25 Days of Christmas

Well, tomorrow is December first and I'm sure you are already knee deep in preparing for Christmas. I thought I would share just a few of our favorite (old and new) holiday traditions.

1. Celebrating Advent 

The first is new to us this year. I have always wanted to have an advent calendar, but they were either ugly, too expensive, or I just didn't plan earlier enough. Well, about a month ago, a few of my girlfriends and I  put on a Pin-It Party where we actually made an Advent calendar! I am so glad it is done and ready to hang on the mantle! 

The calendar is just made of gift tags, flowers and circles cut out of card stock.

I attached the tags to a long piece of twine with some clothes pins from the dollar store that I painted blue.

My favorite thing is that we wrote activities for each day on the back of the tags! I love the idea of shared family experiences rather than candy. 

This is were I found some activity ideas: All Things Simple

2. The 12 Days of Christmas

Amy Verlennich from Dandelion Seeds has a come up with a wonderful way for us ladies to bless our husbands during this season. We gals can get so wrapped up in gift buying, Christmas baking, and hosting parties, that we are over worked and stressed out by the time Christmas Day finally rolls around. How about taking 12 days to show our husbands that they rank first on our list?  In Amy's own words...

" I decided to put a twist on the traditional 'Partridge in a pear tree' song and celebrate 12 Days of Christmas in SHMILY style. I made a commitment to myself and God to love on him for 12 consecutive days leading up to Christmas (no matter what I felt like...) and we made it all the way to Christmas day without an argument! I was so focused on doing things for him and having fun that it was really hard to get angry with someone I was loving on and praying for! Without realizing it, I had created a new tradition that we've been 'celebrating' ever since!"

It's a great idea, right?!? Head over to her 12 Days of Christmas post and learn all about it.

3. To Bethlehem

This tradition is one that our kids look forward to all year long! Todd Wilson from Familyman Ministries has created this super fun game called To Bethlehem that we LOVE to play together! (He also has 5 Christmas

books that we all look forward to reading each year) The board game is full of pit stops and really fun activities. It is definitely an interactive experience! Here are a few pictures of our family playing a couple years ago...

"visiting Elijah's rest stop...get up and flush a toilet."

There are also chances for fun family conversations when you land on a question card. Lots of fun topics like

 "If you could go anywhere for Christmas, where would you pick?" Believe me, your kids will be cracking up and having such a blast that you will want to play this every night!

So, those are our favorite traditions for the season!  I hope I gave you some new, fun ideas to share with your own family! 

Happy Christmas!

Cyber Monday!

It's Cyber Monday! 

Who wants free shipping on their rosies???

Just enter FREESHIP in the coupon code box when you place your order. 

Happy Shopping! :)

Are You Ready???

It's been very quite here on the ol' blog, but I've been a very busy gal!  Who has already started shopping for Christmas? I admit I have bought a couple things, but I have mostly been getting the shop ready!

Look at all those colors!!!

They make me very happy. :) And I bet there is a color in that group that would make someone in YOUR life happy too.  Head on over to the shop and check everything out, and if thee is a color or pattern you like, but don't see, please let me know. I love special orders!

Tap...Tap... Is This Thing On???

Wow! It has been exactly a month since my last post. Sorry it has taken me so long to get back over here. It was a nice break once I stopped stressing about it though. :) Today I thought I would share with you a few projects and recipes I have used from Pinterest this month. I always feel so accomplished when I actually follow through and use something I have pinned.

Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Brownies

All I can say is Oh ma' lordy! They were delish!!!

Homemade Body Wash

I have 5 kiddos and one of them has sensitive skin. This was a great way for me to save a TON of money on body was and make sure that it was safe for their skin. I think I will use less glycerin next time but this recipe was very helpful.

Simple Cabbage and Chickpea Soup with Fresh Basil

This soup was so warm and yummy! PERFECT for Fall. I added some zucchini and northern beans, just because. We also put a heaping spoon full of cooked Quinoa in the bottom of our bowls and ladled the soup over it. YUM! 

And on a more personal note, I have been reading this book...

Started this journal...

and dwelling on one word...

I am amazed at how one little book can change your life. If you need some encouragement, godly wisdom, and a new outlook on your life, I HIGHLY recommend One Thousand Gifts. 

Have a great week!

Plastic Bag Wreath {part 2}

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share a little update I came up with today for the Plastic Bag Wreath.

A dear friend gave birth to a sweet baby girl today, so before we went to visit her, I whipped one of these up for her hospital room door...

Here is what I changed and added to make it sweet~new~baby~girl~worthy...

I used pink receiving blanket material to wrap the wreath. {you know, the super soft slightly fuzzy why~don't~they~make~this~stuff~for~adults stuff.}

Then I made a few flowers with the same material an my handy dandy die cutter and layered them in with the other flowers. It made them even more fluffy and sweet. :)

{see the extra little pink flowers?}

Then I took the original material that I covered the wreath with and cut a thin strip. I twisted it from one side to the other and pinned the right side with the pins from the flowers and then added a little pink flower on the left to pin the other side.

Then I just cut some triangles out of card stock, wrote out her name, and hot glued them to the fabric.

{here is the back-side view...}

And there you have it! A sweet update for a sweet baby girl!

Here is the wreath on her door...

Welcome to the world, sweet Lyza~Grace! We love you already! 

Pinning and Singing - The One With Derek Webb

Pinning...

This picture made me gasp. Literally. Where can I find a rug like this?!? LUV.

I have a little girl with sensitive skin. I have bought sensitive body wash for a while now and it can get expensive. I am trying this recipe out sometime this week. Can't wait to see if it works for her!

I think this is SUCH a great idea! I am putting this one in my pack pocket and saving it for later. :)

Singing...

I have always loved Derek Webb and his honest lyrics, which reminds me a lot of Rich Mullins. This song specifically, is very honest and so beautifully expresses how I think most of us feel sometimes. I hope you enjoy listening, but mostly I hope it makes you think.

You Made That Out Of WHAT?

I am linking up with The Nester  to share this sweet wreath tutorial.

She has challenged us to make a wreath out of material we wouldn't normally think to use. I decided to use...

 Grocery bags!

First, grab a bunch of those plastic grocery bags you have piled up in your pantry. We all have em! 

Then, fold one up and run it through a die cutter. Then another one...and another one...

{{If you don't have a die cutter, it will only take a bit of extra effort to cut them out yourself. But still SO easy!}}

I used white and brown plastic bags for a neutral look, but white and yellow would be sweet, kinda like daisies. :) 

Next, you will need a Styrofoam wreath, some neutral material, scissors, and sewing pins. 

Tear a few strips of your fabric and wrap it around your wreath and secure with a pin.

Then start stacking your flowers. I alternated colors and sizes and then secured them to the foam wreath with another pin...

I alternated the colors...

And filled the sides with just the smaller flowers to make it a bit fluffier...

And there you have it! 

It took minutes to make and I had most of the stuff on-hand! :) 

Isn't it sweet?? I love how flouncy the flowers are.  I am excited about incorporating it into my Fall mantle. Stay tuned, and let me know if you make one for yourself!

{{If you would like to see this wreath with a sweet baby girl update click here!}}

"
   Tatertots and Jello