Merry Christmas To All!

The big day is almost here. I am not sure if I will online tomorrow, so I want to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas today. If you want your children to learn how to say Merry Christmas in some other languages, then this website is for you. I will be sharing this with my children for sure.

Twas the Night Before Christmas, probably one of the most well known and beloved stories of all. Your kids can watch it on the video below. The Thomas Kinkade tree shown, tells the story from Mr Kinkade himself. I actually own this tree. It was a gift to me a few years ago, from my husband. My kids listen to it several times, and my daughter loves to watch all the different rooms light up as the story is told. Before we put our dog to sleep, he would bark at the tree every time we turned it on. He was an interesting dog. We have hung is name tag on our tree so he is still with us this Christmas. There are so many needy and sad people this time of year. Take a minute and donate to some holiday charity, or a family you know is in need. Cats, dogs, the homeless, ill, and poor could all use an extra blanket, hats, mittens, pajamas, food, anything you can afford. It doesn't cost a lot to make someone else feel loved on Christmas. A blanket at the Dollar General is only five bucks. This year we donated to Toys for Tots, and over 400 children right here in our very own small county were helped out this year. Be kind to those in need, and you will be rewarded ten fold. Merry Christmas to all!

Geared Up For A Busy Week, Food Drive, Christmas Drive

First of all I would like to say to anyone that is travelling this week, to be safe, and have a good time.

My dog is feeling better. He is still not quite himself, but at least he is not glaring at the refrigerator anymore.

My sister had her Gallbladder removed this morning, and she is home, and doing fine. Some pain, and nausea but nothing unusual. So that all went well, and her husband is home with her.

As soon as I am done with this post, I am off to watch Food Network. This is my absolute favorite time of the year, to watch the cooking shows. While I watch, and listen I will be making a Christmas card list, and tweeking my last minute grocery shopping list for Turkey Day.

Last Friday, I sent all the food we saved for the needy, over to the food drive. They will be distributed to people who can not afford to buy a Thanksgiving dinner. Then Friday night, I went off to Walmart, to buy toys for the Christmas drive. I usally give one new toy, to Toys For Tots, every year. This year I will be giving to the local Christmas drive, with specific sponsored children that are experiencing difficult times. I bought a whole bunch of stuff, and my husband took it in today, on his way to work. If you are experiencing a rough time this year, there are places you can sign up to have toys donated to your children. Most churches, sheriffs, and community services would be able to tell you where and how to sign up.

Then today I finished up my own Christmas shopping online. I would like to get two of the ladies I work with a gift too, I hope I will be able to. They both love to read, and are having difficult financial times. I have two books in mind, and I hope to be able to get them. I would love to buy for every single person in our family, but it just is not possible, or feasible. Of course I do have to get stocking stuffers but that isnt really too big of a deal. My son is a reading master, and I just bought him a whole bunch of advanced readers off Ebay for Christmas.

Happy Monday, everyone.

Hunger for American Children Rose 50% In 2007

Did you see what I wrote? 50% in 2007, not 2008. I can't even imagine what it will be this year, with the economy in a crisis, people losing their jobs, this is just not right. Our tax payers go to bailout some bigwig slob, making millions in bonuses, taking luxury vacations, and worrying about whether he will get his Christmas bonus or not, and 50% of American children went hungry last year. We give to our local food pantry every year. This year we are beefing it up. We will be giving to the local food pantry, the Sheriff Dept, and local churches that need it. I will also be asking my children to go through their toys, and clothes to see if we have excellent condition to donate. For the past two years I was unable to give to Toys for Tots, something I always did in previous years. We just financially could not do it, but this year we will whether we can afford it or not. My children have so much to be thankful for, as well as my husband and I. We need to help our fellow Americans who are not as fortunate, and maybe think they dont have anything to be thankful for. Please help your neighbors, friends, and family this Holiday season. So many will be going without.

Lesson Plans for 11/19/08:

Reading: Read Chapter 10 of Pirates Past Noon
Writing: Write what you are thankful for
Social Studies: Government and citizenship, Iowa
Spelling: Lesson 10- write each spelling word and circle the consonants
Vocabulary: Lesson 10- Think of an Antonym for each vocabulary word
Language Arts: Phonics review, action verbs
Math: Multiplication, addition, subtraction, ordinal numbers
Spanish: Food and utensils
If time permits, watch 60 min video on Mars