scenes of Christmas

It will be another handmade Christmas for us again this year. I've been working around the clock trying to whip up some gifts that my kids will actually play with. I can't wait to share them!

I've also been reading all those tutorials on taking pictures of your Christmas tree...I still haven't gotten one I love yet...although this one is promising :)


We made our annual gingerbread house (kit!) the other day. The best way for me to enjoy this tradition is to step back and take no part in it...except for eating the candy. I laughed to myself as Juan Pablo tried to help the kids make a "perfect" house. That icing never holds together well for us. (I came back in to the kitchen later while we were watching It's a Wonderful Life, and the roof had slid halfway down the house. I just pulled it off and ate it.)


But this activity always brings out the best in the kids. Somehow giving them free reign to make a mess and eat lots of candy helps them become the little angels in this picture.


Here's the finished product. Gone the next day. I do believe we are the only family that will actually eat their entire gingerbread house.


We're very merry.

a walk in Bethlehem

Friday night we headed over to the other side of town to the Bethlehem Walk. We'd never heard of it, but a good friend said it was excellent...plus it was free.

We knew there'd be a wait in a long line in the cold....so we were somewhat prepared. I had brought clementines, bottles of juice and ribs for us to eat...an odd combination, but that's what we had.

And we entertained the kids as best we could. There was 20 questions. Jumping jacks. I spy. And a new game: translate this. I was asked to translate something into Spanish, then they'd check my answer by asking Dad the same thing. (I'm happy to say I got them all right.) At some point, we were reduced to the cheek squeezing game.


We lucked out with some chairs when we got to the 'waiting' tent. A little girl was restless behind us, throwing a small fit for her grandma. I offered her a clementine, which she declined, but that little interaction did stop the tantrum. I always love it when someone speaks to me when my kids are acting up instead of ignoring me. It's so uplifting.


On to the city. We had to pay a shekel to enter the gate and were warned not to give it to the beggars before we got there. I think we were all tempted to give them away....


...but the Roman guards were not to be played with about money.


The streets were bustling with vendors that filled the air with the scents and sounds of the ancient town. Fire pits were around every corner to help us stay warm, while we walked around in awe at how realistic everything was.


There were shepherds, animals, wise men,


...and most importantly, a baby born in a manger. Every now and then, one of the actors would sing out a carol...including my favorite, "Mary Did You Know." If there is one thing we did this season that helps us understand the meaning of Christmas, this was it... and worth the simple sacrifices of warmth and patience.

imperfect

It's hard to write about a less than perfect holiday weekend. It was one for the record books in unhappiness.

But don't feel bad for us.

God surely can turn a bad situation around over the course of a weekend.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him...Romans 8:28

And He did.

Our thankful mailbox was definitely the highlight. Our only complaint was too few to open. Next year, we'll have to start on November first.


We took turns reading them one by one. I was pleasantly surprised by Joaquin's thankfulness for seasons and Isabela's grandiose 'God', 'Every day', and 'Everything'. (There were also the typical PSP, dogs and cats, and blankie and chupi.)


We hit the road shortly after that. It's become a tradition to stop by Bass Pro Shops on our way up to Thanksgiving. Our original plan was to surprise the kids and go to the National Zoo...but that didn't happen. Maybe next year.


Such a serious expression to be holding a pink gun.


And you better believe they weren't aiming for the ducks here.


This could be one of those 'see how much they've grown' photos, year after year.


I'll spare you the details of our Thanksgiving of silence. It wasn't pretty. Little eyes were watching us, and probably saw us at our worst.


They could feel the tension, and it affected them, too. I can only hope memories of the good will outweigh the bad.


So I did the only thing I knew to do. I picked up my Bible. It had been too long. But there He goes...turning it around for good.
And slowly the weekend started turning around, as well. I think a lifetime was lived in those four days. So much time.

And I believe that Thanksgiving has surely become my favorite holiday.

We climbed to the attic and brought down the boxes filled with decorations...and I finally realized that Christmas actually starts now.

At advent.


If you wait until December 25, while you're opening presents, you've missed it.

This year, we are following an advent book called, Celebrate Jesus at Christmas, and I highly recommend it. We're reading scripture, slowly setting up our nativity scene piece by piece, singing carols, and praying.



Today Isabela said a teacher asked her class if anyone was a Christian. (It must have had something to do with a book they were reading.) She said she was the only one who raised her hand. She said she was embarrassed, but I told her God wasn't. And I was so proud of her.

I'm excited about all the gifts this season of advent will bring...as we patiently wait...living our imperfect lives.

happy Thanksgiving.

