Christmas with Joni

Joni is here ... and the Nutcracker with the Chattanooga Ballet is in full swing. Here is just a very big HODGE PODGE of photos from the play and Christmas last night with Joni. (She ships her presents and we always celebrate every December sometime before Christmas!)

Nutcracker Time!

Here we are for our second Nutcracker performance with the Chattanooga Ballet! Once again, Abigail is a soldier and Hannah a mouse, but Isaac is joining us this year in the party scene. 

It is going to be a crazy weekend, but don’t despair, reinforcements are here: 

Grama Joni arrived yesterday!!! Yipeee!!!

And speaking of our pups, we only have one of the eight unsold. Little Joy/ 

She’s been a favorite of everyone so we have no doubt she will go to a great home! 

Christmas Spirit

Getting my life together for a “festive” online BSF Bible Study today took everything I had in me … 

John working 

Piano lessons 

Puppies

Sheep moved 

Christmas card for piano teacher 

And I got our schedule set for the day. 

***

Here is the email that went out to everyone: 

Today/Thursday Schedule 

Noon (people coming to look at puppies)

Meet at NPAC around 4pm. Work on Littles hair and makeup during warm-up time. Taking all kids but Sidge. He will stay home and deal with puppies and farm. 

From there Wendi heads up to pick up Joan. Leave by 5pm for pickup. 

Joan arrives at 5:40pm to Tri-cities.

After Wendi picks up Joan, she picks up Walmart order and then heads to NPAC. Wendi takes her kids home at 7:45 when they are done with their battle scene.

Hannah takes her kids home. 

As a reminder, 

Here is rehearsal schedule:

1. Warm up: 4:15-5:15 on NPAC stage (Ana and kari and maybe Abigail)

2. Party scene: 6:00-7:00 (isaac and Ana)

3. Battle scene: 7:00-7:45 (quad squad)

4. Snow scene: 7:45-8:30 (Ana and Kari)

Life ….

…. Is hard and exhausting . 

I’m learning that at least in this season, for me, it just will be.

So I have to capture the beautiful moments … in words, in pictures, and in my heart. 

See the beauty in the five seconds of peace. 

In a puppy. 

In a hug from a child. 

Claire, my unicorn friend

Claire and I met in the Azores. She calls herself my unicorn because I may not hear from her for a year and then she just texts and is driving through and shows up on my doorstep. 

She is in the process of moving to Shreveport, LA. Her and one of her daughters, Bria, are going to do some scouting of the area and they stopped through for the night.

First lambs of 2023

Where we’ve all been

John highlights in our atlas all the roads we’ve travelled since we married in 1998! Fun!

IVF facts

I’m so glad to see this talked about in the media!!

During my journey with infertility, I learned a lot. I learned that women are at the peak of fertility at the age of 25. We owe it to our daughters to share this truth with them. Media superstars keep sharing about pregnancies in their 40’s. These are nearly always with donor eggs (or frozen eggs.) and yet they don’t say this. They just say “Baby at 50!” and our young women don’t understand our bodies aren’t naturally designed to work that way. 

When I was going through IVF in 2003-2006, freezing eggs was not even a viable option. You could only freeze embryos. While possible today, it still has low success rate and is very expensive. 

Putting off babies, if it is something you really want to do, can mean not having biological children. Our young women deserve this information when they are choosing the direction of their lives! (See chart in comments.)

https://www.insider.com/caroline-lunny-the-bachelor-infertility-get-checked-2022-5?fbclid=IwAR2332pUGxzciPxD3YY0E2_oDiSo4ZXaXLuxBWEhIcJVwdDhA0FKfxphw3I 

“Anchor”

“If the light that is shining on you is bigger than the light that is shining inside of you, you will waste away.”

It’s easy to praise him in the easy times. It’s hard in the though times. 

We have a unique opportunity to praise the Lord in your trials — which we only have an opportunity to do on this Earth. 

Watching Ballet Magnificat performance of ANCHOR. 

Holy.

Cow.

Wow.

What a message. 

Psalm 115 

Thy word is a lamp onto my feet and a light onto my path. 

The pilgrims took one step at a time. 

What is your next step? 

My relax

Science (for quads)

Week 16: DYKScience (pages 52-53)

Watch video on: How Cuts Heal

Week 17: DJKScience (pages 54-61)

Watch video: Atoms

Story of Inventions: 42-43 (week 16)

Watch video: Morse Code and Telegraph 

Watch video: Telephone 

Story of Inventions: 44-46 (Week 17)

The Phonograph

The Gramaphone and Music

Thursday: 

Prepositional Phrase Reminder

Preposition Song (listen to a few times)

Preposition Quiz (take this!)

Do your copy work for Week 17! (Just the first and last pages!)

Friday: 

Hannah helmet attempt

Gen & Eoin helmet

For my daughter

 

Science (is not my thing)

I am English gal. But when you are a homeschool Mama, sometimes you gotta branch out a bit. Science is majorly branching out for me. 

Science "activities" are just not fun to me. I know that they are incredibly rewarding and that the kids love them. I know that they will have wide-eyed wonder. And yet, I still don't want to do them. It just feels like too much work for too little reward.

However, sometimes, one comes together that isn't too hard and is especially rewarding/fun for the kids. 

This week it was fingerprints. We used pencil and scotch tape and templates of hands and viola! there you have it. It was fantastic. I did it with the "quad squad" (Gen, Eoin, Hannah, & Abigail) and it went wonderfully!

I love feeling accomplished :)