This is it - my answer to my first Men's Monday Meme question -
Is there a favorite holiday tradition that you had when you were young and would like to pass on to your children or grandchildren?
I really have two holiday traditions that we have always had. Let me start with the least important one. We have always had the tradition of opening the package that came from the farthest away on Christmas Eve. That usually was a package from one of my cousins that lived a few states away. We lived in Pennsylvania for most of my growing up years, and we would always get together at Grandpa Tinkel's house in Indiana for thanksgiving. All of the aunts, uncles and cousins would be there and that is where we would always draw names for Christmas gifts. The rule was that you couldn't draw a name of someone from your immediate family so that ruled out my brother or sister. So it was always someone from Indiana or maybe even from Texas (my dad's youngest brother and family lived there)! We usually had a big Christmas Eve service at our church, so it would happen after that. It was always a big and exciting night. We have family that lives all over the USA now, so it is still exciting for my kids to open up one on Christmas Eve. You never know where it's going to be from!
The second, more important tradition is that we always read the Christmas story from the Bible before opening gifts on Christmas 'Day. I love doing it, but it always brings a pang of sadness. My dad, "Pop Pop", was always the one that had that honor. Even after we were married, we made it home most Christmases and even when we couldn't, we always knew that Pop-Pop was somewhere reading the Christmas story usually from the Gospel of Luke. Pop-Pop died eight years ago but we carry on the tradition. It helps us to focus on what we are really celebrating at Christmas time - the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It really shouldn't bring me sadness, for I know that while we are merely reading about Jesus' birth, Pop-Pop is actually sitting at His feet and praising Him for the sacrifice that he made when He left His perfect home in Heaven to be born into this sinful world. All so that He could someday die for our sins. That is what we are truly celebrating at Christmas, and that is the main tradition that I want to pass down to my children.
What Will I Miss and What Will I Not Miss as My Children Grow Older? Mood: chillin' Topic: The Kids
Most of you have seen the widgets that I have on the left hand side of my page. What are widgets? They are those things on the left side that you can press and go to a particular site. My "Men's Monday Meme" buttons are widgets, for example. As are the two from BlogFrog that are in the middle of the left column.
BlogFrog is a community of bloggers that I joined partly to gain more exposure for my blog, but also to learn from other, more experienced bloggers. In the blog frog community forums, they have a discussion area. You can either start a discussion by asking a question, or join in a discussion by answering a question or responding to someone else's answer. One of the questions recently was asked by Sarah (not my Sarah) from Kingdom Twindom. Her question was more in the form of a statement "I'm really going to miss that!" She went on to discuss what she was and wasn't going to miss about her children being toddlers. Others joined in the discussion and offered comments such as "I will miss the cuddling" or "I'll miss the babytalk", and then added that they would not miss "Changing diapers" and "Having to buckle them into their car seats".
As I began thinking about what things I would miss or not miss, I became a little more melancholy. Not depressing or anything like that, just kind of sad at the thought of my boys growing up. I thought I would share my response with you in today's post. Here it is in it's entirety.
Hope you don't care if a dad jumps in here!
There are many things that I will miss as my children grow older. We have three boys - 13, 9, and 3. If God chooses for us to not have any more children, I will miss not having a baby to hold, sing to and put to sleep. I will miss the baby talk. I'll miss the running and jumping into Daddy's arms, and, as much as I complain about getting old, I'll miss the wrestling and piggy back rides. As my sons leave the home, I will worry and miss having them under the protection of this home that God has provided.
I could post a long list of what I won't miss, but when it gets right down to it, I don't know if there is anything I will actually not miss - even the diapers. Although it's an inconvenience, I will still miss the climbing into our beds in the middle of the night. Although I want my children to love each other, the sound of bickering is better than no sound at all. All parents want their children to be mentally and physically healthy, but some of our best times and discussions have happened in the waiting rooms and trips to the children's hospitals and traveling back and forth from therapies (my oldest is a cancer survivor with an artificial eye, my middle has asperger's syndrome and my youngest also has sensory issues - currently being tested for asperger's as well).
