The Christmas Post

It was our first Christmas alone with just our little family, and we had a nice cozy holiday.

We made cookies for friends, and Chris had to leave this note over the bowl so I wouldn't snitch the cookie dough.  Great idea!  It actually worked!

Our first real Christmas tree.

Here are some pictures of us acting out the Christmas story.  Since there are only three of us, we had to enlist the help of Sam's toys.

I was Mary, and Sam's dog Zoe was Jesus.

Chris, the bunny, and the lizard were the wise men.

Sam was a shepherd, and his sheep were his trucks and his dog Zoe (who, if you recall, was previously Jesus).

These are our Christmas jammies.

Sam in his second pair of Christmas jammies.

Here is a short video of Sam decorating cookies for Santa as well as bits of our Christmas morning opening presents. 

Movie Recommendations

For those who like watching French films (or those who would like to try), here are a few I've watched in the last little while that I've really enjoyed. 

 

Coco Before Chanel

I love Audrey Tautou!  When I was student teaching, I had a student who looked just like her.  Anyway, this is the story of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.  It chronicals her life from her early beginnings as a seamstress and singer to her entrance into the fashion world as she uses her talents making hats for France's high society. Rated PG-13.

 

 

 

Moliere
I really loved this movie!  This movie is loosely based on two of Moliere's plays, "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" and "Tartuffe."  It was funny (actually made me laugh out loud) sad, and sweet.  It's similar to the movie Shakespear in Love as it takes the playwright's life and weaves it into his work.  Go put this on your Netflix queue. Rated PG-13.

 

 

 

Avenue Montaigne

Both of the two previous movies I mentioned were period pieces, but this one is set in modern day Paris.  It's about a young woman out to discover Paris and life.  She gets a job as a waitress and becomes aquainted with a professional pianist, a famous actress, an art collector, and others who introduce her to the luxerious life her grandma always told her about.  It made me dream about one day going to Paris.  Although I have lived in three different French speaking countries, I hate being a French teacher and who has never been to Paris (besides the airport).  One day I'll get there...  Rated PG-13.

 

 

 

La Moustache

It has been years since I've seen this one, but I remember really liking it.  It's about a man who decides to shave his moustache that he's had his whole adult life and waits to see if anyone says anything about it.  When no one notices, he starts to get upset, so he approaches his wife about it who claims he has never had a moustache.  It's a psychological drama a bit like the Twilight Zone.  Not rated.

 

 

 

Mr. Bean's Holiday

Now this one is not French--it's British.  But most of it takes place in France as Mr. Bean travels to Cannes.  It's fun, silly, and completely family friendly! Rated G.

Testimony of Dave Ramsey and Prayer

A few months ago I was telling my in-laws how blessed we have been in the past couple years that we have lived here.  Money had been so extremely tight, and we were blessed in not having any expensive emergencies--none of us have been sick requiring a doctor visit and/or perscriptions, and neither of our cars have had any serious problems requiring expensive repair. They said that they have experienced similar situations.  As soon as you come into a little bit more money, that's when the expensive emergencies arise. 

Now that Chris has started his new job, we were able to put a portion of his first paycheck towards our emergency fund.  For those of you not familiar with Dave Ramsey, I strongly suggest you get to know him.  Whether you are in debt or not, following his Baby Steps will surely give you and your money direction in your personal finances.  I have been a fan of his for probably the last five years, but not until a couple weeks ago have Chris and I become "gazelle intense" in becoming debt free.  I'm so excited for Chris's next paycheck to begin knocking out our debt snowball.  It brings so much peace to know that we have a plan to get ourselves out of our little hole the bakery left us with.  There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway, the first Baby Step is to put away $1000 emergency fund.  I am so glad that we were able to do that because not even a week and a half later, our poor little 1997 Jimmy started giving us trouble and we had to dig into that account.  We have had that car since before we were married, and it has been good to us for the most part, but recently it started having problems. 

Sam and I were driving the Jimmy running an errand to the credit union during my lunch break.  When I tried to start the car again, it wouldn't go.  I was so frustrated and didn't know what to do.  Chris was in Olympia working so he couldn't help.  I was on a strict time frame where I had to drop Sam off at a friend's house and get back to work since I was the only one running the office that day.  Sam recognized my concern, and he started to get scared too.  He started saying that we were going to be stuck there forever!  A little dramatic, but for a little guy, he didn't know better.  We had our hood up, and people kept passing us by ignoring or possibly just not hearing Sam's sweet little plea, "Please will you help us?"  Sam suggested that we say a prayer so Heavenly Father could help us find someone to help us.  What a sweet little guy!  I recognized that this would be a good teaching moment, so we said a little prayer, and shortly after were blessed to find a nice person willing to help.  It was a temporary fix that helped us get to where we needed, and with our emergency fund that we just put away, we were able to fix the problem (we hope!) without having to go into more debt. 

For those unfamiliar with Dave Ramsey, please go check out his book from the library, The Total Money Makeover.  You can also check out his radio show weekdays at KNRS 570 AM from 7-10pm (if you live in Utah) or  KCIS 630 AM from 3-6pm (if you live in Seattle area).  It will change your financial life by enabling you to support yourselves, bless your loved ones, and to become generous to to those in need. 

Seriously, stop reading this and go check him out!  Now!  :)