What We've Been up to Lately

It's been tons of Christmas fun around here lately! Each day seems to have one more memorable activity for the kiddos~or all of us!

I'll pick up with our most recent fun and take you back through our past week (and a half or so).

Yesterday we went with my parents and sister to see the latest Narnia film. We are HUGE Narnia lovers and have loved the way these latest films have turned out~even if they're not exactly like the books. Of course, the books will always be my favorite!

On Christmas Sunday our church had a wonderful family service! The kiddos did a fun rendition of the Reliant K version of *The 12 Days of Christmas*. SO cute! Mr. B was in the *5 golden rings* part and The Princess was in the *8 maids a milking* group:) We also had some *friends* who came to tell all of the children a great Christmas story. It was a very fun, interactive service for the whole family.

Last weekend we took the kiddos ice skating. We have to drive about 1.5 hours to do this, so we only do it about once a year. We should really do it more often though~the kids have so much fun! And each time we go they do better and better (and I even do a little better:).

The Princess just takes off on her own now and has a blast!

I spend more of my time keeping Mr. B upright:

But he sure does have fun though~and he actually was skating on his own a little before the night was over. You can tell how excited and proud he was by the look on his face.

Last week we also joined our homeschool group for some caroling and handmade card delivery at our local nursing home. We have some wonderfully talented kiddos in our group and they were such a blessing to the residents there. My kids love caroling! We'll be joining my sister's youth small group for some more caroling tonight:)

Last week was also our homeschool group's Christmas skating party. We rarely go roller skating, but the kiddos always enjoy it. That's another thing we should do more often.

The family gatherings have begun as well. We've had our annual Christmas luncheon with my dad's extended family and also Christmas with Vince's immediate family.

Oh~and did I mention that Mr. B has a beautiful shiner for the holidays? Yep, that's what rough-housing with your sister will get you. So this year will definitely be remembered as *The Year of the Black Eye*.

I hope that you and your families are having TONS of Christmas fun, too!!

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

One Way I Refresh During the Summer as a Homeschool Mom

As our homeschool takes some time off this summer, my mind almost never stops thinking of and planning ahead for the upcoming school year. This is probably because I'm Type A and an obsessive planner...lol Whatever the reason, I do enjoy this season of planning. But I also need to be refreshed as a homeschool mom. Homeschooling can be incredibly exhausting and all-consuming. It's not easy and it's a lot of responsibility. And I take that very seriously when I am researching curriculum and planning toward the next school year. So also taking some time to rejuvenate and refocus myself is very important. How do I do this? Each summer I take some time to read something inspiring and motivating that speaks to me as a homeschool mom. Some of my fave reads from past years--that I have nearby on my shelf and refer to often--are Educating the Wholehearted Child, The Well-Trained Mind, The Charlotte Mason Companion, A T...

Arkansas' Crimson Clover

One of my favorite things about Spring is the crimson clover that grows along the highways and interstates here in Arkansas. I say Arkansas because this is where I first grew to love it. We actually saw some in Mississippi on our way here and I saw it in our town in Alabama for the first time this year. But it spreads like that, each year it grows and looks even more beautiful. I'm not sure who decided to plant it in the medians of the interstates , but it was genius! It seeds itself and just comes back more lush the next year. I always want to take pictures, but of course it's almost always in the median of a very busy interstate~which is a little dangerous for photography. However, the other day I found the perfect patch of it on the side of a not-too-busy highway, so Vince obliged me and pulled over:) Isn't it beautiful? I just had to share it with you...

my blessed life

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