Sweetness and Light

Mid-January Daybook

I was recalling this post  from two years ago and noting the surprising difference in our weather patterns here in 2012, considering our latest snow activity, it was clearly a different year in the making! Our New year started off very well despite a few sniffles and sore throats which seem to be lingering even still, but we are all well-settled into our new home and enjoyed a lovely Christmas season with many friends and family.

Outside my window- It's freezing rain, and very cold.

I am hearing- The sounds of my darling boys making a news cast film upstairs.

I am wearing-LLBean fleece-lined running pants (mind you I don't run) and three layers on top, a black ribbed tank, a red long-sleeved tee, and my mother's Obermeyer multi-stripe ski sweater from the 1970's (it's SO warm!!)

I am thinking about-This blog, do I or don't I????? Been pondering this for a while...

I am reading- *On the Kindle: The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn (along with Matthias) for his online class with Homeschool Connections, Middlemarch, and from the library Brideshead Revisted (as recommended by our new assistant priest) and lastly, for our mother-daughter bookclub, Life in a Jar with Violet. 

From the kitchen- Two kinds of cookies, crepes for breakfast, lots of cocoa being consumed and hot tea! I've also got some yummy left-over minestrone soup for lunch.

Living a lifestyle of learning- We're exploring things with our microscope today, perusing our rock collection and enjoying this great Amazon Prime Instant video about Yellowstone in Winter!!

Living the Liturgical Year-Enjoying the season of Epiphany in the Traditional calendar and my boys are still serving masses on fridays as well as holy days and sundays.  

Around the house- Taking down the Christmas tree. All but the creche is to be put away until Candlemas day.

What we are creating-Knitting my third Fisherman, this time for Seamus. He'll be 10 in March, yikes and hope to finish it well before then for him to wear while it's still cold. Also working on creating special little prayerful corners in the new house, a work in progress... 

A few plans for the rest of the week- Staying cozy while it's so nasty outside!

One of my favorite things-Working out with my husband first thing in the morning before anyone is stirring. We've got a really good program going and as fitness and well-being has always been a priority for our family, it's nice that we can share that time together.

A picture thought I am sharing-

Remembering one of our favorites scones from the Christmas season, Violet's Chocolate-Peppermint Scones with Crushed Candy-Cane drizzle, oh yeah!
Enjoy the rest of your week friends, hope to be back sooner than later this next time. Many blessings to you and your family! 

Snow Days

We've been having some great snow days this week! It started on Sunday and has pretty much been snowing off and on since then. We are in a low-lying foothill, so we have a fair amount of snow already, about 6-7 inches! The kids have also had a great time sledding and snow-boarding on the golf course...bonus!!

Giant snow ball in the making ~

The next day, the giant snow ball grew ~

And grew, with extra helpers ~

Who's King of the Ball....Wait just a minute...

Almost....

I AM!!!!

Now, back to building a snowman ~

Hmm, how are we going to lift that up onto the BIG BALL?

OH Yeah!! Hey, wait. What about making a SNOW LOUNGE instead?

NICE, and just in time for a dinner break!

As the new day dawned this morning, we accumlated another 2-3inches and it's STILL snowing!! Deo Gratias for snow days :)

And now, it's time for COCOA!! God Bless and keep you warm and dry!

Happy New Year!!

Joy to the World and Happy New Year blessings to you all! Wishing you all the happiness and joy and peace in this new year. God Bless You!

Good Tidings To You!!

Wishing you and yours a very blessed Christmas celebrating the Nativity of Our Lord. I'll be back in the New Year if not before!! Thank you to all my special readers for your kind words and encouragement this past year! God Bless you!!

Unlimited Access! Unlimited Learning!

My friend Maureen Wittmann  of Homeschool Connections  has made a wonderful change that can make the upcoming months great (and even easier :-) for Catholic homeschool moms ..
 
Starting right now, they are offering Unlimited Access to over 70 middle and high school courses -- for the price of just one typical online course elsewhere (Really!). Plus, you can try it out FREE (more below!).
 
