Christmas Eve at Grandpa's House

Holding Babies

Playing with trains

I'll give a stone and a sheep for a brick.

Ha Ha, no.

Poor Eddie, his Kaitlyn isn't here yet :(

We decided that Memphis eating ham constitutes canibalism.

Grandma's Ipad always has a line of eager kiddies waiting for their turn.

Even Owie Boy wants a turn.

Yay! Cartoons!

A Christmas Eve nap is always good.

Some people are naturally cute.

Mom & Mary slaving in the kitchen to make food for the hordes.

a little silliness

What's going on?  I need a new diaper.

a bad picture of a fun advent calendar I made with a cereal box and some vintage clipart from the internet.

A month of Christmas!

When I was little, my mom started the tradition for our family of celebrating Christmas they way they do all around the world, basically we celebrated as many different ways as possible.  We celebrated Scandinavian Christmas, English Christmas, German Christmas, Russian Christmas, even Hannukah which isn't Christmas, but does happen in December.

Most of the year, I'm a pretty lazy mom as far as celebrating stuff goes.  My kids do not get big elaborate birthday parties.  All the other holidays get maybe a special dessert and we get together with extended family or friends for a fun afternoon, but that is it.  There have been years when for Halloween I bought a bag of candy and we stayed home and watched a movie.

However, in December, I go all out, sort of.  I still try to keep it sane, because I'm only human, after all.  Here is my plan for this year.

December 1: Decorate the Christmas Tree.  Make an advent calendar.  (Looks like once again I do not have something beautifully sewn or quilted, so we'll be doing the paper chain with 24 links, one to be removed each day. Maybe in January we'll have a blizzard and I'll get one quilted.)

December 2:  First Sunday of Advent.  Advent is celebrated all around the world.  The word literally means "coming".  It helps us stay focused on Christ and prepare for his coming.  On each of the four Sundays before Christmas, we will be reading from the prophesies of Isaiah and other prophets who testified of Christ.  We'll light a candle and read from the scriptures words of light.  The first Sunday is the Sunday of Hope.    We'll be reading scriptures that focus on hope, both the hope Christ brings and the hope of the people who watched for his coming for ages:

Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7, Jacob 4:4, Moroni 7:41, Mosiah 16:6-9,
Joel 3:16

We'll sing "Oh come, Oh come Emmanuel" as a family

December 3: For family home evening, we will put out our nativity scenes.  Italian nativity sets are called presepio.  We will also set out a small empty wooden manger.  As the children do acts of kindness for others, they can add a piece of straw to the manger in preparation for the arrival of baby Jesus.

December 6: Saint Nicolas Day  In the Netherlands and Belgium, children put out their shoes on December 5, with perhaps carrots or hay for St. Nicolas' horse.  Saint Nicolas fills our shoes with nuts & sweets and perhaps small gifts.  Read the story of St. Nicolas here.

December 8: The first day of Hannukah.  We'll play the dredel game and eat potato latkes (pancakes) and jelly doughnuts.

December 9: Second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Preparation & Peace
Luke 1:26-38, Isaiah 11:1-4, Isaiah 52:7
We'll sing "Oh Come All Ye Faithfull."

December 10: for family home evening, we'll go caroling to our neighbors as they do in England.  When we get home, we will not burn a Yule Log (as we have no fire place) but we will eat a Yule Log nougat candy. (A disgustingly sweet confection that my dear husband's family always ate, so he is nostalgic about it.)

December 13: Santa Lucia Day.  The children of our house will get up early and led by their oldest sister, bring hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls
in procession to their parent's bedroom, where we will have a lovely "surprise" breakfast all together.

December 16: Third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy.
Isaiah 12:2-5, Mosiah 3:3-12,
We'll sing "Joy to the World" of course.

December 17: For family home evening, we'll make some special birdseed treats to hang in our front yard as they do in Norway.

December 23: Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Love.
John 3:16, Isaiah 49:13-16, Moroni 7:47-48,

We'll sing "Angels we have heard on High."
Also, we have the Dear Husband's family coming over for a big Christmas dinner.  I'm planning to have a pinata as they do in Mexico

December 24: Christmas Eve
we will read Luke chapter 2 and sing "Away in a Manger." 

