Christmas Craziness

Wow, I knew that I was behind on posting about Christmas, but I thought that I could quick whip up a post and move on.  I didn’t realize how many Christmas pictures and activities I had to write about. So here is the first installment of Christmas twenty-ten.

Christmas at school starts Dec. 1 and the excitement gets higher and higher the closer we get to Christmas.

To start, we always pick at least one present/book under the tree to read.  I’ve blogged about this before, so won’t go into detail, but it is always a fun!

The last week of school was c-r-a-z-y.  We had a snow day on Monday which was awesome but made the week wonderful, short and hectic.  We first had the joy of making gingerbread houses.  I say gingerbread houses, but really they are cardboard houses.  The boys were double layering theirs this year to see how much candy could possibly fit on their house.

And then we made Christmas gifts for parents.  We stuffed feathers, painted glitter and then glued on beads.  Oh the beads!  I always demonstrate every year.  “Use a dot of glue and then put a bead on, so there are polka-dots of beads around your ornament.”  And then, without fail, the globs of glue are put on and the beads are thrown on the ornament in no particular fashion.  I cringe and try not to let my controlling self come out.  Especially when they say that we are almost out of beads.  Of course we are almost out of beads!  You were only supposed to use about 20 and you have 200 on your ornament.  Anyways, they are done and wonderful and oh so fourth grade-ish.

The last week of school ended with my good friend, Stephanie’s wedding which was a great way to end it!  Steph and I started teaching at my school at the same time and instantly became friends.  She is kind, hilarious and has a great outlook on life.  She has now moved to Colorado and I miss her terribly!  Congrats, Steph and Jeff!

Part 2…coming up…

Books of 2010

I’ve seen several blogs post about the books that they have read and loved reading them, so with no shame in copying the idea…the books I read in 2010, in no particular order…

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

I read this book as part of a blogging book club. It wasn’t a book that I probably would have read otherwise, but I loved it. It was full of suspense and made you want to keep reading it.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I picked this book up from the library based off recommendations for books similar to Sarah’s Key. It took a few chapters to get into it reading it in the form of letters, but the characters are so adorable that you want to figure out what happens to each of them.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

I really did love this book. It was a very sweet, typical Nicholas Spark book. However, my love changed when I watched the movie staring Miley Cyrus…they completely ruined it for me.

Above the Line, Take Four by Karen Kingsbury

Oh, Karen Kingsbury. If you love Christian fiction books, I’m sure that you have read her books. I get hooked on her series and can’t resist reading them. Yes, some of them are very predictable and the way she reminds you of things you have already read does drive me a bit crazy, but I really do love her books for an easy, interesting book to read.

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

I also read this as part of the blogging book club and can’t say that I really liked it. I struggled to get through it and just didn’t really connect with any of the characters.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I just finished this on Sunday, so technically it could be a 2011 book, but I started it in 2010, so I’ll add it on. It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I did, I could not put it down. It is an amazing story and a book that I was sad to finish.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

My sister let me borrow this book from her and to be honest it sat on my shelf for a few month. However, I was intrigued by it because I really do love World War II stories, which this story is. This book did not dissapo0int and is a great story about the Holocaust and WWII.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

I read this book as part of a small group Bible study. I love the message of this book and am amazed by the characters’ stories.

Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist

I had heard great things about this books. Quotes from it on friends’ blogs and facebook walls. So I was excited to read it. I read it with a group of girls for a small group Bible study. It is an easy read about life and faith. I loved reading about Shauna’s life and how she sees God in it.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I listened to this book on CD. Dan and I listened to it on our trip out east this summer. For the most part, I really did enjoy the story- it is an amazing story. There were a few times where it seemed to drag a bit, but it could have also been the fact that we had been in the car for 5 hours.

10 books for 2010…hopefully there will be 11 in 2011.

I feel like I read other books this year, but I just can’t remember what they are. I’ll keep better track for next year.

Any book recommendations for next year?

The photos are linked to their sources.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

You would think that since I had 2 weeks off for Christmas break that I would be caught up on my blogging.  It’s amazing how fast 2 weeks goes when you aren’t working.  Plus, there was Dan’s birthday, Christmas and my sister’s wedding in there.  Which yes, I plan to recap soon, very soon.

For now, HAPPY NEW YEAR!