'Tis the Season of Busy

I feel like I haven't been on here forever -- mostly because, I haven't. Things have been absolutely zooy here at our house. The biggest time-taker is done: I made it through student teaching! August seems like so long ago. I've got two more weeks of observations, then I am completely, utterly, forever finished.

This holiday season has already presented some unique challenges and opportunities. The first is that since we're going to Liberia in January, Shaune has no days available to take off. So, he'll be working until 5pm on Christmas Eve and have to return right away on Monday morning. It isn't ideal, but it does allow for us to take our two and a half weeks in January for our missions work.

The second kind of ties in with that. Since we can't go anywhere, we have both decided to accept seasonal positions at the nearby shopping mall to bring in a little extra income. I'm working at The Glass Gallery selling hand-blown glass. We're working together at Hickory Farms with cheese and sausage gift sets. They're paying us to work side by side in a slow moving mall. It's the best of all worlds -- working with Hubby, getting a little cash, and filling in the time between graduation and traveling.

So, hopefully I'll be able to pop in a little more regularly to update on our family's first Christmas here at home. Last year we were out of town on our honeymoon, so this is the first time I've gotten to decorate, bake, and all those other wonderful warm-smelling house things. The tree is up with lights and I'm working on the decorations this afternoon, all to the sound of Manheim Steamroller Christmas in the background. Gotta love this time of year!