the most wonderful time of the year

I tried. I really did. but I just couldn't make it to this space before the big day of celebration. we managed the entire month so nicely with our december daily calendar that all of our favorite family activities were checked off the list, as well as a few we didn't even plan for.

what a wonderful blessing december has been: But the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid. I bring good news of great joy that will be for all people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

my new bracelet from the vintage pearl, says it all from me to you...you are loved. thank you for all your visits, kind comments, and inspiring blogs! I treasure each one of you! blessings to you and yours as you ring in the New Year!

for today...believe

kris is good. she's had a few really good days.

I'm so thankful I was able to see her. just being with her makes me better.

we talked about husbands, parenting styles, cleaning, kids, work, decisions, sickness, treatments, presents, ornaments, health, broken hearts, kids, schools, His timing, close relationships, loose teeth, and then had to say goodbye. take good care my friend, until I see you again.

love you!

it's a wrap

this week had:
~an emotional start~~a holiday performance~~final decorating~ ~a wrapping session~I have to admit something...as organized as I am, I am a recovering late night Christmas Eve wrapper. as long as I can remember, I've been up wrapping gifts into the early hours of Christmas morning. this is not something I'm proud of but something I wanted to change. so this year we added a "wrap day" to our December Daily calendar.

having a few extra vacation days to take by the end of the year, Mark took off Thursday for the work day. I can't thank him enough for helping with what is usually a huge project. we now have 95% of our gifts wrapped, and the family gifts that needed to be mailed left us today. to say that I'm excited with the progress we made yesterday is an understatement. no late night wrapping for me! I think I'll join lisa..."I'm going to sit and knit on Christmas Eve." want to join us? pull up a chair, everyone's welcome.

~a start to a baking weekend~

my "advent"ure is finished

last year I followed along as leslie created her advent calendar each day in December. I fell in love with it! so many months ago, I started. {I was not going to be as daring as leslie and think that I could make it during one month.}

I am more than thrilled with how it finished! and spencer is enjoying his new role as "the turner." I hung up each hat and mitten on a garland with white lights, then turned the numbers to the back. spencer's job is to turn the number appropriate item over as he comes out for breakfast, and if he forgets he has a little brother ready to remind him!

project details:

pattern: advent calendar from tangle

yarn: cascade 220 in natural, forest, and burgandy

you can check out all the details of my project here on ravelry.

go ahead...you know you want to. you won't be sorry!

it's a good thing

several years ago I read this article in Family Fun magazine and made the holiday planner the very next day. since then this planner has been my guide and saving grace for making it through the holidays...organized. it is one of the best holiday crafts I've made for myself. nothing fancy about the cover {special because Mark designed it for me though} or the binder. When I started the binder was just a 1/2" but now I've graduated a 2" size, for though years pass, my holiday planning pages remain...for the memories. the tabs are labeled:

* December countdown
* holiday gift list
* holiday card list
* recipes, menus, & parties
* crafts & decorations
* holiday memories
***note-all of the planning sheets can be found here.***

in lining up with our family mission this Christmas, mark and I made a list of all our favorite family activities that lead up to Christmas day. this year we were very deliberate in finding a spot for each one on the December Daily calendar. in past years we've not taken our planning to that last step and some of our favorites didn't happen or had to "wait until next year," leaving us disappointed and experiencing regret. we wanted this year to be different. some of this year's planned favorites include:
December 6th- a long winter's drive to look at Christmas lights
December 11th- an entire day of baking
December 14th- watch a holiday movie together
December 15th- delivery of our homemade food gifts
December 17th- phone caroling to long distance family members
December 18th- a 'shop for each other' night for the boys

I hope you'll find a small way each and every day of December to celebrate this season of peace, love, and giving. whether it's listening to your favorite holiday cd in the car, treating yourself to a self indulgence, or surprising a family member with a phone call, find a way to celebrate. wishing you joy this December!

advent books

december. already? really? I can't believe how fast the moments of 2009 are ticking away.

this year in addition to focusing on relational gifts, mark and I are focusing on a relational family advent season. this Christmas season (in addition to our advent ornament calendar) we're adding a few deliberate and planned activities to keep our family focused on the reason for the season.

we love books. I mean really LOVE books.

after the holidays last year, I read this post and immediately added this idea to my Holiday Binder for 2009. I even added the event to my Franklin so I wouldn't forget it! {You can read melissa's 2009 post on this topic here.}

today was my day to prepare our advent books. this is how it went:

I chose my books and gathered my supplies.

I cut the numbers using the cricut machine

and added adhesive with the zyron machine.

I then punched red circles and added the numbers to them.

I put the book basket in connor's room as a surprise. the look on his face was worth the few hours I spent bringing this idea to life. it's not too late. gather your books and start reading!