Christmas Eve will soon be here....♫

Ahh, it's that time of year again.  Unfortunately, it's one I am beginning to dread more and more.  Mostly because I'm poor, and I don't have ANY money to buy presents each year, and that in turn leads to me having to make stuff, which I rather enjoy doing, but never have enough time to do.  (Ms. Rucker would KILL me for that run-on sentence!)
I'm SUPER excited about the way this years presents turned out.  Unfortunately I can't post pictures yet, as some family may spy this blog, and I don't want to ruin it for them.

So on the top of everyone's minds lately has been the mass-shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.  I will admit, when it first happened, I couldn't take my eyes off of the news.  I was sad, I cried for days, I mourned children that were not my own, my heart broke.  But then I heard a family member of one of the victims say "don't let this tragedy shape America", and I decided that I was done with mourning.  I will just say, rest in peace, all victims, rest in peace.

That having been said...This tragedy has led to a HUGE amount of "threats" on schools.  I wonder how much of that is kids just trying to get an extra day off for Christmas break, and that is sad.  I hope that all who have played some role in the pranks is prosecuted and an example is made of them.  America should not have to live in fear.  I refuse to do so, and I refuse to let my kids live in that fear as well.  So, I was fully prepared to send them to school today, despite threats.  And exactly one minute before we walked out the door, I decided to check the school website, just because some school districts around us had decided to close.  Shoes and coats on, I pulled up the site, and sure enough, no school.  UGH.  Kensie was rather bummed, as she had a new friend at school, and today was his last day.  Now she can't tell him goodbye.  As you can see from the photo, she spent the day miserably sad from it.

A few hours ago, the local news released an update as to why schools were shut down.  Turns out, it wasn't about threats to the school.  It was due to the hysteria surrounding the "end of the world" Mayan prediction.

I'm quickly losing faith in humanity.  I almost laugh every time I think about it.  Some day, my kids will be able to sit and tell their grandkids, "oh yeah, well this ONE time, we had school cancelled because the whole world thought that the end of the earth was coming....."

And so with that, I am reminded to keep humor.  Times are tough right now, but we must remember to keep some humor about us.  I know it's what gets me through most days, and I can't allow myself to forget that.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, whatever it is you celebrate......and here is to another 2012 years....