Our Christmas Top 4 choices

With four kids old enough to have opinions on celebrating Christmas, but with no money tree, we asked each of our kids to pick ONE thing they absolutely wanted to do to celebrate this Christmas. At the very least we could grant them their number one wish. Here's what they came up with....

• Christina asked for the Trader Joe's chocolate advent calendar. The kids all agreed and come to find out, part of that tradition involves finding a good hiding spot for your calendar, away from certain little hands. The calendars were bought, handed out, and devoured in a flash. There is definitely room for improvement with that tradition! I've got a project up my sleeve for next year's advent. It omits chocolate, but there is more than enough of that going around in December, so I hope that aspect isn't missed.

• Thomas chose an outing to Hebert's Candy Mansion.

• Grace wanted to decorate the house! I asked what she meant by decorate the whole house, and Grace said, "Cover every single wall with a picture!" We certainly fell short, but we did all right....
  

• Caroline asked to bake gingerbread cookies. 

This tradition stemmed from another family tradition...growing up in CA, we used to get together with my Dad's side of the family for Thanksgiving and my mom's side of the family for Christmas. It was at a gathering with my mom's family that my cousin, Sharlene brought her delightful soft gingerbread cookies, and was kind enough to share her recipe. This is a family favorite!

Having the kids pick one activity each made this Christmas fun for them and for Wayne and I. It was nice to know that we each contributed to our month of celebration, and the ideas weren't all mine. The other benefit was that it helped keep cost under control since there was a mutual understanding of limited choices, and there was no pressure to do more or spend more than the choices the kids made. We added the kids' choices to a few non-negotiable family traditions, and everyone was happy. We'll make it our "Christmas Top 5" tradition next year since Wesley will be able to speak his mind and offer a request as well. This year he simply enjoyed the festivities with the rest of us.

I've got a couple more Christmas posts to come, I've simply been enjoying Wayne's vacation time & lots of family time {OK, there was a little Christmas cramming & napping too}. Seriously though, it's been wonderful!

Best Wishes to YOU!

New Years Resolutions...for real!

I've never put weight into New Years' Resolutions, although I've always tried to improve in one way or another, whether it's learning a new skill, racing in a Sprint triathlon, or designing and keeping this family journal of a blog (ok, so I'm a week behind right now, but it's progress from the backlog of photos and scrapbooking I've had for YEARS).

Last year I lost my pregnancy weight with a Biggest Losers group...the weekly introduction of a new element of dieting (which I generally don't do) was key.  That was then.  Getting in shape and improving time management with my priorities in mind would top my '09 list if I had one.

So, what to do for 2009?  As usual I hadn't given resolutions much thought...that is until I found the Resolutionary Challenge on my friend, Whitney's blog, Dare to Dream.  I read the challenge and mulled it over; not wanting to sign up unless I was really committed, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like this was a good fit.  Parts of the challenge are things that I've "been meaning to do," but haven't made the leap of commitment yet.  I've been "meaning to" jog consistently, but it's freezing outside & I haven't signed up at the Y.  I've been "meaning to" be habitual and sincere with my scripture study, but I'm exhausted in the early morning hours, and exhausted at the end of a full day.  "Meaning to" hasn't been working for me, and change will only come by committing to make changes, and DOing.  I know that strengthening my core, physically & spiritually will help me serve in the roles I hold dear, and help me feel more true to who I know am.  That's my main motivation for the Resolutionary Challenge.  That friends are part of this challenge makes it all the more fun.  I love the support.

So, if you're reading this and would like a fresh approach to reaching your personal goals and/or goals for the New Year, head on over to Whitney's blog and see if the Resolutionary Challenge is for you.  

I hope you join us....the more the merrier! 

All best,

The Making of a Gingerbread Village

The Saturday before Christmas we set out making a gingerbread village.

I covered the kitchen table in butcher paper, and we all filled dishes with a plethora of candy while Wayne made a perfect batch of royal icing.  Everyone got a plate and were told....

The rules: 

1. Be creative  

2.  Eat only YOUR house

3. Eat YOUR house whenever you want

4. Have FUN!  

Wesley heard "candy" and was totally on board!

Wesley is sure that the set up is taking too long...bring on the candy and crackers!
So far Wesley has kept Rules 1, 2 & 3...Bravo!!!
Trouble is brewing as Wesley eyes Caroline waving her candy as she explains her design plans.

Caroline defends her house well, but Wesley moves over to Grace who's house is in a more advanced stage of completion.  Grace is quick to note that Wesley is clearly in violation of Rule 2....

So, Wesley was banished to his highchair with his tee-pee to munch on while the rest of the crew constructed a delicious gingerbread village...

Successful gingerbread house construction is dependent on strong royal icing.  We found that Alton Brown's recipe worked perfectly, so the recipe is now in our family cookbook.

Five faces of sweet success....

Let's do this again next Christmas, OK?

Dear Thomas,

I just couldn't go to sleep without recording our conversation from earlier this evening....

You were misbehaving a bit today. I don't recall the particulars; I wasn't there, but dad got after you and apparently said something to the effect that "Christmas would be cancelled." I know what he meant, but you weren't quite sure. Later on we had the following conversation:

Thomas: Mom, can dad really cancel Christmas?

Mom: He can't cancel the holiday, "Christmas," no, but he can make it so that there are no presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

Thomas:  Mom, doesn't he know that I'm old enough to understand what Christmas is all about?  The presents aren't what's important at all.  I'd be happy with just a candy cane.

Mom:  Me too.

Your heart is in the right place, Thomas.  I'm thankful that you have figured out while in your youth that Christmas is about Christ, not so much the gift giving, although that can be wonderful in many ways.  We will have several gifts under our tree this year, but I know that even if all we did Christmas morning was sing carols around our tree, and sip hot cocoa with peppermint stirring sticks, we'd be full of joy.  We might have some explaining to do to your sisters though:)

I love you more, son, and always will.

frogs and trees

Shhhh...  I'm going to let you have a peak, just don't tell Wesley!  This squishy, adorable frog is the gift Christina made for Wesley for Christmas.  Wes was wreaking havoc while I tutored Christina on the sewing machine, but we love him the same.  We won't go into the inside joke about frogs and Wayne's family...let's just say it involves gas of sorts.  This frog, however is sweet as can be.  One side is Minkee super soft material.  Wes is going to LOVE him!  HERE is the pattern over at Purl Bee.  I love Purl Bee's fabric and they've got some fun patterns too.

Check out THIS free pattern over at Amy Butler Designs.  (Just scan down the patterns until you see the trees).  It's super easy.  I used a pinking rotary blade because I couldn't find a scalloped blade that the instructions suggested.  I think they turned out nicely.  I also saw a set of these trees where the woman simply ripped the strips of fabric.  I love that the trees are lightweight, so they won't weigh down my Christmas storage bins.  I chose to make three trees so I could use them as an illustration when I read the book The Legend of the Three Trees to my kids during the Christmas season.

Amy Butler has some really fun free downloadable patterns.  I also love the cloth napkins, napkin rings, and tree skirt, but no time for those before Christmas this year.  And then there are the quilts.....and her fabric.  Yep, I'm a fan.

Happy Christmas cramming!

Thomas' Choir Performance

Thomas loves to sing.  I love that he sings out and does his best with this budding talent at church and at school.  A few nights ago Thomas had a performance at his school.  He had a small speaking part and was in a small choir along with the entire choir made up of each class in his grade.

 Thomas really enjoyed participating, and we were all really proud of his effort and performance..."Bravo!"

XO, mom