Getting Ready for Christmas

All the Thanksgiving decorations came down and Christmas decorations went up and Hubby and I did some shopping to get things like this blanket and pillow for the sofa.  Well, it’s really for the dog and to cover up the messes she has made but Natalie and I will often use the blanket to snuggle while we watch tv. (With the days getting so dark so fast it just seems like perfect watching weather.) I might have spent too much on new decorations online for Black Friday but I’m loving having the play house and garage door area decorated for Christmas. And I almost bought this Immanuel Wreath advent calendar last year so just decided to go for it this year. (It has a different name/title for Jesus and a scripture for every day.) We even managed to put together one of our Christmas puzzles before having to head back to work and school. Only 4 more weeks of semester one.  Seems like so long and so short at the same time.

Hubby had to say goodbye to his favorite pet of the week but A was so happy to see her pet bird again.

For over a year my coworker has spoken highly of her other workplace, a cider company. Then when the teachers did their week of para appreciation, one of our gifts was a gift certificate to an escape room two doors down. So Hubby and I planned to take the entire family out to eat, to complete an escape room, and then eat at the ice cream shop in between to either celebrate our victory or console ourselves. Lol. Kate ended up at a sleepover at P’s house instead and Danny was absolutely exhausted from having C, J, & P over at our house the night before so it ended up being four of us. Which I think ended up being perfect for the escape room. But first, when I texted to see if my coworker would be working when we went she was opening that day so we would miss her by a couple hours. That was a bummer but she was so kind to leave us free drink coupons, though!  The pizza and drinks were amazing, even my GF/DF one. The atmosphere was great too and I can see why she doesn’t want to give up working there even though she does so much at the middle school. The escape room we did linked to where we ate since we were trying to find the gold a miner had told someone at the mercantile (now the cider company) he had hidden somewhere in town. By solving clues in the miner’s cabin we were able to tell what coordinates on the map to win the game. I have to admit those last 90 seconds lasted about 5 minutes because they could see how close we were to finding it and showed us mercy. Lol. So the yummy ice cream was in celebration after all. Such a terrific night and Michelle and Natalie are definitely game to go do all three again and try the harder escape room. We all highly recommend an evening like this.

In other news, the elementary school Turkey Trot assembly announced they blew their fundraising goal out of the water once again (getting 50% more than they aimed for if I remember the goal correctly) and brought in more money than ever. I am so amazed by their efforts and results and what this school is able to do with these funds. Of course it’s great for the kids to be able to celebrate too.  One of the things this money pays for is field trips. Natalie was soooo excited to visit the state capital building. Parents weren’t allowed to go so I don’t have photos but I hear the bus ride and tour were all wonderful. Natalie’s story she shared with me was that there are three different places in the capitol building where the mile high mark is placed because technology keeps getting better and more precise. Lol.

Natalie was this year's winner for picking out a Christmas tree.  The older children felt very strongly about how the tree should be decorated this year and I think it is absolutely beautiful.  Sometimes less is more.  In compromise, we also purchased a $20 artificial tree for the playroom to have sentimental ornaments on and Natalie was given full permission to decorate and however she wanted.  So everyone is happy this year!  Amazing!

Danny's baseball team is in full swing, practicing M-Th and they had another tournament last weekend.  They won some and lost some and hopefully learned some things for when they go out of state for their next tournament.  Danny is soooo excited to travel with his basketball team!

Natalie and I got to attend Michelle's "Holiday Show" while it was Hubby's turn to take Danny to the last day of the tournament.  (The above photos are the ones I took the day before.)  We had also purchased my mom a ticket but she wasn't feeling well.  It was a fun show and I felt like Christmas was right around the corner.  We celebrated the recital by eating at Noodles & Co and I finally got a picture of my dancer when we got home since the lobby had been so crowded.  I'm glad Michelle felt well that day because the next few days she didn't.  We are thinking she got a giant migraine for the first time so are hoping that if she feels like this again we can get her medicine soon enough to help her feel ok and not miss school.  Speaking of school, I have to say it has been nice to have my two middle schoolers home during 4th period.  Most of the time Michelle is working on homework and Danny is napping but they both felt good enough to play War together one afternoon and it reminded me that these two are a dream come true.  What dream?  The one I had of having boy & girl twins someday.  Close enough for me.  Sometimes I do wish we had gifted Danny a year so they could be in the same grade.  Danny still isn't 100% back from his concussion and he has wished more than once he could just start 8th grade over.

Kate's club team had a photo shoot and I am thrilled with the results.  This was extra neat to me since Kate was sick the day her high school team took photos.  I think they turned out great, put a smile on my face, and helped me feel hopeful for her next volleyball season.

Due to a couple experiences and conversations I’ve had this week I’ve been thinking about how the Holy Ghost has influenced my life. When I heard Sister P from our old ward passed away I felt the very strong impression that I needed to find a sub so I could attend the funeral. I had the privilege of being her granddaughter’s Primary teacher years ago and knew T needed a big hug from her teacher who had also been at her mother’s funeral. I was so grateful I could be there for her and meet her fiancé. He thanked me for coming because when I hugged T it was the first time she had let herself cry that day. I am so glad the Spirit let me know that I needed to find a sub for the morning and be there for my former Primary student.  She was happy to hear that I was still a Primary teacher.  However, this time of serving in Primary has come to a close.  I was called to serve as the ages 14-15 Young Womens advisor.  I gave candy canes to my class on Sunday and told them I would miss them.  I knew it would be even harder to say goodbye to my Activity Days girls.  I bought them mini Squashmallows from Costco and was pretty convinced there was no way I wasn’t going to cry.  Miraculously, perhaps because the scripture cookies and teddy bear hunt ended up being chaotic, I didn’t shed a tear. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard, though. It was made better by a mom taking great pictures and her daughter giving me a goodbye present. I’m trying on the thought that maybe after six or seven years it might be time for a change.

My last Activity Days night was actually on Danny’s half birthday. When I asked him what kind of dessert he wanted to celebrate he simply wanted cheesecake. No decorations and no toppings and he was happy.  I am so grateful for the life of this kid.