Happy New Year!

(photos by google.com)

6 hours, 51 seconds, and counting.....
and we will leave behind 2009
and welcome in 2010!

Happy New Year!

Who knows what the new year will hold?
I hope it will be a year that is filled with:
proud accomplishments
satisfying friendships
great memories
lots of laughter
good health
family fun
service
peace
joy

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors,
and let each new year find you a better man." (or woman)
-Ben Franklin

Tonight as I am standing on the porch (banging on a kitchen pan) I will be thinking of you and wishing you all a great new year!

♥
JoAnn

A universal symbol of hospitality....and a delicious treat...

Did you know that the pineapple is considered a universal symbol of hospitality and is used to welcome guests in many societies?

During our family Christmas party on Sunday, we found two of these beauties sitting on our front porch. Our party was starting to wind down, people were preparing to leave, things were being loaded in cars, when we noticed them resting by the door.

No card, no instructions, just two big, fresh pineapples waiting to be discovered.

Well,
We couldn't let our guests leave without sampling the delicious fruit.
The pineapple was chilled, ripened to perfection, and as sweet as honey. It was the perfect ending to a fun evening (and a great palate cleanser)!

We never did figure out who the donor was, but it was one of our favorite gifts.
Not only did we get to enjoy it, but we got to share it with our guests.
THANK YOU!
(I wish I could thank someone personally!)

♥
JoAnn

The best of Christmas.....

(enlarge pictures by clicking on them)

spending time with family....

eating good food.....

(Getting all your favorite recipes put in one book. Thanks, Liz!)


and
being free to express yourself.

"I wish we could put up some Christmas Spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month."
-Harlan Miller

♥
JoAnn

Santa found us!

Here is a brief look at our Christmas so far:


Christmas Eve.....

We started off the evening with a yummy dinner, a crazy game, and more.

Christmas day.....

Maddie documented the whole event....(of course, she only got pictures of our legs and feet)...

Brooklyn slept through it all......

AND

the rest of us are refusing to be seen in our "morning hair" and p.j's!

More coming later......but, it has been a great holiday!

♥
JoAnn

Christmas videos....

Video

I found this video on another blog (bBchronicles) and thought it was perfect for Christmas.
(Thanks for sharing it!)

I think you will enjoy it, too!

Below is another great video. Both are worth your time!


I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and feel the love of the Savior.
Merry Christmas!
♥
JoAnn

Looks like a white Christmas.....stormy day today

Storm front arrived.
Bad air departed.
White Christmas coming (3 more days)!

♥
JoAnn

Teacher gift ideas.....

If you are looking for some cute ideas for
teacher gifts (or work/neighbor gifts)
I LOVE this one!

One of my students and her mom made this cute supply vase. Flowers are always lovely, but they never last and who doesn't need office supplies?
(Did you notice the Life Savers?)

I also saw this cute idea for covering notebook binders on the blog Just a Girl
and I made my own version.

I bought this 6 pack of notepads at Walmart for around $2.00.


Pulled out some scrapbook paper that I like.


Cut a piece of paper and glued it over the binder.

I added a pen and a little calendar.
The total cost is around $2.00 per gift.

Now all I need to do is FINISH some of my other projects.

Did you know that we had to find a new place to sleep last night?
My bed was covered with a big project and I didn't want to move it!!!!

Have a great day!
♥
JoAnn

Two in a row......

I just read about an "Ugly Sweater Party" on
Just a Girl.
Last year we had one, too, on Christmas Eve. (What this really means is that we pulled out our old, colorful, overly-decorated sweaters- the kind only school teachers really wear!
Ha ha!)
We had a lot of fun making them even more ugly, hoping to win the contest.
Well...


Robbie was the winner with his "enhanced" pine-smelling-air-freshener-Christmas-tree-sweater (although there was some stiff competition).

As luck would have it, cousin Chris borrowed the sweater this year to wear to his company party and took the grand prize! (Once an ugly sweater-always an ugly sweater!)
If you would like to read more about our party last year click here.

Looks like a busy week ahead.
I hope we make it!!!
♥
JoAnn

Christmas puppets.....

One of my blogging friends, Holly, remembered these puppets that I posted a while ago and wanted to see the idea again (she wants to make some for her family). They were made from things found around the house so they aren't perfect, but we have enjoyed them and look forward to using them again now that we have some grandchildren.

They are just made out of old nylon stockings, batting, embroidery floss, scrap material, and old jewelry. For the picture they were resting on soda pop bottles.
If you are interested in more details, check out this old post.

Christmas puppets

♥
JoAnn

Christmas magic...

"Christmas waves a magical wand over the world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."

-Norman Vincent Peale

Remember when you just couldn't wait for Christmas morning?

My sister Diane is the champion "I can't sleep" person in our family. She would wake me up every time I fell asleep and ask me if I knew what time it was, or if I thought Santa had been there yet. Our family always got up really early (my parents figured it was the only way to get any sleep since they could go back later and take a peaceful nap- after the excitement wore off) and our celebrating would begin long before most normal families even started to wake up.

Christmas was always magical at our house!
♥
JoAnn

I linked to The Little Red House. I love the winter mosaic!

