Christmas Pageant

 The Shepherds- looking "sore afraid"

 Pageant Cast- the boys

 Front Row Seats

 Beautiful Church on Christmas Eve

 In the Act

Edited on PiZap

More Christmas: Christmas Eve Gifts

It started with impatience.  My brother and I couldn't wait to give each other the gifts that we had picked out, so our parents let us exchange just one thing on Christmas Eve. After a while the Christmas Eve Gift became more special than anything else I purchased. Something I knew he would cherish.  A few years ago I started this tradition with my boys, giving them a quiet time with just each other to experience the joy of giving a thoughtful gift.            

 Under the Tree

 Miles unwrapping his talking Diesel 10

 Mark unwrapping his pirate watch

Still waiting for Santa....

Whoops! Way Behind

 12/18 Scout Dinner

First Trip to Toggenburg!

 Pageant Rehearsal

In Costume!

Fall '14 Reading

I hit a new record- 11 books in one season!  The one that left the biggest impression was Stubby the War Dog (Bausum, 2014).  A children's book published for National Geographic, this details the events of a WWI Boston Terrier.  Stubby kept spies from entering the camp with his formidable growl, sensed when there were poisonous gasses with his keen canine nose, and took a shrapnel hit which hospitalized him for six months.  He had his own uniform, medals, gas mask... oh yeah, and he could salute!  A true war hero in every facet, Stubby and his story are too delightful to be exclusively for children!

Now here's the list:

Winter Street- Hildebrand
The Pearl that Broke it's Shell- Hashimi
Christmas on Jane Street- Romp
Plenty- Ottolenghi
Station Eleven- Mandel
Stubby the War Dog- Bausum
The Sweetest Hallelujah- Hussey
Bird Box- Malarian
Along New York's Route 20- Till
Angels Walking- Kingsbury
Afterparty- Gregory

Magic Treehouse

When I first began reading this series to Mark several years ago I had no idea how far we would go.  I really didn't care as long as I found something that held his interest.  Mary Pope-Osborne began the series in 1992 with "Dinosaurs Before Dark."  Her latest, "Soccer on a Sunday" culminated in a recap of all the characters from all the books meeting Jack and Annie at Camelot before their return to Frog Creek.  Now that the 53rd book is about to be published I felt like it was time to take a look at just how many of these volumes we have read so far.

Read:
1 Dinosaurs Before Dark
2 Knight at Dawn
3 Mummies in the Morning
4 Pirates Past Noon
5 Night of the Ninjas
6 Afternoon of the Amazon
7 Sunset of the Sabertooth
8 Midnight on the Moon
10 Ghost Town at Sundown
12 Polar Bears at Bedtime
14 Day of the Dragon King
15 Viking Ships at Sunrise
16 Hour of the Olympics
17 Tonight on the Titanic
19 Tigers at Twilight
21 Buffalo Before Breakfast
22 Civil War on a Sunday
23 Revolutionary War on a Wednesday
24 Twister on a Tuesday
27 Thanksgiving on a Thursday
28 High Tide in Hawaii
29 Christmas in Camelot
30 Haunted Castle on All-Hallow's Eve
31 Summer of the Sea Serpent
32 Winter of the Ice Wizard
34 Season of the Sandstorms
36 Blizzard of the Blue Moon (reading now)
37 Dragon of the Red Dawn
39 Dark Day in the Deep Sea
40 Eve of the Emperor Penguin
42 Good Night for Ghosts
43 Leprechaun in Late Winter
45 Crazy Day with Cobras
48 Perfect Time for Pandas
51 High Time for Heroes (reading now)
52 Soccer on a Sunday
(Edited 11/8/15)

Thank You Card

Last year I created a Thank you photograph on Pizap and sent them in lieu of cards.  After such a positive response I've decided to do it again. Here is the 1st draft of this years photo:

1st Reconciliation

Sweet pic of the boys after Mark's 1st Reconciliation.  What a special night!