Journal

Long Winter Days

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J+M+J

These days, I’ve been browsing through every plant seed catalog that comes in the mail, dreaming of the warm days. Last week was especially hard to bear, since the temperature was below -15.This week has been better, in the upper 20’s and low 30’s, but it is still cold. Tomorrow, however, it may even get up to (gasp) 39 F! I am trying to remind myself that these mild temperatures are only temporary, but it still is very nice to have a little melting going on. We are in dire need of some melting, with the snow drifts coming even to the bottom branches of our trees:

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One good way to make the days looking at this pile of snow a cozier is sipping tea with a little cream and sugar. We picked these limited edition teas from one of my favorite tea companies mid December, and we’re just getting to the end of our supply.

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This is my new favorite kind of tea. I never tasted a tea that had such a distinct and unmistakeable flavor.

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Mom enjoys some vanilla almond tea in her mug, which was a birthday present from Landon, Maria and I.

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(I love the bible verse on this.)

A+M+D+G

Pictures from Christmas-Part One

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J+M+J

Daniel got a hat from Landon, and he was rather surprised when it was put on his head.

Daniel got a hat from Landon, and he was rather surprised when it was put on his head.

Here he plays with a letter from his Great Grandmother. He never was able to figure out how to open it.

Here he plays with a letter from his Great Grandmother. He never was able to figure out how to open it.

I got Mom some specialty whole leaf teas to try.

I got Mom some specialty whole leaf teas to try.

I got an Amaryllis kit. It grows visibly each day.

I got an Amaryllis kit. It grows visibly each day.

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Mom and Dad gave me this nice coat and fashion boots.

A+M+D+G

The Nativity Scene

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We got out a light-up, outdoor nativity scene today, and the youngest boys were thrilled, especially Joseph. When I first pulled Mary out of the box, his eyes grew wide, and he knew that there was more to it than just that. He shouted, “Where’s God?” and began to run through the house wildly, not stopping till I had shown him the Baby Jesus.

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He inspected all of the figures carefully

He inspected all of the figures carefully

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Plugging in the statues

Plugging in the statues

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A+M+D+G

Festival of Trees

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J+M+J

This year, my ballet class was one of the selected classes to perform at a fundraiser called the Festival of Trees. We danced to a jazzy, saxophone version of ‘Angels We Have Heard on High’.

sarah-dancing

A+M+D+G

Daniel’s First Food

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J+M+J

At supper a few nights ago, Daniel decided to use his cuteness to try to persuade Mom to give him some of the sweet potato off of her plate. She fell for it. (Daniel’s commentary:  “She always does, wa ha ha!”)

The first taste.

The first taste.

What is that stuff?

The look of: 'what is that stuff?'

The thoughtful fist chewing.

The thoughtful fist chewing. "Hmm, I might get to like this."

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"Please sir, can I have some more?"

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

A+M+D+G

Waiting

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J+M+J

At 2:30, I am leaving for a quiz bowl, so I am currently checking the clock every five minutes. Since this is my freshman year,  it’s only my third high school quiz bowl, and the questions are quite a bit harder than middle school quiz bowls have been. I am the youngest on a homeschool team of two junior  girls and a sophomore girls; the same team that I played with at a special Quiz bowl on Nov. 7 called a NAQT (National Academic Quiz Tournament) and won third place, qualifying to go to the nationals in Chicago in May.

It is now 1:15, only an hour and fifteen minutes left to go. I’m going to go do my hair, and I’ll let you know the results later  tonight.

A+M+D+G