Nutcracker Revisited

Chris, Jacob, Daniel and Isaac backstage before the performance.
Bailey, Emily and Josephine before the performance.
After the show, milling around onstage.
More of the actors/dancers.
Just a few more....We LOVE Timbrel school of dance. Love the kids there, love the teachers. And for spring I do believe we will have 3 in theater dance and one in ballet. Next fall we will have some in hip hop, too, and when Jordan is old enough, he wants to do theater dance, too. It is a fabulous family oriented place, and Christian in nature. So glad we discovered them.

Babysitter's Club

Opinion column:

People who know us, know that we are particular about the media we expose our family to. Well, last week when at the library, Emily chose a book from the Babysitter's Club series. I was unsure of the appropriateness, but agreed to let her check it out so I could preview it and decide if it was ok. Well, I noticed her reading a chapter so I got the book when she finished the first chapter. I was not happy with the content.
First, this is a series about 4 girls about age 12 who have a babysitting club. They take jobs for neighborhood people and inadvertently end up solving some mysteries that arise. Unfortunately the narrator, which is one of the girls, makes fun of the conservative way 2 of the girls dress (unstylish in plaid skirts and white tops), criticizes one for not wearing makeup (they are TWELVE---HELLO!!), criticizes one parent of a friend for being discriminating about what movies she can see (SHOCKING!), and complains that two of the friends are still babyish since they still play with toys instead of daydream about boys. And all this in the first chapter as she describes how her strict parents are horrible for making her complete her homework which she routinely blows off or does incompletely, and often gets in trouble at school over this matter.
Needless to say I gently told Emily that this book was not appropriate for anyone since it was teaching lust, and disrespect for parents, and immodest dress/makeup. She saw the elements I spoke to her about and agreed.

So that is my take on this series. Though I have only perused one book in this extensive series, it is clear that it will not be coming here again.

COMING SOON: book review and excerpts from a favorite preteen training book called I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris. He and his brothers and parents have great books and a website that is very noteworthy.

Random December

Totally out of order, but I really could care less today. Here is the tree, glowing in it's splendor....
And this is a miniature gingerbread house that Emily made out of sculpey! How cute is that??!!
And this is the food we ate for Thanksgiving at my in-laws house--I would have taken a photo of the food at my parents' house but it wasn't all in one place. Makes ya hungry, doesn't it?
And this is Em and her cousin Alissa--after Thanksgiving dinner they (and Elizabeth) ran a pretend restaurant for the family. I don't recommend eating there as they charged some exorbitant prices!
This was a pretty day at the park. It was just us and Hope, so poor Jordan had no boys to play with. I felt sorry for him.
But he seemed quite happy most of the time. He brought guns just in case his friend Isaiah came.
This was the beautiful sunset on Thanksgiving Day.
Still at the park--messing with the pond. Still totally out of order!
Playing in the street (bad mothering) and jumping in leaves. Very fallish and fun!
One of the crepe myrtles turned a beautiful red. Had to photograph that!
And this is a tea party Emily planned and set up using a fabulous library book, that she would love to have a copy of for her birthday--hint, hint!