Holiday Wrapping

I absolutely love wrapping gifts. It may be a sickness; I'm not quite sure. My oldest daughter noted that there aren't many folks in my camp of loving to wrap gifts. It's such a beautiful precise thing, measuring, cutting, folding, taping...ahhh...just talking about it makes me all giddy.

To go along with the love of wrapping is my love for printable gift tags and box top embellishments. Some wonderfully creative bloggers are giving away printables for gift tags. Go visit Creature Comforts for a LONG list of free printables.
The Handmade Home has some here.
And Fresh Picked Whimsy has a cute set here.

This year I printed tags from the last two resources listed above, mainly because I just found Creature Comforts list today.

I hole punched the tags and used all kinds of fun, different sized ribbons to tie up my packages.
Hope you enjoyed this holiday wrap-up of my wrapping! :)

Monster Cookies with "Muffin"

The little "Muffin" I babysit made monster cookies with me the other day. We had a good time. She loves to bake, cook and be in the kitchen. I loved it when she tried to stir the M&M's into the mixture. Her little arm couldn't even move the spoon. :)

We took two plates of cookies along with homemade cards to some of our local community service men and women. The county jail sheriff and deputies and the firefighters were glad recipients. We  have been intentionally thinking of ways to give gifts to others--whether it be gifts of baked goods, candy canes, cards, time, etc. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be with my kids and do fun things like this!

Monster cookies are GREAT because it makes a BIG batch, they are yummy, and they freeze well. The only downside is that you spend hours switching cookie sheets in and out of the oven.

Enjoy!

Homemade Ranch Crackers

I made these yummy crackers today! I posted the recipe here a few years ago. Easy recipe and SO good.

December is under way

I've been thinking:   if I can post a status update on Facebook every day of November, then I can make time to post something on my blog everyday of December. :) My goal is to include a picture from that day and some thoughts about our happenings.

So, it's December 3rd and I've already missed yesterday...I know. Tiredness overtook me and I slept for a long time last night! I took a picture though. Here is a picture of one of the crafts we are taking for our local homeschool's annual Kid's Christmas Craft Sale. I got the idea from a friend and then I did some research online. I found this cute example:
Everyday Art--alphabet glass stone magnets
 
I know originally I looked at lots of other sites, but I can't seem to find them now.  We used scrapbook paper, regular stick glue, glass stones (flat on one side, bubble on the other) and round magnets glued on with E-6000 glue. We glued the stone to the paper, cut it out, glued the magnet on and walaa! Cute!

The other pictures are of my younger two with their Truth in the Tinsel craft. We are enjoying this Advent devotional.

Advent--You are Here!

I really enjoy this time of year. The concentrated focus on Jesus does my heart such good. Oh, to keep that focus all year long. For several years, we've celebrated Advent as a family. Each year we seem to add a little something and this year, we've added two little somethings. :) You can see below what we do, and please, leave a comment and share how you celebrate Jesus' birth.

First, a good couple article by Noel Piper on Advent can be found here. She's written several more that pertain to Advent (use the "search" feature to find them.)

Ann Voskamp has written a lovely thoughtful devotional called Jesse Tree Advent Family Devotional. Last year, I printed out the ornaments, mounted them on card stock paper, hole punched and threaded a ribbon through each one. We usually read this devotional at lunch time and the younger kids take turns hanging the ornament on the tree.

This year I found "Truth in the Tinsel" This fun Advent devotional is geared more toward younger children and will work well with the little girl I babysit. She is four. My two younger kids (ages 6 and 9) are doing it too and enjoy making crafts. I found this great printable from Mama Jenn that has added a curiosity factor for them.

Lastly, we've decided on lots of fun "random acts of kindness" based on this idea from Lil Light O' Mine. We read through all the ideas and have a whole pile of ones we are praying that we are able to do. We are so excited! Today the younger two kids and I tied ribbon and a little message on to the candy canes. My little 6 year old has given two of them away already! One to mom of the little girl I babysit and the other to a HVAC service man. {I love my kids!}

12 Days before Christmas we will start Adornaments that we received years ago from a sweet friend. They were sold by Family Life Today, however I don't know if they still sell them. Each day you read about a different name of Jesus and there is an ornament that you hang on the tree. There is also a CD with a song that goes along with the name of Jesus. We've enjoyed this devotional for years.

Our church is celebrating Advent too, so it's wonderful reinforcement for the kids. The message on Sunday was on hope and was very powerful. We have hope in Christ!