I guess there is nothing that I would not miss, because, I know that every year that passes, and every stage that is grown out of, is another year and another stage that can't be recaptured again. And, although there are actions and disagreements among my boys that I pray will stop, I can't really say that I won't miss them, because I know that at any time God could choose to take one of them from us. We have been through the darkness, and we are enjoying the light with our boys, and, although there are trials, we really enjoy each day with them.
Boy that sounded really depressing for this season. I didn't intend for it to. But when I got to thinking of what I wouldn't miss, I realized that there really wasn't anything at all.
Why do I say hopeful? Because I'm still looking for a sponsorship for our Compassion Christmas Child - Mwende Mumbe from Kenya (click here to read my original post). I have heard what it's like to be waiting for a sponsor. Someone who can love you unconditionally. Someone who cares enough to help financially, but most important, cares enough to have a personal relationship with a child that so desperately needs someone who loves them.
I'm not trying to play on your sympathy, but to try to put a realistic perspective on things. So many of us see pictures of the poverty in the world, and just shake our heads, perhaps say a quick prayer, and then go on, thinking that we can't do much. We then probably forget about it until the next news story is flashed before us. I know that's the way I was. But, when God finally opened our eyes, and we began to sponsor Marcelo, it made a world of difference to our family. We can see how our money is affecting him physically, but more importantly, how our love is affecting him emotionally. And all it takes is a little over a dollar a day, and a little time.
Please take this time to pray about possibly sponsoring Mwende. I have a portfolio that I could send to you if you are interested with no obligation to sponsor, just to pray over. Just let me know through email or by leaving a comment below. Our email is tink38570@yahoo.com . Thanks for your prayers!
Maestro Classics - I Have a Secret - Part 3 Mood: lazy Topic: Homeschool Product Review
What's my third secret? It's something that my high school and college friends know about, but unless you knew me during those times, you probably don't know this. Are you interested yet? All right, I'll tell you! I was once in the band, orchestra and chorus in high school and in college I was in an instrumental ensemble. I play six or seven instruments (none of them very well any more), and I sing! I have always enjoyed music and still do. It's something that I hope that I have passed down to my children. John Allen has taken piano lessons, and is presently learning how to play the guitar. Joshua is also learning how to play piano now.
I think that one of the benefits from teaching your kids about music is their love of different musical types. So many times, kids will only pay attention to the music around them which is usually the music that their parents and friends listen to. When you make a conscience effort to teach music, the student grows to appreciate many different styles. That's why I was so glad that, as a TOS Homeschool Crew member I received from Maestro Classics a free musical CD, "The Tortoise and the Hare", to try out and post a review about on my blog.
This fantastic series of CD's doesn't just set popular stories to music, but it also explains the story and describes how different types of music, and instruments are used to create a feeling for the characters and an understanding of the story. The first thing that you hear when you put on this CD is a story set to music. The narrator on my CD was excellent. He used different voices for different characters and slowed down and sped up when necessary to follow the story line.
Next, the story itself is explained. The historical background and information about the author are very entertainingly taught.
Then comes what I think is the most exciting part. The composer explains why he wrote what he wrote and why he chose the particular instruments that he chose. For example, he explained that a hare has a very unusual gate when it hops around. He explained the reason why the particular music for the hare sounded the way it sounded. He went on to explain why he chose the contra-bassoon, a very low sounding instrument, to be used for the tortoise. Other interesting tid bits about the music and instruments were also shared.
After the explanation of the story and the music, we are invited to listen to the recording once more. This time around, listening is much more fun now that you know what to listen for!
The Tortoise and the Hare had a very cute song in the middle describing a French pretzel salesman. At the end, we are invited to sing along with this fun song while reading the words from the informational booklet that came along with the CD.
The booklet mentioned above ties everything together. It contains over a dozen pages of puzzles and worksheets that reinforce what the CD taught.
I loved everything about the CD. The music, written and conducted by Stephen Simon and played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, was fantastic. The narration done by Yadu was equally impressive. I also loved the booklet that went along to reinforce what was taught.
