My Christmas corners + peace on earth!

I've been ready for Christmas ever since Halloween ended.
Well, no...I was sick for 2 weeks immediately following Halloween, which just happened to be the 2 last weeks for our play...coincidence...
So after those 2 weeks, I began playing Christmas music, wrapping presents, and decorating my house, once I had the time. I had all presents wrapped before December even began! I'm so good.

This is the big, teak desk in front of my stairs that used to have the coconut autumn leaves on it. Most of the Christmas decorations here are cheap, and they definitely look cheap/gaudy, but I managed to find some decent-looking candle holders here.
The table runner is a purple and gold silk table runner that I bought in Thailand 2 1/2 years ago. The cards here are from teachers at the high school in Okeechobee, where I taught after I came back from Thailand, and from family members, so this is a bit of a memory table for me.
Alia is bigger than this Christmas tree. :-P



This is my actual Christmas corner, because it's in an actual corner. On Thanksgiving Day, Alia and I spent all morning putting up my 2 Christmas trees, which took 5 whole minutes, and decorating them, which took much longer, because Alia kept playing with the beads and ornaments.


Anyways, this is in my living room, and most of the presents have been given away now. However, Alia's and Samini's are still there, and Alia knows which ones they are. She asks about them frequently. :-P


(I'll post some updated photos of her tomorrow; she's gotten HUGE and wayyyy too cute!)

Also, Alia's still shorter than this Christmas tree, but I know she'll shoot past it within a year or two.

Here's my Drama 7 class, on a day they were being goofy. (I'm done with teaching them for the year, so they're allowed to be goofy now.)

Prisca, Clara, Andrew, Amanda, Shila, and Mandy

(All of the girls were Robin Hood's Merry Men, and Andrew didn't want to be in the play. Haha!)

Andrew is doing the peace sign, either wishing for peace on earth, or wishing for peace in the classroom.
This is why:

This is what they normally look like- and sound like- otherwise!

This is a very accurate photo of my kiddos.

Just think: I lived in a villa for 3 days at our youth camp with 17 7th grade girls!

And I get to go to Bali with the 7th graders in March! It's a good thing I like wild teenagers!

And now it's back to grading, because report card grades are due verrrrry soon...