Christmas Sorting Time...

 Today, we mixed beans, red bells, and scrabble tiles!

 As you can tell from their faces...

 ....sorting things takes concentration....

....and is very serious business.  I asked Emmer-bean to smile and she said, "Ok, I'm thinking...just a minute!"

Jesus' Birthday Present...

Each year, on the Sunday before Christmas, we have a birthday party for Jesus during Sunday School opening.  The kids wrap up a box with money inside (from piggy banks, etc.)...and put it up front on the steps in front of the pulpit... and we have a birthday cake and sing "Happy Birthday!"

So, we made our birthday boxes...using two empty toothpaste boxes, ripped up tissue paper in red and green, glue, paint brushes, ribbon, tape and glue sticks.

First, tape one end closed so no coinage can slip through.  Then paint/glue on your tissue paper.

This is a VERY sticky proposition....but it's GOOD for kids to get messy.  I'm always a tiny bit surprised when Mom's say they don't do crafts like glue and play-doh because it's messy.  I think, "Yeah, sooooo....then you teach them to help clean up!"  We had glue ALL over the table...and it scrubbed right off.  I should have taken a picture of that...

Later that night...DadE broke out our coin can (where we save all our spare change)...and they loaded their boxes full.  It was fun!!

They dried nice and hard...and we tied ribbons around and glue sticked them down...so they wouldn't slide off.  Then I taped the other side shut...again, no coinage losses.  All the monies are going to go to our missionaries.  We send them something special at Christmastime.

I'm sure the church treasurer is going to LOVE me for this one!!  Hehe...

More Christmas Crafting...

For the most part, we are feeling better today.  So, since MomE had some hemming to do...I broke out more crafts and funtimes!  I'm tellin' ya...tell your kids that "TV rots their brains" and they will repeat it back to you when you try to use it as a plug-in tool.  Don't roll your eyes at me...you know what I'm talkin' about.  Or, well...you're just not normal! 

Anyhew...cut a triangle of Christmas fabric out...I had some in my stash...

...let them cut out presents from the leftover wrapping paper scraps...and glue buttons on for ornaments and a tin foil star for the top...a white crayon for snowflakes....VOILA!

I especially love Emmer-beans snowflakes!  Neato!!

Then, MomE broke out the beans...dried beans....on cookie sheets...with matchbox cars & fingers & buckets and cups...

...and the Sweet Boobahs played for an HOUR...wowsers!!  I have to say that my favoritist magazine Real Simple had a section called 5 New Uses For Coffee Beans...and that sort of got my brain working in that direction...in case you wonder about the inner workings of my quirky little brain!

Since my hemming was done...and my machine out...I decided to whip up a fun Christmas craft...a handmade cup sleeve/cozy...They've been popping up all over the blogs I blurf...Etsy for example!

I re-purposed a corduroy shirt whose sleeve had ripped...and some peppermint fabric...

Trace the sleeve from Starbucks...and draw on ~ inch hem space...

...puppy bed had to be moved near the sewing machine and the bean counters...she was nervous and wanted on my lap (she'd never seen or heard the sewing machine before)...and once she saw it was okay...she took a nap!  Good puppy!

So, there ya have it...TIP...make sure you check size with the mug you plan to use...especially if you're planning a gift!  Ahem...just saying...

I thought about a button...but didn't end up with enough extra...so just whip stitched it together.

TA DAH!  Cute...it's a peppermint mocha cozy for your peppermint mocha!  Tee hee!

Here is our fun Christmas Craft wall...Don't forget to take those teachable moments...to remind them of the wise men who brought Jesus gifts...just like the gifts under our tree...and how Jesus is the BEST gift of all!

Scruffy is loving the heating vents...she gets all wet in the snow and then comes in a dries off!  Hehehe!  FYI--getting the red eye out of pet eyes is WAY trickier than people. 

Can you guess?

Lots of water and ginger ale....

...stomach bug among us...

If you want the whole truth...CLICK HERE...and yes, MomE started this...

Repost: Away in the Manger... simplified!

First posted at Blogging Along on December 3, 2009

My little girl just started to really sing songs with me. She sings "Away in a Manger" beautifully...and has just started asking questions about the words....

...how my heart thrills to be able to point her to why we celebrate Christmas...Christ's birth!!

Away in a Manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down his sweet head

Sweet Girl: Mommy, what's a manger?
Me: It's a place where animals eat hay. Like here...in our nativity...see all the straw? (Personally, I love that Willowtree has Mary holding the baby, but I was really wishing that Jesus was in an actual manger at this moment.) Baby Jesus was born in a stable or barn...because all the houses were full of people...and there was no room except in the barn.

The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay

Sweet Girl: Hay looks scratchy! It makes me itchy!!
Me: I'm sure that Jesus' mother, Mary, took good care of him. The Bible says she wrapped him in swaddling clothes! That's soft clothes...just like the blankies you use for your dollies.

The cattle are lowing
The poor baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes.

Sweet Girl: Mommy...what's lowing?
Me: It's another word for mooing...the noises cows make. Cattle are cows!

I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my side
Til morning is nigh.

Sweet Girl: Mom...what's nigh mean?
Me: Nigh means near...the song is praying that Jesus would stay close all night long...even until morning comes!
Sweet Girl: Yes, God takes care of me when I sleeps...

Be near me, Lord Jesus
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me, I pray

Bless all the dear children
In thy tender care
And fit us for heaven
To live with thee there.

I love that this says "fit us" for heaven...as we work out our faith in fear and trembling. I tremble with excitement when she asks me about God's Word and His amazing gift...but also I tremble with fear...of God's Word and I seek His guidance to tell her correctly what she needs to know!

Christmas Crafts and Cute Doggie!

 We've been making fun crafts lately...Fruit Loop stockings...

 MomE's crazy...they did glue themselves..

 ...and glitter (okay, with some assistance)...

 AND...she's still cute!  She thinks it's four o-clock in this picture...supper-time!  She can't tell time!

 It's cold here...so we put her sweater on.  DadE thinks this is dumb...but she shivers out there...and she's just a little dog!

Awww!

Christmas Traditions...

...everyone has them.  Some are widely shared and some are just sort of quirky.  I took some pictures of my parents making Christmas calzone.  We've made them for Christmas dinner for years now...and I can't remember why...it's a tradition unique to our family.

For those who don't know, a calzone is a baked or fried Italian turnover of pizza dough filled with vegetables, meat, or cheese.  Ours traditionally have ham, ricotta and mozzarella in them.  We dip them in marinara sauce....I think because baking sauce inside made them soggy and messed up the oven!  Funny...it just occurred to me that our family has no Italian roots, to my knowledge.  We're Dutch/German!  HAHAHA!  Oh well!

Anyway...these pictures make me sigh...I'm a "hand" person.  I think they tell so much about the person...and the hands of our loved one's we know best.  Upside down or sideways these are my Dad's hands...

...and these are my Mom's!  Traditions do grow and change...Ca-Lubby got a special calzone with NO CHEESE (due to his Dairy allergy) and DadE gets calzone's with no ricotta (due to his aversion to ricotta...tsk tsk).  It's still a fun and delicious tradition.

Do you have any unique Christmas traditions?  Do tell!!