I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

And when I woke up...

 It was a dream come true!!!

It was almost too much too hope that it would snow on CHRISTMAS DAY, but it did! Thank you Lord! :) 

It's not really considered a 'White Christmas', since there's not 1 inch of snow on the ground {a lot of the snow from last time has melted, so there are little grass patches!}, but that's OK with me! It's close enough :) It's still supposed to snow for at least the next 2 days!!! YAY!!!

So...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

 SO excited!!! I've been waiting for today for a looong time! I still can't believe it's here!

Last evening, I surprised mom and dad with a trick I had taught Oliver... I taught him how to pray! Haha! It's so cute! He'll lay down, and keep his head on the ground, and when I say 'amen', he'll pop back up for his treat! It's ADORABLE!!! :)

I woke up at 7:00 to do my devotions {Well, first of all, it was ANOTHER really rough night... I had had coffee punch at my grandpa's house that evening, and I guess it had just enough caffeine in it to keep me awake! And on top of that, Joelle has a cold, so she was SO stuffed up she was snoring like CRAZY!!! I'd never heard her snore that loud! Oliver was being crazy, so he slept on mom and dads bed. I put the fan beside me, turned it on HIGH, and I could still hear her. So I ended up suffocating myself under my pillow until I fell asleep! But then I woke up and it was CHRISTMAS!!!}, and then woke Joelle up around 7:15. We woke Jenny up, and I got Oliver, and we sorted all the presents! Mom, dad, and Kate came out and we started to open presents!!!

AND because I love lists... here are 2 lists. The first list is gifts I gave others, and the second one is gifts I received!

Gifts I Gave:

• Gloves - Dad
• Hat - Dad
• Lap desk - Mom
• The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian - Jenny {I was SUPER excited about giving this one! I wanted to watch it too!!!}
• Silver balls from Michael's - Kate
• Coupon book - Mom
• Long PINK body pillow - Joelle
• Puzzle - Joelle
• LONG rawhide bone - Oliver :)
• And my favorite... I am taking Joelle to see Tangled in theaters sometime next week! I promised her a bucket of popcorn with extra butter :) 

I am really excited to see Tangled again! And I really hope Joelle likes it, because this is her first time in a movie theater :)

And here are the gifts I RECEIVED!!! :)

• Buttercream Yankee candle - Mom and dad
• Picture puzzle book - Jenny
• Zebra lamp shade - Kate
• Dog sweater! - Joelle
• Mudd watch - Mom and dad
• A COMPLETE zebra room set! And my mom made it! She made pillowcases, accent pillows, curtains, EVERYTHING! - Mom and dad
• 2 black bedspreads - Mom and dad
• 2 ADORABLE notebooks! - Mom and dad
• $20 - Grandpa and Margaret
• Moonlight Path body wash @ Bath and Body works - Margaret

I am so happy with all I received! Thank you everyone! Especially mom and dad :)

And now pictures of my gifts!

 Isn't my watch beautiful???

 These are actually super hard!

 Joelle was VERY excited!!! 

 Oliver went NUTS over all the wrapping paper! Just as I predicted :)

 Aren't they gorgeous??? I adore notebooks :) I buy at least one every time I got into Ross! I might need to start a notebook fund! I wonder how much money I've spent on notebooks over the years...

I didn't get pictures of my zebra bedroom set, because that has to be a surprise!!! We should paint on Monday, and I'm super excited!!! I can't wait to post about it :)

Here is our Christmas card this year:

Yeah, I know it's super pixilated, but I must have deleted them off of BOTH computers, so I don't have the original anymore! It made me so sad :( I had to get this one off of Shutterfly. But anyway, you get the idea! Isn't it cute??? I used the fonts Amelie and Champagne & Limousines, and I especially LOVE Amelie! I want to use it in my next blog design :) 

I hope you all have a VERY merry Christmas! I will post more later, but for now, off to watch Prince Caspian!!! FOR NARNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas with the Kranks

"When their only daughter, Blair, leaves the family nest, Luther and Nora Krank decide to book an island cruise to beat the yuletide blues and just skip the holidays. But their decision to boycott tradition has the whole neighborhood in an uproar, and when Blair calls on Christmas Eve to announce a surprise visit with her new fiancée, the Kranks have just twelve hours to perform a miracle and pull themselves and their neighbors together to throw the best celebration ever!"

