I Love Advent

I absolutely love this time of year! With the only exception being the removal of my wisdom teeth, and despite the fact that I'm still appreciating the effects of the narcotics, it's been a fun December at the Nuzum home! And with our church staff just returning from a trip to Uganda with Samaritan's Purse, and generosity being the topic of discussion, I feel like I've been more aware than ever of how blessed we are, how many things we have to be thankful for, & more importantly how much we have to GIVE.

I know I'm in the minority but I LOVE the cold weather. I love warm PJs & thick comfy socks (& I love that since we homeschool, we can stay in them all day if we want). I love that Joshua and I never miss a day (usually when the little ones are napping) of sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate & a book to read together...sometimes in front of the fire if it's really cold.

I love that Donnie's schedule is less hectic and I'm so thankful for the days when he can come home early & we all get some extra Daddy time. Joshua was very excited this day. Can you tell?

I absolutely love celebrating Advent as a family. I love seeing the kids faces as they anxiously await the chance to open each door of their Advent calendar & discover the surprise that awaits them (it's the only time of year they get chocolate after breakfast, and also the only time of the year they get their morning chores done so fast!) They've had a few extra surprises along the way like a new Christmas movie, a day of cookie making, and a new game for game night. By the way, this is a great family board game for Christmas and, as we found out with our small group, a lot of fun for 10 adults as well!

The last couple of years we've had an Advent wreath and Joshua really enjoyed lighting the candles and having our devotion by candle light. But I realized we were getting too busy during the week & only discussing Advent on Sundays when we would light the candles. Christmas Day comes and goes so fast, we want to take every opportunity to talk with our kids about the reason for Christmas, and make it part of our daily discussion and activities. So this year, I adapted the idea of a Jesse Tree. We have a daily scripture reading & Joshua colors the ornament that illustrates that story. Instead of having a tree to hang them on, we just string them on some yarn and hang it in our school room. I love being able to show them how each story points to the coming Messiah, even 2,000 years before his birth!

We also had the opportunity to help pack 500 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child with our church. We were so excited to be able to take the boys so that they could experience "giving back" in a small way as they stuffed boxes and wrote notes to include for the kids receiving them.

So I'm very torn at this point. Part of me wants the days to slow down so I can enjoy each moment a little longer. But another part of me can't wait until Christmas when my family will arrive and we can continue the celebration with them. And I especially cannot wait to get my hands on that nephew of mine!!

O Christmas tree!

So our plan to head to the mountains this weekend for our annual tree hunt was thwarted by less than desirable weather. Playing in the snow for awhile would have been fun. However the thought of trapsing through a field of trees with three kids, in freezing weather, trying to find that perfect tree in the midst of a snow storm....Well, let's just say the boys were just as excited when Dad drove up to the house with our beautiful Christmas tree...from Lowes. And we had just as much fun staying in our jammies all day & decorating it...with a few breaks for hot chocolate.

Ella went straight for the ornament with her brothers' picture on it.

Blankies & Thumbs Anonymous

Hello. My name is Caleb James & I am unable to hold my blankie without my thumb immediately going in my mouth.

Hello. My name is Ella Grace. And I'm feeling his pain. Don't even think about taking my blankie.

Thankfulness Tree

So here are some pictures of our "Thankfulness Tree" we did for November. The boys wrote things they are thankful for on the leaves and then painted them. I laminated them so the plan is to add to it each year. We'll see how that works :) Here are the quotes on some of the leaves:

J: "My friends" (he lists them all), "Ella because she likes to play with me", "Jake b/c I'm a cousin now", "My batman wii game", "Elevation b/c it's fun", "Caleb b/c he's my brother", "Daddy b/c he takes me to play golf & he gives the best hugs", "Grandpa b/c Jesus made him better" "Bandit b/c he gives me good company"

CJ: "Ella is my princess", "my lankie" (blankie), "God is mumber one, God is mumber one!", "Daddy goes to work", "Mommy is so pretty!" (he's turning into our master manipulator with that last one. I mean c'mon, look at him!)

He's pointing to his "Baby Jake" leaf. I think that's the one he's most proud of!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Homeschool Humor

So as every Mom knows, kids are always saying funny things. And for me in particular, every time it happens I always hear my sister in my head saying, "write that down!". But usually I never do. This week, however, there were a few things said during school that I just couldn't allow to be forgotten:

subject #1: History
Me: "So, Joshua, do you remember where the pilgrims landed?"
J: "Ummm...I remember it starts with a P...Pinata?

subject #2 Math
I was reading him a word problem:
"Bobby bought 8 goldfish..."
J (interrupting): "Wait! Did you say goldfish?"
"Yes, and a friend gave him 4 more..."
J: "Ugh! Doesn't Bobby know he's going to have to clean that tank every day? Goldfish are disgusting!"

subject #3 Science
We were discussing static electricity & demonstrating it by sticking a balloon to the wall.
Me: "See Josh, static electricity!"
J: "Actually Mom, that wasn't static electricity. I was using the force"

I cannot even begin to imagine how boring my days would be without them! Thanks for making me laugh, J! I love being your teacher...& your Mom!

Aw Shucks

So we went to Aw Shucks corn maze yesterday with our homeschool group. Actually it is SO much more than just a corn maze! They started off jumping on hay, as you can see in the picture below. Then we were all taken on a hay ride around the corn field. After the hay ride, we were given a lesson on the planting, growing, and harvesting of corn , got to see how all the old farm equipment worked, and basically learned all there is to know about corn! Joshua's take home point for Dad at dinner was that people used to use the corn cobbs for toilet paper. :) There was a kid sized fort and cabins they played in after our picnic lunch, then we took a walk through the nature trail to hunt for bird houses (the answer to how many there were was hidden at the end of the trail). After a quick game of duck racing, and a climb in the tree house, we headed to the the barn where we fed the sheep and goats, saw a new baby goat, turkeys, a pig & a horse. By this time the kids were fading fast, but we couldn't leave without doing the corn maze...oh wait...we also stopped to milk a wooden cow. So a few steps into the corn maze, a few of us moms began to panic about the thought of not making it out. The kids were exhausted and Joshua ended up pushing Ella's stroller through it so I could hold Caleb who refused to walk any further. It was definitely a fun filled day! We tried to get our school work done when we got home, but Joshua ended up falling asleep on the futon. Here are a few pictures and you can see the rest here.

Sayonara old friend...

So I put the little ones down for a nap today & before I knew it, out of my mouth came, "So ya want to go outside & take the training wheels off your bike, Josh?" I completely expected the same answer we've received the last 50 times we asked him the same question. But much to my surprise I got, "Sure, Mom!"
"Uhhhhhhh....what?"
"I said, sure! Let's go."
"Uhhhh....I meant take your training wheels off and learn to ride your bike without them"
"I know. Let's go!"
"Uhhhh...ok." (thinking to myself - Do I know how to take the training wheels off?)
Fortunately I was able to rummage through the tools to find what I needed to remove them. Then came the running behind him, bent over, holding on to his seat, up and down the street...Now I know why my dad did this! Just about the time I thought my back would give out (after about 2 laps...I obviously need more excercise) Joshua says, "I'm ready for you to let go!"
"What? Are you sure!" (I did not think he was ready)
"Yes, I'm sure!"
...and off he went....