A quickie before we hit the road for Thanksgiving....I certainly couldn't have left the last post with 'the enemy' on such a grateful day. (And even I can admit, at times I'm thankful for you, PSP.)

Being a pleaser and a perfectionist can make holidays hard sometimes. The other day, Joaquin had an assignment to write about two traditions his family does at Thanksgiving. I got a small knot in my stomach and started thinking, 'Do we have any traditions? Are they worth mentioning? What will other kids write about?'

And really since most of 'the rocks' of my family have passed away (grandparents, parents) and since my husband's family lives in Bolivia and doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving...(except when I forced them to and almost killed his grandma)....the weight of holiday traditions now lies on my shoulders.

In my mind, our tradition at Thanksgiving was simply to eat.

But each year is different...and new memories are added. And I believe tradition is keeping the fun memories alive by repeating them...and confining the bad memories to a 'remember when' joke told while looking at old photographs.

So this year, I see some new traditions on the horizon.

I hit the library Tuesday to pick up some cooking and craft books for the holiday (...a tip I saw on the net somewhere) and in the toddler cook book was a simple recipe for cookie-cutter cookies.

Add friends to the mix, and I see a tradition brewing.


Isabela was a great chef, reading the directions, measuring, and including the smaller ones. I was busy starting dinner, so she was on her own. We moms watched them with wonder.

Would you believe we'd never made cookies with cookie cutters before? I think it's that wait time while it chills in the fridge that always put me off. Actually, it's a great little break between mixing and rolling for the kids to burn off some steam.


This year, we get to open our thankful letters...that is what I'm looking forward to. I can't wait to read what everyone wrote..knowing this family, the sky's the limit to what we might be thankful for.

And here's a game you don't want to miss. We did this one year, and it was hilarious. Everyone at the table writes an adjective on a piece of paper and puts them into a cup. Then everyone writes down the name of an animal and puts those into another cup. The cups are passed around and every person pulls one piece of paper from each. This becomes their new Native American name. (Anyone remember stinky armadillo?)

Games are fun traditions. Here's a printable one we're trying this year.

And we may have a secret tradition starting this morning. I'll let you know if it works out.

Meanwhile, I'm thankful to have this blog to write down my family's memories and my own thoughts. Thanks to all who read it! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are. (And if you'd like a special prayer to say at the table today, here's a beautiful one. )

'tis the season

And the season comes earlier each year. We had our annual tree lighting last weekend, if you can believe that! But mindful of being thankful, it was warmer than it's ever been before.

I definitely need to practice night shooting with my camera...it's so hard to get a good shot! There was another mom right beside me trying to do the same thing...her kids were sitting on the same bench as mine, squirming and not looking, just like mine. I don't know why we always try to get these posed shots...the candid ones are SO much better.


Having kids makes you do things you would NEVER do if you didn't have them. Like stand in line for an hour for a balloon. I joked as we were the next ones up, "Let's go, I'm tired of waiting." But it was so worth it. Their balloons fit their personalities so well.


And somehow, I took this shot and loved it. These cheap light up toys sure make the kids smile. (And they keep them quietly mesmerized, too.)
I love this season...I hope it goes by slowly.

thank you

It's not 11-11-11...but it's never too late to thank a veteran.
Thank you for all your sacrifices...so my family can sleep in peace tonight.

February

February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March.
- Dr. J. R. Stockton

It's cold. It's dreary.
We're bombarded with make up work from our vacation.

It's been very hard to get back into some sort of a routine.

But I found one of my most favorite books, Mrs. Sharp's Traditions, while we were in Bolivia.



It turns out there a lot of holidays coming up this month that will help us get back into a rhythm and routine.

FEB 2 is Candlemas. Gather all the candles of your house and use them tonight instead of lightbulbs. Eat by candlelight. Do homework by candlelight. Read a bedtime story by candlelight. You can even make candles if you have the supplies.

FEB 3 Chinese New Year. Year of the Rabbit! That's me! Check Crafty Crow for lots of fun crafts.

(image from http://www.craftjr.com/dragon-paper-craft/)

FEB 12 Lincoln's Birthday. Play with Lincoln Logs. Make an ice cream log cake. (It sounds hard, but we might try it.) Found this cake here that sounds even better!

FEB 14 Valentine's Day.

FEB 22 Washington's Birthday. Bake a cherry pie.

Happy February!

a handmade Christmas

Here are some projects that kept me pretty busy over the last few weeks. I always imagine having a purely handmade Christmas for my kids, but usually cave at some point and start buying things. I hope to start earlier this year, so I don't have to stay up so late in December.