They call it the NEW Homeschool Connections Unlimited Access Program --

A way to give your children all kinds of courses without having to pay for each and every course ... Because now they give you unlimited access to ALL of Homeschool Connections' fully-recorded courses for one year, for only $330. One full year for the whole family!
 
That's a one-time cost for OVER 70 complete courses for middle and high school students. Prefer a monthly payment? They also offer a Subscription Service for $30 per month for as long as you need it--begin at any time, end at any time--and get full access to --  
 
Math, science, literature (19 different courses, including Shakespeare, American, & English Lit), writing (middle school through college and fiction writing), philosophy, theology, geography, ancient and world history (Greek, Roman, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Modern), American history, test prep & career search skills, personal finance, foreign language (German, Spanish, Latin, American Sign Language), government, micro & macro economics, logic, law, archeology -- and more ...
 
Here's what's so great about it: With No Per Class Charge and No Per Pupil Charge -- You get access to everything for your immediate family --
Have the freedom to choose any class, any time.
Complete classes at your own pace, at any time of day.
Traveling? Schedule change? Take these classes from anywhere in the world. Got Internet -- then you can connect with us.
Choose from two ways to take your courses: Watch-and-Learn with all the support materials and answer keys to easily grade your children's work ... OR Instructor Access where, for an additional fee, the original instructor grades homework for you. We work to make life and homeschooling easier for you.
Any student can take these courses -- Homeschool students, Catholic school students, private or public school students, students who are enrolled in a home study program, unschoolers ... anyone in middle or high school! Even parents take our courses!
100% of parents and students surveyed said they LOVE the unlimited recorded courses and 96% would recommend it to their friends ...
 
Here are a few recent words from students ...
"Fantastic!"
"Passionate instruction!" 
"Very clear ... and fun!"
"These courses are wonderful!"
"An amazing job in presenting the material ..." 
"Helped me with my faith ..."
"[My instructor] passed his love of the material on to the students."
"My instructor was very knowledgeable and passionate ..." 
"The class challenged me to really think ...
 [The instructor] presented the material in a captivating manner and I actually found I really enjoyed it."
 
Whether you have one child or many -- When you need or want a tutor outside the home, this is a helpful service -- for excellence in academics, putting faith into action, and inspiring lifelong learning. We're here for you.

Think about all of the great courses that will be ready for you to use -- unlimited -- all year long. And think about how much money you can save (!).
 
Want more information before signing up ...

Free Trial Course!
Not sure what an online course looks like? Wondering how it works and how easy it is?

Well, here's your chance!

For the next few weeks (through Dec. 30, 2011) you can have full access to one of their online recorded courses. Click on the course title below. Then click on the button: Login as a guest to take your test drive. .. but hurry--this will only be open for a short time.

 

Modern American History taught by Phillip Campbell also, see this blog post about it here.

Violet and Matthias are excited to add some of these great online recorded classes to their lessons beginning in the new year!! Let me know if you decided to take one too :)

PS. Make sure you forward this on to your friends on email and Facebook who would really like to know about this, so that they can learn about this for their kids, too...Thank you and God Bless in this beautiful time of year!

Our New View

We moved into a new house over the Thanksgiving holiday week and are still settling in. It's a wonderful area and yes, that's a golf course. This last picture shows kind of a spiky dead tree behind the evergreen that a magnificant Red Tail Hawk has been perching every morning in the sun to preen him (her) self; so we now have a new venue for nature study and of course, collecting stray golf balls, FORE!!!!!

Wishing you a blessed Advent on this Feast of St. Nicholas. Hoping he delivered some yummy chocolate coins! God Bless you, see you soon!

Quiet

Sorry it's been so quiet here as of late. We've been busy and sick, not a good combination.

Here are a few highlights of the good stuff ~

 
One of Violet's breakfast specialties :)

Autumn mantel, also courtesy of Violet.

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The boys have been cranking out the music in a lovely Piano Trio for Cello and Oboe this fall; their recital is first part of December.

Wednesday has been deemed "Scone Day" by Violet who creates a new delicacy each week. Wednesday morning is now my favorite time of the week :)))

Sean-Paul is furiously trying to keep up with his rollerblading brothers and has been showing me his moves in the afternoon, thanks to our mostly rain-free autumn thus far.

