Gifts

Daddy: "Honor, what do you want for Christmas?"

Honor: "I'll be happy with whatever I get."

Seriously...what other eight year old in America would say that? 

I am so happy I am raising Hallmark children...

Black Friday

Connor: "Mom, what is 'Black Friday'?"

Mommy: "Well, it is a term for shopping. It is the day after Thanksgiving when the stores who have not made a profit all year suddenly make a profit because so many people are buying their Christmas presents and doing other shopping then. It's not something you really see. It's on a chart and it shows a line going down from zero that is red and then on Black Friday, the line starts going up from zero."

Connor: "Oh.  That's pretty... not interesting.  Just people shopping! That's boring!"

I couldn't agree more, my son.

Don't Want to Snooze THAT Alarm

"...LOVE your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High,because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."      (Luke 6: 27-36)


Connor: "And what does this mean?"

... (mumbled discussion)

Samuel: "Read this one now!"


This preciousness is what I woke to this morning. I love my sons!

That's Why They Make Calendars...

Ariana's birthday is November 26th. This upcoming Monday. Time flies by WAY too fast.

Anyway...

Because it is Ariana's birthday month, Samuel has been reminding me repeatedly that his birthday is coming up.  And I've been reminding him repeatedly that his birthday is over six months away. On June 27th to be exact.  

"June 27th?"

"Yep. June 27th."

 I called the doctor this morning to schedule a well visit for Ariana's 7 year check-up as well as flu shots for all of the kiddos. The receptionist verified all of the kids' birthdates. 

"Honor and Connor were both born on August 17, 2004, correct?"
 
"Yep."

"And Ariana was born November 26, 2005, correct?"

"Yes."

 "Samuel's birthday is June 23, 2007 correct?" 

...

Oh. Um. Yeah. That's right. It's the twenty-third of June. 


You would think you would remember something like that...

"Secret" Admirer

I thought passing notes was something that I would most likely avoid if I homeschooled.  Apparently not.



Luke (my 7 year old nephew, in case I haven't mentioned him before...): "What is this?"

Mommy: "What is what?"

Luke: "This paper.  I found it on my desk. It says it's from the post office."

Immediately I knew the note was from one of my daughters.  They play post office all the time.

Mommy: "Give me the paper Luke."

He handed me the note and went back to work as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.



Here is what it said:

On the outside:

to: Luke

from: secret Admirer

Hint: its a girl

On the inside:

Dear Luke
I really Like 
you Luke I want
to be pals again
can We.
Love your secret
Admirer

 
from: the post 
office
Please send
a Letter back

(For the record, my children do know how to use punctuation and capitalization correctly, but only when it is on a test...)

I happen to know the identity of the "secret admirer" because she came to me earlier that day complaining that Luke was turning everyone against her because she got their chalk drawings wet with bubbles.  She was quite upset.  Also, to be fair, she thinks that a secret admirer is someone who wants to be your friend. Thankfully, Luke has no idea what a secret admirer is either so we are safe.

Poor girl. I really should explain what a secret admirer is, but I love how her innocent mind works!

Word Problems

For math today, Connor and Honor were asked to write out an addition word problem and a subtraction word problem.  Connor's just struck me as funny for some reason...

I had $2.  I bought a grenade for $1. How many $ did I have left?

Boys.

Dead or Alive?

I overheard the following snippit from an argument my children were having during recess.  I could hear Connor say something, but I couldn't understand him.  Ariana escalated the argument and I could hear her quite clearly...

Connor: ....

Ariana: "He's not dead, he's in Heaven."

Connor: "Oh, yeah. But his body is dead."

Ariana: "Well, yeah, his body is dead, but he is in Heaven."


Apparently Connor conceded the point because the conversation returned to normal inaudible levels from that point on.  I love the little theological discussions they have.

He's #1!

Today at breakfast:

Samuel: "Mom, can I be your #1 Fan?"

...and he was serious.  I love him!

Political Post

Okay, not really, but I thought it was fitting to post this the day after the elections...



My third graders are currently studying Mid-Atlantic states in their History and Geography lessons (for those of you who aren't from the Mid-Atlantic states and are not smarter than a fifth grader, they are NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD and, although technically not a state, Washington D.C.).  As part of their lessons, we briefly discussed the three branches of government.


Here was one of the answers on Honor's self quiz:



Why does the United States have three branches of government?


because all three branches have to agree on all of the laws like no taping your kid in the corner.



Yep. That's a good law.

However, taping them to windows is perfectly acceptable...