Tidings of Comfort & Joy...Merry Christmas!!

Hello & Merry Christmas!! I used to laugh at myself throughout the year wondering if Christmas time would roll around again before I updated my blog header...and, well, it did! And, in the meantime, this poor blog saw no action at all. :-( I'd like to say that 2014 will bring more consistent (or at the very least, better than non-existentent) blogging on my part...but I can make no promises.

For now, though, I thought it would be nice to share our Christmas card with you, and also the letter I wrote to go along with it. I wish I could send a card to everyone, but it was all I could manage to send out 150 this year, and even those went piece-meal...30 here, 60 there, another 20, and so on, as I had time to sign, stuff & address them. So please enjoy our heartfelt Christmas greetings...May your Christmas be full of rich blessings & may your New Year be full of JOY!

 *I actually did change the front to say "unfailing love" (not "unending love") as per the lyrics, but I don't have an electronic file of the corrected version.

**I must give credit for the photos to the fabulous Hailey of Wildflower Photography...

if you need pictures taken, do check her out! She is amazing & so easy to work with!

**And also many thanks to my dear friend Jessica for designing a card to go along with the photos I sent her & my "vision" for the colors, etc...she always takes what I picture in my mind & turns it into something even better on paper!! 

If you are in need of design services, she is phenomenal! 

*I tried everything I could to make the letter more readable, but in case you can't read it above...here is what it says...

 Christmas Greetings Dear Friends near & far, 

 Grace & peace to you this busy holiday season! As I sit down to write this letter on the Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving, I hear the faint calls & laughter of kids playing outside (and see the occasional blur of one of the kids running by), the lights on the Christmas tree are twinkling & the house has the pleasant aroma of a wood-burning fire. For a few minutes at least I am enjoying the quiet in peace. I haven't written a Christmas letter in a few years, but I must say, I LOVE Christmas cards!! By October I'm thinking of when & where we will take our photos, what colors we will wear...when pictures are done, ideas for the wording are tumbling around in my mind for weeks as I think of what words, songs & verses have inspired & encouraged me over the past year. But even more than sending our greeting to you, I LOVE receiving yours! To this end, I have a little confession to make...if you sent us a greeting card last holiday season, it is still hanging on the door between our kitchen & office where I displayed all of the incoming cards last December (and a few even spilled over onto the corner wall!) I will probably take them down today in anticipation of our first card of the new season, but we have so enjoyed having them, having you all with us throughout the year! 

 You have watched us go to & from many days of school or preschool (kids finishing up 5th, 2nd & K in May, and then in August entering 6th, 3rd, 1st, and Drew in 4-day preschool & Lucy in 2 days.) Your smiles have greeted us in the afternoons or evenings after Sophie & Darcy's horse riding lessons or Jack's flag football practices or play rehearsals (he played the role of Pinocchio in his middle school's production of Disney's My Son Pinocchio, Jr.) or after countless church activities including Awana (Trek, TNT & Sparks,) Gopher Buddies, Children's Choir, & more. You saw lots more of us in the summertime as the kids were all home & the decibel level in the house increased significantly. You have watched hours of homework & many a play-date, celebration or family gathering, lots of messy crafts or activities at the kitchen table, & possibly even an impromptu dance party (or two!)  You have peered over our shoulders during numerous meals where you probably saw some spills, lots of crumbs, some crying and/or whining, definitely a tantrum or two (or two hundred...just keeping it real ;-), but hopefully you noticed more laughter, smiles, animated conversation, joke telling, word games & sometimes even singing! 

 We enjoyed receiving each of your cards so much, that we just weren't ready to say goodbye as the Christmas decorations came down. I thought for sure I would be tired of the cards by Easter at the latest, but somehow your cards became more than a part of the decor, you all became part of our days. Often I would find one of the kids peering into your faces, asking "Who is this again?" or "Where do we know them from?" or proudly pointing out the familiar faces. We would talk about how we know you, where you live & when we might see you. Lucy would sometimes walk up start chatting with many of you, practicing your names as her vocabulary increased early in the year (seems hard to remember her now not talking a mile a minute in full sentences!!)  I would see your cards & remember to pray for you, knowing that the Lord knew just what you needed at that moment...strength, peace, joy, hope, encouragement, love...and trusting Him to meet your needs. 

