How we're doing Advent this year

We are on a never-ending journey to make Christmas more meaningful for our kids.  And no, I don't mean by purchasing more gifts ... I mean by buying less and helping them truly understand Jesus' love and why we celebrate Christmas.  It is not about Santa, and Rudolph, and Christmas trees, and watching our favorite Christmas movies, and buying a bunch of gifts for people.  Although those are fun secular things too, they are not what we are celebrating.  We made the mistake early on of getting too caught up in the extra bells and whistles of Christmas, and now we are slowly re-teaching our kids
(and ourselves).  It's about getting caught up in consumerism less, and instead giving more of ourselves and our time.

I can't think of a better way to teach our children about the gift of Christmas and to truly honor Jesus on his birthday, than by serving others.  The way Jesus would, on a level that the kids can understand.  I have created an ever-growing Pinterest board of ways to serve others, and I adore all of the creative ideas.  Teaching children to have a heart like Jesus and to serve is such a beautiful thing, and we want to start passing that onto our children during Christmas.  So this year for Advent, although we are still doing lots of fun Christmas crafting, we are excited to be "RACK-ing" people ... doing a Random Act of Christmas Kindness per day, up to Christmas.  The kids are totally on board and keep asking when December 1st is coming :-)  So very sweet!

Although we may have to alter the order of our days, here is a basic rundown, beginning on December 1st:

1. Create Prayer Sticks for our family and friends to help us remember to pray for everyone.
2. Read "The King's Christmas List" and then pick out several gifts from their website to send to people around the world.
3. Handwrite letters and draw pictures to mail to others.
4. Paint rocks and then leave them wherever we go throughout Advent.
5. Write happy notes and then leave them on car windshields in a parking lot.
6. Make homemade cookies to give to neighbors we don't know well.
7. Handmade gifting!  We will be making handmade gifts all day!
8. Find a homeless person to give a meal to.
9. Leave a big tip when we're out to lunch after church with a nice note.
10. Tape quarters to a few vending machines.
11. Leave a sweet treat and a note for the trash men in the morning.
12. Go caroling with our MOPS group.
13. Take doughnuts to the local Fire Station to thank them for their service.
14. Hide dollar bills in the toy section of the Dollar Store.
15. Make and colors cards, and then visit an Assisted Living facility to pass them out to people who need a little pick-me-up.
16. Pick toys out of our rooms to donate to others.
17. Take dinner to a new adoptive family.
18. Pay for someone else's toll on the highway.
19. Leave a sweet treat and a note for the postal workers at our local post office who we see a lot!
20. Take lunch to someone at work.
21. Pass out Sillybandz to any children we happen to see (we are planning on doing this on a special trip out somewhere, but I am not sure of the date yet)
22. We are hoping to visit a hospital to donate arts and crafts supplies to the children's areas (I am still waiting on confirmation from the hospital).
23. Tape quarters to a laundry machine at the local laundromat.
24. Leave a sweet treat for our mailman, who so diligently delivers our mail (even during a hurricane!).

Ok, that's our list!  I will be doing some posts for these throughout December (especially of the ones we're doing at home), but I want to be as present as possible and am going to try to not take my camera with me on outings.  We'll see how that goes :-)  I'd love to hear more ideas for serving with your kids from other readers, especially if you have done something that seemed to really impact your kids!  It will be great to tuck those little nuggets away for future use :-)

Happy Advent everyone!  Here is the note we will be using during Advent - I created it using inspiration that came from several other blogs that have done something similar in the past.

(Come find me on Facebook!  And if you have been blessed by my blog, would you mind taking just a few seconds of your time and click on the 2 links below?  You don't need to do anything except click each button once (you can click once a day!).  Each click is a "vote" that allows my blog to be seen by other homeschool and adoptive families so I can help them too!  Thank you so much for blessing me with your help, may God bless your day!)

DIY Advent Calendar

I'm really tickled with how our Advent Calendar turned out this year.  I got my inspiration from (surprise, surprise) pinterest and then tried to use what I had around the house to put it together.  The black frame was a $2 yard sale find over the summer, I already had the wired ribbon in our Christmas decorations and I had almost all of the Christmas scrapbook paper needed to put this together.  I love DIY projects that can be made with stuff I already have!

