Monday, December 28, 2015

Hodge Podge

This Christmas, I've been thinking a lot about gifts and giving. My most favorites were once again handmade, thrifted, or from antique stores. Some were given to me and others, I chose for myself. I love that they are a hodge podge of uniqueness and all fit sweetly into our little home. 

chicken salt 'n pepper shakers
from my mom

a sweet angel bell
from my mom 

circa 1980 ... my birth year

a little pottery
from my mom 

more pottery
from me

ornaments for the tree
from my mom and stepmom 

handmade birdhouse ornament
from my mom 

two new to me Susan Branch books
from me 

a Patsy Cline cd
from David 

cuisinart ice cream maker
from David 

handmade ornament
from my stepmom 

handkerchiefs and little quilted bag
from my stepmom 

sienna in a snow globe
from Sienna 

handmade art work
from Sienna 

more artwork!
from Sienna

To me, this is the way Christmas is meant to be ... from the heart and like finding small treasures and trinkets for the ones we love.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Happy, Happy Holidays!

Hello, dear friends and family ...
I realize it's been awhile since my last post! I missed the entire month of November and now, December is coming to an end, too! 

Here is our November and December photo journal, in a nutshell.

In November, there were wild winds and power outages. We lost our electricity for a night and gathered around candles. We listened to the news on our solar powered, hand-crank radio. Sienna and Forest loved it! Our back fence even blew over with the gusts...
   

In November, we celebrated Thanksgiving together in our little house with Nana. We gathered around a simple, nature-inspired table for our dinner. 


In November, Forest and Sienna visited the dentist for their 6 month teeth cleanings. We are thankful for no cavities again!



In December, our family elf, Eddie Spice returned from the North Pole. He arrived bearing gifts. He also left a glitter trail across the table! 


In December, we drove down the farm road in Silvana to our favorite place to buy a Christmas tree, Muskrat Flats tree farm. They have a spot to take a family photo with their target practice deers.



In December, we took a road trip to the Cascade Mall to see Santa Claus' helper. Sienna and Forest know he's not THE real one. 


In December, Sienna was brave and decided it was the day to get her ears pierced! Last Christmas she tried, but she wasn't quite ready yet.  



In December, Sienna sang three songs with her class in the Christmas Performance at her school. She surprised us and didn't tell us she was one of four kids chosen to play a drum for "The Little Drummer Boy." We were so proud of her! She is near the bottom middle by her music teacher.


In December, we snuggled together in our cozy little house watching our many, many Christmas movies. 





In December, we had a slumber party to make cookies and caramel corn at Nana's house. 




In December, we woke up to snow falling on Christmas Eve morning. It didn't stick or last long, but we sure were excited!

 

In December, we set two tables in our little home for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of homemade pizza. One for the little people and one for the grownups.



In December, Sienna and Forest woke up early on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought for them! Santa must have received the list Sienna had written for her and Forest. He brought her a desk, desk accessories, art supplies, and an origami kit. 


Forest was surprised, too! Santa brought him a road rug, legos, play doh, and a flashlight. 



And now ...

In January, Mama and Daddy will start a sugar detox and bring our treadmill inside to start running again!

We hope you're having very Happy Holidays!  

P.S. The style of this blog post was inspired by one of Mama's favorite authors, Cynthia Rylant and her book, In November