Wintertime

 I miss the dirt, but it’s good for the kids to play in the snow.

More of the Clydesdale pictures

Christmas Time

 We had a peaceful Christmas. I love when Jacob goes down for a nap, he looks so angelic.

 The girls watched A Muppet Christmas Carol, and when we opened gifts for one another we sang Christmas hymns between each one. We also read Luke 2 and Monta was Mary, Jacob was Joseph, the big girls were shepherds and sheep, and Ryan’s grandma on Skype was the angel because as Amy said "It’s perfect, because she has white hair." We had a German Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. Rouladen, Rotkohl, Potatoes and mustard, Yum!

Big Horses

We got to see some really big horses the other day. They were beautiful!

We are doing alright

Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing enough with homeschooling, but here are two recent quotes that make me feel like maybe we’re doing alright:

Lena, 5 yrs old, at breakfast "Eww, Mom. Lily is masticating her eggs and spitting them out."

There’s a cabbage butterfly in our house that we’ve enjoyed being here. It’s so cold outside, we’ve kept it as a pet. Esther, 7, asked me "Mom, why is it (the butterfly) touching my skin with its proboscis?"

If you can use those two big words correctly, then maybe we are doing well. ;)

Cute Kiddos

 This little guy is started sitting up. He is growing up so fast.

 Esther loves to do creative things with LEGO blocks, and making messes tuckers Monta out. It’s exhausting making messes.

Henry W. Longfellow

 We read Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride" and these are the pictures the girls drew to go with the poem.

 I thought Esther’s details were great.

 Lena drew the Sommerset man of war, complete with bearded captain looking out.

 Monta's picture came from Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life" where he says "Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us footprints in the sands of time."

I have been very impressed with Longfellow’s life story, having recently read a book about him. His tragic experience of losing his dear wife Fanny in a fire, and being very burned himself (forever after sporting the bushy beard he was known for because he couldn’t shave over the scars), and his ability to still look to God with gratitude for the time they had together rather than be bitter, make his poem "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" so much more poignant. He showed amazing faith when he writes "Then peeled the bells more loud and deep, God is not dead nor doth he sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth good will to men."