Just keep swimming

 I would be a very wealthy woman if I had a nickel for every time I asked them to stop yelling.  They are excited and that is all.

Yesterday was freezing cold so we played penguin at recess.  Basically we take turns having one of them stand in the middle and the rest of us crowd around and then it's someone else's turn.  It passes the time.

I read How to Catch Santa Claus to them and one student in 100% seriousness told me there were some good ideas in there he wants to try.

We celebrated a half birthday and the student brought cupcakes and a box of gluten free cookies for my student who has celiac.  He has gluten free treats in a little bin his mom supplied and I have back up gluten free treats also, but it still was just so kind and made me a little bit want to cry.

I texted both moms.  I told the birthday mom that was incredibly kind and I told the mom of the celiac what happened and that I understand that it was huge.

The mom of the birthday boy is a Haitian immigrant and sent back a very formal and gracious reply similar to every communication I have with her.  The other mom also has a diabetic son (who I also taught) so we are autoimmune disease besties and she was as touched by it all as I was.

We did our first in the gym rehearsal for the Christmas sing and I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but it went pretty well.

Today is our faculty Christmas party (we're going to see Wicked in a theater with a popcorn allowance) and it's Mark's birthday so we're going to Red Robin later.

Life seems to be humming along pretty well.  (I just need to get them to stop yelling.)

Weekend

 It was a wonderful December weekend.  

Adam brought home pizza Friday night and we finished watching Howard's End on PBS.  Adam didn't like the ending as much as I did.  Snuggled on the couch next to Adam eating pizza is all I want on a Friday night.  Throw in a period drama and that's bliss.

Saturday we both had long to do lists so we decided to start early with our errands.  On the way to Costco, Marianne called because she had two extra tickets to Christmas Around the World at BYU.  I asked Adam if he wanted to go and he said, "I don't see why not."

He's up for anything.  It is a defining characteristic.

We did our errands, had lunch at Marley's and came home to get a bit done.  At 2:00 we were at the Marriott Center to watch Christmas Around the World.  I loved it!  It was uplifting and entertaining.  I love seeing live performances by talented people.  And I loved sitting next to Marianne.

We came home and squeezed in a little more work then went to our ward Christmas party.  It was wonderful!  We gathered in the chapel and in groups of about 20 at a time, we had to pay our taxes (canned food) and then were led through the church to different vignettes about the Christmas story.  

Our friend Rick was the tax collector and almost everyone handed him a bag of cans.  Adam and I each had one can.  Rick jokingly said, "That's a pretty light tax."

Adam had more cans he had bought for the occasion, but I asked if I could take them to my school canned food drive instead.  He said, "I want to be generous." 

I said, "The school needs our generosity more than the ward does."

He said, "These cans aren't going to our ward.  They're being donated."

I said, "The student council has a goal of 500 cans and they only have about 100 so far.  I want to take more cans."

Adam agreed.

Then he said, "If you want we can give cans to your students for rewards and they can donate them to the school."

Being generous is another of Adam's defining characteristics.

Our friends Shannon and Chris sat with us and I love that my mom and Chris's mom were college roommates and now we are friends.  

Church was good with thoughts of hope and peace filling my heart.

At home I prepped for Pikkujoulu 2.0.  We enjoyed our pikkujoulu in Washington, but never got around to the program portion, which is really my favorite part.

That and setting the table.

We enjoyed our dinner and then sang a few Christmas songs and read some Christmas stories. Adam read to us from the Book of Mormon and Bible about Christ being born.  Mark's birthday is tomorrow so we were also celebrating him.

He is laughing in this picture because Emma was running around in the background and being goofy.  My only explanation to the nieces and nephews was that they were homeschooled.  Emma countered that wasn't it; they have personalities.  They do have...personalities.

I made a chocolate cherry cake.  For a gluten free cake, it was pretty good.

And I love that birthday boy.

Grateful Friday

 I really love the Christmas season and I am grateful it is here.  I love Christmas at school and I love Christmas at home.  It will be GREAT to have a Christmas vacation and 2/3 of my children here.

I love the traditions at school.  Yesterday some of my students finished up their paper dolls.  When we were cleaning up, I said, "If there are any pieces that still seem usable, put them on the table."

So they did.

I mean, I guess these pieces would be usable if we were going to make confetti....

As usual, the paper dolls are turning out very cute and I love them.

Other things I'm grateful about:

Yesterday we were singing our skip counting songs, like we do daily.  I had them pick how to sing them and someone picked opera and picture me leading 27 extremely off key and over the top dramatic children singing 8,16, 24, 32 and 40, 48, 56, 64, 72 and 80 to the tune of This Old Man in an opera style.  It is a party.

