Tag: christmas

merry christmas…and a winner

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When I look at our bulletin board full of holiday cards from friends and family all I can do is smile.

We are so blessed.

Earlier this week the little guy asked me to record him on my iPhone.

He was saying a prayer before he ate a snack (like he does at preschool).

The last thing he said was, “…thank you for this wonderful life and our family.”

He’s got it right.

Merry Christmas to you all!

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And, congratulations to Jen for winning the giveaway!

Jen, I will contact you and get your prize to you ASAP!

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I will be taking a few days off to spend time at home with my family.

May your days be merry and bright…

home is…there’s no place like home for the holidays.

4 sleeps ’til christmas {december blog giveaway}

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If you think that’s exciting, how about a giveaway?!

I meant to get one on here earlier in the month, but got overwhelmed with my own holiday decorating, playing, crafting, and gifting.

So, here we go…

And, as I promised, a happy elf…

To enter, please answer the following question(s) with a comment below:

What is a favorite Christmas/holiday tradition that you grew up with?

And, if you have kids, how are you sharing that tradition with them?

For (4) additional entries you can:

{to be official, please mention each additional entry in a separate comment to count}

Deadline is Friday, December 23rd at 9pm Pacific.

Winner will be announced on Saturday, December 24th!

And, while the winner will not receive the package until after Christmas, there are goodies you can use year round, and others you can look forward to using next year!

{there may even be a couple of extra goodies in the package}

home is…giving joy to others.

the happy elves

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One of the traditions I have at Christmas is to give everybody in our immediate and extended family an ornament.

Some years I buy different ones for each person.

Some years I buy similar ornaments and personalize them with their name and the year.

Some years I make them.

Some years the kids make them.

Some years I forget to give them.

This year I was inspired to give handmade ornaments.

I just finished the last ones up today.

This was my inspiration…

Source: memoriesoncloverlane.blogspot.com via Stephany on Pinterest

Although we have a backyard full of pinecones I opted to go a bit of a different route with my “merry and bright” color scheme.

In general, I used these instructions from Martha Stewart,which make these elves…

Source: marthastewart.com via Stephany on Pinterest

Instead of using pinecones I used plastic ball ornaments and instead of using wooden beads for the heads I used model magic clay.

I also changed the shape of the shoes.

I drew the faces on with Sharpies, but would love to find a different way to paint the faces. And, I used white model magic clay…in the future I would use something with more of a skin color tint to it.

Other than that I am more than pleased with how they turned out!

My elves can’t stand up on their own, but they hang on a tree just fine.

Each ornament is unique for each person in our family…all 21 of them!

Four elves are hanging in our tree, 12 elves are on their way to New York, and 5 elves are still working on getting packaged up to get sent to Colorado!

I took some photos of the 9 that are still here at our house last night…

taking a joy ride in one of our Christmas decorations…

and on the kids toys…

and just hanging out in the playroom…

and helping with the Christmas decor finishing touches!

Tomorrow, I will be posting a giveaway including one of these elves and some other holiday goodies.

home is…having a little holiday fun.

*linking up with…

Todays Creative Blog

tatertots and jello

we got one

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The infamous 2 year old crying on Santa’s lap photo.

After standing out in the cold for over and hour to wait to see him we went for it and stuck her on his lap long enough to snap a quick shot.

Then we grabbed our candy canes and got out of dodge!

When baby girl looked at the photo she said, “Me boo-hoo.”

Then said, with excitement, “Me sit on Santa’s lap!”

By the way, doesn’t the little guy look all grown up and adorable?!

home is…the things we do for a snapshot in time.

 

a new day

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Wow.

It’s amazing how a shower, putting on “real” clothes, getting out of the house, and watching your kiddo learn something new can change your mindset.

The little guy had his last swim lesson of the current session last night. We couldn’t miss it.

This summer, we realized that our little guy LOVES the water.

He has excelled in his swim lesson this fall. By the second class the instructor said he was ready for the next level.

By then end of the class yesterday she said he was almost ready to skip  level.

His stroke is strong, he is confident, and he LOVES the water.

I grew up spending the summer at the pool.

Swim team early in the morning, pool all day, and when I was in high school I lifeguarded as a summer job.

I am thrilled to see his confidence.

I needed that yesterday.

This morning I am sitting here watching the sun stream in through our windows.

Sun.

In December.

In Portland, Oregon.

I am listening to my kids play together in the other room while the Christmas lights glow and Christmas music plays in the background.

This is more like it.

home is…a new day.

scrooge

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Sorry I’ve been away for almost a week. I have sat down and wanted to write a post, but for many reasons I only get a few sentences in and then I stop.

I’m still sick.

Yes.

I was sick before we left to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving.

Sick the entire week of Thanksgiving.

Sick when we got back.

And, I’m still sick.

Every time I feel like I’m feeling better I push a little bit too much and then I feel worse the next day (and the next and the next).

We got a new camera. A little point and shoot Nikon. I have used it to take most of my photos lately and I can’t figure out how to load them on to my computer. There is no USB cord in the box and my laptop doesn’t have a place to put a memory card. UGH!

I have photos of all our christmas decorating…lots of projects from Pinterest.

I have photos of a new breakfast hit at our house…and I want to share the recipe with you all!

Anyway, although I am still sick I am trying to deck our halls and make it fun for the kids this time of year.

I will admit they have watched a lot of this…


and, this…

and this…

Baby girl just asked me if she can watch a “Narnie Bown” show. I need to get her on video saying that…it’s adorable!

Well, gonna try to rest today.

The little guy is staying home from school, we’re gonna watch some “Narnie Bown”, maybe some Polar Express, and keep decking the halls.

I’m not gonna let being sick turn me into Scrooge!

home is…the most wonderful time of the year!

the magic of santa

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We were first in line for an impromptu visit to see Santa this morning.

The little guy was very skeptical that the big guy would even show up until this happened…

home is…the magic of santa.

making a list…

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Checking it twice…

This morning I am making a list of all the things I need (want) to get done before Christmas!

We had a wonderful time in Colorado despite the fact that the majority of us were sick the entire time.

I lost my voice the day after we got there and didn’t get it back until the day after we left.

Oh well.

I wanted a “do 0ver”, but the most  important thing was spending time with family and that is what we did.

The kids played, we saw deer and elk, and there was even a 10 minute snowstorm the night before we left!

So, now we are moving on…

Our lights are up outside.

I just ordered our holiday cards.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

home is…going home and coming home.

decking the halls

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I’m not listening to Christmas music, yet.

That will come the day after Thanksgiving.

However, I am beginning to deck our halls.

I know. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.

We’re going to visit family the week of Thanksgiving this year.

That is the week that I normally drag the bins down from the attic and get our Christmas on.

We usually go to cut our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and decorate it over the weekend.

It will be a little different this year.

We’ll be cutting a tree a week later, and recovering from a week of travel and family activity.

So, I want to have the house decorated so we can fully enjoy the Christmas spirit for as long as possible.

Anyway, I started working on a few of the decorations today.

I got this idea from Pinterest.

Source: rachelsimonsen.typepad.com via Stephany on Pinterest

And, I made lots and lots of paper garland to put on our tree.

I’ve got presents to make, family ornaments to make, and some other fun projects.

See why I could use a craft room?!

Remember that today is the last day to enter {my first} november blog giveaway!

And, stay tuned…you might find some of the above mentioned projects in the December giveaway.

home is…getting my craft on and decking the halls.

*today I am linking up with Today’s Creative Blog and Tatertots and Jello