The only thing that I would impress on folks is to make sure that you have a structured environment in which to listen to this CD and enough time to listen to it. We tried twice to get our boys to listen to it. Once was in the car when we were running errands. The stopping and starting didn't work - hence the having enough time suggestion. The other time was while we were cleaning and getting ready for an event at the mission that we work in. The noise and confusion were not conducive to listening and paying attention - hence the structured environment requirement. I ended up listening to the CD myself for this review, but am going to very soon require the boys to listen to it again. This time, however, I will make sure that we are in a quite, peaceful place with time to sit through the whole thing.
I really enjoyed Maestro Classics the Tortoise and the Hare. The total time was very reasonable - less than an hour, and it opens the door to a new and meaningful understanding of how and why music is written. Everything about the CD was well done and, I think, well worth it. Other titles in this series include "Peter and the Wolf", "Casey at Bat" and "Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel" with many more listed and more to come. The price of each is just $16.98. You can find out more about Maestro Classics by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. To find out what the other TOS Homeschool Crew members thought about the different CD's that they received, click here. This is one of those things that isn't just for homeschooling. Unfortunately, with the cuts in budgets and emphasis on academics, many public and private school music programs are not what they used to be. These CD's can be used as a family activity to fill in the gap. So, with that, I won't say "happy homeschooling" but I will say "happy home educating!"
The Prize Person has Posted the Prize Package Mood: a-ok Topic: General
Say that five times real fast!
Anyway, I got a really neat email the other day from Heather, a member of the team that hosts the Homeschool Blog Awards. She was in charge of divvying up the awards that weren't specified. You see, some of the award donations were specified to go to a certain category winner but others weren't. Those that weren't were divided evenly between all of the winners. Here is part of her email that explained her creative method of choosing who won what:
Attached is a Graphic that my children and I made when we did the stuffed animal drawing for the Homeschool Blog Awards. Each blogger was assigned an animal to represent them and we wrote out the prizes on slips of paper and drew for the animals. The kids enjoyed taking photos of the animals and watching mom create graphics. We would love it if you would use the graphic in your post when you get your prizes or just telling about what you won. It would make my kids feel special. :)
I wrote back and told Heather that I would be more than happy to post the graphic, so here it is:
A note to Heather's kids:
Thanks for helping out and allowing your mom to use your animals for the drawing. I thought that Mr. Tiger was perfect for my Families Again blog. My kids thought it was kind of neat too!
Thanks Again,
From the Whole Tinkel Family.
PS. It's ok to laugh, we are used to people thinking our last name is funny !
And now to announce the prizes. At the time of this post, for some reason the Home School Blog Award website was having some difficulty. I wasn't able to access it to get links to all of these great companies. As soon as I'm able, I will post the links so that you can visit their sites. Here they are:
Artistic Photo Canvas
Safekids Software
Red River Paper Sample Box
20$ in MindBites Lessons
Heart of the Matter Online Homeschool Conference Tickets for 2010
The Old Schoolhouse - 1 Year Magazine Subscription
Here is some of the information that I know about the companies. Artistic Photo Canvas is one of those great companies that take a photograph, blow it up, and make it look like a painting on canvas. We are really looking forward to that one. Safekids is a company that produces software to keep kids safe on the internet - another one that we are thrilled with. Red River Paper produces good quality printing paper and stuff like that - always useful. I am really looking forward to the kinds of courses that we can get with MindBites Lessons. The Heart of the Matter Homeschool Conference was something I eyed last year but wasn't able to do. AND, although I do reviews for the TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) Homeschool Crew, I have never subscribed to their magazine. To be quite truthful, I didn't know much about it until I was selected for the Crew. I am really pleased to be getting it as well.
Really, I am thrilled with all of the prizes and wanted to thank the companies once again for their prize donations. I also wanted to thank the HSBA people for sponsoring the awards, and I especially wanted to thank all of you for voting for me. Again, I will have the links for the companies up as soon as possible. Please visit them for me. Thanks.
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a-ok
chillin'
Why do I say hopeful? Because I'm still looking for a sponsorship for our Compassion Christmas Child - Mwende Mumbe from Kenya (click 
lazy
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