Gingerbread

When I say that Christmas came in the blink of an eye...I meant it. The Saturday after Thanksgiving we got together for our traditional Making of the Gingerbread Houses! We began doing this a few years ago with Shawn's family. I have to say that I think I look forward to it more than the kids do!

This year we tried to create our own shingles using 100 calorie Oreo's. I think that it turned out pretty well. We could have layered them for a better effect, but I still think it looked good. We also created a snowball fight, and a 'forest' of trees. Caden thinks next year we need to have Santa's feet sticking out of the chimney. Every year it is fun to see the different things that we came up with. The thing I love most about this tradition is the memories that it creates. We have had some funny things happen each time! Our finished product!Geoff, Betsy & CodyAngie & JacksonTori, Tracy, Caroline, Hunter & AbbyNana & Abby Tori & Tracy are the designated gingerbread makers...so we usually do the decorating at their house. They are lucky enough to live near the Temple. So last year we added the tradition of walking to the temple to walk the ground at see their wonderful light display.It is so fun to see Sydney interact with these two. She really looks up to them, and I am thankful that they are such great examples for her.Thomas & CodyMy crewThese kids are so funny! Geoff and Jackson were good sports about it though.I am sad to report that although all the houses were standing before we left to the Temple. Geoff & Betsy's could not withstand the walk to their car! One of these years they will get to take theirs home!!

Decorating these houses was the perfect way to kick start our season. I have our gingerbread as the centerpiece on our table. It is so fun to see it everyday. One thing I am amazed about is the kids haven't even touched it!!! In past years...by the time Christmas was here...our house was devoid of all candy that was removable. I guess that they are proud of their creation (or maybe it was my threatening...haha)

My Favorite Christmas Books

Christmas is one of my most favorite times of year. It is always filled with lots of gatherings, and many opportunities to celebrate together as a family. This year I want to establish more traditions that my children can look forward to each year. Last week I asked you all to "Tell me your stories." Some of you have already shared your favorites in the comments....Thanks! Here are a few of mine. The Tale of Three Trees (also one of Lindsey's fav): I came across this book a few years ago. It tells of 3 trees who all aspire to be something great only to be cut down, and used in a way they think are less than "great"...yet in the end their purpose is more remarkable than they could imagine. I don't think I have ever gotten through this one without tearing up.

Punchinello & the Most Marvelous Gift by Max Lucado: This is a sequel to the original "You are Special" (which is probably more my favorite), but it has a "Christmas" theme. Everyone in the town of Wemmicksville are preparing for "Maker Day," and all are trying to 'out do' the other with what they think is the best gift. It teaches a great lesson about giving, and where our 'focus' should be. (I actually found out that they have made this series of books into DVD's! I am going to have to look into that!)

Christmas Oranges by Linda Bethers: "This illustrated gift book for all ages tells the classic story of the "Christmas Oranges," in which a young orphan girl named Rose discovers the spirit of generosity that lies at the heart of the holiday. When Rose is eight years old, an epidemic forces the closing of her beloved Greenwoods Orphanage, and she is shipped to Irongates, an austere, loveless institution run with Dickensian cruelty. Headmaster Crampton punishes Rose severely for a tiny infraction, decreeing that she miss the special treat of an orange on Christmas morning. How the other children circumvent his instructions to safeguard a glorious Christmas for Rose is the sweet message of this story, which is beautifully illustrated by Ben Sowards." Growing up we always had an orange in our stocking so when I found this book I thought it was a perfect addition to my collection.

A few more classics
The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore (I have my eye on the Illustrated version by Mary Engelbriet)

Now if you have written a post about your favorites just click on the "Mister Linky" below, and add your link so we can visit each other!

Tell Me Your Stories

I know this is early, but I need to do some planning....Christmas is going to come much faster than I think!

One of the tradition's that I wanted to start with my kids this year is reading a Christmas Book every night before they go to bed. I want to get 23 different books that I will wrap, and then they will choose one to open each night. The nice thing about this is that it will also serve as a 'countdown' to Christmas.

The problem now lies in finding 23 GOOD Christmas books that will be interesting to my little kiddos. This is where I am asking for your help. You know how some of the best recipes are ones that people give you and not one found in a recipe book. I think the same concept applies with children's books. I don't just want to peruse the Amazon search of Children's books, and then buy one that is a dud!

I want to get some really good stories that my kids will love and look forward to reading year after year. So here is the deal.... I will give you until Wednesday, October 29.

1. Dig your brain, closet, bookshelf, or whatever to find some of your most favorite Christmas books.
2. Then I want you to post it on your blog. Tell me what the story is about, and why you love it!
3. I will do the same & also post a "Mister Linky" so come back here and "link" up so we can all share our favorite stories!

If you don't want to do a post, but still have a great book...just leave me a comment! I need all the ideas I can get!

Can't wait to see what you have come up with next Wednesday!

