December Top Ten List

Top Ten Things I Love About December This Year
10. no snow yet! It's been warm enough to have our Cub Scout den meeting outside around a campfire, warm enough for sweatshirts instead of coats, warm enough to keep geocaching in the woods
9. I have decorations up before Christmas Eve this year. Last year we didn't even have our tree until the 23rd. This year I am gettin' my Christmas on!
8. watching them look for Tom the Elf every morning with excitement. Man! that Elf on the Shelf is still incentive and I love it!
7. new mistletoe!  Any time I can get my son to willingly give a kiss to me or his sister is priceless. And you can't argue with mistletoe placed conveniently in front of the refrigerator
6.visits with friends. I am really looking forward to three different get-togethers that are planned this month. First, a small group to make DIY ornaments while drinking adult beverages. Maybe that isn't such a brilliant plan but nonetheless...it's happening. Our annual BT Christmas shopping, eating, adult beverages.  Can't wait to see you girls! And lastly, the annual "Jay takes the boys to Culver's and the teacher ladies eat, laugh, play games and drink adult beverages at Chris' house" night!  I sense a theme here.
5. ballet recital next week to Silent Night...will I cry??  oh yes! This date is also my dad's birthday. He would have been 67 and my heart is broken that he is gone from us only a month ago. Silent Night and little girl in  pink leg warmers will go a long way to warm my sad heart
4. lights, lights and more lights. With all this warmer weather our neighborhood has had a lot of time to continue putting up lights. It seems to have inspired some to keep purchasing new sets and load it up. Our street looks beautiful. As always, we are looking forward to our trip to Larsen's Christmas Lights. Best I've ever seen!
3. most of my shopping is done!  I love online shopping. I love shopping for that perfect hard to find gift...and then finding it. This year I have done that for a few people and I'm excited to see them open the gift.
2. RichWrap warehouse sale. Wrapping paper, tissue gift bags and tags for the next two years for under $50. This year is was Ladies Day Out and I went with my mom and my daughter. We went armed with Starbucks Peppermint Mocha and cake pops. Great deals to be had here! Even on the last day!

and the number one thing I love about December this year....

1. Advent at church. Jesus is our number 1 gift. Not just this year, but every year. Our church is decorated and we are celebrating the birth of My Savior. Come join us!

Bring on Summer!

So pathetic that I haven't blogged anything since Easter! But that's what happens. Easter, then craziness at work and school until school is out. But now we've ended Adam's 1st grade year, Lucy has completed her first year at a real preschool that she loves, and I have finished my 10th year teaching. After spending a very long week in meetings and packing up the classroom for a move downstairs, the kids were very happy to hear that SUMMER HAS NOW BEGUN!  Mark and I were so happy about how they were behaving when I was trying to pack that we took them to dinner and then on to Kung Fu Panda 2. The great thing was this also began Mark's 4 day weekend. We packed this weekend with so much! We took our first visit to Morton Arboretum and spent most of the day in their Children's Garden. So beautiful! See the picture above: Toad Nursery! They are playing with tadpoles, and looking for ones with and without legs. Great day! We also spent a day at Fermilab in their prairie stations. Raptors, prairie hunts, insect sweeps and pond exploring. Sunday brought church and Sunday school, refocusing. Monday was spent at the Brookfield Zoo with great friends. Beautiful weather and so much fun watching the kids play with each other. Today I was able to secure our wonderful & reliable babysitter so the kids could stay home and hang out. and I could enjoy a luncheon with the girls at Laura's house. Megan's home from Brazil (and on her way to India!), Courtney is moving to Wisconsin, Jez brought baby Ruth and baby #2 on the way. So great to see all of Laura's new projects and how lovely her home looks after all her hard work. Just a wonderful summer already after a rough end to the school year. So...bring on summer I say. It has started out perfectly!!