Classy Christmas Soiree

I am so thankful that my friends from college still stay in touch so well! We reunited in Ruston on Tuesday to have a little Christmas party, and it was great! It was simple and sweet, which to me is just right! Here are a few pictures of our evening! We missed all who were unable to make it very much ... hopefully this will be a regular Christmas event:)

Playing a new game ... I love to learn a new game!

All of the pretty ladies:)

The wonderful guys! This is just one of many from their little photo shoot of themselves.

I am so thankful that God has always given me wonderful friends!

Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10

Can you hear it? Be still close your eyes and listen carefully for the songs of the angels on that not so silent night. Imagine you are a shepherd, the lowly, dirty, simple, shepherd, who has been awakened by the host of Heaven's messengers, singing and declaring the greatest news to ever be proclaimed on earth. "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11. Can you hear the sounds of the angels, and the excitement and awe of the shepherds.

Can you feel it? Can you feel the confusion of the shepherds? Why us...of all the world, why has God chosen us to be among the first to see the Savior of the world? Can you feel the excited butterflies? Shepherds have never been invited to the palace, never been in the presence of a king before. Yet, here you are about to walk in to see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Most of all can you feel the grace and love surrounding you as you walk into that little stable and look upon the face of your God? He has chosen you, the shepherd who has so very little, to be the first to worship sweet baby Jesus.

Can you hear the sounds that consumed the skies of Bethlehem on that not so silent night or are the sounds of cash registers ringing, wrapping paper tearing, oven timers dinging, and the hustle and bustle of the season drowning them out? This is a question I am consumed with this Christmas. I realize so much now how much time flies. Before you know it, you will have all unwrapped your last gift and everyone will be looking around the room saying "Well I guess thats it" and Christmas will be over until next year. I just don't want to miss out on the Christ in Christmas. I want to remember the glory of His coming, and I want to remember the reason He left the throne room of Heaven "making himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -even death on a cross." Philippians 2:7-8

Some "Oh my" moments...

"Oh my" moments....

1. My students were so excited about Christmas last week, and they just couldn't stop talking about all things Christmas, including their elves. If you are not familiar with the elves, let me quickly clue you in from the eyes of a child: After Thanksgiving, when the Christmas season has officially begun, Santa sends you an e-mail, and tells you he is sending an elf to your house to check in on you until Christmas. The elf reports to Santa, and tells him if you are being good or not. Every night while the you are snug in your beds the elf finds a new hiding place in your house, so you never know where he might be. (well I assume this at least close to being right because as you will see I am not very well informed on the elves) SO as my students are telling me about their elves, some students didn't know what they were talking about. Well being the genius that I am I said " Oh you get them at the store in a little kit," or at least something to the affect that you get them at the store (which you do, they come in a little kit with a box and a stuffed elf but the kids of course don't know that). To this they immediately replied, "NO! You only get them if Santa sends you an e-mail!" I quickly tried to cover my mess up with something that sounded a bit like "Oh yeah I am sorry I must be thinking of something else. Get busy you have work to do, you shouldn't even be talking." Ah I am terrible!!

2. Today I was at freezing cold afternoon carpool, and I had put my walkie-talkie in my coat pocket. While I was waiting on the next car to pull up, I put my hands in my pocket. I quickly learned this was a mistake because due to the large object in my coat plus my large hand, my hand got stuck. I mean STUCK! I was so scared that I would have to have the two other teachers on duty help me get my hand out in front of all of these parents. Thankfully I was able to dance around a bit and wiggle it free. I took the walkie-talkie out needless to say.

3. Filling up my car with gas seems to always be an adventure with me. The first pump I pulled up to the card thingy wasn't working, so I attempted to move around to another. Well with the way the pumps were angled and my not so amazing driving skills, it took me a few attempts (reverse, drive, turn, reverse, drive) to get my car where I thought it should go. When I look up, I see this old man in a truck staring at this ridiculous sight...ugh must I have an audience?!? I begin to step out and realize I am nowhere close to the pump and at a crazy angle, so I laugh and say "You have got to be kidding me!!" The whole time I am being watched...it was awful, but I couldn't stop laughing!!

Christmas Confessions

Christmas Confessions:

I must confess a few things this Christmas. Please join me and leave a few of your own.

- I try to make some cute Christmas treat or some yummy new recipe or make a fun Christmas craft every year and fail miserably every time! Cuteness doesn't come easily for me, so I resort to buying things. And even though I fail every time, somehow every year I forget about the failures past and completely believe that my creation will look just like the picture in the book or on the internet. One of these days!

- Despite the fact that more times than not my kitchen adventures don't turn out like they should, I get very excited about being in the kitchen. Much of my excitement comes from the simple fact that I get to where my apron. This year I have a new Christmas apron, so I just had to try it out. I also prefer to look cute while baking so that my apron is a nice accessory. I mean the majority of the time, the places where the apron covers is not where the mess gets, but they are still wonderful and fun! OH and if you want to make my day...just stop by my house with a roll of cookie dough and some icing and make some cookies with me just so I can wear my Christmas apron:)

- I love to GIVE wrapped gifts. I don't care how they are given to me, but if I am giving a gift, I want it to be wrapped and not bagged. I just love the way they look, especially under the tree. The thing is I am HORRIBLE at this task that most girls master when they are like 12. So I go through more wrapping paper than I ever need because of all my attempts to get it just right...well at least to get it good enough to give away to someone.

- White Elephant: Ok so let me just say this is something I learned about myself last year at a Christmas party that is probably not healthy. I don't get upset when I get a rotten gift because I just enjoy the game and watching people (one of my favorite past times). BUT I do secretly want the gift that I brought to be one that is desired by all:) I consider it a success to have my gift stolen at least once but truly I want it to be maxed out, stolen as many times as is allowed! I also want my gift to be picked because of cute wrapping, and if you remember my previous confession, this is quite the challenge.

- I have never been one to really snoop for my gifts. I love surprises too much...even though I know all that I am getting because I shopped for them lol. I try to forget and not think about them, so I will be "surprised".

- My perfect Christmas date would be: Going for a nice drive through pretty neighborhoods at night that are all decorated for Christmas with a nice warm Starbucks hot chocolate or caramel apple spice with a cute boy who makes me laugh.

- If I start my Saturday morning off by sitting on the couch and turning on the TV, chances are I won't get up because I will be far too busy watching Christmas movies that I have seen year after year. I have tried very hard to not fall into this trap this year!

- As much as I dread the cold, Christmas just isn't Christmas without it! I must admit I love the smell of outside in the winter. And I love love love to cuddle, and cold weather is the perfect excuse to sit a little closer!!

- As busy as the Holiday season gets, there can NEVER be too many Christmas parties! I mean I love any reason to party, to get people together to laugh, eat, hug on each other, and have a good time!

I hope you all have a spectacular Christmas season, and I look forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior with many of you in the coming weeks!

Love you all more than you know!

What Christmas quirks do you have?? Share them with me please as your gift to me...it will help my self-esteem to know I am not the only one:)