This is Joey lately

I have always liked For Better or For Worse. Lately, she has been rerunning old strips that had first run when I was about the little boys age, but now I am the mom's age. Amazing!

I like this painting

This is a painting by Norman Rockwell called The Land of Enchantment. I would love to find it to put in the kids room, but the only place I can find it online is at a protestant homeschool book supplier. You have to order their books in order to get the print...so I guess we will just have to look at it online!

Making Cheese!

I just ordered a Mozzarella and Ricotta cheese making kit from The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company. I will be sure to post pictures and let you know how it turns out. The kids have been asking how cheese is made. They also have kits to make hard and soft cheeses...maybe we will move on to those if this works out!

A Day for Beatrix Potter

Since it is Friday, and we have been working hard all week, today was a day I dedicated solely to studying Beatrix Potter. First, we read The Tale of Two Bad Mice, then The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, followed by The Tale of Johnny Town-mouse (this was a new one for me), and finally, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. All three kids loved the books, and although we had read some of them before, we hadn't read them together in a group, nor had we talked at any length about Beatrix Potter herself. We talked about where and when she lived, and we put a small picture of her on our timeline we have on our living room wall. (I have found recently that the kids love seeing a timeline in front of them. It really puts history in perspective and then every time we learn about someone new, we can put them where they belong in history. It really puts things into context in a way I couldn't do by just explaining dates.)
I have to say that Jemima Puddleduck was my favorite today, as that story just has a lot of subtle humor. The boys got a lot of it and also thought it was funny.
After lunch, we watched Miss. Potter. It was a magical movie, although the kids though there were a few boring parts. I do think they enoyed it overall, however, especially Joey.
Following the movie, we all sat down to do a little artwork. It is always hard to get the boys to draw, so I am posting their results here. I have an interpretation of Mr Jeremy Fisher by Joey, and one of Peter Rabbit by Paulie. Enjoy and have a lovely day!

Nothing too political

I told myself when I started this blog that it would merely be about our family, with a few links of interest. Paul said I should stay away from anything confrontational, and besides the occasional link to Ron Paul, I have done that. However, this is something I can't just let go by, without a mention, because it just means too much to me to do so. A few days ago was the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in the US. During that time, something like 46 million babies have been aborted. That is a number that is inconceivable to me...utterly unmentionable. When I look at the smiles on the faces of my 4 children, it becomes even more unmentionable to me. Here is a video from the Pro-life March in Washington DC, with a very passionate speaker, who happens to be named Ron Paul, MD. By the way, he was the only presidential candidate to show up!
I have wished over the last few years that we could go to the march...hopefully one of these years we will be able to make it. Friends who have gone have said it is such an amazing experience. Here is a page with pictures from the march...check out the last picture of the rainbow...how amazing!
Here is another link...pictures from the Pro-life Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in DC...it does give you a sense of optimism to see this many people turning out to support what I believe to be the most important cause of all.
Ok, I will get off my soapbox now...back to your regularly scheduled show of pictures of my children!

Pope John Paul II's Pro-Life Prayer
Oh Mary, we entrust to you the cause of life.
Look down upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born.
Grant all who believe in your Son to proclaim the Gospel of Life.
Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, to bear witness to it resolutely, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and Lover of Life.
Amen.

More fun at home...

Fun at home...

This time of year, there isn't much to look forward to...Christmas is over, spring is still months away, and school is starting to get boring. Here are just some random pictures of our daily life over the past week or so. The kids have been having fun at least...maybe it is just me who gets depressed!!