December 25: Regular old American Santa Claus will have left presents (always including fruit & toothbrushes) in our stockings.  We'll give gifts to each other.  We'll eat cold cereal and no doubt have a big Christmas feast with my extended family that afternoon.

December 26: Boxing Day We'll do something of service, perhaps take food to someone in need or something...not sure yet.

New Year's Eve: We have our Good Riddance Party!

New Year's Day: We eat Hoppin' Jon Soup and Rice Pudding.  Whoever finds the almond in their pudding gets good luck for the whole year. (Yugoslavia)

January 6: Three Kings' Day We set out our shoes again as they do in Spain, this time with straw for the camels of the Three Magi.  They leave us a present, usually a new journal for the new year :)

On all the inbetween days, we'll be reading Christmas stories, watching as many different versions of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" as we possibly can, and making presents for each other and for our friends.  It will be grand.

Merry Christmas 2011

We had a lovely Christmas! I think I was more excited than the kiddie pies--except Cutie Pie. She was so fun because she was thrilled by everything. Her face was constantly either a big "O" of surprise, or a huge smile with dimples!

Christmas Day being Sunday, the kiddies got up and got dressed for church first (with lots of peaks at the mantle on the stairs where stockings were hanging and SOMETHING was moving!! Finally, everyone was ready for church (except Mommy and Baby Dumpling who were not ready to venture into public yet.) Down came the stockings! The something moving turned out to be Honey Bunny.

She needed a new home and Santa knew we would take good care of her.

What treasures and goodies the stockings held!! Santa always brings us each a new toothbrush, exotic fruit, fancy hot cocoa, and candy. Cutie pie held up her kiwi fruit and exclaimed, " A Potato!" You can almost see in this picture, Cutie Pie's stocking (with the lamb on it) which I stayed up until midnight sewing so Santa could leave treats in it.

We then had a breakfast of sugary cereal (also brought by Santa because he knows Mom will NEVER allow it for breakfast otherwise) and off to church went the happy kiddies with Dad. Baby Dumpling and I had a nap, sorry though I was to miss church, especially on Christmas Day when the music would be so beautiful and the message so sweet. We'll be ready to brave all those germ infested people who think it is their right to poke their dirty fingers in new baby's faces in another week or two. Bless their hearts. (and may they be prevented from poking)

After church, Dad & kiddies hurried home & changed their clothes lightening fast so the rest of the presents could be opened.

Here is Cutie Pie hugging her new Totoro pillow buddy. I do not have pictures of all the fun things, but everyone was happy. It was a lovely Christmas indeed.

I am most grateful for our family and dear friends, whose part in my life brings me the most happiness and blessings of all. You know who you are. Your love and the way you uplift me with positive thoughts and words makes me rich beyond measure. Thank you. Through your love, I understand better the love Jesus Christ has for me and for us all.

Gingerbread Houses

Okay, so technically they are Graham Cracker Houses.

For the first day of Christmas Vacation, the kiddie pies and I made Gingerbread Houses. They have been begging to make them since December 1st, but I put them off because

A: I knew we would have a new baby and be unable to visit friends. We would need fun things to do during those days before Christmas. (Hopefully all the new toys keep them busy after Christmas.)

B: The lazy part of me hoped Aunt Amanda would be here to make the Gingerbread houses with them.

Sadly, Aunt Amanda doesn't get to visit. But reason A was enough.

Last year, the houses kept collapsing during construction, causing my kiddie pies much frustration. So this year, I braved the danger of serious burns and melted sugar to glue the pieces together first.

I escaped with only one small blister! Yay! My prefab houses did restrict the creativity factor, but I think that was worth it because we skipped the weeping and wailing caused by runaway roofs and wayward walls.

Here are the kiddie pies creating their art. Cutie Pie was happy just because there was candy all over the table. Tamale Pie and Pumpkin Pie were jazzed about having multiple colors of frosting.

