~We Wish You a Merry Christmas...~

... and a joyfilled New Year!

~Winter Wonderland~

We waited all day Friday for the snow to arrive. It was just before 5 am Saturday that the flakes started falling. It was really windy and the storm was coming at us from an odd direction... look... we have a bit of a snowdrift by our door! Better get that fixed!The boys enjoyed the snow on Saturday but I stayed bundled up in the house. I don't like the wind blowing the falling snow into my face. Gregg took the older three to a nearby park for some good sledding. I heard their drive over and back was fun. Gregg loves to slide around :0) These are pictures from Sunday...it was a beautiful sunny day!

Of course we had to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa!

This was the view from the front door...amazing how blue it looks compared to the colors on Fridays post!

Church was canceled Sunday morning but things cleared up and we were able to have our special Christmas service Sunday night.

The boys are planning on some more sledding today...I'm taking them to the park and staying in the warm van with Kiersten! Nathan and Eric are spoiled having big brothers to sled with!

~These are a few of my favorite things...Sunrise/Sunset~

This was the view from my front door at 7 this morning...

~Sunrise~

Isn't it beautiful!!! I don't normally see the sunrise...just the sunset:0) I thought it looked like snow...sure enough 5 to 9 inches by tomorrow night! The boys are super excited. Our first of four Christmas parties was canceled...good thing I didn't make all the cookies for the cookie swap!

I am not running out of favorite things...just running out of time! Enjoying our last day of school today!!! Yipee!!! I still have some Christmas Crafting to do...and some wrapping!

~Away in a Manger by Nathan~

Eric was supposed to be learning this song for a church program...of course Nathan had to learn it too! He even had to hold the paper with the words. He got a little mixed up at the end:-)

~These are a few of my favorite things.... Silhouettes~

My first memory of a Silhouette is from my childhood friend's house. Her mom had two pillows on the couch. One with each of the children's silhouettes on them. I loved those! (Jessica, do you remember those???)

Several years later, my mom made scherenschnitte gifts and I really liked them.

A few years ago I made these pillows for my mom.

This year I decided to make myself some magnets!

I started off with profile pictures...

I cut and colored them with my digital scrapbooking program...

And glued them to wood circles that Gregg painted black :-)

Now I just need to put them on the fridge! I love how you can tell who is who just by looking at their silhouettes! Just in case I forgot, I put their name and year on it!

~These are a few of my favorite things...Sun Spots~

~Sun Spots~

I love how the sun comes shining in... especially on these cold winter days! It looks like I'm not the only one that enjoys these sunny warm spots :-)

~These are a few of my favorite things...a pretty table~

A Pretty Table

We are eating in the dining room tonight! We are even using the good dishes! No one is coming over... it's just us. No special occasion... just an every day Thursday. Nowhere to rush off to... just staying home. One of the best kind of nights:-)

~Kiersten is three months~

I normally take the kids portraits myself...but I've been scared to take baby photos. Our local places are booked with holiday photos so I decided to try. Kiersten looked so happy this morning that I set up a little photo area. The blanket I chose was one my mom made for Kiersten.

I leaned over her to shut the blind and saw this cute shot!

The boys helped hold the blanket here...I should have held the camera the other way.

Do you think these will work or should I try again?

If you want to see the boys at three months look here ...who do you think she looks like???

~These are a few of my favorite things... a bowl of soup~

A bowl of soup

Yumm! I could eat a cup or bowl of soup every day! I love how warm it makes me and I also enjoy the smell! My favorite soup is Hoss's (a restaurant in our area) clam chowder! I plan on trying lots of recipes this winter to try to make chowder just like theirs! My second favorite is always a big bowl of chili with cheese and corn chips!

~These are a few of my favorite things... the smell of freshly bathed babies~

I love that yummy baby smell!

~These are a few of my favorite things...Homemade Ornaments~

My tree is full of homemade ornaments!

(sorry the photo looks really bad!)

I was in an ornament exchange for several years and received about a dozen ornaments each year! I haven't been involved for awhile but still like to make one or two new ones each year. I can't always tell you who made the ornament, but I know who made a lot of them!

~These are a few of my favorite things...Snow~

Snow - It snowed today!

This is probably very surprising to those of you that know me well! I don't like being cold, I don't care for winter at all...but I do like to watch it snow (from inside the house!). I like the beautiful white clean look the snow brings. I like the crunchy sound of boots walking through snow. I like watching our dogs tunnel through the snow with their noses:-) I like the little red cheeks and noses that my little men bring inside with them. I like fixing hot cocoa to warm everyone up!

~These are a few of my favorite things... singing and laughing~

The sounds of children singing and laughing

Eric was singing to Kiersten today...she was laughing:-) Such happy sounds are often overlooked when I get busy...or even worse, the happy sounds can be considered noise .

~These are a few of my favorite things... paper crafting~

I enjoy paper crafting

Cards, scrapbooks, decorations!!!! I love the beautiful paper, cutting with all kinds of scissors, and you can't forget the gluing!

~These are a few of my favorite things... candles~

Candles

I love them! Electric, oil, wax...it doesn't matter:-) I think they make the house seem so cozy!

BTW - This is my kitchen counter looking out the front window. The rest of the kitchen is a mess...I just wanted to be real with ya!

I plan on sharing my favorite things all month long! I'm trying to enjoy each moment and get rid of the rush, rush, rush feeling!