Also, my heat was blasting when I walked in the room and I 1) located Riley and 2) convinced him my cheerful disposition couldn't last another day in the mid 80s.  

He said he would do what he could.

He was able to get it working!

I saw him later in the day and told him as much.  He shushed me and told me not to jinx it.  We are running on superstition I guess, which may be part of the problem....

Oh what...fun

 It was 84 degrees in my classroom yesterday.  They came in from afternoon recess with their tongues lolling.  We're all wearing sweaters like you're supposed to do in December and the HVAC is not cooperating.

(It's really hard to stay patient and friendly in those circumstances, especially when it's CHRISTMAS and everyone is EXCITED and bouncing off the walls.)

I decided to just go for it.

We started making the paper dolls for Christmas Around the World (they each have a different country).  I love making paper dolls so I love helping them, but it was hot and they were demanding and I was cranky.  

We also made their ornaments.  I just handed out plastic cups and permanent markers and turned on Christmas music and we made a day of it.

At the end of the day I read them The Trouble With Trolls and seeing their little faces with rapt attention gathered around me on the floor so they could see the pictures softened my heart.

So it's 84 degrees.  

We can pretend it's Christmas in Florida.

I'm wearing a t-shirt today.

Caned Food Drive

 The student council at school enthusiastically makes posters that no one spell checks.  Hence, the caned food drive.

There is a goal to collect 500 cans of food.  You know what that means; I know what that means.  Not everyone knows what that means.

On Monday, a 4th grader, one of my former students, told me, "I don't understand why they want us to bring 500 cans of food."

I said, "Well, they don't want everyone to bring 500.  The goal is to collect 500 cans so if everyone brought one, they would reach the goal."

"But why?" he wondered.

I didn't say it, but his family may just be a recipient of some of the cans.  What I did say was, "They will find someone who could use the food."

He walked away looking wholly unconvinced.

Yesterday, I was walking into the school and a 5th grader, one of my former students, was gazing at one of the signs.  She asked me, "What do they even give you if you bring in 500 cans?"

I said, "You don't need to bring 500 cans.  Just one can.  They want to collect 500 cans altogether."

She squinted her eyes at me like she was assessing if I were for real.

I don't know.  It's a caned food drive.  Maybe it isn't supposed to make sense.

Christmas Halloween! Christmas Halloween!

 My little English learner sings "Christmas Halloween" (loudly) and he means "This is Halloween" from The Nightmare Before Christmas and I don't really want anyone to ever correct him, because I like it.

They were enamored by my decoration efforts (Mark's decoration efforts).  They loved the village and chided each other to not touch it.

My same English learner, who switched to belting out Feliz Navidad partway through the day,
wondered if the fluffy fake snow base was real.

I keep thinking actual winter snow is going to blow his mind when/if we get it.

I had set out my Christmas books and they immediately claimed them during silent reading time.  I have The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza and I told them Mark hates that book and would leave the room when I read it aloud when he was little.

Nothing could possibly make a book more enticing.  They wanted me to read it aloud and then all had conjectures about why Mark hates it.

Christmas needs children and I'm glad I have 27 to call my own.

Especially since my actual children are spending their energy on stuff like this:

Weekend

 We are home.  I am happy to be here and very happy that the Christmas season is upon us!

It was kind of a wild trip sleep wise and I am tired, but as trips like that are, it was worth it.

We had a kind of pikkujoulu on Friday night and decorated the Christmas tree. (I think we're going to still have a pikkujoulu 2.0.)  My favorite part was how excited QE was about the tree.  She loved to finger all the ornaments and ask questions about them.  She would tell whoever was listening that she was being VERY gentle.  She said, reverently, "I love Christmas!"

She repeatedly said, "Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad."  She is most definitely the gift that keeps giving.

Saturday we visited with Geri and Megan and then met up with the Johnsons and Jorgensens for lunch.

You can see the contents of my purse on the table next to me because I was keeping QE occupied.

When we were leaving her house, Geri handed me a sandwich bag with a few gingerbread cookies inside.  She said, "You may need these."

And I did.

They kept QE patient so her parents could visit with Dillon and his wife Haley and I could visit with my friends.

I told them that Geri was the master and I was trying to learn everything I could from her.

Stephanie agreed, "You are the padawan."

Janet and Stephanie mean the world to me.  We've been friends for over 20 years and we love each other and we love each others' children and I love that they are in the world.  They teach me about love and grit and grace under fire.

I need all the Jedi masters I can get.

We enjoyed some Thanksgiving leftovers back at Geri's before heading to the airport for our late flight.  We got home at 1:30 AM and I was happy to see my bed.

Yesterday was a very low key day.  Mark wasn't feeling well so he stayed in Provo, but Emma came and we decorated the little tree and part of the big tree.  Mark's coming over tonight to help us finish.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!