I did purchase the little paper mache boxes - they were $2.99 for six in a pack.  I also purchased the glittery numbers in the scrapbook section of A.C. Moore - they are chipboard stickers and were the most expensive investment in this project.  So to put this together, I did the following:

1. I painted all of the paper mache boxes with a neutral beige (I have quite the collection of acrylics, so no cost on the paint.)
2. After picking out 24 Christmas-colored scrapbook papers to use, Angel and I traced and cut out the papers to fit the tops of the paper mache boxes.  (I only bought a few new papers from Oriental Trading - I guess something good is coming out of my scrapbooking days.)
3. I then mod-podged the papers onto the tops of the boxes - one coat on the bottom and one on the top.
4. I picked 2 more scrapbook papers that were the same, without any crazy design, to use as the background of the calendar.  I just put that under the glass and then put the frame back together.
5. After that, I positioned all of the little boxes on top of the glass the way I wanted them, and then hot glued then into place.  I ADORE hot glue, there's nothing like the smell of melted glue!
6. Then, I stuck all of the glittery numbers onto the tops of the paper mache boxes.
7. After that, I hot-glued and stapled a ribbon to the back of the frame for hanging.  I tied a bow with a separate piece of ribbon and hot-glued that onto the top of the ribbon for decoration.

Voila!  Ready for hanging!  Now the boxes just need to be filled.  The only variation I considered was using some kind of magnetic background and adding magnets to the backs of the boxes.  But I ultimately didn't do that because of the added expense and because this was easier :-)

I have another post coming up soon to explain how we are going to use this Advent Calendar and what we're doing for all of Advent.  It's totally new for us and I am so stinking excited about it.  Can't wait to share and I'd love to have some of you join me!

Fabric Tie Wreath

This was one of the Christmas crafts we worked on that I couldn't share beforehand. I love how these came together (we made 2 - this one and a Christmas-themed one). These are so easy peasy to put together, require NO sewing, and can be made with fabric that you have laying around. I, of course, did not have enough fabric in the right colors, so I needed to purchase more. But I had so much fun doing it - you can really use any colors or patterns you want, with any combination to match decor, holidays or even sports teams! Possibilities are totally endless. And depending on what you have around the house - your cost could be very minimal - you only need the fabric and a straw wreath. Well, and a cup of coffee while you work :-)

So I picked 5 different fabrics and cut them in long strips - roughly (very roughly) 2 inches x 18 inches ... some were long, some shorter depending on the length of the fabric. The great thing is that for this project, it doesn't really matter! I used a rotary cutter and it was a snap.

The next step is so easy and the kids can help! You just need to tie, and then knot, the fabric strips around the straw wreath (I think this is maybe a 12-inch wreath but I'm not sure anymore). This is probably the slowest part, but Angel and I did it together. Once we had filled up the wreath, I looked it over and filled in a few extra fabric strips in areas where I thought the wreath needed to be fuller.

Then I picked a "top" and loosely tied a piece of fabric onto the wreath as a hanger ... and then tied another piece into the loop to actually hang. I hope that makes sense - you can make the image bigger below to get an idea.

So I hope this post inspires you to make your own Fabric Tie Wreath! I am all about a fabric project that includes NO sewing! Woohoo!

A new tradition & Cinnamon Gingerbread Ornaments

We started a new tradition this year of a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree for the kids' homemade (or school/church-made) ornaments this year. It's on the small side and I think we'll have to replace it soon, but I love this idea of the kids having their own Christmas tree with their own ornaments. Isn't it cute? I put it in the basement where they would see it a lot while playing (and honestly, I was out of space on the first floor! LOL). I love their precious handmade crafts ... all of the hard work and love that goes into them ... oh they just brighten my day. But ... our tree is overwhelmed with "regular" ornaments ... all of the little pieces we have picked up through the years - the ornaments that remind us of our family memories - new milestones, vacations, special places, etc. So this was a great idea for us - a way for ALL of our special memories to be displayed!

