Update part 1

A strange phenomenon happens every year at this time. I absolutely love the months of November and December. I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas so much and love the holiday spirit that can be felt. However, every year, time seems to speed up and go twice as fast when I want it to slow down so I can savor all the wonderful things that come at this time of year. But once again, time as sped up and I see it's been awhile since I last updated my blog. I try not to let more than a week pass before posting a new blog entry, but this month has been so busy that I haven't had time to do much of any of my hobbies. This entry will be split into two parts and will recap the last 3 weeks of our lives.

Today, we had the first real snowfall of the season and I think from now on, we'll be seeing mostly white around town for many months to come. We have not purchased a snow shovel yet and so we could not join our many neighbors who were out shoveling their driveways and sidewalks after church. But our neighbors were so kind that they came and shoveled our house for us without being asked. It was so heart-warming to see such service on our little street. A little after we moved here, I decided I wanted to start teaching piano again and joined a music group in the area. The group puts on a music festival every spring and fall where students of the members of the group are invited to perform two memorized pieces as well as some technique exercises in front of a judge who then gives them a score rating their performance. Yesterday was the Fall Music Festival and I had one of my students participate. It was her first time as well as mine. She spent hours over the last several weeks practicing her songs until they were perfect. As she came out of the judging room (which I was not allowed to enter), I couldn't have been more proud her for participating in such an event. I know she was nervous, but regardless of her score, I knew she had performed her best. Later, I picked up the sheet that contained her score. Imagine how I felt when I saw that my wonderful, hard-working student had received a perfect score. It is one of the best feelings ever to see your students succeed and I know this student of mine will go far in not only piano, but life as well. Here she is performing in the foyer of the building after she was finished with her judge. What nicely curved fingers and good posture, eh?
To end this first half of the update, I had to post some cute pictures of Annabelle in one of her new winter dresses. I bought it a few weeks ago,but waited until now to actually have her wear it. She has been looking forward to wearing it ever since she saw it. It also came with an identical dress to fit a doll, which I found hilarious. Annabelle doesn't have a doll that would fit the dress, but it was still funny to think of Annabelle and a doll wearing matching dresses. I guess I should also mention that after 2 1/2 years, Annabelle got her first real haircut last week. Her hair is such a beautiful color and so soft that I couldn't bear to cut any of it off (other than the one time last year where I tried to trim her bangs and did a terrible job). Her hair was halfway down her back and very uneven. I figured I could cut of maybe an inch and kind of even it out. Now keep in mind that I have only attempted to cut someone else's hair a couple of times and none of them them worked out the way they were supposed to. Anyway, I am actually quite pleased with the outcome and must say that it looks pretty good. Thank goodness!