Co-op Starts Tomorrow!

We are so excited! I am teaching Adventures Down Under, a class about Australia, to 1st -3rd graders and then to 4th-6th graders. I am also helping with a gymnastics class and preschool. Here's a list of what the kids are taking:

Baloo:
Auto Maintenance, Flag Football, Dance (Prom Prep), Web Design, Literature: The Hobbit

Padme:
Dance, Mosaics, Mary Englebreit crafts, Performance Ensemble (choir), Volleyball
*Note: She was supposed to take a science - how did I miss that? I generally require the kids to take a P.E. and a science each semester. She is doing Creation Science at home, though, so I guess it's okay. Can you tell this is my artsy kid?

Wendy:
Mosaics, Early Explorers, Schoolyard Games, Lego Creations, Adventures Down Under
*Note: Adventures Down Under counts as a science in my book. I'm teaching it. We're doing lots of science-y stuff.

Lil Yoda:
Mosaics, Dance, Body & Bones, Circus Fitness, Nature Journaling

Angel:
Cartwheels & More, Dance, Modern Works of Art, Lego Creations, March into Spring

Dora:
Cartwheels & More, Dance, Schoolyard Games, Lego Creations, Adventures Down Under

It's going to be a great semester!

Soup's On!

I have always had a disinclination towards soup. I don't know what it is, really. Maybe because I live in an area with many January days, like today, with temperatures in the seventies. We do have cold weather here in North Texas, but the few below-freezing days we have, like Monday of this week, are often followed by a 40 degree swing the next day, like Tuesday of this week, resulting in a sunny 70ish afternoon. Since the cold weather doesn't usually last long, we never really ate much soup growing up. It just wasn't needed. I know many find it warm and comforting, but I just don't get it.



That said, I have designated Tuesday and Thursday nights as Soup Nights, for two main reasons. First, we don't get home on those nights until around 8:00 and I grew weary of packing "dinners" to eat at the gymnastics facility where we spend Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Packing food for seven people, twice a week, isn't as fun as it sounds and rarely measures up to my nutrition standards. Second, soup feeds a lot of people for a small price. We have a lot of people. And we like small prices. So I decided to like soup. And, after much concerted mental effort, I have succeeded.



One problem. I have spent the past Three Decades Plus, disliking soup. It seems to be pretty easy to make a decent soup. I like that part - lots of room for error. However, I'd like to make some really great soups


So . . . please post your recipe for your favorite, really great, soup! I'm open to creative ideas as well as Old Favorites. But, remember, it must be really great. You get extra points if it's really, really great. Let's get those ideas flowing, Tuesday's only four days away!

Prestonwood Choir Personalities

Christmas Carols

Dora's versions:

"Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.
Round your vermin, mother and child.
Holy infany, tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace."

"O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphal..."

(OK, triumphal could be a word. But it's not.)

Man, I love this kid!

Gingerbread Party!

We recently attended one of our favorite Christmas traditions, our dear friends' annual Gingerbread Party! We are so grateful to our sweet friends for hosting about 100 people every year for a big Gingerbread House competition.

The kids each make their own Gingerbread houses from graham crackers and icing. Each family brings a bag or two of candy, and helps clean up the ensuing mess. We have so much fun watching the kids (teenagers included) use their creativity.

Below are pictures of our houses. The pictures were taken on my cell phone, thus the poor quality.

Erin really loves candy. She took this home with her, she didn't actually eat it.

Angel ate hers, though:

Those of you who know her aren't at all surprised.

Balance

"Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because He shows us both God and our own wretchedness." - Blaise Pascal

Note: I saw this quote on a friend's blog, and posted it here so I can find it later. Thanks, Queen!

Nastia and Carly!

This is a picture of my girls, along with our sweet friends Hannah and Erin, in Beijing this summer. We had such a great time at the Olympics!

Okay, that's not true. But we did get autographs from Nastia Liukin and Carly Patterson yesterday afternoon. Nastia and Carly train at a gym near us, and they were signing autographs in exchange for unwrapped toys. We got to support a toy drive for local kids, and get some cool autographs! Now I just have to figure out what to do with 10 autographed pictures of gymnasts...