Christmas and New Year's Day Gallery

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:11)

Notice the light-saber hanging from Toby's mismatched pajama pants as he dutifully holds up his rodeo videos for the camera. Toby and Lane both found light-sabers in their stockings.

Sydney and Hope pose in their new jammies on Christmas morning.

Lane unwraps a gift from us and is thrilled with what he finds.

Our special Christmas breakfast of sausage-egg casserole and cinnamon rolls.

On the day after Christmas, I played Settlers of Catan with Hope, Sydney, and Lane. Toby woke up sick on the 26th, but was better by the next day.

On New Year's Day, we had a board game party with my sister and her kids, Howard's parents, and my friend A. and her kids. (My sister's husband and my friend A.'s husband are both soldiers deployed right now.) Sydney, on the left, and Hope, on the right, make chocolate chip cookies with their cousin Haley.

My sister plays a game with Haley.

Haley and Hope play Set.

My sister teaches Haley, Hope, and our friend Josiah to play Trash, a fun and easy card game.

Lane, on the right, plays Set with his cousin Nathan (center) and his friend Jotham.

I play Uno with Toby. He matched a few colors and numbers before losing interest.

Mr. Edwards, Toby, and Mr. Edwards. My father-in-law, son, and husband watch the Sugar Bowl.

We all had so much fun on New Year's Day. After our last guests left at nearly ten o'clock we sent our four to bed tired and happy. As I cleared up the kitchen and Howard watched the rest of the football game, I received a Skype call from my dear friend Sharon. I had so much fun talking with her, hearing her voice, and seeing her in action.

Happy New Year!

Missions Blogs and Social Networks

This is the last day of Urbana09, Inter-Varsity's Missions conference. Check out the #Urbana09 trending topic on Twitter.

While on Twitter, be sure you are following @NationsBeGlad. From the international missions ministry of Desiring God, this Twitter feed will keep you very well connected in the world of missions. Daily tweets with great links and re-tweets from various sources.

Here are three different missions blogs you will want to check out:

Wycliffe Bible Translators blog This blog gives you news and updates from the world of Bible translation. You will see updates about the Wycliffe organization generally, as well as posts about specific missionaries and their ministries. There are plenty of brief video clips as well.

Wycliffe blogroll. A list of blogs by Wycliffe missionaries. Hopefully this list will grow over time.

The Seed Company blog. This rss feed (I subscribe in my blog reader) gives updates about various people groups in need of Bibles in their language. The Seed Company seeks to support Bible translation by connecting prayer partners and donors to translation needs in order to complete translations and put Bibles in the hands of people.

paradoxuganda. This blog, written by a missionary couple who serve in Uganda, is one I stumbled upon through another blog. While I don't know this missionary family personally, I love to read their blog. They describe themselves as follows: WHO WE ARE: DRS MYHRE
paradox: 1. something that combines contradictory features or qualities. Life in Bundibugyo is full of contradictions - the beauty and pain; the abundance and the poverty; the joy and the sorrow. Our lives, too...dying that we might live; strong in our weakness; sinners yet saints. 2. a "pair of docs"

Holiday Reading Update

I just finished reading Cancer Ward, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Have you read anything by Solzhenitsyn? This is an author that I have heard about quite often, but never really knew about him. I sought out a Solzhenitsyn novel after reading a blurb on National Review Online's The Corner about some young college graduate who--horrors!--had not read Solzhenitsyn. I cringed knowing that I, too, had never read his books and really didn't even know much about him.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Russian author (1918-2008), is a favorite of conservative lovers of liberty because of his personal story, which became the thread of his fiction fabric, and brave stand for truth. Solzhenitsyn served in the Soviet army in World War II, only to be arrested in 1945 because his letters to a friend caught the eye of a censor. They deemed his letters to be anti-Stalin (and indeed he was unhappy with the dictator, but wrote in code about him in letters). Lacking sufficient evidence to charge him, they sentenced him anyway to eight years in a prison camp. Following that, he was exiled.

Cancer Ward is considered partly autobiographical, as Solzhenitsyn was treated for cancer while in exile. The novel is set in a cancer wing of a Soviet hospital in Uzbekistan. The ward itself represents the communist life of Russia, post-Stalin (set in 1955, in the years after Stalin's death), and the characters themselves represent different sorts of players in Soviet life--Communist Party loyalists, exiled prisoners, ordinary citizens--and their moral responsibilities for the ugly sins of the Stalin era. The tumors can be seen as the disease under which Russia suffered, permanently damaging the body of Russian society.

My understanding of the Cold War is, obviously, from a Western perspective, and my concept of day-to-day life for those behind the Iron Curtain is a vague, colorless, and formless idea of oppression. This novel brought into sharp focus just how oppressive life is in a totalitarian state and what that means to individuals struggling to make lives for themselves that have some significance.

