Life Happened Last Week

What did you have planned for last week in order to get ready for Christmas this week? Did you get it all done?

My original plan for last week did not include editing the first 2 volumes of The Tutor for the big re-release scheduled for Jan. 15. They arrived in my inbox last weekend. My original plan for last week did not include waiting for an editing job from a different publisher. I was going to start it the week before that. My original plan did not include having my cousin visit all week and drag me out to do impulsive stuff like getting a second hole pierced in my right ear to match the second hole I've had in my left ear since college days and going to the mall on the Saturday before Christmas. My original plan for last week included wrapping all the gifts, getting ahead on my blog posts and articles, and cleaning the house before all of our holiday traveling (3 states in 2 weeks = 30 hours of driving).

So, what did the very organized homeschool mom ACTUALLY do last week? In case you didn't pick up on the clues above, I let the editing jobs sit unopened in my inbox; I left the vacuum cleaner in the laundry room, and most of the gifts are still on a shelf in my closet (ssshhhhh, don't give away my hiding spot!). Instead, I did crazy stuff with my cousin, watched some fun movies, cuddled a sick child (actually 2 sick kids in turn), and RELAXED.

How would you feel if you'd relaxed with family and friends last week instead of running around like crazy? Yep, it felt pretty good! So, during this super-busy time of year, remember to slow down long enough to ENJOY your family and friends. That's what they'll remember years from now anyway, not the fact that your house was totally spotless and that you had a gourmet feast fit for a king (but didn't have time to sit down and eat it yourself).

If you're waiting for my true confession, here it is: now that my cousin is on the plane back to Florida and it's only 4 days until Christmas (2 days until we leave), I am in full panic mode! I have a lot to do in the next 2 days. But, I don't regret the way I spent last week one iota.

Q4U: What's on your docket for the next few days? Do you need to make a few changes to your list to include some downtime with your family? Let me know!

My Mamma Raised Me Right

Is it just me, or are thank you notes (the paper kind you hold in your hand) becoming obsolete? Are they following the dwindling number of friendly letters and Christmas letters and cards that used to stuff our mailboxes? Well, my mum (she’s Canadian, but I thought the southern phrase more apropos for the title) taught me to acknowledge every gift with a handwritten thank you note. If your techno-kids balk, here are some inspirations to help reinstate the good old-fashioned thank you note.

1. Don’t restrict Thanksgiving to a single day or month. On the contrary, the fact that Thanksgiving comes exactly a month before the day when kids get overloaded with new toys, books, and electronic gadgets should prime them for even more thankfulness.

2. Someone—grandparent, aunt, sibling, parent—took the time to pick out a special gift for each child in your home. The least a child can do in return is to take the time to handwrite note acknowledging appreciation for the gift and for the thought that went into its purchase.

3. Yes, grandparents know that little Jimmy just loved the Tonka truck, but writing a thank you note is kind of like saying “I love you.” You know it, but it’s still nice to hear frequently.

4. The Bible leads the way in encouraging thankful attitudes. “Offer to God thanksgiving” (Psalm 50:14a NJKV). “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4, NKJV). “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20 NKJV).

5. You can count writing thank you notes as a school project! Just look at all the subjects you’ll cover: grammar (proper letter forms and written grammar), handwriting, art (if they design their own), spelling, and etiquette (it is good manners to write thank you notes).

6. Let’s face it: the kids will be looking for something to do in between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The novelty of the new toys will wear off about two days after they’re opened and writing thank you notes can help fill in the time gap before you’re ready to jump back into formal lessons in January.

7. Many children enjoy designing their own cards or drawing pictures. The recipients will enjoy seeing those pictures and cards on their refrigerators. This works especially well with children who are too young to write complete sentences; they can draw pictures of themselves playing with their new toys.

How many ways can you say thank you? Shukran Gazillan, Thoinks, Moite! Wado, Xie_Xie, Merci, Danke sehr, Mahalo, Köszönöm, Grazie, Cheers, Salamat, Spasiba, Tapadh Leat, Gracias a todos, Tesekkurler, Thanks y'all! (Other languages courtesy of e-Tailers Digest.)

This article is featured at Heart of the Matter Online!

