Recent Craftiness

I have been busily sewing, knitting, crafting and creating this month!  Here's a brief run-down of what I've done since Dec. 1st.

• 7 Christmas-themed hostess aprons (plus a pending request for 3 more!!!)
• 4 Hostess aprons, including a mother-daughter set that turned out adorable - that I forgot to photograph before shipping out!
• 1 Birthday party for my favorite 5-year-old, including a racecar-themed variation of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"
• 4 Gift cards purchased for our teachers (I'm the Teacher Appreciation Mom for both classes, so I spent a Wednesday driving all over town to pick up cards for their favorite restaurants)
• 4 Custom gift bags for those gift cards
• 2 Pillowcase dresses
• 1 Appliqued onesie
• 36 Reindeer candycanes for school friends
• 1 Cheeta-and-denim purse
• Plus cookies for our MOPS cookie exchange, treats for our family, countless meals and snacks for our family ...

I've also attended the MOPS Steering Christmas party, my MOPS small-group Cookie Exchange (hosted at my house), the Women's Group dinner at church, Mitchell's Christmas program at school, Paul's company holiday party and my mom's annual get-together (in Baytown!).  Tomorrow, Paul's parents and brother arrive for Christmas at our house.

'Tis the season!

A Few of My Favorite Things

It's been a while since I've added anything here to my blog.  I think the fact that Facebook is slowly taking over all online communications has lessened my need to post things here.  (Sorry to my readers who aren't on Facebook, MOTHER!)  And, I apologize for any misspellings.  Blogger changed their layout, and I can't find the spell-check tool.

Anyhoo, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things.  (That song, BTW, makes me cringe!)

Our Christmas Tree.  This year, I let the boys do most of the tree decorating - and I didn't go back and redo any of it!  I did snag a few ornaments to put closer to the top so it wasn't so bottom heavy.  And, I've never found a topper I love, so I tied some huge bows.

Big Bows.  The holidays are the chance for me to tie bows as big as Homecoming mums and hang them all over the house.  I scored this great wired sheer ribbon with gold glittery snowflakes for half-off!  The roll was huge, so these bows are all over the house.

My Nativity.  The church I attended as a child had a ceramics guild who made these beautiful Nativity pieces for the children who attended Sunday School each year.  I don't have the complete set - which includes things like camels and donkeys! - but I have the ones that matter most.

Our Stockings.  My mom handmade each of these stockings for us.  She applied all the tiny beads and sequins!  So special.

Holiday Baking.  Mitchell and I kicked off the holiday baking season with Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.  Mmm!  Here he is sneaking a taste of the brown sugar as he measures.  Tonight, I'm trying my hand at Snickerdoodles for a cookie exchange tomorrow morning.

 

Sentimental Ornaments.  I love hanging ornaments from our childhood.  The one on the right is a stocking ornament with a photo of Paul as a kid.  The one on the left is a Christmas kitty that my uncle Benjamin gave me.  The tag says 1978!

My Boys.  My favorite-ist things of all are my wonderful guys!  Mitchell, Noah and Paul are a blessing everyday!