Christmas party

Today was Isaiah's preschool party. It was so fun to see him in the school environment. They iced cookies... or at least they were supposed to. They actually took the spoons and ate the icing straight. They decorated wooden Christmas trees, and played "Scoop the Snow." Anyway, here are some pictures.

Decorating the tree

Here are some photos of the craziness that was our family tonight, decorating the tree...

Highs and Lows

Sometimes emotions stink. This morning I was riding high from the band's great concert last night. In fact I didn't really sleep that well because, all night long in my head, I kept dissecting every moment of the concert. It really was leaps and bounds better than any other band concert that I've ever directed. I have a great group of talented kids who have been a blast to work with. But I'm just the kind of person who is always trying to improve, so I was trying to think of what could have been better. But I am still thrilled with how the concert turned out.

Then something happened today at school that took all the wind out of our sails, so to speak. I'm frustrated, and my band's morale has plummetted to probably the lowest this year.

Sometimes I wonder how many times I can get knocked down before I hang up my hat.

I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down.

Whew!

The last few days have been a flurry of activity. My mom's been getting ready to go to KY for my sister's home birth, and I've been getting details ironed out for my band Christmas concert.

Well, tonight, both of those things are over! My Christmas concert went so well. I just have the greatest group of kids to work with this year, and they honestly sounded better than any other band I've ever worked with.

And.... my sister had her baby! Karis Rhea-Noel Riley was born at 10:37 tonight. They haven't weighed her or anything yet, because she was just born. I just love her smooshy cheeks! But apparently everything went smoothly with their home birth! Way to go Katherine!

Why I love Starbucks

The other day I bought a Starbucks peppermint mocha twist but didn't have time to drink very much of it. I was on the road. So I brought it inside and put it in the fridge. (After all I paid $4 for it! What's up with the prices! Luckily I had a gift card this time...) The next morning I poured it into a mug to reheat it. In the Starbucks cup was this delicious chocolate syrupy stuff that had settled to the bottom. Yum. So I reheated it an mixed it all together. So that's why I love Starbucks.