Shoot for the moon...and then some

Apparently, 6:45 a.m. is not too early to be up watching the preparations for a rocket launch. (Although it would have been a little more exciting if they had actually ended up launching the thing.)

This girl is taking notes. The success of this launch will put NASA one step closer to catching an asteroid, a critical step that brings the space program one step closer to landing people on Mars in 15 years or so. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask Abby yourself. She'd be happy to tell you all about it.

If all goes as planned, my little would-be astronaut will be old enough to go to Mars when the time comes. I'd be lying if I told you there wasn't a part of me that believes she'll be on board that flight. I'm not sure how many other astronaut hopefuls will have been tracking this journey to Mars quite as closely as my daughter when 2030 rolls around.

Live in concert

The kids performed in their annual CBS Christmas concert today, and as usual, their on-stage antics perfectly suited each of their personalities.

Jacob and the other 3 and 4 year olds sang first. True to form, my kid was all smiles from the moment he took the stage until the applause ended. He grinned from ear to ear as he sang and clapped and recited his memory verses. 

Next came Levi and his class of 2 year olds, who were instantly caught off guard by the crowd of moms with cameras and the fact that they were being ushered on stage instead of being allowed to rush into our arms. I promise Levi was wearing a cute Christmas shirt for the special occasion, but this kid does what he wants, and today, he did not want to remove his jacket. But he sang just loud enough for me to hear his little voice from my seat in the front row, when he wasn't busy waving and yelling "Hi!" to Jacob. Oh, and every once in a while, he leapt off the stage with great fanfare, for no particular reason.

Caleb and his buddies in the kindergarten class took the stage next, and in classic Caleb fashion, he was the loudest and the most animated of the group as they sang their little hearts out. But he was also so enthralled with the music coming from the speaker behind him that he had his back to me for most of the performance. 

Abby and the primary class of second through sixth graders were the closing act, and she did just what she has done for as long as I can remember when it comes to CBS singalongs, which is next to nothing. She sang along intermittently, but mostly stared blankly into the audience, shaking her homemade maraca and daydreaming about something else entirely. But when it was all over, she told me she was really happy I was there to see her sing. 

So was I.

Painting projects

Despite the dramatic fall of our fully decorated tree in the Great Tree Collapse of 2014, few ornaments were lost. Unfortunately, the ones that were destroyed were among my favorites--glass balls with tiny little fingerprint snowmen showing just how small my children's hands were last Christmas. They made them for me at Bible study last year, and they were some of the few ornaments that I really loved. 

So I wised up, and instead of recreating the same breakable ornaments, we imprinted the kids' slightly-larger hands on something a little more durable this year. And as we add more hand prints to our tree skirt each year, I can cry a little to myself about just how quickly they're growing up. 

Levi can't stand to miss out on anything, so he insisted he be allowed to paint as well. And since I was on a roll with the good decision making, I gave him some construction paper, a paintbrush, and a bowl of water, and told him to have fun.

Which was smart, since the next thing I heard was, "Look Mommy, I painting my stinky feet!"

Festive little library

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, the halls are decked, and the tree has already been decorated (twice, thanks to that toppling-over event).

But it's not really Christmas around here until we unpack the Christmas books, and the kids know it.

So today, we did just that. And we've done little else all morning but reread the books we haven't seen since last year. And, oh, how I've missed them!

And in case you love Christmas and quality reading material and sharing good books with your kids as much as I do, here's a list of my favorite Christmas books. I'm sure this list will change over time as we add new material to our collection each year. But this year, these are the ones we'll be reading again and again.

Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones

This is by far my favorite Christmas book, and it's going to take a lot to knock it out of the top spot. I'm not afraid to admit that I cannot make it through a single reading of this book without tears coming to my eyes. There is something so moving and so amazing about the way the author describes all of creation--from the wind in the trees to the sandpiper on the shore to the sheep in the fields--sensing that something amazing is happening on that first Christmas night. Jesus' arrival on earth is anticipated as the characters cry out "The Mighty King! ...At last, he's here! ...Our Rescuer!" But the final page is my favorite, when the author celebrates "Heaven's son, sleeping under the stars that he made." If you only buy one book this year, buy this one.

Humphrey's First Christmas by Carol Heyer

And then, on a lighter note, there's Humphrey the camel. This book is perfect for kids, because it is, first of all, hysterical. Told from the point of view of a camel, it chronicles Humphrey's valiant efforts to replace the beloved blanket that once adorned his back as he carries one of the wise men to visit Jesus. Upon seeing the Child, the over-dramatic camel is so moved that he gives up his treasure. The dialogue is hilarious, and my kids love hearing the story of the baby in a manger told from different perspectives, so this is an excellent addition to our collection.

Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate and Ashley Wolff

This is my favorite baby's first Christmas book. It's a board book, so little ones will find it difficult to destroy, which is great, since they don't really appreciate it until the next year anyway. Each page has a simple, short line of text and a colorful picture that tell the story of the animals in the stable preparing a place for Mary and Joseph. Each animal has a simple job to do as they get the barn ready, and this story offers an opportunity to talk with my toddlers and my older kids about the little things we can do to get ready for Jesus. 

