Like most people, I "know" the story of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol--thanks to so many movies. But, I've never read the actual book. So that's what I am reading this holiday season.
Have you read it? If not, do you want to join me?
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness." Jeremiah 31:3
Happy Third Week of Advent.
May your eyes be opened to see the many ways God shows his love for us in our daily lives.
May you be drawn in to quiet moments of his loving kindness.
May you feel the presence of God's arms of everlasting love wrapped around you.
For those of you who may read this blog and think, "Wow! She is crafty all the time. She must be super mom because she posts all that stuff about doing things with you kids..." Well, you are wrong. Dead wrong!
I know some people think this because they've told me and I'm just here to say it's not true. What you see on the blog is only a portion of my life and I'm not always comfortable airing all my laundry here. But today I am.
I'm a mess these days. Growing this third little sprout in my belly is taking a toll. I'm pretty drained emotionally and physically and I've not been so graceful about it around my house. My patience is about as deep as a thimble.
You know how is says in Ephesians 6:4 "... do not exasperate your children..." Well, I've been doing just that. Especially with Anne. The Message puts it this ways "don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master." I've been coming down hard when I really do want to take them by the hand an lead them.
I've let things go. Really, I have. While trying to keep the house "picked up," the floors haven't been mopped for weeks, the bathrooms have that weird fuzzy stuff growing on every surface (Where does all that fuzz come from?) and the sinks are coated in toothpaste. Don't even get me started on the laundry breeding in dark corners of the house.
But even after letting the house go, marking "gifts to make" off the list and hunkering down at home, I'm still "out of it." It almost feels a bit "post partum" for me. Don't look at me cross eyed, I may cry. People ask me how things are going and all I can muster is, "It's been a hard day."
After praying and thinking through my "little valley," which I know is part of the ups and downs of pregnancy for me, I decided and I just need some alone time. Time to rest, time to think, time to eat a meal uninteruppted or run some errands without kids in tow. To recharge as a mom and woman. And so I cried (literally) out for help, and my mom-in-law swooped in to help. The kids are with Grandpa and Grandma for a couple of days. Did I hear a "Glory! Amen!" I am so thankful for this early Christmas gift.
So far, I've slept in until 8:30, waxed my eyebrows (yes, I do my own), painted my nails a lovely glitter red. It's amazing how taking a LONG shower and shaving your legs can give you a lift. I've vowing before all of you that I am not going to rush off and scour the bathroom (although I did throw in a load of laundry). Today, I am going to use my Starbucks gift card, run a couple of errands, watch a Christmas movie and finish up some Christmas gifts that are 80 percent complete. Oh, and I'm going to nap.
So there. That's where I'm at. This week of advent is the week of peace. And I'm praying that this little break will help restore the peace in my heart and home.
Oh, and I may be posting more "from the archive" posts, instead of newer ones. (Letting things go, and all...)
"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, PRINCE OF PEACE." Isaiah 9:6
As promised, over the next week or so I'll be sharing our homemade gifts. Feel free to rip off any ideas. Afterall, it's never to early to begin working on next year's Christmas list (especially when you are handmaking gifts.)
This year, I really wanted to begin teaching Anne how meaningful it can be to handmake gifts. So we started with making "surprise" soap snowballs. I got this idea here.
Basically, you grate Ivory soap, put it in a bowl, add water and have your little one make snowballs around small toys.
We
hid plastic rings, rubber balls and small farm animals inside these
snowballs. I love this craft because it's actually something her little
friends can use and play with in the tub.
I wrote a poem to attach the bags (feel free to copy).
Here's a snowball for some fun,
But it will melt in the bath, not in the sun.
So jump in the tub and sing “rub-a-dub-dub,”
This snowball will give you a bubbly scrub.
And when the soap-snowball melts away,
You'll have a little prize for which to play.
As promised, over the next week or so I'll be sharing our homemade gifts. Feel free to rip off any ideas. Afterall, it's never to early to begin working on next year's Christmas list (especially when you are handmaking gifts.)
This year, I really wanted to begin teaching Anne how meaningful it can be to handmake gifts. So we started with making "surprise" soap snowballs. I got this idea here.
Basically, you grate Ivory soap, put it in a bowl, add water and have your little one make snowballs around small toys.
We
hid plastic rings, rubber balls and small farm animals inside these
snowballs. I love this craft because it's actually something her little
friends can use and play with in the tub.
I wrote a poem to attach the bags (feel free to copy).
Here's a snowball for some fun,
But it will melt in the bath, not in the sun.
So jump in the tub and sing “rub-a-dub-dub,”
This snowball will give you a bubbly scrub.
And when the soap-snowball melts away,
You'll have a little prize for which to play.
I thought I'd re-post some of last year's crafty ideas, in case you're looking for some Christmas ideas.
From Dec. 28, 2008:
The other item Anne and I made together were these pine cone angels.
We
gathered tons of pine cones this summer while camping and walking
through our neighborhood. I got instructions by combining ideas from here and also from here.