30 Days of Thanksliving {part 4}

O give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known His doings among the peoples! 1 Chronicles 16: 8
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:18

day 22: thanksliving: I've enjoyed recording my thanks a day later as it's given me opportunity to reflect on each yesterday and remember. I'm very thankful for God giving us discernment, wisdom and help in the very small details of life and in the big challenges too. I'm also thankful for time with Trenton and Alea talking about what it means to be thankful and what we are thankful for.

day 23: thanksliving: my two girls helping me clean and bake with lots of cheerful smiles, being prompted by the Lord to give to others, fresh hair cuts for 4 of us, warm snuggles from my little guy who is still not feeling well, and the table set for ten :)

day 24: thanksliving: yesterday was a good day of putting the finishing touches on the house and my contributions to dinner. We hosted Maurice's mom, sister, niece, nephew and aunt. Good company, good food! Lots to be thankful for! God is gracious.

day 25: thanksliving: I'm thankful for my hunny receiving therapy on his hurt knee, I'm thankful for a day of ease with my kids and family movie night watching Cars 2.

day 26: thanksliving: Good day with the family and a fun afternoon with a friend. My creative side has been sparked! I'm so thankful for great family, fun friends and a date night with my hunny.

Day 27: thanksliving: First Sunday of Advent--hope, assurance and certainty of God's rescue for our future. Powerful message and a good day of celebrating with our church family.

day 28: thanksliving: thankful for God's mercy and grace each day, thankful for my hunny and appreciate how hard he works, thankful for my girls who are so helpful and for my little guy who keeps me on my toes, and I'm thankful for the start of *Advent!

day 29: thanksliving: enjoyed a field trip with some of God's furry creatures (and slimy ones too!), lunch with friends, and school in the afternoon. Grateful for my hunny who helps keep me balanced and grounded in what really matters. I must remember that I cannot control what others think of me or what they do; I can only control me. Praying that I live my life filled with integrity and all out love for God. 

Thanksgiving Day small tablescape

Edited to add: Day 30: thanksliving: thankful for finishing something I started...documenting my thanks for 30 whole days! {that's progress, folks!} Thankful for concentrating on the things I'm thankful for...sure chased the grumpies away on a daily basis.

*Be sure to visit again soon as I'm getting together a post of all the great resources I've found for Advent.

Easy Reference: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

30 Days of Thanksliving {part 3}

I chose to document the month of Thanksgiving with a daily Facebook update. (Scroll to the bottom to find easy links to Part 1 and Part 2.) I posted what I was thankful for the day after each day. This delayed posting allowed me to deliberately reflect on yesterday and assign words for the blessings that God has given me. And isn't it all blessings? Music is one means of grace that God has bestowed to not only uplift my heart, but also music gives melody to my thoughts, feelings and beliefs. The song Blessing by Laura Story is one such song.

Day 15: Thanksliving--thankful for lunch and reconnecting with a friend I have not seen in a LONG time. Her little guy is a cutie pie. 

Day 16: thanksliving: Thankful for being able to spend time with Trenton. Yesterday both girls were off doing other things, and Trenton wasn't feeling very good. We snuggled on the couch, even did his school on the couch and generally took it easy.

Day 17 of thanksliving: I'm so thankful for the gift of friends...they help carry burdens, make the day brighter and are an all around joy!

day 18--I'm thankful for the ways God provides what we need when we need it: extra sleep in the morning, encouraging chat on FB with a friend, insurance taking care of several outside house things damaged by the hail and sharing a conversation with a sweet friend.

day 19: thanksliving--so thankful for my hunny and how he takes care of the kids and I. He really lives out "in sickness and in health." Yesterday he gently took care of Trenton...and then me today as Trenton must be sharing his germs. Thanks, hunny. 

day 20: thanksliving--eternally grateful for the Gospel. Over the last few weeks, at church we've heard from many different ministries and how they are meeting needs of people everywhere. Inspiring...challenging...

day 21 of thanksliving: thankful for the chiropractor (who Trenton affectionately called the "choir practice"), thankful for oohs and ahhs of my girls after they saw the completed craft closet, and thankful for my cozy bed where I can rest my weary bones! Please keep praying for health and wellness to be restored to the our household. Marissa and Trenton are both not feeling well at all.

Side note: cleaning the craft closet had been on my "goals list" for SEVERAL weeks. I finally conquered it! Oh the sweet taste of completion. I really need to taste it more often. :) 

Easy Reference: Part 1, Part 2