Outside my Window
It’s cold!! (Well, relatively cold. Ok, cold for us anyway.) After spending last week at Disney World sweating in the 86 degree heat enjoying the tropical Christmas atmosphere, I was desperate for the change back to more seasonal temps. And you know what that means: fire in the fireplace!!


I am Thankful For
Friends! 

  • The friends we hadn’t seen in years and met at Disney where we picked up like it had been just yesterday. Ah, it made our vacation great and my heart light to see those kids laughing and holding hands and having such a grand time together. And I enjoyed talking with my buddy too.
  • The friend who texts me at least twenty times a day with all the latest things we want to obsess about and no one else cares. We live miles apart and have never seen each other, but she gets me and makes even the hardest days fun.
  • The friend who took me out for yummies last night and had all the best conversations, because we both just needed to get out and have girl time.
  • The friend who dug through the trash at church and sent home Olivia’s retainer so I didn’t have to drag all the kids back out in the cold night and go up there again. I got to stay at home, cook dinner, and put my cranky four-year-old to bed. Seriously folks. Friend of the year right there!
  • The girls at my co-op. I just love them. They work so hard to give our kids an amazing learning experience each week. Nothing we’ve done this year so far has been second-rate. They are awesome.

I am Thinking About
Goals for the new year. Yes, early I know, but that is where my mind is going. Where can I improve as a wife, mom, teacher, blogger, person? Writing goals is tough work because my tendency is to throw everything I have ever wanted to improve down on the paper. That just sets me up for failure, though, so I try to be more thoughtful about it and put down some things that are achievable and quantitative. Hard work, that.

From the Schoolroom
We are digging ourselves slowly from the vacation pit we were in. It is not easy to take off the week after Thanksgiving and then come back and try to gear up again before Christmas, but we are doing it. We are easing back into it with fewer lessons these past couple of days. Next week we are going to attempt to be back up to speed.

Trending
100 Things for Kids to Memorize

From the Kitchen
Nothing exciting at all. I am cooking from the freezer and pantry as much as possible this month. We won’t start cookie making or anything fun until right up close to the holiday and during the twelve days. Is it bad that I may wait and go get gingerbread house kits on clearance and make them between Christmas and New Years?

I am Creating
A totally new look on the blog! What do you think? I have added some things for functionality and played with the colors a bit along with a new header. More changes are coming. And of course this means I have not been crafty off the computer…

I am Reading
How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare– Yes, still.

The Man Who Ate the 747Pin – I borrowed it from a friend before Thanksgiving. The jury is still out, but since I started it two weeks ago, it is obviously one I have no problem putting down. I am in despair over my lack of interest in fiction these days.

I am Praying
For friends who are hurting, friends who are traveling, friends who aren’t sleeping.

I am Listening To
The boys playing the Wii. They are upstairs, but John bounces like Tigger as he plays, so there is pounding and floor joist-squeaking above me. That kid breaks a sweat every time he plays a video game.

Clicking Around
Did you see the WestJet Christmas video that has gone viral? Just lovely. Really. Click over; you won’t be sad you did.

Afterthoughts — Ok, now I am just going to link you over to Brandy, because she reads all the best stuff on the web and posts it up just for me every Sunday night. And I feel like a heel just linking to everything she linked last week. So seriously, put her in your reader and enjoy the good stuff.

Hannah’s Christmas — Read by author Melissa Wiley. What a wonderful present for the feast of St. Lucy. This book is out-of-print and often priced high around this time of year. Such a treat.

Around the House
There is a Christmas war going on here. Matt had Tuesday off after we got back from Disney, so he put the tree up while we were at co-op. Yes, I understand he wanted to do it while he was off work, but I thought I had explained I would have not time to decorate before the weekend and there were still pumpkins all over the house!! 

Also please raise your hand if you prefer to decorate a clean house for Christmas? The house still had the pre-vacation funk. There was no way I had time to clean and put things up along with all of our regular activities this week.

Anyone want to guess what happened when the kids saw it? Let the cajoling and whining ensue! I have held firm that we are waiting until this weekend, but the kids persisted that the tree needed some decoration. This is what you call a stalemate:


I posted the photo on Facebook and got tons of “you should leave it like that” but of course they stripped it all off again before dinner time. I am not opposed to a kid decorated tree, but one where the decorations appear and disappear would drive me nuts. I’m cleaning today. We decorate tomorrow. You can call me Charlie Brown all you want, dear husband. (As in “Charlie Brown you are the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.”) I’ll decorate when I’m good and ready and not a minute before. ;-P

One of My Favorite Things
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” – One of my favorite Christmas songs, and I can listen to it this year. Last year I skipped in my playlist the entire Christmas season; I couldn’t listen without bawling. This year? This year I can belt it out with the best of them. So blessed.

Plans for the Week
We’re playing bas–ket–ball! (Sing that like some old commercial that is going through my head. Anyone else old enough to remember?) Both kids are playing on teams at the church. This is our third year being involved, and I have to confess that our church is not very competitive in the basketball department. 

The good thing about that is there is not much pressure and the kids can relax and enjoy playing. The bad thing is that we don’t win much and after a while the line about “It doesn’t matter who wins and loses” starts losing its magic. You can say that all you want, but even a five-year-old knows its more fun if you win at least some of the time. 

Neither kid is a standout player by any means (we’re saving that bit of glory for Thomas I think) but they have asked to go back year after year. Makes our life crazy, but the season is pretty short so we persist.

A Picture
Because you haven’t had enough, right?


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