Around Here

:: A l’il paper crafting for various events. Harper had a Thanksgiving Feast at preschool last week and she was in charge of bringing in napkins.  I bought white napkins like a donkey – WHAT MOTHER in the age of Pinterest, and all the DIYness in the world buys white napkins and thinks that will be acceptable?  Her highness was not pleased.  I felt bad and came up with the idea to do what I did in the above picture.

:: Harper loves to pick out her outfits every day.  She and I pick what she will wear to school, but she likes to change outfits when she comes home.  You know, to mix it up.  Sometimes she puts on a tiara, sometimes it’s what I call a collage outfit.  The picture with the Tweetie Bird socks is such an example.

:: Here’s Hadley and Harper reading on a morning minutes before they needed to get dressed for school.  Hadley’s helping Harper to read the words. This happened in between two screaming fights so I had to snap a picture.  How do kids go from screaming bloody murder to helping each other read?  That’s what I’m going to ask Jesus when I see him.  He’ll probably say, “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” And then show me 4,563 clips of me and my brother doing exactly the same thing throughout our childhood.

:: You didn’t now Hello, Kitty was present during the greatest story of all time? Hadley and Harper love playing with our nativity scene.  And you know what? I don’t mind. Somehow I think they’re finding their way into the story. Isn’t that what I’m doing with this blog? Finding my way?  I think it is.

::We have our Christmas tree up.  I love unwrapping the ornaments and remembering past Christmases.  The girls have several now too and it’s fun to hear what they remember.  (And a PS to my Grandpa, who I’m not sure reads this blog but he should know that Harper’s favorite ornaments are Grandma Lewis’. Thank you for giving them to us.)

::Here we are at the AFI about to watch Mary Poppins.  I couldn’t wait to see the chimney scene, but I wasn’t ready to take away something new from the story I thought I knew so well.  So Mary Poppins was sent to help the family come together, and that’s why she had to leave at the end?  Oh dear, that’s such a fantastic sad scene.  And the part where the mother takes her women’s suffrage sash and ties it to the kite?  Mr. Van Dyke can cut a rug, but man, the “Let’s Go Fly A Kite” scene might’ve trumped “Step in Time.”  We should all go fly kite’s this month I think.

::Around the World Wide Web::

I wrote a story on a really cool project the DC CRC did to get middle schoolers involved in the church service.

And here’s another one on a couple of guys who created an app for finding churches in your neighborhood.

Of course, don’t forget to stuff your kids’ stockings with my Winter Boredom Busters!  Ten activities – one for each day of the break!  Have them practice their reading and writing skills without realizing they’re doing it.   Fake ’em out.  That’s how I like to educate my children.