Home School Thanksgiving Banquet

 Our Annual Homeschool Thanksgiving Banquet!

 Each year the kids are to dress up as Characters from History. Jesus TOTALLY helped this Mommy find something for our kids to wear.  I went to Kmart a couple weekends ago and found several racks of their out-of-season costumes clearanced for 75% off!  So I squealed, "Yea, Praise Jesus, 'Tasha  (she HATES to be called that!) help me dig!" (she wasn't exactly thrilled at her Momma's idea, but she helped me anyway and here's what we came up with for only $5 each... and that $$ was a gift from G.G. for the kids! (Thanks so much for making their day, Month, YEAR!!!)  I KNOW that I'll more than get my your money's worth watching them play by the hour with these fun Authentic looking dress-up clothes! So thanks to my find, Bryan chose to be Sergeant York! Who was a WWI Christian Hero! (you can't see but "someone's" about to loose two front teeth, but they are hanging in there rather crooked and stubborn like!=)

 Here he is holding his Great-Grandmother Hausman's Bible, to help illustrate Sergeant York's firm belief that God was and is to be 1st in EVERY area of our lives!  Oh, that is my hearts cry for all of us! 

 Darla chose to be Sacajawea. The Indian women who went with Lewis and Clark on their Exploration of the West.  (For we found a complete Indian GIRL outfit and MODEST enough too! PTL!) Here she has her little "Papoose" in a Colombian bag, gift from the Dickinson's, that we "rigged" to try to look like how the Indians would have carried their young!  (she had some DARLING REAL moccasins too, but Brittany  I mean... Someone whom we'll leave un-named, who was helping me take all of these pics, forgot to include her shoes!!! Of all the nerve!!! (for those of you who Don't know me... I'm only teasing someone who LOVES shoes and you MUST include SHOES in every outfit, for THEY make the outfit.. don't leave out the shoes, Mommy!!! ... Goodwill always has some there just waiting for our next trip to find more... SHOES!!!

 Here's our friend who got to be there today, cause he is recovering from shoulder surgery... I'll let you guess which one! Hee!

 One of the small stars of the show!

 Here's Sergeant talking with a "Mark Twain" type character... you should have seen the eyebrows on this Dude!  Way to go Deanna!

 And these eyebrows.... =)

 Borrowed from this "Star"

 Here is "Daniel Boone" and "Davy Crocket"... aren't they just darling!!! (Can't believe they are already almost 1 year!!) They had their mouths all set for the plate of Turkey, Mashed potatoes & gravy, Green Beans and Rolls,  that their Moma had just sat down before them... so they were a bit too preoccupied to "smile" =)

 Here's a table full of sweet children all dressed up as some character from our History! and with their yummy plates full at our Thanksgiving meal!

 Awaiting the meal, this was some of the "line-up"!

 These two "detectives" about stole the show with all the "Stunts" of how they would catch the bootleggers.  They were the 1st abolitionist Detectives and were such a success that folks loved them, but unfortunately Politics didn't!  HAS much changed?!

 The intent audience!

 Up closer.... NOT TOO PERSONAL!!!

Our Mr and Mrs Snowman Crafts!

 I was asked to help with the Jr kids Craft.  I'm not too great at coming up with ideas like this.  But I had some wonderful suggestions to get me going AND JESUS HELPED MUCH!!!  We Mom's, all dug out all of our scraps of ribbons and old buttons etc so the cost was cut to almost nothing, thanks to the felt being donated... only took time to cut out and the kids did the rest!  It was fun to watch their creative ways making these gifts to give to the patients at a Nursing Home where we go and Carol each Christmas!  Christmas, and God's Amazing Gift to us, is best understood when we GET THE JOY OF GIVING! So this makes every scrap of fabric and every "ouch" of burnt fingers from hot glue, worth it all to see the smiles of someone remembering the "outcast" of our Society... after all they were someone's "teacher, Momma, Daddy or Grandma, Grandpa"!   Last year Jesus gave us a tiny glimpse of our efforts as some of us split up and went caroling down the halls.  The director asked if the kids would be okay caroling to a lady that was dying... and Denise said she thought they would be.  The lady then led them to a room of a VERY sick lady, who had actually been in a coma for several days and had shown NO response at all to her family, who had been called in for they knew she was soon to  pass.  The kids went in and sang Carols and when she heard them she started crying and awakened to join several minutes with her family. (Can't remember all the details...) but that let the kids "see" for the family was SO moved to tears as well that this response was made... So that's why we do what we do... Is it worth it... OF COURSE... the Bible says it's all worth, Just ONE soul!

 Here's a few of the artists at work...

 The kids had so much fun being SO creative and I'm VERY sad that I forgot to get a good close up pic of all of their work when they had finished!  Oh well, if you've followed our blog much, you'll know that at least I'm being "consistent" with my lack of pics!!! =)

Heather, we all missed ya'll this year, you can be sure.  Natasha also missed getting to be there as she was VERY ill with a cold!  But we are counting our blessings that Jesus protected her from any such hard coughing until she was healed, for this coughing has made her back pretty sore, as you can imagine!  God is Good!!!!  And all the time! Happy Pre-Thanksgiving!