12/16/08

3 more days!

We survived the Dress Rehearsal today. The kids really did a great job. Other than sound issues (which we seem to always have with little people voices) the kids did wonderful. Tomorrow... and it will be done. :) I'll show pics tomorrow.

I thought I'd share a few pics from my baking weekend. I always bake for friends/family/parents at school. Kevin and Mom helped me out a bunch. Kevin always decides my "theme" and tells me what to do. Really.... he tells me what to do. I know that shocks most of you that know us. ha!!! He laughs at me because I can get a bit "panicky" in the kitchen. I always get that way with brittle. We were all a bit tired, but livened up as the weekend went on. My Mom is going to "kill" me for putting this picture up:

Daddy and Mikayla helped, too. Wesley was too busy playing with his Lincoln Logs or his Christmas train. :)


Here is what I made: Spicy Oatmeal Crisps (no real pictures of these as we were busier than a one armed paper hanger at that time), Cream Cheese Truffles (some dipped in chocolate, some dipped in cocoa, others in powdered sugar), Homemade Pimiento Cheese (again.. done while Kevin and I were working on truffles, so no pics of that, either) , Sausage Balls, Coconut Cashew Brittle. ALL were sampled and ALL were quite tasty. :)

Little treat bags of the goodies :)

Sausage balls!

The "other" truffles

Me working on my fourth batch of Coconut Cashew Brittle. I may make that for the fair next year. :)

Just to prove I really was doing something and not staging a picture. lol

This brittle is SO stinkin' good...

12/15/08

4 more days..... :)

More candy pics. We're enjoying LOTS of goodies at this house between those I baked this weekend and the ones I bought to photograph. lol I'm going to be having issues if I don't stop eating all of these yummy things. lol


What do you think of my little Nutcrackers?

These are ones my students have given me. They aren't the best looking, and some are missing parts or have them "fall off" at any moment, but they decorate my desk at school. I brought them home just to photograph them. Maybe I should start a Nutcracker collection.... or, maybe not, since I honestly don't have anywhere to put them. lol

Tomorrow is the Dress Rehearsal for the play. I cannot believe it is already here. I honestly do not feel "ready" but I guess we'd never feel that way if we practiced a whole year. Pray that everything goes well. The "real" performance is Wednesday at 8:30. I'm going to have to direct the play and be a Mom as well. It's gonna be interesting taking pictures. :)

Have to go work on homework and grade some papers. Off I go.... HO, HO, HO!!!! :)

12/14/08

Just some random ornaments tonight. I put another view of the tricycle in here tonight as well. I just love that little ornament. The teddy bear one has Wesley's initial on the block and was made when he and Mikayla were around one, I think. I couldn't find Mikayla's on the tree but hers looks basically like his. lol The red and green ornament was made one year during my craft days at school. The snowman is glittery and I love stuff that sparkle so he's a fave.




Do you realize 2 months from today is Valentine's Day? Thought I'd throw THAT out at ya. :)


5 more days!!

I forgot to say what Steve told me last Sunday about where we are going. He told me to have an "open mind" about where we are staying and that camping out is GREAT fun. (He knows I can't handle camping at all....) Then, he said that he bought me a new fishing rod for this adventure and we're going to "FISH CAMP." He loves torturing me. Actually, I am thankful he hasn't mentioned one TRUE thing. I am LOVING not knowing where I am going this weekend. I am so excited!!


Last night when we went to A Christmas Carol I ran into one of my "old" friends and fellow blogger!! We haven't seen each other, truly, since right after my wedding 15 years ago. It was the funniest thing because this is how she knew I was there:

During the performance the "Scrooge" always asks for a little person to come up on stage for him to do "Scrooge's Amazing Trick" and the kid has to have a dollar. Wesley has wanted to do this for a few years and never been big enough, wild enough, or loud enough to get picked. Well, this year he was psyched. He brought his own dollar and was on the edge of his seat from the time the performance began. I told him to jump up and yell when the time came. My little guy came through and jumped up when Scrooge started his search and began yelling "HEY!! PICK ME!! " It was hilarious, but my little guy was chosen!!! He proudly went on stage and when Scrooge asked him his name, Wesley quietly said his name and Scrooge thought he said "LESLIE!" HAHHAHAHA... poor Wes was called "Leslie" or "Big Les" the rest of the evening. ha!!!!

While Wesley was on stage, my "old friend" began to realize Wesley looked familiar and that his name was NOT "Leslie!" She leaned over to her Mom and said "That is Kellie's little boy... and his name is WESLEY!" ha!! During intermission she came over to our seats. She knew then where we were sitting because Scrooge had told Wesley when his dollar "disappeared" in the hat trick to go look under his seat and it would be there. The huge spotlight followed him back to his seat and everyone laughed when Wesley didn't find his dollar there. (Later in the show when Scrooge became "good" he invited Wesley ("Leslie") back up on stage and he actually got TWO dollars out of the hat. :) )

Back to my friend... when she came to find us I looked at her and my eyes grew HUGE, I know. It had been so long... too long.. since we had seen each other in person. I had written her a Christmas card and told her I had hoped to see her in 2009... well, we made it right before 2008 was done. It was so great talking to her and seeing her again. Of all places, too!!! SO... HEY Gretchen!!! :)

Another funny was that Wesley's and Mikayla's Kindergarten Assistant was there last night, too, and came to find Wesley during the intermission so he could autograph her playbill. ha!! Of all times I couldn't have a camera. What a memory we made....

