The Nutcracker

Can you guess where we went?

Such a magical day at the theater! We were so excited to be attending the Nutcracker Ballet for a special "School Day" event. One of the girls in our CC group is dancing in this year's performance. They were surprised to learn that homeschoolers can attend this day for a miniscule cost. The kids couldn't wait!

Such a beautiful old theater...

As soon as the curtain when up the entire theater packed with children became silent- they were mesmerized...

Carter's favorite part, as you probably guessed, were the battle scenes between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King...

Julia's favorite from last year...

This year, she decided she loved the Sugar Plum Fairy...

It was all wonderfully done and such a treat. Unique to this performance is a behind the scenes peek between acts. Instead of intermission, they raise the curtain and show the audience how they change sets, move scrims, use the lighting, and prepare for the effects.

Everyone had a great time and were so well-behaved. Even the twins didn't make a peep.

I love this shot of Carter and Ethan after the show. I don't know whose eyes melt my heart more!

Hope this can be an annual tradition. Loved the time with my kiddos and our friends!

Advent Adventures

It is the most wonderful time of the year- Advent. The season of preparation and expectant waiting. A time to prepare our hearts to receive the greatest gift. And in that time to extend that hopeful expectation with our very own hearts and lives to those around us and to those around the world.

We have many traditions during this season and we have been making great memories. The kids were eager to decorate the house and the tree. They did much of it themselves this year...

Julia had a story and a place for every ornament.

She was very particular to the animals of course...

And just to keep it real, it is not all happy, shiny, Hallmark moments in our home either. There are an equal number of these, too. Carter watching football scores concerned about the BCS rankings and Julia pouting about some grievance...

Over the summer my some friends got together to do a Jesse Tree ornament exchange. It is a 25-day devotional of symbols and scriptures that take us through the Bible from creation to the birth of Christ. Each step of the way tells a piece of the story and shows God's faithfulness through 4,000 years of history. Each night after dinner, the kids hang up that nights ornament on our Jesse Tree.

Carter reads the scripture for the night (from the itouch), Daddy does the devotion, and Julia reads the prayer. Such a sweet time of family worship. I love to see their excitement over the true meaning of Christmas. The stories are all ones they know well so we've been able to take the discussions a step further now.

Christmas card production is also in full swing. It surprises me how much they enjoy the stamping, stuffing, and licking :)

On Sunday evenings we have our dinner by candlelight. The meal is nothing fancy, just the ambiance. We light our family advent wreath candles and talk about the meaning of each one.

One of our favorite fun evenings of December happened last Tuesday. After the girls finish their dance class, we head over for dinner at "dollar tacos"- a crowd favorite...

Then our favorite bakery has their annual Christmas Open House...

The yummy treats are everywhere. All the goodies are free and unlimited!

They help the kids decorate their own mini-masterpieces...

And several of their decorators are making cakes for the crowd and demonstrating their technique...

Then it was time to taste!

So much to choose from!!

We had a great time with so many of our friends...

You will see many familiar faces in the photo montage the bakery released.

After the bakery, we head over to Starmount to drive through their light displays- hundreds of brightly colored balls hanging from high in the trees. (The blurry pictures do not do it justice.) It is like something from a storybook...

We finish the night on the lawn of a local college visiting the nativity scene they have on display.

The kids love the opportunity to see everything up close. we were blessed by warm weather this year for December. Last year was bitterly cold. The security card who stands watch over the display remembered us from last year. I guess with all the kiddos we are kind of memorable :)

We have made so many wonderful memories already. Looking forward to many more and some wonderful opportunities to serve and reach out. We pray your advent season is a time of peace, reflection, and preparation.

Flintrock Farm for Joseph

Our CC group had a great family day at a horse farm. Not only was it an amazing facility, but it was all for a great cause- helping out Joseph's family with their expenses during his battle with brain cancer. This family is so dear to our hearts and we were excited about this day together.

It proved to be even more fun than we expected with lots of horseback riding...

...face painting, raffles, food, football, wagon rides, and friends!

Even Joseph's mom, Alison got in on the riding. Such a natural!

Please pray for Joseph and his family. Today (Friday) is a big day for them in this journey. Joseph is having his first MRI since surgery, radiation, and chemo. Please pray that his scans are clear. God has worked so many miracles in these past three months (and we give Him all the praise!). We are believing God for this one, too. Please take a moment to lift up this sweet young boy with the huge heart, encouraging spirit, enormous smile, and giant faith (and his parents and siblings, too). We love you Joseph!

Festival of Trees

I had the privilege recently, of attending the annual Festival of Trees- an annual event to benefit Brenners' Children's Hospital. This year's theme was birthdays to celebrate Brenner Children's Hospital's 25th birthday. The hospital was established in 1986 by Abraham Brenner. He and his brothers went into the iron and steel business in 1935 and started a foundation for charity work in 1961, eventually leading to funding the hospital. Abe Brenner died this week at the age of 93 of old age. His son Frank says, "He was an exceptional role model who looked after everyone else before he looked after himself."  A true example of a life well lived. Thank you, Abe! Godspeed and rest in peace. Happy Birthday Brenner's! 

Stacy (from ChildLife) was hosting a table to educate people about the Beads of Courage program and raise funds to help the hospital expand the program beyond the oncology department.  She invited me to share about Julia's personal experience with her Beads. It is their hope to be able to one day use this program in other departments to include children with serious illnesses such as cardiac issues and cystic fibrosis.

She set up a table to display many of the beads, journals, bags, and also pictures from Julia's journey...

I was so blessed to be able to share our experience. Julia's beads have been life changing for her this past year, as she faced some of the toughest months of her life with her recent surgeries, complications, and adjustment to daily procedures. Her beads gave her a voice to put words with the feelings and memories she was trying to work through. They gave us a tangible means of acknowledging the struggles she was facing and the bravery she showed.  And they became a motivator for her to face her fears head on. I could never say enough good things about this program. So any chance I have to say it out loud, I just can't wait.

These two lovely ladies were some of the first we spoke with. They were very interested and wanted to know more. As I told them about Julia they both began to cry. It still stops my heart for a moment when that happens. Seeing people care about your child like that is so meaningful. Not only were they moved, they were excited to help the program, to share it with others, and to encourage us. Thank you both! And I really appreciate the hugs, too.

The themed trees being auctioned were so beautiful and creative...

and I loved the gingerbread houses! Wow!

So many awesome displays and I love how they kept the true meaning of Christmas at the center...

and some fun, too!

We have some new ideas for our houses this year...

Elementary Anatomy ,"cancer style"

You might be a kid of childhood cancer if...

...when assembling your body for a science project, you have to glue a pile of your organs to your hand because you don't have them in your body anymore.

This year in Classical Conversations we have been studying human anatomy.  The kids have loved this subject made even cooler by weekly dissections with our homeschool group.  As we studied different organ systems, the kids would color the corresponding organs for their own bodies.  At the end we traced them on paper and put all the organs in place.  For Julia a few of those organs didn't belong anymore.

Cancer deals you lots of crummy stuff, sometimes we just have to find the humor. I didn't know exactly how Julia would react to this project. Her first question was, "Are there any pictures of Dr. Pranikoff holding my kidney and stuff after he took it out?" No, can't say I got one of those, though it would be interesting to see. Then she had the idea to glue her organs on her hand and then proceeded to color all the fingers in rainbow colors.  I guess when life gives her lemons, this time she chose to make lemonade. Sometimes you just have to laugh at the craziness of it all.