenact wedding traditions.











Last week my family headed west to Somerset County for a (slightly) snowy Thanksgiving. Sapphire took her pumpkin pie seriously.  Later she claimed the drumstick and then devoured it.

Our co-op ended for the fall semester. On our last day, I taught my little class of shorties about how we wake up yeast so it can make air bubbles to help our bread rise. They loved the kneading. I did not tell them that baking the bread kills the yeast!

Since we found ourselves ahead by a week, we took a break from school for the entire Thanksgiving week. That didn't stop Pearl from being creative in very loving ways.

I've been reading to her from Beverly Cleary's Ramona series, and she's working on the second Droon book by herself. We've also been watching the PBS series Colonial House, in which seventeen people move into pilgrim houses and see if they can make it. We much rather watch than live that experience!

I guess we make the thumbs up sign more than I realized!

A First Thanksgiving

Ruby made her first trip to the western part of the state where my grandmother lives in the farmhouse that goes to the dairy farm my grandfather farmed. It's been a rite of passage for each of the girls to visit as babies, and now Ruby has had her chance. She liked the cows, but not the barn cats (which were friendly, not scary, I thought). 

We walked back the lane, a field road that leads to the woods. It was chilly! The last morning of our visit a few flurries tempted the girls outside to try so make snow angels and snow balls out of 1/16" of snow.

We had a very nice time with family. Ruby did so well transitioning into a three night visit at a new place. Her sisters ate up the attention too.  They like to make houses out of blankets and Grandma's walker. Sapphire is already asking to go back, because we were only there a short time.

Here's Ruby's first Thanksgiving dinner.  The social workers always want to  know if Ruby's extended family is welcoming, and I'm so touched that she's been welcomed by every side of the family with such loving hugs.

During both of the long drives all three girls fell asleep for 1.5 hours--this was a real blessing!

Grandma & her youngest great-granddaughter

Sunday night we met with our 4-H group for a Christmas banquet and games night. I've been teaching Thursday nights, so I'm out of the 4-H loop, but it was neat to see the kids play together.

I've never seen musical chairs taken a seriously as at our 4-H, and they even have a live pianist to play. It gets a little dangerous, sort of like spoons in our youth group. With some early help and protection from a friend, and her own uncanny sense of survival, Pearl progressed through each of the rounds of musical chairs.  Pearl was injured in the second to last round (when she was playing against two big boys, one a 6 foot high schooler), but she felt cheered on and decided to make a last attempt. She may have won fair and square, or she may have had help, I'm not sure, but she took home the trophy, still a little tearful, but very triumphant. This morning she shined it up and displayed it to her little sisters very proudly.


On Monday we decorated for Christmas. This means my husband brings down the containers (that's all he likes to do), and usually I do the rest. Not so this year!  With two little girls who know what a tree is supposed to look like, it seemed to decorate itself. This was mostly Pearl's doing. She's very into decorating trees--she decked Grandma's tree and I think it was a highlight of her visit. Sapphire bopped around. Ruby was only interested in the tissue paper cushioning the breakables, but she, like the rest, was excited to see the plastic, play nativity set we keep in the attic until Christmas.

Tuesday was our co-op Show and Tell, a time for the kids to take the stage and show what they've learned. My husband's karate class demo was very impressive. Many of the 3rd-5th graders broke boards at the end, an event they had anticipated greatly. Pearl thrilled us all with her gripping portrayal of the Big Bad Wolf.  Sapphire had practiced one specific line during our read-throughs at home, and when it came time for the first little pig to refuse the wolf, a little voice from the front row drowned out the pig with "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!"  We enjoyed visiting with other homeschooling families during the reception.

And, finally, I sent off the manuscript of my book today--this has been in progress since Aug. 2011. I'm sure my editor will have suggestions for revision, but the big stage is over.  If you are looking for a great book about the historical/cultural background of the global, modern Christmas, just wait until next December for the final product.