Christmas Crafts

I made these Christmas countdown blocks for Gracie's teacher. I sanded down some wooden blocks, painted them, and then modge podged several different types of scrapbook paper. I used stencils and a sharpie for the letters and numbers. You can get more specific directions here. I originally got the idea here, but I liked the other sites directions better. I was really happy with how they turned out. I have enough materials to make one for us, but I'll have to do it later. I've had my fill of Christmas this year. ;)

I was in charge of the snacks for Gracie's school Christmas party. I made these snowmen pretzels from the Family Fun magazine. They were really easy to make, and looked so cute! I also made fruit and cheese kabobs, but I didn't have time to take a picture of them. But they turned out cute too. I didn't realize Family Fun had directions on their website. So if you want to make them click here.

There were several crafts I wanted to make, but I just didn't have enough time this year. There is always next year!!!

Gracie's Christmas Eve Prayer

Dear Lord,

We know it's getting ready for your birthday. We want to celebrate you more than Santa or his reindeer. (except for Dasher)

Watch us on our trip to Indiana, and help us have a good time.
Thank you for our food.

Amen.

We had a blast!

I can't wait to tell you all about our trip to Disney World! We had a lot of fun. But it will have to wait until after Christmas. I have a huge pile of laundry to do, presents to finish wrapping, and packing for Indiana. So I'll just post this one picture until then....

One Party down....

We had Christmas with Scottie's mom,dad, brother, and his grandma/grandpa Conner last night. His brother Joe took us all to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse! He had some certificates that he got for Christmas at work. He works at Meridian Hills Golf Course as a assistant golf pro, and the members always give him awesome tips at Christmas.
I was the only one that didn't have steak. I know steak eaters probably think it's a sin to order chicken at a nice steakhouse, but the chicken was really good!! Thanks for the great meal Joe!

(I promise Scottie isn't ready to come across the table and punch me. I just caught him and Joe off guard. But it was the better of the two pictures I took. I need to remember to take several at one time so I have a chance of getting a good one.)

Gracie received a wad of ones from Uncle Joe. She thinks she is rich now. Avery got an awesome jacket, but I didn't get a very good picture of it. It's a cashmere blend of some kind. It is so soft and beautiful. He got her a blanket with the same material last year. Uncle Joe always spoils his nieces!!!

Beautiful sisters!

We tried to get a family picture at the end of dinner. It didn't work out very well. We were all tired at this point and still had a two and half hour drive ahead of us. It felt so good to sleep in our own beds last night.

Grace started playing with her first Christmas present this morning. She got a container of Lincoln Logs from Mam-Maw and Pap-paw. She has had a lot of fun playing with them already. She's also wearing her new leotard from Grandma and Grandpa Conner. The first day after getting presents is always the best!!

Thanks everyone for the presents, money, and dinner last night. We had a really good time, even thought I could have fallen over and gone to sleep at any moment. ;)

Peek-a-Boo

I see you!!

We are crazy, but on Friday.....

This is the sign we gave to Gracie, and told her she had to read it by herself in order to get the surprise. She did a great job reading it! This vacation is very spontaneous. Scottie only gets a week off this year, and it's the week before Christmas. This is also our graduation vacation. Scottie has to do basic training for four or five weeks after graduation, so we can't go then. (Don't get me started on the air force staff member that didn't get his paperwork in at the right time, which caused Scottie to miss basic training two years ago! I'm still a little mad, but like all things in life I just have to go with the flow.) We got an amazing military discount, and they had a great deal going on that only lasted until Dec. 23rd. It was too good to pass up, and I may sound selfish but we deserve this vacation! As a family we have worked hard, and sacrificed quite a bit the last four years that Scottie has been in school. I'm not saying that life has been terrible, or we have had to sacrifice any of our daily needs. But it's been a long journey, and it feels good to celebrate. (Even if it's five months early. :) So we fly out on Friday and come back Tuesday evening. I am so excited, but a little stressed. We have a lot to do before we leave, but it will be worth it. We've been planning since Wednesday, and everything seems to be falling into place. Let's just pray the weather is nice! We'll try and update while we are there, but I'm not making any promises. ;)

Finally!

I know this seems like a really random post, but I'm so excited about my snowman bucket. I have had this bucket for six years. Mom bought it for me in 2003 and I have always liked it, but couldn't find a purpose for it. So every year it just sits empty near the tree, just waiting to be filled. Well, this year I had an "a-ha" moment after I bought a pack of Christmas books for Gracie through school. I was switching all of her fall books out of her bookcase in her room and replacing them with winter/Christmas books from the bookcase in the basement. (Yes, we have so many books that we have to have two bookcase. What can I say? Once a teacher-always a teacher!) I saw the bucket on my way back to her room and I got the great idea to put all of her Christmas books in there. I love having it sit by the tree so we can pull a book out and read together anytime we want. So now my little snowman bucket finally has a purpose. I know no one else will probably share my enthusiasm, but I wanted to share anyway. :)