As our own nation contemplates the proper role of government in our society, Solzhenitsyn's writings are more relevant than ever. I'm guessing that most of us born after 1970 are barely aware of what life was like under the totalitarian states of the twentieth century. Cancer Ward helps illustrate, among other things, that working for the greater good of a collective (or a society) inevitably tramples the individual.

Christmas Baking

Sydney's butterfly jam biscuits.

Hope sifting flour for cookies.

Mrs. Edwards rolling out the Potica dough. This Slovenian pastry recipe has been handed down in my family from my great-grandmother, who emigrated from Slovenia in the early '20s. It must be rolled as thinly as possible.

Spreading on the honey-walnut filling . . .

. . . and adding raisins.

Rolled up and ready to rise before baking.

Baked to golden brown. Notice that the dough split open in several places--does this mean that it didn't rise enough before baking? I don't know.

Sliced and ready to share.

Holiday Reading

In our two-week break from homeschooling, I'm hoping to do some pleasure reading. Pressing on all sides are things to do: Christmas cards, Christmas wrapping, Christmas baking, Christmas programs, reading aloud to the kids, housework, laundry. But I have a stack of library books that are motivating me to stay on task, get my duties done, so I can dive into the half-dozen books I brought home from the library.

As usual, I imagine reading more than reality affords me. (I never dreamed when I was twenty that the day would come when I barely had time to read a book for more than snatches at a time.) For evidence of that, check out my 2009 reading list, which has gone mostly unread. As a side note, a lesson of making ambitious reading lists: it turns out it is hard to stick to a list. New interests appear out of nowhere and old interests wane.

I'm off to read more of Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers after reading aloud from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to the kids.

Teaching Unregenerate Children

Have you already seen this?
John Piper's Taste & See (12/10/09) article, "Why Require
Unregenerate Children To Act Like They're Good?" It helps parents sort out the dilemma of teaching children who are not yet saved (unregenerate) to "be good," even as we know that without the Holy Spirit it is impossible to "be good."

Here's one pointed paragraph:

"No parents have the luxury of teaching their child nothing while they wait for his regeneration. If we are not requiring obedience, we are confirming defiance. If we are not inculcating manners, we are training in boorishness. If we are not developing the disciplines of prayer and Bible-listening, we are solidifying the sense that prayerlessness and Biblelessness are normal."

Boy or Girl?

"I think about the nursery and I picture curly heads,
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds.
If you're worried and you can't sleep,
Just count your blessings instead of sheep,
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings."

This Irving Berlin song is featured in one of our favorite Christmas movies, "White Christmas," but we also listen to Amy Grant's recording of the song (from her Christmas Collection album). It captures my mood this Christmas season.

"When our bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all..."

We are having a a surprise fifth child that no financial advisor would ever approve of, but then, financial advisors would have nixed the last two as well! At any rate, God has already shown His provisions for our family and we look forward to seeing how He will continue to provide for our needs--and how He will continue to teach us what our needs truly are.

Yesterday I had my sonogram appointment. I'm not sure if this one will have a curly head or not, but we saw a beautiful baby on the giant flat screen monitor hanging on the wall of the sonogram room, and we are counting our blessings. Nice brain, wonderful heart chambers beating steadily, stomach and bladder with fluid which means systems are working, kidneys, arms, legs, three vessel cord, and a beautiful spine. We have a strip of precious screen shots of little arms up by a little face and a pretty little profile.

But the question everyone wants to know is--Is it a boy or a girl? Our even-steven family of two daughters and two sons won't stay even. What will this tie-breaker be?

We still don't know. Despite her efforts to jiggle the baby into a different position, the sonographer could not get the baby to position properly for a good screen shot of its gender. She told us, "I'm leaning toward girl. I haven't seen anything that indicates a boy, but I haven't been able to get a good look. If you buy anything, don't cut off the tags!"

~~~

Yesterday my dad posted a poem he wrote when I was just five months old, "Generations: A Father's View." It imagines a day when his little baby girl grows up to be a mother and is looking over her own children--something that came to pass for the fifth time yesterday (albeit via sonography!).

Having trouble remembering the "Count Your Blessings" number from White Christmas? Enjoy this clip from the film on YouTube.

Sounds of Christmas

Is Handel's Messiah part of your Christmas playlist? As the glorious music of Messiah fills our home, we hear through Scripture alone the Biblical story of redemption. All the lyrics are straight from the Authorized Version (King James) of the Bible, from the Old and New Testaments. The collection of verses carefully present God's plan of redemption--evident from the beginning of Scripture--through the Incarnation of His Son, Immanuel, God With Us.

This academic paper, titled "Handel's Messiah: Biblical and Theological Perspectives" by Daniel Block of Southern Baptist Seminary, is one that you will want to print and file with your teaching resources about composers (Handel), the 18th century, and/or Bible lessons. (Hat tip Justin Taylor's Between Two Worlds.)

