Gabriel's gift

In the midst of all my gift-making for family and friends, I received a special hand-made gift from my nephew, Gabriel. He's been getting really creative with a certain type of craft, which you'll see below. I think it's great!

From the moment we arrived that day at his house, he kept mentioning that he was still working on a gift and that I was not to go into a certain part of the house. Then, after a long day of playing and hanging out, it was time to open presents. Gabriel's eagerness could not hold out any longer, so I was the first one to receive a gift--his gift of love.

He did some wood burning on a frame, and I love it!

On it, it says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart," Proverbs 3:5. This is one of my favorite verses.

Thank-you, Gabriel...I will treasure this gift always!

He also made some ornaments for a few others, including this one for Quentin. Isn't it awesome?

Coming up...one last gift I made for each family...I can't believe I forgot about this...it is SO. MUCH. FUN!!!

Peek-a-boo house

When I saw the idea for this baby toy, I knew I had to make this for my nephew, Jedidiah. It is so fun and adorable and I enjoyed every minute making it. I actually made it on the day we spent with he and his family, and while I worked two of his older brothers watched. They are really into crafting, too.

This craft uses scraps of felt and recycled materials like cardboard and flip-top lids from wipies! Take a look below....

Isn't that such a novel idea? Behind each large window and door, I taped on pictures of his brothers and sister and his cousins on the Johnson side of the family.

To protect the pictures, I used packaging tape instead of regular tape. The rest of the house was constructed using hot glue. I knew that little hands are eager to pull things, so I wanted to make sure nothing would fall apart (or at least I hope it doesn't right away!).

Most of the kids gathered around Jedidiah showing him how to play with the toy.  We all had a blast watching him...isn't he just the cutest little guy?

Handprint t-shirt

Little S and I made a gift for Daddy, using materials we already had. We grabbed one of his t-shirts and paint to create this special memory.

I painted her hands with white craft paint. Then, using fabric paint, wrote, "I Love you, Dad....then her name with the year.

Super cute and easy! I love memory-type crafts, don't you? 

Angel towels

This year for Christmas,  I wanted the girls to make something for their teachers. When I found this idea for angel towels, I knew this would be the perfect gift for Little S' nursery workers and M.O.P.S. teachers.

We had a lot of fun making these. In fact, it was our first real craft to do together. On a clean garbage bag, I put all of the towels (six in all) on top, ready for assembly-style crafting. We stamped a hand at a time, then her foot, all the while giving her an M&M as we completed each step. Then, I finished the angels by painting on their heads, halos and the phrase, "Angels we have heard on high." You could also write, "Hark, the herald angels sing."

Take a look....and by the way, we ended up making more towels for the grandparents and a set for us. The second time, we included Alyzza in the process, so now some of us have precious memories of both girls from Christmas 2012.

Cupcake liner Christmas trees

Every year, our church has a Christmas party that my husband puts together. There's always great food, fun games, a gift exchange and lots of laughs! I've always enjoyed decorating for it each year as well. I like to pull in some help from others, and this year, it ended up being that Alyzza was my special helper. 

We made these super cute cupcake liner Christmas trees:

I bought cupcake liners at the Dollar Tree and Walmart and used styrofoam tree forms for the large ones and card stock to make the tree form for the small ones.

Some of the packages included cupcake toppers, so for some of the trees, I put those on the top. It took us a few hours to make fifteen or so of these, but it was a fun project I enjoyed doing with my big girl.:)

Wouldn't this be an awesome thing to do for a Valentine's Day event as well? You could use red and pink cupcake liners and still put some fluff around it to represent snow since it's a winter holiday.

For the step-by-step on how to make these go here. Have fun!:)

Our new advent calendar

This new advent calendar was created by putting together ideas from two different sources. The looks of it, made from a mini muffin pan, came from Family Fun Magazine (of course!:). It is sooo cute; we just love it! 