One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham

This is a longer book than the others (11 chapters in all), but great for independent readers or anyone committed to reading a book over the course of a few days. In it, the Christmas story is told in its entirety, for as one character explains: "The first Christmas happened almost two thousand years ago....But the story doesn't begin there. It couldn't have because the angel called Jesus a 'savior,' or a rescuer. Someone must have been in trouble." And so the story of God's rescue mission, and the little Baby who was at the center of it, is told from the creation to the resurrection. I love that this story puts Christmas in a bigger context and helps my kids understand how God's sovereignty has been at work throughout history.

Comfy reading chair

She has her own way of doing things. And I love that about her.

I also love the amount of patience she has for this particular little brother. It far surpasses the patience she has for the shenanigans of the elder little brothers, for reasons I have yet to understand. There's something really special about the relationship between Abby and Levi, and it's been fun to watch it develop.

When I'm not refereeing battles over Who Took My Stuff, that is.

The Return of the World's Greatest Play Dough

I had put it off long enough, so I finally caved to their demands for a new batch of play dough.

I kind of owed it to them, after that batch of gluten free play dough I made that will be forever remembered as the worst activity of all time. (FYI: If you see the words "gluten free" and "play dough" together, run screaming. It crumbled. It stuck. And worst of all, it got moldy in storage. That's unforgivable. From now on, we'll just commit to making sure the less gluten-tolerant among us washes his hands when we're done.)

So I whipped up a batch of the The World's Greatest Play Dough, and suddenly remembered why it is wonderful.

For a solid two hours, all four of my children sat (mostly peaceably) at the table, poking and rolling and shaping balls of dough into whatever they could dream up. And while they were at it, we knocked out a history and a science lesson, since they were all seated and quiet and able to hear me read aloud.

You know you want to make some now. Look no further. I'm totally willing to share my secrets.

The World's Greatest Play Dough

Mix together in a fairly large saucepan:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt (put in blender for 1-2 minutes and blend to fine powder)
4 tsp cream of tartar

In a separate bowl, mix together:
2 cups water
2 tbsp cooking oil

Pour liquids over dry ingredients and mix well. Stir constantly for about three minutes over medium heat.

The mixture will be ready when it pulls away from the side of the pan. It will still be lumpy (like mashed potatoes before liquid is added) but will look dry. Allow to cool for about five minutes.

Knead by hand until smooth. Add food coloring while kneading if desired. Store in sealed containers or ziploc bags. Will keep for a long, long time if kept properly sealed, or can be left out to dry for a project.

Nicknames

Levi calls her "Abs," just like I do, and it makes for some adorable commentary.

"Hey, Abs," he asks, "I help you scribble math?"

Stuff like this goes on all day long at the Fisher Preparatory Academy for Excellence in Learning.

How she puts up with him is one of life's great mysteries.

Sanity check

These kids can tell when Mommy's about to go nuts.

I know, because just when I think I've had it--when I can't stand the nonsense or the noise for one more second--they go and do something like this, totally on purpose.

The pantsless one, the puppy, and the shark with a colorful candy shell will one day drive me insane. But not today. Today, all I can do is laugh at them.

Smashamallows

Levi knows what's up.

The second Justin started hauling in wood for our first fire of the season, our astute 2-year-old took up his chant.

"Smash-a-mallows! Smash-a-mallows!" he yelled. Alas, Mommy forgot to pick up smashamallows last time she went to the store, so the s'mores will have to wait until next time.

But at least he understands what the true purpose of a fire is. 

Cast of characters

We have an amazing babysitter. I know, because only someone amazing could convince Caleb to be anything but a shark for Halloween.

Instead, she took my children's obsession with The Wizard of Oz books, and planted an idea for a truly amazing family costume.

Levi only wore his costume because he loves lions. He completed it with a roar that was simultaneously ferocious and adorable. Cowardly, he was not. But cute as a button...that he pulled off with ease.

Abby was Dorothy Gale of Kansas, with silver slippers, not ruby ones, because that's what the book Dorothy wore. She had to have one braid slightly looser than the other, because that's the way Dorothy's hair was when she landed in Oz. Thankfully for me, my mom was kind enough to make me this awesome Dorothy costume when I was a senior in high school. With a few alterations, it was just right for my own little Dorothy. Last time I had to make her a Dorothy costume, she was much smaller, and much more wiggly.

2 month old Abby

Caleb's tornado costume came together with some leftover copper wire I found in the garage, some Halloween webbing, and a little duct tape. I'm not sure there has ever been a more appropriate costume than 5-year-old Caleb dressed as a cyclone. Oh, and he went trick-or-treating without shoes, because, well...he's a 5-year-old tornado, and I wasn't paying attention.

And Jacob got to be the Scarecrow, because it was a heck of a lot easier to stuff straw in a shirt and hot glue some patches to his jeans than it would have been to try to make a Tin Man costume. He was, perhaps, the most adorable Scarecrow I've ever seen. If I do say so myself.

And because it's not Halloween without a pumpkin, we carved ours into a bioluminescent angler fish. Because we're homeschoolers, that's why, and we let Caleb pick the theme this year.

Happy Halloween from the family of fish!