Christmas 2020

What a strange, hard but good year. So much has happened this year. I won't even try to write about it all tonight but I did want to write that we had lots of good despite the hard stuff. Here are some Christmas highlights from this year. 

• we still gave our Christmas cards to neighbors but we're waiting until Easter to give cookies
• although we couldn't carol at the nursing home, we did take chocolate and cards. 
• We also went caroling at the home of a sweet family from church.
• we were all together in service for Christmas Eve. 
• we didn't see grandparents in person but we did have nice zoom calls with all. This afternoon we talked with Grandma, Pops Leon, and Uncle Brian. Tonight we played games via zoom with Nana, Papa, and Uncle Steven. We played guess the gift, Christmas scattergories,  and Christmas carol game. We listened to Florida Christmas during our writing times.  I wish we could be together in person but this was a nice, wise, safe way to connect across the miles! 
• We played tennis and soccer with some super friends and came home for hot apple cider and gingerbread chex- plus some pretzels I pulled out because the kids were starving after tennis! 
• I always love Christmas books! I think the kids read all our Christmas books. We added one more picture book- Night Tree and this year we read two new books on Kindle which I liked- Bespoke and Birds-Christmas-Carol.  Bespoke lead us to one of our gifts for Jesus this year. 
• I also love Christmas movies- so much that I did a separate post here. 
• We went on a drive to see the Christmas star. 
• We did have good food- here's some highlights
• KG made lots of cookies and soup- Zuppa Toscana and Seafood Gumbo were both hits! 
• C made gingerbread chex
• we continued our Christmas around the world theme with these- 
• Polish Kielbasas an Pierogi
• German stollen
• French buche de noel (maybe)
• Japanese traditional Christmas dish 

Christmas walk

Love my new ornament 

second annual Christmas punch- last year we got rainbow sherbet because we couldn't find lime but now I'm keeping so can embrace the Shades of Brown

Zoom #1

 

Manna serve team Christmas

Important part of Christmas!

Zoom #2 

Day after Christmas first annual track day

Christmas cookie baking with friends

Tennis with friends

Gingerbread house decorating

One exciting Christmas present

Go Army Christmas seemed right this year!

This boy loves decorating Christmas cookies!

Christmas Eve service at Executive Place

KG won the student group dress-up contest!

Never Ever let it cool!

Serve team at Segra!

Neighborhood Santa sighting!

Christmas Movies

 I started a Christmas 2020 post and decided Christmas movies should have a post by itself. So here goes. 

Some movies we've enjoyed this year :

Jingle Jangle

It's a Wonderful Life

The Grinch

Princess Switch

A Christmas Prince

Ones I'd like to see: 

White Christmas- NF

The Star

The Three Wisemen

Holiday Rush? NF

Love Actually?

Polar Express?

The man who invented Christmas

Little Women 1994/ 2019

Holiday Inn

Past years that we 'd watch again

Elf

Angels in the Snow

The Christmas Project

Home Alone

The Santa Clause

Muppet Christmas Carol

A Christmas Story 

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Rudolph

Miracle on 34th Street

Some one and done movies :) 

Operation Christmas Drop 2020

Christmas Chronicles 

Angela's Christmas 2020

Christmas Chronicles

Klaus 

best-Christmas-movies List

Update 2021

Might watch: The Star, The Three Wise Men, 

The Preacher's Wife 

funnies heard from the backseat

me "what did God feed the Israelites in the desert?"
C "mayonnaise"
KG "we have that in the refrigerator"

T's favorite shirt (for the last year) is this orange shirt. He wears it all the time so much that KG says "I'm cold like my Dad." (It really says cool like my Dad)

I wish we had this taped. We're making a DVD for Grandmollie. I told K to say "Grandmollie since you can't come to our house, we're bringing our house to you." KG on her own says "our house is too big to send so we'll have to take it apart."

"Mommy, once you sit down and get buckled, I'll give share a cookie with you." where did little KG hear that?

"I'm not a whale because I don't have a big mouth."
which was right after
"Mommy, when I call you I want you to come the first time."