For the circles, I used leftover Christmas wrap from last year. Then I glued them onto magnetic sheets. The circle magnets that cover the holes are approximately 2-1/2 inches in diameter, but you might want to measure your tin to see if this measurement works. You want to cover the holes completely, but you don't want a lot of overlap between all of the circles. I stamped numbers onto the smaller circles made from scrap booking paper. They measure about an inch in diameter. 

Here's a look at this fun project....

The directions say to fill each hole with a trinket, candy or fun thing to do. While I like those ideas, I also wanted things that were meaningful....meaning that I didn't want to fill it up mostly with candy and trinkets!

I started thinking about the Christmas traditions that we like to do and wondered if those could be put into this calendar. Then, Money Saving Mom  shared with her readers a sale on a DVD and pdf book. For only $10 including shipping, I bought the Why Do We Call it Christmas? dvd and the book, Everyday Emmanuel from this website. 

The book is mostly comprised of ideas on how to celebrate advent by focusing on the real meaning of Christmas and making precious family memories. Using some of their ideas, I listed 24 things that I wanted to do with my family this season. Some only take a few minutes during the day, while a few are fun outings and projects to do together. The girls will still get a treat here and there with the piece of paper that says what we'll do, but it isn't the focus. I like that they look forward to each day's event, but they're not getting too hyper with that upcoming party or event. It's always a "last minute" surprise and it's great!:)

Here are the things we have already begun or will do. If you know our girls and see them regularly, please don't tell them! Shhhhh......


1. Christmas party put on by our foster care agency
2. What God Wants for Christmas, part 1 (an interactive nativity by Family Life Publishing)
3. Buy the girls their Christmas ornament for the year
4. Give mailman a holiday treat
5. What God Wants for Christmas, part 2
6. See the Christmas lights in our community
7. Go to Journey to Bethlehem (an event put on by the church that hosts our M.O.P.S. group)
8. Make gifts for school teacher, nursery workers and MOPS teachers with girls
9. What God Wants for Christmas, part 3
10. Finish making presents and wrap gifts while listening to Christmas music
11. Watch new Christmas movie, Why Do We Call it Christmas?
12. What God Wants for Christmas, part 4
13. Dad and Alyzza have a coin club Christmas party/I will help Little S buy presents for family
14. Play Christmas game/Uno
15. Build paper nativity set and/or decorate church reception hall for party on Sunday
16. What God Wants for Christmas #'s 5 and 6
17. Alyzza's Christmas program at school
18. Put on a Christmas puppet show
19. Make treats for neighbors
20. Christmas caroling and give treats to neighbors and possibly shut-ins
21. Our Christmas (we are going to TN in a few days....)
22. Drink yummy peppermint hot chocolate
23. What God Wants for Christmas, #7
24. Special activity to do on the plane trip to TN (probably a busy bag or activity book)

Other ideas can include....playing together in the snow (we just haven't had any in a while, but probably will put it in and take something out of my list), make snow ice cream, read a Christmas book, etc. We have begun reading Christmas books when we do our reading time, since we have so many to choose from, and it's fun to read them all during this time of year.

So, there you have it! A fun new way to do an advent calendar while keeping it meaningful, inexpensive and full of family fun!

More to come on some of the projects and recipes we will be doing as part of this calendar's events....stay tuned....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Our Christmas decorations have been up for a week now, so I thought it should be time for a little tour....

If you were to visit our home, this is what you would see hanging on the door. Then, moving around the two front rooms, you'll see....

...this tree and snowman garland,

our kid-friendly nativity set I made for a M.O.P.S. craft,

a snowman nativity set, a snowman countdown and some scrabble tiles that say, "O Come let us adore Him,"

Winnie-the-Pooh window clings sent to us in a fun package from Q's parents,

the nativity set my mom gave me 13 years ago that began my collection of nativities (see how many you can count from this post!),

the nativity advent calendar that we are enjoying already,

a new way to hang up our Christmas cards using some wide candy cane ribbon,

(a close up view of my first card; it came from Alyzza:)

a nativity picture made completely from fabric (I love handmade touches around our home),

a few knick-knacks,

blocks that spell out, "Merry Christmas,"

an interactive nativity set and a Precious Moments one that plays music,

Noel blocks, mini trees and a Willow tree angel,

three wise men with Mary and baby Jesus,

an angel collection on top of one of our book cases (two of the angels are handmade gifts from friends),

our Christmas book basket (we're enjoying reading from this collection already!),

a light-up snowflake (another gift from Q's parents),

snuggly snowmen that the girls can play with,

and finally, a snowman village on top of the other book case. The picture of our tree didn't come out right, but another one was shown in my last post with Alyzza decorating it.:)