Our Wooly-bears are officially hibernating (yes, there are two now). We can't wait for Spring to see their transformation...

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What's new with you??? God Bless and thanks for popping in, see you soon :)

Saintly

I hope you all celebrated a lovely Feast of All Saints yesterday. Ours included a beautiful Mass and yummy dinner followed by our traditional Saints Charades game! Here are a few of the Saints we guessed:

Saint George ~

Saint Don Bosco ~

Saint Matthew ~

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha ~

There were other saints who made appearances ~ St. Francis of Assisi curing the leper and taming the wolf of Gubbio. Andrew and James bringing in the great catch of fish, St. Rose of Lima, St. Lazurus and St. Catherine of Siena. Many blessings in our great Communion of Saints and for a blessed Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed today!

+JMJ+

Bleck!!!

The new Google Reader that is.....what are your thoughts??? Here's something from Lissa. Hope your All Hallows Eve isn't blecky.

See you soon...Many blessings! 

Favorite Nature Study Resources

Nature study is as much a part of a Charlotte Mason education as is reading living books.

I thought I would share some of our favorite Nature study resources and our usual "go-to's" when we study the natural world.

We're enjoying this recent inexpensive download at Currclick from Katie's Homeschool Cottage  Along with some great books from the library we will have a nice nature study for the Fall. I see right now it's even less expensive  during Currclicks Trunk or Treat sale, check it out!!

Of course Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study  has been a staple on our shelves for many many years. We are consulting it today, as we have a Wooly Bear that we are observing. Matthias found it last week and he's been carefully tending it with grass and dandelions (loves them) and today he's baking a little mud "hideout" for it to winter over in. We will be anxious to see it spin a cocoon next Spring and then transform into an Isabella Tiger Moth!!

For sketching and nature journalling ideas we have Jim Arnosky's Sketching Outdoors in Autumn, Drawing from Nature  and Field Trips. Also on our shelf is Claire Walker Leslie's Keeping a Nature Journal. We also like The Brook Book as it is nice to consult after our Salmon Watch field days.

Because it's autumn we are cherishing  various tree and leaf picture books  as well as Tree field guides. These take-along guides  are nice too. In the Pacific Northwest we do get a pretty good change of seasons with all of the deciduous trees turning color and watching the leaves fall. Thankfully we are still profusely stocked with evergreens however, to keep things from looking too bare in winter :)

Our days have turned rainy for the time being, but here's a peek at some nice outdoor nature work from earlier this week:

And some of their finished work:

(Seamus' creation)

(Sean-Paul's)

Looking forward to a lovely weekend with my sweeties, what are you all up to this Autumn?? Many blessings in your day :)

Autumn Afternoon Crafts

We had a fun and relaxing afternoon craft time yesterday. The weather was somewhat gloomy and I had a few under the weather (just slightly). So we pulled out the craft table and got to work on some fun Autumn ideas.

Here are some random shots of the crafters and their projects ~

Bats are big here ~

(please ignore the hideous paint color)

All in all, an enjoyable afternoon and we chased the clouds away by early evening and were blessed with this beautiful gift after dinner ~

Hope your weekend is off to a beautiful start! God Bless :)

Reading Frenzy YA Edition **Updated**

**Updated** 10/15/11 ~

I'm on a Young Adult reading frenzy right now. I've been wanting to knock out a few YA books in the hopes that I can find some fun new reads for Violet, but alas the ones I've read thus far are in no way appropriate for her, just yet. I'm a little baffled at the YA rating and what is being published as YA, but also really enjoying some great reading and finding new authors.

Read so far ~

Stolen: a letter to my captor  by Lucy Christopher :: WOW, really good, but freaky to think about someone being kidnapped on any level as good.

 

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson :: Really, really good, but so much adult material and language.

 

And I finally got around to reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate  by Jacqueline Kelly :: I loved it so much I immediately bought our home library a copy. I think we'll start it as our first read-aloud of the new school year. It's SO, so good :)

 

I also just finished The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins, not my usual preference in fiction, but very good nevertheless and one that both Violet and Matthias can read. I've already got the second book Catching Fire  on it's way from the library...

