Christmas Around the World

I  chaperoned David's Christmas around the world

  day at school back in December.  Claire was my sidekick helper as well.

 

First stop: Italy.  Apparently the nativity scene in Italian art.  The kids made a fingerprint nativity.  And the brown paint permanently stained the only Christmas tee David owns.  Oh well, so much for washable paint!

 

Next stop: Mexico.  My favorite ethnic food (with Italy and Greece running a very close second).

 

Ms. Tama spoke about the Mexican tradition of the poinsettia. 

 

And then they sang "Feliz Navidad".

And then they ate chips & salsa.

 

Then it was off to Belgium.  I kind of missed how being dressed as a Christmas tree related to the Belgium holidays but the kids seemed to like her.

 

Pointing out Belgium on the globe.

 

The tree lady demonstrated some kind of smoking St. Nicholas Belgium tradition.

 

And then they ate crepes.  David was not a fan.

 

Last stop: Australia.  It's summer there at Christmastime.  And there are Koala bears.

 

The kids learned lots of other fun facts about Australia but I headed out since the kids were back in their classroom with their teacher (world traveling complete).

Sewing Spree

 I went on a little sewing kick during Christmas.  I sure was nice to have Daddy home!!

 

I made these Christmas pajamas for the kids.  I accidentally purchased this aqua dot fabric online (for a real bargain) only to discover it was flannel instead of cotton.  So I saved it for PJ pants and had just enough to make 3 pairs.  (Well, not quite enough ... Luke got cuffs on his pants!)

 

I hand stitched the tree appliques on tees and ... voila: Pajamas.  (I am hoping to post a tutorial on the hand-stitched tees soon.  I have made several and they are really cute!)

 

I used this free pattern download for the pants.  It was a quick sew!

 

 

I also made 3 pairs of ruffle pants for Claire.  Two pairs were to match tops (formerly dresses) that she already had (see below). 

 

 

I love this cute Riley Blake snowman fabric!  She's had this pillowcase dress for 3 years now.

 

I also made 2 outfits for next fall/winter (and made my first knot/apron dress).

 

This outfit is for Christmas next year.  I need to shorten the straps a little.  They seemed too short when I was cutting them out so I made them a little longer.  Clearly, I should have just followed the pattern measurements!  I love these fun, non-traditional Christmas colors.

 

 

This is a knot top without the apron and the 3rd pair of ruffle pants I made.  Cute, cute!  I love this fabric so much!

 

 

The knot dress/top and ruffle pants came from Little Girls, Big Style book.  I highly recommend this book if you have little girls to sew for!  It has a ton of variations 4 basic patterns (2 tops, 2 bottoms).

 

I also made a pair of grey dot ruffles and matching tee for my niece for her birthday, but forgot to snap a picture before I gave it to her!

 

I have several other little projects in the works so I hope to be posting more finished projects soon!

First Grade Craftapalooza!

Claire and I got a little behind on her art project from her homeschool program this year.  Art is once a week and is always the last class of the day.  Many times she would watch the video and start the project, but never get it finished because it required help from me and I was tied up doing something else.  So, we spent the last day of school before winter break catching up on several unfinished art projects (and doing a few other activities).

 

(Claire is enrolled in an accredited program so we are required to complete all the work.  Otherwise, we so would not have finished these things up!)

 

1.  Felt pencil can.

 

 

2.  Christmas placemat.

 

 

3.  String painting.  (David's project is blue; Claire's is red.)  This was fun!

 

4 and 5.  Draw and penguin and a pig.

 

6 and 7.  Make a duck and a bear out of circles.  (Luke added some decoration to the duck's face.)

 

8.  Christmas tree with sequin ornaments.

 

 

9.  Christmas bell.

 

10 and 11.  Indian vest and headband.

 

 

I hope and pray we never get this behind on art projects again!

Good News!

"EVERYTHING WAS READY.  The moment God had been waiting for was here at last!  God was coming to help his people, just as he promised in the beginning.

But how would he come?  What would he be like?  What would he do?

Mountains would have bowed down.  Seas would have roared.  Trees would have clapped their hands.  But the earth held its breath.  As silent as snow falling, he came in.  And when no one was looking, in the darkness he came."

"And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night, God gave the world his wonderful gift.  The baby that would change the world was born.  His baby son."

"This baby would be like that bright star shining in the sky that night.  A Light to light up the whole world.  Chasing away darkness.  Helping people to see. 

And the darker the night got, the brighter the star would shine."

"But this child was a new kind of king.  Though he was the Prince of Heaven, he had become poor.  Though he was the Mighty God, he had become a helpless baby.  This King hadn't come to be the boss.  He had come to be a servant."

             Excerpts from the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

12/12/12 ... in 12 photos

1. Making a list and checking it twice that morning.  Coffee and a computer ... many times how I start my day.

 

 

2.  Claire playing on the ipad after breakfast ... 2013 is going to be a year of limiting the electronics for the kids.  We are not doing a great job right now.

 

3.  David carries this blanket around everywhere!

 

4.  Luke taking my picture on the phone.  Actually, I think he is taking his picture ... not sure!

 

5.  Coloring books from Santa the night before.  (Santa at the mall.)

6.  Sometimes, Luke colors with us too.  Sometimes, not.

7.  Our advent project.  Truth in the Tinsel.

 

8.  Claire pretending to be Mary.  She said this is what Mary looked like in Marketplace at our church.

 

9.  Our family message board adorned with Christmas crafts.  Our babysitter is an expert at making handprint/footprint crafts!

 

10.  Claire looking cute in her BIG Christmas hair bow.

 

11. My Christmas card "books".  I finished the one from 2011 to add to the pile. 

 

12.  Luke looking cute in the kitchen before dinner.  Actually, I don't think he ever got dressed that day.  It was a pajama kind of day.

 

 

More than 12 photos ... Will and I are so rarely on the blog, we'll put pictures 13 and 14.

 

13.  Claire and me.

 

14.  Will and David.

 

The end!

Santa ... thru the years

We took the kids for the annual Santa visit.  It's kind of become tradition that we drive around and look at Christmas lights and get Sweet CeCe's frozen yogurt afterwards.  We all had so much fun.

I called this night a big success when (1) we didn't have to wait in line very long to see Santa, and (2) nobody cried!  To top it off, Sweet Cece's had peppermint stick yogurt ... topped with crushed oreos this is my all-time favorite holiday treat.  I'm hooked!

Luke loved all the Christmas lights and would yell "rismas wights" every time we saw some (no matter how many or how few).  He even clapped after we left one big light spectacle that coincided with the end of "Jingle Bells" on our radio.  Ha!  He is a hoot!

 

Feeling a little nostalgic last night, I decided to revisit our Santa pictures from Christmases past.  Care for a stroll down memory lane?

 

2006 -- Claire was 8 months old.

.

 

2007 -- Claire was 20 months old and not a huge fan of Santa.

 

2008 -- Claire was 2-1/2 and David was 8 months old.

 

2009 -- This is the year we did not purchase the professional Santa photo.  As you can see below, David was HYSTERICAL!  He would not get anywhere near Santa.  We snapped this picture on our personal camera.  (Claire was 3-1/2 and David was 20 months old this year.) 

 

And I just realized that Claire is wearing the same dress she wore this year, except now it is a top!  We got our money's worth out of this one!)

 

 

 

2010 -- Claire is 4-1/2, David is 2-1/2 and Luke is 3 months old.

 

2011 -- Claire is 5-1/2, David is 3-1/2 and Luke is 15 months old.  (I was shocked we pulled this picture off ... remember the lack of picture when David was this age and the hysterical picture of Claire at this age?)