Packer Fans and Snow

 

First of all, we saw the strangest sunset yesterday.  See that shaft of light going straight up?

It was hard to get a picture from a moving car, but I've never seen a sunset like it.  Lydia and I were heading to see a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (which was excellent).

Most of our neighborhood has lost its snow, but we still have most of ours.  The kids worked on snowballs and snowmen on Friday:

And Lydia has recently taken to wearing this Packers jacket:

It's too big for her, but it looks really cute.  And she says it's very warm.  It used to be Elijah's, when he was smaller, but it doesn't fit any of the teen boys now, so Lydia has taken it over.

Bubbles

 We've had a productive time during quarantine, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well homeschooling three kids went, since I usually only homeschool two.  So today, to celebrate getting out of quarantine and to use the science kit Gyunay got for Christmas, we had a bubble afternoon.

I broke out the bubble maker.  It was quite cold, so we didn't last too long, but they had a good half-hour trying to catch bubbles on cotton-gloved hands.  And the boys also spent some time blowing bubbles.

The rabbit ran around the deck, totally ignoring the kids also running around the deck.  

The boys have been enjoying drawing monkeys.  They have a 5 Little Monkeys storybook collection that they can read themselves.  In the back is a little drawing tutorial on how to draw a monkey face, so both boys have drawn a lot of monkeys lately.  Emry drew 8 little monkeys, for the eight of us:

This and That

 I never posted any pictures from Emry's roller skating party, and I didn't get an action shots, but you can see how happy he was:

We also got to spend a day with Nathaniel's sister's family.  Here is Lydia with her little shadow:

And since my passport expired, I had Lydia take some pictures of me for a renew:

Unfortunately, I couldn't get them printed in the right size, so I ended up having Wal-greens take one for me.  

Lastly, Gyunay wanted a picture of him with Panther:

Improvements

Uno has been a hit lately, particularly with Lydia and Emry.  

Also, I never posted this Christmas Gram that Emry gave me:

I bet very few moms get called awesome ("osum") and different ("difrint") at the same time!  It makes me smile.

And I got to take a shower in my new shower!  Obviously, I still need to paint the walls, but it is functional and so nice!  Here is a close-up of the tile:

 

Book Review - The Girl Who Could Breather Under Water by Erin Bartels

 

I didn't want to stop reading this book.  In the beginning, it took a while to sort out the story, and who the main character, Kendra, was actually speaking to throughout the book.  I guessed from the beginning that there was abuse in the charater's past, and I definitly shed tears in the reading of the story more than once.  The novel deals with heavy topics in a beautiful lake setting.  It was easy to care about the main character, but it was at times harder to understand what was really going on.  Ultimately, this is the story of friendship and loss and learning to move forward.  The prose is inviting and engaging, even though the story moved a bit slower at first.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

Multiplication Joy!

 

Before Christmas, I felt that Gyunay had finally mastered addition and subtraction, so I told him that after the break, he could start to learn multiplication.  We started yesterday, and the sheer joy he has over learning multiplication is amazing!  I told Nathaniel last night, "I've never seen anyone so excited to learn math."  Lydia corrected me, "I've never seen anyone so excited to learn ANYTHING!"  

It's true, and not only is he enjoying it, he's getting it!  I am so happy that we went with the Math-U-See program, because it is really working for my boy.  Right now, he is making his own multiplication worksheets for fun.  If you know me, you understand that I never use the words "math worksheets" and "fun" in the same discussion, but I am staying enthusiastic for my boy, because his incredible joy is so amazing and contagious.

And here are a couple of cute photos of our gingerbread adventure yesterday.  A homeschooling friend invited our Mass and breakfast club crew to her lovely house for gingerbread decorating.  

There were 19 kids and a few moms there, though, and it got pretty loud, so after he was done decorating, Gyunay spent some time playing with my goddaughter, Stella.  

Normally, he runs around with her big brothers, but I think he really enjoyed playing with her.  This picture probably gives a better feel for some of the happy chaos:

It was a lot of fun, and I think all of the kids really enjoyed themselves.  We had ages 2-14 present, and we moms even managed to chat for a bit while the kids ran around after the decorating.  Our poor hostess probably spent the rest of the day wiping icing from every discernable surface of the room, but she seemed fine with the mess, so I hope she enjoyed herself as much as we did.

2021 Reading List

 Here is my cover-to-cover book list for 2021, in the order that I read them.  I do find that it's a bit sad that I only read 35 books last year.

Nonfiction/Biography/Memoirs:

Pocket Guide to the Rosary by Matt Fradd

A Tour on the Underground Railroad Along the Ohio River by Nancy Stearns Theiss

Just Write: Here's How! by Walter Dean Myers (JNONFIC)

Liar Temptress Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott

I Heard God Laugh by Matthew Kelley

The Pie Seller, the Drunk, and the Lady: Heroes of the 1833 Cholera Epidemic in Lexington, Kentucky by Terry Foody

After a While, You Just Get Used to It: A Tale of Family Clutter by Gwendolyn Knapp

A Woman's Life's Work by Laura Smith Haviland

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen

Chronicle of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds by Jocelin of Brakelond

How to Be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman

The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley

Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces of Art by Michael Kerrigan

Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Still Matter and Always Will by Mike Aquilina

S.P.Q.R: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard

The Fatima Family Handbook by Tom Hoopes (JNONFIC)

Communion of Immigrants by James T. Fischer

Fiction

Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden

A Dance in Donegal by Jennifer Deibel

Unknown Threat by Lynn H. Blackburn

Blackberry Beach by Irene Hannon

Never Miss by Melissa Koslin

Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig

Praire Lotus by Linda Sue Park (JFIC)

A Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham

Operation Shield Maidens by Mike Whicker

Search for Valhalla by Mike Whicker

The Nature of Small Birds by Susie Finkbeiner

The Lady and the Eagle by Wayne M. Hoy

Hostile Intent by Lynette Eason

The Secret Keepers of the Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox

Tacos for Two by Betsy St. Amant

Lights Out by Natalie Walters

A Midnight Dance by Joanna Davidson Politano

December Harvest Totals

 Arugula 3 cups

Carrots 1

Eggs 126

Kale  2 cups

Radish 1