The kids have this whole week off school and we don't have a single thing on the calendar. I was worried that we might start getting on each other's nerves with all this uninterrupted togetherness, but this week has been really delightful so far.We've had lots of time to use our new Christmas presents. My grandma gave Noah and Emma these gingerbread kits and they were really excited to put them together. Noah and Allie started decorating the train, but then pretty soon they realized they could eat the candy instead, so most of the candy went in their mouths instead of on the train. I guess bowls filled with colorful little candies are just too hard to resist! Once they had finished eating the candy in the bowls, they started in on the train, and by the next morning it looked like this:Emma's house has fared a little better, although every day it seems there is a little less candy than the day before.That sweet little girl pretty much just sits and works on projects all day long. We gave her a potholder loom for Christmas so she has already made several of those,and she also got some oil pastels that have been keeping her busy. She just blows me away with her artistic ability. At six years old, she is better at drawing than I have ever been.She also just comes up with random crafty ideas and then will spend hours working on them. Today she has been busy making an elaborate New Year's Eve banner. Yesterday she asked me for some aluminum foil, then drew and cut out a bunch of stars and a moon. She wanted me to hang them on the fan in the living room, "to set the mood", she said. For what, I'm not really sure, but I do think they look kind of festive.I am going to be feeling sad next week when she goes back to school!