Merry Christmas!

A Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Already this Christmas is promising to be a memorable one.  My heart is full and overflowing as I consider all the blessings surrounding me.

Not the least of which is the miraculous and mysterious fact of the incarnation.  I don't get it and I marvel at the fact that God became a person. 

Check out this moving little video picturing the wonder of Immanuel -- God with us.


the cross in christmas from tammi dryden on Vimeo.

Praying you and yours have a blessed, peaceful, restful and Jesus-ful Christmas!

Essential cookies

I have t minus one day left until my family arrives to celebrate Christmas!  Yeehaw!

The kids and I have been baking little by little and then tossing our cookies into the freezer to pull out for Christmas week.

We probably have time to do one more batch of yumminess before the grandmas descend.  We'll do a quick batch of gingerbread cookies tomorrow and then my cookie platter should be complete.  Still hoping to make these chocolate andes mint delectables too.  We'll see how productive we are tomorrow!


Thus far, this is the cookie selection we have for our platter:

Thumbprint cookies
Double chocolate walnut cookies
Sugar cookies (decorated by the kids of course)
Cranberry orange cookies (a new addition and DELICIOUS)
Snowballs

My grandma will be bringing her world-famous peanut butter balls to add to the goodie selection.

It's good but I feel like something is missing . . . .  What cookie is essential on your annual Christmas cookie tray?

Food gifts ROCK my Christmas!

As I get older and more boring, I find myself preferring the practical gifts much more than the sentimental pretty ones. 

And this year I've discovered that FOOD is my ultimate gift. 

During this busy and fun holiday season, my brain is almost maxxed out.  With so much to think about, menu-planning is taking a backseat.  Tonight we had fresh fruit, veggies, and pita bread pizzas for dinner.  Kind of boring and not even that filling.  My husband gave me a look across the dinner table and *almost* commented negatively but held his tongue.  Wise man. 

It's always exciting to receive packages, isn't it?  But when free food is inside?  WOWZA.  That takes Christmas packages to a new level of wonderfulness.

What food gifts do you enjoy getting or gifting at Christmas?

Forgot to take a picture of the honey-baked ham we received as a gift from Matt's Tia Becky.  Hope ours turns out looking as scrumptious as this!  This was the first time I've ever received a piece of meat in the mail.  AND I'M SO EXCITED!!!  These suckers are expensive and supposedly delicious.  What a humongous blessing that I don't have to go to the grocery store to figure out what meat to cook for Christmas dinner this year. 

My in-laws' annual Christmas gift -- yummy cheeses, sausages and chocolates in cutesy tiny packages.  Fun and practical and full of delectable fat.  Pair this with some crackers and veggies and we've got a snacky-board-game-playing holiday dinner.

These pineapple flowers are DELICIOUS! Of course my girly-girl had to pick a flower for her fruit of choice.  [Do you like Chloe's marker-ed hand?  My children can not color with markers without it completely adorning their digits.]

Look at this monstrous luscious edible fruit arrangement!  Talk about a practical and healthy gift!  WAY better than getting a bouquet of flowers in my book.  And the chocolate covered strawberries are DIVINE. 

Christmas Link Love

We have been seriously enjoying the snowy Christmas season here in the Horn house!  Hence my serious lack of blogging in the month of December. 

Here are some super neat Christmas links to some activities we've been engaging in this season:

* Clive & Ian's 12 Questions of Christmas.  Veggie Tales creator, Phil Vischer, just released a new dvd series spanning the Bible in entirety.  From the video clips I've seen, these dvds use puppets, songs, and tongue-in-cheek humor to teach Bible stories.  More importantly, these dvds give an overview of the gospel and how it's woven througout the overarching message of the Bible.  These 12 Questions of Christmas videos are short, witty, educational and involve a puppet named Clive.  Need I say more? 
* Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson.  I LOVE THIS CD.  LOVE.  LOVE.  LOVE.  What I love about it is that it's all about giving a complete picture of Christmas.  The story of Christmas did NOT start in a manger in Bethlehem.  It began much earlier than that with God's promises to take care of our sin problem.  Check out some of the songs here: Gather Round Ye Children Come; So Long, Moses; Matthew's Begats; Behold the Lamb of God.  Purchase here. 
* Jesse Tree: An Advent Devotional by Ann Voskamp.  Already blogged about this here. It's fantastic.  And it's free.

What Christmas resources are you excited about this year?  PLEASE share!

Christmas Photos

Today I venture out by myself to get Christmas photos taken of the three crazies.  Pray for me, please!

As I think about the time ahead of us at Portrait Innovations (by far, my favorite portrait place) I am questioning WHY I do this every year. 

There's just something sweet and magical about capturing children in a photo every Christmas.  My mom got a portrait taken of me and my sister annually and now that we're adults it's really neat to go back and look at how we grew and changed over the years.  Not to mention laughable at our funny hairstyles and dated clothing. 

According to the Portrait Innovations gal I spoke with I should plan on a 2-3 hours for the photo shoot ordeal.  Sphincter say WHAT?!?  I hope to get there an hour before hand and then we'll see how long we last . . .

Do you do annual kid or family photos?  If so, is there a particular portrait place you prefer?  Any tips for making the process a smooth one?

(In case you're wondering, the photo above was our feeble attempt at Thanksgiving to get a card-worthy shot of the kids.  Even with a sugar coated spoon [literally], Solomon was not into it.  A good memory to be sure but not Christmas card material.)

Homemade Christmas

This year I was forced to jump-start my homemade gift-making in time for Thanksgiving.  Since we traveled to my bro-in-law's house for Thanksgiving this year, it was only logical that we should save some money on shipping and bring along their Christmas gifts.

And also the Christmas gifts for my other bro-in-law's family who joined us for Thanksgiving too.

I was a busy little gift-making elf the week prior to Thanksgiving, let me assure you!

