100 Words

Year End Review

December 27th, 2020
Mollie T. Cox

Along the way, I learned the importance of organizing and reviewing family photographs on a regular basis. Photographic records of family history are precious for too many reasons to list here.

Three years ago, we spent New Year’s Day putting the finishing touches on our boys’ photo albums. They now have a visual record from birth through the beginning of college.

As we looked at photographs of events we had forgotten, I wished we had reviewed them on a regular basis. We could have savored the memories. Perhaps we would have implanted them more deeply by discussing the photographs.

I don’t remember going there are sad words to hear when a family vacation trip was important to you.

Organizing photographs on New Year’s Day would have kept the album work manageable. It would have also given us a family activity on a day that was usually quiet and unscheduled.

News Year’s Day is a time to look forward. It also can be the best time to look back in a practical way, one which will yield fruit for many years.

I implore you to spend time looking at and discussing your photographs with your spouse and children.

Homeschooling, Winter

Hang a Bird Feeder

December 20th, 2020
Mollie T. Cox

My oldest son’s first clear word was dog. A family pet rushed into the living room where we were visiting Christmas Day. “Dog,” he blurted.

Bird followed. My toddler kept vigil over the birds eating the seed outside our kitchen window. “Bir” he said over and over. “Bird” corrected his visiting grandmother.

We moved, and moved, and moved again. Bird feeders were forgotten for twenty-two years.

Twelve inches of snow followed by nineteen inches of snow caused my husband and I to hang bird feeders on our deck. We watched cardinals, blue jays, doves, woodpeckers, chickadees and more. We photographed them. We researched them. As the snow lingered, and word spread, the quantity and varieties on our deck increased.

This red-bellied woodpecker visits frequently.

My joy was mixed with sadness. My sons were in college. They were missing adventures and learning experiences that could not be regained. If only I could go back twenty years and re-hang a winter bird feeder.

Does something need to be reinstated in your home?

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Luke 12:24 (ESV)

Christmas, Memories

Christmas Memories

December 13th, 2020
Mollie T. Cox

The best Christmas memories frequently originated from easy, spontaneous activities. And free. My youngest son fondly remembers using wrapped presents under the Christmas tree as roads and hills for his matchbox cars. I don’t remember how that activity started, but it continued over several years, even when the boys were so old it was the only time their cars were taken out of their buckets.

Once, I decided to have a picnic lunch under the Christmas tree. The kids were elementary age, and it was fun. I didn’t make it a yearly event. I wish I had because that special memory belongs only to me.

Another favorite tradition was sleeping under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. Until the boys were teenagers, the entire family slept on the floor. The boys slept in sleeping bags. My husband and I slept on camping mattresses. My husband eventually opted for his own bed, and as a loyal wife I followed. By the college years, only the middle son carried on the tradition. I hope this tradition is re-instated if we have grandchildren.

Any easy, memory-making activities in your home?

Christmas, Parenting

Gingerbread: A Conversation Starter

December 6th, 2020
Mollie T. Cox

I snatch the best ideas of others. One with unexpected results was giving gingerbread kits for Christmas. (For best results, wait until your youngest is at least ten unless your children work in pairs. Building requires skill and patience.)

Gathered around the kitchen table with busy hands, the boys cracked jokes, teased good-naturedly, and supplied us with joy we had not experienced recently. Our busyness and their reticence to share had increased as they aged.

We learned much about our sons. As their tongues loosened, unknown adventures were revealed. Two studied British Literature at a local private school. Ninety minutes of building and decorating gave us a semesters’ worth of funny stories. The two who shared an art history class entertained us by deliberately attributing erroneous architecture vocabulary to their houses.

What did our sons learn along the way? Aim for the most candy per inch of gingerbread so you have the greatest reward on Demolition Day. Demolition Day was an event itself with special china and hot tea to accompany our gingerbread gluttony.

We continued building and demolishing during the college years until family time was too scarce.

Has a Christmas tradition enhanced your family’s closeness?

Christmas

Uncle Rich Cookies

December 2nd, 2020
Mollie T. Cox

These were a favorite cookie named for a favorite uncle. Uncle Rich loved them as much as we did. (Actually, everyone who has eaten one loves them.)

Even better, the youngest child can be involved in breaking pretzels. With our three children, everyone had something to measure and everyone dropped spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

1 ½ cup Spanish peanuts (Best if not substituted with regular peanuts)

1 ½ cup miniature marshmallows

1 ½ cup rice crispies

1 ½ cup pretzels broken into pieces

24 ounces white almond bark (Can only substitute chocolate almond bark or milk chocolate chips. I learned the hard way.)

Spread sheets of wax paper on a hard surface.

Combine the first four ingredients and set aside.

Melt the almond bark in the microwave. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, repeat. At the end, you may need to reduce the time to ten second intervals to prevent burning. (You can use a double boiler for melting if you prefer.)

Once the almond bark is melted, QUICKLY stir into the first mixture and QUICKLY drop by spoonfuls on wax paper. Racing to finish before the almond bark thickens is part of the fun.

They should harden in 10-20 minutes. Mails easily, freezes well, and will keep for over a week.