This is probably my favorite Christmas movie of all time! We watch it every year! It is hilarious, and always fun to watch. Joelle is always scared of the Frosty the Snowman part, when his eyes 'glow'... she hates it :) 

Now you want to watch it, don't you! :) I would recommend this movie to anyone! It's a great family movie!

What is your favorite Christmas movie?

Day Before Thanksgiving

Witty titles? Out the window :) I need some inspiration...

We are having my moms side of the family over for Thanksgiving dinner tonight, and then tomorrow, we are having my dads side of the family over! It will be a busy two days :) It's already been a busy ONE day!

Joelle took Oliver outside to wear him out {it worked! He's happily chewing on his bone...}, and I took a picture of her wonderful outfit:

 She thinks this outfit is great! She says 'it is very fashionable. You know, the reds, purples, whites, and blues! It is very designer'. Ahhhh yes, very designer ;) It kind of reminds me of this outfit she wore last year... :)

Our leaf pile is still around {and needs to be cleaned up!}, so Joelle helped by spreading the leaves around even more ;) 

I love your face Joelle!!! :)

Some decorations for this evening and tomorrow:

 Isn't this so pretty? Mom filled a vase with cranberries and holly leaves, and Kate painted the pumpkins and sprinkled them with glitter! I can NOT take credit for any of the beautiful creativeness around the table! Except for the beautifully folded napkins... and even those, Jenny had to show me how to do it, the Cracker Barrel way :)

 This will look so pretty when it's lit!

 Ahhh! Smelling cremesicle candles all over the house!

 A chocolate pecan pie, from Cracker Barrel! Jenny's a waitress there, and she said it was amazing :) I sure hope it is, otherwise, I'll be very disappointed! :)

Again... all Kate's creativeness..... *sigh* Except, Mom did find the 'pattern' for it, Kate just put it together :) And doesn't she have the prettiest penmanship? :)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

13th Week of School

I figured that one of these posts was looong overdue! :) Especially since my last update was the 2nd week of school! Seeing that this is the 13th week of school... honestly makes me depressed! I thought I was MUCH farther along than that! :) There are 40 weeks of school, right? Only 27 more to go! Wow! THAT'S not a lot!!! :) Yay!!!

School is alright... it's as good as ANY school :) I've changed my schedule around {when I take my classes}, and it works much better this way:

1. Hebrew History {Still number 1!} - Mr. Smith
2. Physical Science - Mrs. Hicks
3. World Geography - Mr. Dickson
4. Algebra 1 - Mrs. Howe
5. English 9 - Mrs. Schmuck

I LOVE Hebrew History! Mr. Smith is really funny, and he makes the time pass very quickly... which is always good! :) Sometimes I have to pause my video and go do something, and sometimes when I pause it, the image is just too funny NOT to take a screenshot :)

I can't remember what on EARTH Mr. Smith was going to say, but I'm sure it was funny :)

Physical Science... ugh. Definitely my LEAST favorite class! It is really dated, and you'd think that Science should be the LEAST dated, because of all the new stuff that keeps coming up! But it is, and you can definitely tell :)

I made World Geography right after Physical Science for a reason... I needed a class where I could just sit back and listen to a teacher talk, and not have to participate {i.e. writing notes... yuck! :)}. Except for some things, we mostly just listen to Mr. Dickson talk about different parts of the world, and that's fine with me :)

And after I've had my little rest, I get ready to overload myself with Algebra 1... :) Actually, that's not true. I am NOT overloading myself... at all. In fact, sometimes mom lets me just let it play, and work on homework instead. A Beka would not let me skip Algebra 1 {even though I've ALREADY DONE IT!!!}, since they consider it a Freshmen class, so every Freshmen is required to take it... or something like that. Anyway, I already know all this stuff, so it's like 45 minutes of boring old news :) Can't WAIT until I'm finished with Algebra 1... for the second time :)

And finally, I saved my favorite class for last... so that I will have more incentive to finish the other classes so I can get to English! I don't know why it's 'formal name' is English 9, but it is. Maybe it's because I'm really good at reading and English things, but the math and science genes skipped me :) But that's OK, because I think the only math and science person in the family is my dad, and he's supposed to have that gene because my grandpa was a math teacher! But anyway, I really love English! Maybe it's the teacher. I have memorized 4 poems:

• Sea Fever by John Masefield
• A Vagabond Song by Bliss Carman
• Sonnet 60 by William Shakespeare {Very pretty, but I have NO clue what it means!}
• Hymn of Trust by Oliver Wendell Holmes {I loved that his name was Oliver, so now MY Oliver's official name is Oliver Wendell Holmes :)}

I love all of them! And just because I'm trying to drag out vacuuming the van, I'll write them here!!! :)

Sea Fever 

by John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheels kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

A Vagabond Song

by Bliss Carman

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood --
Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.

