It’s Christmas! Time for my annual family update. These posts are a little more personal and less serious than my normal writings. If you are new to the blog, bear with me, or just enjoy the photo and skip the rest. I promise my next post will be deeper and more spiritual! As always, I started with my Christmas letter, then redacted my kids’ names to just their initials to protect their privacy online.
Dear Friends and Family,
In honor of J’s starting kindergarten, we present our year in ABCs:
A is for Aldi, which opened in New Ulm this fall, saving us monthly trips to Mankato.
B is for Bob Books. J read seventeen of these readers.
C is for CS6. M (12) and C (10) learned Adobe Creative Suite to help Dan with movie production.
D is for Do-it-yourself. Dan installed luxury vinyl tile in the kitchen and it looks marvelous!
E is for Ears. J laughed at movies for the first time, once we tackled his hearing problem.
F is for Fantasy Football Fizzle. Sorry, D!
G is for Garden. We planted hostas, ferns, columbine, and ground-cover roses.
H is for High School. D graduated from elementary homeschool. Now the fun really starts.
I is for Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie plays at our house on Sunday evenings.
J is for Jalapeños. I picked our final crop on November 18. Global warming, or my green thumb?
K is for Kindle. A Spiritual Growth Plan for Your Phlegmatic Child hit virtual shelves last winter.
L is for Legos. M and C build castles and star ships and pyramids. (Oh my!)
M is for (stop) Motion. M makes animated movies with their constructions.
N is for Novel. I’m back to writing fiction, a YA novel connected to The Interior Castle.
O is for Online. Homeschool Connections provides our science, apologetics, and government courses.
P is for Painting. Our main living areas now evoke maple nut ice cream.
Q is for Quiet. Wait, we didn’t experience any. Maybe in 2017? Please?
R is for Retreat. Homeschool moms in Winona attended my first all-day event in March.
S is for Shakespeare. D and M sampled the Bard with parts of The Hollow Crown.
T is for Thanksgiving with the Joe and Gwen Rossini family. Lovely and noisy.
U is for Up late. C saves his energy until 10 PM. We are tired!
V is for Video. Dan produced the Diocesan Ministries Appeal video. He’s forming a new side business.
W is for Wisconsin. In August we visited La Crosse and the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Green Bay.
X is for strike – in bowling. We knocked down pins together all summer. D joined the Junior League.
Y is for Youth Group. D and M camped with seminarians and adored the Eucharist with their peers.
Z is for Zimbos. The toddler block game morphed into ultimate Zimbo Football. Guess whose idea that was?
Have A Beautiful Christmas!
Connie Rossini, with love from Dan and the boys
I read all the Laura Ingalls little house books when I was a child, and I made up my own little house games from them! Their love got them through their hardships! Merry Christmas + Love Cheryl