Winter break is HERE!

YAHOO...a much needed 2 week break for our family. I was home to cook dinner this evening, wow, what a treat! We've planned a cookie baking party for tomorrow with our neighbors. I whipped up several batches tonight to get a head start, the dough is in the fridge ready to go (sugar cookies, white chocolate chip, snickerdoodles). I will try my hand at making buckeyes tomorrow (yummy treat that the southern people down here just do not understand lol, guess you have to be from Ohio, state of the Buckeyes, to understand and appreciate. WE have so many things to decorate those cookies with that the kids are just going to have a blast!

Of course, my last few hours at school would be anything but ordinary. Abbi and I were moving the piano to backstage, and it is dark when you go on the stage and you have to go about 20 feet to turn the light on...it is DARK. Well, I tried to do this, and tripped over a set that was being stored and fell. OUCH! I hit my left shin/knee and then the corner of this wooden platform box hit my right calf..the one that was the start of all of my problems last year leading to the pulmonary embolism. I'm surprised there is no bruise on the left leg, but the right calf is swollen though not really painful at all. GRRR...nothing like sending me into semi-panic mode since I am under strict instructions to be very careful with that leg and not injure it....ACK! However, I will be happy that I didn't get hurt worse. Poor Abbi, she came right over and tried to help me up and didn't know what to think of Mama laying on the floor. I made sure to soak good and long this evening in my big ol' tub, in hopes to ward off any pain that might set in way after the fact :) WHEW...looks like I averted a mini disaster!

It is nice to be on break now. It has been a very rough semester, one that has me questioning so much. I am trying to just forget it all and enjoy the break! SO...on to break!

We are NOT done with Christmas shopping, we haven't wrapped a single thing that we have already gotten. I only have 2 things on the "agenda" for the weekend that must get done...buy apples to make an apple pie that someone requested, and then to play flute at church Sunday morning.

I am bringing back a family tradition....we'll be having people over on Christmas Eve and ordering pizza. My family always celebrated on Christmas Eve, opening the presents and being all together. When us kids got older, Mom began a new tradition....cooking a big meal no Christmas Day (usually lasagna) and just ordering pizza on Christmas Eve. This came about in part because us kids working and having so many obligations with the rest of our families/spouses and pizza was easier to hold a bit for late arrivals as well as it was a FAST dinner and fast clean-up to get on to opening presents! A few years ago, when we were driving home to Ohio, we spent the night in KY somewhere on Christmas Day eve, and the only place open with real food was a gas station that had a pizza parlor....so we still kind of got our tradition....though it was very special. There was a man who looked just like Santa, and he was waving at Abbi and she saw this big sign of Santa, she looked at the sign, then looked at the man, and thought it was Santa. She was convinced that he was just relaxing after delivering all the presents everywhere and the girl was in awe! This very kind man played along with her imagination and chatted with her for a good long while as we waited for that pizza (it took a very long time). She still talks about it, and that man reminded me that the spirit of Christmas and kindness is what is most important, and that sometimes looking at it through a child's eyes is the best.

SO...yes, we will do the pizza thing. We'll be going over on Christmas Day to some friend's, after spending all morning and afternoon here at home, fr the first time since we moved here. I will miss not getting to see my siblings, and Dave's Dad and Aileen. We will go to Ohio Dec 30, so we will get to visit with some family.

:) Well...that's about all for now as I am sleepy and it is 12:45 am. The girls are sleeping in Libbi's room, having a "sleepover" together, too cute! for the first morning in a long time NO ALARM CLOCK to wake me up YIPPEE!

:)