Playing with Presents

Grandma & Grandpa Bailey know that Wesley loves trains. For Christmas, they got him a model train with lots of little bitty pieces. It required a lot more patience than I have.

Christmas Fun

Wesley and I had an excellent Christmas this year! We received all kinds of goodies-mine being the majority of scrapbook items. Go figure! I love it! Trish and I played with some of our new "toys" while Wesley and Nathan played with their "junk." We came back to Indiana Christmas evening to mom's house. We're still not home. (I love the perks of teaching.)

Had fun today getting some after Christmas specials. I always get my wrapping paper, boxes, etc. for next year. I'm hoping to find some presents like I did last year.

I'm hoping to get some catch up work done around the house this break. However, I'm going to have to get home first to do it. I'm afraid break will go way too fast. It's hard to believe the school year is already half over!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from us to you! May the spirit of love, the beauty of hope, and the blessings of peace be your gifts this Christmas Season.
Love,
Wesley & Jenny

2nd Anniversary

Tomorrow is the last day of school before break, officially ending at 11:30 AM. We will be headed for Illinois as soon as we can load up. We'll spend the weekend there and Christmas afternoon we'll head to my mom's. Here are a couple of early posts that I wanted to be sure and get in.

Whew! I Can Breathe Easier Now...

Now, if I could just literally breathe. I've been fighting sickness since Friday night. I'm feeling much better today, finally. Yesterday, was a pretty quiet day at school. I'm sure the kids didn't mind.
The Christmas program is over! Hallelujah! Let's just say...ummm...I don't think anyone from Broadway will be calling any of us to a new career anytime soon. Check out Karen's blog for further details. It was...interesting. I do know that one of my 1st graders keeps talking about it at school, so if nothing else, we impressed a 6 yr old! I had someone take pictures, but they were too dark and you can't see anything. I did get a picture of me and my "husband" arguing and my very beautiful outfit!!! I particularly like the shininess, crease, and how it's falling back on my head. The bun was very heavy!
Well, I must get back to wrapping presents. Wes is out finishing his Christmas shopping, so I'm trying to hurry and get it done.
Hope everyone is getting all their Christmas preparations done. After I finish my wrapping, I'm finished!! Well, I guess we have to buy a couple of gift cards, but we're waiting to get them in Illinois. Don't get too busy to enjoy the season!!!

Thomas Christmas

Well, today wasn't as busy as we thought it was going to be. Our Sunday School progressive dinner was cancelled due to some bad weather that's supposed to be coming. So, we made our way to BeechGrove to have Christmas with Mom's side of the family. There was a huge pile of presents and by the time we all got there, we filled Aunt Rachel's basement up. We really enjoyed the day and got lots of goodies!!! The kids all had fun in the snow and even made a snowman. I couldn't go out and play since I'm getting sick at a really bad time. :( (See previous post).

The Cousins

The Blue Bathrobe Bandits

The Finished "Artwork"

I was just wondering...

Is it important to be able to talk when you have to be in a play?

(I'm losing my voice & I never do this...maybe it'll be clear by tomorrow. It's pretty squeaky and nonexistent right now)

Well, I'm off to get a few things done! It's going to be a busy, busy day!!!

Shhh...

Don't tell my students, but their teacher has already left for Christmas break! The kids aren't the only ones longing for it to get here.

This weekend is going to be BUSY!!!! UBC's Christmas program is going on (still not sure if we're going to that), Saturday is Christmas with my Mom's side, then rush back home to our Sunday School progressive dinner, & Sunday is both programs. I AM NOT looking forward to this!!! I would, if I only had to watch, but NOOOOO I have to be an old nag! Not that I don't know how to nag, (she confessed honestly), but being in front of people is like a HUGE NIGHTMARE for me!!! So, if there's a big pause in the play, never fear...it's just Jenny trying to think of what her part is! Oh, and if you hear a knocking noise, it's not the person at the door...it's Jenny's knees! Aaaannnnd, (she drawled out very emphatically), I'm going to be sweating bullets b/c I get to wear a granny wig! So, the big thud you hear is Jenny falling over from the stress and heat. Seems like kinda a neat effect, huh?!?!? All I gotta say is...PRAY, PEOPLE, PRAY!

What Wes's Been Up To

His mom told him she would like some birdhouses. So, he started sawing and banging around on his hammer and voila...a masterpiece. (Ok, so I'm a little biased. He can literally do just about anything...always said I'd marry someone like my dad!! Mr. Fixit!!) He must have thought she was planning on opening a retirement center for birds b/c he went to town. This isn't even all of the ones he made last week. Oh well, kept him out of trouble...most of the time. :)

Field Trip

We took the kids to the Children's Museum today. I have to say it's one of my favorite places to go. There is so much neat stuff!!! The kids had a blast, even the high schoolers. My kids were wound tight and keeping track of them amongst 592 other kids + 347 chaperones was a lot of fun! Not! (Yes, I stood there and counted them all.) All in all, it was a good day! Oh...UBC was also there. I was able to see some of my former kiddos.

This was part of the ceiling on the lower level. There was a lot of this glass...kinda cool!

On the way home, I told my kids there was a prize for the one who was the quietest. I'm not sure...does snoring count? It didn't take long until they were REEEAAALLLLLY quiet.

Fat Boy

You can tell Christmas is in the air! My kids at school are becoming very chatty & hyper! Now before you let your thoughts drift, I'm not about to call one of them my blog title. One thing good about it, the extra energy must be helping them get their work done because some are flying through! Hallelujah! Some days it's like pulling teeth to get them to stay focused. The indoor breaks are about to drive me batty, however.

I thought this was funny...perhaps you would have had to be there and to see the boy's face, but...they were trying to feed me some "food." Bryce came up to me with a big basket and told me that it was my appetizer. Wondering if he knew what he was talking about, I started asking some questions. (Skipping all of the details,) we finally got down to me explaining that it wasn't dessert, but the things you could order before your meal-like chips & salsa. A light came on and he said, "Oh, like at Fat Boy's!" The way he said it cracked me up, but I hadn't heard of the place. I asked him where that was. "You know, Big Boy's?!?" Not that I particularly like the restaurant, but now it will be fondly called, "Fat Boy's!"

On Saturday, Wesley's brother and wife came to our house. We met at the outlet malls and the plan was to do some Christmas shopping. The boys were going to go to antique stores while us girls were going to the new stores. However, they forgot their dress clothes, so the trip turned into finding them something to wear. We had a good time shopping and even got some Christmas gifts for Gary. Why are men so hard to buy for? Trish and I were able to get some card making in. Always lots of fun.

Tomorrow plans to be busy. Our ladies meeting is tomorrow evening and I'm supposed to teach them how to make Christmas cards. Yikes!!!! We're also going to do an ornament exchange and, of course, lots of yummy food.

For all you out there who need something to do (ha ha ha): Make your own Christmas bows. You make them with 12 x 12 scrapbook paper. I made this one tonight. It didn't take too long, except for getting all the pieces cut. If you want to make one I posted the website. Kinda cool. Obviously, it isn't ideal for the busy Christmas season. http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/paperbow.php