Winter Reading

What the Land Already Knows: Winter's Sacred Days by Phyllis Tickle. Seems like a great way to spend a winter evening. The book jacket says, "Our middle years can be viewed as a sacred passage -- a bridge between the early formation of our lives and our maturing. For Phyllis Tickle, this bridge is much more a land and a place than a record of changing circumstances." There are enough keywords in that alone for me to want to open this one...tonight.

The Message "by" Eugene H. Peterson. In an attempt to redraw the lines around my focus, the new language of this Bible paraphrase will hopefully provide me with new perspective. My goal is to read the New Testament before Easter.

She's Gonna Blow: Real Help for Moms Dealing with Anger by Julie Ann Barnhill. I read this about 5 years ago when my guys were little and before I was feeling the burnout that I'm currently experiencing. It's time for a refresher. 'Nuf said.

Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. Simply can't wait to dive into her work again.

Poor Eaters: Helping Children Who Refuse to Eat by Joel Macht, Ph.D. Our children have food issues. I don't think this one directly hits the issue, but he did start a clinic here in Denver...

The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris. I keep starting this one and stopping. It's written in short vignettes, so it's easy to put down and put off. But I really do want to finish it.

Other Fiction by ?? I know I'll insert more here.

What are you looking forward to reading this season?

EH Best of 2009

These are the top 10 posts that came up in conversations with others this year, things I shared verbally to friends or things that I just spent time chewing on and revisiting.

10. New Year's Interviews: Our simple little family tradition will be something we'll not only appreciate later in life, it makes us giggle now as we compare one year to the next.

9. Thoughts from an Unexpected Place: I love it when inspiration for this journey comes out of nowhere. But I wouldn't call Shane Claiborne nowhere.

8. School on the Road: We made a major life change this year... moved from Portland, OR to Denver, CO. Moved from floating to fulfilling. It's been humbling. This was just a little sidenote as we journeyed along.

7. Picking Up Some Pieces: I am guilty of having tunnel vision in the midst of our year. But we have to continue to be aware of the needs around us or what the heck are we doing this for?

6. Year Round or Summers Off: We have to make these philosophy determinations all the time. If you don't have a solid rationale behind your philosophy it will crumble. Take time to write out why you do what you do and it will shape how well it works.

5. You are Accepted Here Just As You Are: I'm just really, really thankful for this experience.

4. Admiring My Dyslexic Son: Homeschooling has its challenges, but in this challenge it's easy for me to see the positives.

3. Homeschooling When it Sucks. Speaking of challenges... I've added a couple new "Homeschooling When..." articles to the cache this year. This one is getting a little air time outside this blog.

2. and 1. It's a tie. These are the moments we all wait for. The times when our kids follow a passion and succeed. Here are two moments from J & B this year.

Have a wonderful New Year. -- Debra

Boys and Ballet

I took all my boys to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas yesterday. It was put on by a small local ballet company. I called it a play when I explained it to them because I didn't know how else to describe it. They may never trust me again when I say we're going to a play.

"That was interesting, " said J, "but I'm only saying that so you don't think it was a total waste of money."

"I liked it," said B.

"When is this going to be over?" asked S.

Well, at least they've been introduced.

Christmas...almost.

I just had to move that last post down a bit, lest you think I'd turned into a homeschooling naysayer. Nope, just experiencing a dose of reality.

I can feel Christmas break moving in now. The past two mornings have felt like possibility rather than pointlessness and we are relaxed. Whew.

So, now what?

• We're going to go check out the Christmas Wonderland at the Bass Pro Shop (?) in Denver today and maybe a living nativity tonight.
• We have one more day of school to do tomorrow so we can put to bed our unit. We'll actually spend a good chunk of it watching the movie version of our read aloud, Journey to the Center of the Earth. (Which seems like a better idea than watching Elf like my son did during his Friday classes this week.)
  
• We're going to see a ballet version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas on Tuesday.
• I'm contemplating taking the boys to An Interactive Christmas Carol on Wednesday.
• We were looking forward to a Christmas with just the five of us but, instead, company will be here on Wednesday night. The boys will like that surprise.
• I'm looking for tickets to go to Portland in February. It will be nice to see some friends and my parents again. If I do this now, I can put the "plane tickets" in the boys' stockings and surprise them.
• I'm finishing up making something for my husband today and some other gifts for local friends.
  

Christmas break, seriously, could not have come at a better time.