Did you count how many nativities I have? I just love having that as my theme at Christmas time. After all, Jesus is the reason for the season! 

Easy fall decor

I'm back....and not as late as the last time. :) Life in general is just plain busy, but I'm encouraged in many ways. I mentioned a couple of months back that I've been organizing things around the house. Even though I am not done, I'm feeling a huge sense of accomplishment lately. I can actually find things and can work quicker and easier with projects. We are seeing the Lord work mightily in our family. Alyzza is doing well post-adoption and we're seeing praises in regards to Little S' situation. Thanks so much for your prayers. We will continue to keep you updated in the best way possible.

One of the things I have been enjoying this fall is starting back up at M.O.P.S. again. Little S is in a new class and since she's older, she always looks forward to going with me. In fact, when we're out and about doing other things she'll ask if we're going to M.O.P.S. She loves it that much! This year, I joined the steering committee as the crafts coordinator. This past summer, I worked at gathering ideas from my stash of books and magazines as well as off of the internet. I came up six crafts that I'll be sharing with you after we do them. We did the first craft recently, and that is shown in the second photo. I'll explain more on that below. But, this first picture shows something I did with Little S last month. I call it "Fall in a Jar."

We went for a walk and I encouraged her to find things that she'd like to put in a jar. She found leaves, twigs, rocks and crab apples. She talked about what she found with Dad. It's great to incorporate God's creation in the conversation as well. This jar made a great centerpiece until she accidentally dropped it on the floor and the jar broke into many pieces! (Yikes!)

Here's our beautiful fall wreath we made at M.O.P.S. It was a hit with everyone! It was probably the most time-consuming prep work I've done for any craft (for 60-70 ladies), but it was well worth it. Alyzza helped me with counting strips of fabric, but the cutting had to be done by me. Thankfully, the rotary cutter came in handy. The other ones should be easier to pull together and I've had offers from some of the ladies to ask them for help if I need it. Here is the link for this wreath, which really can be used for any season using the right colors. From the instructions it does not say how many strips you need, but someone asked about that in the comments section. You need roughly 100 strips or so to make a full wreath. Use a variety of prints and solids to make it look the best. I used denim and corduroy to add some texture to it as well.

How's your fall season going so far? Have fun adding these ideas to your fall decor this year. 

A's 100th day of school

This is a little late in posting, but I wanted to share what we did for A's 100th day of school. It took place about a week before Valentine's Day, but it didn't happen on the day she thought it would. You see, we had a huge snowstorm which cancelled school. When I told her that morning, she was disappointed, but I reassured her that the 100th day of school would still happen next Monday morning.

To get ready, I had an idea for a special gift for her teacher--100 kisses in a jar. She counted them by placing them in sets of ten on the table.

Then, we made mini donuts. I didn't make 100 of them, just enough for each child to have two. Because I had made them the day before the snow storm, I knew that they wouldn't last over the weekend. So, A made deliveries to our neighbors. It was a welcome treat on a very snowy day.

On Sunday afternoon, we worked on another batch--still as yummy as the first. I found the recipe here. They have the perfect touch of lemon in them!

We melted vanilla bark coating and dipped each one. A had fun adding the sprinkles. Her class loved them!

As for her 100th day project, she came up with something very different--nothing like what I saw when I taught school. She counted out 100 Q-tips and put them in a jar! Have any of you ever heard of that project? She did a great job and had a fun day at school celebrating 100 days of growing smarter.:)

Awesome possum!

