Christmas Pictures

New pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Opening the first gifts.

The teddy-bear hamster from Santa.

Awe-inspiring Transformers!

American Girl Ivy.

Getting ready for our big round of company for New Year's. Hope your holidays were delightful!

The Christmas Program

On Friday Ben participated in a Christmas program at his preschool. Like any good scrapbooking mom, I sat right in the front row so I could get good photos. The kids filed in with their little santa hats on, smiling and waving at their parents. They got up on stage and the teacher asked them if they were ready, to which Ben replied, "No, wait, my mama has to take a picture of me first!"

Good friends for gingerbread making and gourmet pizza gobbling tonight, and then the big guy will be here. Last night when I told Ben that it was only one more day until Christmas, he said "I have been so patient." Yes you have, little man.

30-Minute Thursday

This week's prompt: use arrows on a page.

December 20, 1986

21 years ago today, at 2:00 in the afternoon, we said our "I Do's" in the company of our family and friends. We were young students, on break from college; some dear souls thought I might be pregnant because it was such a quick decision. But that wasn't the case. We just wanted to be together and we had a little time between semesters, and there was that break in car insurance thing too!

Here we are, 21 years later, and I would choose him again. It hasn't always been easy, in fact sometimes it's really hard. We've been out of money, out of patience, out of work, and out of sync. But we've always been in love. He is my partner and best friend and has helped me create the most amazing and beautiful children. I couldn't be where I am today, physically or in my head, without his help all of these years. Something to truly celebrate.

We're going out tonight. We hardly ever do that, but my friend Erin and her family have offered us a night on the town. We're going to sit at the Thai restaurant and catch up, and I'm going to tell him how much I love him and how happy I am to have him in my life. Because I am.

30-Minute Thursday

But it's Tuesday you say. I say better Tuesday than never. So refreshing to create something that wasn't red or green or holiday themed!

It's Happening

The tile is going up! I picked it up on Friday and Mark spent most of the weekend mixing mortar and arranging tile. He's doing a fabulous job and I can't wait to see it complete. I don't know if we're really going to be finished for our New Year's company; we still have to paint and lay linoleum, but I'm so happy with the progress and happy to have a fresh bathroom!

Finished wrapping all my presents last night. I am now ready for Christmas. Have to make one last thing for our white elephant exchange on New Year's, but that can wait. My brownie troop is caroling at the retirement village today and both kids have Christmas parties/programs at school on Friday. Here comes the slide into Christmas day!!!

On A Lighter Note

Watch us. So funny!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1361909615

Inadequate

I'm struggling, just like I do every year at this time. I love to make Christmas gifts for my family and friends, but it always leaves me feeling very inadequate about what I'm giving. Like there aren't enough presents or they didn't cost enough money, or I didn't do my duty as a good American consumer and buy all the crap everyone thinks they want but don't need. It all leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. Then this morning a friend sent me a link to a little video about "stuff". The clip discussed how we got to this apex of consumerism and it's resulting destruction to our planet. This is what Eisenhower's Economic Advisor said at the beginning of our post-WWII economic boom. "Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption...we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate." WHAT? Seek my spiritual satisfaction through consumption? NEVER.

Thanks for the wake up call. It's not about the buying, it's about the giving. I do not want to be a part of the 5% of the earth's population who consumes 30% of the earth's resources, just to have 99% of the stuff I buy or give end up in the landfill within six months. My homemade gifts are a piece of me crafted for the people I love. Let everyone else work themselves to death to have the money to buy the crap. I will seek my spiritual satisfaction somewhere else!

Check out Heifer International. Now here's a worthwhile cause on which to spend your hard-earned dollars.

Into the Wilds

of Idaho we went and what a gorgeous day to be walking in the woods. It smelled so good and there was lots of sun on our faces. Big change from last year; used our umbrellas for that one!

The hike back to the truck after we found our perfect tree and did a little butt louging back down the hill we'd climbed to find it.

All decorated and ready for Santa.

A little candy-making action on Sunday afternoon. New recipe for butter mints that turned out great. We added cinnamon to half and mint to the other. Delicious.

Our predicted less than 1 inch of snowfall for Sunday night turned into 5 inches, so the kids had a nice slow Monday morning waiting for school to start. It really threw me off having everyone home on Monday morning, which is when I usually work on all my Brownie stuff. But it also made for a very relaxing start to a hectic week ahead, the last one before Christmas I hope!

I'm Dreaming...

of our new bathroom. It's been well over a month since we destroyed our downstairs bathroom for a remodel. I had absolutely no appreciation of what it feels like to live in a home with four people and one bathroom, especially since the toilet in that useable bathroom sits right in front of the door and little kids keep walking by while you're doing your business. But our tile is finally here and I assume we'll be putting it up this weekend along with getting our Christmas tree, making candy, and finishing making and wrapping presents to ship by Tuesday. I often think of my life as a river; meandering along for a while until I start to hear the rumbling of some rapids ahead. Then we're setting up for the rapids and running the rapids, and then before I know it, we're eddying-out again. Little periods of intense activity and then calmness again.

Here's my two silly munchkins after they serenaded us with their own little version of Jingle Bells. I wish I could share all of the lovely things I'm working on, but alas my family reads this blog and it would spoil their surprises. Needless to say I've been drinking a lot of coffee and staying up later than is usual for me, but feeling and loving that creative bug.

The Long Awaited Acrylic Album

I jumped on the bandwagon with this acrylic album after I saw Ali's version and then again when my friend Erin completed hers. It's just about the funnest project I've ever worked on. I'll be using it to record the daily happenings and traditions in our lives during the busy month of December.

Busy, busy, busy. Presents to make, wrap and ship. Cookies to bake for my brownie troop and a Christmas tree calling my name in the forest. Also working at Crop Paper Scissors tomorrow. Stop by and say "hi" to Ben and me if you're in the neighborhood.