Sonnet 60
by William Shakespeare
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked elipses 'gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
   And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
   Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.

Hymn of Trust

by Oliver Wendell Holmes

O Love Devine, that stooped to share

Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear,

On thee we cast each earth-born care,

We smile at pain while Thou art near!

Though long the weary way we tread,

And sorrow crown each lingering year,

No path we shun, no darkness dear,

Our hearts still whispering, Thou art near!

When drooping pleasure turns to grief,

And trembling faith is changed to dea,

The murmuring wind, the quivering leaf,

Shall softly tell us, Thou art near!

On Thee we fling our burdening woe,

O Love Devine, forever dear,

Content to suffer while we know,

Living and dying, Thou art near! 

My favorite is definitely Sonnet 60! I can't make heads or tails of it, but it sounds so pretty :) I'm pleasantly surprised that I memorized it completely for not knowing what it means :)

Can you tell I love English? 

Anyway, another reason that school is sort of dragging, is because of some of the things they expect me, a homeschooled student, to do. Like, this does not count for a grade, but they want me to make one of those 3-sided free standing display boards and decorate it for my science project. The people at the school {A Beka Academy} get to show their work at a science fair, and unless I want to put on a big show at my house, I'd have no one {other than family} to show it to. And then it would take up room in the basement. Mom's not a huge fan of that :) So that's sort of frustrating... :P 

I finished Lesson 66, and there are like, 106 lessons. I got really excited when I saw that my video classes ended at 82, but then mom burst my bubble and said that that was only for the first semester :( Thanks mom! :) Wait, that doesn't make sense... first semester ending at 82 lessons, and second semester ending at 106 lessons? Hmm, I'll have to check on that :) Maybe it goes by quarters? No, that doesn't make sense either...

I hope everyone is satisfied with my loooong update :) I'm glad that I finally blogged about it, and have record of it :)

Things I Love - #4

1. Fallen Leaves The leaves have been falling like CRAZY today! It has been super windy, and it has knocked at least 1/4 of the leaves off so far!

2. Pretty Birds I'm not a huge fan of birds {Maybe it was because of when Kate had a bird named Chirpy??? It definitely lived up to it's name :)}, but I still love this picture!

 3. Cookies Who doesn't love cookies? I certainly LOVE them, but I prefer chocolate chip over sugar cookies. You know, the IDEA of sugar cookies are GREAT {frosting, sprinkles, cookie cutters...}, but the reality is much, much different. I don't think they taste that great... Maybe it's my recipe. Anyone care to share an amazing recipe? :)

4. Oliver in all his cuteness Adorable!

  
5. My Planner I REALLY love this! It is so helpful! I see my beautiful planner every week day. It is always there to hold my assignments, and lift me up with its beautiful designs! For this month, I have a candy corn tree! How cute is it???

 
6. Cheerios Oliver LOVES cheerios! It is so funny! He gets SO excited whenever he sees them :) They are great for treats, because they don't take 5 minutes to chew, like his Milkbone treats. Those are saved for really special occasions :) Oh, yes, and I love cheerios too! They are SO yummy! But not the plain ones {Those are reserved for Oliver}, I love the Honey Nut Cheerios!

7. Fluffanutters Totally a great sandwhich AND a great word! :) It's fluff and peanut butter! Can it be any better?

  
 8. Water Bottles Since the Relief Sale, we've had an overabundance of water bottles! Oliver loves playing with them!

 9. This picture of me... Some of you may have seen that it is now up in my header to replace the old one, and I like this one much better :) It's more Fall-ish! Photo credits go to Mom!

10. Cursive I started writing in cursive again at the beginning of the school year. At first I was like 'Awww, I am NOT good at cursive! And I have to write all my NOTES in cursive TOO??????', but not I write EVERYTHING in cursive! Letters, notes, EVERYTHING! My handwriting isn't the best, but cursive sort of covers it up {sort of} with it's loopy-ness :)

 

For Kathryn

So??? What do you think??? Should I cut it?

Shav

:) LOL!