Here's a fun project that I did at my M.O.P.S. group right before Christmas. We were given a clear plate to decorate with paint markers. The goal of this was to design a plate that can be used for a celebration--a birthday, holiday, or a big accomplishment.

One of my favorite things to say to a child when they do something great is "Awesome possum!" I used it all the time when I taught, and now I say it to our girls. I knew that's what I wanted to do on my plate, so I first drew a little girl and wrote the saying on the plate. Others did their own drawings like I did while others used a print-out of a favorite cartoon character to embellish theirs.

We traced our design using a black dry erase marker. Then, we were able to trace the lines on the underside of the plate using paint markers. We used a clear sealant so that the paint doesn't wash off. They are still delicate and can only be hand-washed, so be careful if you do this.

Here's what my plate looks like:

It was such a fun and relaxing way to get creative with the ladies in my group. It will be awesome to use this when the girls accomplish something great. From having a great day at school to doing a job without being told (and perhaps in the midst of potty training this summer with Little S!), this plate can be a huge way to encourage the recipient. They can use it for a meal, a dessert, or even all day--yipee! I can't wait!:)

Listening sheets

I've been using listening sheets with A for the past couple of months as a way to train her to listen carefully to a sermon in church. It has been a wonderful thing to keep her involved and quiet during the church service.

When she first came to live with us (last March), I put together a bag of things for her to do during the service. Inside of it would be a coloring book, pencils, crayons, and a Bible. But, when I found this link to the listening sheets, I eliminated the coloring book. If she needs to have a change of pace for a while, then I photocopy a Bible coloring sheet. I want her focus to be on things of the Lord, and not just "fillers" that she can do at home, school or anywhere else.

So, are you ready to check it out for yourself? There are a few options to choose from (readers, non-readers and older children), so click on the link and print away! I know these will be a blessing to you as they have been to us and others we have shared them with in our church.

Our advent calendars

Q and I enjoyed beginning some traditions with the girls during the holiday season. One of them was the advent calendars. Do you remember when I bought this one?

I bought it almost two years ago at our local thrift store. It was missing a couple of pieces, so I made a felt baby Jesus (I also set out to make another star, but didn't get to it...oh well...). We took turns filling up the nativity scene until the day before Christmas.

Before we had kids I knew that I wanted to do the book advent calendar. All you do is wrap books and number them. You can do 25 or however many Christmas books you have, then read one a day until Christmas.

Even though I own over twenty Christmas books (and could have borrowed a couple from the library), I decided to do ten books that do not focus on Santa, reindeer, the Grinch, etc,--but rather on the real meaning of Christmas, and a couple of fun ones (like snowmen). Our girls are very impressionable, especially the eldest who came from a home that only focused on the "pretend" things of the season. The fun books can be enjoyed much later, as I wanted to instill the real focus of Christmas during their early years.

The last book we read through has eleven chapters, so we were able to read something almost every day during the month of December. I have made a special note of that one at the bottom of my list. Here are some great options for you that mostly focus on Jesus' birthday. Hope this is a help to you if you'd like to try this.

The Crippled Lamb, by Max Lucado

Merry Christmas, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond

The Story of Christmas, by Patricia A. Pingry

The Legend of the Christmas Stocking, by Rick Osborne

Snow What Fun! When Snowmen come to life on Christmas Eve, by Cheryl Hawkinson

Jingle Bell Sleigh, by Monique Z. Stephens

Simeon and the Baby Jesus, by Evelyn Marzhausen

ABC is for Christmas, by Jane Werner Watson

The Christmas Story, by Jane Werner

The Twelve Days of Christmas, illustrated by Sheilah Beckett

The Animals' Christmas Eve, by Gale Wiersum

The Gift of the Magi, adapted from the story by O. Henry, illustrated by Robert Sauber

The Legend of the Candy Cane, by Lori Walburg

Little Miss Spider-A Christmas Wish, by David Kirk

The Christmas Star, story adapted by Moira Butterfield

The ABC's of Christmas, by Jane Belk Moncure

The Candymaker's Gift, by David and Helen Haidle

A Little House Christmas (Holiday Stories from the Little House Books), by Laura Ingalls Wilder

One Wintry Night, by Ruth Bell Graham (This was the final book we did with eleven chapters. It is my absolute favorite. It covers sin and our need for the Savior and highlights a few notable characters from the Bible before ending with the Nativity and life/death of Christ.)

