A little of this and that

Tim has been off most of this week and therefore we have been off of school for the most part.  We did do some school on Monday and Tuesday.  Tyler got to do his Veterans Day lapbook which he really enjoyed on Monday.  It turned out very nice and was lots of fun for him.

We also started studying and praying for Vietnam this week.  This will definitely carry over in to next week because of our short week.

I purchased a unit study for Vietnam because I have been busy with other things and didn't think I would have much time to make up activities for him.  I am kind of sad that I did now because looking through it I know I will have to modify and retype it to work for us anyhow.  I need to make myself a big sign to remind myself of this before I get lazy and purchase things I am not going to be able to use anyhow.  Oh well, I think it will be fun to explore Vietnam next week.  Just researching it I came to realize how many preconceived notions I had about Vietnam really aren't very accurate.  I really didn't have any idea how beautiful it is there either.  I learn so much from homeschooling my kids!

Today we went to Walmart as a family to get some Christmas wrapping paper and a few other things.  Tyler got Lucy, our very spoiled dog, a big stocking full of bones and treats.  He is excited about giving it to her at Christmas.  I also got some little Christmas ornaments and Christmas trivia cards to put in our school treasure chest as rewards.  Christian did pretty well despite the amount of people but when he finally decided it was time to go he got very cranky.  I guess he had all the noise and crowds he could take.

When we got home from Walmart Tyler and I went grocery shopping.  We used two carts because we were also shopping for Thanksgiving.  I think it is honestly the best I have seen Tyler behave at the store ever.  He pushed one cart behind me the whole time and was very careful to not bump into anyone or anything. He carried on a very nice conversation with our checker.  He even pushed one cart out to the car and then when we arrived home he helped unload the car.  It always gives me a glimmer of hope for his future when he has days like today.

Tonight as I am sitting here waiting for Christian to fall asleep I am trying to get ahead on some Christmas stuff.  Every year for some time now we have had a tradition in our house where I gather all the Christmas books and pick out 25 and wrap them with Christmas paper.  We open one book each day starting on December 1 up to Christmas day.  They are all picture books and every year I buy a couple new ones and sneak them in too.  Tyler likes to guess each book before we open them so it gives him a couple of surprises.  They are not all one type of book.  Some are serious and some are just silly and fun.  Even though my boys are getting older we all really enjoy this tradition.  My husband and I still enjoy the beautiful picture books this time of year too.  This year our list is:

1.        The Berenstain Bears-The Bear’ Christmas

2.       The Nutcracker

3.       Mickey’a Christmas Carol

4.       Toy Story Andy’s Christmas Puppy

5.       The Littlest Angel

6.       Gingerbread Baby

7.       The Mitten

8.       The Night Before Christmas

9.       Christmas Oranges

10.   The Legend of the Christmas Stocking

11.   101 Dalmations A Christmas for Giving

12.   Santa Kid

13.   Alvin and the Chipmunks A Chipmunk Christmas

14.   The True Story of Christmas

15.   The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey

16.   Lady and the Tramp Lady’s Christmas Surprise

17.   Arthur’s Perfect Christmas

18.   I Want a Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown

19.   A Charlie Brown Christmas

20.   The Polar Express

21.   The Legend of the Christmas Tree

22.   Merry Christmas Curious George

23.   Tangerine Bear

24.   A Christmas Bell For Anya

25.   One Wintry Night

The last two books are our new ones for this year.  They look like wonderful stories and I am sure they will be great additions.   I am happy to have them all wrapped and ready to go in December.

Tomorrow I hope to finish up our Christmas card order.  We are doing photo cards through Dayspring because they have a great Compassion International design and we can even put a picture of our Compassion child on the back of each card.  I got a nice picture of Tyler for the card but I am still struggling to get one of Christian I may just have to go back through recent pictures and find one I like.  Here is the one of Tyler though.

He decided to wear the sweater all on his own the day I took the picture so I seized the opportunity. 
Well, I think that is about all for now.  I hope everyone has a great fall weekend and are enjoying getting ready for the holidays!