 As I mentioned, I love thinking of the wording to use on the inside of our card each year & this year I had several ideas rattling around in this head of mine. I even created a Note on my iPhone to jot some ideas down. I was, however, a bit dismayed because the words I kept circling back to were not from a Christmas song at all, but a song about amazing grace, unfailing love...and then it dawned on me that even though it may not be a "Christmas" song...to me those words convey the true Christmas message. Truly amazing grace that my Savior humbled Himself to be born into a human body, a baby born in a dark (& smelly, as the kids like to point out) stable, placed on a pile of hay...the Light of the world. Absolutely unfailing love that He would die in my place, that I might live forgiven & free. So it is my prayer this Christmas that each of you may know this amazing grace & unfailing love, precious gifts that the world cannot give. May His grace fall afresh on you this Christmas & His love be with you throughout the New Year!

  

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,

He is the King of glory!

Psalm 24:10

The true light, which gives light to everyone, 

was coming into the world... 

 For the law was given through Moses; 

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

John 1:9, 17

           

  With much love~

  

  Melanie, for all of us :-)

  

  PS:  Please keep sending us your Christmas cards, we look forward to spending another year with you!

   

A Crafty Christmas

Okay, so I have been meaning to, wanting to, trying to do this post for the last two Christmasses! I waited so late last year to show some of the cute Christmas crafts I did in 2011, that I decided I would just share them at Christmas 2012. Because surely by then I'd have a better handle on a regular blogging schedule & be more disciplined & regimented about it...right, right. But darn if I didn't let another Christmas happen & not have the time to blog about it. Well, no more excuses, you may see me posting Christmas crafts or our Christmas celebrations in June, but so be it, c'est la vie!

Ahem. So I actually do really enjoy being crafty, especially around holidays. I love making gifts & decorations, but apparently I have yet to figure out a way to balance time spent doing with time spent blogging (which is important to me simply as a means of scrapbooking & remembering. I know no one in blog-land is going to suffer because I didn't post a craft ;-)

Here's a little look at some of the decorations & gifts I have made the last couple of years. I especially love when decorations & gifts intermingle...in other words, I love making cute ornaments & what-not for teachers & classmates.

Last year Jack's class did an ornament exchange for Christmas. The girls & I had just been to a sweet Christmas tea where they made adorable "I Spy" ornaments, so we decided to do the same thing for Jack's exchange. We filled a clear glass ball (the clear acrylic ones work great for younger kids who may drop them!) with a couple different kinds of fake snow, one iridescent  one not. (You can also add in a little white rice for weight, if needed, but we didn't do that on this one.) Then we searched around for some tiny objects to put inside to "spy"...we came up with a LEGO, a googly eye, a cap eraser, a bead, a paperclip & an aqua shell (which actually was a sequin shaped like a shell, a little tricky!) We topped it off with a ribbon & tied on a little tag listing the items to search for. We then wrapped the ball in red tissue & put that in a cello bag on a cushion of fat marshmallows, just for fun! An ornament & an activity all in one!

Last year I was in charge of helping with Drew's 2 year old preschool class Christmas party. I wanted to do a little non-candy gift for each of the children, so I decided to make each child a personalized ornament. I found these cute smooshed round ornaments at Michaels (I say "smooshed" because they are not balls, but are a little flattened.) They are also unbreakable plastic, which is perfect for the preschool set. I wanted a simple, non-messy filling, so I decided to use yarn! I bought red & green yarn of various shades & textures & just stuffed several long strands down into the ornaments. I then used a paint pen to write each child's name on one side of the ornament & the year on the back. Once again, I tied each one up with a cute ribbon & packaged them in clear cello bags on a little cloud of mini-marshmallows. I had also found some cute felt cut-out Christmas tree ornaments on clearance at Target, so I tied one of those to each of the bags using a little left-over yarn. Very simple, but tres cute! 

Here are a few of the teacher gifts that I made last year...I purchased the clear hand soap from Trader Joes (because I like the shape of the bottles & the labels peel off fairly easily!) After removing the labels, I printed out a monogram for each of the teachers onto transparency sheets using a laser printer (ink jet printers won't work for this because the ink will run.) Then you just cut out the monogram, roll it up, & stick it down inside of the bottle of soap. Use the stem of the pump to kind of push the monogram up against the wall & position it nicely & voila! Pretty monogram hand soap that can be refilled & used over & over again! (I have been using mine for dish soap at my kitchen sink for over 2 years now!) Oh, I just found the original tutorial I used to make these monogram hand soaps here! It includes the downloadable monogram circle template that I used. (You add in whatever letters you would like in your own word processing program.)
For some of the teacher gifts (With 4 kids in school/preschool we have a lot of teachers to cover, but they are ALL worth it!) I purchased cute little white serving bowls (you can find great ones at Homegoods) & added the hand soap, a rolled up red hand towel & a gift card to a fun local jewelry shop. 

