Letters from friends, cross-stitch marathon, Tennessee sunlight hours

1. Christmas letters from good friends. I got Christmas cards today from two of my college friends, Dana and Jamie, and from my dear friend Andra. The kids got letters today from two of their very good friends from church back in Virginia (part of the demon sisters and troublemakers clubs). It's so nice to get mail. Maybe tomorrow I can finish sending my Christmas cards.
   
   
2. I spent almost all day doing cross-stitch and watching movies in French. I'm almost finished with my latest cross-stitch project. It was a nice, relaxing day for me as the kids worked to finish up school before Christmas/New Year break.
   
   
3. We had over 9 and a half hours of sunlight today during the shortest day of the year. After only 8 hours a day last year in Luxembourg, I'm very happy with my 9 hours and 42 minutes.