Christmas Favorites 2007

Christmas is always wonderful. This year I had several 'favorites' that made it special.

1. Behold the Lamb concert. I went to the Behold the Lamb concert in Charlotte and absolutely loved it, bought the CD, and am now getting music from contributing artists. It's THAT life-changing. :) You can read more about it and listen to some songs on Andrew Peterson's website or, hilariously, on wikipedia!
2. Christmas cookies. Obviously this is a big part of the season - this year we had special buddies Luke, Cameryn, and Noelle come over to make cookies with us. And my mom discovered a new Peppermint Shortbread cookie that may be the best thing I've ever tasted. I can't find the recipe (it was in the paper) but maybe you could google it. It's amazing.
3. Christmas crafts. This year I conned my students into sewing . . . really, it's amazing, if you act excited (which I was) and build it up, the kids think it's the greatest thing ever. They literally cheered when I showed them my example! 5 minutes later, when the thread was all tangled and fingers pricked and teacher was flying around the room helping everyone at once, not so many cheers, but the end result was cute and I think we all learned about patience and perseverance.
4. Gift-giving. My roommates and I have "family Christmas" before we leave and the gifts were again so well-thought out and sweet. I just love these girls! And all of the secrecy and plotting and planning. My coworkers decided to do a pseudo-white elephant exchange and bring cookies and we had the most hilarious planning session ever. One of my fellow teachers is afraid of candles and will not light them in her house or buy them for others for fear she'll be responsible for burning their house down! Whonu?
5. Weary Travelers. This might not have been the highlight of Christmas, but it's kind of tradition, right? I bought this ridiculous ticket that took me from Charlotte to Louisville to O'Hare to OKC. Every single flight was delayed and I ended up sitting on the floor in Chicago for 4 hours with all the other glazed-over and exhausted passengers. There comes a point when "canceled" or "delayed" doesn't even raise a reaction from the crowd. At that point, it's just camaraderie and a mutual desire to just get where you need to be - before Christmas.
6. Being with my Family! The hours of travel just make Oklahoma more worth it!