December So Far...

...We made ornaments (a Pinterest recipe).  They were cute, but some of them cracked during baking.  We also made cupcakes one afternoon.

The house is decorated, except for the Dickens Village which I just don't think I have the energy to do this year.  I LOVE looking at the village once it is all set up, but it's such a mess with the fake snow and all the electrical cords.  Maybe next year.

I made a Christmas countdown* with fun little things to do for each day in December.  I wrote them on card stock and hung them on sticks from the yard--nothing fancy.  The ice has interfered with some of our activities such as "go to Purple Cow for eggnog shakes" and "go to the capitol building to look at lights".  Hopefully we'll get back on schedule soon.   (*I'll have to edit this later to include the to-do list.)

One of the activities was to make giant gingerbread boys (and girl) to hang on the kids' bedroom doors.  I bought three pieces of poster board (I wish Kroger would have had brown), and they decorated them with crayons and markers.

Crosby wanted his to have a fire fighter helmet, Rhett's looked kind-of like a robot and Lex made a crown for her princess gingerbread girl.  :)

Cutie in her new Christmas Kitty PJs from the elf :)

And one night we made a paper chain that had names for Jesus on the links.  

Crosby came up with the word "Babe" (in the manger) by himself.  He asked me how to spell it and wrote it down.  So precious to me!

Creator

Truth

Savior

Life...

They hung the chain on the playroom Christmas tree when they were finished.

Last Wednesday we made pine cone bird feeders with peanut butter and bird seed.  This was a messy one!  The birds (and squirrels) did eat them though. I can't believe how many different kinds of birds we have here--I think they're a lot of fun to watch.

Chalk Paint: Duck Egg

I've been wanting to try the popular Annie Sloan chalk paint for a while now, and I finally bought some a few weeks ago.  I wanted to start small for practice, so we found an old mirror in the garage and painted it.  I loved how it turned out!

Duck Egg--so happy with the color!

BEFORE:

Alexee is a great helper!

AFTER:
(I used sandpaper on the edges and the Annie Sloan wax.)

So I think we're ready for this bigger project in our breakfast area now:

Hoping it will look something like this!

(Pinterest image)

Ice Day

No school yesterday!  We only got a little bit of sleet/ice (no snow), but it was enough for the kids to play in.  They had such a fun day.  

Our street was super slick!  A & C had fun sledding.

Lane, Rhett & Bogart cozy by the fire watching HGTV.

Dec 1: Cookie Returns, Cutting the Tree

The kids were really hoping that Cookie the Elf would return on December 1.  Sure enough, he was here Sunday morning along with three wrapped gifts by the fireplace.  They were up very early unwrapping the gifts by flashlight.  The each received two new Christmas PJs to wear for the holiday season. 

After church on Sunday we had lunch at Dixie Cafe and then went back out to the tree farm to cut down our tree.  Crosby drew this portrait of me on his placemat.  I did have on a green dress, but I hope my hair wasn't quite this Bozo-ish!?  :)

Crosby is often the entertainer of the family.  He likes to make us laugh.  I'm not sure what he was whispering to Rhett, but I thought it was cute, especially Rhett's reaction.

Before cutting down the tree, the kids wanted to see the animals again.  Crosby found a gentle little goat, and they were also glad to see Motley the dog (he lives at the farm and seems to like attention).

Here's our tree--it still looked nice!

 (No one was around to take a picture of all of us together.)

It never seems to be very cold when we go to the tree farm.  Lane is usually sweating by the time he gets it cut down.  We (Lane) drug it up the hill to wait for the man with the trailer to come by.

The driver helps you put the tree on the trailer, then you get to take a hayride back to the loading area.  It's always fun.  :)

 They were busy that day.

The tree seemed very tall once we got it in the house, but it looked pretty!  Unfortunately several strands of our lights weren't working, so Lane had to make a trip to Wal-Mart to restock.  He put the  new lights on then the kids and I hung all the ornaments.  (And I don't think we broke a single one this year!)

Now we're ready for December!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving.  We went to Hot Springs to spend the holiday with Lane's family.  

I wanted to include pictures of a few crafts that A and C did at school and church (Rhett didn't bring home any crafts that I know of):

 I loved Crosby's thankful tree and menu, especially the red velvet cake---Mmmm!

When we arrived at Lane's brother's house, Katie was decorating some really neat leaf cupcakes, and she let the kids help her.

They loved the icing.

They even made caramel acorns for the cupcake tray--so cute!

The view of fall leaves from the dining room window was so pretty, and Grammy even brought the "Thanksgiving Mouse" over from Warren.  Luke made this for her years ago, and it is always part of the Thanksgiving decor.  I love special traditions.

Thank you to Lance and Jennifer for hosting--it was such a nice day.

Lane and his Dad visiting; Kent & Beulah enjoying the appetizers

Luke was so sweet to let the boys hang out in his room.  I'm pretty sure C will be asking for a drum set soon.

Enjoying cupcakes

Kent & Katie played the piano after lunch.

Luke is almost finished with his first semester of college.  I cannot believe that is possible.  He should still be Crosby's age!

Grammy, Bobba and their 5 grandchildren; our family

Beulah & Jennifer

We spent the night at Lane's parents' place Thursday night.  Bogart always makes himself right at home.  ;)  We are so grateful for our family.