Happy New Year!

I am finally posting our many pictures from Christmas. We have been working on cleaning the kids' rooms all week and I have been playing with my new embroidery machine and working on Joseph's socks so I haven't taken the time to post anything.

First our tree and the kids inspecting the tree on Christmas morning.

They love eachother so much sometimes...

Unwrapping presents from Santa is serious business...



They got sleeping bags.








And their pretty church clothes.




Steve liked his zebra socks,



Elisabeth liked her My little Ponies,









Joseph had fun with his bath toys and his castle...when it was finally put together :)


I will post some pictures soon of the cool stuff I have been making on my embroidery machine :) I have had so much fun with it.

We gave Mitch a weather station so he can see what the temperature, humidity, air pressure, etc. is outside, it is really neat!

We will be spending New Year's at home, Mitch is singing tomorrow in church, a choir of seven men, I guess you would call that a septet :)

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Eve!

We had a wonderful early Christmas dinner with Becka and Dustin on Thursday night. Of course the bad children we are we didn't take pictures :(

We ate yummy snow crab legs, cocktail shrimp and we all kinda forgot to eat the salad and rice :) Becka brought over some French wine and we had rice crispies treats (the kids made in the morning), gingerbread cookies and fudge for dessert along with some delicious coffee and Kaluah.

We gave Becka and Dustin a Rachel Ray cookbook, Cooking 'Round the Clock (30 minute meals) and I finished Becka's scarf and hat just in time...now she has something warm with her in Virginia :) (I'll have to get a picture of her wearing her new gear when they return.)

They gave us a night out to dinner and a movie complete with babysitting! Elisabeth got a Shel Silverstein book called Runny Babbit and Joseph got a set of Hotwheels.

I also managed to finish another Christmas present last night, these socks...
for Steve, they will be gifted tomorrow.

Sadly, I have not finished the last gift I was working on, the tiger socks for Joseph have only made it this far...that is only the first sock, so I think these will make it as a Hanukkah present later this week.

Tonight we are going to Christmas Eve service and then home and the kids need to go right to sleep so Santa can bring all their presents. Tomorrow we will have the kids open one present and their stockings before church and then we will come home and Steve and Aida will come over to open the rest of the gifts with us. Tomorrow night we are going to their house for dinner and to light the first Hanukkah candles. WHEW!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and I will post more pictures after Christmas.

I finally got my grades....

After waiting all afternoon for UF's evening time grade posting.....

Drum roll please.....

I got an A in Latin
an A in Structure of French
a B+ in Intro to French Lit
and a B in Writing in French

Happy Dance!

YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!

Now I really can celebrate this holiday!!!!

I don't know how this effects my GPA yet, transcripts will be updated on Wednesday.

Edited to add: My GPA went from a 1.84 to a 2.50 this semester!

It really feels like Christmas

Yesterday our church choir performed the Cantata. They performed A Canticle of Joy. It was beautiful and our choir director always goes all out and organizes a mini orchestra for the performance. Rebekah played oboe and english horn and Mitch sang.
It was so hard to get a picture of them. Becka is always behind a music stand :)

We had a yummy lunch together after church and then Becka took a couple of these boxes home to wrap...see what you have sent to us mom ?!?

Anyway it has been lots of fun guessing if we are going to get another package each day :)

I worked on these socks last night...they are for Joseph hopefully for Christmas.

And I've been working on my scarf, it is almost done!

Frappr!

OK I did a Frappr Map, sign it please :)

I am FINISHED!!!!

Well for three weeks at least. I finished my second and final exam for this semester and now I am on my 3 week semester break. I get to spend the next 3 weeks cleaning house, teaching the children, knitting, reading, laundry, knitting, cleaning house, reading...I need to start making a to-do list for the house. I've got to buckle down and finish a couple Christmas presents I've started.

Friday night is Mitch's company holiday party, which should be a lot of fun. And we will be doing our shopping this weekend.

My grades will be posted this weekend, but excuse me now while I enjoy doing nothing for a few moments :)

One down one to go...

I took my Latin final exam this morning. The exam only took a half hour to complete, it was no longer than any of our other tests! So that one went well and tomorrow I will take my exam for Structure of French.

I have been able to catch up on some of my knitting, one Christmas present is nearly finished. I have started on the tiger socks and I was able to finish the second Amble sock. I was in Jo-Anns the other day and couldn't resist this yarn it is becoming a scarf. The colors are hard to see, but it is blue with flecks of purple, pink, and green throughout...and so soft!

Well I should go study while the kids have their quiet time. Tonight is a Brownie night!

Getting ready for Christmas

After seeing so many other bloggers post pictures of their holiday decorations, I thought I would too. First here is our tree, the kids did most of the decorating and insisted on putting every ornament as high as they could reach, so the bottom of the tree was neglected.

We then have our fireplace with stockings and advent wreath.

I love to decorate the piano for Christmas...Elisabeth has even been learning how to play some Christmas carols :)

Only in Florida could you have roses picked from the garden next to Christmas decorations!

We bought a pretty little potted tree that now decorates our passthrough.


I just love having all the decorations out!

The kids are getting excited about Christmas, Elisabeth made a calender at girl scouts to count down the days, you can see behind the stockings on the right, one candy cane a day until Christmas!

Florida Snow!

This is my snowflake I made on Make-A-Flake.
I discovered this site through another blog I read. Lots of fun!

I think I will have the kids create our own little snowstorm here in Florida :)