ADVENT FRAMES

Time is flying by....at warp speed I think!!!

Today was spent decorating 100 Christmas sugar cookies and making a few cute soaps for stocking fillers.

Grandmas hat had a few more rows added to it..........I know, you're probably wondering if it'll ever get done - it has to get finished, we can't have Grandma with a cold head during winter, not when Grandads will be toasty and warm in his new knitted hat - it just wouldn't be fair:-)

Well the 2 new recruits have certainly brought some order to their little charges lives...................for now that is:-)

Last night they made a tent over the arm of the sofa, took some tealights in there with them and quiety cuddled up to read "Tales From The Manger".............New recruits you've earned your place in this house.

Oh, don't miss the candy canes they took in there to ward off the midnight munchies!!!

Tonight's Advent activity was another creative one - LOVE those!!! We made Advent frames.

I bought those cheap, unfinished wood frames from Hobby Lobby, some metallic acrylic paints in Christmas colors, some glitter, and some mini flat backed tree ornaments - the ones that come with 6 or 12 in a pack for about $3 (and then you use your 40% off coupon:-0)

Everyone then got to decorate their frame however they wanted. Once Christmas is over everyone will get to choose their favorite photo from this Christmas season and we'll frame them, with a little explanation written on the back of the frames as to why that is their favorite picture. These will then hang in a place of honor in our home (yet to be decided!!!) for all to enjoy.

I think they all did a fantastic job. I can't wait to see which pictures they choose and why.

Well I don't want to make your heart beat faster, or cause you to break out into a cold sweat.......but there's only 16 days left........................oh dear, was that a little flutter I just felt?

Happy crafting!!!

ONE DAY CLOSER...

And so little accomplished today...urgh!!!

With a visit to the Dr to check out a crushed finger.............you know those phonecalls you get from the school nurse - the ones that make your heart jump into your throat!!! Luckily all is well with girl childs digit - she's just going to have a swollen, bruised and sore finger for a while.

With a Cub Scout meeting at our house tonight....7 little 9 year olds making Christmas ornaments and decorating gingerbread houses.......

I'm sure you get the picture.

Grandmas hat didn't make it off the needles, nor did the jammie pants get sewn.....................oh this little elf needs to be a little more focused!!!

Speaking of elves.....those naughty little things!!! Infact, so naughty that Santa sent 2 BIG elves to watch over those little ones today...... if I was a little elf, I dont think I'd want to mess with them!!!

Last night, they wrapped themselves in tinsel and hid in the Christmas tree...there was a moment of panic this morning when they were nowhere to be found.

The new recruits............see what I mean, wouldn't you be scared of them........they're HUGE!!!

Tonights Advent adventure was nothing too elaborate. After the madness of the cub scout meeting, we sat quietly and enjoyed hot chocolate and yummy Nestle Tollhouse Cookies while we talked about our day...................I love these family moments.

Tomorrow has GOT to be more productive....tick tock only 18 days to go!!!

ON THE 3RD, 4TH, 5TH & 6TH DAY OF DECEMBER....

Whew, how did so many days pass so quickly!!!!

We've been VERY busy around here.........boy child is now wearing glasses (he LOVES them I might add), Christmas trees have been decorated, Christmas cards have been made.....

So what have those little bits of mischief been up to (that's the elves I'm talking about......not the kids:-)?

On the 3rd they strung a drying line of laundry and hopped in the socks.

Ok, I get the message...... It's time to get some laundry done around here!!!

On the 4th, they made a hammock with moms scarf and hung it from the ceiling fan!!! Safety guys!!!!

On the 5th they got into the baking cupboard, messed it up, and had a sprinkles party.

On the 6th they had sleigh races down the cushions - they invited their edible polar bear friends too...........Look at all of that snow:-)

Grandad's Christmas gift is done.......hopefully it'll keep his head warm as he enjoys his 1st winter back in England, in a VERY long time.

Grandmas is on the needles as we speak...I'm aiming to get that finished by tomorrow.

We can't keep Santa and the reindeers waiting, and the parcel has to make it onto the sleigh!!!

Here is the finished gift...............so beautifully modelled by Fred The Head!!!!

I had great fun knitting this pattern with it's cable panels - I made a camo one for boy child a couple of weeks ago.

I also have a few pairs of jammie pants (think flannel from Joanns Black Friday sale) cut out and ready to go............that shall be tomorrows time filler...

Our new family Advent tradition is still recieving rave reviews in this house.........who would have ever guessed. So, what have we done....