We did this craft over several days. That is the key when making items in mass with little ones. One day we did all the painting, one day all the gluing and glittering and one day all the hot gluing (that was my part).
The Crafty Crow
has some really excellent tips on how to help young children paint the
cones. Basically, I poured paint into a plastic container and then Anne
was able to easily paint, roll and coat the entire pine cone in color.
She chose pink, turquoise and white.
I used the same container technique for painting on the glue and also for "glittering." You can't see the glitter very well in the pictures because we used the "ultra-fine, fairy-dust" glitter, which doesn't show up very well in the pics but looked great in real life.
The hot-gluing part definitely needs to be done by an adult. I attached the heads, wire hanger, halo and wings to the cone.
If
you don't want to mess with the angel heads, etc. you can just glue a
bow and hanger to the top of glittered pine cone. (This is what we did
with all our extras.)
Here's what the gift tags said:
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:13-14
These pine cones were gathered from one of our many camping trips this summer. While, mommy did help Anne with the gluing and angel heads, she did all the pine cone painting and glittering. (which, of course, was the most important part!)
Yesterday, I got my new Advent Bible study from Amazon.com. Woo-hoo! This morning I started this book.
For the past few years, I've read through Watch for the Light, which is a compilation of readings by different authors. I enjoy it, but I wanted something a little more in-depth this year.
For the family, highly suggest this book.
I've got several other Christmas books in my Amazon shop. All of our favorites. See the sidebar links to the right or click here. (Remember it doesn't cost you anything extra to order from my shop, but I do get a small "finders fee" kickback.)
Okay, I know I am a few days late starting Advent....This is week one of advent..the week of HOPE.
"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations ... In his name the nations will put their hope." Matt. 13:18, 21
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Yesterday (Dec. 1) Anne opened the first door of our Advent countdown. Mary was the first object she pulled out and we read/talked about how the angel came to tell Mary she was going to have Baby Jesus. I explained how I had to go to the doctor to find out that I was pregnant. But, God sent an angel to Mary. Pretty special!
This shows some of the items she'll receive throughout the month. Hint: I only put the item in right before she wakes up in the morning to prevent the temptation to take it all out at once. But, once she's received the item, she gets to keep it in this box to look as much as she wants. I'm waiting one more year to include Jack on the activity. Then, he'll get his own little set of items, too.
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If you are looking for daily scripture readings check out Joanne's has a free Advent bookmark (look down the post for the link).
So, my Christmas tree's name is Harold. He is an old fella who was passed down from in-laws. Last year, Harold and I went through a rough patch. You can about it how let me down here and here. Harold made me cry.
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Dear Harold,
It is a new year, my friend. I have forgiven you for last year's mishap. I know you want to stand strong and proud to display my treasures. So to make you extra sturdy, I am using the base to the patio umbrella. I believe you will find the support you need for your solid metal skeleton. Together, we will make it through the holidays without tears.
Love,
Janna
P.S. But just to be safe, you are going to have stand on your own for a full 24-hours before I put any ornaments on you.
We had a relaxing day at Matt's sister's new home on Thanksgiving Day. It followed with an impromptu slumber party of the kids and I spending the night, which is why my photos are a bit delayed...
Anne waved and danced along with the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
After dinner, Jack discussed which plays Coach Blair should use in the big game on Saturday. (Today, Faith Christian, the high school team Matt helps coach, is in the semi-final game. If they win, they play for State next Saturday.)
Anne figured out the magic of black olives.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!
From Thanksgiving 2008:
Our Thanksgiving table will be decorated with these "Give Thanks Pumpkins," which I helped Anne make out of egg carton cups. We made one for each person who will be present at dinner. Inside each, Anne wrote (dictated to me) a note to the person thanking them for something. At mealtime, everyone can pop open their pumpkin and read their blessing from Anne.
Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks to God, but it is also a great time to teach your children to thank and appreciate the people who serve and love them.
Click here to view the tutorial and make some "Give Thanks Pumpkins" for your table.
If Turkeys Thought
If turkeys thought, they'd run away
a week before Thanksgiving Day,
but turkeys can't anticipate,
and so there's turkey on my plate.
--Jack Preluntsky, It's Thanksgiving
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These
apple turkeys are fun and EASY to make even for the youngest hands. I
remember making them as a young child with colored marshmallows. I
think there may have even been a Thanksgiving that I made them for each
place setting.
Anne and I use gum drops for the turkey above, which Anne calls "gooies" for some reason... Simply stick gum drops on toothpicks and insert them on the back end of an apple. I made the neck/head from construction paper and glued it around a toothpick. Use three toothpicks on the bottom of the apple to make it stand (think tripod).
This afternoon we did some pie-making.
Mmmmm.....I never knew flour and water would taste so delicious....
A sweet cherry pie for tonight's dessert and a savory quiche (spinach,
mushroom, green onion and Swiss cheese) to share with my dear friend
Paula tomorrow morn.