Last Service Project of 2017

Back in September when we went and fed dinner to the homeless, I was talking to the woman in charge (who is a miracle worker in every way), Maureen, about Christmas. She mentioned that they weren't going to do anything on December 24th, even though it fell on a Sunday (the night she organizes the dinners) because it was really hard to get people to give up their Christmas Eve to come provide dinner. It makes sense- that is a pretty busy night for people.

I suggested that maybe she could collect cookies and hand them out earlier in the day or even on the 23rd. I told her I was sure I could collect 1,000 cookies to hand out.

She really liked the idea and started running with it- suggesting the idea to others to get a feel of what would come together.

I committed to collect as many cookies as possible. She got other people to donate candy canes and gifts.

I reached out to my church, FB, and homeschool networks to ask for cookie donations for the homeless.

The response was simply incredible! Over 25 families committed to make cookies and drop them off at my house. From there, the girls and I re-bagged them- combining different cookie types and cramming each sandwich bag full of cookies, so each person could get a full baggie with 3-4 different types of cookies in them.

In total, we had at least 800 cookies. And, this is what that looks like:

It is impossible for me to put into words the joy that filled my heart being able to deliver these cookies to be distributed. Unfortunately, due to the timing of our church, I was unable to actually deliver the cookies to the homeless. But, as I thought about these cookies, I thought about the love that goes into baking. I really do consider baking/cooking to be an act of love. It is hard, monotonous, and requires attention to details. You create something beautiful and delicious out of a few meager ingredients.

Our homeless brothers and sisters got to feel of that love- the love from 25 different families who gave up their time and talents to share with their brothers and sisters who are less fortunate.

When Christ came to change the world, he did not come as a militant dictator or even an elegant statesman. He came in the most humble of circumstances, and he changed the world not by presidential edict, but by showing love and kindness individually to all those who suffered. He blessed the poor, the sick, and the needy one by one.

I know that cookies won't change the world. But, I hope that on the Christmas Eve, that the cookies brought love, and perhaps a little peace, to those who received them. And perhaps, for a moment, it maybe changed their world.

Of the experience, this is what Maureen posted on FB:

If I didn't like to talk so much I'd say "there are just no words for how great this afternoon was" and leave it at that. But I can't leave it at that and...this is long😃A few months ago one of our dinner donor friends asked me what we were doing for Christmas since our Sunday dinner was falling on Christmas Eve. I told her we may actually NOT do a planned dinner because of the possibilty of not filling that day as well as not having volunteers due to the holiday and we might try to do something spontaneous and unplanned as we did last year. She said "I would LOVE to organize a cookie drive and get ALL my friends to bake Christmas cookies!"-- and it took off from there! As time went on and people asked the same question we told them what the plan was and before we knew it we had a large group who committed to gather early this afternoon for Christmas love and shenanigans! Our "church without walls" happened again this year and that church is AWESOME... We had 800 (that's NOT a typo😂❤) homemade fancy Christmas cookies and candies that Christina Marriott was able to collect all separately bagged and festive, some amazing little quiche like appetizers that Hope Stafford made, pigs in a blanket WE made, hot cocoa from OUR Joy, 200 candy canes from Genevee Davenports' family (her hubby who was there with thier kiddos gave one of our kids the coat right off his back, a nice Carhart)...blankets, sleeping bags, socks, handwarmers, hats and gloves and all the usual survival gear we are able to pass out! Cindy Souser paid for a room for a few to share tonight to get them out of the cold... 

Unbelievably HUGE hearts that we get to rub elbows with...one of our young men living in the tiny homes village came with a big box of wrapped presents so ALL on the hill got a gift from "Santa!" We then went to the Triangle of course with the rest of everything and hung out there for awhile. While it's always fun being with our young friends, the Triangle is often a different reality, a little harsher reality maybe due to the ages of most and the rougher life they live. If shelter is not a reality tonight people may freeze-- literally. It feels hypocritical to say "Merry Christmas" to folks who are suffering, starving, freezing and standing in the cold waiting for a shelter bed that may not even materialize when we get to go home to warmth and creature comforts. The love and joy was palpable today despite all of the above and a reminder as usual of the reason why we're placed here, ALL of us and, if you will, the "reason for the season" that should resonate 365 days a year NOT just during THIS time of the year. We LOVE this life we were blessed with and would not change a thing. The streets and ALL of those IN them are our "happy place." Well...that and the beach😂...especially now...it's freezing😖
Merry Christmas ALL!❤

Here

Here

Our library brings in the best Santa for Christmas! He tells stories, sings songs, answers kids' questions about Santa, and then is so great with them for pictures. We are so lucky to have such a great library system here!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Audra and Claire had their parent/teacher conferences at Cloverleaf. These are always pretty informal, but it is nice to touch base with their teachers and see how the girls are doing. Not surprisingly, all their teachers love and adore Audra and Claire. They are very sweet and participate well in class. Nothing unexpected. They said they are both advanced with their writing abilities.