**Speaking of frosting, I found a Royal Icing recipe that called for lemon juice. Best tasting royal icing ever. (Which isn't saying much. I've always hated royal icing. But this was tolerable.)
1 egg white, beaten until stiff.
3 1/2 cups (1 pound) powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp cream of tartar.

Cherry Pie spent so much time creating a garden around her house that she forgot to decorate the house itself. I like how she thinks. Check out her rose bushes and the sand box:

Blueberry's decorating rule of thumb seems to be cover all surfaces.

More houses:

Seconds after I took these pictures, all the houses met with violent ends. Who knew butter knives could be so deadly?

Petting Reindeer Ponies

This is Rudolf. He was in our town's Christmas Parade and after the parade, we were so lucky that he came by where we were parked. Cutie Pie was so excited to pet him. Seeing pure joy on your children's faces is definitely one of the perks of being a parent.

Christmas Song Medley

This is utterly and completely wrong for so many reasons, but I laugh every time. Thanks, kids, for introducing me to Julian Smith. Check it out:

Serendipity

Sometimes If I just click on tabs on the side of blogs, I end up somewhere cool.

This lady did a blog last year-12 crafts til Christmas and shared what she did.

and she made a PDF file of how to make a Pillow Buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love her forever.

and my children will love her forever once I've purchased fabric and created these for all of them.

They'll love me forever also.

Now, do I make them for Easter, Birthdays or Christmas??? (listed in order of nearness in time. Probably Christmas is the only realistic choice--but not the fun choice.)

The Joy of Christmas

The Joy of Finished Projects!

Before Christmas arrived, I finished the tree skirt my DH has wanted for years!
I also finished 1 Momma apron and 3 little girl aprons for a friend. But sorry, no pictures


The Joy of Fat Stockings on Christmas Morning!



The Joy of Piles of Presents under the tree!


Yes, the kiddos are the decorators of our tree, which explains why most of the ornaments are clustered in a thick band at their eye level.

The Joy of First Christmas!



The Joy of Things that Grow!






Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men.

"I like to eat pie" small quilt

My quilt group is doing a mini quilt exchange with a sewing group in Japan. (I know, awesome!) We are each supposed to make a small quilt that is something American and of ourselves.

Here is the sketch I made of what I want to do. I love pie and what is more American than Apple Pie?

The fabric I am using is a Moda charm pack called Astor Manor. It is very pretty reds, pinks, creams and browns. Less contrast than I usually choose for my quilting, but I think my partner will like it--and it made getting started a little easier, since I didn't have to dither about fabric.

I found the idea for a pie applique here It's been ruminatin' round in my head for about 6 months and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get it out of my head and onto some fabric.

If you think I'm brilliant and want pie quilts for yourselves, I'll go over my pattern with a dark pen and make it into a PDF file and then everyone can make a pie quilt. Because really, I can't think of a reason not to have a pie quilt. Then you can eat pie, and put pie on your walls too. Then if you made a pie apron, you could wear pie. This just keeps getting better!

Speaking of eating pie, I found the most amazing site ever for printables. She is Lolly Chops. She has printable name tags that say "Hello my name is _____ and I like to eat pie." Can you not think of many occasions when just such a name tag would be perfect? Even more amazing is her single serving of pie in a jar gift labels. And here at Our Best Bites is the directions. Man o man, I'm so excited for christmas!!

Grandma & Grandpa Dolls

I made these for my parents as a gag gift for Christmas. I got the idea from Angry Chicken.

1. I used the inkjet iron transfer paper, and printed my parents' faces.
2. Then I drew a gingerbread man type doll body on white muslin. I made the head almost exactly the same size and the pictures I printed. In retrospect, I should have made the head 1/4-1/2 inch bigger than the picture. Then the faces wouldn't have been so distorted by the stuffing. I DID NOT CUT OUT THE DOLLS YET
3. I colored the clothes directly on the muslin with crayons. Then Put the muslin between paper towels and ironed it to melt the wax out. As you can see, the color stayed. It is easier to color the dolls if you have a page of fine sand paper under the fabric to sort of hold it in place as you color.
4. Repeat step three to get bold colors.
5. I ironed the faces onto the dolls, following the directions for the transfer paper.
6. I layered a plain piece of muslin over the doll drawings, right sides together and sewed all around on the line I had drawn, leaving 1 1/2" open on one side for turning & stuffing.
7. THen I cut out the dolls, leaving a 1/4 seam allowance all around.
8. I turned the dolls right side out and stuffed them tightly. As you can see from the lumpy dolls, I do not know the finer rules of stuffing. **note to self: Research finer rules of stuffing on one of those fabulous softie making websites I have bookmarked.
9. I whipstitched the opening shut.

