cookies, crafts, and a very Merry Christmas!

We've made some crafts! The kids got full control of the color scheme, and I'm cool with that. We have all kinds of paper chains & lively decorations going on now. I snapped a few photos, but mostly I just wanted to be in the moment. I could fully live it or make a great blog post about it, and I chose the former. I know some moms can do both, but not me. Not right now.

Today we're making peppermint bark & cookies for our neighbors. Tomorrow, salt dough wreath ornaments. My sissy and her girls are joining in some of our fun, too, which makes it seem extra Christmas-y & special.

I agree with Ashley. Among other things, I want to give my children the gift of my presence. Being 100% there. I'm shutting down the blog until after the New Year. There's too much to soak in, to make & enjoy together, and I don't want to miss it!

On the house front, we're going to try to order a sink & a few other things for the children's bathroom tonight. I may wait to post again until we have the bathroom finished. It'd be kind of fun to jump back in with a reveal, don't you think :)

So, stay tuned, y'all. We will be back. But, we're laying low blogwise for a bit. Check back in with us from time to time in January, though. We'll see what we have to share with you all! Until then...

MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy New Year, too!!!!!

p.s. I wanted to share this clip with you all. It's John Piper explaining why Christmas, or really the birth of Jesus Christ, was a preparation for the cross of Christ. God became flesh so that He could offer that flesh as a perfect sacrifice on the cross, to make a sinful people His own. It's a strange message to modern ears, a hard message in many ways. We don't naturally want to hear that the little baby in the manger came, mainly, to humble Himself, suffer, and die. But it's also a joyful message, because through that dying love, Christ redeemed a people to Himself and made us His own. He adopted believers as His beloved! He came to die, so great was His love. That God Almightly loves me - unworthy me! - is all the cause for rejoicing in the world. Amen and Amen. Merry Christmas.

the world's worst blogger and water 4 christmas

It's me.

All me.

I am the world's worst blogger. I didn't post a single stinkin' pic of our so-called Christmas Craft Week. I stink at this.

Just wanted to be clear on that.

Now, can I tell you about something that actually is guaranteed? water4christmas on Etsy. I mentioned it earlier this month. It's a joint effort from dozens of crafters nationwide, all pooling together their crafting efforts to raise money for fresh water for an African village. The organization is legit, and the shop has already raised a ton of money for wells! SweetP and I made a few contributions to post, and all but one of our items has already sold. SweetP's handmade felt nativity family sold in the first few hours :)

How cute is that?

And I sewed up some quick paper chains. Three of the listings sold within the first day or two, but I still have one more listing up for grabs. You can see it here.

Maybe you'd like to buy it? You know, in case you didn't get around to your Christmas Craft Week, either. Or maybe not, but you might find something else in the water4christmas shop that would be just your thing. You get a cute little crafty gift, and a village gets water. What could be better? :)

Are y'all taking bets yet on whether or not I'll get even one Christmas Craft made with my kids before this holiday season is all said and done? Hope not. I'd hate to encourage your gambling ways.

Have a happy Monday :)

Christmas Color Scheme 2010

Hey, all!

By now you all know how much I love my neutrals. Especially white. This directly translates to a love of white, silver, and gold Christmas decor. I just love images like these...

{Domino}

{Country Living}

{Martha Stewart}

Sam and I both love the quiet elegance of a simple, serene color scheme with just a tiny bit of bright color. The children, on the other hand, of course want a colorful, glittery, bright, over-the-top

Christmas House!

And, really, Sam and I do like to see them smiling and excited, so I guess we want their option more than our own:)

I'm attempting to take some of their ideas and mix in some of Mama and Daddy's style to get a result that everyone loves. A home that feels cozy and full of family, love, grace, and happiness without looking like the Grizzwold's. Sam is out of town all week for work, so I thought it might be a good week for extra crafting just to keep everyone's spirits up and to fill some of the long evening hours until he comes home. Next week, Monday through Friday, we're going to try to add some new handmade (or at least partially handmade) Christmas decor to our home each day. ANd we'll probably have lots of sugary, fattening goodies while we craft, too. Time to get reacquainted with the treadmill.

Here's the happy, cheerful, but still slightly guided and cohesive inspiration board.

1. Michael Miller "Ta Dot" 2. image via kristenlaird.com 3. goodhousekeeping.com 4. honeypiedesign on Etsy 5. pamwares on Etsy 6. divinagioielli on Esty 7. Ribbon Unlimited on Etsy

Doesn't that sound like FUN? I'll try to post what we come up with each day :) If you all are making festive things for your holiday season, please leave a link in the comments and we'll come see what you're up to, too!

P.S. Well, my girls have informed me that turquoise has no place in Christmas decor. And especially not pink and red with turquoise. Oh, well. They also told me that there must be red and green together. I was going to try not to do the traditional combination thing. Oh, well. This is what I get for asking their opinions.

P.S.S. Mom, it came late this afternoon! It's lovely. I immediately thought of a wildflower that grows in Door County. Trillium. Grandma Lockwood loved them. Thank you :)

I happened to be wearing my black turtleneck sweater with another necklace today. I just took that necklace off and put yours on after I opened it :) I'm still wearing it now. It's perfect. Love you :)

ETC - almost forgot!

Every once in a while I get into reading some random blog that someone else recommends and, if it's a good one, reading through the entire archives in like three hours. Sam was working from home late one night a few weeks back, and I was wrapped up with one of those blogs - a good one. Emily Anderson. Y'all have probably already been reading her for years, but she's new to me. She's fun to read.

Emily has this great idea called "Embrace the Camera". ETC encourages moms to get out from behind the camera and actually get into the photos with their children. I loved the idea, and I'm totally needing encouragement to get in the shots. It's not that I've been purposefully avoiding it - it just takes some effort, and it's easy to forget.

Anyway, I messed around with my self-timer the other day when Little Dude was the last one wrapping up lunch. (He's often the last one wrapping up lunch.) The photos were all blurry and wonky, but this one turned out sort of nice in a still slightly wonky way. Or maybe we'll call it "artsy" instead. Definitely room for improvement, but I'll take what I can get. He's leaning in for a kiss, by the way. So, here's my first ETC :)

Water for Christmas

This is Meg's brainchild. She and a handful of blogging friends are getting this thing up and running. It's pretty neat to be a part of it.






The Etsy shop opens on Monday, December 5th. I'll give you a link up then. Maybe there's something you can cross off your Christmas shopping list while contributing to Water Week at the same time?

There's sure to be some prettiness.