But now that the harriedness and busyness is over, I'm SO THANKFUL to have all those gifts done and delivered.  Rest assured, I'm far from done with Christmas gifts.  I still have several gifts to make on my remaining to-do list to make but it feels good to have two families crossed off. 

We have two teenage nephews, and four nieces of varying ages.  I don't usually make anything for the nephews since I can't ever think of a cool enough crafty gift to suit their tastes.  They ARE teenage boys after all.  But the nieces and sisters-in-law always get at least one homemade present from me.

This year I made something I've always wanted to try -- homemade hot cocoa mix.   I did three flavors: Peppermint, Spicy Mayan and Butterscotch.  Easy peasy and VERY yummy due to the powdered milk included in the mix.  Makes for a smooth and creamy cup of cocoa.

For my nieces I made necklaces with interchangeable magnetic charms.  I used scrapbook paper for the charms, modpodged them several times, affixed a magnet and voila!  Don't believe the dimly-lit pictures, these turned out really cute and not at all yellow-y as the photos belie.

What gifts are you crafting up this Christmas?

Chloe trying on the headband and not-so-secretly hinting she'd like one for herself.

Peppermint hot cocoa mix in repurposed formula can

Ribbon and scrapbook paper can really dress up a tin formula can!

Spicy Mayan hot cocoa mix.  I thought the spices called for in Alton Brown's recipe were too mild so I added more chili powder, cinnamon, and a touch of cayenne.  This stuff will surely warm up your insides on a snowy winter's day!

The ribbon wrapped, bow-topped finished headband for my 5 year old niece.  She loved it!  And I love hot glue.  Can't craft without that miraculous goo.

Magnetic charm necklaces with decoupaged scrapbook paper and store-bought chains. I made two of these -- one for each of my teenage nieces.

Jesse Tree

For years now I've been hearing about and wanting to incorporate a Jesse tree into our Christmas traditions.  This year, thanks to the generosity of Ann Voskamp, I've finally been able to make one!


What is a Jesse tree?  Simply a small tree with daily ornaments that depict Old Testament stories foretelling Jesus' birth.


It's been fun and enlightening to learn alongside the kids about God's promises to provide a Messiah.  Each day I have Chloe color, glue to cardstock and then cut out her ornament.  Then I hole-punch it, attach a hook and put it on our tree.  Lastly, we read the coordinating devotional for the day.  


The devotional by Ann Voskamp is FANTASTIC.  At first I thought it would be too abstract for the kids but I abridge it slightly and do some additional explaining in my own words.  What I especially love about the devotional is that the main text is from the actual Bible.  So often kids' Bible stuff is paraphrased or watered down.  Ann's Bible excerpts are from a completely understandable and clear version (NCV and NIV) for kids. 


To get a free pdf copy of the Jesse Tree Advent Devotional, follow instructions on Ann's blog.  (You'll have to subscribe to her blog to get the free download link.)


Does your family do a Jesse Tree?  Or an advent calendar?  How to you count down to Christmas?

A Fall photocard

Shutterfly has been rocking my bloggy world this season with their fun freebies!

In yet another blogger-aimed promotion, they are offering a $25 credit to bloggers who post about their photocard projects.  And since I'm NOT on the ball creating my Christmas photocards this year, I thought I'd share a project I did this past fall with a design aptly named "Fall leaves fall".  Creative title, Shutterfly.  :)

I did this project for my in-laws who live far far away in southern Texas.  They never get to experience the glorious colors of autumn.  And I like to keep them happy with new pictures of the grandkids.  This card was the perfect mix! 

I especially like that I am able to type a message AND pay for postage AND mail cards all electronically through Shutterfly's website.  That saves me loads of time and guarantees that the card will actually be mailed. If it sits on my desk's to-do pile there's not much hope it will ever make it to the mailbox.

Check out Shutterfly's WIDE selection of photocard designs.  And if you're a blogger, grab yourself some free money for Christmas-y photo gifts!

Fall Leaves Fall

Unique party invitations and greeting cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

0 Days Until Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Counting down with thankfulness has been an incredibly helpful exercise for me.  Some days it was easy to tick off the thankfulness list.  Other days not so much.  It's made me remember afresh that my thankful attitude will wax and wane if I only look at circumstantial blessings.  A true and constant thankful heart will be grounded in eternal truths that don't change.  So I really CAN be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:18) when I look at God and see His great great love for me.

"Thou hast given so much to me, give one thing more, - a grateful heart;

Not thankful when it pleaseth me, as if Thy blessings had spare days,

But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise."   - George Herbert

Wishing you a grateful heart this Thanksgiving Day!

1 Day Until Thanksgiving

One day more!  (Sung Les Miserable style)

So, obviously I missed yesterday's post.  Just too busy.  With the flurry of activity in preparation for Thanksgiving, it totally slipped my mind to write a blog post.

Today, I'm thankful for LOTS.  And LOTS.

1. Motivation.  THANKS BE TO GOD. 
2. Lists.  My head would be spinning off my neck and smoke would hiss out if not for the ability to dump information out into list format.
3. Matt choosing to use his day off to take the older kids out to run errands.  This translated into a golden hour and a half of quiet time for me to make a mess of the kitchen while Solomon napped.  Got two pumpkin pies in the oven, cauliflower steamed and ground up for Solly food, and Indian pudding stewing in the crockpot (part of our Thanksgiving schooling this week).  And most of the dishes are washed.  Also made a few phone calls while I slaved in the kitchen.  Truly an enjoyable morning for me!
4. Productivity.  Due to the nature of caring for three littles, most of my projects have to be completed in fits and spurts.  It's oft-times frustrating to have to stop mid-project but all those little baby steps of productivity usually add up to a finished task.
5. Family.  Though we won't get to see all our family tomorrow because it's physically impossible I'm so pumped about seeing a big chunk of Matt's side.  Nieces, nephews and sisters-in-law that we haven't seen since pre-Solomon days.  SO EXCITED to hang out and get to know them again!   Also excited that my dear ma and g-ma will be able to celebrate turkey day with some extended family.  Makes my heart glad that they'll be enjoying themselves even though I won't be able to chow down with them this year!
6. Coffee.  Without coffee none of the above would be possible.  Thank you again, Lord for creating smooth flowing hot energy in a mug.  (Check out this funny video on coffee -- my cheerleader in a cup.)

