Christmas letter, 2008

Dear Friends,

Thank you for caring enough to take the trouble to visit our blog!  We wish you a joyous Christmas season, and a wonderful new year!  Before I forget to do so, I want to mention that the professional photos on this page were taken by Diane Conn, at www.connphotography.com . Thanks, Diane!

First snowfall

 2008 was a good year for our family, and it sped by at unbelievable speed!  We've lived in our "new" home for over a year, and love it! It's a rambling ranch style home with more space than we're used to.  We especially enjoy the animals in the neighborhood--wild and domesticated. There are horses, goats, llamas, and our favorites--a horse and his best friend the pot-bellied pig who appear to be inseparable.  We often see a hawk we call "Howard", a fox, some rabbits, and of course deer.  We love our little corner of nature!  

Emily graduated from 8th grade in June, in a class of 13 students.  After spending two years in traditional classroom school, we decided to homeschool again for 9th grade. That's what this blog is all about! One of Emily's highlights of the year was attending "Pacific Quest" at PUC, where she learned a bit of computer programming, and took some advanced mathematics, along with 23 other students from various schools in California.  Our biggest "field trip" was to Ashland, Oregon, to see two Shakespeare plays at the OSF.  (We saw "A Comedy of Errors" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream".)

Handbells at Pier 39  

    8th grade class, 2008

Wayne continues working at the local dental clinic.  He works some unusual hours, and enjoys his congenial colleagues.  He works hard at home, too, caring for our pets, yard, pool, and house.  

Renee has worked at Community Home Care for more than 11 years, and loves her job--a perfect balance between patient care and office work.  She believes she works for the best department in the hospital, and after all this time, it feels like family.  In these uncertain times we are grateful for our blessings, not the least of which is steady employment. With homeschooling this year, half-time employment feels overly busy, and the remainder of time is spent on the school front.

    All three of us have greatly enjoyed staying in touch, or getting back in touch, with friends on "facebook".  It has been especially nice recently with a PUC Prep alumni group starting, and Renee has gotten in touch with friends she grew up with that she hasn't heard from for over 30 years!  If you're thinking about getting a facebook account, our advice is to jump in with both feet and try it--it will only eat up as much time as you choose to give it!  It really doesn't have to be a big time investment.

I'll close with a poem Emily wrote this time last year.  If you are curious about how homeschool is going, feel free to browse the blog.  Thanks for checking in!  We heartily wish you and yours a blessed holiday season!

The True Christmas Spirit

by Emily Mathe, 2007

When frosty eaves are decked with lights

And snow begins to fall,

You know the time has finally come:

The best birthday of all.

The toy shop windows glint and sparkle 

With gifts of every kind,

But holidays are not about

The presents you will find.

Though dear old Santa "ho ho ho's" 

With jollity and mirth,

Christmastime will celebrate

A far more glorious birth.

About two thousand years ago,

A Savior came to Earth

A dark and rotten stable

Became a wondrous place of worth.

So when Christmas rolls around,

Make sure to keep in mind

That Jesus has come down to Earth

To save us; all mankind!

'Tis the Season. . .

. . .for festive lights, generosity of spirit, shopping, and burnout.  Yes, burnout is no longer looming on the homeschool front. . . .it has arrived, brought suitcases, and moved in.  My goal for the immediate present and near future is to reclaim the joy of the season, so we can focus on the great gift the Advent season represents.  Any ideas?  (Actually, I know the answer:  SLOW DOWN.)

Autumn is fully here, and our giant liquid amber tree has lost nearly all of it's brilliant seasonal garb.  As the many leaves fell I discovered that I LOVE raking.  Like washing dishes, it's one of those repetitive chores that is so wonderful to mingle with meditation (and the house or yard looks better when I'm done!).  Wayne hung the white icicle lights on the house, we have a lovely spruce tree, and all the homey touches that we've grown attached to over the years. Our pellet stove provides warmth on chilly mornings, and we enjoy retreating to the family room and kitchen, where it's cozy.

It's also the season for fund-raising and musical programs.  There are three music programs this week, and the first one was last evening.  Last weekend the three of us went on the annual handbell tour to the Bay Area.  There are 13 handbell players, and we transported five of them in our car.  Between Friday at 3 pm and Sunday afternoon we put over 500 miles on our car. It was a lot of fun, and we especially enjoyed Pier 39.  

We toted Hershey around in a bag.

Monday night held the violin recital. Emily played in the group pieces, but didn't have a solo this time (if she had, we probably would have had to peel her off the ceiling and carry her to a soft room in a straight jacket).   Tonight is the hospital's annual Christmas dinner, which we always enjoy.  

Tomorrow evening is the junior academy's Christmas program, and Emily takes part in the choir, band, and handbells.  She is also accompanying the school in a string ensemble as the school children sing songs from "The Messiah."  On Friday is a low-key "piano party" where the piano students can share what they've been learning.

 First semester is virtually over, or will be in a couple weeks, and Emily is ahead in her core subjects.  We're able to slow down during this difficult time, and not lose too much ground.  We had a shift in history class, and are having to compress some chapters into a too-small time slot, so we can define this year's history as "World History".  That will be do-able, as Emily is such an avid reader.  The burnout problem isn't that the classes are too hard or too demanding--it's more a burnout from going to the school four days a week and not having time to dig in and do the classwork.

Pathfinders has been cut from the schedule--it was a difficult decision, but seems the right thing to do.  The composition of the club went from Emily and a 12 year old girl to Emily and about six kids 10 to 11 years old.  The next step will be to decide which music classes at the school are not necessary, and talk to Wendy, the music teacher.  The handbell choir is going to Disneyland, and I think Emily is committed to that for the year, but band and choir are not necessary.

What we're seriously short on is FUN.  Just playing and having fun.  We'll seek that out, and let you know how it goes!

The photo at the top of the page was taken by Diane Conn.  Her website is:  www.ConnPhotography.com