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

Not one, not two, but three flat tires!

Did I jinx myself in the last post when I talked about cell phones and flat tires on the freeway?
It almost seems like I did.

Well....
I promised more details about our Thanksgiving, but
I didn't say they would all be good details. Here goes:

My husband and I had picked up his 91 year old parents to drive them to Provo for Thanksgiving dinner. We were happily driving along I-15 in the HOV lane when we heard a pretty loud noise. A big trailer had come up along side us just then and we assumed it was making the noise. The trailer moved on but the noise stayed. About this time a passing motorist gave us that warning-pointing-worried look that usually means something on your car is falling off, on fire, or going flat. We realized that we needed to make it to the shoulder, but getting out of the HOV lane was not an easy feat. We illegally jumped over the solid white lines (don't tell!) and dodged traffic to get across to the shoulder. As we got out to survey the damage we saw that the back tire was pretty much destroyed. We can change it and hurry on to dinner. Right?

Well, it was about this time that we noticed that the front tire was also flat. Our spirits were starting to rapidly sink, but as we discovered the third flat tire we pretty much felt as deflated as the now useless collection of Michelins.
Nobody carries around THREE spare tires!

And that is where the cell phone came in and saved the day.
We were able to catch our children who luckily were behind us. We also called a tow truck.

The story does have a good ending:
♥We made it to dinner.
♥We enjoyed spending the day with our loved ones.
♥We gave thanks for all our blessings (including some new ones- being protected from danger).

The mystery still remains:
Did we run over something?
Were the brand new (two weeks old) tires defective?
Is the freeway haunted?


Thank goodness the day held some relaxing moments as well!
Thanks little Brooklyn!
♥
JoAnn

The great hot roll experiment.....

Remember how I told you that I made hot rolls for our Thanksgiving dinner- for twenty-four people? Well, I didn't tell you that I only make them about once a year and haven't always perfected them.
(Yes, I did make a batch of Rhodes rolls, too, just in case......


I even had a little helper.
Maddie had a great time rolling out her dough. She and I worked side by side.

We watched and waited......

and worried a little.....


They looked pretty, but how would they taste?

Delicious! (Whew!)
They actually turned out pretty good this time.
(At least we ate them all!)


My version of Peggy's Hot Roll recipe

4 cups warm water (I used 2 cups warm water and 2 cups warm milk)
1 cup shortening (I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening)
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
4 eggs
3 tablespoons yeast
12 cups flour

I melted the shortening/ butter in the warm liquid and let it cool a bit before adding the yeast.
Stir in the yeast and let it dissolve.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
(The dough will be slightly sticky.)
Cover and let it raise (about 1 hour).
Punch the dough down and let it raise one more time (about another hour).
(The dough can be covered tightly and refrigerated at this point and rolled out later if you want.)
Roll out into a big circle and spread with melted butter.
Cut in triangle pie shapes and roll up like a croissant.
Place on cookie sheet and let raise again (around an hour).
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes.

♥
JoAnn

Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving Day adventures!
(I told you I was thankful for my cell phone!)