What are you thankful for today?

3 Days Until Thanksgiving

Three days left only?!?  AH!  As Clive would say, "Run for your life!"

I still have much much much to do in preparation for the festivities.  But instead of worrying, I keep telling myself to just do the next thing.  Not the next things plural.  I just need to do one thing at a time and eventually all the most important stuff will get done. 

Sounds vaguely like God's words in Matthew 6, "Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own".  SO true! 

So instead of fretting, today I'm thankful.  Thankful for . . .

1. God's reminders to be still.  My brain and spirit are rushing around like crazy headless chickens as I try to maximize every workable second of my day.  But God's quiet voice whispers, "Be still. Rest. Enjoy me."  So glad He keeps reminding and gently leading me back to His side.  What a Good Shepherd.

2. Yummy homemade hot cocoa.  Made two varieties today -- Peppermint and Spicy Mayan.  A delicious way to get my chocolate fix!

3. Friends.  Had some friends over for dinner tonight. Though it was rowdy and loud with all our kids under the same roof, it was refreshing and homey.

4. A contented easy baby.  Solomon has to be the easiest baby ever born.  Tonight after the other two crazies were already in bed, Solly just rolled around gnawing on his toys and cooed joyfully.

5. My hard working husband.  I know I've said it before but I'll keep on saying it.  My Matt works tirelessly!  I'm grateful for his commitment to his work and to our family.

What are you thankful for today?

4 Days Until Thanksgiving

FOUR days left until Thanksgiving!  The plans are coming together and we are getting EXCITED to be surrounded by family for some serious feasting and visiting.

It's almost tomorrow it's so late.  Hence I'm going to be extremely brief with my thankfulness list for today. 

On this Sunday I'm thankful for . . .

1. God's Word.
2. Caring Sunday School teachers and fun classes for the kids.
3. Caffeine.
4. A Packer victory.
5. Folded laundry.

What are you thankful for today?

5 Days Until Thanksgiving

Only 5 days left until Thanksgiving?!?  What?  I'm trying not to flip out about the upcoming packing, pie-making and gift-preparing I have to do in as we get ready to travel for the holiday weekend.

On this Saturday, I'm thankful for . . .

1. Puttering.  It's been a relaxing puttering sort of day.  We were productive in several projects and ventures around the house but all was done in a unharried sort of way. 

2. Psalms.  I've been hanging out in the Psalms a lot lately.  So much relevant truth there to cling to during these tiring and full days!

3. Music.  While working on the computer, I usually listen to music, podcasts or online sermons.  I've recently discovered or rediscovered these groups: Gungor, Shane & Shane, Jars of Clay and Andrew Peterson.  They've been keeping me company and encouraging my heart with thoughts of God.

4. Clive's singing.  While Chloe will sing loudly and often for anyone who will listen Clive is of the shier sort.    Before naps and bedtimes I've been rocking Solomon and singing to both him and Clive in preparation for their rest.  It's a sweet time.  Especially sweet when Clive starts singing along with me in his darling little voice, thinking I don't hear him in the dark. 

5. Church tomorrow.  I get to work in the nursery tomorrow for two services so I won't get to participate in the worship.  Regardless, I'm still very much looking forward to visiting with and serving alongside friends.

What are you thankful for today?

A Shutterfly Christmas Review

As I get older and busier with child-related responsibilities, I'm always on the lookout for ways to cut corners and save time.  And with Christmas looming on the horizon (can it really only be a month away?!?) my thoughts keep gravitating towards gifts.

My heart's desire is to make homemade gifts for everyone on my list.  But that is so not going to happen.  Instead I'm aiming to make at least one homemade something-or-other for each person on my list.  Probably just a small item like an ornament, picture frame, napkins, or baked good.

Enter Shutterfly!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I can quickly and easily create a personalized photo gift online.  Lately I've even been creating a card, typing a message AND addressing and paying for postage through their site.  Especially nice when there's a free promo code for just one card (keep those promo codes coming, please).  It's been a fabulous way to keep in touch with the kids' grandparents while simultaneously sending them recent kid pics.

And because all our family members enjoy photos of our darling progeny, photo Christmas cards are a no-brainer.  Here's what I like about Shutterfly's holiday photocards:

• Search designs by number of photos.  There are several ways to search through their extensive photocard collection.  Search by number of photos you want to use, format (flat or folded), size, price, color or designer.  I personally like the search by number of photos option.  We NEVER get a single shot of our family where everyone's smile is captured nicely.  And since I can't go "To the Cloud" I can't switch out picturesque grins for nonexistent ones.  (That cloud commercial is both annoying and sad to me.)  Last year I opted for the 2-4 photo option in order to get true smile shots of each of our family members.  Shutterfly has over 370 designs for multiple photos.  Yeehaw!
• Unexpected color palettes.  Browsing the photocards I was immediately struck by some surprising and fresh color palettes.  My favorite color combos included:
  - Brown with colorful accents (Check out Christmas Cookies, Framed in Color)
  - Turquoise with red accent (Check out Pretty Package)
  - Bright rainbow multi-colored (Check out Brightly Merrily, Mod Snowflakes)
  - Dark red with sky blue or black accent (Check out Family Ornaments, Royal Elegance)
  - Clean white with simple graphics (Check out Wishes Whirl, Retro Chic
• Christmas letter options.  Several flat cards had substantial space for including a brief Christmas letter blurb.  Those blurbs are just right -- not too long and not too short.  Again, I love that I can type in my family highlights without having to spend the time writing a hand-written note.  Don't get me wrong I thoroughly enjoy writing a personal message but this year I won't have time!  Check out these fun Christmas letter style photocards: Top 10 Moments, Family Letter in Blue, Christmas Letter in Green

My only disappointment with Shutterfly's site is that you can't sort to easily find religious cards.  But after a little more searching, I found a host of religious cards.  Usually the religious cards section is slim picking and disappointing when compared to the other modern card designs.  Shutterfly has a better than average selection of nicely designed ones.  Check out the religious photocard section here (I'm leaning towards using In His Name, Good Blessings, or Joyous and Blessed).

