Little Act of Kindness

One of my favorite activities during the Christmas season is when we decorate scraps of paper, attach a quarter to each, and go tape the paper/quarter scraps to the carts at Aldi.  Aldi lets you 'rent' carts for a quarter, ensuring that their parking lot doesn't get cluttered with carts and also that their carts stay in better condition.  We just do five dollars or so of quarters so a random few people have one less quarter to worry about.  The girls get so excited about it, though!

We also had the opportunity to serve while we were out!  We noticed a father and son hurrying in the cold with a lot of groceries and offered them a ride.  The girls were wary and quiet, but after we dropped the man and his son with their family at a hotel, the girls asked why we helped.  I thought it was a perfect opportunity and asked them in return if they thought Jesus would have helped someone struggling in the cold.  When they both replied that He would have, I told them that that's why we help people.

Visit From Jack Frost

This isn't so much a 'visit' from Mr. Frost as it is the constant state of our old, drafty windows.  As much as I hate being cold, I love the effect of the frost on the windows!  It's just fabulously beautiful!

Replacing the windows is on the list of things to fix on this house, to make it more efficient and safe.  A part of me will be sad, though, to see these creations and the lovely lattice lead-work go away!

Let's Build a Snowman!

On our advent list of activities, one of the days is to build a snowman.  Last year, the kids were bummed that there was no snow at the time that activity was in the pocket.  This year, while the snow was on the ground, it was also negative degrees Fahrenheit.  There was just no way we were going to get out there.

So we got creative with craft supplies as paper plates!

All in all, a successful day.  Each of the older kids is so proud of their snowman and is anxious to point it out to visitors!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Gingerbread (Doll) Houses

Someday, I swear, I'm actually going to do real gingerbread, made from scratch, and do the giant ones like I remember decorating as a child.  For now, though these bitty sets come in handy for our family.

Everyone got their own 'house', except for Cole and me.  We shared.  With just a little extra frosting and candy, we were ready to really deck those houses!

This was the only time Cole even looked like he was trying.  The funny thing was, he was trying to take the candy OFF already.  And continued to do so for the remainder of the evening.

I love how similar my guys look, putting candy on their own home bases.  Such concentration!

The girls also put much heart into their creations.

Cole continued to grab and gulp.

"This needs to go here, not there!"

Sometimes, you have to get creative to get the right piece in the right place.

Even though I managed to get some candy to stay on, Cole endeavored to remove as much of it as possible.

Finished creations!

The Start of a New Decade!

For me, anyway.  30 came and went and I didn't feel a momentous "you are old" or anything.  Which is good, since I better have a lot of time ahead of me!  Aaron's mom made 'dr. pepper pork' for dinner and it just hit the spot!  She also made me this fabulous cake - super rich, all kinds of yummy chocolaty-ness.  Just perfect!

After dinner, Carson and Grandma jammed for a bit.

Jana played several Christmas carols while she and I sang.  Evie joined us after a while.

Then Grandma pulled out her Ukulele, which had Evie all kinds of excited. 

It was really sweet, for me to watch Aaron's mom and my daughter studying music together!

After Grandma's fingers had had enough torture, Evie kept on practicing.  One of these is now on her own Christmas list, but in the meantime, she's content knowing that she gets to practice/play any time she goes over to Grandma's house.

On another musical note, Evie is very excited to begin piano lessons with our ward organist starting the first week of the new year!  I'll admit that I'm just a bit excited, too. :D

While Evie and Grandma made music, I lazily laid down under the tree and took pictures from a less-usual angle

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Definitely a happy birthday to me!

The Reason for the Season

Early in December, we always try to get out and visit a nativity display.  It is a great reminder to the kids to see the wonder and beauty of Christ's birth.  There were so many beautiful nativity arrangements, but these are a few of our family favorites:

Stained glass

I loved how this one glows.

So very itty-bitty; this one is actually IN a matchbox.

We love our puzzle nativity, and this was another pretty take on a puzzle-style.

Carson loved this one, and all the kids thought it was funny to see the Snoopy gang, who they are becoming familiar with.

So beautiful.  I've seen one of these with the candles lit, so the different levels all rotate with the fan.

Evie, Lizzie and Carson were, of course, thrilled with the table full of nativities they could play with!

Shortly before we left, there was a live, narrated nativity.  We were so glad we went!