FREE Christmas Music Download!

Merry Christmas from the folks at Codex Publishing! Please enjoy a FREE GIFT from us: a download of the American folk Christmas song “I Wonder as I Wander.” Please visit our Web site in order to access your totally free mp3 download.

Many of the Christmas carols we sing today have been around for several hundred years. I assumed this was the case with “I Wonder as I Wander” until I did a bit of research on it. This haunting melody was first heard by composer John Jacob Niles in 1933 when he visited the Appalachian town of Murphy, North Carolina.

Accounts differ, but the Morgan family was a poor, homeless family trying to collect enough money to buy enough gas to drive out of town. Various people had gathered to help them collect the money, John Niles among them. The Morgan’s young, unkempt daughter sang a few lines of this Appalachian folk song, and Niles paid her a quarter each time she sang it in order to try to capture the lyrics. He was only able to glean fragments, but later rounded out the first verse and added verses two and three.

I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
For people, just people like you and like I,
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

When Mary bore Jesus, ’twas in a cow’s stall,
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall.
And the promise of the ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing,
Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing,
He surely could have had it, for He was the King.

Sources:
* Amy Schumaker @ Suite 101
* Wikipedia

Additional resources:
* Sermon highlighting the song on Lifeway
* Midi music file and PDF sheet music file
* Maureen Hegarty singing with cool pictures on YouTube

Sane Holiday Homeschooling

The following article appears today in a guest column over at Anne Elliot's blog and in her weekly newsletter. Thanks for hosting me, Anne!

Is it possible to homeschool sanely and still celebrate the Christmas? Yes! How? My two best tips are to make lists and to start early. I love lists! I make lists of my lists (yes, really). I keep a running list in my Palm Centro (hand-held organizer, but a notebook will do) of every person for whom I regularly buy gifts. As I hear hints or think of gift ideas, I make a note of it. I make a note next to the item after I’ve bought it. This works for birthday presents as well as for Christmas gifts. People who receive our annual Christmas letters/cards/pictures (depending on the year) are on a master database on my computer. Every year, I update the list for cards received and sent the previous year, and who we’ll be sending cards to, then I print it out to check off names as new cards roll in. In early November, I print out address labels for the cards (I update my computer’s address book as needed throughout the year). By the end of the month, I’ve written the letter or pulled out the cards I bought at the after-Christmas sale the previous year. The cards are in the mail the first week of December.

Throughout the year, I buy gifts for family and friends as I see things that would be appropriate. Since none of our family lives close by, all of their gifts are bought and wrapped early in the fall. They get mailed anywhere from mid-October (overseas) to early December (stateside). All the rest of the gifts are bought by the first week in December. I usually wait until the weekend before Christmas to wrap the gifts because I don’t like to put them under the tree too early, but it’s written in my planner. My husband takes the kids out for an afternoon while I do the wrapping. I put on my favorite Christmas music, pour myself a cup of hot chocolate, and think about how each person will enjoy opening his or her gifts from our family.

By early November, I’m working on my menu lists for any meals or parties that I’ll be hosting. The calendar is updated daily, and the food and necessity shopping lists are updated as needed. I start buying things like pie filling or chocolate chips early and a little bit at a time. That way, my food budget doesn’t get too blown out of proportion. Also, if a guest asks what she can bring, I’m able to make a suggestion and then make a note of her contribution right on my menu.

Okay, that covers Christmas, but what about school? Well, I do try to make the kids’ workloads a bit lighter for the month. We focus on the basics and on the subjects that persist in making the workbooks have thirty-six weeks of work in them. I make sure my lesson plans are done right after Thanksgiving so they know what to expect. All the parties, cookie baking, decorating, and shopping trips are good incentives for the kids to finish their schoolwork early during the day. As far as housecleaning and other chores go, we do things the same way we do the rest of the year: everyone has assigned chores each day. A few things do get left undone, but even the very organized homeschool mom can’t do everything. We incorporate fun activities and ministering to others (nursing home sing-alongs, delivering cookies to our pastors, etc.) into our school days as well. For younger children, baking all those Christmas goodies can certainly count for math (measuring) and home economics.

