CHRISTEPHI

Dark-eyed Junco There's still plenty of snow on the ground, so the birds are still very active at our feeders. This pretty junco came quite near the back door before perching on top of the swing set. And that concludes this year's December Photo Project. Happy picture taking!

We went old school with this giveaway. Miss M picked a winner from her Christmas stocking. And our winner is:  Mira! Mira said if she wins she's going to give the subscription to her sister-in-law who has two high school students she needs to track grades for. Congratulations and Merry Christmas to Mira and her SIL! For those of you who didn't win, I know of one other giveaway still open at MedinaMom . Or you could still get 15% off a recurring membership through December 31, 2013! (click the image above) Wishing all of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR !

New Flannel Robe The kids grew out of the robes I made them a couple years ago. So I let them pick some flannel from my stash for new ones. Little Guy picked this pretty toadstool fabric for his.  Oh, but he wanted the belt on his head instead of around his waist!

Cardinals in Flight When snow covers the ground, the winter birds all jostle for a position at the feeders.  I just love the cardinals!

Gingerbread Campsite My sister and her husband came to visit. While I was taking a much needed nap, they decorated gingerbread houses (okay, fine, graham cracker houses) with the kids. My sister made this adorable campsite. The "fire" is an orange gusher split open and filled with yellow and orange sprinkles. Isn't it cute?!

All Askew It was the kind of day that no matter what I did I wasn't able to get ahead of the mess. Interruptions. Bad attitudes. Bank fraud. Tantrums (and not just the kids').  I didn't manage to pick up my camera today, but I shot this picture in Kansas City last week and it seemed appropriate for today.

My First Button Placket I've never made this kind of button placket before. It's not perfect, but pretty good for a first attempt! I was worried I wouldn't be able to wrap my brain around it (especially so late in the day), but I did!

Wheatgrass I love growing a dish of wheatgrass in the bleak winter months!  It's so cold and dreary outside, but the lovely growing green is nice and cheery in the corner of my kitchen! (Bonus: the kids get to learn about roots, seeds, and stems!)

Working on Pajamas The kids decided they needed flannel pajamas and new robes, so I broke out the Ottobre patterns and went to work. (Of course there will be more pictures later!)

Real-life Platforming Game The kids love to go to the park and "play platforming" on the bleacher seats. And a bonus picture today: Platforming in Action

Winter Sunset I snapped this shot out the window of the moving car (I wasn't driving!) on our way to church tonight.  Isn't it beautiful!?

Butterhenge I spent the whole day with my stepsister baking Christmas cookies! We probably used 5 lbs of butter!  About halfway through we built this buttery replica of Stonehenge!

At the Ballet This was the only picture I got before they said no photography. We had excellent seats front and center on the Mezzanine Level for a student matinee of the Kansas City Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker today!

The Treasure is a Key People wanted to know what was in the treasure chest I posted yesterday, so here it is! A key!  What does the key open? I'm sorry, dear readers, but that must remain a mystery.

Treasure Chest This little treasure chest is perfect for inspiring imagination. My kids love it. I love it. It's always got a place of honor among our other knick knacks!

Carolers  I haven't had my little carolers out in a few years because the kids were so small and there wasn't a good place to set them up. But this year I got them out!  Aren't they darling?

Tiny Baby Jesus Baby Jesus is only about a centimeter tall! The printable is from Made by Joel .  Cute, no? This is from two days ago…but I kind of fell asleep two nights in a row before getting my posts up!  Oops!

Out the Window My three lovelies looking at the accumulating snow lit by colorful Christmas lights.

A Little Tree for a Cramped Space We cut our tree this morning and the kids decorated it this evening. I tried some manual settings on my camera and this is what I got!

 {This  post  contains  affiliate  links. Please see my Honesty Policy for more details.}  Since I first reviewed My Home School Grades back in May, there have been a truckload of expansions and improvements  to the program! You can now print attendance reports and keep an academic calendar. Among many, many other things! They've also updated their pricing plan. Monthly : $4.99 per month (billed each month) Semi-Annually : $3.99 per month (billed every six months at $23.94) Annually : $2.99 per month (billed every 12 months at $35.88) Lifetime membership : $149.99 Right now you can get 15% off a recurring membership through December 31, 2013! Click the image above to take advantage of this discount! As always, you can use My Home School Grades for as many students as you have. A subscription to My Home School Grades would be a marvelous Christmas present for any home school family of your acquaintance!  Now here's the best

Winter Evening Sky Today's high was 16 degrees. It may still look like autumn out there, but it's most definitely wintertime now!

