Another Religion Lesson

Gavin and I were doing a religion lesson today on the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. I explained that when John the Baptist poured water over our Lord's head the heavens opened and a voice (God the Father) said "This is my son in whom I am well pleased." Then a dove descended right above Jesus.

I asked Gavin, "Do you know who the dove is?" He got really excited and said, "It was the dove that brought back the olive branch to Noah!"

Bibbiddy, Bobbiddy, Boo!

My brother had this pumpkin leftover from Halloween. It was still good, very solid and no mold. So I decided to take it home and make some pie out of it for Thanksgiving. It turned out sooooo yummy. Better than any other pie I have made and was surprisingly very easy to do. The boys helped me out, pulling out all the guts and seeds. I'm looking forward to making it again next year!



Here is how I did it.

Religion Lesson

Luke is terrorizing the older kids as they do their schoolwork.

Gavin: Luke, do you want to be a Saint?

Luke: (Not sure of what he's talking about) Hmmm.

Gavin: Then you have to DIE to go to heaven.

When I Dream

My youngest sister, Christine, has just achieved an amazing thing. At the age of 19 she is now a published illustrator.

I remember it was just a couple of years ago when Christine was applying for college scholarships. She asked me to write a letter of recommendation for her. I wanted to know what profession she was aiming for. She said, "I know I want to do something with art. Maybe a children's book illustrator."

Here is a clip from the letter I wrote:

This young woman has a beautiful artistic talent. She has taken classes such as commercial art and glass art to further her knowledge and skills. Her artwork has even been displayed in downtown Bremerton. She would like to pursue a career where she could use her artistic abilities. Any kind of grant or scholarship Christine could acquire would most definitely be used in the best interest of furthering her education. She has worked hard to get where she is now, and will continue to work hard to achieve her dreams.

Little did I know that she would be achieving her dreams so soon! I think the title of the book is amazingly appropriate for her first work. Congratulations Christine!

Handwriting with a purpose

I love the kids' handwriting books. They're called "A Reason for Handwriting". Right now Gavin is on level B and Celine is on level F. Each lesson focuses on a specific Bible passage. The words are broken up into daily assignments for practice and by the end of the week they get to choose a decorative piece of handwriting paper to write the entire Bible passage on. My fridge has never been so festive and holy at the same time!

All Souls Day

A soul cake, a soul cake,
Have mercy on all Christian souls;
For a soul cake.

We made donuts for All Souls Day. I read this story a few years ago and thought it would be a fun activity for the kids during this time of year. The donuts turned out great. We used a recipe from my cookbook. They taste so much better when they're fresh!

Here is an excerpt from the link:

It seems, however, that in one rich man's house there was a cook who had imagination. She had made Soul Cakes at Hallowmas for years. She noticed how the children were becoming secularized. Instead of singing plain chant, they were whining doggerel. Instead of thinking of the meaning of their acts, they were thinking only of their stomachs as they yelled in her window:

Soul! Soul! for a soul cake!
I pray good misses, a soul cake!
An apple or pear, a plum or a cherry
Any good thing to make us merry.
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Him who made us all
Up with the kettle and down with the pan,
Give us good alms and we'll be gone.

She also had a grave suspicion that once those children left the door they thought no more of the poor souls for whom they were to pray. They stuffed her good sweet buns in their hungry mouths, and never so much as an Ave ascended to heaven for the dead.

One year she decided to fix them so that with every bite they would remember why they had been given the cake. Instead of making plain round buns, she made a circular bun with a hole in the middle. In those days the never ending circle was common parlance for everlasting life and our passage to it. The result of her cleverness was a doughnut, a reminder of prayer. Requiescat in pace.

My paternal grandmother passed away on All Souls Day a few years ago. She, along with all of our family and friends, are in our thoughts and prayers on this day.

Our visit to Little Norway

When we had brought up the idea of homeschooling to the kids we talked about how we could take field trips together as a family and with other homeschooling families. This was something they were really looking forward to as we started the year off. One of Celine's first history lessons was on the vikings so we thought it would be fun to drive up to Poulsbo one Sunday afternoon. Poulsbo has a rich Norwegian heritage, dating back to the late 1800's.

My sisters Catherine and Christine joined us as walked around downtown, window shopped, and pointed out the various Norwegian flags, artwork, and architecture that decorated the town. We also stopped at a bakery for a little snack. It smelled wonderful in there.

Sons of Norway Lodge

Mike and I went to this Restaurant several years ago.
Their Chicken Parmeseana is so yummy!

"Fair Winds and Following Seas"
Go NAVY!

This little walkway in between some shops had
these stepping stones that folks can buy
and put a word or two on.

This sign made me laugh as we were heading to the car.