Mini Trees

 

That vintage quilt repurposed again. Sort of want to make oodles of these and have a tree filled with these little ornaments next year.

Christmas 2022 Recap

 

The tree was a gift from our neighbors at the Christmas tree farm.  Someone apparently cut it, but didn't take it and pay for it (who does that?!). They left it in the aisle!  Our kind neighbors gave it to us (thank you!).  We used the bottom branches for our 4-H projects and used the rest of it for our tree this year. Reusable gift bags and new stockings. And a quilt I made to hide Audra's larger present.  We do four presents: Want, Read, Make, Wear. Plus they have some presents from each other and some from our extended family.   

Posing with their new books:

A computer to share from Grampy.

Justin's 'fave' from AK.  Totally going to hang it in his gym.

My fave from Audra: 

They loved their handmades. 

The loot (furniture is specifically just for her old fashioned clothing):  

2022 Mama Made Christmas Jammies

100% of this fabric was thrifted.  One of them was brand new flannel sheet.  Whatever works, right?! I always say it's like going to bed with a hug from mama. 

 

Iceskating where water shouldn't be....

 Our barn hasn't been properly excavated since it came done yet.  This means we have a ridiculous sized puddle that apparently doubles as an ice skating rink. A perfect place to dress up as an old fashioned poor orphan and skate the day away.  She's wearing the new 'peasant dress' that I made her. 

Christmas Cookies and Gingerbread Houses

I can't pretend doing Christmas cookies and gingerbread houses is my jam. It's a big mess and takes forever with cleanup even taking longer.  I like efficiency and this isn't efficient at all. But, they loved it, so I did it.  I think I need a prize for agreeing to make all of it from scratch.  Sugar overload anyone?

Birth Order and Cross Country Skiing

Me: "Kids, today is the last day before rain ruins our snow.  Get out there".  

The three personalities of xc skiing, birth order edition...

1) Youngest: Not really interested in moving. Maybe try a bit.  Whine. Ask for a push, tug, something. 
 

Ooo, get a little speed from the hill.  Woooo! 

Nevermind. Too much work, eat snow instead.

So no one is going to push or pull for real?  Done. Never doing this again. Too much work.

2)First born: Laps, exploring, discovering wildlife, taking loops in our yard and our neighbor's. Gives full report on railroad construction progress.

3) Middle: Basically dark once all is organized and ready.  Why is everyone else done?  Can I be out here all night? Might just do a little ski jump here and there.  Not hungry for dinner. In search of a flashlight to extend the fun.

Me: First afternoon with no work and no plans in a long, long time and this basically took the whole afternoon.  Is it bedtime yet?

Recap: 10th Annual Country Kids Party

I barely took photos, but we are thankful for the 50 friends who joined us for our 10th annual Country Kids party. (We do one community party for charity instead of birthday parties.)  Weather was perfect.  Games, snacks, conversation and donations to Make a Wish Maine. The highlights seemed to be the Four Corners name that movie game.

And the champ of all games is always the UPS vs. FedEx relay. 

And my fave is always reading the Night Before Christmas by the fire.  This day is the kids' fave of the year, so thankful for so many friends who join us. 

Homemade gifts x3

Snapped some quick pics of the handmades I made for each of my kids. They're all wrapped up and ready to go! 

 

Snow!

All the wet, heavy snow came, snowblower broke and we're all sore from shoveling.   Thankful the space I've been leading 4-H is only 2.5 miles from home, so we had our regular art class yesterday and sewing today. Fewer friends were able to come with the snow, but it feels like we had a couple of busy days for sure! To add to the intensity, we had a wire down. All is fixed up now!  We're gearing up for our 10th annual Country Kids Christmas Edition on Winter Solstice.  Do let me know if you're local and would like an invite! 

Her little penguin she stitched. <3 

I'm *this close* to getting gifts all stitched up for Christmas. Trying to go through the days with purpose and peace and not focus on how overwhelming the to do list seems. 

Gifting

 Pretty proud of this one.  Our church found out about a single mother who wasn't getting much support for Christmas and decided to change that.  Her littlest girl is somewhere between 1 and 2 and loves sloths. I talked my kids into letting me have this adorable sloth that is basically brand new because they never played with it.  I made her three bow/skirt outfits. I made them stretchy enough that I think a little one can dress it herself. I hope this little one will squeal with delight when she opens this! 

Getting out there

I love that old Zen saying:  "You should spend 20 minutes a day out in nature... unless you're too busy. In that case, you should spend an hour."

That's just what we did today.  And you know what? The time after I was extra productive. 

Busy, and thankful

 

Relishing in the warmth of kindness and thoughtful gifts (thank you!) and thick in a busy season of serving this week.  Yesterday I hosted a large crew and we made evergreen arrangements as a service project. I'm half way through the art series I'm leading and prepping projects for that. I am leading a double header holiday sewing workshop this weekend, kids in the morning and adults in the afternoon.  I just got five sewing machines threaded and ready to go. Five sewing machines makes me far from a minimalist.  Toss in medical appointments, work, a church service night, an outdoor fire club we are a part of and a church program we're leading this weekend, it's the rest of the week and the weekend jam packed with a whole lot of good stuff.  I'm behind in my assignments for the Master Gardener Volunteer program, my kitchen could definitely use some attention, there are errands to run and things to do, we still need to eat and we're still homeschooling.  I'll be going through these days one step at a time, squelching out the inner talk of the things I'm not doing and amplifying the good that's happening each and everyday. 

Up-cycled Stockings

We were gifted a bag of quilts (thank you!).  Some were intended for crafting because of fraying fabric.  I'm all for saving things and repairing if possible, but one of the quilts was too far gone to fully restore.  BUT, there are pockets of non frayed pieces that I made these out of! I love them!