It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?

Christmas is just 8 days away and yet it doesn't look like December here without snow and the freezing cold Chicago winters I love so much. While it doesn't look like Christmas, it definitely feels like it. Our last day of school was December 10th and we celebrated the beginning of Christmas vacation with a school-wide party. I was asked to teach my students a Christmas carol in English to perform at the party so we set to work learning "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." For the last week of classes, my responsibility as English teacher took a back seat to my role as choir director. They picked up on the song pretty fast and loved the (simple) motions I came up with. Believe me, I have a new appreciation for my former children's church choir director! After practicing so much, I'm a little sick of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," but I was so proud of my students when they performed at the party. I'm sure they got mixed up on the words a little or messed up the motions, but to me, it was perfect.

The kindergartners sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Joy to the World" - part in Spanish and part in English. They all dressed up as reindeer and looked absolutely adorable. The secondary students in Erin's English classes sang "Away in a Manger." They also performed a short drama of the Christmas story. Once the program finished, Santa arrived to greet everyone and several of the kids lined up to get their picture taken with him. The rest of the party was spent eating, jumping on the trampoline, and of course, playing soccer.

After the school party finished up, all of the kids who were 15 years old and younger headed to Walmart for another party. The local Walmart decided to support Ninos de Mexico this year and several of their workers decided to "adopt" one of our kids and buy them Christmas gifts. The kids were all so grateful and happy to receive their gifts and got to meet the workers who had purchased the gifts for them. It was a really special afternoon for our kids and kind of emotional for me to watch as these strangers poured out love on the kids I love so much.

Soon after we got back from the party at Walmart, Erin and I got ready for the staff banquet. The executive director made reservations at a nice restaurant and all of the staff was able to spend an evening together enjoying food, fellowship, and even a little bit of dancing. It was nice to spend some more relaxed time with my co-workers.

The more time I spend here, the more I feel like part of a family, part of a huge family. There are so many of us working together to raise these kids and show them the kind of love they may not have gotten from their own parents. I can't express how proud these kids make me when they succeed. I can't express how much my heart breaks when they are sad or discouraged. More and more, I feel like a mom. I'm so grateful that I had a mom and a dad who set such a great example for me of what it means to be a parent. And at 22, I'm trying as best as I can to follow that example.