Restoration Place

Mom--This One's For You (And For Those Who Want To See The One Who Is Never Seen On This Blog)

I am always the one holding the camera and taking photos of the family. I realized recently that there aren't any recent photos of me, and certainly none of me with the children (though I am with them nearly all the time).

I want my children to look back through photos and be able to see their mom in a way that might differ from their memories. I love to look at photos of my mom, especially now that I'm older and look more and more like her every day (~grin!~).

Here we are enjoying a late fall hike at Eden Mill. This is one of my favorites. I exercised a blogger's selective privilege and didn't show you the ones taken by my four-year-old when I first woke up one recent morning. You know you're grateful.

So, you locals, if you see me shopping in Safeway, Giant, Costco, Michael's, or Spenceola Antiques, dragging bags of books at the library (my regular haunts), or out walking on the Ma and Pa trail, wave or say hello to the redheaded freckly one with four kids.

Jacob's Grappling Hook

Jacob is fascinated with grappling hooks and has been making them from all sorts of things--wires, sticks, K'nex--and it was high time he had a real grappling hook. So when we saw one in the current issue of Make magazine, we knew we had found the right one. This micro, stainless steel grappling hook is just right for an 8-year-old:

The spikes/hooks are housed inside the the grappling hook. The top unscrews and you take out the spikes and screw them into the holes in the base:

 

It's been put to all sorts of uses since he got it for Christmas (actually, he got it two days later. I hid it so well I couldn't find it!). Here Jacob shows how he throws the grappling hook up into a tree and pulls himself up with it (with a little help from the tree branches):

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas to you and your precious families! 

All is Well Here...

I'm quiet because I'm immersed in Christmas preparation and enjoying the much-needed break from our regular home education routine. I've even gotten behind on reading all the interesting blog posts stacking up in my Google reader. ~smile~

We met up with dear friends in Washington D.C. yesterday and I'll probably share about that soon. I'm also chewing on some ideas about our home education focus after the holidays and for next fall. I've been perusing the book list and schedule for Ambleside Year 6, and slowly getting the books from inter-library loan.

I'll be back soon. In the meantime, I pray you and your precious ones have a peaceful and joyful Christmas!

Bird Skull ~ Jacob's Animal Bone Collection

For those of you who don't like animal bones, don't read any further and especially don't look at the photos.~smile~

I found a bird skull (my very first!) on top of some dead leaves in one of our planters by the front door. I think it must have gotten blown there when Karl was blowing the leaves recently.

I guess I haven't found one before because they are very delicate, and likely get crushed before ever being discovered. To me, this is a fantastic nature treasure! I am thrilled to have found it:

 

 

I'm adding this treasure to Jacob's animal bone collection:

 

 

 

His collection is growing, so we might have to find a different way to house/display it. I guess we should label the bones, too. We just assume everyone knows what they all are, like we do.

Maggie's Glittery Toothpick Stars

Maggie has been crafting by herself and she's come up with something very pretty: delicate, glittery, toothpick (and craft stick) stars:

The stars have to be made a day before you apply glue and glitter, that way they will dry thoroughly and not fall apart when you're decorating them.

I'm sure we will have an entire collection of glittery stars for the Christmas tree--or even for a garland to drape across a door way--before she's through.

Ringgz ~ New Game Obsession

The children can't get enough of a new game here: Ringgz. Cousins sent it to us last Christmas and though I feel silly we're just now enjoying it, it was fun to discover it in the back of the games closet (don't worry cousins, if you happen to read this, we did play with all the other games you sent!)

I wanted to provide you with a snazzy link to Amazon, but I got frustrated trying to make it work. So, here are some photos and you can hop somewhere else on your own to take a closer look. ~smile~

 

If you like games that aren't necessarily available at the mega toy stores, you'll like this one.

Christmas with Anne of Green Gables: Local Outing

Maggie and I enjoyed a Christmas with Anne of Green Gables program at our library Monday evening.

If you're a fan of L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables, you know how thrilled we were to be able to take part in the event.

The librarians created a table display of L.M. Montgomery's books, biographies, and guidebooks to the world of Anne of Green Gables:

 

 

The parlor games and crafts were all designed to help us experience Christmas traditions as Anne herself and those of the Victorian era might have experienced it.

There were several crafting stations set up and we rotated through all of them:

 

 

  

 

Shhh...don't tell Maggie, but I'm planning to get her a set of the first three Anne of Green Gables videos for Christmas. We keep trying to borrow them from the library to watch them and they never seem to be on the shelf. Then we can have an Anne of Green Gables fest whenever we like!

Christmas Doings Around Here Lately

We've been enjoying Christmas preparations here and I thought I would give you a peek at what we've been up to.

Cinnamon-applesauce ornaments.We make these every year, and I thought the children might be a little tired of making them. They were very offended that I could think such a thing, and made loads of ornaments.~smile~

 

Holiday pretzel treats. (They are originally from Family Fun magazine, but I couldn't make a direct link work). These are easy to make and very yummy. We are going to make several batches to share with friends and neighbors. (HT: Make and Takes).

  

Homemade holiday playdough. (That's not the recipe we use, but it is very similar. I always make a double batch). We mixed in food coloring, essential peppermint oil, and gold and silver glitter. The play dough is warm, peppermint-y, and glittery.

 

Choosing and cutting the Christmas tree. This year we chose a Douglas Fir. It's very fragrant and the needles aren't quite so sharp. We usually get a root-ball tree that we can plant, but last year's tree died. We think there's not enough sun on our property for a young tree to get a good start.

 

More updates to come!

Feasts of Israel 16-Month Biblical/Jewish Calendar

My dear Mother surprised me with this beautiful Feasts of Israel calendar. It's from The Galilee Experience, where you can find many great Jewish and Messianic resources.

Here is the month of December/Kislev-Tevet. The art for the calendar is by Pamela Suran. You can view more of her spectacular art at Jerusalem Prophetic Art.

The calendar is now on one of my kitchen magnet boards, where I can see it, use it, and remember to daily pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Why would I want such a calendar? Because I care for Israel. But I'll have to post about that some other time. Right now there's chicken noodle soup to finish cooking and some tidying up to do, and children asking for a snack.