Sleeping Books

Charlotte Mason may have popularized the idea of "living books," but around here we sleep them too! Bobo announced she'd be sleeping like Pippi the other night and quickly donned her new tights and leg warmers. When I went in to check on the girls -- in true Pippi fashion -- her feet were at the head of the bed and her face was buried deep under the covers. Another favorite character altogether emerged in the morning... Living, sleeping, and playing books; it doesn't get much more fun!

Happy Anniversary!

I still do...

Fairies on the Prairie

It's half fairies, half prairies around here since Christmas (with a bit of Pippi Longstocking thrown in for good measure). The girls got prairie outfits for themselves and their dolls from their Grandma. Bobo got all the Cecily Mary Barker Flower Fairy paraphenalia from us, thanks to the treasure trove of ideas found at Serendipity. They listen to the flower fairy CD -dancing and prancing about - then quickly switch gears to be their all time favorite Little House girls.


Nana has been reading the Pippi Longstocking books with the girls and she gave them some great tights and leg warmers to complete the look. You never know who will emerge from the bedroom next - Pippi? Laura Ingalls? The Eyebright fairy?


Much to the dismay of my whole clan, the tree had to come down on Christmas day! Hubby's allergies have never been so bad and the girls were starting to suffer too. We packed it up sadly, not only because it had to go so soon, but because this is our last "prairie" Christmas in North Dakota.

Something tells me that a little bit of prairie will follow us to our new home...

Merry Christmas...

From our family to yours!

We've Got A Walker!

Crockett has taken his first steps, much to everyone's excitement. The older children's squeals and claps tend to deter him a bit; I imagine it's quite overwhelming to have a chorus of well wishers hovering over your every move.

This little guy is my earlybird: he came two and half weeks early, he crawled at six months (my others were nine months before they crawled) and now he's beginning to walk a good two months before his birthday.

While I prefer the late movers (it's nice to plop them down in one place and fully expect them to stay there!), we were secretly hoping he'd take his first steps in North Dakota, like all of his siblings. We moved here right before our oldest walked and we'll be moving away soon after this milestone for the littlest. It must be something about the extreme flatness of this place -- nice level ground for walking.

A Mother's Heart

"And a sword will pierce your own soul too." Luke 2:35

"But his mother treasured all these things in her heart." Luke 2:51

It's very hard, as your five year old daughter walks down the aisle -- baby Jesus in her arms, in the costume of Mary -- not to feel both the piercedness and the pondering that are never far from a mother's heart.

There's the soul pang that says, "there will come a day, when she won't get the part she's always dreamed of." There's the wonder of it all that replies, "but this is her moment - blink and it will be gone."

Mary watched her child grow up, knowing full well that one day her heart would be pierced. And yet, by God's grace, he let her watch that dear Son both in triumph and in agony -treasuring all of it in the one place these memories would always be safe: her heart.

A mother's heart breaks many times for her children: over slight injustices and colossal tragedies. May God give each enough grace to behold both the beauty and the sorrow, knowing that through it all our heavenly Father holds us not only in his merciful heart, but in his strong and protective hands.

The End of an Era

Bobo had her Christmas recital this morning and since we're moving soon, she's done taking lessons with her beloved teacher. She walked into his office last week, and without even saying hello, she blubbered, "Forgive me if I burst out crying, but this is my last lesson with you!"



Mr. Mike will be missed by all of us. For the last year and a half he's joined us for lunch at home Thursdays before Bobo's lesson. We can only hope and pray to find such a great and dedicated teacher when we move.

A Dream Come True

Remember this? Elbow's dream of playing Mary in the church pageant will be realized on Sunday. She's been practicing holding the baby Jesus for days!

The Tree That Became a Bowl

Our Jesse tree was a drooping, dilapidated mess. We cut a branch from one of our pines and plunked it into a vase, which obviously was not going to cut it. After only four days, the Sculpey ornaments were causing the branches to drag along the counter. It was not a pretty sight.


Enter the Jesse Bowl. I decided to scrap the whole tree concept and keep our ornaments in a bowl. It's not quite as symbolic, but much more functional. It's a great talking piece, considering it's fairly difficult for Hubby to figure out what some of the symbols are. This requires the children to retell the bible story while they explain their masterpieces to their doting dad.


We're getting our symbols and related bible verses here. I was hoping to buy Geraldine McCraughrean 's The Jesse Tree, but never got it ordered in time. Next year. And maybe we'll have an actual tree by then too.

Ministry With Little Ones: Part Two

"A gray head is a crown of glory"
Proverbs 16:31

There is something about a group of older folks - some in wheelchairs, some with breathing tubes, some getting around just fine - that tends to make even the most harried of us slow down and take a minute to just be. Even Toddzilla - along for the annual caroling event at a nursing home - was just as calm as a well-trained choir boy.

