December Activities

 December was fun and busy right up to Christmas. We didn't get out of school until December 22, so there wasn't a lot of time to prepare for Christmas before it came! However, somehow we were able to get the tree up, Bill bought me a dozen roses somewhere in there, Faith and Will applied for two separate scholarships, Ivy had a choir concert and a major project on France due, Will tried out for and made his school's mascot, and all of us are still upright and taking nourishment. We lived!

 I can't remember why I took this picture, but I thought it was really cute. Another picture that captures how much Ivy looks up to her older brother who is now 5'2" and grew out of some pants that I bought him two months ago.

 I don't know if this picture is clear enough to read, but Will wrote a really sweet essay about what patriotism is and submitted it for a scholarship contest. Faith wrote a great one too, but hers was all electronic. I never actually got my hands on it.

These next two pictures are from the day Paige spoke in church (which we didn't actually see, but did get to give her a hug). Will and Ivy got to play at the park in BC and Faith looked fantastic. We couldn't pass up the photo op.

 My school had a door decorating contest which I didn't win, but was extremely proud of myself for participating in. Next year I'm going to make my student aide do it for me.

 Ivy's choir concert was extremely well attended. We thought we would have to (and were prepared to) stand for the whole thing, but were invited to sit on the second row at the last minute.

 Ivy is on the front row. You can tell which one is her because she has the straightest fingers and is paying the closest attention to the instructor. She did a great job. It was fun to watch her.

Phew! This was the second to the last day before winter break and three days before Christmas. One of my teacher friends hugged me and commiserated with me on Christmas Eve, "This last week has been brutal." The good part this year was that semester exams were right before break. No worries about grading or homework over winter break.