Well Christmas is just about 12 days away now (depending on how you count it out)...and there are so many things that I could blog about if I had the time and remembered the things to do to spice up the blog a little (namely PICTURES)!    But instead I will just take the time to give an over view of  things lately and up coming events.

First I'll back up a little to the play we were in - Freedom's Journey -  which took place the weekend before Thanksgiving.  The play was written by 2 homeschool girls, and  put together by one of the girls family (with a lot of help from all kinds of people) with the intention of it being a ministry outreach.  It was such an awesome experience...who knew  there was this actress in me just wanting to get out?  Well...obviously God knew, but you know what I mean.   My part was small, but that's okay...I don't envy the 2 lead characters at all...they had a TON of lines to memorize!   Aunt Dismal Forebodings only had 5 lines...2 in scene one and 3 in scene 3.  The play was based on the book "Hind's Feet on High Places"....an allegory - sort of like Pilgrim's Progress, from a girl's perspective.  In the first scene Aunt Dismal  ( the "matriarch" if you will, of the Fearing family) gets to forcefully push the main character, her neice,  Much-Afraid into a chair...and say  "SIT DOWN....dear....let's talk about this wedding shall we?"    And then  a little later she tells her  "You are marrying Craven Fear, whether you like it or not....don't think that you can change your family name."     She was such a hoot to play!    The costume made the character tho I think...I wore this drab black and beige checkered jumper with these cream colored ankle boot type shoes...that were pointy and just fit (a tight squeeze on my piggies!!  which helped keep Auntie scowling!!!) a cream colored knit shall and this scarfy thing which I nervously played with while in character.  Oh and my hair was pulled back in a granny bun.   oh  Wait ...maybe I can spice up this blog with pictures!!! 

This is me with Spiteful...you can't really see my dress in this picture but anyway...and Spiteful wasn't in character when we took the picture (although she says she was smiling because she was thinking wicked and spiteful thoughts!!!).  The worst part was the stage make up.  I don't wear make up...don't even have any in the house, so to have to wear heavy make up was kinda icky.

Between the two performances they say there were about 500 people who attended...and there were many who came forward (for pray or whatever) at the end when there was an alter call given!    There is talk that we might do the whole thing again sometime in 2009...and i think all of us who were involved are looking forward to it!

So finally we get to Thanksgiving...breath...a time to just slow down a little after a gruling play practice schedule!   We (myself, Brian & Bridgette) enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving at my parents house...not much to say except we ate, played a game of Scattegories and watched an old movie called  "We're No Angels" starring Humphrey Bogart and Peter Ustinov...it was a cute movie!   Here's our family together on Thanksgiving at my parents...

Now on to Christmas stuff.  The day after Thanksgiving is our traditional day for decorating!  We invited my parents over...had Chili made in the crock pot.  And my dad supervised Brian while he FINALLY installed our new kitchen faucet!!!   So I guess you could say we decorated everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink!!!   Oh again a picture to show....

Isn't it shiny and pretty!!!   I love it!

and this is our little tree...when we first moved down to Florida, we didn't have a lot of money (still don't!) or a lot of space...and so we found this "slim" 6' tree for $17 at Target.   Someday we may get a bigger nicer tree...or even get a real tree...although I'm not sure it's worth getting a real tree here in FL.  Back in NH we would go to a tree farm and cut our own Christmas tree....and it would last til New Years.  But here, they aren't fresh...already cut who knows how long ago from who knows where, and I'm not sure it would last for as long as we like to keep the tree up.  Speaking of where the trees come from - we drove past a place selling trees yesterday and it advertised that they were from Booger Mountain!  That just cracked Bridgette up!   Hmm  I wonder if they were "snotty" pines...ha ha...okay sorry that was bad!!!

Here's where the lack of pictures comes in...yesterday Bridgette and I made Christmas ornaments as gifts.   We probably spent about 8 hours total working on these things!  Ornaments for 7 people...oh but I also painted a couple for our kitties (the ceramic kind that you can get at Michaels) each one was a little kitty popping out of a stocking.  We had clear glass balls that we decorated with glitter and sharpies...and glued a cute little wooden do-hickey on to (such as snowmen, a tea kettle, a teddy bear etc).  Being the sufficient person that I am...I got everything packaged up and then realized that I should have taken pictures...oh well that's the way it goes!   We also made these snowflake ornaments...using corsage pins that we beaded and stuck into pieces of cork.   I can actually (if I wanted to now...) take pictures of these since we only made four of these ( two to give away and we kept 2 for our tree).   They were very tedious to make....simple for the most part...but time consuming!  

Tonight Brian and I are going to his department Christmas party...which should be fun, Tomorrow is a surprise 40th birthday party for my very good friend, Sunday night is the kids Christmas program at church, in which Bridgette is dancing with 3 other girls to Barlow Girl's version of O' Holy Night...and she is part of another girl's dance to Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven...using flags or "wings" as they are calling them.

Next week, as far as I know nothing is happening...it will just be a quiet - able to get school work done before Christmas break.   Then Christmas Sunday (the 21st) in the evening we are going caroling with our church.  Bridgette and I are planning on making Christmas cookies on Monday the 22nd !  Then we spend Christmas Eve with my parents...It's my mom's birthday...and finally Christmas day will probably be a stay at home quiet family day...

So that is what's been happening and will be happening with us in a nutshell!   So far it's been a great Holiday season...a little hectic at times, but also peaceful too!  God has been SO good to us this year and I am looking forward to seeing what 2009 brings!   There are some things that I'm anxious to write about, but they will have to wait for another time...especially since the details aren't all confirmed or worked out yet... 

If I don't get on to blog again before Christmas, I want to say....MERRY CHRISTMAS!...to everyone and REMEMBER - Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

I had to share this with you...Bridgette's friend was nice enough to take Bridgette's picture and make a nice 8 x 10 print for her to give me on Mother's day...I still need to get a frame for it but I scanned the picture to post here. 

To most people today is "TAX DAY"...that dreaded day of the year when taxes are due.  (For us however it wasn't dreaded since we got a refund  but anyway!)  However April 15th is a day to celebrate something that I'm sure most homeschoolers couldn't live without! 

Today is Rubber Eraser Day!

How do I know this?  I found it at: http://homeschooling.about.com/od/fundaycalendars/Holiday_Calendar_Celebrate_Special_Days_Every_Month.htm

Check it out...there are a couple other "holidays" for today, maybe one of them will fit in with what you're teaching!  But for us Rubber Eraser Day...well that's a good one for any day.  If you follow the links through you can find some interesting facts about erasers...like did you know that in Europe most pencils are not sold with erasers?!  Can you imagine having pencils without erasers...I'd be lost!  

Well, anyway I just thought I would share that and say Happy Rubber Eraser Day!