The room was extremely hot, and I was holding Crockett so Toddzilla could sit in the stroller. At one point he looked up at me with those big browns and said, "Mom, do you need this for the baby?" Heart melting on the spot.

Bobo played "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" on the piano, which was good practice for her upcoming recital. All told, it was a great way to spread some cheer on an otherwise long and busy day. Did I mention we're trying to sell our house? At Christmas? In below zero weather?

I can feel my crown of glory getting grayer by the minute.

The Trouble With Tink: A Narration

Bobo finished another book in the Pixie Hollow series. Here's her narration of The Trouble with Tink.

Tink is a pots and pans fairy. She loves to fix pots and pans. But in a game of fairy tag - which is similar to tag, but you do it with fairies. Well anyway, she lost her hammer. And of course she got sad. So Tink went to Neverland with Terence to see if she could get her spare hammer from Peter. (Peter Pan of course, if you know about him). And luckily, Peter had found it. When Tink went back she got the honor of fixing the queen's bathtub, like she had always wanted to. The Trouble with Tink is a great book. It's fun to read and has exciting pictures. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Flower Fairies Perform!

Dress Rehearsal: 3 hours.
Performance: 2 1/2 hours.
Little girls in tutus and tiaras: priceless.

God With Us

Thank you, Meredith from Sweetness and Light, for nominating Living Waters for an Emmanuel Award.

This is the award description: In a consumer society it is a blessing to read blogs where the writer's main focus is God. Where they express their love for their faith so visibly and joyfully.In a cynical world it is refreshing to see so many blogs which are generous, giving, who care about others and demonstrate what being a Christian is about, loving God and loving our neighbor.Through their faith, lives and spirituality, they bring God to us, they in essence make God visible, 'God with us.'.

Thanks again, and God be with all of you this Advent season.

In Hopes That St. Nicholas...

In the past, we've celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas on the 6th of December by putting chocolates and coins in the children's shoes, which they leave by the fireplace before going to bed. But this year we're mixing metaphors a bit by giving the children the gifts of Father Christmas from the Narnia books.

Hubby started reading the series a couple months ago with the girls, and by now they're almost on the last book. Toddzilla isn't missing out on all the action; he loves a great picture book version of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. All the children have been completely captivated by this timeless tale. They call each other Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Susan. They make bows and arrows and bottles of cordial for their games. They can't get enough of it.

I'm so excited for tomorrow morning. Here is what will greet my little bunch of Narnians:

We got these replicas of the Christmas gifts at not even one-third of the original cost (which was a whooping $35 per gift, gasp!). They are very small and will be more for the children to have as collector's pieces than toys. Which, of course, is a good thing considering we're talking about a shield and dagger and a bow and arrow!

Crockett -as Edmund - will have to go without a Narnia gift. I don't think he'll mind, provided he finds something to munch on in his little shoes.

Don't Say That In Public!

In talking about Mary today, Elbow said, "I think virgin is another word for widow."

"No," I corrected, "Actually it's more like unmarried." (Fudging a bit, but she's five).

Both girls, eyes aglow, "Oh! So we're virgins too!" Dancing around the room now, "We're virgins like Mary! We're virgins like Mary!"

"Actually, we don't really use that word much anymore," I'm desperate at this point, what else could I say? "You probably shouldn't say that."

"Why not?" They asked, in unison.

Toddzilla barrelled in - at just the right moment - and saved the day. For once, I'm praising God for his innate ability to interrupt any important conversation going on around him.

Guess I'm off the hook for a wee bit longer... Thank heavens!

Ministry With Little Ones

My daughters have spent many a long afternoon wondering how they could raise money for the poor. They've even sold confetti (cut up pieces of construction paper) out of our driveway. A very sweet and generous neighbor actually paid $2 for the stuff. It often makes it into our church's collection plate with a scribbled note, "for the poor."

I don't want to squelch their desire to serve, but I will admit I weary a bit of requests to bake, make lemonade, sew "hankies" (usually embroidered kleenex), you name it, to be sold out of our driveway. Much to their disappoinment, customers are few and far between, and the experience often ends in frustration.

The last few years we've hit upon at least one effective and positive opportunity by volunteering to ring the Salvation Army bell at one of our local retailers. In the past, we've had a prime location at a store with an indoor ringing station. Not so this year. We got Sam's Club. In a blizzard. In North Dakota.

The children were cold and hungry by the end of their service, which made the experience more meaningful (and yes, for Toddzilla, more whiney) than in years past. I hope that even this small attempt to help those in need will become a cherished Advent memory for our family.