Cultivating Childhood

A normal month in the life of a Hagelberg is usually mostly routine with some highlights.  This month however has been a whirlwind of activity.  It also seems to make up two different worlds.  We spent the first half of the month continuing to live in California during our transition time and then left for Thailand on the 15th.  Here are some memorable parts of our time in California. We celebrated my mom's birthday with the entire family at California Pizza Kitchen. My parent's treated us to a visit to Knott's Berry Farm for Christmas.  The boys had a great time.  They love roller-coasters and fast rides! We also got another quick trip or two to the beach.  We won't be going to any beaches for a while (although Thailand is famous for them). And of course, there was packing... and more packing... and purging... and repacking.  A whole new world awaits.

Our last month living in the United States.  We've come a long way since last January when God started really laying this overseas move on our hearts.  Thankfully, we've had some meaningful time with family here in California, and we've been able to celebrate some momentous occasions and build good memories. This month my dad turned 60!  Although we celebrated a bit early so my brother could join us, we also celebrated Quito day in honor of the city that my father grew up in.  I can't get enough of the ceviche and empanadas that accompany this special day that will always remind me of my rich heritage. We also spent that same evening decorating for Christmas.   Homeschooling was very loose in the month of December.  We spent a lot of time just doing extra fun things, and focusing on what Christmas is about.  We especially enjoyed going through Ann Voskamp's Unwrapping the Greatest Gift and making our paper Jesse Trees. Since we are truly

It's time for my annual list of books I've read over the past year.  I only read 33 books this year after reading 59 last year and 36 in 2012 .  It's been a pretty crazy year with all our moving and unsettledness which hasn't left a lot of time for relaxed reading time, but I'm pretty happy with what I did get to read. Phil's been keeping an ongoing list for the last 11 years or so that I'll never catch up to!  Here's what I've read in loosely separated categories. Novels 1. The Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford 2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 3. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick 4. Emma's Secret by Steena Holmes 5. When Joy Came to Stay by Karen Kingsbury 6. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant 7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Non-Fiction 8. Touch Magic by Jane Yolen 9. Free-Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy 10. Hints on Child-Training by Trumbull 11. One World Schoolhouse by Salman Khan 12. David and Goliath by Ma