Oh and I can now post about one of the fun crafts that we did this year - Cinnamon Gingerbread Ornaments! Oh boy do these smell delicious! I admit, they were a little messy and mildly labor intensive, but I think the results were worth it for our olfactory systems :-)

So here's the recipe/directions if you're interested:

Cinnamon Gingerbread Ornaments

3/4 cup cinnamon

1 tbsp allspice

2 tbsp cloves

1 tbsp nutmeg

1 cup applesauce

Combine first 4 ingredients and blend well. Stir in applesauce and mix well. Roll out 1/4 inch thick on ungreased cookie sheet (err to the thicker side - thinner ornaments break more easily). Cut with cookie cutters of different shapes. Put a tiny hole in top with a toothpick (I used a straw to make a bigger hole). Let dry 4 days (I put them on cooling racks - only took about 2-3 days). Put a string through hole and hang on Christmas tree. Can also make hearts for all year home ornaments. Smells wonderful.

Source: http://www.cooks.com

These are so amazingly scrumptious smelling ... but be careful with them, as they are extremely breakable.

The "Rules"

I have been tossing around doing "Family Rules" for a little while now. I don't know why we never did Family Rules ... we just never did. LOL. I didn't really think much about it in the past. A few things got me thinking about it more recently though, so after talking with DH, we decided to go for it. There are lots of different examples out there in internet world ... so many talented and creative mamas to use as resources. I love THIS one ... and THIS one. I really preferred the decoupage look but wanted to keep things simple for the kids.

I felt that too many rules would be overwhelming for them. At right about that time, I listened to a sermon that our wonderful physical therapist let me borrow from her home church in Indiana. It was about discipline in a Christian home ... fascinating. The Pastor's family has 4 internationally adopted kids and had their fair share of behavior issues, so I was excited to hear what he had to say. I definitely wanted our new "rules" to have a Biblical basis but just wasn't sure exactly where to start.

He talked about a lot of different things, especially living as God would want you to live and applying Biblical principles for discipline, but one of the main ideas that stuck with me was that the 10 Commandments could basically be summed up in two "rules" if you needed to simplify them ...

1. Love God

2. Love Others

Brilliant. Two rules that totally summarize the 10 Commandments that my kids could actually memorize ... certainly not to take the place of eventually memorizing the 10 Commandments themselves, but a simple way to apply them as rules in our household. I also picked scripture that represented each "rule" to write below, and voila! New Family rules.

I chose Luke 10:27 for "Love God" - "And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.'" And then I chose John 13:34-35 for "Love Others" - "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out ... it's far from perfect, but nothing in life is. LOL. I picked up an 11x14 canvas from A.C. Moore (on sale - it was only $3!). I first painted the canvas quickly with a leftover red matte paint, let it dry, and then mod podged scrapbook paper with the rules onto it (I used permanent marker to write them) ... I had already cut everything out and planned how I was going to arrange it before I mod podged, and then worked quickly. Once it was dry, I coated the top with another *thin* layer of mod podge. The scrapbook paper did bubble up and shift a bit ... and looking at the canvas straight on, I can see some of it is a little crooked. That's ok though, overall I'm thrilled with my results. I hung it right by the garage door as we come into the house, so we will see it often and it will be a constant reminder. I talked with the kids a bit about our new rules, but I want to work in other ways to make them part of our daily living, especially to correct behavior when needed ... still working on that part though :-)

Lovebug wanted to be included when I was shooting these pictures last week ... I am so in love with his precious little face! He just couldn't be any cuter and SWEETER! Such a sweet little guy. He always tries to do the right thing and loves being a big brother now too. He has fit into the role so well :-) And as is typical with younger siblings, Sunshine *adores* him.

Time capsule ornaments

I cannot take credit for this idea, but I loved it so much, I just had to do it myself and share it here on the blog! I picked up clear glass ornaments (the fillable kind) from A.C. Moore on sale last week and had so much fun with these! I wrote all 3 kids' names on the ornaments with a paint pen, along with the year.