School Plans

AO Year 3 booklist, which covers history, science, Bible, geography, poetry and literature,  we will add the following materials: (someone else)

• Bible- read chapters daily with K and C, read Story Bible with T and KG 
• Copy work - alphabet, Write Through the Bible, print (Philippians 2, Lord's Prayer; Draw Write Now
• Art - 
• Music -  Piano, using  http://www.freepianolessons4kids.com/lesson1.html 
• Health - The Boy's Body Guide: A Health and Hygiene Book (terms 2 and 3)
• PE - Soccer, outdoors
• Phonics/reading - McGuffey and Treadwell readers (daily)
• Grammar - Simply Grammar (after Christmas break)
• Spanish - Rosetta Stone, songs and stories (3 times a week)
• Typing - Typing Instructor for Kids
• American Sign Language - ASL from The Joy of Signing and some fun iPad apps (once or twice a week)
• Geography - Galloping the Globe (3 weeks per country, taking it slow, and coordinating somewhat with Marco Polo's adventures)

http://windyhillhomeschool.blogspot.com/2013/08/plans-for-ambleside-online-year-3.html

http://www.amblesideonline.org/Yr1Primer.shtml

Handwriting http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/free-printable-bible-verses-for-handwriting-and-copywork/

Writing http://smallworldathome.blogspot.com/2009/01/smallworlds-wordsmithery-good-words.html

Circle time
Hymn, Poem, Weather, Devotion- 

Special Time

I know these pictures are grainy but they were just such special moments I wanted to save them. 

K trip with Nana/ Papa

A year of pics: Baby C

4 months

3 months

5 months

First car ride

Our USMA delivery

with Kate

One month- so sweet

Our Blessing

We are so excited to be adding a "pumpkin to our patch" March 2015. 

A friend posted a cute pumpkin picture to announce their growing family and I used her idea. Of course, we added our own style- see the boys all picked Army hats. 

Donut Day

This wasn't on Donut Day but I couldn't remember if I posted this pic of James' walk with the kids to "our" lake. We were so excited to find the lake in the fall and the kids were glad to show Daddy- even if they were a little sweaty! The two little ones and I stayed home for naps!!

We enjoyed the days that James was home mostly at home which was good for all of us: my resting (really all of us since we all napped every day), the kids' spending quality time with James, ... but we were ready for a day out so the Friday before James flew back to Korea we decided to go do something fun away from the house.  I names this post donut day since we planned our day around Duck Donuts. We had a super morning at Hemlock Bluffs Park in Cary, NC . We picked Hemlock Bluffs because it was near Duck Donuts and I'm so glad we did. It was beautiful. Well, V and I stayed in the nice garden area but I enjoyed that and seeing the great pics from James and the kids' hike.

that wasnt on the hike :) but fun watching donut making

we even got a family pic!

and as yummy as these were our day wasn't over yet!

Baby birds!

So fun to have a nest full of baby birds. A few weeks ago we noticed a bird (or pair of birds) flying in and out of the garage. I thought they were just visitors but it turns out they made a nest! The beginning of May, we noticed that the nest had a few tiny eggs in it. Then, May 10th, the first egg hatched! We googled and found out that we have a family of Carolina Wrens- they often like unusual nests and being near people. It's been so fun to watch this little family!

this family recorded their bird family's growth here.  We've just ben going to visit lots and taking some pictures. It's really fun to see the birds' different behavior with babies to care for. If we go in the garage while Mama is on the nest, she just sits calmly and watches. If we walk in the garage, while parents are around, they'll wait under something (James' tools, the van, ...) Although once, Mama chattered and chattered at us when we saw her out of the nest. For the first few days after baby birds hatched, Mama sat with them most of the time. Occasionally, she would leave and we'd get to see the tiny strange looking babies sleeping. After a few days, she was gone more and we'd see open mouth babies sometimes- although they still slept a lot. Today was the first time I heard the babies requesting food. Mama and Daddy both bring food.

(I hope I can find pics of this because this was really neat.)
we were sad to see them go. (well except maybe James who was glad to have garage back.

Beach 2018