 

On my YA stack waiting to be read are ~ (and in no particular order)

 **Midnight Dancers by Regina Doman (Violet loved this one!) :: Wow, really liked this one.

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (historical fiction)

**By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Ann Peters (okay, so don't have much hope for Violet to read this anytime soon, but it looks really good) :: And yes it was okay, but not super...

**Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler :: Meh! This one had real promise and I did enjoy the writing style, but it just kind of flopped at the end.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Sea by Heidi R. Kling (hope this one is a good as it sounds, awesome cover)

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (another sci-fi genre, we'll see...)

**Freefall by Mindi Scott (Goodreads notes here)

**Split by Swati Avashti (brief Goodreads notes here)

**The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer  by Michelle Hodkin (Another Meh. If you read the first and second review on goodreads about this book it's pretty much how I felt about it, too bad.)

I've got more coming from the library, but this should keep me busy well into September, and October and November... don't cha think?? Have you read any of these titles?? Love to hear about them and what you thought!

Learning Room Notes ~ Autumn

Quick post making a few school room notes on all the learning going on around here. Have to jot them down before I forget, LOL!

We all survived the 13 yo birthday madness! We had quite a whirlwind weekend of celebrating and feasting our beloved Matthias and his crossing into the teen years. Whew, what a great guy!

In the learning room ~

Matthias reading :: Augustine Came to Kent, The Yearling and one of the Mysterious Benedict Society books (again) not sure which one, I think it's the 3rd. Nope, I just asked him, it's the 2nd.

Violet reading :: Louis de Wohl's Lay Siege to Heaven, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and a princess retelling Princess of Glass.

Seamus reading :: Working his way through several of the Encyclopedia Brown series, they are quick reads and fun for him. He also just finished Pedro's Journal and we are reading Genevieve Foster's The World of Colombus and Sons together.

Sean-Paul's books :: Lots of Jim Arnosky books, Garfield comics (seriously), Calvin and Hobbes, Max & Ruby's, and random picks off the shelf at the library, mostly for him to "read".

Also, the younger boys and I just finished our lunchtime read aloud The Penderwicks. I enjoy this every time I read it. Now on to WHAT next???

In other news ~ Violet is at ballet six days a week (urgh). I have picked up my knitting again from summer and have almost finished Matthias's birthday Fisherman, stay tuned :)

It's raining, ALOT. This is not my favorite thing at all, sigh...But, this gives us lots more time for reading all those great books :) Looking forward to cranking up my gas fireplace pretty soon!

Matthias is loving, and I mean LOVING his Engineering Design and C++ Computer Programming online classes this fall, they are a big hit. (Email me if you're interested in hearing more about them, they are FREE for us). Geometry is also going well and even FUN (yes indeed) for both Matthias and Violet, how about that!! Seamus continues to be 2-3 grades above level for math which is cool. He is also really enjoying Grammar, my sweet boy. He LOVES Intermediate Language Lessons (thank you Emma Serl, teehee). Sean-Paul is trying very hard to learn to read, he's just not THAT interested yet. He's made it through some of the Little Stories for Little Folks, but it's going to be a bit before he really takes off with it, and that's okay :) I can wait!

We have been enjoying occaisional teatimes for the many feast days that grace our liturgical calendar each week and our family has just begun another 54-day Rosary Novena  for a very special intention. Please keep us in your prayers!

Hope your October, Month of the Most Holy Rosary is going great so far, off to make Carmel Apples as it's that time of year!! Yum :)

 

Thirteen!!!

He is, that is...

 

Our first son is now a teenager, well, officially at 11:40pm tonight!! We love you so much sweetie, welcome to the teen years, the best is yet to come :) Happiest birthday wishes Matthias! St. Matthew, pray for us!