Tis the season to make photocards!  Happy creating!

What do you usually send out for Christmas card?  Letters, photocards, postcards, or traditional folded cards?  Or are you opting not to send cards this year to save money?

If you're wondering, yes, Shutterfly is giving me something for writing the above review.  50 free photocards for me!  Woo-hoo!  If you're a blogger, check out their offer.

6 Days Until Thanksgiving

All this thankfulness blogging has been good.  But it's also been time-consuming.  And instead of forcing verbose epiphanies on everything  today I will be terse.  Terse and thankful.

I'm thankful for . . .

1. Forgiveness.  I keep messing up and God keeps on forgiving me. 

2. My husband.  I got sick last night and hardly any sleep.  Matt canceled his classes today in order to take care of the kids while I recouped a bit. 

3. Cheerios.  I love these things.  Great healthy snack option for me and they keep Solly happy in the highchair for a ridiculous amount of time.

4. Leftovers and a family who eats them happily. 

What are you thankful for today?

Horn Homeschool: Week 11

For week 11 of our homeschooling ventures we took a much-needed week OFF.

It was, in a word, blissful.

We did NO school work whatsoever.  I was tempted to do some minimal school-related tasks but thankfully I did not go down that road.  No handwriting, phonics or math worksheets.  Just playing, casual reading and lots of free time. 

Taking a break gave us the motivation to jump back into homeschooling refreshed and ready to learn!  

If you homeschool, when do you take breaks?  Do you just tailor the breaks according to your family's needs or plan on taking regularly scheduled times off?

MY BLOG IS MOVING

Today I'm changing my blog's url.  I don't want to lose you so PLEASE make note of the new address and update your readers.

http://www.hornfamilychronicles.blogspot.com

See you at the new space!

7 Days Until Thanksgiving

Thankful post numero dos for today. 

Seven days left and still finding things to be thankful for!

I'm thankful for:

1. A quiet day at home.  The only time I stepped foot outside today was to retrieve the mail from the porch.  After two back-to-back busy days, a laidback day at home was in order.  We all enjoyed it and thrived in the low key mood of the day.

2. My sweet natured daughter.  Today Chloe and I had some precious times together.  She snuggled next to me on the couch while we read chapters in The Borrowers and did her reading lesson.  We made dinosaur eggs out of hard-boiled eggs and kool-aid.  She offered to hold Solomon for me so I could assist Clive.  She told me my dinner was the best she ever tasted.  She's at an incredibly sweet and earnest age. I am so thankful I can soak her up in all her innocence and adorableness!

3. Vegetables.  Sugar-free, nutrient rich and tasty to boot.  I'm trying hard to decrease my sugar intake and so far so good!  Instead of reaching for sweets I've been noshing on fresh raw veggies.  Hoping this diet change will help me lose my Solly weight and also give me more lasting energy through the day.

4. Music.  There really is something magically soul-stirring about the blend of words and well-written music, isn't there?  The song embedded below has been floating through my mind a lot lately.  Go figure.  (I apologize for the poor audio quality.)



What are you thankful for today?

8 Days Until Thanksgiving

Ok, it looks like somehow I messed up my counting and I'm off-track for my thanksgiving thankfulness countdown.  Oops.  Guess my math-loving brain cells are on the fritz due to lack of oxygen. Thanks sleep deprivation.

So, you're getting TWO thankfulness posts today.  Bonus for you!  AND me! 

Today I'm chewing on this verse . . .

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 
[1 Thessalonians 5:18]

This verse went up on our school wall today to help us remember to give thanks.  We've memorized the verse easily thanks to our Seeds of Purpose cd. Giving thanks is a powerful antidote to complaining and grumbling.

I especially like how this verse reminds me to give thanks in ALL circumstances.

Tired?  Give thanks. 
Unmotivated?  Give thanks.  
Frustrated?  Give thanks.
Jealous?  Give thanks.
Lonely?  Give thanks.

Pretty clear from the wording here to see that God wants us to give thanks.  How many times have we been led astray into the cacophony of our own thoughts ruminating on the *mysterious* will of God?  Giving thanks IS what God wants us to do.  Plain and simple.

This morning sitting at the kitchen table munching zucchini muffins, we talked thankfulness and I asked the kids what they're thankful for.  I always grin inwardly when I pose such a question to my dear little ones.  Their responses promise to be surprising, touching and bathed in inimitable childish sweetness.

Clive: "I'm thankful for all my trucks!"
Chloe: "I'm thankful that God gave me the skill to read and type on the computer. Now I can read my big beginner book all by myself!  And I can type a story about dinosaurs.  Oh, and I'm thankful for Jesus that He died on the cross.  That was a hard thing for Him."

What are you thankful for today?

Horn Homeschool: Week 10

Week 10 continued our letter F themed studies with a unit on FARMS.

