December

I was very happy that I was able to finish my novel for NaNoWriMo on time. I got to 52,000 words two days before the competition was over! So now once I have it edited, I will submit it to CreateSpace, and then it will get published on Amazon!

I won't start editing until January, because I need a break. It is kind of like one of those people you know that you see a lot. At first, you love hanging out with them. But when you have to spend 3+ hours everyday with them, they can get pretty annoying.

That's the way my characters are. I love them, but I really need a break from them. And since December is always super busy for me, January is the best time. By then I will be ready to see them on a daily basis again.

Like I said, December is really busy. Here are some of the things I have going on in the next few weeks...

Red Sweater Night.
Originally called "Ugly Sweater Night," this is a Sunday Night a few weeks before Christmas that my church gets together for a big holiday talent show. It is always really fun because you never know what someone is going to do. It is open to everyone, so you might have someone sing or play an instrument that you didn't even know could.

Like most years, I am playing piano. I am not really into singing, so piano solos are what I do best. I am not 100% sure what song I am doing, but I am pretty sure it will be Breath of Heaven, the Jim Brickman version. (Look up that version on YouTube. It's on one of my channels, so you should be able to hear it and know how it sounds)

Another thing that is going on is Experience Bethlehem.

This is a new thing my church has never done before. What we are going to do, is on the 15th people from the community are going to come to the church and get a free turkey dinner. We opened this up to any needy family in town.

When they get to the church, they will have to walk through a live nativity to get their food. I am excited for that part. I am not in the live nativity, because my mom was put in charge of it, and I wanted to help her. So I got to decide who plays who. I decided not to cast myself as a part, because I will have to help the cast with costumes and such, but I will probably be helping with something else that night. But I'm not sure what.

On Saturday, I have a quiz meet.

I am involved in  my church quiz team. There are only 5 of us, but I enjoy being around this group. They all want to learn about the Bible, so they are not distracting during Sunday School unlike the other kids who don't really care what they hear.

We are studying Matthew this year, so what we do is try to memorize chapters at a time. It sounds hard, but it actually really isn't. You just have to be very committed to it. I enjoy it, but I will be happy when it is all over in March. My brain needs a rest.

So, that is only a few of the things I have going on. I love this time of year, but it is really hard to not keep busy during these months. Maybe one year, I won't sign up for anything and just enjoy the time of year. But then I think that most of the memories that make the season so unforgettable are from these events.

What about you? Do you keep busy during this time of year? What are some things you and your family do?
~Samantha