It's Beginning to Look A LOT Like CHRISTMAS!!!

Well, a month ago I would have never thought I'd make it!

But, regardless of the overwhelming amount of school work...we did get Christmas lights up, decorate the tree, etc.  I just haven't really had time to write about it.  Now, my school is out for a month and I have a little time to actually breath.  Someone said I probably would take on some project instead of rest...and they are probably right.  So far...Friday we went Christmas shopping in Champaign (actually are closer to being finished) and today (Saturday) cleaned the upstairs (mostly).  We just got back from our family movie night seeing Arthur's Christmas.  We all enjoyed it.  We got out just in time to wait a few minutes for Santa to come to the Mall....so Spencer and Cody got their picture taken.  Cody was so cute...his smile wouldn't stop.  He finally got the nerve to ask for Legos...or maybe Lego shoes like he SAID he was going to ask Santa for.  Spencer, on the other hand, funny boy!  When Santa asked HIM...."I don't know....socks, I guess!"  Good thing that works for Santa around here! ;)

Now the house is quiet and clean and I'd like to just take a snapshot so it STAYS this way.

And now...with a few presents under the tree, the lights in the yard and house up, decorations up...it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  With no papers or presentations and the house clean...it is also beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

During finals I feel like such a scrooge.  Christmas is my FAVORITE time of year, but it seems that since I've started school I can't get it all started inside me until I am finished with finals.  Oh well...at least I get there!

Here are a few pics (with a little explanation since it has been a LONG time since I have written):

 Scott has been in charge of the outside lights this year.  This is just the beginning!  I should take another picture from the road.  I love Christmas lights!!!

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A Boy and His JELLO!

Cody LOVES Jello...enough said.  He could eat it every day of his life, I think.  I don't make it as often as I should...especially with the mounds of gratitude he gives, the eternal gargantuan smiles, and its cheapness!  So one night he wanted orange and grape MIXED.  Not a pretty color...but made the boy happy beyond compare. (and YES, he ate it ALL by himself)

At school Cody made a fun puppet so he had to give us a cute little puppet show in the morning!  I love this kid.  He gets a LOT of pictures of him...still small enough to love the photo shoots ;)  Too bad I still can't figure out how to put my videos on here - ever since I got my new camera????  Oh well...

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Cody's Christmas Program

The tender mercies of the Lord are so apparent in my life!  This year Cody's Christmas Program was on a Thursday....the day I was to give my huge presentation in my Program Planning class.  Had I known about his program date a little earlier I would have traded someone...but I didn't.  So I was on a deadline trying to get ALL my work done for the end of the semester.  I had told my Professor about Cody's program but didn't think anything of it. Cody knew I was going to miss his program because of school....we have to make sacrifices, right!????  Well, I hated it...I NEVER miss my kids' programs...and I don't want to start.  I tried not to show too much emotion about it...there was nothing I could do.  Then an email from my Professor came asking if I wanted to switch class til the following Thursday.  All I had to do is ask all my classmates and if they were ok then we could do it.  I didn't want to bother them with such a seemingly trivial thing - I was in graduate school, after all!  But on Tuesday while I spent the ENTIRE day in the library revising my program I got to thinking that maybe some of them would like extra time too.  So I emailed them all....and one by one they responded "I need more time."  Only one didn't need more time but his response was "Go be with your son, Merry Christmas!"

Yeah, I was pretty excited!  He was asleep when I got home from school Tuesday night and got the final response about changing class.  So in the morning I told him....the smile on that kid's face was priceless!  I wish I had a camera in my head to snap all the photos of fun moments when I don't have my camera handy!  

We'll just have to settle for his program pics instead :) (taken with my new camera...my Christmas present!)

 

He got to have a pillow fight...his BIG surprise to me!

  

Part of the tender mercy was the Kelsey played her basketball game Thursday night also....it was a blast.  She couldn't quit looking at ME....made me smile.  Finally she got into her game and did great.  I forgot the camera tho.

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Up goes the tree and the Christmas Village

 

I let Kelsey and Cody direct the set up of the Christmas Village this year....hard to let it go, but fun to watch them get excited about it.  They took down what I had started....and ....

Here is the finished product!

 Yeah for Cody and Kelsey....yeah for catching the Spirit of Christmas!

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Jordan's Christmas Concert and Cody's Basketball Game

Tuesday night was a busy night...but fun!  We took Cody to his basketball game then headed off to Jordan's Christmas concert.  What a fun evening for me!  This is the 8th grade band...Jordan now plays percussion so is in all black.  However, in the first pic of the entire band he is hard to spot.  He is by the bass drum.....turned heading to the back to get something, I think.

The bass drum!

 Kelsey and I had some fun with the camera while we were waiting for his game to begin :)

I can't believe it...I am caught up, mostly! 

My Sunday School lesson today was on Christmas with the Prophets.  I have been teaching the youth about the prophets of this dispensation.  It was fun to go over the fun things they did during the holidays.  It made me think of the traditions my family had and the ones I have now.  This year I am going to start a new one...which kind of came about arbitrarily.  I wasn't the one to put all the Christmas decorations away last year.  Consequently THIS year I haven't been able to find everything....specifically my Nativity set made of olive wood from Jerusalem.  So this year I will find it....now that I have nothing to take my time....and put it up as we read the Nativity on Christmas Eve.  Maybe this tradition will stick ;)

Merry Christmas to all.