• Farm field trip.  If you live in Ohio and have children, a visit to Lake Farmpark should be mandatory by law. Heck, forget the kids, everyone must go regardless of offspring because this place was amazing!  Lots of demonstrations, education, and hands-on animal petting all facilitated by the most friendly and knowledgeable staff you can imagine.  We attended a milking and cheese-making demo, petted countless farm animals and even rode a tractor-pulled wagon around the grounds.  I appreciated the small scale to the exhibits and demonstrations.  The kids were all able to get right up close to experience everything.  
• Tractors.  There are a myriad of benefits to homeschooling but one facet that I especially love is incorporating special topics for both Chloe and Clive.  Since Clive is still so young I don't force or expect him to do much school with us.  But one aspect of the farm unit that I spent much time on was just for him -- tractors.  Chloe could care less about farm machinery.  That doesn't mean we wouldn't have talked about it some anyway but because Clive is a serious machine enthusiast we did it in excess for him.  It was so fun to see his excitement at reading tractor books and watching tractor dvds.  AND during our field trip he got to pretend to drive one.  Bonus!
• Farm pretend play.  Got out the little people farm and animals for our study this week.  It had been packed away for awhile so the kids had a fresh new longing to play with it and act out various farmy scenes.
• Food origins.  We learned much this week about where food comes from and the various types of farms that produce our food.  Even though we're weeks past this lesson, Clive still often holds up a piece of food from his plate and asks, "Mommy where this come from?" 
• Charlotte's Web.  We had already finished Charlotte's Web as our read-aloud a few weeks prior but the experiences and farm setting from the story were brought back to life with our farm study.  If you're doing a farm unit, Charlotte's Web would be a perfect and fun tie-in!
• Farm animal babies, mommies, daddies and groups.  There are a plethora of specific names for animal families.  It's borderline ridiculous.  We just did the basic ones and then reinforced with some matching worksheets.  Also read a whimsical book that depicted animal group names through the letters of the alphabet. Did you know a group of doves is called an exaltation?  And that a group of elephants is technically a kindergarten?   

The farm week was purposely light since we were coming off some heavy school weeks and needed a break.

Besides the above activities, we continued on with Chloe's regular math, reading, read-alouds and handwriting tasks.  And, as usual, we read LOTS of books about our theme throughout the week.

Chloe announced this week that she had changed her mind (again) about her grown-up occupation.  After week 10 she decided she wants to grow up and be a farmer.  Surprise, surprise!

9 Days Until Thanksgiving

Thankful for much today.  This thankfulness challenge has certainly given me a healthy dose of perspective!  I might just have to keep this up after Thanksgiving passes.

Today I'm thankful for . . .

1. An awesome involved loving husband.  I knew my Matt was amazing when I married him but I had no clue what a terrific dad he'd be.  He's more than involved.  Involved is too insipid a word.  He's in the trenches with me and gets his hands dirty (literally and figuratively -- I'll spare you the gory details).  Matt puts the older kids to bed every night.  He vacuums.  He does laundry.  All on top of his rigorous teaching and grading responsibilities.  He's the best and I'm exuberantly thankful he's mine!

2. Health and mental acuity.  Of course the level of my mental acuity is questionable, at best, these days.  But after taking the kids to a nursing home today and singing for the sweet older folks, I was reminded of the fleeting quality of youth.  It's a fact of life that we all age and eventually die.  And though I often feel weary, I thank God that my basic body and brain functionality is intact.  Many people my age can't say that!   

3. Joy. The aforementioned elderly souls we encountered at our nursing home visit were quick to give grins.  I realize that my bouncing baby boy causes uncontrollable smiling but I think there was more to it than that.  The nursing home residents were full of love, receptive, participant, and appreciative of our crazy homeschool kid bunch.  They get what's really important.  And it wasn't stuff, accomplishment, or persona that got them to smile.  Singing children, vibrant life and simple stirring caused the joy breakout.  It was especially sweet to see the contented faces on a few whose eyes were closed and sang along with us to such beloved songs as Jesus Loves Me and Amazing Grace. 

4. Thoughtfulness.  A dear friend stopped by unexpectedly and brought me some delicious bakery.  AND despite her busy schedule she stayed a few moments to chat and help me with child care.  It was super helpful and incredibly encouraging.  Makes me want to do a thoughtful deed for someone else to keep that lovely feeling going!

5. Make-up.  After yet another poor night's sleep, I drowned my tiredness with java beans.  But even exorbitant coffee consumption didn't cover up the sleep deprivation on this 32 year old face.  I'm so thankful that make-up can and does cover a multitude of blemishes and dark circles.

What are you thankful for today?

Blog Stats

This evening in my weary distraction I finally explored the "Stats" tab in blogger.

Yikes!  I'm slightly freaked out and disturbed at the findings.

I'm getting blog traffic from South Korea and the Netherlands? 
Why have so many people looked at my old posting about ear infections today? 
And why in the world is a porn site referring people to my blog?!? 

That last factoid has put me on HIGH alert.  Is there a way I can delete or block that somehow?!?

Soon I'll be changing the url for Horn Family Chronicles to remove Chloe's full name. 

[So, please make note! As of Friday, the new blog url is: hornfamilychronicles.blogspot.com]

Please help calm my nerves.  What cautions do you take in publishing your blog?

10 Days Until Thanksgiving

I.am.exhausted.

Not complaining, this is a thankfulness post not a pity party. Just stating the facts, ma'am.

Without further adieu, on to the thankfulness!

1. I'm thankful for friends. I got to see, visit, and talk on the phone with several lovely friends today. It was SO REFRESHING for my soul to be engaged in real and honest conversation with other moms. The kids ran around like crazy monkeys while we were entranced by full-sentence communication. No child was injured or traumatized while we ignored them; no harm done. It's inexpressibly encouraging to talk with other moms who are battling alongside me in the trenches.

2. I'm thankful for a warm bed, a big home (by global standards not American), running water, and indoor plumbing. We've been doing a study on India for Chloe's schooling through Sonlight's recent Passport to India program. While she's listened and watched the travel videos eagerly, much of the important lessons have gone over her head. I don't blame her. She's a spoiled 5 year old girl living in America. Despite learning about and viewing living conditions in India, it's all very hard for her to grasp. I'm purposed to (safely) expose her to the needs of others as she grows older. Today after a homeschool group India party to cap off our studies, I asked Chloe to tell me one thing she learned about how people in India live. She thought for a while and then responded, "They are so poor they only have 1 toothbrush for the whole village to share!" We're making progress here folks!

