It's Christmas! (And Thanksgiving)

I've heard a lot of people complain about the time change and about hearing Christmas music in stores already. I have to say, I love it. Now, I don't particularly like that it gets dark so early, except for the fact that I associate it with the coming holidays, and have since my childhood. Once Christmas has passed, though, I'm ready for the longer day again, but until then, love it.

And hearing Christmas music so early...I'm fine with it. This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I know there's a lot of talk about the commercialism of Christmas, but for me, I just associate it with all the positives of Christmas, the true meaning of Christmas, so I don't mind even that. Now I don't want to skip right over Thanksgiving, either, just enjoy both at the same time, in a way. I guess for some people that seems ridiculous, but not me. I've heard it said before that Christmas time is probably a taste of what heaven will be like. So don't we want this feeling as long as possible? But, show me almost anything related to Christmas, and I love it. I have so many good childhood memories of Christmas, of the anticipation of it, the Christmas musicals I did in children's choir and at school...as I got older, the Christmas presentations at Idlewild became one of my favorite things to do. I actually find it fitting that this will be the last thing I'm officially involved with at Idlewild.

But, like I said, I don't want to skip over Thanksgiving. For the first time ever, Hillsborough County school district is off for the whole week of Thanksgiving. I remember when I was a kid, we just got Thanksgiving Day and the next day off. Some time while I was teaching, they added the day before as a conference day (which we worked on another night in exchange for that day off), so that was always nice. You just had a 2-day week. The last couple of years, I've known people who worked in other counties, and they had the whole week off. I thought it was odd, but I was a little jealous. Now, our county is doing that, and I am so excited! It's like another spring break, then we go back for 3 weeks and get 2 weeks off at Christmas.

I look forward to Thanksgiving day, not just my week off. Of course watching some of the Macy's parade, doing the family thing, and eating. A lot of people on facebook have been posting things that they are thankful for. It's a good practice, and I wouldn't want to ignore the whole purpose for the holiday. I am thankful for my husband, my family, my home, my job, and that God has provided what I need. What things are you thankful for? Make sure you take time out to think of this and thank God for what He's given you.

Fall Fun

This year, we sort of got into the festivities for Halloween by getting a costume for Desmond. We were at PetSmart at the beginning of September, and saw the cutest little dragon costume. We thought that would be so great, but we weren't sure how much he would grow by the end of October, so we didn't buy it. Of course, when we did go to buy something, it wasn't there in his size. So I picked a Tigger costume, which was the cutest thing they had left. It only cost $5 by that point, so that was good. We didn't take him anywhere with it on, because he didn't really love it, and the hood didn't stay on well. But we got cute pictures.

 I also put it on Benji, just for a picture. He looks thrilled. I thought it was cute, though.

We didn't make Desmond wear the costume for long, though. Maybe next year.

I also went to the pumpkin patch with my sister-in-law and my nephews. I probably take more pictures of my nieces and nephews than any other aunt. Kid pictures are just so cute, and since I don't have any of my own, that's what I have to do. Besides, I love my nephews and nieces so much--they're so cute!

So, this was the beginning of the fall festivities this year. I love this time of year. Especially once November gets here, and we have Thanksgiving and, of course, the Christmas season. Love it.

Car Trouble

I had a pretty scary experience the other day on my way to work--my car completely shut off while I was driving. Now, I had some warning signs, even though I didn't realize it. First, my battery light was on. Jason had said we'd take it to Autozone to check it out that afternoon. But as I was driving, I noticed the lights on my dashboard were dimmer than normal. I also ran the windshield wipers, and they went really slow. Then my radio started going in and out, and my airbag light and seatbelt lights started flashing. At that point, I should've known to pull over, but I called Jason. It seemed to be driving fine, but I figured I wouldn't be able to start it once I got to school. As I was talking to Jason, all of a sudden, I could feel that the car was starting to go slower, even though I was pushing the gas pedal. I said, "I think my car's about to die!" Jason urged me to pull over, but I was in the left lane and couldn't. I got to a left turn lane, planning to turn into an empty parking lot. Now, if I had had full power, I would've been able to make this turn in front of these cars. As I was starting to turn, I realized since I didn't have full power, I may stop right in the middle of the street, in front of these approaching cars. So I stopped my turn, and right then, dead. I was a little freaked out, and I couldn't even find my hazard lights for about 5 minutes. AAA came and towed my car, and Jason sent his father to take me to work since he couldn't and my parents are in Germany. It was just my alternator, and it was easily fixed. The funny thing is, I had missed the street I needed to turn on and didn't even realize it. Guess I was so preoccupied telling Jason and figuring out what was going on. I kept thinking, how did I pass Hanley and not even realize it? But, I figure if I had turned there, I would have been right in the intersection when my car died, and that would really have been bad. So, thank you, Jesus, that everything turned out OK.