Four more days of school and we have a nice two week vacation!!!
I'm holding on by a thread......
School presents for parents are almost done.
Today we will wrap them.
Last night we had a fun party with some old friends.
Most of the shopping is finished. (Thanks, kids!)

Life has been pretty busy and I have more to do than I am getting accomplished, but it is an exciting time of year.

We still have to make and deliver these (check out the recipe by clicking.)

Well, I'm off to school.
Have a great day!
♥
JoAnn

Dancing Elves.....

(JoAnn, Alex, Barbara, Michael, Michelle)

I got this email today from my friends Michael and Wendy. It was fun to see a bunch of "old" friends reunited in song and dance. We had some really fun times growing up! Looks like the magic is still there!

The only problem is that I can't make it very clear! I have turned things over to my "coach" Liz, but it isn't working for her either. Does anyone know how to work this thing?

(I even paid my $4.99 to download it!)

♥

JoAnn

Dear Santa,

(photo by google.com)

Dear Santa,
It's time for my annual Christmas letter. I thought I'd start off by thanking you for the nice Christmas gifts you gave me last year. (And the year before that, and the year before that.....)!

I have tried to be good this year-although it hasn't always been easy. (I guess old habits are hard to change.) I am a little more organized, but if you see my desk at school, please try not to notice the huge stack of unfinished projects and papers to correct. I'm afraid I'll never get caught up!

Just so you know, our family has grown a little this year. We welcomed Irene and Brooklyn to our family (and Sue from school....yes, it's an adoption in progress- ha ha)!

I would like to let you know that we LOVE all the family games you have given us. (Please don't leave another game of "Stocks and Bonds", since my husband had to audit me last time we played it.)

I would like one new thing this year. With all the freezing cold weather we have been having we haven't had any outdoor recess for quite some time, and I could use a new pair of ear plugs. Eight year old kids just need some physical activity to help with all their energy, and one small classroom doesn't offer much relief.

I guess there is just one more thing. Could you please come to our house at the end of your run and not at the beginning? I will be up late finishing things!

Well, I am excited for the holiday and some time off from school. Thanks again for everything!

♥

JoAnn

Remembering Christmas past.....

Look at all the cute cousins!
Where has all the time gone?

P.S. Sorry about the quality of the photos. They are old and were taken with a cheap camera.

A Christmas home tour.....

(Click on picture to make larger)
My sister has one of those perfect Christmas houses.
Last night I took some photos of her decorating (as I was nibbling on her assorted candy and nut dishes) and thought I would share her ideas.

This is the view as you enter her house. Makes you want to see more, right?

Her fireplace sits ready for a cozy fire.

This tree is beautiful.

The table is all ready for company.
I love the cranberries and artichokes.

She made this chandelier from an old base she got at a thrift store, after she painted it black. She added the tassels, lamp shades, ribbons, and berries. Cute, isn't it?

Wouldn't you love to curl up in this comfy corner?
(I think we forgot to push the cushions back after we sat a while.)

Even the play house is ready for the holidays!

Thanks, Linda, for letting us have a peek into your holiday home!

♥
JoAnn

I linked to Mary's Little Red House Mosaic Monday. There are a lot of amazing mosaics there!

Soaking in some Christmas atmosphere....

Crooked tree?
Nope.
Just a shot from the floor where I was relaxing.

Now all I need is a good book!

My family likes our old fashioned tree with it's crazy assortment of decorations.
It would never make it in a stylish magazine, but it has a lot of memories for us.

Isn't it nice to sit and remember?

♥
JoAnn

Brrrrr....It's cold outside!

Brrrr........
KSL weather report:
Salt Lake City
25 degrees F
High so far: 30 degrees F
Low so far: 17 degrees F

(Maddie, last Christmas, all decked out in fifty layers of warmth!)

Isn't it always a shocker to go from nice weather to the first chilly day?

On a cold day like today it's good to have some warm clothes to bundle up in!

So why did so many of my students come to school in light jackets today?
(They all promised me they had warm coats at home and that they would wear them tomorrow.)

Of course...
I remember as a child being complimented by our school nurse, Mrs. Dunlap, for being the FIRST one to wear long stockings to school (probably in September!).
I was always embarrassed by this honor.
For those of you who are NOT as old as I am, we had to wear dresses to school. Our long stockings were really ugly things that connected to a little garter belt.
My parents MADE us dress warmly, otherwise I would probably have been
just like some of my students.
(I guess I'm grateful now.)

Just so you won't feel too sorry for me...
Those stockings made great Christmas hanging socks- they sagged with the weight of the orange and could hold a LOT of stuff.

Does anybody out there remember those days?

Well, I'm off to heat up some HOT chocolate and sit by the fire!

♥
JoAnn

(photo by google.com)

Another Hero.....

On Veterans' Day I did a post on some of our family heroes, but I was missing a picture of my father-in-law. He served in the Navy. I finally got a picture and I did include it on that post, but I thought it was deserving of another mention.
Did you know that his father also enlisted during the war? He didn't serve on the front lines, but he left his home and family to help the cause.

We are proud of all of them and their sacrifice and service.

Go here to see the edited post.
Family Heroes
♥
JoAnn