For me, especially after a tiring day and a poor night's sleep, I'm thankful that I have a warm bed to crawl into, a home with rooms and to spare for my entire family, water that magically appears when I turn the faucet, and a flushing potty that sanitarily takes away our waste.

3. I'm thankful for a job. I have a part-time online job and instead of grousing about the added responsibilities, today I'm choosing to be thankful! I don't know a single other stay-at-home-mom that gets to do what I do. I make a little money on the side AND get to hang with my progeny all day long. I could not have crafted a better suited work situation. While this year has been the most difficult in balancing work, home, and school responsibilities, it's still been a beneficial and rewarding experience. And my earnings pay for our monthly groceries and internet bill. Score!

What are you thankful for today?

11 Days Until Thanksgiving

Yikes, I almost didn't make it with my thankfulness post today!

Even though I didn't leave home until after dinner to run a few errands it felt like a busy day. A good busy day.

Had a mostly smooth day of school with Chloe and even got to enjoy some extra reading time with her since Solomon took a longer-than-usual afternoon nap.

Today, I'm thanking God for . . .

1. Motivation. Despite my downish day yesterday God graced me with motivation and joy in my work. Got through the usual chores of the day along with a few fun extras. And it felt good to be a busy bee buzzing around from task to task. Also started a new sugar-reducing diet and trying to ramp up my veggie eating today. We'll see how long that motivation lasts. Chocolate Halloween candy leftovers have been my go-to pick-me-up. I'm guessing celery and hummus won't pack quite the same punch as a sugary chocolate rush.

2. My kids' imaginations. C & C do NOT usually get along like angelic peace-making souls. But today I ended up giving them a long morning school break and after some initial bickering, they finally decided to construct a flying machine. Using Matt's old skateboard, a stroller and a host of containers from the recycling bin. Their construction didn't get far but it sure was fun watching them cooperate, make plans, and use their imaginations.

3. Gram Masala. Yup. This Indian mixture of 5 spices was a big blessing to me this evening as I scanned the Asian Market's shelves. Instead of having to buy 5 separate spices, the Indian culture thoughtfully put all the spices I needed into one handy mixture. Saving me a load of rupees! (Tonight marked my first ever attempt at Indian cooking. Nothing very exotic so don't be impressed. Here's the recipe. Turned out really well! Let's hope the kids like it at our India party tomorrow.)

What are you thankful for today?

12 Days Until Thanksgiving

Not feeling the thankful vibe today. Just a blah kind of day for my soul.

On days like this when I don't FEEL thankful, I remember that thankfulness is like love. It's about action not feeling. True thankfulness, like love, is rooted in truth and not mere circumstances.

So even though my day was not circumstantially *sunny* I can still thank God a lot. And I can have a thankful heart even when my emotions aren't in agreement.

That said, here's what I'm thankful for today.

1. I'm thankful that God is on my side and doesn't abandon me. My heart has been singing this song all day long. (Take a listen to my church service this morning when Pastor Begg spoke on this glorious and encouraging truth from Romans 8. He says this way more adeptly than I ever could.)

2. I'm thankful that my sins are washed away and won't be counted against me. Good to remember after a rough day! Psalm 32 is all over this.

3. I'm thankful that there's more to life than just this life. Looking for lasting joy in the moments of the present is futile. Of course we all have lots of happy and fulfilling moments but there are loads sad moments too. If the moments were all that I clung to for hope, I'd be superficially happy and disappointed deeply. My joy is in Jesus and hope is found in the promise of life after death.

C.S. Lewis said this classically, “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desire not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, we are like ignorant children who want to continue making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Armed with those truths in my pocket, I look forward to a thankful week ahead! What are you thankful for today?

13 Days Until Thanksgiving

So, I'm doing this thankfulness challenge thing where I post what I'm thankful for each day until Thanksgiving. I'm finding this to be a REALLY good exercise for me. Since I know I'll be posting daily I'm extra aware of the days' circumstances and I'm seeing things with more thankful eyes.

Join me, won't ya?

Here's my list of thankful goodies for today:

1. I'm thankful for an amazing local thrift store. Seriously. Today $20 netted me almost-new snowpants for Chloe, 3 shirts and 2 pants for Solomon, 4 books, and 4 games/gifts. Some of the gifty things were BRAND NEW -- still in their unwrapped packaging! We have several birthdays coming up around the holidays so these cheap gifts will help during the most expensive season of the year.

2. I'm thankful for naps. For me and for children.

3. I'm thankful for clean air ducts. Our home is more than 100 years old and it hasn't always been *lovingly* cared for. Since Matt and Clive have allergy prone noses, we've been making some allergen-reducing changes this year. It's been especially sad to see little Clive coughing and struggling. We had the air ducts cleaned yesterday. The worker guy said our ducts were one of the worst he's EVER seen. I don't think he was exaggerating because our dirty disgusting ducts clogged his vacuum motor thingy TWICE. And Clive had a blissful cough-less night last night!!! Thankful for such an easy fix and that my boy can sleep peacefully again!

What are you thankful for today?

Horn Homeschool: Week 9

Wow, I am ridiculously behind on these homeschool posts! In case you're interested, I'll be posting these on a side box from now on so you can find them easily.

For week 9, we skipped a few letters in our alphabet progression and fast-forwarded ahead to F so we could learn about FALL.

Studying fall in October in Ohio accorded itself to some instant visual learning opportunities. Here are the highlights of our funnest fall learning moments:

• Fall Hike. We have a plethora of amazing hiking trails in our community. A national park is almost literally in our backyard and our county park system is seriously impressive. It was a no-brainer to incorporate a leaf-and-acorn-gathering hike into our school week. And we all got some exercise to boot! When we got home we used a tree field guide to identify a few of the most common trees in our area by their leaves.
  
• Leaf Crafts. There are countless leafy fun activities splattered on the internet. It was hard to choose which to do! Of course we did the classic leaf-rubbing because no childhood would be complete without a little leaf-rubbing. We also painted over leaves with watercolors, did an autumn tree paper-tearing craft, laminated a few of our favorite leaves and painted paper-bag cut outs of leaf shapes. The paper bag leaves turned out great and are now decorating the border of our November calendar.
  
