December is always FULL of activity and this one has been no different. Kayla had her annual Christmas tea party. This was the fourth one we’ve done and Kayla says, “It’s fun, fun, fun!” I think it’s fun too – maybe a bit stressful to pull off in the month of December – but a really fun time for the girls. I can see us doing this for years to come. The crafts and stories and play time may change, but getting girls together for Christmas fun will hopefully not. We dressed up dolls and stuffed animals with Christmas ribbons, decorated gingerbread houses, made Nativity scenes out of clay pots, and had a REAL tea party, of course – complete with peppermint tea, hot chocolate, chocolate covered strawberries, tea sandwiches, cloth napkins, and grown up tea cups! And I have to mention that I could not have done all of this without the help of my friend Virginia – she goes to my church and is a student at UMass. She was so good with the girls and a huge help to me! Thanks, Virginia!

Kayla also got to perform in a Christmas Choir concert. She has been a part of this choir for a year and a half and has learned so much under the instruction of her director Craig. They even sang in Hebrew and Latin!

More singing with our homeschool group at a local nursing home. The kids sang 5 Christmas Carols and then spent time handing out hand-made Christmas cards to the residents. I am always amazed at how this small effort to bless these elderly folks is received. We got so many kind comments and thanks from our sweet audience.

And last, but definitely not least, was a day trip to New York City with our friends the McCullahs. I think we hit every major toy store in the city – even rode the 3- story ferris wheel inside of this Toys R Us in Time Square, saw the tree at Rockefeller Center, and window displays at Saks 5th Avenue. Would you believe that I’ve now been to NYC enough to actually be somewhat of a tour guide for others??? Never would have guessed this 10 years ago, but I love it!