twas the night before Christmas...

i'm at my parents ready for santa...that's right. i'm 27, and i'm going to get up early to see what gifts are sitting out on the couch from the big guy in the red suit...and i'm proud of it!!!

here are some pics of my preparatory week...

this is my Sunday school class at our Christmas lunch. since we're all young and single, it's easier to meet for lunch than to have covered dish!here's my cute baby, Sassafras, in her santa baby shirt...she hates it!!!my tree all decorated with red and black!my parents didn't have a tree up when i came home, and i insisted that they get one! mama and i went on friday morning...with starbucks in hand, and picked one out. of course, we left it on top of the car for daddy to unload it :)my great aunt didn't have a tree either. she sold all of her Christmas decorations years ago, then bought a new pretty house this fall. her daughter and son-in-law are coming to stay with her in the new house, and i think they needed a little tree! i bought this one for her, and we decorated it on saturday. she was thrilled!!

as Christmas traditions go, this one is probably my fav...the candle light service at church. i brought in the camera and snapped a pic this year! it's a little blurry, but i think it's a cool effect!

well, now that all the prep work is finished, it's time to enjoy the holiday. have fun celebrating this CHRISTmas with your family!

decorate tree-check!
buy gifts-check!
wrap gifts-check!
hang other decorations-check!

i can not believe i'm all caught up on Christmas prep! now it's time to relax!!! of course, relaxing means cleaning the house, taking out trash, washing clothes, and maybe then i can do a little scrapping! as soon as i get some decent pics of the tree, i'll post them!

as a teacher, i love this time of year. not because i get half a month off (which is FABULOUS!) but for many reasons...the kids are in the best mood. sure, they're wild and crazy ready to get out, but still, happy students are better than bumbed out students! also, it's exam time...those are easy days for everyone...especially when giving scantron tests. i've said from the beginning of the year that this was going to be a good one, but i've been really surprised at how close i've gotten with some of my students. one of them came with her mom to visit me on monday. she gave me an amazing gift, which made me think...how did i get so lucky? it's not about the gift, it's about students who care as much about me as i do about them. if i wouldn't have followed God's direction sending me back to t-town, i wouldn't have these amazing 140 8th graders that i look forward to seeing each day! as i approach two weeks without them, i know i'll them! however...for now, i'm enjoying time without grading papers, any lesson plans, or getting flip charts ready for the next week! woo hoo...Christmas break is here!!!!!

i'm sick :(

well, i had to leave school early today to go to the doctor...have i ever said how much i hate the doctor? if not, I HATE THE DOCTOR! except for this one time where he was hot...and single, but that's a different story! anyways...i have gastritis. how yuck does that sound??! my dad told me i'm turning into an old woman! so, i'm going to lay here, watch full house and hope my tummy feels better...it couldn't get worse than it felt this morning!

hope you're feeling great today...i'm sure i'll be better once i get some drugs in my system!

a quick update...

i've done a little scrapping lately; not enough, but that's what Christmas break will be for! here's they are...

1-Living with a boy...about the messiness i always came home to when i lived with my brother

2-watching the world RUSH by...me sitting on a train on vacation

3-sonny money-the $100 classroom teachers get thanks to sonny perdue

4-a frame for my friend anna who is teaching in Africa (hope she doesn't see this...if you do, hope you love it!)

this is the last week of the year with students! teachers go next monday morning, but then we're all out for the year! that sounds so amazing!!! two and a half weeks of sleeping in, scrapping late at night, and having time to do the little things around the house...like clean!