• Photosynthesis and leaf color change. Truthfully, I wasn't quite sure I understood why leaves change color in the fall so this part of our study was slightly intimidating. One science-y book I grabbed from the library put all the pieces together well and smacked me upside the head with its common sense. Another DUH moment for teacher-mommy! In the process of making their own food, plants use chloroplasts as the food making factory. Chloroplasts are made of chlorophyll which is GREEN. When fall rolls around, the tree goes into energy-conservation mode and no longer needs to produce any new food. It sort of hibernates. Since it's not making food, the chloroplasts are no longer needed in the leaves. And the leaves themselves are no longer needed. As the chloroplasts "die", the green goes out of the leaves and an identifying color remains. There's a lot more science in that part about the color but I won't go there. Because I don't understand it. I taught the kids a very basic watered down version of photosynthesis using the awesome amazing Here Comes Science cd by They Might Be Giants. There's an entire track devoted to photosynthesis. And you've NOT experienced cuteness until you've heard my darling Clive sing the word photosynthesis.
  
• Seasons Demonstration. We usually have some kind of Bible time during our homeschooling day so in line with our fall studies, we read appropriate Bible stories. (We use the Egermeier Bible Storybook which is unusually complete for a children's Bible and includes strikingly beautiful painted illustrations.) I also set up a demonstration to show Chloe why the seasons occur. I took some yarn and created an oval shaped orbit on the living room floor. Then I stood in the center of the circle and acted out the sun's role while Chloe held our globe and slowly walked in orbit around me. Using a globe makes this demo work easily since globes all have the 23.5 degree tilt of the earth built in. For it's the tilt that makes the seasons happen (details here). Chloe really got into it and I think she mostly understood the concept! She even did a little teaching session later that night to help explain seasons to Clive and daddy.
  
• Autumn Leaf song. Songs and poems are magic teaching tools with my kiddos. I stole this one from our library story time and it was a perfect fit! (Sing to the tune of London Bridge)
  
  Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down,
  Autumn leaves are falling down, all around us
  
  Red and yellow, orange and brown, orange and brown, orange and brown
  Red and yellow, orange and brown, all around us
  
  Take a rake and rake them up, rake them up, rake them up
  Take a rake and rake them up, all around us
  
  Make a pile and jump right in, jump right in, jump right in
  Make a pile and jump right in, all around us
  
  [We then proceeded to rake up our leaves and jump in the pile. Fall fun-nity AND I got a household task done. Homeschooling = Awesome]
  
  
  
  

14 Days Until Thanksgiving

Keeping up with my bloggy thankfulness challenge, here's the short list of what I'm thanking God for today.

1. I'm thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling. We had a lovely smooth functioning homeschooling morning and then piled into the car for an impromptu lunch with Matt at our favorite local library. Even got ice cream afterwards and enjoyed a quick sunny walk together as a family.

2. I'm thankful for Girls' Nights Out. (Forgive me if I messed up the plural grammar there.) Me and some gal pals have GNOs scheduled every 6-8 weeks. Lately I haven't been able to attend and tonight it's only going to be me and one other gal. Looking forward to some uninterrupted chatting, Chipotle eating and casual shopping! Also thankful for my dear hubby who recognizes the necessity of such nights and graciously and competently cares for our littles while I'm out.

3. I'm thankful it's Friday. Trite, I know. But I really am extremely grateful to have two full days to enjoy with the entire family at home together.

4. I'm thankful not to have to wear a coat in mid-November. We've been enjoying a ridiculously warm spell here in NE Ohio. It's been lovely to sit outside on the porch to read with Chloe, play in the backyard, or just go for a coat-less walk to our neighborhood Drug Mart. Too soon we'll be bundling all the kids up and toting around bundles of winter wear accouterments.

What are you thankful for today?

15 Days Until Thanksgiving

What am I thankful for today?

LOADS.

1. I'm thankful my baby slept through the night again. Ahhh. 8 hours of mostly uninterrupted rest was delicious. I say mostly uninterrupted because I woke up several times out of habit and snuggled back under the warm blankets. I could get used to this!

2. I'm thankful for veterans. Thanking God for the thousands upon thousands of armed service men and women who faithfully work every day to protect my freedom.

3. I'm thankful my dear hubby gets a day off today. All because of those dear blessed veterans my Matt gets a much-needed day off from teaching. Yippee!

4. I'm thankful for some quiet. Said hubby whisked away 2 of 3 kids and has left me with a quiet baby and house.

5. I'm thankful to live in a house with a working furnace, warm beds, and food. Chloe and I visited a local homeless shelter this morning where I interviewed for a volunteer position. We got a quick tour of the facilities and I was AMAZED at the extent of the services being delivered to people in need. Local people in need. Not talking about folks in third world countries but HERE in excessive commercial abundant consumerist America.

What are you thankful for today?

16 days until Thanksgiving

I am naturally thankful about some things in life. Food, shelter, clothing. Seems like everytime I pray with the kids before a meal, I'm thanking God not only for Himself but also for the basic material possessions He's given.

But, in practical living I'm not the most thankful gal.

I'm especially noticing my lack-of-thankfulness today as I've gotten frustrated countless times at how the day is playing out. Nothing is going the way I planned! My dear middle-son has received numerous spankings and my patience has waned quickly. I heard myself use my mean-mommy voice with him several times. I hate hearing my mean-mommy voice! I sound like one of those undesirable yelling screaming moms that embarrass themselves in public places. I'm not in public but I'm embarrassed at myself none-the-less. (Already apologized to the little guy about my harsh words. He's such a resilient joyful sort that he just said, "That's ok, Mommy!" and then proceeded to tackle me.)

