Have yourself a Merry little Christmas

Good Morning!  Again no projects to share- but FUN pictures from Christmas!! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!  Here are a few of my favorites from our Christmas!

My love and me- he spoiled me rotten this year!  He got me a 1/2 carat diamond cross necklace and a ton of other goodies- clothes, a hair dryer, a grease catcher and a bunch of hugs and kisses.  He got a new wedding band from me :)  He lost his over 6 months ago and said he was so happy to be married again :)  haha  We all know the ring doesn't make you married :)  But, for me and chuck, it's never been about materialistic things.  All I ever want is LOVE. Honestly.  It lasts the longest.

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 Our babies Christmas Morning!  So excited to dig into those gifts!

 His santa gift.  He was very specific on this- he wanted a remote controlled RAM truck (like daddy's)- well he got it :)

 A new hat that my babies picked out while shopping with daddy. I love it.

 Chloe next to her santa gift.  A 'creative desk.'  A little sassy in the picture but I think she is so proud of her big gift and of her new dress she is sporting.  See, my little Chloe didn't run for the big gift right away.  She went for one of the smallest first.  Warmed my heart.  I should mention this little beauty changed about 11 times throughout the day :)  I love her.

 By this time, when gramma and grampa Newman arrived (my parents) they were sick of the flash.  Chloe said cheese and shut her eyes :)

 A new doll house for my little dolly.  So determined in this picture.

 My handsome man and my beautiful mom.

My boy and I.  It's been awhile since I got a good picture of me and this little stud. 

Our family picture on Christmas.  I think we tried a million times to get it 'perfect.'  I finally said after looking at the pictures my mom took (about 13 and in between pics) This is the perfect picture.  This is our life.  Chaos.  I love it.  BTW, our tree almost fell over today- thankfully my little man saved it. hahaha!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas filled with laughter, love and Joy! Blessings to you all!

Kim

No creations, but a cute post :)

Helllo there!  Well, I took my last final yesterday and I'm happy to report my grades:

Statistics- A
Management- B
Macroeconomics-??  I'm seriously praying for a C.

I can live with the C.  It was the class from you know where. How I managed an A in statistics I do not know but I will kiss the textbook for good luck before I ship it off to my buyer :)

So, I have no projects to share today, just the STORY that my 5 year old told me yesterday:  (I use this blog sometimes for things I want to always remember as a reference. Also, I'm on Christmas break for a whole month and will be creating again.  I have an awesome secret santa gift to share soon from one of my team members!! You will be wowed!  I'll also be sharing some cards, etc.)

So here's the story: (on our way to awanas-it's a good thing we were headed for church :))

Beau: Mom, did I tell you about the reindeer that has been living in my room under my bed?
Me: No!  Where on earth did you get a reindeer?
Beau: I've been hiding him.
Me: When did you get him?
Beau: Remember when I got my new bike?  Well, I tied rope to it and biked to the store.
Me: How in the world did you bike to the store without me knowing? How did you get him in the house?
Beau:  I went all by myself! Well, we biked back and he was tiny then like a mouse so he just came in the front door.
Me: Really?!  Have you been feeding him?
Beau: Yes, 14 ozs of lettuce a day!!  He's kinda a pig.
Me: Wow, what are you going to do when he grows bigger?
Beau: Well, I think I'm going have to get rid of my bunk bed on the bottom.  I'll just sleep on the top.
Me: Have you been giving him cuddles?
Beau: Yes mama, his antlers have grown a lot!  I'll show you him tomorrow, K mama?
Me: Okay, by the way, what's his name?
Beau:  Chuck Charles, just like my daddy.

I love him.  I love his imagination.  I hope this is not an indication of the stories and lies he will tell me when he is 16.

Between his story and a day of this from our 2 year old: (which by the way, I could kiss her and love her all day!)

 

This was the perfect spot for our elf....(whom Chloe says is "scarey mama!!"

Yes, that is our elf, Roni,  (Like MaciRONI!)  He has been placed next to the nice list. Our elf only comes out 10 days before Christmas because I do not want to stress over an elf! :) He's been found riding 4 wheelers with barbie, in the sugar canister and in the carmel corn bowl.  He has also been known to turn our milk green, pee green in the toilet, have a bubble bath in the sink with barbie and spiderman AND throw underware all over our tree! 

Believe in the magic of Christmas.  Christmas is full of miracles.

Merry Christmas to you all!!

Kim

Activities on our advent calendar

Hello there!  Someone asked me (Cheryl from Even more Scrapping) btw, check out her blog :) if I would post the activities that are on our family advent calendar.  Here's our fun list:

(in no particular order)

