Christmas Prep

 December was busy. Really busy.  I posted recently all the service we did.  With all that service, I hardly had the bandwidth to decorate as usual.  We did bare bones.  Basically a tree, stockings and some tiny things and that's it.  Kids watched a couple of movies.  We did a little baking and a bit of crafting. We did read Christmas books. Not as much as I had planned. I got behind in blogging and way behind in housework. It's easy for me to get wrapped up on what I did not accomplish. It's an ongoing battle, focusing on what I did do instead of what I didn't.   BUT, what we DID do is lots of things for others...and isn't that the point? Here are a few moments that brought me joy. 

Mama Made: A dress fit for a queen

And pics of the rest of us...are we her royal court or servants?  Depends on the minute. 

Mama Made PJs Christmas 2023

 Another year, another round of Mama Made Pjs.  Everyone is still excited to get them!  Most of the fabric is from a $5 king sized flannel flat sheet I found at the thrift shop.  Plus there is some fabric I got at the library's fabric swap.  I purchased the navy blue shirts I appliqued.  I spent $12 total for all the tops and bottoms.  

Merry Christmas 2023!

 If I was the type that was good at everything, one of these photos would have been printed and sent in a delightful card.  Someday I'll send folks a stack of cards with the photos from the last decade.  Until then, you can get merriment from us here.  Merry Christmas! 

11th Annual Country Kids on Winter Solstice

Thank you to our good friends, we had a jolly good time at our annual Country Kids party!  Thanks to our generous friends we have a whole bunch of crafts and play doh to share with our local special needs school (the non for profit my kids selected this year).  I never take enough pics, but here are a few! 

Smart people would buy cookies for a cookie eating competition, but I made them instead last night. 

It's been a BUSY month! Looking forward to a bit less (hopefully) and working through our family read aloud pile the next week and a half.  Just a couple more days of busy to go! 

Juxtaposition

While we didn't go to the ocean during this last storm (that put a lot of Maine out of power for days, some still aren't restored, thankful we were only ~24 hours without power), we did go before and after.  Amazing to see the photos juxtaposed. I feel the photos don't even do it justice.  It was WILD. 

Month of Service

 We make December our Month of Service and I want to document this year's service timeline so I remember for next year.  Do we have time for all this?  No.  But putting serving as the priority and leaving other things that are less important (housework) helps our family keep focused on the reason for the season. Let's see if I remember: 

1) Festival of Fostering Trees: we donated the tree and ornaments and one of our fantastic 4-Hers set it up.  This reportedly raised almost $60,000 for youth aging out of Foster Care. 

2) We did a winter gear swap for a week and a half and the leftover coats went to a coat drive. 

3) We collected with local churches and the big kids help wrap and package food items for the food pantry. 

4) Thanks our neighbor's tree farm(they let us trim away anything folks left and collect scraps), we prepped and hosted an evergreen centerpiece arrangement session and made over 75 arrangements.  We, along with 4-Hers and then community members distributed to various 'helpers' or people who could use some cheer.  We also made DIY kits and opened up our home for a make your own centerpiece arrangements to share.  We had several who participated in that.  

5) We then packaged the remaining greenery and distributed 3 different types of greens to three different nursing homes, along with DIY packets so they could make centerpieces.  Before Covid, we used to do this with the residents, but now we just drop off. 

6) We made and gave presents to a family our church adopted and then participated in the wrapping party to wrap all those gifts. 

7) I've planned and hosted Friday Lighthouse Art and Boardgames at the library. 

8) We were wrappers at the Kids Shop event at our local thrift store.   I loved watching the kids pick out their perfect selections for their loved ones. Oh, to be a fly on the wall Christmas morning with some of the unique purchases!

9) Our BIG Country Kids party at our house on Thursday/Winter Solstice. We'll be collecting donations for the special needs preschool in our area (craft supplies and monetary) and have a very festive time.  Everyone is invited, so do come!  

10) Our family has some speaking parts in the Christmas Eve service at our church. 

11) Usually around Christmas or after, our family tries to make a big batch of bread or biscuits to share with the neighbors. 

I think I got them all! 

It has been a BUSY month of serving, thankful for the opportunity to be a helper. Hopefully we spread some Christmas Cheer!