So, in an effort to force a thankful attitude upon myself, I'm following in the steps of fellow-blogger Jenny with a Thanksgiving style challenge. I'm going to post every day from now until thanksgiving and list what I'm thankful for. Honest, real, practical things I thank God for not just the nebulous big picture items.

Here goes. Will you join me in this thankful challenge?

1. I'm thankful for little struggles and not big ones. I read this blurb about Christians being persecuted in Iraq. Wow. I have no concept of what that looks like since I enjoy total freedom in America. Praying for those with serious physical threats due to their faith in God gives me immediate perspective on the little-ness of my day's struggles. House a wreck? Baby woke up early from his nap? Not that big a deal anymore.
2. I'm thankful for the unconditional love of my children. I caught a glimpse of my unshowered self this morning in the mirror and did a double-take at my greasy yuckiness. I've been impatient and frustrated. My children seem to see none of that! They laugh with me, tickle me, smile at me, and are excited to be with me regardless of my demeanor and appearance. That's quite a model! And I'm thankful and humbled when I see their love.
3. I'm thankful for sunshine. That seems trite but I really am. Haven't been outside that much to truly enjoy it but even the diffused Vitamin D has been lifting my spirits.
4. I'm thankful for phone calls. This morning I received an unexpected call from an old college buddy. Despite the craziness going on while we chatted, it was refreshing. Encouraging too that she thought of calling me. I am not forgotten!

What are you thankful for today?

Candy boatload

After two sessions of trick-or-treating, we now have LOADS of sugary goodness in our home.

Our candy consumption rule is one piece of candy per diem. The kids usually begin asking for their one piece immediately after breakfast. That's good and bad. Good in that I don't have to deal with a sugar high around nap time. Bad in that I have to deal with whining when Chloe realizes throughout the day that she's already eaten her daily allotment.

In order to sneakily decrease the stockpiles, I've been repurposing the candy by breaking it up and baking with it. Monday we made a batch of pumpkin muffins and used 4 mini-sized hershey bars broken up in place of the called-for chocolate chips. We've set aside the mini-snickers for brownie mix-ins. And the M&Ms will make for yummy cookies.

And of course Matt and I are doing our share to help the cause by snitching chocolate from the candy bowls. Now if only I could hold myself to the one piece per day rule!

How do you deal with your candy abundance?

Halloween Surprises

Surprise #1: People give candy to adults in costume

My mom is a super fun gramma. When she told me she was planning to dress-up for Halloween during her recent visit it didn't phase me. After all, she's super fun crazy young gramma. But then it hit me. That means I'd probably have to dress up too. Ugh.

My favorite thrift store in all the world bailed me out. After searching the aisles high and low for the makings of a farmer costume, I came up empty. Instead I ended up in the uniform section (yes, the store is THAT amazing that it actually has a uniform section). With my newly-purchased scrubs, the kids' doctor toys, and a hand-written nametag, I became "Dr. Mom".

My mom was stunning in her gramma gear as you'll see from the photos below. She brought smiles and laughs to many in the neighborhood. Clive clung mostly to his gramma for the trick-or-treating and he was fascinated by her gloves. Once he very sweetly went back to a house and asked them to give candy to his gramma. She was dressed up too and deserved some treats for her efforts!

Surprise #2: More pets get dolled up for Halloween than do adults

At least in our neighborhood that was the case. I'm not a big dress-up-your-pets fan but these dogs were pretty cute. Not as cute as actual children but cute none-the-less.

Surprise #3: My kids are selfish, greedy, unthankful beasts.

I don't know why that surprised me. I mean, I KNOW that we're all sinful creatures and I KNOW that sin is raging in the hearts of my children. Just as it's raging in my own heart. What surprised me is the way their selfishness came rising so quickly and acutely to the surface during our Halloween exploits.

We're pretty on top of our kids when it comes to thankfulness and practicing good manners. At the table they are usually (emphasis on the word usually) polite and pleasant to talk with. Both Chloe and Clive are generally sweet tempered, good natured and easy to correct. And maybe that's why Chloe's unthankful comments were such a surprise to me.

Because Chloe and Clive are usually polite kiddos, I didn't even prep them for the Halloween candy extravaganza that awaited them. I assumed that when people started handing them candy and complimenting their cute costumed-ness Chloe and Clive would naturally respond in kind -- with words of thanks and kindness.

Not so.

Chloe floored me with some of her comments. Here were some of the doozies:

"I already have lots of sweet tarts, do you have anything else?"
"Glow bracelets? I don't like those , I'd rather have candy."

And then there were the countless times I had to remind her to say thank you. And the times when she tried to grab more than one piece of candy without asking for more.

You're going to think I am an ogre-mom but mid-way through the trick-or-treating, I almost took Chloe straight home. I had had enough of the selfishness and it was making me sick to my stomach. I just wanted it to STOP. I realized though that would have been cruel and unusual punishment and I did NOT want to add a crying fit to the bad behavior tally for the night.

Besides the obvious lessons in thankfulness and abundance (seriously, can you imagine trick-or-treating happening ANYWHERE besides America?), this experience was a poignant visual aid for the gospel.

We are by nature selfish. Greedy. Gluttonous . Out of control. Consumed. In talking with Chloe about her behavior, it was a perfect in-the-moment teaching point about her badness and her NEED for rescuing. She couldn't control her selfishness. She needs someone to wash away the sins of her heart.

And I need rescuing too. I'm just as selfish, gluttonous, and consumed with candy (literal and figurative) as my dear children. I just have an easier time hiding and justifying away my sinful behavior.

As I look back on Halloween 2010, I'm thankful not only for the fun times, free candy, cute costumes (and truly, my children were THE CUTEST costumed kids in the state of Ohio), but also for the very real and very relevant reminder of my need for Jesus.

He's met me in my need and washed my sins all away. Removed them from my account and called me His own. WHAT LOVE! As I bask in that love, I choose to forget the bad-ness of my Chloe's words and look forward to a new day of growth and joy with her.

How was your Halloween 2010?