~Happy Thanksgiving~

I spent the day preparing for the holiday weekend!!!! We completed a half day of school and tried to pack and clean everything up so we don't even have to look at school stuff!!!!

We fit in a little art/math project...You can find the directions here. The boys found it challenging to do all the measuring and were very surprised at how nice they turned out! We have three pumpkins hanging in the living room window and are giving three away to our dinner hosts.

We will be enjoying dinner tomorrow with Gregg's family and I am contributing these cookies...

Big Soft Ginger Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing! This is the third time I've made these this month...do you think we like them!?!??!?!

Saturday will be spent with my family. I'll be making mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and prune whip! Yumm! I love turkey dinner, so this is a special treat!

And because we think we need more turkey...we have one 20# turkey cooking right now to enjoy our own "leftovers."

Since we know Thanksgiving isn't about pumpkins or food (surprise, surprise!) we will be listening to this excellent story on our travels (this may be the 4th year we have listened to this)...

And Thanksgiving isn't just about being thankful...I heard you all gasp! Do you realize people are "thankful" for all kinds of things without knowing where/who it all comes from! Anyone can be thankful...the catch is to whom are you thankful? I desire to express my thanks and gratitude toward the Creator who made and sustains everything, the One who guides me, the One who provides, the God who sees me. He is Faithful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Sewing List for Kiersten...Updated~

The puzzle ball is done!!! I put jingle bells in each section and finished sewing it Saturday afternoon. It was fairly easy to complete. I would change the order of the colors a bit if I made another one. I'd also like to make one with textured fabrics.

Here is dolly...I really like how she turned out! See her little alphabet legs!!?!? She was so much fun to make...can't wait til Kiersten "needs" lots of dolls for tea parties ;-)

Since Kiersten was awake when I finished her ball, I showed it to her! Her eyes got really big and then she started flapping her arms. When she kicked her legs, the ball made noise and that brought on a lot more kicking!

I does seem to be a bit big for her right now...Can't wait to give it to her on Christmas ;-)

The next thing on my list is her dress...that may be a two week project!

~The Things they Say & Do~

Nathan..."Can you squish my apple mom?"

Nathan hands me the apple cutter.

Mom..."Yes Nathan but please wait until I'm done cutting up the chicken."

Nathan..."Mom, can I just eat it like this?"

Nathan takes a pretend bite.

Mom..."Sure Nathan"

Mom finishes cutting chicken, washes her hands and looks at Nathan happily chewing the last bite of apple...He ate the whole apple...and I do mean the WHOLE apple.

Mom..."Yikes, my belt just broke"

Eric..."Was it made in China?"

~11 weeks~

She wakes up happy...

She plays...

She gets rocked...

She sleeps...

A wonderful 11 weeks of cuddles and smiles!

~Crafting in Christmas Past~

I have been Christmas Crafting! I started a few weeks ago and I've been moving VERY slowly! Anyway, I love Monica's and Miss Emily Rose's Christmas posts. Monica is giving one new Handcrafted Christmas idea each Thursday. Miss Emily Rose is hosting a Homemade Christmas Today, Dec 1, 15 & 29.

This week, I am going to share some of the gifts I made in the past!

I made one of these for my parents and one for myself. I believe we only had the three boys at this time. I used three different colored greens for their hands. One of the boys used their finger tip for the berries in red. I hand quilted around the wreath and put a nice boarder fabric around the muslin...

Last year I made many necklaces. These are easy to make and can be inexpensive too! I did buy a shirt to go with each necklace but you certainly could just do the necklace...

A few years ago I made these silhouette pillows for my mom from all her grandchildren. She had just redone their spare bedroom and so I made them blue to match...

I made this family tree for my grandparents. I found a stick with the perfect number of twigs! That was the most difficult part! It had to be a little fresh so it could be laid flat. After a week of keeping it flat I just glued it to a board covered with fabric and cut out little leaves. All their children, grand children, and great grandchildren have their name on a leaf. The Husband/Wife are at the bottom and I put boys on one side and girls on the other. There is plenty of room for spouses and great-grandchildren to come...

Hop over and visit Simply Vintage Girl to see some other Christmas Crafting ideas!

You can also stop over to see Monica's Handcrafted Christmas ideas!

~Sewing List for Kiersten~

This doll that looks more like this...

An Amish Puzzle Ball (sometimes called a Cuddle Ball)...

Christmas dress...(it is more red in real life)

A new ribbon blanket...because I wrecked the first one:-( I haven't gone through my stash for fabric for this yet.

I would also like to make a quiet book book like this but it won't be for Christmas... it will probably be for her first birthday.

I did a lot of cutting out and even some sewing over the weekend. I am hoping to complete both the doll and the ball this week.

I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner!!!! I've got a lot to do!

~My Favorite Words~

"Mom, I have to pee"

We are potty training this week! So far, so good!

~Super Soups~

I purchased two cook books to learn more about using my pressure cooker, my high capacity mixer & my grinder. I have been going through this one for the past month...





I love seeing all the ingredients ready to add...

I think my favorite, so far, is this creamy chicken soup...

There is only soup we didn't care for. It tasted ok, but it looked gross! I love how many veggies I can feed my family...I love how quickly things cook (like the soup is ready in 30 minutes including chopping everything up!...I also love the price (soup is a less expensive meal!)

I haven't tried too many bread recipes yet, but so far the cook book has been worth it!