That Christmas Feeling

December is my favorite month of the whole year.  You get to wrap up warm and hopefully play in the fluffy white snow.  You always get some time off for a little holiday break from whatever you are doing (which is usually being a student for me, haha!).  The main reason I love December is of course that it is the Christmas season!  In my family I am the one who on the 1st of December insists on getting out all the decorations!  I climb a precariously placed ladder to get into the tiny man loft tunnel in my house where all the decorations are kept.  As I squeeze myself around the boxes and army crawl through the tunnel my mum nearly wets herself with laughter at the sight me getting in and out of this tiny hole!  This year my sister Ashley did the honor of retrieving the decorations.  I love driving up to my home seeing all the pretty white lights twinkling from the trees.  a you walk through my house you see the collections of nativity scene placed anywhere that a space can be found.  At this time of year you do Christmas shopping, baking and seem to be constantly busy going to a million different Christmas related activity's.  you spend time with friends and family, simple celebrating the season.  I cant get enough of it.  For me right now however I am missing out big time!  It really does suck to not be at home right now, knowing that all my family are there getting ready for the big day!  Finally though, that Christmas feeling has showed up this past week1  It's got me all excited!

My last French lesson of the term was on Thursday morning last week.  everyone had to do a presentation showing how we celebrate Christmas in our home country.  Myself and a fellow English friend, Fiona, had prepared one together a couple of nights before (all in French of course, with a little help from Google!  Shhhhhhh!).  The presentations were followed by a Christmas food fest!  It's fairly safe to say that we were sufficiently  STUFFED with sugar by the end of class.

Dig in girls..............

Rosie modeling the mince pies Fiona brought......

Liz and her classic stack of biscuits........

On Friday the boys I look after had a Christmas Carol concert at their school for parents to go to.  I picked up the dad (Emanuel) and we met the mum (Caroline) in the crowded school hall.  It was full of excited parents with cameras, getting in everyone's way as they take photos of their precious children!

I took a photo too....haha.....

It was a really good little concert actually.  As the school is an international English school it is full of students from all over the world!  Each class sang a song from a different country, the classics from England (yes to the 'figgy pudding'!) and The States songs to songs from places like Germany, France, New Zealand, Thailand and Africa.  My favorite one was the Caribbeans rendition of  'The twelve Days of Christmas', I'll take the 'three treasure chests' and the '6 hands hooks'.

Myself, Caroline and the boys went to get a Christmas tree after the concert.  We searched high and low in a small marquee outside one of the supermarkets for the perfect little Christmas tree.  I was rather happy to have been able to help decorate a tree!  The boys created a MEGA nativity set underneath it, it's impressive.

It's not just a stable...................

Saturday I woke up to SNOW!!!!  Yay, finally!  I was expecting to snow long before now, but glad that it did before I went home.  I guess it was lucky that it didn't snow before then, as I was only able to get snow boots off my mum the week before (her snow boots!! haha!).  It was my last chance to spend a day shopping for presents, before I go home for Christmas.  I decided to go back to Annecy, as that is THE place to shop, plus it's pretty come snow, rain or shine!  I picked up Lejla from the extremely snowy hillside, she was spending her last weekend here with me, so I could then take her to the airport on Monday morning.

The drive to Annecy was beautiful......

Guess what the family is getting for Christmas....

It was a successful day for shopping, spent all my money!! Haha!  Just got to get a couple more things during the week before I go home!  Stocking up cheese and chocolate of course.

We took a break for Crepes.......

Lejla and I with our spoils.....

I was so up for going on the lake in a pedalo.....

We were FREEZING...........

 The prettiest sight of the day......

Glowing lights.............

I love cows, they are my friends.....

My wonderful friend Elisabeth (Baird) has come to the end of her journey here in Switzerland.  She left today (Tuesday) to go home to the O.C.  I'll miss her!  She is an amazing person, so creative, kind and spiritual grounded, an inspiration to me for sure!  I went round hers after Annecy with Lejla for a little farewell dinner with a few other people.  The dinner was Amazing to say the least!  Elisabeth's host mum, Roberta had made us all the most delicious (non traditional, so it wasn't all stodgy) fondue!  We finished off with cake too.

From the left...Lejla, Laura, Me, Shelly, Elisabeth.....

We had a great night together.  Stuffed ourselves as usual, but finished off the night with a good old fashioned sleep over.

We all went to church together the next day too.  It was a Christmas service (Elisabeth sung) which made my day!  Farewells and holiday wishes were said all round, as everyone is off somewhere else fro Christmas, or leaving altogether (Elisabeth, sigh!).  I'll be moving officially to the Geneva English Ward in the New Year, as I am no longer in the Gex Ward boundaries.  I could move to the French Ward, but I just get more out of the English one.  I will be visiting though.

Lejla and I headed back to mine after church and had a great chilled out evening eating pasta and watching (one of favorites!!!)  'The Family Stone'.  We ended the night watching the Christmas Devotional from church, which had my favorite Christmas Carols sung in it.  I couldn't have had a better weekend getting into the Christmas spirit!

Joyeux Noël