Monday Reading Madness

Well, it's raining here today, actually pouring!! So, we're reading, lots o' books :)

We had a hankering for Jim Arnosky, love his DVD of books read on Reading Rainbow, check your library for it if you can, there's a great "how-to-draw" a porcupine at the end by the author himself, well worth watching all the way through :) Besides the ones listed here, we've got a whole stack of his nature drawing books. Also planned are some great Jean Craighead George  books for later this week :)

 
Raccoons and Ripe Corn by Jim Arnosky

Come Out Muskrats by Jim Arnosky

Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky

 
Voyage to the Bunny Planet by Rosemary Wells :: This one is hysterical and whimsical all at the same time. Once read you will never forget the repeated lyric:

"Far beyond the moon and stars, Twenty light-years south of Mars, Spins the Bunny Planet, and the Bunny Queen is Janet."

Catchy, eh?

Bunny Mail by Rosemary Wells :: Flaps are always fun in a picture book, no matter how old you are :)

 
Max & Ruby's Bedtime Book by Rosemary Wells :: Bedtime stories with Grandma, what could be better!

 
McDuff Moves In by Rosemary Wells :: It only took one reading for us to fall in love with sweet little McDuff.

Owl Moon by Jan Yolen (Classic picture book, a must read any time, but especially in Autumn or Winter)

Violet started and finished The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper. She's also reading Lay Seige to Heaven by Louis de Wohl.

Matthias is thick into The Yearling.

Seamus finished A Lion to Guard Us  today!

I finished Anne's House of Dreams  on my Kindle over the weekend and am currently reading The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. I'm just getting ready to start Waking Rose  before it's due back from inter-library loan!!

Hope you're snuggled up tight somewhere having a lovely reading time with your sweeties this week! Happy Monday friends :)

Fieldwork ~ Salmon Watching

 
Monday we embarked on our first Salmon Watching expedition with my dad (aka Grandpa). He has been an avid fisherman and nature lover since the beginning of time ;-) thus he proves to be an excellent guide and partner in our newest endeavors with Biology for this year.

 
We have three sites to check periodically throughout the week, for fifteen minutes each site. Our goal of course is to spot different species of salmon that are coming into the creeks to spawn and thus end their life cycle, or move back out into the lake and on out to the sound. (Last year at this site there was a "redd" located just underneath that orange marker in the picture above, a good sign). Note: a "redd" is a cleared area in the stream where the female salmon lays here eggs to be fertilized.

 
At each location we basically watch and wait....

We were happy this first watch day that the weather was sunny and warm and not too much of a glare. Although, we are all given these fancy polarized salmon watching glasses to help cut the glare and see any little movements under the surface.

 
Violet took charge of "recording" our findings and sightings (although there was only a few little fish) which we are to list as "juveniles" as there is really no way to tell what type of salmon (or trout) they are as of yet.

 
I call this one "ninja measurer". Matthias here wielding the pvc measuring pipe for locations that do not have a water level meter on site. Grandpa was the only one that did this job, however, as it involved a very steep bank not good for tennis shoes with no tread, lol! Water levels are still pretty low in all our sites as we've (thankfully) had only a little bit of rain this past weekend, but the water was mostly clear which made it easy to see anything swimming. (Lots of water skeeters and dragonflies!)

 
I couldn't help snapping some shots of the local fauna, here some lovely little orangish wildflowers (or weeds). I'm still looking for an I.D. on these, anyone's guess???? (Violet was guessing Toadflax...)

 
These beautiful pink ones were everywhere, quite abundant, and no I.D. on these either. Note to self - purchase a Washington flower book.

A few more beauties and marvels ~

 
Elderberries???

 
Grandpa (Dad) was guessing wild parsley?

And this cute little guy slithered past us twice...

 

 It was a delightful hour or so perusing nature just a little ways from our home. We hope to see some bigger fish next time :) A few parting shots...

 
Giant rosehips!!

 
Cool and shady, but no fish :)

Have a great rest of the week friends!

Eighteen!!

 
Violet surprised us with this Decadent Chocolate Cake for our 18th Wedding Anniversary last night. We had a wonderful evening at home with our sweeties. They all helped to make it special and my fabulous hubby and I cooked our special dinner together.

