Snow in November, but thankfully no snow days...
led to so much wind and rain in December, our rain gauge actually broke. But we had no wind calamities like this neighbor. The tree was such a beauty too.
But I did have classroom calamities caused by the whirlwind of 'Naughty Boy #1'; the usual ADHD type behavior along with a bit of block throwing, elbow jabbing, and wagging his backside at the instructional assistant, calling the art teacher a loser and a 'dookie head', threatening classmates with pencil points, putting pencils (POINTY ENDS) into his nostrils and ears, spitting on the floor and blaming someone else, telling me "No, and never" or simply ignoring me when I would give directions, interrupting every lesson that any of us was trying to teach and on and on. Are you getting exhausted yet? Well, we sure are. So, the principal comes in and does a 90 minute observation and we confer together after school with the principal toting his 2 inch thick tome of '500 solutions for 100 behavior problems' and now we have a new plan of sorts which I will need to review before we go back into the classroom on Jan. 3rd. Right now, I am just enjoying the break from all the drama and stress.Anna Rae is home from Bangkok for the holidays and no gift is greater than that. We ran in the Jingle Bell Run together.
Baked and cooked together, shopped together, watched movies together, and talked and talked. It will be so hard to send her back to Thailand.
As if that wasn't present enough, June, Chris' mom has joined us from Green Bay as well. So we have a family of four in our house this holiday season and that has been splendid!
Here we are in Benaroya Hall, enjoying Charlie Brown's Christmas:
Photographs were verbotene but EVERYONE was snapping shots of the little piano and tree, much to the consternation of the ushers.
Here we all are sitting down to Christmas dinner at the Kornowske's:
Everything was incredibly delicious (as is everything from Valerie's kitchen), from the filet mignon to the egg nog creme brulee and all the libations and goodies in between!
See how glum Galen looks? He has good reason. His dominoe game was more than a little off. But not so for Lindsey!
Here's Galen learning to put on his Thai fisherman's pants. All the guys agreed that they are ready to make a new fashion statement with these pants as they are SO comfortable. I told Anna Rae these pants could be a business an export business for her while Joe is determined that Valerie should learn to sew them with all the bolts of pocket lining they have stored in the closet.
And the final gift from the Kornowskes; hearing Lindsey play lovely music on her new cello.
But that was not the end of the music on Christmas day. Once back in our own own neighborhood we headed over to our friends the Reinholds' and were treated to fabulous guitar playing by Dave Bunker, Teresa Reinhold's dad.
Dave designed and made the touch guitar he is playing.
And what a treat to hear his grand daughter, Brittany, and her aunt Brenda sing:
Brittany is heading off next month to New Mexico to study Theater and English Lit. I can't wait till she makes it 'big time' and I can say I knew her 'way back when'.
So that is our holiday season to date; busy, happy, and with so much for which to be thankful! I hope that 2011 is full of the same.
