It's December!

There is a lot to catch up on. I had a big custom order in November and it took up most of my extra time. Therefore, I'll have to do a quick update. Most recent first.

Student of the Month

Christian was named November STUDENT OF THE MONTH for his school! At first I thought it was just for his grade level, but it was for the whole school. Last night he was presented with his award at the district office. I will post a picture, but there is an issue with the camera, the car, and a key. Don't ask. The picture will come quickly. I'll definitely follow up to this!

Follow Up: Okay, thanks to roadside assistance, I now have access again to the vehicle that the key was locked in and my camera was in. 

Here are the photos.

Christian (far right) pictured with the kids who were Student of the Month at their schools.

This is what Mrs. Conner, Christian's teacher, said in her comments that were read by one of the Board Members:

I chose Christian Henrichsen for my Student of the Month for a few different reasons. First, Christian is a hard worker.  He never complains about the amount of work I give him or how challenging it might be.

Next, Christian is very respectful. Christian always remembers to raise his hand during class discussions and waits patiently to be called on.  He is also respectful toward his classmates. He not talk over them or interrupt them when they are speaking.

Additionally, Christian is full of creative, interesting information.  I always look forward to him sharing his perspective on the various topics we are studying. 

Lastly, I am impressed with ow Christian is able to use his creative thinking skills to adapt class assignments to his own individual interests. He is the only student I've ever had that wrote a complete poetry anthology on the subject of technology. I was impressed on ow he applied his "left brain" knowledge into a such a "right brain" task. Who knew electricity could be so poetic!

Christian is a unique, multifaceted child who teaches me something new each day. I am grateful that he is in my class this year.

Santa and the Boys

The night before that, we took the kids to see Santa Claus at the mall. Mikelle said she wasn't interested, but I had her wear coordinating clothes in case she changed her mind. She didn't, but we still had fun.

Alexander wasn't upset by Santa at all, and was rather "chill". This was the best shot of the boys, but Santa appears to be "mid-sentence". Oh well.

We also chose a name off the Angel Tree for a child in need. Last year we chose a little girl, so this year we chose a little boy. It turned out, the boys' name is Alex (just a coincidence) and he's 5. He likes Batman and dinosaurs.It'll be nice picking up a few items for him and dropping them back off at the Angel Tree.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving we were all alone as usual (since the majority of our family abandoned us by 2006 and any visitors for Thanksgiving are rare). Before the Turkey feast, we went to see Wreck It Ralph. I didn't want to see it originally because I can't stand Sarah Silverman who was one of the main voices.

However, because I didn't have to see her face, I figured it would be fine and I can pretend someone more talented and respectable was doing the voice. But Alexander only lasted for about 25 minutes of the movie anyway. I left with him and we went for a drive until the movie was over and we picked up Chris and the crew.

This picture gives an idea of why Alexander only lasted a little while in the movie.

Snow White and the...Dwarfs

Let's see...Mikelle was in a play in Drama's after school program, led by my friend Theresa who is also the Drama teacher at Mikelle's school. There weren't enough kids for all Seven Dwarfs, but Mikelle played one of the dwarfs very well, though she was upset that I took so many pictures and insisted I take a picture of her backstage afterwards.

The Dwarfs Working in the Mines

Mikelle on Stage

Sorry, but every time I see this picture, I think of Shrek where he said, "No, dead broad Off the Table!"

Whole Cast

And AFTERWARDS...when I went backstage to get a picture of her...

Really, Mikelle? Really?

All the other proud parents were snapping pictures and then wanting close-ups afterwards of their kids. But for some reason, if I did it, it was a national travesty.

Young Women in Excellence: It's Not Just Black and White

The night before the play was Mikelle's first time attending Young Women in Excellence. I have to say, I was so flattered because my Young Women Values and Theme Motif was used as inspiration for the Young Women in Excellence theme! The girls were instructed to wear Black and White and then each of them spoke on one of the 8 values and were presented with a scarf for that color/value. Mikelle spoke about Knowledge and was given a Green Scarf. The theme was "It's Not Just Black and White". It was beautiful. 

Our Beautiful Young Lady

And it was a beautiful evening even with the video they showed at the end of some guys in Colorado Springs doing a video to "You Don't Know You're Beautiful" by One Direction. The video was cute, but I'm kind of a music snob. But I loved the message and Mikelle is into One Direction. 

After linking it and hearing that song again though, I have to pop on some Depeche Mode, Cure, or some Say it Isn't So by Hall and Oats to get it out of my head!

Mini Motifs Adhered to Canvas that Each of the Girls Received

I would like to add our family pictures that we took at Usery Park on our 18th Anniversary, but since I'm mostly caught up, I'll save that for the next entry. My next entry will also feature the custom motifs I just sent a wonderful customer in Ontario, Canada!

50 Ways to Say Goodbye

And while I'm on the subject of music (well, I was a second ago. Now I'm back...), it's hard to convert me to "new music". Even current songs don't really grab me until they've been around for a little while. But not this one. My hectic Aerobics schedule helped as I've heard it repeatedly there and was instantly in love after the second time it was part of the routine.  I know I would have been a hard sell under regular circumstances - especially after Train should have  de-railed after the first 500 times hearing Sweet Soul Sister.  But they've redeemed themselves with this. And yes, I also respect Train because their lead singer, Pat Monahan, is older than me. In fact, he's older than Chris too! Score! (It makes me not feel so old...)

Love this! 50 Ways to Say Goodbye by Train

(and the Guitar Player in the Mariachi Band is hot....)