CarpeBanana

I am a seasonal critter so I am feeling the need for a “Best of 2007″ blog. Odd that I do not want to revisit the “Worst of 2007″ with an entry but we won’t go there.

Anyhow. What is the best thing about 2007? Something adorable my Bananalets have done? The way Devastatingly Handsome has continued to care for me despite my being a jerk so often? A year of progress and growth for all in school and life (basically code for “sanctification”)? Continuing to be blessed with friends and family? Good health?

Those and many others are best things but nowhere near BEST.  BEST is that there has been another year that this spider has not been cast into the fire or even allowed to drop into it ~ “And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up. “ And even BETTER is that I have Christ’s assurance that “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

To be honest I am not quite sure what this entry is about but I am operating at the bidding of Mr Music here. Thanks to his dear Aunt he received a new football yesterday. He actually slept with it last night.

And now it turns out the box is just as good. He put Little Phil the Groundhog Beanie in it to use as a transporter room.

Yep, that is a small dog operating the controls only Mr Music can see.

This is the “after” picture.

Apparently the Groundhog’s molecules unscrambled in proper order in an identical but flipped (!) transporter room (notice the K’nex ship in the background and the change in, uh, carpeting) . And here you see my little gingerbread buddy, Nutmeg, operating the controls. His hat is from an emptied jar of cumin. Whatever. I notice that the groundhog does not look too happy about the experience, maybe he is Dr McCoy’s stand-in.

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Today one of those amazing things happened.

After 23+ years, Devastatingly Handsome shaved his beard off. This came partly in response to Miss Dog Lover’s question a couple months back, “Does Dad *have* a chin?” Now we see that he does. The part that feels strange is, now he looks like his brother.

Today we had lunch with a group of friends we haven’t seen in awhile. One of them has been blogged about here before but just recently found out I blog. He cracked me and Miss Language up by asking if we have ever blogged about him. So, yes, we have, and now he gets (most of) a whole entry of his own.

Here is the link to a previous “Bob” post telling about his feelings about the cold months of winter. Miss Language & I are pretty sure one of us also blogged about an expression in common usage in our home, the phrase “Bob (your) socks,” but we can’t find it on a search of the blogs. The backstory here is that we knew Bob in his bachelor days. And he was not really what you could call a morning person. He complained about hating starting each morning with wet socks from stepping in puddles on the bathroom floor. It wasn’t till we stayed at his apartment and showered in the morning that we learned why this was such a thorn in his flesh ~ it seems he did not have the knack of tucking the shower curtain INSIDE the shower to keep the floor dry. Bob told us today that is no longer a problem, despite Mrs Bob saying he still does that. She pointed out that he now wears slippers in the bathroom. Hope we have not sown marital discord, but now you know what to call it when there is a small spill in the kitchen which no one cleans up till you come through in your socky feet. Bobbing your socks. 

We had a great day together with, uh, old friends, not of course that we are getting old but friends from, uh, long ago. But then we got home and realized that Mr Music does not get out enough. He told me he had a present for me and set it on the kitchen counter, here is the photo.

If you hear of a young man wanted for taking a restaurant’s jelly supply, well, I never thought to tell him it is not OK to fill your pockets and bring it home.

Our dear Church Grandmother had a trip to Ireland this fall. She saved souvenirs for Christmas gifts and they are beautiful.

Each of our ladies received a necklace:

Mine is the top left one. It reminds Miss Language and me of illustrations in the Book of Kells. I will have more to say about it in another entry. The celtic knot one is for Miss Language. She often works at drawing them while she is waiting, and occasionally even during sermon notes. We like the way it is a cross going through a circle.

The green claddagh is for Miss Dance, who likes all things sparkly. I read that a Claddagh is a symbol of love, friendship, and loyalty, though I always think of John Calvin’s “My heart I offer to you, Lord, promptly and sincerely.” And Miss Dog Lover received the lovely trefoil.

Here for your reading enjoyment is the web version of our Christmas letter.  A blessed and Merry Christmas to all of you! 

A (Lame) Christmas Message from the Bananas 

A Christmas Carol – the play with friends in it we got to see for Christmas.

Ballet – the love of Miss Dance’s life (other than sugar).

Chain-link – the fence finally around our yard.

Drainage – was not working properly this spring and led to Dad Digging Ditches.  Eagerly – how we are awaiting a dog.

Flag Football – which Mr Music played this fall and enjoyed very much.

Gleeful – how Miss Language is about being accepted at her first choice college.

History – Mr Music’s favorite. Today’s question: Are there horse descendents of Traveller? If so, he wants one.

Icky – how some people feel about Miss Language’s biology dissections (fetal pig to follow).

July – when Miss Language spent a week at the Life conference in
Florida.

Keep school on track – what TobyBo does at least 180 days a year! 

Marbles – something we seem to have lost most of J.

Noise – Mr Music makes plenty of it, especially on the piano (although it’s becoming more harmonious).

Orthodontia – Mr Music and Miss Dog Lover are both sporting braces.

Poison Ivy – which grew rampant at church camp this summer.

Quizzing – this year Galatians to Colossians for 4 of the Bananalets

Reading – something which we do a lot of, both for school and for fun.

SNAP – the phys ed program which Miss Dog Lover got to participate in this fall.

Track – Miss Dance, Mr Gingersnap, Miss Dog Lover, and Mr Music all got to run this spring.

Under the covers – where we like to stay on cold winter mornings.

Vacation – we went and Visited the friends!

Why – because He first loved us.

Xstatic – how TobyBo and Miss Language get when something “bloggable” happens.

Youth rally – where we spent a weekend learning about sanctification.

Zzzzz – how Devastatingly Handsome sounds when we are watching a movie.

 Looks like a green Christmas around here in more than one way. The weather, of course, (in fact, we’ve had so much rain the puddles in our yard are large enough they seem to have their own tides going), but also Devastatingly has decided it’s time for the “green” lightbulbs.

Devastatingly Handsome is a political junkie.

Today was go-to-the-tree-farm, tramp-up-the-hill, run-around-stopping-at-every-third-tree-saying-”This-here’s-a-tree,” go-through-the-mud, choose-the-best-tree-in-15-acres day.

We had trouble agreeing on The Best Tree.

So, in true homeschooler fashion, we fell back on our education. DH had shown the kids the Hillary ad about how to caucus (Caucusing is Easy). So, he decreed that it was time to caucus for your favorite tree. Some kids went and stood by Tree A and some by Tree B. Then, as it turned out there was an even split, various points were made in favor of each tree and Miss Dog Lover was convinced to go caucus for Tree A. And although I would really have preferred the littlest Charlie Browniest treelet we saw right on the edge of the woods, and I caucused for Tree B, I must admit Tree A is looking lovely in the corner of the living room. Even if it never gets decorated beyond the lights and bubble lights Devastatingly has hung on it thus far.

Devastatingly Handsome took the crew to the library today. The crew that claimed to be delighted to be on school break for the next couple weeks. And what happened? Miss Language announced she “‘wanted to’  bring home the Japanese and Arabic living language courses,” but instead “‘only’ signed out the Arabic one and a Chinese video and a Russian phrase book.”

Good grief.

I can only hope no one else brought home anything educational.