Christmas Eve is a big deal in our house. We eat a meal, then while the adults are cleaning up the kids are usually in the back rooms putting together a variety show. This year Tory played "Fur Elise" and "The Carol of the Bells". My nieces Emily and Nataley did a dance to a Hannah Montana song and my nephew Brent sang a song he learned in church. After the talent show everybody winds down and my mother tells the story of the Jesse tree. The Jesse tree is a miniature Christmas tree that tells the story of Jesus from Creation through to his Second Coming. It includes the major stories of the Old Testament and one or two from the New Testament. More than anything it traces the scarlet thread of Redemption through history. After the Jesse tree we go around the room and everyone shares what God has done throughout the last year. Finally we take communion as a family. The tradition of communion and sharing began when I was a teenager and included all my aunts, uncles and cousins. Now that our family has grown and my grandparents have died we've continued that tradition with my sisters and their husbands and children.

It was definitely an electronic Christmas for the Roszak household. Tory and Abby asked for only one thing each, an iPod Nano and a Nintendo DS, respectively. Needless to say they didn't have many presents to open as those two presents by themselves cost an arm and a leg. However, they have played with these two presents non-stop since they opened them.

THANKS MINNESOTA ROSZAKS WE LOVE OUR GIFTS!

Books I read in 2007, in no particular order, just as I happen to remember them. Some I liked, others disliked.

War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (long, but interesting)

Endangered Minds, Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It - Jane Healy (excellent)

All Creatures Great and Small - James Herriott

Protect and Defend - Vince Flynn (page turner)

The Once and Future King - T.H. White (King Arthur Legend)

Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott (as a fan of all things Scottish I found this surprisingly dull)

Mr. Midshipman Easy - Captain Marryat (fantastic)

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (absolutely fascinating)

Thanks to the great ladies at Ambleside Online for many recommendations, I would never have found some of these titles without your help.

I normally don't go in for New Year's resolutions, I've really never seen the point, but I'm going to make an exception this year. I am normally a procrastinator with great bursts of energy followed by long bouts of lethargy. I've always claimed that I work better under pressure, but the truth is I'm a procrastinator. Why do today what you can put off 'til tomorrow? However, my husband has been an inspiration to me. I have learned in the last two months the value of daily actions. Over the course of 4 months he has lost 80 pounds by doing two things. He has started controlling his intake and exercising every day. He is religious in his exercise routine. He simply walks/runs every single day, rain or shine, cold or hot, windy or still. That's his big secret, consistency. Oooh, I shudder when I say that word. Consistency, it's like nails on a chalk board to me. But, I am beginning to see the pros of consistency. A little bit every day. Instead of waiting and having to face this great big task, why not do a little bit each day? So, my resolution for this year? Be consistent in the little things. Posting, balancing my checkbook, doing my laundry, picking up. Who knew?

Once again Europe's hypocrisy staggers the mind. Fox news reported that Germany "refuses to support the imposition of any further sanctions against Iran that could be imposed by the U.N. Security Council." Germany cited the economic effect that further sanctions would have on their economy. However, diplomats from other countries implied that Germany "gave the distinct impression that they would privately welcome, while publicly protesting, an American bombing campaign against Iran's nuclear facilities." Well, isn't that convenient?
America takes all the risk, all the denunciations, while Germany benefits from our "bombing action." I am fed up with the "elitist" European community. They publicly decry American foreign policy claiming that America is the bully of the region, while secretly applauding our willingness to battle the terrorists.

My friend, Lori, is urban and hip. She's also a strong believer and homeschooling Mom. We love to sit and visit while our girls swim in their pool. She was not raised in the church like I was and so she brings a perspective that I don't have. She is very deliberate in the way she lives and is not afraid to set her own course. She truly seeks to live by Scripture. So, I almost always try her recommendations on movies and books. Books, she's batting 1000, movies, she's batting .500. She recommended the movie "Babel", which I thought was awful. I couldn't deal with the Japanese girl. However, her book recommendations are almost always great. Her recent contribution to my education? "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. This book is by an Afghani that describes life in pre-Taliban and mid-Taliban Afghanistan. The book is incredibly well-written. It opens up life in a part of the world I've never understood or cared to understand. Another recommendation..."The Namesake" by Jhumpa L...? I can't remember the last name. It explores the perils of first-generation immigrants raising second-generation American children.

However...Grandmas and Aunties Rock
Grandpas and Dads can definitely be embarrassing to girls, but nothing beats Grandmas and Aunties. Who else thinks your the most awesome, fantastic kid in the whole world, buys you candy and clothes and generally does anything you ask? Nobody except a grandma or auntie!