A scarf for Miss C

When A and I were planning on what to make for Christmas gifts, we stumbled upon a cute scarf in the November 2011 issue of Family Fun Magazine. There was a neat section on things kids could make for their favorite people. Miss C is A's kindergarten teacher and she is awesome; she is exactly what A has needed this year. She is loving, fun and consistent. We adore her!

A helped me choose the colors of fleece--red and purple. Because she was coming down with sickness, she just didn't feel well enough to help me put this together. So, I taught her as I wove the fabric strips in and out of the scarf. Then, I added a fringe at the ends. Hopefully if we make this again for someone else, A will be able to do this project with very little help. We all thought it came out pretty cute!:)

What gifts did your children give to their teachers this year?

Glitter snowflake

During A's Christmas break, we put this incredible snowflake together:

It's the cutest decoration for the winter season. Do you know what it's made out of? Look closely--

If you guessed Q-tips, you're right! This project was found in Family Fun Magazine's December 2011 issue. After you wrap a large piece of cardboard with plastic wrap, you arrange 18 cotton swabs as shown in the picture above. We used glitter glue at each point, but they recommended using tacky glue then sprinkling glitter onto the glue (I guess it depends on how messy you want to get, right?). You let your snowflake(s) dry overnight then find a place to hang it with monofilament line. Pretty neat, huh? :)

The Thankful Tree

We started a new tradition in our house this year for the Thanksgiving season. We have a thankful tree on our dining room wall. It is not complete yet, but hope to have more thankful hands on it before the month is over.

I used brown packaging paper to make the tree and wrote "The Thankful Tree" on it as well as First Thessalonians 5:18 ("In everything give thanks....). Then, on most days after lunch we trace one of our hands and write something we're thankful for. It's been an encouragement to me in so many ways. I have been delighted to see A get so into it. In fact, she has written a few of them herself. My heart smiled after I asked her what one of them said. She said, "I'm thankful for you, Theo." :)

What traditions do you have for Thanksgiving? I'd love to hear about them!:)

Snow fluff cookies

As mentioned in my previous post, we got our first big snow of the year. It was really cute to hear A talk about how it was Jesus' birthday and suggest making gingerbread cookies. She immediately associated the winter scene outside with Christmas. I had to explain to her that the holidays weren't for a while yet. She was disappointed as she cannot wait for Christmas.

This snow picture right outside our door was so beautiful and peaceful. Hard to think that it was so much warmer just a couple of days before this happened!

Remember the mobile I told you about? It has a completely different look with the snow in the back ground.

We began a tradition in our house a few years ago that involves the first day of snow. We make cookies and drink hot chocolate. Now with kids, this day is even more fun. I have enjoyed making snowball cookies, but this year I chose to do something different. By looking in a couple of cookbooks, I came across a recipe for snowfluff cookies. Another recipe called them cornflake kisses. No matter what you call them, they are perfect for this special day.

A and I used the recipe in this Mix and Fix Cookbook (published by Parents Magazine years ago). This book has been mine since I was a young girl. Flipping through the pages has brought back memories of making some of these recipes.

Here's the recipe where it's called cornflake kisses:

2 egg whites

2 cups cornflakes

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 cup dry shredded coconut

1. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.

2. Gradually add the sugar, and keep beating!

3. Gently fold in the other ingredients, just barely mixing everything together.

4. Drop the batter onto a greased cookie sheet, a teaspoonful at a time.

5. Bake in a moderate oven (325 degrees) for 12 minutes.

Makes 30 small kisses.

After lunch, Q and A went sledding for a while. When they returned they were drenched, but had such a good time together. We all sat down to eat snowfluff cookies and drink hot chocolate. This is such a neat tradition for us to continue with the kids.:)