must be holiday time!

the last week before holidays was busier than i expected. i knew the start of the week would be busy, but i thought it would slow down. i thought the same thing last year. and the year before that. perhaps next year i will be ready?!

never mind the last week of school was also the last week before Christmas. we'll just say that Christmas Baking became a low priority. yes. very low. which i am beginning to appreciate now.

last Monday we were entertained by the kindergarten classes. Kiara is the child in our family who loves the stage. she looked very cute in her pretty dress.

Tuesday brought the grades one to three performing their version of the Polar Express. they were amazing.
Aidan has never been the "on stage" kind of kid. it is neat how he has grown in this area over the years. we were very proud of how well he did that night.

on Thursday it was "International-Traditional-Heritage" dinner for the kindergarten class. it was interesting to see (and taste) the different ethnic dishes. not sure if was the untimely flu, or a result of the dinner....but Kiara's teacher was sick on the last day of school. poor woman!

Friday was all school pyjama and bring your favourite teddy bear to school day. i ended up running back to the school and retrieving Kiara's forgotten bear....phew!

by Saturday the kids could barely contain themselves with excitement for Christmas. we barely made it to our church' evening Christmas Eve Candlelight service. it was also packed. then we squeezed in a supper of appetizers before heading to a friends house. at which Aidan lost a tooth. yes. only Aidan. not only was Santa making a secret appearance at our home that night....but we also had to be sure to be ready for the Tooth Fairy. for real. i can't make this stuff up. fortunately all parties made it and the Tooth Fairy took advantage of the stockings to leave a toothbrush for BOTH kids as well as a special financial deposit for the missing tooth.

Christmas Day was a fantastic day for all of us. we were thankful to be healthy and happy. all gifts were well loved. Santa made another appearance that morning. he actually woke us up! the kids are not so convinced that this Santa is the real deal. it is amusing listening to them try to rationalize the visit.

i had hoped to be finished my January layouts BEFORE Christmas Day. had them on my table and everything. even the photos were ready and printed. no such luck! i did manage to find some time in the past few days to tackle them. phew!!

here is a sneak peak of the January Year in Review page....



recognize the papers?

Little Yellow Bicycle Winter Twig. oh. it is so lovely.

i was inspired by this sheet. the pine cones. the lace. the snowflakes.

nearly a year ago, they designed a collection called "Twig". it was also incredible and sold out very quickly. they re-designed the same collection again with a winter feel. i think they have another winner.

starting on Monday i will explain the Year in Review class. i'll share the layouts from the past year. and....i'll share the layout that will start of the 2012 Year in Review album. i can't wait!!

for now, i think i will enjoy having time to take photos of us enjoying the remainder of the holiday. as well as squeezing in some more games. love this part of the holidays!

i hope you had a very merry Christmas too. and that these last few days of the year are relaxing and enjoyable and healthy.

Merry Christmas!