• Make hot chocolate w/marshmallows- note to self, do not do before bed :)  Yup I learned:)
• Make popcorn
• Read Christmas stories or a Christmas story
• Watch a Christmas movie
• Make a batch of Christmas cookies- it's really fun if you let your kids pick the cookie.  Goggle and show them pictures and let them choose.  If you have a few kids- let each of them pick and spread it out over the 25 days.  Oldest goes first, etc.
• Build a snowman
• Hang Christmas lights outside- this is a daddy/kiddo moment :)  I'm too cold! :)
• Wrap a Christmas gift or gifts- let your kids wrap- seriously.  One gift that looks horrible to you will mean so much to them! And the recipient will love it.
• Make a homemade ornament- we make ornaments out of left over TP rlls.  Check pinterest for this.  I wrap the tp roll in scrapbooking paper and then cut each piece around 1/2 inch wide and adhere to form a flower. (I use crystal glass by ctmh.) Stick a button in the middle and ribbon at the top and there you go!  A stressfree and fun ornament.
• Write a letter to Santa
• Visit a food shelf with a bag goods- great experience for your kiddo!!  Let them pick out the canned goods.
• Donate an older toy or toys- another really great teaching lesson and giving experience for your kiddo! It's tough but has a lot of meaning.
• Sing Christmas songs
• Make homemade Christmas cards for grampa and grammas- let them scribble away!
• Put up Christmas decorations-I literally let them put out about 50% of our Christmas decor where ever.  We know what it would look like if they were trying to put out the nativity scene, so while you are doing that, let them put out other fun Christmas decor (pillows on the couch, towels, rugs, nicknacks here and there, etc) It's fun for them, gets them in the Christmas spirit and they feel like they contributed. (and it really helps you out :))  This was really hard for me last year because I like things to be in order.  I soon realized it wasn't about my need to be in order rather more about (at the time) beau's excitement (chloe was too little to get into it) as he asked me if he could hang a certain item on the wall.  Just remember, the Christmas decor is only out for about a month or month and half!  Does not matter!
• Learn a Christmas verse- so important!!
• Go sledding- laugh and have fun with your kids when you do this!
• Go ice skating- this is not as easy as it sounds.  Remember, your kids do this a few times in the year.  Beau is still learning and needs lots of help.  Bring a folding chair with you and remember to praise them. 
• Make reindeer candy canes- pinterest
• Play Christmas Bingo- search pinterest for this, there are some really cool free printables
• Have a snowball fight (indoors if it's too cold with socks- let your kids throw them at you and vice versa)
• Have a candle light dinner (if you have a young boy, you would understand the excitement the fire at the table would bring) :)
• Visit Santa
• Tell a Christmas memory (my kids are so young they might not have any, but important for us parents to tell them one :)- funny, sad, happy, etc)
• Celebrate Jesus-Christmas Day- a big dinner and of course prayer and say what we are thankful for and Happy Birthday Jesus!

Some require more time than others.  Some depend on weather- we pick a new one if it's too cold for an outdoor activity.  The main focus is the kids are learning about Christmas and why we celebrate.  So far, my kids(and I) have been loving it.  I was excitedly surprised at my 5 year old's willingness to donate toys.  It's tough for kids to do that! But it's our job as parents to teach our kiddos that material things don't matter and there is another child that would love to play with a toy that they haven't touched in months.  The past 13 days have been very fun.  If only if it would warm up so we could go outside! -25 is not fun!  Hoping these next few weeks before Christmas warm up or I may be thinking of other activities!

I'd love to hear other ideas from you!  Please comment if you have any!

Thanks for stopping by!
Stay warm! It's about -20 as I write this!  It needs to warm up in northern MN!

Kim :)

H2H Moving On

Hello!  Happy Monday!  I'm excited to share with you that I was asked to be a guest designer at Heart 2 Heart (H2H) today.  They asked all previous guest designers if they would like to come back in December.  Of course I jumped on it!  A huge THANK YOU to H2H for inviting me back :)

The challenge this week at H2H is "Moving On." (create something that moves)  For my project, I created an interactive family fun advent calendar for December.  Each popsicle stick has a fun activity on it.  Some require more time (making a homemade ornament) and some are as simple as making hot chocolate or reading a book together.  My goal was to give my kids something fun to look forward to daily and for me not to be stressing over the holidays!  I think our family will have fun with this and it's a great visual for the kids.  The sticks will be placed into the recycled crystal light container.

If you can, stop by H2H to play along and/or check out beautiful creations!

Thank you for stopping by!!
Have a great day! Kim

Supplies Used: (all ctmh unless noted)
Colonial White Frame (chicken wire backing)
Sparkle and Shine paper pack
Sparkle and Shine dimensional elements
Black Shimmer Tape
Mini clothes pins
Sparkles Clear Assortment

Just my ramblings....

Hey blogger friends!  It's been busy here!  We have been celebrating life around this house and living it!  Thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures from recent activities.....(if you are friends with me on FB you have probably seen these)

This first picture is of my little man walking up to Santa.  I love the hands in his pockets.  Being polite you know....in a kid's mind, it's like meeting the president! :)

 Santa was telling beau how good he's been....look at that grin...looks like he has a trick up his sleeve.

 A little candy...

 Of course Chloe wanted nothing to do with Santa until he said he had candy.

 My boy turned 5!  I can't believe it's been 5 years since I was blessed with this little man.  He is such a joy.  He makes me laugh daily and think everyday- he asks a lot of questions, he asks a lot in which I have to think about and think of how I'm going to respond in a way that is not too deep for a 5 year old.

 Yes, chloe is a ham! 

 Birthday spankings....notice my hubby's beard? :(

 Awww much better all clean shaven.  I love him, beard or no beard.  (this is beau's photography skills on Thanksgiving)

 My beautiful family celebrating Thanksgiving together.  Our first at home together. (Signs of a true scrapper....bringing out the tripod.)

 A glimpse of how it really is....crazy, fun and beautiful.

Thank you for stopping by!  It's freezing here....-15 tonight.  We are staying home this weekend!  Too cold for anything but jammies and Christmas movies :)