We do take off the two weeks right around Christmas and New Year’s Day, though. Those two weeks are just enough to give us a relaxing breather, but not long enough to forget too much. We’re refreshed and ready start school again early in January.
Remember to slow down long enough to celebrate the birth of our Savior this Christmas season. Take time to read the Christmas story from Luke and to sing some traditional Christmas carols around the piano. Those are two of our favorite Christmas traditions.

Get Your Wrapping Paper Under Wraps

If you have cute, matching, Rubbermaid storage containers for your wrapping paper, bows, ornaments, tree lights, and table decorations, stop reading right now. You heard me! You don't need me if you've got red and green plastic storage totes. This post is for those of you who spend ten minutes digging out the crumpled wrapping paper from under the bed. This post is for those whose cardboard boxes fall apart in the garage as you're lugging them towards the kitchen. This post is for those of you whose bow collection has multiplied in more places than dust bunnies. You know who you are.

Let's just get today's confession out of the way right now. My wrapping paper rolls are not in a special, long plastic container. My bows are not in a red box. My decoration storage boxes do not all match each other. Phew! That almost hurt to type! But, I want you to know that you can get your wrapping paper, bows, tags, and decorations under wraps without spending a fortune at The Container Store (even though that would be really fun!).

I think the rolls of wrapping paper are the trickiest things to corral. First of all, put a rubber band on each end of the roll to keep it from unwrapping itself. This will keep it from getting so mangled that you have to throw away half of it before you even start wrapping. Then, go buy another roll at a Hallmark store or another retail store. You probably need at least another roll to get all of this year's stuff wrapped anyway. SAVE the long bag that the clerk put it in. Use that bag to store all of your wrapping paper rolls in. Voila! I store my bag of wrapping paper rolls upright in a corner of my (very small) coat closet. The guest room closet or under a bed would work, too.

The tissue paper, bows, ribbon, and tags are stored in a medium-sized plastic storage container. It's a cheap one not specifically designated as such. All of the gift bags are stored in another storage container of the same size. These are stacked on the floor of my coat closet. Since we moved south, we don't have snow boots, so this works for us. Again, find and designate a spot that will work for the space you have. The important thing is to store all of this stuff in the same spot so that you don't waste time hunting it down all over the house. If you wish, throw a pair of scissors, a roll of tape, and a pen into one of the boxes.

Now comes the fun part: the decorations. Yes, this really is the perfect time to start organizing your Christmas decorations. They're already out (right?), so you can see exactly how much stuff you have. Start by throwing out broken and long-unused decorations. I promise it won't hurt! If it truly is extremely sentimental (there should only be a few of those), store it in a special place where it can be enjoyed, but not further damaged.

I do recommend plastic storage containers for your decorations for two reasons: 1) They are protected from water damage, and 2) They are protected from termite and mice damage. Unfortunately, I tell you these things from experience, but I'll spare you the gory details. This is a great time of year to pick up red and green containers cheaply. Of course, that's not necessary, but when my hubby makes his yearly trek up the black hole into the attic, he can tell at a flick of the flashlight which boxes need to come down. Mine have been purchased at different times, so they don't all match, but they all work! I'm thinking I should really buy another container for this year, though . . .

Anyway, take a look at what all you have and try to estimate how many storage containers you'll need. Plan on sending your hubby to the store for a few more the day you take down all your decorations since you'll probably underestimate your needs!

When it's time to undecorate, blare the Christmas music one last time and pull out your new boxes. Tackle one area of the house at a time. Put similar decorations together. For instance, most of your ornaments will probably fit into one container. Put your tabletop decorations into another box. Store nativity scenes and mantle trimmings in another one. You get the idea. For the lights, put each strand carefully into a separate plastic grocery bag, then put the bags into a box. My wreath and large Star of Bethlehem get stored in heavy-duty garbage bags; there's no need to buy pricey wreath storage containers.

That's it! Next year, you'll be pleasantly surprised to discover how easy your decorations are to find and assemble, and how easy it is to pull out the wrapping paper for a serious wrapping session.

Freebie link for the day: a printable Christmas planner from The Excutive Homemaker. Leave me a note with your best holiday storage tip!