Holiday Book List

I'm quite excited about our holiday season coming up! I've found a few books recently that I want to be sure and read with Jacob this year. I'm really excited about focusing on the wonderful blessings the Lord has freely given us. With Jacob being five this year, he has a greater understanding of many things about Christ. I want to capitalize on this opportunity as he's young to shape his understanding of the holidays we choose to celebrate and why we celebrate the way we do. So I've tried to find some books with richness in them on which to base our unit studies this season.

We have quite a few on our list, but here's what's on our plan that I'm really looking forward to:

Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving Wish

by Michael Rosen

Unit Study

Give Thanks to the Lord
by Karma Wilson
(I'm going to be working on my own study for this one, but I don't have the book yet, so I'm not sure what it will include.)

Christmas

Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey

by Susan Wojciechowski

Unit Study

Annika's Secret Wish

by Beverly Lewis
Unit Study

P.S. I will say "wish" is a bit of a pet-peeve word for me, and we'll certainly address that. Actually, Annika's Secret Wish specifically addresses making wishes and pointing the whole concept to Christ.

Our day at Dollywood!

This is the first year in several we did not buy season passes to Dollywood, and I've missed it a lot more than I thought I would! Thankfully, our neighbor (who has been in charge of the steam trains there for many years) gets free passes once a month and shared some with us!

Right now at Dollywood they are having the National Gospel and Harvest Celebration, so we got to see many local craftsmen and harvest decorations. Here is a beekeeper we saw. He gave us a little demonstration and reviewed many of the things we learned during our "bee" unit in August! (And now, combined with the dinosaur movie we watched on the way down, this day has all of a sudden become a field trip!)

Jacob has reached a critical milestone in the theme park world...42" tall. He has been waiting for many months to be able to ride the bumper cars with Daddy, and his day came! I don't know if they were all they were cracked up to be, but he did ride them more than once. Here's his first ride...

And this is the part that really makes me stop and think how big he's getting. Look at what he rode!

These are just not for little people.

Nor are these...definitely not these. (I graciously let Robert accompany Jacob on these. They're just a little high for me. I let him ride the ferris wheel too. I managed that last time, though I spent most of the ride with my eyes closed!)

(I am zoomed as much as I can be to get this close.)
See Jacob's little hand poking out from his side of the rocket, and those feet sticking out straight because his legs are too short to bend? Tell me he's not growing up!

Sigh... Well, on to more little boy-ish things...the new (to us anyway) playground they built up near all the new roller coasters is great. The kids could have stayed here all day!

Here's Mattie intent on getting her music started on her duckie friend. Not long after this, I had to stop letting her ride. She had ridden all the little itty-bitty rides several times each and must have been getting bored. See all those blinking lights on the duck's collar? Well, they match the blinking light inside the duck that keeps the music going! So, of course she had to stand up to touch all of them too! Well, after they did nothing, in her signature Mattie style, she just started climbing out! (highchair memories, anyone??) Yes...while the ride was in motion! And yes, she was buckled! Every other parent is yelling, "Hi! Sweetie! say, 'Hi, Mommy!' "... I'm yelling, "Sit down!!

Well, on to more attention grabbing things...water.

We waited to use these tickets until we had a day where Robert could come along. He has typically not enjoyed Dollywood in the past. He worked there for a couple of summers during his teen years, so I suppose I understand why there is no magic. And crowds of people on hot, sweaty days are soooooo not his idea of fun! Thankfully, he has learned to enjoy things for his family's sake! He and Jacob had a great time today. (And, boy, are theme parks different when a second parent comes along!)

Here they are in front of Mattie and I on the elephant ride.

And having some manly discussion, it appears. (Actually, Mattie is in front of Robert trying her darnedest to get into that water!)

All in all, we had a great day today. The kids could not have been better (we left at 5:00 because Robert and I were pooped!), and we had some much needed, quality family time.
Thanks to Treva and Scott!!

Then we went bowling...

We have been wanting to take the kids (well, Jacob) bowling for awhile now, so we bit the bullet last weekend. Pigeon Forge has a bowling alley in the community center which is incredibly clean and delightfully family friendly (read: they don't cringe when your 5 year old launches the bowling ball 4 or 5 feet down the lane...)! It wasn't the cheapest of our family outings (2 and under was not free), but we did have a good time.