By the way, Wesley has HATED being called "Leslie".. but we have picked on him all day about it. he hee... Parent/Family torture.

Busy weekend... busy week ahead, but school is out Friday and I am going to be glad for a bit of time off. :)

12/13/08

Busy day today baking and such. Tonight we are going to go see A Christmas Carol. If you live in the Raleigh area and have never seen it, you REALLY need to go!! The guy who plays Scrooge is hilarious and always does a wonderful job. I know it will be a great night!

6 more days!

12/12/08

This day has been crazy. I'm glad it is Friday.

7 more days!

My first picture is our tricycle ornament. I bought this one this year, too. It reminds me of Wesley and Mikayla when they were teeny because they both had one. I have many pictures of them on it. I miss those days.


Mikayla woke us up in the middle of the night with a fever and saying her head hurt. I will be honest, my first reaction was a panic of what happened to the eight year old last week who passed away. I couldn't even think straight... but that was partially because I don't do well if I have been awakened in the middle of the night. I also was trying to think of what medicines she had already taken, etc... We gave her some Tylenol and she slept fine in our room the rest of the night. Wesley went with me to school and Mikayla stayed home with Steve. Steve took them both to the doctor later this morning and they both have sinus infections. It seems a lot of people have been dealing with this lately. Glad they went on to the doctor and got on some meds.

I found out this morning that one of my students accepted Christ as their Savior last night. What a Christmas gift that was!!

Here is a candy cane poem one of my students brought me today. I read it to the class as they enjoyed their candy canes from the student. I took these pictures of Peppermint sticks the other day as well. Enjoy:

"J is for Jesus"


One snowy day in the middle of town,
families gathered from miles around.
For something was new at the candy store,
Something that no one had seen before.


The candy maker was eager to share
His holiday treat with everyone there.
He held up a red and white peppermint stick.
The children all wanted to give it a lick!

"I made this candy." He explained that day.
"I shaped it to look like the letter 'J'."

"J is for Jesus, God's son sent to earth.
And Christmas is when we remember his birth."


"But when I turn the candy around
To make the letter go upside down
It looks like a staff that the shepherds used.
They were the first to hear the Good News."

"As the shepherds were watching their sheep that night,
The sky was filled with heavenly light.
Angels appeared and started to sing,
Glory to God for our newborn King!"

"And there in the town where Jesus was born
The shepherds found him, all cozy and warm.
Their hearts were filled with wonder and joy
As they knelt beside the baby boy."

"I added the stripes to remember the day
That Jesus washed all our sins away.
He died on the cross, His blood was shed.
That's why the stripes are bold and red."

"The white on the candy is there to show
That when we're forgiven, we're white as the snow.
Jesus was born to save us from sin,
To make us holy and clean within."

"I wanted to share this story with you,
So Jesus can be your Savior, too.
Please tell this story to everyone,
And give thanks to God for the gift of His Son!"

12/11/08

It rained pretty hard here all day. That rain caused me to get veerrrrryyyyy sleepy today at school. This does not normally happen to me because I am "on the go" so much that I don't have time to get sleepy!! Well, today I had issues with that fact. The minute I sat down to grade papers during the time my kids were in Computer I started nodding!!! ha!!!

Here are a few more ornament pics. (None of my ornament pics turned out like I wanted this year.... too much camera shake. lol)

The first one is of Wesley's train. He loves trains along with his tractors so I bought him this one this year. My best friend bought Mikayla this bottle of "nail polish"... she is much more girly girl than I ever was so this fit her. I don't think I've shown Steve's "Grinch" ornament this year, either. He is my "Grinch".... the Grinch at the end of the movie. :)


I would like for you to meet someone:

This is "Candy Cane!"

He appeared on our mantle this morning along with a book telling about himself called "Elf on a Shelf." It seems Santa has sent him to watch over us for the next couple of weeks. The kids had to name him and "Candy Cane" stuck. I think it is a very cute name. From what we understand we have to search for him every morning to see what he has been up to while we have been sleeping. I hope he doesn't make a mess.... our house has enough issues as it is! We are looking forward to the adventures!

As I said last year, yes, we do believe in Santa in this house. He is not the main focus of the season because we all know that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. Santa is a fun part that I remember fondly from childhood and want that to continue with our own kiddos. We also told the kids that just because "Candy Cane" is here doesn't mean they are only good now just to get some presents. We explained that God sees us all of the time and we are to remember that most importantly.

Imaginations are a fun thing. :)

8 more days!

12/10/08

Just some candy in the wrapper today. Love these at this time of year. :)

How many of you love Handel's Messiah?

I can remember in college when I was taking Music Appreciation... and truly began to appreciate classical music in a way I never realized before. I had excerpts from Messiah on tape for class (this was before CD's and ipods, people...). I played parts of it over and over and enjoyed hearing "For unto us a child is born... unto us... a son is given... unto us... a son is given...." Are you singing it now in your head like I am??? Something just wells up inside of me when I hear all of that. Here is the verse from where Handel wrote it:

Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Maybe I need to go find my CD of this..... :)

...9 more days!