Girl child sang at the Tree Lighting Ceremony for our City on Tuesday, so Tuesday's "thing" was we'd enjoy Starbucks together afterwards.................Oh did we need it, it was bitterly cold. There was an extra bonus to that evening..........we got to take a carriage ride:-) Yay, I got my Christmas card picture!!!

We've enjoyed a family game night in front of a roaring fire.............who could have known that 9 and 11 year olds could be so competitive!!!

Tonight we went and bought our new Christmas Tree (the old one was pitiful!!!) and we decorated it....so Christmas is REALLY here now!!!

So how's your Christmas crafting going.............only 19 days left (oh, my heart has just skipped a beat!!!)

Back to work for this little elf now:-0

ON THE 2ND DAY OF DECEMBER.....

What mischief did our little elfy friends get up to last night you may ask...................well, they were very irresponsible and quite dangerous to be precise - they zip lined down from the upstairs to the downstairs...wait, the worst is still to come......by their feet!!!

Winter came to Texas today - now I know for some of you this isn't a big deal, but for those of us who were born and raised in Africa, it's a HUGE deal....................it snowed!!!! How I love that white, fluffy stuff:-)

Boy child and girl child in their obligatory snow picture!!!

We've started a new tradition this year in our home - not only do the kids get a piece of candy in their Advent Calendars, but a little note too. This note gives them a hint about a special family "thing" we'll be doing that night. I never thought it would be as big a hit as it has been - they are LOVING it. Last night we watched a Christmas movie and ate popcorn. Tonight we sat around the dinner table creating ornaments together...my families creativity amazed me:-)

22 Days to go everyone....hope your "To Do List" is getting shorter:-)

MONSTER ALERT.....

Look who arrived at our house last night....all the way from The North Pole:-) Our 2 special little elf friends - Gaby and Bart. What fun and excitement they bring to our home during their short stay, before Santa wisks them back to The North Pole on Christmas Eve. We eagerly awake each morning to see what mischief they got up to during the night:-)

Well the weather did cooperate today, if only for a very short while, so I was able to take my pictures............it's been raining buckets since then.

The yellow monster I made as a Christmas gift for my baby niece - I named her Mrs. Jingle because I put a big jingly bell inside her tummy, so she rings when she moves. I made her body out of some super soft tye dye fleece and her eyes and mouth were cut out of felt - she left today, headed for the North Pole so that she'll make Santas sleigh just in time for him and his reindeer to start their long journey to South Africa:-) The long, thin camo monster was the monster I made boy child for his birthday last month.................now for the sad part - it scares him!!! Am I an ugly mom or what??? He'll only take it to bed with him if it lies face down - I think I'll have to remedy that for Christmas!!!

Hope your Christmas crafting is moving along full steam ahead.....only 23 more days to go.....

THE MAILMAN CAME TODAY....

Have you ever seen such cuteness??? These 3 little bundles of sweetness were among the wonderful goodies I recieved in my swap parcel from my partner Ramie today:-) I took part in The Enchanted Forest Ornament Swap hosted by Yarni Gras. I LOVE these little creatures as well as all my other treats.

I squeeked into the post office just in time tonight to mail my parcel for another Swap I took part in..... I can't say too much at the moment, but I will give you a little peek at one of the items...........I loved the way it turned out. I've named it the singing apron!!! It does just that - it sings to you thanks to the touch tone buttons I was able to hide in the pockets:-)

If the weather cooperates tmorrow (I believe this may not happen..........we'll see, this is Texas after all!!!), I'll take photos of a few things I've made over the past few days and post them.

Happy crafting - remember ther's only 24 days left to get it all done:-)

THANKSGIVING AND MORE....

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thankgiving. Our family is only just climbing out from underneath the mountain of turkey:-)

Our boy child and the bird....his smile says it all!!!

Time has been spent doing many things this holiday weekend...

Time has been spent sewing. I had an apron to finish for a swap (i'll post pictures of it tomorrow). I had a bizillion gifts to finish. I need to put them in the mail to Santa tomorrow, so they can be packed on his sleigh. I hope Rudolph and his friends are getting lots of rest - the sleigh is going to be very heavy this year!!

Time has been spent standing in lines at Joanns at 7am waiting to have fabric cut. I t was SO worth it though. Think little people warmly cuddled up in bed wearing their new flannel jammies:-) At $1-49 a yard - who could pass it up.

Time has been spent jumping in the leaves - the trees are almost leafless at this point. The smiles on their faces say it all.

Here's a picture (a REALLY bad one!!!) of the fabric Christmas tree I made as a thank you gift for our very special friends who invited us to join them for Thanksgiving.........they're trying really hard to teach us about all things American:-)

Let the Christmas crafting begin!!!!