Countdown to Christmas 2013 ~ Days 6,7, & 8

Why does this time of year FLY by??

We're just over two weeks away from Christmas!!

We're having so much fun with our countdown
{a few meltdowns, a couple bad attitudes . . . but that just seems par for the course this time of year.
Too much excitement, maybe?}

 

Friday was spent making Gingerbread men.
 

 

And when I say we spent that day making them, I pretty much mean that it turned into an all day event ;)

 

 

Turns out Kam and Tay LOVE decorating the little guys.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, we had a bunch of cute little Gingerbread men, and the mess?  It was nothing that a broom, mop, and shower couldn't clean up :)

We also got a tiny little dusting of snow.
And the temps have been in the teens and below . . . BRRRR!
 

On Saturday we went down to the church for the Hanging of the Greens.
We couldn't set to work without Chili in our bellies ;)
 

And yesterday, after church, we decorated at Grandma and Grandpa's





We've got a busy week ahead of us!
What's on your calendar?

 

 

 

Countdown to Christmas 2013 ~ Days 4 & 5

Snow has been forecast for days, and yet . . . not a trace in our neck of the woods :(
So, on the 4th we decided to make our own snowflakes.

Later that evening we were invited to Nana and Grandpa's to decorate their tree.

Kam LOVES to decorate.
In 20 or so years, if you're looking for an interior decorator . . .

The girls have been begging to dress up their American Girl dolls, and pose them for photos.
I found an adorable baking set for dolls on Amazon that didn't cost eleventy million dollars.
 Sierra and Kenners dressed their dolls in aprons, and had an AG baking photo shoot ;)
That was our activity for December 5th.

While the big girls were snappin' away, the little girls were cuddled in the living room . . .

 

. . . watching some Christmas classics.

 

Whew! Life seems rather chaotic right now.
I have a list of about three thousand things to do, and every time I check one item off, five more pop up.
Every year my goal is to make the month of December stress-free. 
Looks like I need to work a little harder at that :)


 

Countdown to Christmas 2013 ~ Days 2&3

Our second day of Countdown to Christmas found us making
stockings and gifts for our American Girl dolls.

Wrapping the present was Kam's favorite :)
{P.S., we made our dollies some pretty hair ties}

Though she liked sparkling up her stocking quite a bit.

~~~ ♥ ~~~ ♥ ~~~ ♥ ~~~ ♥ ~~~

Day 3 . . . We got our TREE!
You can't really imagine the excitement.
Us girls LOVE getting our tree.

Even Daddy gets a kick out of finding the "perfect" tree. 

Oh look at this short, chubby one. We'll call it a Mama tree. 

Real cute.

Finally, finally.
We decided on the perfect one.

And Miss Kam found the perfect shavings to make a wish on ;)

This tree . . . is huge.

And then we hauled it home!

 

Don't worry, the girls were tucked safely in the van ;)

The tree rode in the truck.

Then came the decorating. 
Poor Miss Kam waited, and waited, and waited while we strung the lights.
But in the end, it was worth the wait!
She decorated like it was going out of style!

So.
Today we are making snowflake decorations
{pretty appropriate as we woke up to 17* weather this morning.  BRR!}


What are you all up to?

Countdown to Christmas 2013 ~ Day 1

We've made it to December!!!
 Our Countdown to Christmas is underway, and the girls couldn't be more excited!

December 1st started with a welcome back to our elf, Holly.
She had planned an entire North Pole Breakfast for the girls.

Turns out snowflake pancakes are yummier than regular ol' pancakes :)

Our December 1st activity was to make a candy countdown chain.
To make your own you'll need:
 saran wrap {I like red},
24 candies,
26 pieces of ribbon,
and numbered tags.

Line up your candies, fold over the saran wrap, tie ribbon and tags between each piece,
and voila ~ advent calendar!

Today we are making Christmas accessories for our American Girl dolls ~ stockings, presents, and the like!

We're also counting down with Bible verses for each day.

December 1st : John 1: 1-5
December 2nd: Isaiah 9: 2-7

Do you have great countdown ideas?
Please share!

Countdown to Christmas 2013!

This is our favorite time of year!!
 I can't believe Thanksgiving is now behind us, and we are staring straight into December!
 My goodness this year has passed by in a flash.

If you've been around here awhile, you know that I organize a Countdown to Christmas each year
 for my four girly girls.

Many years ago I made a Countdown Tree:



We love ours, but I've seen some super cute ones on Pinterest as well :)

And each day they pull a special card from a numbered pocket to find out what our fun holiday activity will be for the day.

 
Some days we actually make it out of the house {if you know Taylor you realize what a feat that is}.
But mostly we plan crafts, baking, and other activities at home.
Most everything is little to no cost; pretty much a necessity for us the last couple of years.

Over the next few days I'll try to post fun activities you may enjoy with your littles.
Sierra and Makenna are getting older now, but I think they have at least as much, if not more fun than my two little ones. 


 What fun holiday traditions do you all have?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Count your many blessings, name them one by one . . .

Oh how thankful I am for my sweet blessings whom I get to share this precious life with!

Many wishes for a happy Thanksgiving for y'all!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Frosty Mornings

Christmas Bazaar

It's that time of year . . .
Christmas Bazaar time!!

Oh how I love this season!!!

From the first of November until the 1st of January,
I just love the sights and activities of the season!

Our church held their second annual bazaar last weekend,
and the girls and I excitedly set up our table, and kept watch for two days!

Christmas gift tags

It always amazes me how much stuff it seems like we have made up,

when we're busily crafting at home, vs. what it looks like when we get down to the bazaar

and set it all up on the gigantic table, lol!

Crayon Keeper


The first day was terribly slow, but it gave us an opportunity to visit, craft, relax.
All of which we never get to do, so it was nice!

Handmade necklaces 


And come Saturday, things picked up, and Sierra and Makenna made friends
with other girls who were sentenced to manning their own table ;) 

 

Tissue holder 

 At the end of the weekend, we had made friends, a little extra Christmas spending money, and
had a wonderful time!

Sock Snowmen

Can't wait to do it all again next year!!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Little Helper