Christmas Poem for Moms

I found this poem at http://www.share-christmas.com/gifts/love.htm and thought I would share it here.

CHRISTMAS LOVE

Paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13.

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at
mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of CHRISTMAS LOVE will endure.

The Great Gingerbread Man Escape, Part 2

Last year we did this activity for the first time. We made our own gingerbread. Then we made gingerbread men out of our delicious gingerbread.

(I must have used extra molasses this year. They turned out much darker than last year.)

When we put the first batch in the oven, we opened the oven before they were quite done and they jumped out of the oven and ran away. Does this sound like the story “The Gingerbread Baby”? Well, that’s what it’s supposed to sound like.

Then we had people email us and send us post cards telling us where they had seen one of our gingerbread men and what he was doing. Would you please help us track down our runaway gingerbread men this year?

Please leave a comment here or send me an email or post card – however you want to inform us of the whereabouts of our gingerbread men.

Here is what we did with the gingerbread men who were not able to escape:

Morgan shows us how to make a gingerbread man.
The twins waiting patiently for gingerbread men
Kelsey is an expert at making gingerbread.
He's at it again!
She doesn't even have to try.
We are having SO much fun! Right, Kelsey?
Oh No! The gingerbread men are gone! Where did they go?!!
The next batch hung around to be decorated.
We caught a whole bunch of them!

Giveaway of Discovery Channel's Planet Earth



Go to the Homeschool Toolbar blog and find out more about this fantastic giveaway of Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth, an $80 value. I have been saving up Swagbucks to try to earn enough to get this as a prize there. I love the footage that I’ve seen of this series. The cinematography is exceptional. I love the baby bird falling out of the nest into a bed of leaves. It didn’t get hurt, and it looked so cute as it fell through the air. There were lots of amazing scenes in the preview I saw. I’m sure it will be a wonderful DVD series to own. Go to the Homeschool Toolbar blog and check it out.