This past month has been a whirlwind. The month of November was spent continuing to correct names in our database and printing thousands of year end newsletters and envelopes. The stuffing alone took us about 2 weeks. We are perfecting our system each time we do this mailing and I am hoping next year will be much more streamlined.

Andrew made his visit for Thanksgiving an official tradition this year. I'm glad that I pushed him to come down because we had a lot of fun. While we didn't end up taking the roadtrip we had originally talked about, we did a lot of things around town and he beat me several times at Scrabble.

We stayed home for the Thanksgiving meal and this year's turkey was far superior to last year's. We still aren't sure if it was the kind of turkey or how we cooked it, but we finished all 13 pounds in only a few days. We also tried a few new recipes which seem to have been a hit. And, because I am not eating dessert this year, he had a whole pumpkin pie to himself.

Somehow, we managed to go a whole week and not get a photo of the two of us. Perhaps next year we'll need to be sure we add that to our tradition.

In other news, we've almost had the wettest December in more than 100 years. Just last night I went on a simple errand to get a Christmas gift for my brother and as I entered a long line of cars exiting the interstate I had no idea what I was in for. When I got farther along I realized that the long line of traffic wasn't because of the contstruction going on, it was because of about 2.5 feet of water that covered the road.

At this point, I couldn't turn around as there were probably 20 cars behind me. So, I followed the large SUV in front of me and prayed they didn't stop. We managed to make it through and it was then that I realized just how much rain we were getting. I had to pull a U-turn again when I tried to get home and ran into another flooded road.

We got more than five inches of rain last night and are up to more than 12 for the month. The current record is 14.97 inches in 1905. In my more than two years here, I've never seen rain and flooding this bad. We certainly need to dry out before we get any more!

School continues to be an interesting challenge. Kentrell and I have figured out how to better work together and make sure he understands what he is learning in Civics. Journalism, on the other hand, is a different story. The biggest challenge is perhaps that each student is at a different place and reading can be a challenge for several of them. That makes examining articles and writing a difficult task. Most of them are doing well and are generally trying but I will be spending Christmas break re-evaluating what we do and how I teach the class. I want to be sure they are learning something and taking an interest and not just going through the motions.

I can't believe it's almost the end of the year. I'm looking forward to spending a week and a half at home in Iowa starting on the 23rd and returning to New Orleans on January 4th. I'd love to see as many of you as I can. I'll be in Cedar Rapids most of the time, but I'll also be going with my family to Kansas City for a few days and I plan to be in Des Moines for a day or two.

As you finish your Christmas shopping, holiday parties and last minute errands, don't forget the real reason for the season. Sure, you've heard that all over the place, but take a minute and really think about it. It isn't about finding or receiving the perfect gift, making the perfect meal or decorating just so. It's about Jesus and it's about family and friends because he has shown us the need for community. I know that while I love getting presents and seeing other's reactions when I have found just the right thing, this year I am truly grateful to be going home and spending time with my family.

That's what my Christmas will be about this year. I am most looking forward to hugging my parents and telling them in person how much I love them. I am looking forward to being silly with my brothers, especially at night when we are visiting family and supposed to be sleeping quietly. I am looking forward to my mom's silly outbursts when we play family games and watching the dog jump like a rabbit through the snow. I'm looking forward to falling asleep while watching movies and playing video games very poorly with my brothers. And I am looking forward to just doing nothing, but being together with my family.