... advent

i love this time of year! i love the decorations, the lights, the smells... the extra, special time we spend with one another. i just love it!

one of the things we do as a family is our advent calendar. it is filled with special things to do on each day of december. we might not do it traditionally, but we've made it our own.

Christmas is such a fun time for my children, filled with the message of the One who came and loads of memory-making activities!

i've been working on our activities and thought i would share my list with you!

when we first started, i just filled a jar with slips of paper with activities to do and let the kids pick. this is an awesome way to start, but the unpredictability didn't work so well for me us. 

now with the calendar, i can plan (and move things around if needed)!

plan?! who me? when i say plan, i use it loosely. if i know what is coming in the next few days, then i can have ingredients, directions... motivation :)

i've heard so many people say that they would love to do something like this, but weren't sure if they had the time. make it your own. if you aren't up for a daily activity, you could make it a weekend thing.

i try to make most of the activities very simple, and now i hope to make it simple for you! 

so here are some of ours (in no particular order)...

• watch a Christmas movie

• make cookies/goodies for the mailman

• go to Dickens of a Christmas in franklin, dec. 8-9

• go see the lights at the Opryland Hotel

• have a cookie decorating party (here's a great way to make it less messy!)

• do a Christmas art project

• go to or leave for our family's Christmas celebration (if you have more than one)

• go to your local Christmas parade (nashville - dec. 7, franklin - dec. 1)

• open an early Christmas present (we usually give new Christmas pjs!)

• go to the Christmas celebration at Rocketown featuring the Unity Choir (more info here)

• drive around and look at Christmas lights - i LOVE this idea
• read the Christmas story from Luke while having hot chocolate by the tree
• make a new ornament (this is so sweet)
• make cookies/goodies for the garbage men (because my kids LOVE them!)
• make goodies for our local firemen and take them to the station (super fun for my boys)
• have a fancy birthday dinner for Jesus - dress up, get out the china, light some candles, make a cake!
• have a "sleepover" by the tree - make pallets, watch a movie or read stories
• make homemade gifts for friends
• tell the story of the real St. Nicholas and make a santa craft (i want to do a version of this, but santa instead)
• make Christmas cards for friends and family
• make goody baskets and "elf" someone - you can download a printable to use here

    and the best for last...
• celebrate the birth of Jesus with giving, eating, playing and lots and lots of love!!!

i hope this has been helpful!
may your season be blessed!

... mini surprises

i LOVE surprises, well, to give them anyway. i love the excitement, i love the joy they can bring, i just love it! 

i never want to know what anyone is giving for Christmas, and i don't like to tell what i am giving either. i will discuss up to a point, giving ideas, but then there comes the point where i have to back out of the conversation... 

"nope. stop. i don't want to know!! la la la la la la... i can't hear you!!"

so this is not just true for Christmas, i am like this all the time.

i felt like i got off easy with my food contribution for our Thanksgiving feast this year. i was in charge of the fruit tea, cranberry, and bread. simple enough. drew makes the cranberry and i do the rest. 

the fruit tea...

here's the recipe:

Fruit Tea

8 tea bags (enough for 2 gallons of tea - depends on your tea)
1 1/2 qts boiling water
1 can pineapple juice - 48 oz

1 can frozen lemonade, thawed - 12 oz
1 can frozen oj, thawed - 12 oz
2 cups sugar
cinnamon stick

Place tea bags in water and add cinnamon stick and sugar, stirring to dissolve.  Let tea steep  for at least an hour or even overnight. Discard tea bags and cinnamon stick, then add juices. Stir well. Pour equal amounts into 2 one-gallon jugs and add water to each to fill jug. Refrigerate. Shake well before serving.

simple and delicious.

then came the rolls...

these are a pinterest find and were definitely a hit! i will make these again. you can find the recipe here. 

as for surprises...
i made them into "gratitude rolls" as suggested. 

this took the bread to the next level!! 

i asked everyone to send me an email saying what they were thankful for this year. i printed everything out and put them in the rolls. as we broke bread, we shared what we found inside. it was priceless.

our dessert menu consisted of pumpkin pie and my mom's homemade fudge pie.

yes. this is where i wanted to add another little goody for my family. i felt like something was missing.

pecan pie? hmmm. not my favorite, but a thanksgiving tradition. i just wasn't that excited.

i googled thanksgiving desserts and then it came to me. apple pie!

not just apple pie... DUTCH APPLE PIE... no wait, MINI DUTCH APPLE PIES!!!

who doesn't love all things mini?! i know, right?!

so here they are...

add a little topping and enjoy!

yuuuuum. to me, this is the way to eat apple pie. the perfect size, just the right amount of apples, cinnamon, crust. oh my. 

not too sweet, not too much. perfect.

i can't wait to share this recipe, but i used several different ones on these, so i will have to add it later.

so what are cookin' up for your Christmas dinner?!

until next time...

... pinterest

just a few more things about this blog... i am one who thinks a whole bunch up in my head, but getting it out on the paper is a lost cause if it is not done immediately. this is why i have not attempted a blog before. my life does not allow for everything to stop so that i can get my thoughts out on paper. so a warning, if you like those long, wordy kinda blogs, this one won't be for you. i'm more of the kind that will point you in the right direction, answer your questions, and give you an image! maybe you like that? either way, here i am attempting this world of blog!

so the post is titled Pinterest because, i just started decorating for Christmas (a Thanksgiving weekend tradition in our house) and wanted to share a few of the ideas i took from there.

it all started with a few sticks,

a little burlap...

and some greenery

and then...

you can find all the inspiration on my Christmas board. the tutorial i followed for the burlap wreath can be found here. i like this one over all the rest because it was so easy! i think it took me all of 30 minutes to finish it. 

the jars are filled with epsom salt, greenery from my yard and tea lights. 

the little wreaths are from a wire hanger, greenery from the yard, sticks shaped into a star and a little hot glue! i hung these on some old windows that i had. you could also hang them on your real windows. i would love to mount a candle in them, but probably not the safest idea!

i hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Happy decorating!

... a new blog

hi there! i am so glad you've decided to take a look! this is my first attempt at personal blogging... it has the potential to be disastrous, but i am willing to take a stab at it. 

if you know me, i have a little thing i like to call a "creative attention span"... imagine "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" kinda life (more on that later). i do not have ADD, but i tend not to do well with things that need me to do it the same way, at the same time or in routine. i can show up to a meeting once a week or do something everyday like eat breakfast or brush my teeth, but it will never, ever be the same. nope, i do not even brush my teeth or get dressed in a routine. i will even change up the route i take to that meeting! some say i might need to get help with that, but to me, it makes life livable, free and interesting!

so what does all this mean to you? my posts will be random bits from this exciting thing called life! it will not have regularly scheduled posts and they will be about all kinds of different stuff. 

one other thing about me (if you want to know more, go here) is that i can be a bit of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to design and projects. i know, sounds weird for someone so all over the place, but it is what it is! 

i created this blog several months ago, but never published because i wanted everything right. well, if i wait for that, it will never.get.done. so please bear with me as i get everything just the way i want it!

so my first post is basically my introduction, but i also wanted to share this amazing verse! i love this verse anyway, but the way The Message interprets it, is beautiful! i hope you find it to be just what you needed today!

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

Matthew 11:28–30, THE MESSAGE