From Christmas to the New Year

 The plan was to just jump back into our usual school routine.

The reality is that we all got quite sick, and we lounged around a lot, trying to get well.

All of the babies except The Munchkin (the oldest) got RSV at some point.  Some of them stayed home with their families; some of them came to our house every day just the same.  They are all on the mend, now.

New Christmas loot kept everyone interested and busy all day every day.

And the weather swung from 70-ish degrees and sunny to single digits and snowy!  Kids rode bikes, played basketball, played in the woods with their new walkie talkies, climbed trees, and went sledding--from shirtsleeves to snow pants--all in the space of a single week.

On Christmas Eve we managed a trip to the park (Dad handled this!), cookie decorating, going to The Giving Machines, and our family Christmas pageant.

We were privileged to donate a beehive, a goat, and some chickens to families worldwide.  And we were able to share some food and shelter with local people in need.

We laughed a great deal all the way through . . . but it was a reverent, we're-grateful-to-be-together kind of laughing.  We're grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christmas day was filled with stacks of gifts.  I do not feel compelled to share them all, but here a few pics that make me especially smile.

Baymax wanted "a gun--you know with little metal balls that shoot out."  (Ha ha ha!  Can you see us trying to explain that to the police and social workers!?!?!)  This is the only kind of gun entering our house!  And he was thrilled. :)

Little Princess got astronomy books, and she immediately read and read and read.

Belle is building a beautiful library of limited edition and cloth-bound classics.  She received a new addition or two this year and could not help bringing all of her collection upstairs to show off and admire.

We never got out of our jammies all day, and we so enjoyed one another's company.

We were too ill to go to church the next day, so we watched it via Zoom and took a great many naps and consumed a great deal of orange juice and garlic.

Though we never got out math or spelling or phonics pages, we did read together.  We worked on Tales from Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Greene (until Beowulf had a bad episode and tore it up) and began Landmark's Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.  We also read both Can't You Make them Behave, King George? and Phoebe the Spy.  

We watched several educational videos.

BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs was a major hit, and we have some episodes left to enjoy in the weeks ahead.  The kids also enjoyed 2 episodes of Our Planet.

The most fun movie binge for the teens and adults was our Pride and Prejudice marathon--nothing beats almost 6 straight hours of Jane Austen!  And the little kids liked it enough to come and go and ask questions about plot and characters.  

My 12-and-ups all in the kitchen together grabbing snacks for the movie and talking and making me laugh and feel warm and fuzzy inside.  They didn't want to stop for a picture because they didn't have makeup or hair done, but I think they are all so beautiful!

Each of the 8 younger kids got a 3 month subscription of some sort of box.  Most of them are science-y and/or crafty, and the week was filled with some pretty interesting hands-on activities.

Ladybug got crafts.  She happily painted and stamped almost every day.

Mister Man put together his physics activities almost immediately.  He further refined his hydraulic "hand" with paint later in the week.

Chemistry kept Little Princess busy. 

I don't remember exactly what happened, but it had something to do with tin and ions.

Mister Man also grew wild crystals.  Everyone loved this one!

Lola got a Paint-Your-Own-Unicorn kit from Super Star, and she happily worked most of the day with her left hand.

This is not from a kit.  However, Pokemon cards thrilled many of my children, and Mister Man studied them intently and created some of them out of Legos.  He shared the picture with his cousin K---, who replied, "Cool!" when he saw the creations.

More of Little Princess' ions--this time she used electricity to create the reaction.

Lots of building of monster trucks happened.

While I painted a bedroom, the kids set up and filmed this science experiment with baking soda and vinegar out of Brother's kit.  The video is hilarious and delightfully educational.  This is the only still picture they took.

Lola's splint was upgraded to a short-arm waterproof cast.  Orthopedics was able to get a much finer x-ray than urgent care, and we could see that the fracture is actually only in the ulna.  She's still doing everything with her left arm only, but I hope she'll realize that she's capable of some activities with her right arm as well.

Sir Walter Scott took 4 of our big girls to the temple for baptisms one day.

And our year ended on a wonderful high as Sir Walter Scott and I took Pixie to the temple for her own endowment.  My parents were able to attend with us.  The experience was peaceful, gentle, and lovely. 

It was just the right step for Pixie in her spiritual progression.

The young adult children rang in the new year with the homeschool friends that have been part of their lives for over 15 years.

Nature Angel was able to go to a church dance with a good friend, and she had a joyful time both asking boys to dance and being asked by boys to dance.  She and her friend giggled and talked the evening away.

The rest of us went to bed as usual and simply woke up in the new year.  

It was all we could manage because Brother and Beowulf have had a flare-up of dangerous behaviors.  We are sincerely hoping that a return to our usual schedule this week will bring us all back to a place of mental and physical safety.