Christmas tree pod

The night we decorated our tree, Lillee found a little gift under the tree as she was placing baby Jesus on a limb. I found her discovery the next morning when I was vacuuming pine needles from the carpet. It was this odd little pod. It had a texture similar to a wasp nest, but was shiny in places, not dull like a wasp nest. I thought it may be sap that had leaked from the tree because one end almost looked as if it has been oozing out of something. It was attached to a branch, not the trunk of the tree and felt very light, and I assumed hollow as I shook it and heard nothing.

We decided to cut into it to see what we might find. I expected a worm, an insect, an egg of some sort. Instead, there were layers of the outer material and no room for a worm, insect or egg....so I thought. I squeezed it a bit and yellow fluid began to seep from the layers. Then I saw black specks coming through the yellow fluid.

After further examination with a flashlight, we found the layers were actually divided into cells....fascinating!

We searched for an hour on the internet, using very descriptive terms but came up empty handed. Within 5 minutes of posting on one of my homeschooling boards, someone told me it sounded like a mantid egg sac. Sure enough, it was a mantid egg sac!

I love discovery, research and answers! Science is such fun and I hope my kids will continue to enjoy and have a love of exploration and the desire to find answers without fear.

Decorating the Christmas tree

Chase didn't undecorate the Christmas tree, like he did last year. It was a lot of fun! We put out the decorations, made sure they all had hooks and were ready to go before letting Chase at them.

He carried these same 3 Christmas balls for awhile.

And did not want to put them down! Surely his little fingers could hold more...

Connor is growing up so fast! Al and Chase left to run an errand and I was goign to start the tree decorating with the kids while Chase was gone. Connor refused to decorate the tree without Chase. He insisted that Chase be part of it all and the girls joined the chorus! I was so proud of them.

Chase got the honors of topping the tree this year...it took awhile.

And finally (with the help of grandma and daddy) he did it....applause please!

For Mamaw and Papaw

This is mostly for my parents as we weren't able to be with them for Christmas.



Isaberl and her princess castle



Lillee and her new Barbie Rapunzel and Three Musketeer Prince (we think his name is Louis).




Connor opening his new remote control helicopter...he was so excited!

Chase and his new ball popper....this was actually a hit for everyone.

Thanks for the fun presents, Mamaw & Papaw. You chose well!

Christmas eve in front of the tree

Last year we had a new baby and I remember being so sick and tired on Christmas eve and grateful that the house was finally quiet after all the family activity. We dressed the kids for bed and snagged a quick picture in front of the tree. We were so pleased seeing all 4 kids together in such a nice picture (you can see that picture here).

Here is our picture from this year:



Excuse the demonic eyes until I can figure out how to fix them (I have a new laptop and I don't have all my normal software loaded).

A Really Awesome Christmas

We had such a nice Christmas this year. Even being in the lean years we were blessed with gifts that were just right for the kids and for our budget!

Here are some of the highlights:

Connor was the first one up, which NEVER happens. He was up at 5:30am, which NEVER, EVER happens. First thing he did was organize all the presents into piles by name. He was ready to begin and no one was out of bed yet.

Lillee had gotten sick at midnight on Christmas Eve. She ended up in the shower in the middle of the night and this was the result of going to bed with wet hair.



She was pleased with all she received.

Isabel received a castle which transforms its decorations from casual comfy to fancy dinner with the switch of a button. The rug flips up and becomes a table set with a fine feast. So as the girls were pretend playing on Christmas morning, Isabel was explaining that this table is where we say our prayers. Both girls knelt, bowed heads and Lillee said a prayer. Al and I were so happy to hear the girls praying as part of their play!

Isabel was overjoyed with everything she received. She had been asking for a big girl bike and was beyond happy when she got it. The only sad part was she was not able to go out and ride due to the weather. She tried to ride around the house, but that proved difficult with so many people around.

At one point when we had 12 kids and 9 adults in the house, everyone broke out in laughter---I can't even remember what we were laughing about---but Connor chimed in, "And the crowd goes wild." He then grinned and waited for someone to mention his funny comment.

After presents were open and the kids had played for awhile they were bored. So I pulled out the Lincoln Logs and the wooden train boxes and we made nativity scenes. They turned out soooo cute! I was really proud of the kids. After so much discussion about Jesus' birth, I was pleased to see how much detail the kids remembered.

Mine is on the left, Lillee is in the middle, and Connor on the right. Lillee added a Christmas tree and star that she colored and cut out. Connor used Lincoln logs to make his star (on top of the chimney) and 3 lincoln logs inside to represent Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

Here is the inside of Lillee's, there is a baby Jesus that she drew and a train person as Mary.

Then we waited for the cousins to arrive...and waited...and waited. The kids felt like they were waiting a lifetime when in fact it was only about 1.5 hours.

Lillee was beside herself with happiness as her favorite people were all at her house. She loves playing with Max and Alice and to have both playing with her at the same time was perfect.

Even with a houseful of people, we had an enjoyable Christmas; all the kids got along, no one's new toy was broken, no permanent stains on anything and the food was good (thanks Emily)!

Isabel must have told me 100 times throughout the day that she loved me...that's how I really knew that it was a really awesome Christmas.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

It's the best time of the year
I don't know if there'll be snow
But have a cup of cheer...
...Oh by golly
Have a holly
Jolly Christmas
This year!


We've enjoyed baking and serving on these days leading up to Christmas and even though we missed a couple days of giving (like on Lillee's birthday) there were days we delivered to 4 families in a night. Our list is impressive---well to us it is impressive---and we're glad to have had the opportunity to serve others and have our list to remind us of all our good works.






We have also focused a lot on the birth of Jesus and the importance of the reason for the season. We've spent weeks reading and rereading Luke 2, talking about the nativity and what it must have really been like for Mary, Joseph, Jesus and all who became aware of his birth...to see an angel and hear be told not to fear but rejoice in the birth of the babe who can save us all from our sins. We've given much this month, but we have received so much more. Our home has been blessed, our hearts have been filled and we've had angels watching over us.





Our stockings are hung, we are waiting for Al's brother and family to arrive, I'm baking my last batch of cookies, we have a Christmas party to attend tonight then the kids go to bed for Santa to make his big appearance! Oh, before Santa arrives we still have to wrap our presents, we've not wrapped anything! This should be a fun and frantic remainder of a day. Fortunately, Chase and Bel are sleeping as I type!






Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas decorating

We decided to get a Christmas tree on Lillee's birthday and after the birthday festivities we started decorating the Christmas tree. You can compare how the kids have grown by looking at my blog post about decorating the tree from last year






Lillee adds the first ornament, an angel.




Connor and Lillee worked hard on decorating the tree. Isabel enjoyed that Lillee was not playing with Strawberry Shortcake and decided it would be more fun to play with the new toy than to decorate the tree.

Isabel did come over to put the star on, though.

We had to give both girls a chance to put the star on so Bel went first then we took it off and repeated with Lillee.

Even Chase jumped in there....

Wait, he's not decorating that tree he's undecorating it!

These are the ornaments that Chase captured and scattered across the floor.

After we finished decorating Chase started undecorating, again.

And after the older kids went to bed, Chase raided the tree again and decided he was ready for bed. If you look close, there is a gingerbread boy at his foot and a candy cane in his hand. What a sweet way to fall asleep :)