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1) How Our World Has Changed:
Armed guards in airports, helicopters and fighter jets flying over stadiums and people stocking up on penicillin, all signal a sad new world. 

• PAGE IDEA: Scan, photograph or color copy a newspaper or magazine article about America's precautions against terror. Write down how your family has responded to these threats.
• JOURNALING IDEA: Draw a line down the page dividing it into halves. Label the sides "Then" and "Now." If you never thought twice about going to a large public gathering, but you do now, make a note of how you have changed. Use the sheet to gather comparisons.

2) Veterans' Day, November 12:
With the American bombing of Afghanistan on Sunday, October 7, 2001, we heralded a new group of veterans.

• PAGE IDEA: How have our family members served during previous war? Don't forget to include civilian support such as saving metal and rationing.
• JOURNALING IDEA: Interview family members who have served. Frank, my neighbor's father-in-law, was awarded the Burma Star for his service to the United Kingdom during World War II. When we toured Buckingham Palace, Frank told me that last year was his division's 50th anniversary. To commemorate, the Queen invited the living veterans to the palace grounds where they were feted. "They dropped red poppies over us," said Frank as he reminisced. "Don't get invited to the palace often." (I imagine not!)

3) Gobble, gobble. Thanksgiving, November 22:
I've invited the British family next door to come over to eat Thanksgiving dinner with us. "Will you have pumpkin pie?" They asked. Uh, sure. (Anybody have any easy recipes? After I said yes, I realized I can't buy a frozen pumpkin pie from the grocers. HELP.) Of course, I'll try to make our favorite foods. Of course, you and I will both scrapbook Thanksgiving. But, have you thought about other foods your family dotes on? Items that make their way into your grocery cart every week?

• PHOTO IDEA: Take pictures or scan your family's favorites and their packages. Create a page with the packaging covers.
• JOURNALING IDEA: Ever stock up on a fave-rave only to discover your child now HATES this food? Or write about how your child was introduced to a new food. When our Korean student lived with us, Michael learned to love spicy Bowl Noodles. We were surprised and delighted to find that the student center at his school here in England stocks them.
• PAGE IDEA: Does your family have a favorite recipe? Do you have a favorite dish your friends make? Use photos along with the recipe on a page.

4) Why We Came to This Country( or Why We Live Here):
We have no control over where we are born. Later in life, we may choose to live in a certain area because family is nearby. Or we may choose to leave a certain area because family is nearby. (Okay, dose of honesty here.) One of my friends chose to move to a new neighborhood because she liked the diversity she saw there. I've discovered that there are "serial" ex-pat families, that is, families who start in their home country and move from country to country without returning to that "home." A mother explained to me, "After a while, we didn't fit in with people who weren't ex-pats. We decided that we were better suited to an international life."

• PAGE IDEA: On a map, draw lines to illustrate how your family has moved from one place to another. Number the moves and journal your reasons for moving.
• JOURNALING IDEA: I suggest you work this out for yourself before committing it to a page, but why do you live where you live? If this hasn't always been your home, what do you miss from previous locations?
• PAGE IDEA: Assuming that you are not a Native American, why not use a world map to show where your ancestors came from. Explain why they moved to the country you now call home.

5. Brr, Brr, Brr. Cold Weather is Upon Us:
It has rained every day we've been in the UK except one. I asked my British friends, "Doesn't this rain signal fall? I've heard it's very rainy here in autumn." They laughed and explained, "This is drizzle. You haven't seen real rain yet." Oh. Time to think warm thoughts.

• PAGE IDEA: How do you get ready for fall and winter? You might photograph preparing your garden, or bringing out your warmer clothes. Make a list of things you do to prepare your home. Example: Do you drain a swimming pool? Turn off your sprinkler system? Get the car waxed? Cover the roses?
• JOURNALING IDEA: What signals the coming of cooler weather where you live? In the Midwest, nippy fall weather forces mice indoors. Little brown droppings appear here and there. If you aren't a Midwesterner, the first "shadow" you see running along the baseboard will send a chill up your spine. Old hats sigh and load a mouse trap with peanut butter.
• PHOTO IDEA: Have you taken pictures of your house during all the seasons? Have you photographed your coat closet or door stoop as the seasons change? I noticed that the summer sandals have vanished and the boots are standing at attention.