This Christmas found me making more ornaments, this time for Darcy's class. Once again I used the acrylic, non-breaking ornaments, but this year I found a cool new square shape at Michaels. For the filler I used fake snow (this was a little messy filling 18 ornaments!) & red & white large glitter...it was kind of like big glitter or small confetti. (I found it one year at Hobby Lobby near the Christmas glitter.) This year I used my Cricut to cut each child's initial out of sticky vinyl. I used a cheerful Christmas green color & used two different fonts...a curly one for the girls & a straighter one for the boys. I then topped them off with, you guessed it, ribbon! And a little tag so I could write each child's name on the back. I thought they turned out really well!

I was responsible for helping to plan Darcy's class Christmas party this year. The parents wanted to all contribute towards a class gift for the teachers. One mom knew that the teachers had mentioned wanting to get iPads, so we collected enough to gift each teacher the base cost for a new iPad-mini! (What an awesome & generous class we have!!) To go along with the cash, I made "Apple" trees for each of the teachers. I took a lovely potted rosemary plant & decorated it with lots of cute "apples"...an ornament made from a photo of each child in the class. I backed the photos with cute scrapbook paper & glittered the edges. Using the cute little IKEA standing picture frames (I love these frames, they have SO many uses!) I made a little sign for each "apple" tree. The trees made lovely centerpieces on the food tables at the Christmas party. During the party I presented the gifts to the teachers by reading a little poem I had written about them...I talked about how they are the "apples" of our "i"...and ended by saying we hoped they would use the money to get their own iPad-minis. It was very sweet & I think the teachers were very touched! 

Darcy's class also attends 5 enrichment classes each week, like science, fitness, art, drama and so on. I think the teachers of those special classes are often overlooked around the holidays since parents have little-to-no interaction with them. We thought it would be nice to remember each "specials" teacher with a card & very small gift card to Target. For the cards, I used my Cricut to cut out skinny Christmas tree shapes. I glued 3 trees onto each card. I took the cards to school at lunch one day & as the children finished eating, they each stamped a thumbprint "ornament" onto the trees. I wrote each child's name at the top of their print (sort of like an ornament hook.) Inside the cards I wrote a simple, yet personal note to each teacher giving thanks for all they do to teach our kids each week. I gave the cards to the classroom teachers to pass along to the "specials" & then they took it even a step further. The whole class went around hand-delivering the cards to each teacher, presenting the gifts while serenading them with a Christmas song. I think all of the enrichment teachers were very touched by this simple little gesture! I love spreading Christmas cheer!

For the elementary kids' teachers, I tried to think a little bit practical this year. We generally give a gift-card along with a little something personal to go with it. I had seen on Pinterest the idea of giving paper plates as a cute gift with the expression, "Let us do the dishes tonight!" I love it! So I picked up some festive plates, napkins & cutlery (I actually bought a value pack of red plastic cutlery & divided it up into cello bags...about 8-10 place settings per bag.) I wrote this little poem (& put it in my favorite IKEA frames again!)

The holidays are so busy,

time is always tight!

We would love to take

something off of your plate,

so please let us

do the dishes one night!

I tucked the gift card & plastic cutlery into these cute white tins from IKEA & monogrammed them with vinyl letters cut out on the Cricut. I love gift wrapping that is pretty & also useful, so I was thrilled to find these "beauty-full" burlap bags at Homegoods. I packaged everything up inside of the bags & as a bonus, they were super easy to carry! 

Last, just a bit of randomness...
Last year Darcy's preschool teacher gave her the photos (top left) spelling out her name in found objects...so cool! (Especially considering that we started that project 2 summers ago, but never finished finding letters to photograph!)
Top right::A cute hand towel that Darcy made last year in her preschool class. 
Bottom left "Santa Hat" fruit kebabs that I made for Darcy's class party this year. Actually, my mom did all the work assembling the kebabs for me, thanks mom! I think they turned out super cute with the strawberry & marshmallow "Santa hat"...and you know if you put anything on a stick, kids will eat it, so they were a hit! 

Whew, well I think that wraps up my Christmas craftiness for a good two years! Hope that you have enjoyed it & perhaps have been inspired for some craftiness of your own! 

Christmas Card Greetings

I usually don't seek out a heavier load & I always have too many things to carry, but come December, when the mailbox starts filling up, I would be happy to make two trips to the mailbox daily to get all of the wonderful Christmas cards! The weight of a stack of cards, addressed with care, full with warm greetings & smiling faces, well that extra weight is like gold.  The kids love opening up the new cards each day, studying the enclosed photos & reading little updates on what friends near & far have been up to this last year. 

