Hello, Christmas friends! I’m up and at ‘em this morning getting ready for something fun and oh soooo Christmasy today! Can’t wait to share but right now I need to go whip up some scone dough and fluff the nest. Company’s coming! (Ahhh, I love that phrase!) Here’s a sneak preview….. Just wanted to give you all a quick hello and a Merry Christmas!! Have a wonderful weekend! ... Read more
Star Ornament Craft
My kids and I are part of a homeschool field trip co-op which meets once a month. The moms take turns planning the trips and activities and it's always so much fun! Each year my friend Kelli is brave enough to host a Christmas party for our big group in her home which includes some fun activities followed by a pizza lunch. The kids are divided into groups of 5-6 kids and rotate through 4 different activity stations: story, craft, cookie decorating, and games. I was in charge of crafts again this year and since making an ornament proved successful last year, I decided to do it again (plus, I know the mamas love a keepsake ornament from that year!). The challenge with this is finding a ... Read more
Are You Overjoyed or Overwhelmed This Christmas?
I have a confession to make. You ready? Here it is: Christmas isn't always my favorite holiday. Now I promise I'm certainly not a Scrooch, but if I'm honest, for the last few years I've actually felt a little inner dread as December has approached. First, let me say that I LOVE the reason for the season! I desire to celebrate our Savior's birth! Plus I enjoy giving gifts, making memories, and baking alll the cookies. But it's the stress of Christmas being overpacked, over-commercialized, and just down right overwhelming that can suck the joy right out of the season. Earlier this fall I began to pray and prepare my heart for the holidays. I wanted so badly for it to be that time of ... Read more
Happy December!
Happy 1st day of December! I can't wait to share some fun holiday stuff this month!! The days are busy, so blogging sometimes has to push to the backburner, but when I can work in in, I enjoy it so much. I had 3 special adoption posts in the works for November since it was National Adoption month, but I was busy being a mama to the one I adopted (plus the ones I didn't) so that will always come first. Anywho, I'll look forward to sharing those posts in the future since every month is adoption month for us. For now, I've got two little kitty cats over here who are so happy the Christmas decorations are going up and they are infatuated with the tree! We're working on getting the rest of ... Read more
Cranberry Orange Rolls
Hello there! I have one last holiday goodie to share with you today. For the six months before Christmas, I'd mostly given up gluten and sugar. I felt great! The cravings pretty much went away but every now and then I would tell my husband that I was really wanting to sink my teeth into a warm fluffy cinnamon roll and that it would be one of the treats I was going to enjoy making and eating during the holidays. Then, by the time Christmas rolled around, I was in a very cranberry mood and decided it was a cranberry roll I wanted! So, one day between Christmas and New Year's when my husband was out and the kids were down at the creek, I went into the kitchen and started to experiment. I ... Read more
Christmas Memories 2021
Hello, friends! I got behind in my holiday posts due to illness in December, so today I'm going to try and quickly wrap up Christmas and New Year's in one clean swoop of a post. We began decorating the weekend following Thanksgiving, but it took me a few days to really get into it and finish it all. I don't like to get too themey with Christmas--I mean, Christmas is a theme in and of itself, right?--but the last couple of years I've gone with more of a natural, woodsy vibe. I adore the outdoors and the woods behind our house, so it just felt very natural to use evergreen garlands, pinecones, and starry twinkle lights. Last year I used blue for my main accent color; this year I went ... Read more
This Little Hand
I'm taking down Christmas decor today and, as with every year, I’ll be enjoying a little trip down memory lane as I pack away each of my children's keepsakes. I've always especially cherished their handprint art, knowing their little hands would never be that tiny again, and wondering where the Lord might lead them in life. The little Santa trivet below was made by my oldest when she was just 5 years old!And now?... And now that hand has a ring on it!! We are thrilled that God has led her to a wonderful man who proposed on Christmas Eve-Eve, and will soon hold her hand in marriage. I will post more in the coming days from our Christmas holiday but wanted to go ahead and share our ... Read more
Teach Them Tuesday: Thumbprint Angels and a Christmas Story
Yesterday I mentioned a Christmas party we had with our homeschool friends. My friend, Kelli, hosted the event and did an amazing job planning and orchestrating a rotation of activities to accommodate our large number of kiddos! She arranged areas around her home for four stations: story, craft, cookie decorating, and games. She took care of the story time and asked three more of us mamas to take the other stations. I was assigned the craft station, so I planned a craft that would go along with the book Kelli would be reading in her station. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, by Gloria Houston, is a heartwarming story about a little girl, Ruthie, and her parents living in the ... Read more