 
It. Was. Perfect!!! We are so blessed :) Looking forward to at least another 18!!!

Gettin' Our Groove

 
(2011 Parish Picnic Egg Race)

Well, our new year has indeed begun. Despite our efforts to stave off and relish the last days of summer (which in our neck of the woods has just recently arrived). The Pacific NW is so fussy sometimes. I can't help being thankful however, that we have not experienced the severe and scary weather hitting other parts of the country lately. The weather was delightful this past weekend when our parish held it's annual picnic. Good fun was had by ALL, what a joy to be part of such an amazing community, we are so blessed!

At any rate, back to school. We are up and running with a new year and new perspectives. As mentioned in my planning post, we are taking things in a more relaxed manner and that seems to be helpful to everyone, especially moi!

Good Things :: Weeks 1 & 2 ~

• Signed up for Project Feeder Watch, we should be receiving our kits anyday now :)
• Everyone very happy with their maths so far this year, yippee!! Found a few great Math DVD's at the library that both Seamus and Sean-Paul have enjoyed. One is called CashFlow for Kids at Home   (this is a link to the board game, ours is a CD-ROM version), and the other is called School Zone 1st Grade (here is a link to their website).
• Matthias is going gung-ho on his computer classes. He loves them!! We will be using Giant Campus of Washington  for the remainder of his high-school years, it's really great and FREE :)
• Violet is making a nice transition into her Sophmore year classes. She is delightedly self-motivated and our discussions have been very pleasant relating to her history reading, religion and biology. And of course every other book she happens to be reading :)
• Sean-Paul is prooving to be quite the little student, just like his siblings. He loves math and we've been reading up a storm. We have decided that he will receive his First Holy Communion with our Latin parish next spring, so I will be slowly getting him ready on our end  before he begins his classes next year. I hope to have him create his own notebook, although it will look quite different than Matthias's as he is receiving two years earlier than Matthias.
• My menu planning is coming along nicely...post to follow soon :)

Tweaks :: Helps for Mom ~

• Need to try and get up a little earlier for my morning workout. Since the beginning of the summer Matthew and I have been working out in the mornings together to much success and delight. It's great to have a workout partner for motivation and inspiration :) Here's what has worked for us both: Ultrafit by Cindy Whitmarsh
• I would like to beef-up and make more clear our daily chores. As usual with summer schedules and lazy days, we are in need of a little polishing up in the chore area. I'm thinking a daily checklist at the whiteboard for everyone to see and do :)
• As we ease into our new schedule, I can see the need for encouraging self-study and strewing more. This isn't too difficult however, as we are making regular trips to the library and allowing ourselves lots of time to just explore and think, all good things!! 

 
How's your year starting out?? Many blessings in your day, thanks for popping in :)

Sunday Linky Love

 
A few points of interest I wanted to share here ~

:: My Summer Notebook: The Spirit of Our Homeschool High-School  (by Susan formerly of High Desert Home) This is part of a High-School series she just started, well worth a peek :) Here's the 2nd installment: Homeschool High-School Ramblings 

:: Notes on Waiting for Superman at Mental Multi-Vitamin, I always enjoy what she has to share :)

:: Great ideas to spice up your Arts & Crafts this year at Deep Space Sparkle! Love all of her ideas.

Hope you're having a super weekend. See you back soon with a few menu planning/recipe ideas, still would love a few of your favorites if you have time to share :) Many blessings!

Food Talk Anyone??

So, I've officially run out of great menu planning ideas. GASP!!! Not a good time for this kitchen crisis as we're about ready to crank up a new year here and I NEED A PLAN!!!

 
(photo courtesy freedigitalphoto.net)

Yes, I do have all my plans from this past year, and lots of miscellanious recipes, but, UM, I need some inspiration, sigh...Can anyone say TAKEOUT :)

If you have a favorite recipe or simple menu to share, could you link it here for me please. We'll call it the RECIPE ROUND-UP!! I'll be scanning the net and my favorite cookbooks for new ideas, so I'll share too on Monday! I hope you'll join me and I hope you're enjoying these last lovely days of summer!

Happy recipe finding!!