I love the way that in photos or in words dear friends remind us of how God has been at work in their lives...a photo of a new baby, an adoption announcement, a graduation, a wedding or a special trip...all testimonies of God's amazing provision & blessing. And with the card comes a visual reminder to lift each family up in prayer, to thank God for bringing so many wonderful friends into our lives over the years. 

And now it is also fun on the computer to browse through so many blogs displaying their wonderful Christmas cards...the bright colors, the creativity, the joy in the photos...it all just adds to the merriment of this wonderful season. 

So I thought I would link up our Christmas card this year! (Linked up @ Kelly's Korner Blog & at Lil Light O'mine.)

I actually planned ahead this year (wonders never cease!) & contacted our sweet & talented friend Hailey to take our photos back in October. She took photos of the kids this summer (when she was just starting up her business) & wow, she's good! She didn't even break a sweat in the July heat chasing our 5 all over the yard to get some pics!

So photos were done in October & I had the images before November. I spent some time on a few of the various photo card websites trying to put together a card, but I really like folding cards with photos on all sides & I couldn't find a site that had that option. SO, good thing I have another uber-talented design friend...I sent Jessica the images I wanted to use, gave her a brief description of how I wanted it to look & like an hour later, she was sending me a proof! Just a little minor tweaking & we were good to go! Jessica has impeccable attention to detail, so when the cards arrived from the printers a week or so later & they were not quite up to her standards, she asked them to be printed again. Reprint & all, I still had the cards in hand by early December! 

Then, inspired by my dear friend Stacy's blog, I decided to hand address all of the envelopes instead of using labels this year. Following her advice for making it more personal, I also tried to write a little greeting in many of the cards (but sorry couldn't do it in all 150!) 

So here they are...the result of wonderfully talented friends (& somewhat cooperative children on picture day. Ha!) Oh, and the beautiful scenery of Jeff's parents farm!

Front of card...

Inside of card...

Back of card...

So we decided to go a little bit silly on the back of the card, but everyone seems to like it! This was one of the first photos we took & it helped get the kids in a good mood for the remainder of the photos. We just said silly faces & this is what we got...I love Lucy's expression, like who are these crazy people!

The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy.

Psalm 126:3

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:8-9

***
And here is how we like to display the beautiful "old fashioned" Christmas cards we receive.


I learned several years ago at my MOMS group how to fold them into these cute little boxes...now our collection keeps growing each year & looks sweet on the windowsill. 

The kids also love playing with them & stacking them like blocks. Sophie even made one in school a few years ago that had a tag saying "To: Jesus, From: Sophie" and on the inside there was a little paper heart!<3 span="span">

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Picking up right where I left off...the day after Thanksgiving is always our Christmas Tree Getting Day! I love getting a fresh Christmas tree (or two!) each year & the tree may be my favorite Christmas decoration...I love the smell, the sparkle, the glitter & the green.

My mom came over to get in on the fun & help with the decorating & help wrangle the kids while we brought out bins & put up lights & so on!

The kids hamming it up on a bench at the garden center...

I was trying to contain them while we were waiting for Jeff...this was the only way to keep them from running through the trees playing peek-a-boo, splashing in the many decorative fountains, and just creating a general state of mayhem & foolishness!

Yaya & the girls!

Finally home, tree in the stand, lights on the tree (after Jeff had to go to the store to buy more lights since half of ours were burned out!)...and now finally, the long anticipated moment is here! 

We are ready to put ornaments on the tree! 

(You do notice that it is dark outside, right...it has been a long day!)

Sweet Lucy enjoys inspecting all of the ornaments (and only throwing a couple) & hanging some on the tree with her assistant, Daddy.

Picking out favorite ornaments (and of course Lucy in a chef's hat eating a wooden apple...you all do that when you decorate your Christmas trees, right?)

Last year we started putting a second tree in the den/playroom. We pick one that it perfectly kid-sized & decorate it with colorful lights & most of the kidsy ornaments. They pretty much are responsible for decorating this tree themselves & do a great job. Jack takes charge of putting the lights on it & then all the kids work together to decorate it. (Of course in complete & total harmony & peace, with nary a cross or unkind word...um, yeah right!)

It is a special tradition each year that Sophie & Darcy love to set out our Nativity scene. They do a very good job of opening all of the little boxes & carefully arranging each of the characters. We have this on a table in our main living area where we walk by it all the time. I have been enjoying that our Nativity is apparently animated this year...as each time I walk by all of the people & animals are arranged differently into little groups as if they have come to life & are moving going about their daily business. 

(Future post coming on this as I have been snapping pictures every few days of the changes to the scene.)

And after a few days of boxes & bins & tissue paper & bubble wrap taking over my dining room...the tree is done! And it has been enjoyed daily & nightly ever since!