Families can be sooooo
embarrassing!

While eating at Joe's Crab Shack Grandpa Tim got up and started dancing with the wait staff. Abby and Tory nearly died of embarrassment.

"Happy Birthday to you..."

Recently, Bob's parents and his sister Deanne came for a visit to celebrate his birthday. For his birthday dinner we went to Joe's Crab Shack...where, of course, we had to tell the waiter it was his birthday! What are family's for but to embarrass you? See next post for further comments.

Before heading home we stopped at Kohl's to do some shopping with Tory and Abby. Bob's patience is limited when it comes to shopping and he was griping just a tish, so his mother started singing Happy Birthday to shut him up. So, that became the theme song for the weekend. Anytime Bob got crabby we started singing Happy Birthday to him.

Spring has Sprung...

I love springtime in Texas. The shades of green are numerous. Everywhere you look you see trees budding, flowers blooming and birds nesting. This is probably the best time of year to live in Texas. Springtime always makes me want to garden, to get out of the house and into the open. I even love the weeds at this time of year. My favorite springtime activity is to go wildflower hunting. Thanks to Lady Bird Johnson we have wildflowers springing up all over the highways. Of course, no spring would be complete without pictures in the bluebonnets. My sisters and I will drag husbands and kids kicking and screaming to some highway field and make everyone squat down to get a good picture. Because we're making memories..."whether you like it or not!" Ahhh...springtime!

Hey...watch this!

Dads and their toys. Jim had a great idea for cleaning out the patch inside the old chicken coop fence. Why not burn it away? I wonder if he had to fill out a background check and wait 3 days to buy the flame thrower? B. was standing ready to grab the hose if necessary. Men...whaddya gonna do?

SMART CHILDREN...Misguided Parents

Check out the article below. Someone has studied the effects of telling children that they are smart. It turns out that's the worst thing you can do for a child. The better option is to praise them for the effort.

http://tinyurl.com/yo73qb

I have noticed some of the same effects in my daughter T. I've always told her she's smart, but if the task is hard she just gives up. Turns out that's a natural response for children who are told that their smart. For these children, they would rather not risk failure than try something new. They often need more assurance, etc.

Anyway, check it out. Turns out the self-esteem gurus were wrong...another strike out for the left. Hmmm, what are the public schools going to do with all that self-esteem curriculum they invested in?

NEWS AT ELEVEN!!

Peter the Cat snuffs out Peter Cottontail

During school on Friday we received a rather gruesome present from our "berry, berry bad kitty". Peter the Cat brought a baby rabbit that was about 5 inches in length to our back door. He was so proud of his catch and the girls were so horrified. The rabbit was still alive and tried to run away while Peter was trying to spit out rabbit fur. He proceeded to eat ALL of Peter Cottontail except the head. We couldn't watch the carnivorous cat enjoy his sumptuous meal. When we returned later to the scene of the crime all that was left was a trail of blood and a bunny head. Peter then came inside laid down and took a nap. Not long after this the Grandview rabbicide team was reading Peter his Miranda rights!

We went this last weekend to see "Amazing Grace" the story of William Wilberforce. Wilberforce worked for 20 years as a Member of the British Parliament to end the slave trade and eventually slavery. The movie was phenomenal. I had read about Wilberforce in a Christian History magazine about 10 years ago and knew him to be an amazing man, but I didn't realize that he was such close friends with William Pitt (the Prime Minister), Olaudah Equiano (the slave who bought his freedom and wrote about his experiences on a slave ship) and John Newton (the former slave trader who was converted and eventually wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace". I would highly recommend this movie. It is so well done.

Of course I dragged my husband and children to the movie. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from T. who had just checked out a book from the library and wanted to read that instead. It didn't help that we went to the cheap $2 theater in Cleburne. There's a reason its only $2. The film must have been formatted for a wide screen and played on a full screen because all the people were short and fat and looked like hobbits. Then, in most of the scenes you could see the boom mike used in filming just above the actors heads. So distracting. We asked for our money back then drove to two more theaters before we found one that was showing it.

B. and I really liked it. A. said she liked it and T. of course said she didn't like it. But I think she was determined NOT to like it. I think it was a little above their heads but it still exposed them to a great man. I will definitely buy this one when it comes out on DVD.

I am currently attempting to slog my way through Tolstoy's "War and Peace". It's one of my life goals...to read all the classics. The story is actually pretty good when it deals with the Rostov family, however, the war with Napoleon gets long. I must admit though it is giving me a more clear picture of why Napoleon was despised by the European royalty. I loved "Anna Karenina" by Tolstoy. If I had my life to do over I just might major in Russian Studies. I find them fascinating.