~~~

Another Christmas collection that focuses on the message of redemption that is the glad tidings of Christmas is "Behold the Lamb of God" by Andrew Peterson. A friend of mine introduced me to Andrew Peterson's music a few years back, but at the time this album was out of production. It is now back in a special anniversary edition. It includes "Matthew's Begets," a song that takes its lyrics from the genealogy of Matthew 1. "Matthew's Begets" is a great track to have handy when teaching children either Advent related devotions or Old Testament studies that look for Christ in the Old Testament.

Image from Wikipedia, Handel's Messiah.

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

Don't miss this exhortation by C. J. Mahaney regarding the news story that swirls around an amazing golfer, Tiger Woods. An excerpt:

As expected, the allegations of adultery involving a public figure are attracting a media pile-on. This is a big story with a big audience and it’s a story that will not disappear soon. Tiger Woods is being hunted by the media.

But let us make sure we do not join the hunt. A Christian’s response to this story should be distinctly different. We should not be entertained by the news. We should not have a morbid interest in all the details. We should be saddened and sobered. We should pray for this man and even more for his wife.

Be sure to read the full post to discover what is really hunting Tiger, and it isn't the media.

Excelsior!

In Latin class, Hope and Sydney are working on the first and second declension of Latin adjectives at the moment. The early days of conjugating amo in a happy chant are now a fading memory--replaced by tears. Before Thanksgiving, a quiz for which they were ill-prepared discouraged them greatly. I heard cries of "I hate Latin!" (Is it only for the homeschooling teacher that such a complaint feels like a personal failure?)

Before Thanksgiving break, we picked up The Penderwicks on Gardam Street from the library, along with the audio CDs of the same book. This is the sequel, published just last year (2008), to the original (2005) The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall.

These charming books feature a widowed father of four daughters named Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty. Mr. Penderwick is an academic who happens to sprinkle Latin throughout his everyday discourse with his daughters. Consider this delightful exchange following a soccer-game brawl in which Skye lost her temper (p. 49-50):

Mr. Penderwick sighed. "How I came to be surrounded by such war-like women is beyond me. Rosalind, give me the Latin for 'war.'"

"I know that," said Rosalind, pleased with the change of subject. "Bellum, belli"

"Correct. And from bellum came bellatrix, which means 'female warrior.'"

"Bellatrix Penderwick!" Jane put up her fists, longing for the chance to show the world a true female warrior. Batty, unwilling to be any less of one, put up her fists in challenge.

As it happens, bellum, belli is a recent vocabulary word for Hope and Sydney. And, perhaps it is a coincidence, but both girls are enjoying Latin class this week, interrupting our recitations with voices eager to tell me about just such passages as this one from The Penderwicks on Gardam Street.

Thanksgiving Outings

Our Thanksgiving morning hike is becoming a beloved tradition. This year Mr. Edwards, our kids and their cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents hiked about two and a half miles through a woodsy nature trail park. The highlight of the chilly walk was seeing four deer bounding across the field. Mr. Edwards was able to snap a picture.


We spent the Friday after Thanksgiving taking a day trip to Abilene, Kansas. We toured the Eisenhower Boyhood Home, Presidential Library and Museum. After studying Eisenhower's presidency last year in our survey of 20th century, the kids were able to appreciate most of the exhibits. It was a good time for a refresher since Hope and Sydney are in the middle of working on a Kansas state notebook project. They will write a report about Eisenhower and a couple of other famous Kansans.

Thanksgiving Reflections

The first time I remember reading the Wall Street Journal's annual Thanksgiving editorials was about eighteen years ago. I was spending my Thanksgiving break from college with relatives and distinctly remember sitting in my aunt's dining room on Thursday morning, the Wall Street Journal spread out before me, and reading this pair of articles. It seems that in every year since then the articles have become more meaningful and rich. It is I who have changed.

The first, "The Desolate Wilderness," begins,

Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof:

So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits. (Continue reading.)

"And the Fair Land," an editorial written in 1961 by then-editor Vermont Royster:

Any one whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful.

This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America... (Continue reading.)

Happy Thanksgiving.

Sidebar Update

I finally updated my sidebars! In case you're interested in our reading and listening and movie viewing...

Fall Football

Mr. Edwards and I have always enjoyed watching football together, but this fall was the first football season that Lane truly joined in the fun. His loyalty to "our" teams deepened as he began to understand the plays and follow the games' action more closely. The highlight of the college season, however, was actually getting to go to the game with Grandpa.