We have a few Quality Control helpers...who like to make sure all the ornaments are hung properly & are all in the proper place for optimal viewing. 

Also, here's a little look at our mantle. I'll be posting more pics of the rest of our house decorated in a separate post. I love to use bright Christmas colors all over the house, but for the mantle lately I have gone more neutral with lots of gold & accents of green. Of course, it is always cozy & inviting with a nice fire in the fireplace...but we haven't had many fires this week with our temps reaching up to the 70s!

5 Signs of Christmas Craziness

aka 5 Signs That Mommy is Trying To Do Too Many Projects All At Once This Christmas...

{Okay guys, swallowing my pride on this one & giving you all a glimpse of the mayhem & foolishness that has descended upon my house today. At least it is fairly well contained to the kitchen & office...for now!}

Sign #5::I can no longer feed my kids any meals because all of the regular feeding spots are covered with stuff...craft supplies, mail, packages, craft supplies, glitter (see #3), and more craft supplies. 

Sign #4::I have reheated my mug of tea in the microwave at least 5 times & it is still sitting on the counter half full!

Sign #3::There.is.glitter.everywhere! 
(Have I ever told you how much my husband just loves glitter? I believe his sentiments usually involve the word "UN-invented!")

Sign #2::My desk looks like this...

...and my other desk looks like this...

and Sign #1::I stopped working on all of said projects, did not start fixing dinner (see #5), and let my kids play outside until past dark (without having started their homework!) just so I could take photos of the mess & start writing this blog post! (And now it's well past midnight & I am finally finishing this post up, & also a few of those projects!) If that's not a wee bit of craziness, then I don't know what is!

At least the high chair is clean & uncluttered, so I can still feed someone!

Merry Christmas-time everybody! This is my favorite time of year, but today it is wearing me out!

May we all find extra minutes in our days to be still & quiet & reflect on what is true, what is pure & what is lovely...

Late, but still Thankful!

Oh.my.goodness! Were you as sick of seeing that Halloween post as I was?? (I'm talking to all two of you who may check here regularly, if that many!) That hurried Halloween post was taunting me each day as I would click over to check out updates on everyone else's blog...everyone who has figured out what I apparently cannot, how to blog in a timely fashion!

So here is my quick attempt to give some much needed attention to our month of November & the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving! I love that people are intentional about being thankful for a whole month (and hopefully always!) I especially enjoyed all the posts & status updates of people purposefully taking time to count their blessings in November. How encouraging & a blessing to be to read & see what my friends are thankful for...even friends going through hard times, giving all praise & thanksgiving to God!

That song 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman was on constant repeat in my brain all during November. And while the current play list in my head has now switched to a random stream of Christmas songs, this song still is there...Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship His holy name, Sing like never before, O my soul, I worship Your holy name...You're rich in love and You're slow to anger, Your name is great and Your heart is kind, For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing 10,000 reasons for my heart to find...

Psalm 103:1-14
Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Lord works righteousness

and justice for all who are oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,

his acts to the people of Israel.

The Lord is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame;

he remembers that we are dust.

Quick Halloween Recap

Because it's already the next holiday & I haven't even blogged about the previous one (how does that keep happening to me?) I just wanted to post a few pics of the kids this Halloween. It isn't my favorite holiday...I could do without the ghouls & gore, we don't need a drop of candy, & it always ends up being so hectic to get costumed up & out the door, but I sure do like to see my kids all dressed up. They think it is SO much fun & they sure look pretty cute...here's a quick look!

Getting ready! After school was a hectic time of everyone getting their costumes ready & getting dressed. Since Halloween fell on a Wednesday night this year, we had our usual Bible clubs at church. The kids were supposed to dress as something/someone from the Bible.

Sophie chose to be an angel; Darcy dressed up as Mary carrying a tiny baby Jesus in swaddling cloths; Drew was a king (just like last year & using the same royal robe we made for Jack when he was 3! I love a costume that lasts!!), but this year we called him King David; Lucy was a little flower (even the flowers of the fields...); and if you are wondering what in the world Jack was...he was dressed up as baby Moses, in a basket (floating down the River Nile...) It was hard to get a good picture, but Jack's head was baby Moses's head & we had a baby doll body (also in swaddling cloths) attached right below his head. I've got to give it to the boy, he always chooses creativity in his costumes!

And they're off! It was a race to get to as many houses as they possibly could in less than 30 minutes! (They did really well & still have full candy buckets!) Then it was on to church, where they also handed out loads more candy during their Bible clubs.

Sophie & Darcy were such good helpers with little Lucy!

And that wraps up a speedy Halloween post...short & sweet, just like precious little flower!