Here are art projects each of their classes did as a group project. They turned out great!

We are also now officially half way done with the school year- 90 days DONE! Phew!

This year has been awesome. Truly, what a blessing this crazy homeschooling lifestyle of ours has been! I feel like this year is a turning point, with Audra in 5th grade. Up until now we have been plugging away, diligently doing our curriculum slowly but surely. It's hard to gauge how your homeschool kids are doing when they aren't in school, but I can honestly say that I can totally see the benefits of homeschooling this year. Audra is excelling beyond any of my expectations- she can diagram a sentence and identify a preposition like nobody's business. Her cursive is beautiful, she understands math better than I do, writes beautiful stories, she tests at a perfect grade 5.5 spelling level, etc. It's like after all these years, in 5th grade I really get to see the fruits of all that we have done over the years, and I couldn't be happier. I have absolutely no doubts that my kids are learning by leaps and bounds, and it is really cool to see and experience it with them.

Homeschooling is not the life I would have chosen, but I am sure glad it is my life! We are truly, truly blessed.

Christmas Lights

Traffic was an absolute nightmare, so our Christmas lights tour was cut short, but we still had some fun going to see some lights and getting some hot chocolate (which was all the girls really cared about in the end). It's starting to feel like Christmas!

We decided to stop by the temple and see the manger scene on the way home. Such a beautiful piece of art!

Night At Bethlehem

We had our annual Bethlehem dinner. This might be the girls' favorite tradition- they get so excited! It was really nice to sit and relax and really enjoy each other's company while also talking about what life was like when Jesus was alive. It really does help to feel the true reason of the season.

Reminders for next year: I got some green olives stuffed with goat cheese, and that was a huge hit. And, get white grape juice.

Christmas STEM Co-Op

Just to make an already week even crazier, today I hosted another co-op.

This was some simple STEM activities that were Christmas themed.

The kids ended up having a total blast- I am always amazed at how sometimes the most simple activities are the most engaging.

The first challenge: Use just paper and a little bit of tape to try and build the tallest free standing (they couldn't tape the snowman to the table) snowman.

Second challenge: Use aluminum foil, paper plates, tape, and popsicle sticks to build a ramp and Santa's sleigh- see whose sleigh could go the farthest.

Third challenge: Build a marshmallow fort to see whose fort could withstand the greatest marshmallow attack.

Whew! And now our big activities for the week are over- at least the ones that I am in charge of. Now can we relax a little bit???

Christmas Baking

 I really wasn't sure if Christmas baking was going to happen this year.

The scheduled day was Friday, and I woke up as miserable as miserable can be. I literally laid in bed all day long- something I have never done before. I had to accept the fact that Christmas baking might not happen.

But, on Saturday I woke up feeling OK. Not great, but OK.

I had a decision to make. There was a service project at the church that I was planning to take the girls to. I could do that, or we could stay home and do our baking- thus freeing up a lot of stress in getting it done and causing me happiness in getting it done.

I chose to get the baking done and forego the service project. And I don't feel one bit guilty about that.

Thankfully, I was smart this year and chose really easy recipes. We made a lot of recipes, but most of them were pretty simple. That helped a lot. I also tried to double recipes to make things easier as well. It paid off- in a few hours we were done.

The one recipe that was not easy, however, was the peanut butter balls. The girls decided making peanut butter balls are not their favorite job. They take a lot of work, but are easily the best treats we make (as long as you are not allergic to peanuts)!

Here's a finished plate, but it is a nut free plate so it is missing a lot of the treats- fudge, peanut butter balls, and chocolate covered peanuts. Ben says I need to not make so many treats, but that's the fun! Having so much variety!

Even though I was able to get the baking done, I wasn't up for getting in and out of the car as we delivered to about 30 families. Thankfully, the girls were awesome, and so cute as they went up to each door. We don't sing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" to each house like we used to as kids, but maybe that tradition will come in time.

Phew- I'm glad we were able to get this tradition in- it really is one of my favorites, and I would have been heartbroken if we weren't able to do it!