Christmas with Grammy

Grammy has been here since Friday morning.  When we left the airport, we headed to the mall to go shopping.  The kids were on a mission...to find a gift for Grammy to buy them.  But little did they know that Grammy was on a mission...to find a gift to buy them without them knowing she bought it.

I'm happy to report that all missions were completed!

After going to see The Nutcracker this morning, we came home to have dinner and open gifts with Grammy.

 Waiting...and wondering...thinking that "my favorite thing is still on hold at the store"...

 "Surprise!"

 "It's here, not at the store!"

 "Oh, wow!"

 "How did you get this here!?"

 Grammy also packed a few surprises in her suitcase.

 My favorite part of the evening was when I was opening the gift from Grammy and C together.  C was overwhelmed with excitement.  (Wish the video camera had been rolling then!)  She was jumping up and down, clapping her hands, the girl could hardly breathe she was so excited!  The secret she had kept from Mom - but told everyone else - was about to be revealed.  And the gift...a new can opener for Mom!  And it has a bottle opener on it!  C has reminded me of that at least a dozen times.

 H gave Grammy one of her drawings.  Grammy will frame it and hang it when she gets home.

 C made Grammy a tree ornament.

 E made Grammy a pillowcase.

 The kids made Grammy a calendar of photos so she can see them all next year.

Grammy brought some cookie mix with her so we made Christmas tree cookies while Dad took H to basketball practice.  And Grammy went to bed because she was getting sick.

Faith's Christmas Program 2010

Faith's KidzTown Choir joined the adult choir for the Christmas program this evening.  It was a wonderful evening of music worshipping our Savior.

 B does a great job watching his choir director.  E can be seen just a bit too in this one.

 H singing with the choir.  Her friend, Helen, is beside her.

 E and C..."Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria!"

 The older children joined the adults on stage for one song.  They did a great job!

 Okay, clockwise from H in a diamond shape...H, Alexa, Aubrey and Jenna.  So thankful for the sweet friends God has placed in H's life.

 The Choirs

 Our little singers.

C, B, E and H.  And Baby Jesus is no longer in the manger...He's alive!

Gingerbread House Contest 2010

Today was the Gingerbread House Contest for our home school support group.  There was also a Christmas craft fair where the kids could make inexpensive gifts for family and friends.

 And the winners for the 5 and under category...C and E!!  They received a giftcard to Life*way.

 B with the boys' house.  (Ian could not be there today.)

 H with the girls' house.  (Alexa could not be there today.)  All the participants received a gingerbread man tree ornament.  With four on our tree, our living room smells really good right now.

Making ornaments at the craft fair.

We're so thankful for Lighthouse and the opportunites we have to do fun things like this.  We know we are blessed to be surrounded by other families who share the same calling to teach and train their children at home.  After today we are definitely in "the holiday mood"!

Note:  All three gingerbread houses were given to a local nursing home so the residents could enjoy them during the Christmas season.  We were proud of the kids for wanting to give away their houses.

Gingerbread Houses - Day 3

The chaos creativity contined this afternoon.  The kids all had fun finishing the gingerbread houses.

 Alexa and H had a plan from the beginning.  Too bad the boys ate too much of their plan so they had to make some changes.

 The twins were all about the icing.

 By the time they finished, they were wearing as much icing as the gingerbread house!

 Ian realized that his fingers were easier to maneuver than the knife.

 Good times!

 Silly times!

 The finished houses...all 3 from the same pattern but so different.

 Every side of the boys' house was a different color.

The twins managed to grab the candy corn bag before the boys ate them too.  So their fence survived.

Singing in Big Church

The KidzTown Choir sang in all three services this morning.  All four of singers did a great job!  (Can you find them all in the photo?)

 H is also still on the KidzTown Worship Team.  I had my camera with me so I took a couple of photos of her during the Children's Worship service.

The KidzTown Worship Team

Gingerbread Houses - Day 2

When the "rules" for our home school support group Gingerbread House Contest were read, I knew I had a decision to make.  Let all four of our kids work together on one house and put them in H's age group (it's based on the age of the oldest student) OR let them each make their own.  Well, it's not as much fun to work alone on a project such as these, so I started looking for some fellow Lighthouse members who had kids the "right" ages.  Thankfully, I didn't have to look very far.

After co-op yesterday, Alexa and Ian came home with us to bake the gingerbread houses.  They had to leave at dinner time but the dough was made and I just finished up the baking.  The pieces were left to cool and harden overnight.

Today, they came back to spend the day and decorate.  The assembling took a little longer than I had anticipated so there wasn't much decorating done today.  Their calendars were not too full for tomorrow afternoon so they still have time to finish!

 H and Alexa rolling the dough to cut out pieces to go around the house.

 C and E going to work on their house.

 The girls gave every decision some time to consider all the options.  The boys, well, let's just say they ate alot of candy! :)

 Alexa and H making some progress.

H and Ian working on their houses.  B is watching the girls.  And probably chewing some candy.

Christmas in Holland

Our last day of co-op was today.  We spent a few minutes in the Lower Grammar class talking about Christmas customs in other lands.  One of my co-teachers has two parents from Holland.  So she brought her dad's wooden shoes (see center of photo) and some Dutch treats for the class to enjoy.  The kids put their shoes in the hallway since we didn't have a fireplace or porch, and Sinterklaas came to visit while we were in class.  All the boys and girls had been good from the looks of all the candy in their shoes.

I meant to get a photo of all the kids but the anticipation of the party in the next room was too much.  They disappeared before I got in the hallway.



Best*Christmas*Pageant*Ever

The kids and I (Mom) went to see the Best*Christmas*Pageant*Ever play today.  I took the older two about three years ago so it was time to take all four.  It's a great story (read the book!) and the kids really enjoyed the play.

 We didn't get in a hurry to leave when it ended.  Here are the kids in front of the set on stage.

Some of the cast came out and talked to the few kids who were still there.  There were 5 actors playing 9 parts.  The kids finally figured out which parts each person was doubling.



First December Saturday 2010

We began our day at our "hometown Christmas parade".  There's nothing like a small town Christmas parade!  I just wish I had a photo of all the fire trucks!  There were at least seven.

 All four of our bunch walked with the Faith KidzTown Children's Choir.  It was the twins' first parade to BE IN so it was an exciting event.

 The parade ended at the Armory where the choir performed some of their Christmas songs.  Can you find all four Freelands?

 After we came home for lunch, we had to go get the van inspected.  Snow flurries were in the air.  In my great mommy wisdom, I said, "Don't get too excited guys.  It won't stick."

So, my mommy wisdom proved wrong.  {haha}

 Ready to play!

 "Let's go!"

 I tried to take a photo of all of us.

 So my sweet neighbor came over and took one of us.  (Dad is in Tennessee preaching this weekend.)

What a beautiful end to a beautiful day!