Although K-State ended the season without winning the the North division of Big 12 football, Lane and Grandpa saw them play Colorado and win.

Ancient Greek History

One evening during our two-week study of early Greek history, I read aloud to the family the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur. Sprawled out on the rug, everyone listened intently to the story of the brave Theseus who vowed to put a stop to the regular kidnapping of Greek youths by the Minoans. He hitched a ride with the kidnappers, told King Minos he wanted in the famous labyrinth to have a chance to fight the evil Minotaur--half-man and half-bull. Following the secret advice of the king's daughter, Theseus trailed a thread behind him throughout the corridors of the twisting maze, and after bravely killing the Minotaur with his dagger, he found his way out by re-tracing his path of thread. Theseus prevailed and King Minos put an end to the kidnapping.

As soon as I finished reading, Toby asked to hear it again. "The one about the dagger."

Watching our students, first and fourth graders, take in early Greek history (the Minoans at Crete, the Mycenaeans, and the legends of Homer) reminds me why studying history can be so thrilling for kids. Except that for most kids it isn't. It is a rare child in traditional school that cites social studies as a favorite subject.

Why the difference?

I can recall studying Greek city-states as a third-grader in Miss Newkirk's class. It was social studies, after all, so the focus was on the political and community organizing methods of the ancients, rather than the palace art at Knossos, the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur, Jason and the Argonauts, or the Trojan War. In fact, I lacked a foundational understanding of this history and mythology, so when I encountered Homer's Odyssey as a high schooler, I was flummoxed.

But my own experience is irrelevant; what are the state standards today? A quick look at the social studies standards for my state confirms my memory. Social studies is not a synonym for history, after all, but is a study of the development of society. In the younger grades, my state expects kids to learn about citizenship, their own communities (the fire station, city hall, etc.), and finally their own state government. It isn't until fourth grade that the student studies his own state's history, then in fifth his nation's history, and finally in sixth grade the world's history. Five years of school pass before teachers give kids an understanding of ancient history.

Even worse, so many things are presented out of context to the social studies student. Understanding the progression of time is a difficult concept, but without learning things in order it is even more confusing. Second graders are taught about transportation and inventions--but completely isolated from the context in which those inventions were made. The Wright brothers invented the airplane. The ancient Chinese developed irrigation. The Incas connected their communities with highways. What second grader can sort this information out and even care about it?

The social studies methods of traditional schools are so deeply entrenched that one doubts the study of history for America's children will ever improve. Meanwhile, our Edwards Academy approach is entirely different, inspired by classical methods and committed to studying history chronologically.

Each week we put our studies in the proper chronology with cut-and-paste timeline images (thanks to Homeschool in the Woods) then delve into whatever history resources we have available on the topic. We combine this with related picture books and literature selections, along with a look at the art of the period. We color maps of the places we are studying and look up history-related vocabulary words. For our two weeks in early Greek history, we drew heavily upon various children's versions of the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as wonderful picture books about the Greek gods and goddesses.

Imaginations are sparked. Curiosity is aroused. Playtime is enriched.

Image from Wikipedia. Minotaur locked in battle with Theseus. Bronze by Antoine-Louis Barye (Louvre)

Eleven-Eleven

Before it was Veteran's Day, it was Armistice Day. On November 11, 1918 the Great War came to an end with the signing of the Armistice. At the time, my great-uncle Hayes was serving in France. He had fought in the Argonne-Meuse offensive that September and was pulled back from the line and billeted in Vignot, across the Meuse River from Commercy.

The good news of the Armistice was completely overshadowed by some bad news from home, news that Hayes received by letter just three days after the Armistice but nearly a month after it actually happened. As Hayes was fighting in the Argonne, his father back in the States unexpectedly and suddenly died. Hayes heard the news first from a sympathy letter he received from a friend. On November 25, he wrote to his sister,

"When the terrible news first came I was coming in from drill, feeling so happy and light hearted because the Armistice had been signed, then a letter was handed me from Ruth L. [a friend]; when I felt it was so thin I was afraid to open the envelope. I felt sure it was bad news of some kind but I had no idea it would be such terrible news. Hazel, if it had happened a year ago I don't think I could have stood it, but I have seen so much, so awfully much suffering since I have been here I think it made it easier for me....
It is so hard to realize that Papa is really gone, and I had so many things I wanted to tell him...
I came over here several months ago to do a "little job." Now that job is finished but I have a bigger one ahead of me and I want to be the one to do it. It wont be long until I will be back, and how I long to see you all and be with all of you..."

Hayes remained in Europe until the spring and was finally demobilized in May, 1919, upon which he returned home to help provide for his mother and sisters.

***

This Veteran's Day our brother-in-law is serving in Afghanistan. We pray for him daily and are thankful for his service to our nation.