Judging by Diva#3's reaction to the dolls, I need to make her a set so she can play with Grandma every day. She picked up the dolls and laughed with glee and pressed them to her, shouting, "They're hugging me, they're hugging me."

P.S. Grandma and Grandpa got a good laugh Christmas morning, and Grandma says she can use it for a voodoo doll when Grandpa is in the dog house.

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas, thanks to our wonderful family and many friends.




Here is a picture of one of the felt princess crowns I made for the divas.



I like the things I make. even when I am copying someone else's idea, like I did here. This is the doll quilt I made for our swap in the Newtonia Battlefield Quilters December meeting.

Now it is January Second and I need to solidify my New Year's Resolutions.

What is really important to me??? I can't do everything, but I want to !



Goals should always be stated positively, with what you will do/gain, not what you will not do/loose. So:

For myself, I will
1. read my scriptures every day
2. each week I will write 5 pages of that book (I have wanted to write for the last 6 years).
3. exercise 5 days a week and replace sugary snacks and chocolate with veggies and fruit.
4. Do something for my Mary Kay business every day (mon-fri)



5. I am determined to keep the house clean and orderly. I feel that my best plan to accomplish this is to go back to the FLYLADY

6. I will consistently plan good Family Home Evening lessons and teach them on Monday Nights. I have always been more successful at this when I had an overall plan. So my plan is to use the conference Ensign. Each week I will choose a talk given by one of the apostles or the first presidency (I will go in order of seniority) that I feel is relevant to our family and base the lesson on that. That is 15 weeks of lessons and the children will know all of the apostles by the end.

"Oh, the cleverness of me"--a handmade nativity

I made this little nativity set because I wanted one that my kids could play with. My aunt says I need to make a pattern up for it and I am working on it. I hope you all are excited. It is just acrylic felt and DMC floss. I am working on making the bottoms flat, so they stand up better.


shepherd

Three Kings

Holy Family

dialogue between me and my son:
Boy: "Mom, why is there yellow around baby Jesus's face?"
Me: "Well, I wanted to show that he is from Heaven and special, so I gave him that golden halo."
Boy: "Why does the wise man have yellow around his face?"
Me: "Umm, well, because he is a king, so he has a golden crown, plus, I like yellow and purple together."
Boy: "Why don't the other wise men have yellow, too?"
me: "Sigh. I don't know."




I teach the 14 & 15 year old young women at my church. Wednesday night we had a program where we talked about "Be the Girl of your Dreams." We needed a castle, so I volunteered to make one. I took an old sheet, a sharpie marker and some acrylic paint and panicked. Luckily, my sister, Mary, came over and she gave the the courage to start. I sketched out what I wanted on paper. She suggested that I add in some random stones and said it looked great. So I took a deep breath and attacked the sheet with the sharpie. Then she helped me paint it. We mixed a little water with the paint because the sheet was soaking it up so fast. I am really proud of how well it turned out, even though it was pretty much all luck. The best part is, that now I have the sheet forever for when my kids want to play dress up. Lots of paint soaked through onto my table. Luckily, MOST of it washed off. *whew*


Last of all, I know yesterday, I said I don't like to put in too many links because it gets overwhelming. I know when I go to other people's blogs and the link list is a page long, I am like--how could I ever visit all those?
But I had to update my link list because it was woefully short. So, I added some links and I added a description of each one so you all could make better decisions about which ones to try. Rest assured, these are my most favorite blogs, nothing so-so here, only the most marvelous here.