Couontdown to Christmas 2014, Day 8 ~ And a little catch up

 Whew!  A little catch up is in order!!

So.

We made it in to town on Thursday, and even Tay didn't have too many meltdowns.

Success!!!

 

 

 

We picked up Starbucks

{Vanilla Beans and Cake Pops}

 

And Kenners even held off on eating hers so that I could photograph its beauty when we got home, lol!!
 

Friday was another busy day spent preparing for our upcoming craft bazaar.

But we managed to fit in a craft:

 

Washi Tape and Cookie Cutter Ornaments.

 

And then Saturday was the big day!  Bazaar Day!!
 

 

 

 

 Sierra had a table that she shared with a friend, and Makenna and I shared one as well.

Even Kam and Tay managed an entire day spent down at the church!

We had such fun visiting with friends ♥


And last night, after a full day of church, and celebrations, we headed over to my parent's house

for pizza and to decorate their tree.



I love this tradition so much!!









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 What have you been up to????

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Projects!

It's been a looooong time since I've had an extra minute for a project.
Like, a long time.
But lately Sierra has been interested in sprucing up her room a bit, so we're brainstorming to come up with inexpensive {free?} ideas to transform her plain room into a special spot she can love.

First thing on her list was a new comforter/bedding set.
She found one online that she loved.
And it was on sale!

She has also wanted a canvas to hang above her bed.
And one of our favorite labs was having an amazing canvas sale,
so we took advantage:




It was a great start, but there was still a lot of bare wall space just staring at us.
Eventually she would like to put up a shelf that she can decorate with pictures and other trinkets.
But that will have to come later
{when we can shop around and find some steals!}

After a little thought, we decided a corkboard was a must.
A spot to pin photos, quotes, letters from pen-pals, and other special momentos.

So we started in.

The best thing about this project?
It cost nothing.
I guess at one time I had invested a few dollars into the supplies,
but all of these items I had on hand.
And when you're living on a very strict budget . . . free is like a breath of fresh air!

I found some scrap fabric {that just so happens to match Sierra's new bedding perfectly},
cork board, picture frame, ribbon, and stapler.

 

 We covered the cork board in our fabric, and stapled to the back.
{I also stapled my finger, but we won't talk about that}
 

 

Added accent ribbon 

And placed inside the frame.
 

Tada!

Now Miss Sierra has a little spot for all of her special treasures.

 

 

 

 

Brrrrrr!

Much of the same around here.

Busy, busy, busy.

'Tis the season, right?

Last night we ran up to my MIL and FIL's to decorate with them.

{Can we agree to ignore the big fat cold sore on my lip, and the fact that I look like I haven't slept ~nor showered~ in weeks. Mkay.}

Kam investigated under the tree.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we got home it was eleven degrees. Eleven.

And when we woke up this morning . . . it was seven.

Brrr.

I know some of y'all are accustomed to those temps, but I'm not!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's outing:

To my MIL's office.

There was a Christmas tree set up to take pictures, and Geri bought Sierra and Makenna their own special mugs, made hot cocoa for them, and gave them chocolate chip cookies. Best Grandma ever, wouldn't ya say?

Not sure they were wild about the 372 pictures we were taking.

They brought their Bitty Babies {Cara and Jessica} along. It was so cold out that they traveled {Bitty Babies, not Sierra and Makenna} in their snowsuits. As soon as we got to the office the girls changed them into their festive holiday dots dresses.

They're doting mommies like that.

Sippin' on some cocoa in Grandma's office.

Makenna's favorite part is the whipped cream. She eats that, then passes on the cocoa ;)

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What'd y'all do today?

It's Up!

I LOVE Christmas. Like, LOVE it! This is my favorite time of the year. Sure, I get a little worried about finances {I don't know about y'all but we don't have a money tree growing out back}, and I may have a little nervous break down trying to figure out how we'll get everything accomplished, but this truly is such a special time of the year for me. Having three little girls and a husband to share it all with makes it even better.

One of my most favorite parts {besides celebrating Jesus' birth, of course ~ the true reason for the season} is putting up a tree. I love the fresh pine {er, noble} scent. I love stringing the lights. I love watching the girls hang the ornaments while dancing to Christmas music. Hey, I even love watering and picking up after the darn thing. If it were up to me, the tree would go up the day after Thanksgiving. But Jeremy doesn't like to put a tree up until the 10th of December. The 10th. C'mon, that's WAY too long to have to wait for a tree. {Of course, Jeremy is a firefighter, and I know that he just wants to protect us.} I think we've only waited until the 10th one year ~our first year of marriage. Each year we inch closer and closer to the first of December. This year was our earliest . . . yesterday, the 2nd! WOO-HOO! I've got my tree up. It's decorated. And I think it's beautiful. Sierra and Makenna did such a great job!

Picking out a tree and decorating was our 2nd day of Countdown to Christmas activity. We had a ball!

{Sorry about the pics. I don't have time to edit them right now, so bear with me ;) Will include more tomorrow during link up!}

Don't forget to come back tomorrow to link up for Countdown to Christmas! I can't wait to see what y'all have been up to!!!