Angel really got into this craft and helped me fill all of them with glitter and a few toys. We picked items that represented each child individually - Angel picked a few small girly toys for hers, we picked some crayons and moon dough for Lovebug, and Sunshine got a small hair clip because she loves having her hair "done" right now.

I then cut a small piece of scrapbooking paper for each ornament so that we could list all of the kids' favorite things right now. The family that originally gave me this idea lists all of the big milestones of the year instead ... I bet there's tons of ways to do this fun part! Angel wrote her own, which is so exciting to me because I know it will be so fun to look back at her handwriting in the years to come. Once we were satisfied with our lists, we rolled up the papers and stuck them inside the ornaments also.

Lastly, I printed a recent picture of each kiddo on regular old copy paper (I know, very hypocritical of me but I needed them to bend so they would roll up and fit in the ornament). Once we placed them in each ornament, they were complete and ready for tree hanging!

I am thrilled with how these crafty time capsule ornaments turned out :-) It will be such a fun tradition to create these every year as the kids grow older, and look back on them as well to watch them change through the years. This one is definitely a keeper! I'd love to hear about all of the awesome traditions that you share with your family too, especially the handmade ones! What fun memories to make for our whole family :-)

In other off-topic news, our house has had a rough couple days (or weeks if you count all of the other sicknesses too). Sunshine has bronchitis, Angel has a bad stomach virus and I am sick with a yucky cold (or something) again for the 3rd time in 6 weeks. DH may be starting to show signs of the stomach thing as well ... it is a very nasty virus that has left Angel completely incapacitated all day today and unable to keep anything down. Lovebug is the only one that is semi-healthy, and even he has a bit of a cough. Poor Sunshine has been sick and/or recovering from surgery for a month and a half. Apparently being under general anesthesia makes you more prone to pneumonia ... thank God it's only bronchitis so far, her lungs are clear! I feel like we just keep passing everything back and forth to each other ... I am almost starting to worry if sleep deprivation is contagious as well, because we all seem to be suffering from it. Honestly, it's quite laughable at how sick we all are! Hopefully we can wipe all of this yuckiness out over the next few days before Christmas. Fortunately we are ready for the weekend's festivities, so the only thing we need to worry about is getting well!

Truth in the Tinsel

We've been having a blast with the Truth in the Tinsel advent activities! Unfortunately I didn't find out about them until halfway into December, but we are doing a shortened 12-day version and it's great! Angel is totally into doing the crafts and I love that she's really learning and *getting* the Christmas story. Yesterday we learned about the Angel Gabriel and his visit to Mary ... and then we made this adorable little jingle bell angel that now hangs on the kids' handmade ornament tree.

Head on over to Impress Your Kids and check out all of Amanda's great ideas about how to "impress your kids" with God's word! I really love her website and the ideas are easy peasy!

Christmas crafting

We have been busy crafting away over the last few days! First up was the Gingerbread House - the last time we did one, Lovebug was a baby! The kids had a lot of fun doing this - we tried to give them as little assistance as possible so it could really be a project that THEY did.

I love this tender shot of Sunshine and DH together. We started her off in the high chair with some cheerios so that the older kids could get started on decorating. Funny thing is that DH was actually wiping her face and she was really not that happy with him, but I happened to catch a .000005 second frame when she was lovingly looking at him :-) Ah the joys of a DSLR and low f-stop.

She much preferred to be in on the action versus sitting in the high chair though - she liked getting the icing on her hands but then wanted it off as quickly as possible. She dug right in and loved being able to decorate too!

How bad is it that we put the camera down to finish up and forgot to take a final snapshot of the finished Gingerbread House? I guess we were too caught up in the fun :-) This project smells delightful sitting on the counter now and I'm hopeful that we can keep it it and pull it out every year!

I am determined to do more crafting this year! We got so caught up in life last year that I didn't even get the Christmas lights up outside. I promised myself this year would be different and we've done great! I can't wait to share some of the other projects we've been working on ... but I think some of my readers may become recipients of said projects, so I think it best to wait until after Christmas to post :-)