Snow Castles We received an unexpected dusting of snow overnight. So today the kids bundled up and built castles in the snow!

This time of year many people begin to celebrate the Advent of the Christ.  My kids love the activities, the calendar, the Christmas books, and the pageantry of it all. But yesterday I asked them why we celebrate Advent. Why is Christmas different from any other famous person's birthday? And what  was  the message the angels gave to the shepherds anyway? Our celebration of Advent is the simulation of the waiting, the longing for, the intense anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.  Christmas is more than just "Happy Birthday, Jesus." It's the fulfillment of that long-ago promise by God to send the Seed, a Savior to the world.  The angels didn't say, "Dudes, check out the cute tyke that was born tonight!"  No, they announced: Unto you is born this day a Savior, the Messiah, the Lord ! Babies are born every day of the year, but this was a special birth. This was the birth of the long-awaited Seed promised to Adam, the Messiah who cam

Lalaloopsy on a Lamp We spent most of the day cleaning the kids' room, so it seemed fitting that today's photo be of this sweet girl perched in a place of honor in the girlie's space.

A frog with a saxophone. This silly fellow graces our living room. Wouldn't he look smart in a Santa hat?

Brass Sheep Bell I have a string of eight of these hanging on the inside of the front door this time of year. They're so festive and cheerful sounding every time someone goes in or out of the door!

My poor little blog has been sadly neglected these past few months. I very much needed the break from it, but now I'm back and ready to breathe some new life into it.  Lucky for me, it's time for this year's December Photo Project!  Each day through Christmas I will be posting a picture I've taken along with a simple description. Feel free to join in the fun on your blog, on Facebook , or on Flickr .  Anyone can sign up ! To kick off the project, here is my first photo: Relighting a Candle

Okay, let's cut to the chase on this one. This book is AWESOME! I love it. You will too. So go buy it! The end. What? You think I should tell you why it's so awesome? Okay, fine. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. It's based on Scripture. It has the most gorgeous illustrations. I'm a total sucker for books with excellent artwork. It is meant to be shared by parent and child. Cuddle time! It helps little kids learn their ABCs. Each page has a picture of God's creation that begins with the letter featured on that page. The name of the plant or animal pictured does not appear anywhere on the page, leaving room for the reader's intelligence. I've been known to hug books that treat their readers as intelligent beings. The creature from the previous page can be seen in the background of the next page. I adore details like that! It helps kids identify both the capital and lowercase forms of each l

Many families are discovering the value of allowing their kids to play educational apps on their smartphones or tablets.  We don't have any such device, but sometimes the kids play on their Nana's iPad or their Lola's Android tablet. When the call went out to the Mosaic Reviews team members for volunteers to review iTooch apps, I raised my virtual hand and borrowed a tablet to give it a try. iTooch apps are put out by EduPad , a France-based company whose mission is to put out the best educational apps "based on the US National Common Core Standards" for elementary and middle school students.  Their apps are available on iOS , Windows 8 , and now on Android devices too ! We downloaded the free 3rd Gr Language Arts , Music , and TOEFL apps from the Google Play Store. I would really have liked to try the 3rd Gr Math , but it would not download/install, so I gave up.  As far as I understand it, the free apps have limited content, while the full versio

After having been homeschooled through early elementary, my mom put me in public school in the 5th grade.  The school, not having any academic history for me, randomly placed me in the highest level math class (and the lowest level English class).  The first day of class we were given timed tests: 5 minutes to complete a page of 100 addition problems.  Then subtraction.  Then multiplication.  By then I was getting in over my head.  I understood that multiplication was essentially a form of addition, so I started frantically making hash marks to count up to the answers.  I didn't finish my 100 problems, but I struggled through the 5 minutes and did the best I could.  Next we were given a page of 100 division problems.  By this time I was completely overwhelmed and burst into tears.  The teacher gently ushered me next door to the lowest level math class where I spent the rest of the year, cheerfully using my multiplication cheat sheet that was taped to the inside cover of my ma