christmas theme 2012

this year, i decided to have a family christmas theme.

i was driving in the car (i do that a lot) and i had a thought.  sometimes i feel like driving is my best thinking time.  anyway,  the words from the song "the first noel" came into my mind.  

AND TO THE EARTH IT GAVE GREAT LIGHT

AND SO IT CONTINUED BOTH DAY AND NIGHT!

this phrase hit me really hard.  maybe because sadie just got her patriarchal blessing and a blessing from the bishop to be set apart as the mia maid 2nd counselor and in both blessings i felt this theme of being an example, a light.  it made me ponder the star and what an important job it had.  it shined during the day and night.  it lit up the night!  it showed people the way to find the savior.  it had to be in the right place at the right time.  all things i want for my kids to be able to feel and do.  

so...we have stars and this sign in our front room... 

this sign on each of the kids bathroom mirrors....

stars in our tree and all around the house...

 and every time my kids do something to bring light to the world, they get to put a glow-in-the-dark star in our 'star jar'.  for family night each week, we will talk about the christmas star and make some new comparison to our lives...then we will count the stars we've earned that week and decorate our garage with our glow in the dark stars.  i'm so excited to watch our night/lives/garage light up with service and the good things we do.  i am excited to watch my family choose light!!!

creating christmas

for family night we created christmas pictures.  we used tape to create a picture on a canvas, then we painted them.  the kids were super creative with their pictures and it was a lot of fun.  

 abe formed a winter scene.

 max made santa's sleigh in a snow storm.

 kai created rudolph.

sadie made an awesome tree under a starry night.

my goal is to enjoy the season this year, to make it meaningful, and magical...and to be a good receiver. 

i LOVED the talk by pres. uchtdorf in the first presidency christmas devotional.

worth watching!  

view it here.

project

i usually get really frustrated when i try to do crafts because they don't work the way i imagine in my mind....but i decided to be a beginner, and if it didn't work out, well, i would throw it away and not fret about it.  i decided to make a cake plate and i actually like it!

the kids liked it too since it meant donuts and milk for after school snack/jobs.

 easy peasy and pretty inexpensive.

fat suit

my kids make me laugh.

it's one of the joys of being a mom.

here are a some funnies from the last few days:

we were eating dinner and abe told this story. i smile every time i think about it!

"you know how i had to do that group play in my class a few weeks ago?  well, i had to wear a fat suit for the play and when i barely got the whole thing on, the fire alarm went off.  i had to go outside and wait, in the fat suit.  then, to make it even worse the librarian, who looks just like the fat suit, came and stood by me and it was awkward."

"it's difficult riding your bike with a cello on your back."-- abe when he walked through the door after school.  i had no idea he was bringing his cello, but instead of calling me, he just made do.

"i need something sugar-y."--kai wasn't feeling great and was super tired.  he broke down in tears.  i talked to him, but when i walked away, he said this quietly to himself.

midway christmas

a midway christmas tradition is the creche at the homestead.  they have nativities from all over the world displayed along with christmas music being performed.  we went last night for family night.

my favorite part was the nativity acted out by the marionette puppets.  this is a horrible photo and definitely does not do this puppet show justice.  it was intriguing.  abe said , 'this is awesome!"  and sadie leaned over and whispered, "this is creepy!"  

at the end, the audience sang silent night while the angel puppet stood out front and LED the music.  yep, the lady holding the puppet moved just the puppet's arm, while we all sang:)  it made my whole self smile!  it was good for my soul and we all loved it.

 abe took a lot of photos.  some of the nativities and some strange baby jesus'.  here are just a few:

the kids dressed up for a photo and vivian was baby jesus,  

sadie wouldn't participate due to the fact that one of the older kids from her school was running the dress-up station:)

*is that sheep flexing for baby jesus? 

we went to the nutcracker on dec. 1st, which we loved! these two events were a great way to kick off the month of december and get us in the christmas spirit. 

deal of the day

 i have been eyeing these irish mugs at crate and barrel for some time now.  they aren't that expensive, but couldn't get myself to buy them

yesterday, i found some look a likes at the dollar tree for $1.

i think they are so fun!

night shift

max adores vivian!  she, in return, squeals whenever she sees him.

max is often the first to respond when vivian needs something.

for example, max was sleeping in my bed the other night and vivian was in her cradle in my room.  it was 4am and vivs started to cry.  without hesitation, max jumped out of bed, started talking to her, gave her a binky then straightened out her blanket.  she calmed down and he climbed back into bed.  that is just how max is.

"SIDEWAYS!"