The big gift was this playhouse. I pretty much copied HomemadebyJill's with a few changes. Her table is bigger than mine, and more importantly, her sewing is much better. But this is the biggest project I've ever taken on, and I'm quite proud of it.

The mailbox opens on the front, and there's a jingle bell doorbell. The door, of course, lifts up to go inside.


This side has a flower garden that you can plant, and apples on the tree that can be taken off and on. I put cloves in the flowers so they smell good.


There's also a peek-a-boo owl on the tree.


And this is the vegetable garden. The corn ears come out, the carrots can be planted in the dirt pockets, and the lettuce velcros on.


The last side is the dog house. The bone has a magnet in it that will stick to the dog's mouth, or the bowl. The flap opens to pass through animals, or crawl in as well. And clothes can be hung out to dry on the line above the house. (Those are build a bear clothes.)


I started to make a bunch of felt food (found at Skip to My Lou)...I got as far as some chips, a lunch bag, and some eggs...

...but then I found all this great cheap food at IKEA, so I saved myself some time.


I saw a taggie football on some toy site and thought I could make that...knowing how much Diego already loves his taggie blanket. There's always someone who's already done it...so I found this example at Grace Violet and tried to copy it...somewhat. I put a jingle bell in it, too.


For Isabela, I made a camera case for her digital camera Santa brought her. I saw these on etsy. Now, the one on etsy is MUCH BETTER, but Isabela loved hers and that made me happy. Next time, I'd use good felt for the whole thing to make it a little sturdier...the black was fleece and that's too flimsy.




And Joaquin's homemade project was a pile of sticks **. Actually the idea is using fallen branches, and cutting them into different size pieces to make building blocks...like these here.


I pulled an awesome old cedar branch out of the woods and Juan Pablo began cutting it. There was this perfectly shaped circle hole bored into it. Hhhmmm?? What could have made it?

A bunch of carpenter bees, of course. I think we poured about 12 out of the branch. I'm glad it was a frigidly cold morning.


**a note on these...Joaquin's afraid to play with them. I never got around to sanding them, so he thinks bugs might be in them, although there's none. Plus, Diego picked one up and bopped Joaquin on his head with it. And that hurts! So I'm not sure these were the best idea.

So that was it. Lots of late nights. I learned two new hand stitches...the chain stitch and the blanket stitch...and best of all, Juan Pablo got me a new sewing machine for Christmas.

(That's a funny little story, too....he made the mistake of taking Joaquin with him to get it. As soon as they got home, Joaquin told me, "Daddy bought you a sewing machine for Christmas!" Juan Pablo said he took it back since Joaquin had told me. But then one day, the kids wanted to watch a movie. Joaquin went to get the movie from the cabinet and said, "Mom! I can't get the movie because your sewing machine is hiding in here!"---So later, I had bought Juan Pablo a present and refused to tell Joaquin what it was. A few minutes later, he was talking to Daddy on the phone and I hear: "I don't know what it is. Mom won't tell me." I'm a quick learner.)

it was very merry.

The first Christmas. The first for us with just us. No other family. We made it ours. And it was special. And it was happy.


Angels and wise men at our Christmas Eve service.


I love this image of Santa and Wiseman...so conflicting for me.


Hop on Pop. We had a beautiful fire for the first time in two years. I'm not sure why we didn't use it last year, but its warm glow mesmerized us all for a bit.


New pjs on Christmas Eve!


Lasagna and Texas toast. Lasagna on Christmas Eve has always been the tradition. This was the only meal I cooked all weekend.


Thanks Nancy and Lew! I think the box was his favorite present.


Santa went overboard, as he usually does. But lit-up faces on Christmas morning are priceless.


My cake for Jesus' birthday would NOT come out of the pan. But I made the frosting from scratch and it was delicious.


Diego opened all his presents with his teeth.


We wrapped up their passports that had arrived a week ago.


The giant lion and tiger were my favorite gifts this year...I thought they were for Diego but the big kids confiscated them.


Diego's checking out Isabela's new dog, Jingles. Looks real...just doesn't smell or sound real. That's good, right?


Diego's playhouse. This is why you haven't heard from me for weeks. Sorry about that. I'll post more about that later.


And the wagon was waiting for them in the big room after all was opened. There's nothing better than one more present.


After lunch we headed up to my aunt and uncle's house. Leah Ann got a Wii for Christmas, and I'm telling the truth, the kids played it for two days straight...and we let them. The morning after we got home, they both woke up complaining about their arms hurting. I thought they had slept funny, but then we figured out it was from bowling and sword fighting.


Ava and Diego...she's always super patient with the kids....and they love her.


Far away cousins.


And a Merry Christmas was had by all.