Mingling Christmas traditions

This year for Christmas eve we celebrated with our friends, mingling some British tradition with Chinese and American and even little German food. Seems like every year we do somethings new, but all is merry.

British: Christmas crackers, homemade mince pies
Chinese: Roast duck, Chinese dishes, tangerines
American: potato leek soup, glazed wild caught salmon, mozzarella sticks, Godiva chocolate
German: Stollen bread Yum!

Pulling Christmas crackers; inside is a hat for the winner and a joke.

The day before, we gathered with friends and the kids put on a little talent show. It was definitely the highlight of that evening.

Christmas show

J and W participated in our church Christmas play this past weekend. J is the chief angel while W is a shepherd. I had to borrow costumes from our homeschool group. And feel blessed the need was met. My favorite camera or the one I know how to operate is out of commission so hasn't taken any pictures. These are by DH.

Favorite stamentment of the month

"Oh, my goodness, Oh, my goodness!!"

The kids, esp. J have been saying that in the tone of the show "Annie" ever since they saw the play last Sunday.

And sometimes, " I love you, Miss Hennigan" also in tone of Annie. :)

Few favorite reads

1. The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum

2. The Book of Fairy Princes by Isabel Wyatt

(This is where I'm impressed with Waldorf education as I can tell by the interest of my children esp my son with these books)

3. Homeschooling Our Children Unschooling Ourselves by Alison McKee (I finished this book in one night. Even though I don't think I have enough trust in myself and in my children to fully do unschooling, I'm definitely going to give them plenty of time and opportunities to let them take the lead in their education.)

Lately, the kids has been busy making Christmas presents for us, and that is something they are passionate about and go work on by themselves in their room whenever there is time.)

New Hip Hop dancer in the family

W is officially the new hip hop dancer in the family. It started when I wanted W to try hip hop so daddy asked J's dance studio if they offered an all boy hip hop class. It turns out they did for the first time this year and for the competitive hip hop class, it was free. But since it is already half way through the year, there was great concern if W can catch up fast or not. So we took him there just to try. Before he went, he was a little resistant, doing a little dry "wann-wann" cries and saying he doesn't want to be on stage and etc. And when he first went into the class, he didn't look like he want to participate at all.

But after the class was over and the children came out, the first thing I heard was one of his classmates, saying to W that he did good for his first day. Then his teacher came out and said W caught on lot faster than he expected and that he can be enrolled in the class. I asked W if he had fun and want to take the class, and it was a definite yes.

When he came back, he was already practicing the moves he learned. Even before he fell asleep, he was still going over the moves in bed with his arms. It was very cute. Good thing we asked. :) God did say, Ask and you shall receive.

Blessing of Performances

We have been busy watching quite a few performances, namely A Midnight Summer's Dream, Annie, and soon The Nutcracker. None of this would be possible without the blessing our homeschool school group who have diligently negotiated with area performance centers to negotiate very discounted tickets and in some case free tickets or donations for ticket for homeschoolers and for that I'm very grateful. W also got discounted tickets to see Monster Truck and had great time.

Holiday twitter?

I'm already receiving Christmas cards, letter,pictures from friends so it inspired me to write one of our own to share. Good thing I keep a blog to help me remember the events. I'll probably post a holiday picture later.

Happy Holiday, everyone!

January: W turned 6 this month and started all of sudden began to read chapter books all by himself. His first chapter book is “The Diary of the Wimpy Kid” given by Auntie Michelle.

February: J attended her 2^nd Homeschool Spelling Bee and won 2^nd place. Every year, there is always someone who gives her a really good run for the money. At Kalahari indoor waterpark, J conquered her fear and came down the Cheetah Race. W picked up knitting at amazing speed much to my surprise.

March: J had her first piano recital and did great. We dyed our own silks and they turned out beautiful. They are great for creative play and dress up.

April: We took the kids to China for a 3 week long vacation. They were absolutely troopers considering all the walking and long days we had while on tour. Their favorite part was getting a full body massage and riding on Grandpa’s motorbike.

May: Watching our caterpillars morph into painted lady butterflies was cool. J and I led her Girl Scout troop’s Try-It meeting. She was very nervous about it but it turned very well. We showed the girls how to uncover a secret message using watercolor, draw a 3 dimensional chain, finger knit a bracelet, and did an iridescence science experiment using ice, salt and food coloring.

June: I completed 2 out of 3 summer projects: knitted a hat using a loom and finished knitting a scarf for W. J also knitted a hat for daddy for Father’s day while all of us worked together to make an I-touch Father’s day card and a collage crown for daddy.

July: Our cousins came back to visit and stayed with us for 2 nights. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and had fun watching the fireworks. They also came just in time to help celebrate J’s 8^th birthday. On a sad note, our little pet hamster, Fluffy, died.

August: We received and raised monarch butterflies courtesy of a homeschool friend and it was so cool to see it land on W’s shoulder and hand. We also went to Potter’s zoo and rode on camels, fed birds, and had close encounters with the animals. I even had a goat tugging hard on my shirt. It made me get out of the petting zoo real quick.

September: I finally finished my 3^rd project of the summer: a 16’’ customized Asian boy doll for W. Now Alex sleeps with W every night. J auditioned for competitive dance team on the recommendation of the studio owner back in August and got in. It surprises me how much she is loving dance. Her favorite dance is hip-hop.

October: Big news, we have a 3^rd baby on the way. We are all excited but initially this is totally daddy’s idea and a dream come true for J who always wanted another baby. After making sure he will still be homeschooled after the baby comes, W is warming up quickly to the idea of being a big brother. But he is definitely praying for a boy.

November: W started taking guitar lessons and is gaining confidence fast in roller skating. I found J a new piano teacher in Canton so she resumed her lessons. In preparation for baby, we specifically got a light vacuum for J and W so they can help vacuum and they love it. Another passion of both J and W is drawing. I call them my blooming artists. J