Here's Robert getting the boys (Jacob and Micah, our nephew) started. Though neither of them have ever bowled, they both said, "I know how to do it."


Jacob in action!


Mattie watching expectantly...


and applauding herself immediately after!

(And she even looks cute in those shoes!)

The Pumpkin Patch

We went on our annual pumpkin patch field trip a couple of weeks ago, and I failed to put pictures up! I actually didn't realize I never did this until I uploaded them today with many others I'd forgotten about!

We went to a different pumpkin patch this year, and this one was really geared toward the kids. It was really fun! They had a hay "trampoline," rain gutter rubber duck races, cow milking, corn de-kerneling, cattle roping, a petting zoo, a tractor to climb on, and a corn maze! Not to mention the hay ride and pumpkin patch! The kids had a fantastic time! (I will say, the pumpkin patch was a bit lacking, as it was quite obvious they transplanted a palette of pumpkins and dropped them in a field. Thankfully, no child noticed!) This field trip was a bit different as Robert got to join us...that always makes a field trip more fun!

Here are some pictures of our day...probably a lot more than you want, frankly!

Jacob "milking" the cow,


de-kerneling some corn for the petting zoo animals,


feeding the animals,


and beating Daddy's duck down the rain gutter (with quite a head start, I believe).


Mattie liked the hay trampoline!

But not nearly as much as the petting zoo! She started out a little timid,


but was quickly feeding them out of her little chubby hand!


She continued to feed them - one kernel at a time! - for more than half an hour!


My pumpkins! (Yes, cheesy pun.)


The crew enjoying the hayride.


I got one!


Cheese! (If only, "Cheese" really looked like a smile, I'd be set!)

Need a minute to slow down

Well, I have had several things I've intended to write about over the last 12 days, I just haven't had the time!

I have been reclaiming my house to get it back on the market. This was good, as it required some much-needed de-cluttering and reorganization. Since then, I'm not quite sure what I've done, but I've done a lot of it!

I've committed to teach Algebra II to a local homeschool student. It has been fun and I've enjoyed the challenge, though I've had to go back 14 years in my brain!!! We're trading for service hours, so I've gotten some babysitting and house help lately too!

Robert and I have begun weight watchers...and before anyone heckles me, I just want to fit into my jeans from the Spring. It has been good for both of us, and given me a previously lacking awareness of how bad for me pizza really is...especially my beloved pepperoni! I had no idea how many things I could have that are equivalent to one slice of pepperoni pizza (and I usually eat three slices)... 2 1/2c of Breyer's Chocolate ice cream... 15 delicious pumpkin muffins... three 20 oz Pepsis... 1/3c of my wonderful organic chocolate chips... 4 Tall Mochas from Starbucks (latte or frappuccino)... you get the idea. So, it has been very good for me! And no, I'm not saying I'll never have pepperoni pizza again, but I'll never enjoy it as much!

We took the kids bowling last weekend. That was a very fun family outing! I have some pics I've been meaning to upload, but I don't know where the camera is at the moment... somewhere in the luggage I need to unpack!

We went to Clarksville, TN to see Robert this week. That's where the work is for now, so he's there for 4 days each week. Jacob's really having a hard time with him being gone, so we went over to see him for two days.

We've had a couple of fun schooling weeks. We've done a week of fall leaves, which did not get completed. I just could not bring myself to do fall activities while it was still 94 degrees one day! Leaf hunting is not supposed to be done while sweating in shorts and a short sleeved shirt! But alas, it was only 62 today...perfect for leaf hunting! So we'll finish that "week" soon now that it really feels like fall!

And this week we've read Katy No-Pocket and learned about marsupials. I say "we've" learned, and I certainly have as well! I knew that marsupials had a pouch and that was the extent of it. We're finishing up with a fun day with the cousins tomorrow.

I have had a wonderful time with my Beth Moore Bible Study lately. I always feel compelled to share the kernels of truth I carry away from the Tuesday morning videos, but know that it's hard to communicate with value the impact on my heart, so I just don't share... maybe I should try and trust the Lord do the encouraging! This study (A Woman's Heart) has been fantastic, and the Lord has brought it to me at a perfect time in my life. Of course, He knew that all along!

So, I'll try to get the bowling pictures up tomorrow. And I'm sure I have some others of my cute kids I could find to share. :)