Traditions

I know that Christmas is over, but I wanted to share some of the things that I had found while trying to look for different ways to establish Christmas traditions for my little family. I really want to build meaningful memories for my children. I feel that the family is so important, and I want them to feel safe in our home. I think that traditions really help to establish the security that every child needs. Some of these traditions have already been established, and others are ones that we started this year or would like to incorporate in the year to come.

Gingerbread Houses & Temple Lights: This was something we started doing as a extended family last year. I have to say that it is so much fun. Tori and Tracy are wonderful enough to make all the gingerbread from scratch, and it really has provided the best memories. This year we went and saw the temple lights afterwards, and I think that it would be great to continue doing it this way. We had a friend get together a few days after Christmas, and the kids demolished it. Caden wasn't feeling too well that night and didn't discover the evidence until a few days later. He was a little upset, but next year we will get to do a new one. Here is the before and after. :)

A New Ornament: In the past we had always gotten the kids a new ornament each year that signified some sort of accomplishment or whatever they were infatuated with that particular year. This Christmas we started a new twist on the ornament. As I had stated previously, this year I was really not into getting toys for my kids. I felt like they had so much stuff already. So the new thing we did was this. Caden's gift from us was tickets to go to the Monster Truck Jam. The ornament that he got to unwrap was a Monster Truck that we converted into an ornament. Now in the future we will plan some sort of event or thing to go do with our kids, and the ornament they open will represent the activity that we will share. So not only will we be able to do something special with just them...they will have a new ornament with their name and year to remember what gift they received from us. Since Sydney is so young this year...we didn't exactly go the same route, but we did get her a Care Bear ornament. That girl is so in love with those things. She got one for her birthday this year that came with a DVD, and if I let her she would watch it all day long. I can only take so much of "We are Care Bears...La, La,La, la laaaaaa!" It is a music video that is on the DVD.

Reading a Christmas Story every night: Back in the day when I was in Young Women's (a youth group in my church for girls 12-18) my leaders had given us a book that had a scripture, a song, and a story to read every single night up until Christmas. I think it is a wonderful idea, but my kids didn't dig it so much. They really need something with pictures. So my plan is to collect enough children's Christmas books throughout the year so we have one to read each night before they go to bed. I will wrap them up and they will get to open a new one each night. If you have any suggestions of a favorite book...Please let me know!

Christmas Eve Pajamas: This is something I have done since Caden was born. I love the Old Navy sleep sets and buy them a new one each year. I am sad because this is the last year that I can get the Old Navy ones for Caden...They don't sell the sleep sets in sizes bigger than 5T. Regardless, it is always the one gift that they get to open on Christmas Eve. I love how cute they always look in them.

Neighbor Gifts: I have always wanted to do this, but have never been organized enough to get something together. Julie aka Crazy Mama of 6, called attention to this fabulous lady who compiled a list of easy and fast ways to to put together something to give to the neighbors...Now I just have to pick which one we will want to do next year! I think this is something fun to get together, and helps the kids to get in the spirit of giving instead of receiving.

Birthday Party for Jesus: My friend Katie gave me this idea. We weren't able to do it this year, but I plan on incorporating next year. So many times children get caught up in the Santa aspect of the holiday. I want my children to recognize the importance of why we really celebrate Christmas. I think if we have a family night were we have a "birthday party" for Jesus with a cake and all...then it can help them to understand what an important role our Savior plays during this time of year.

Christmas Breakfast: Shawn's step mom established this tradition a few years ago. We always go over to Shawn's dads for a Christmas morning breakfast. It is great because I don't have to cook! It is always something that we look forward to and it is always great to spend time with Shawn's Dad. I might end up incorporating Staci's idea of waffles/ice cream/strawberries for a meal with just Shawn, me and the kids...since we go to Shawn's dad's on Christmas...maybe we will try doing this on Christmas Eve Morning.

Acting out the Nativity: Right now there aren't enough grand kids to participate in a live reenactment of the Nativity, but we did buy the Little People Nativity, Lil Shepherds, and Lil' Drummer Boy set for the kids this year. Maybe we can have the kids do it using all the toys. I think this is important for them to understand, and would be a fun way to use the set...and something that we can do with just our little unit instead of the extended family.

These are just a few that I really like, and there a ton more that I have to mull over and decide which ones to use. Here are also a few sites that give ideas of different traditions.

Cafe Traditions
The Sprague Lab - (thanks Abbie)
Garden View Cottage - this is a blog I stumbled upon where she shared 14 of her favorite traditions. One of the ones I liked was tradition #11 where she made pillowcases out of Christmas fabric...I might just do that...we will see.

Also if you have any others that you would like to tell me about...I would LOVE to hear them! I can't wait to gear up for next year! Christmas is such a great season, and I am so sad to see it go (so is Caden...because I have been sick, we have yet to get our decorations down. Caden gets upset every time I mention taking the tree down - He says he wants Christmas to last forever)! One thing that I hope to do this year is start my shopping early. Every year I say that I will, but end up scrambling in the end...Here is to hoping!

Weekend Fun

We had a pretty good weekend. On Friday, Shawn and I were able to go on a date. We went at grabbed a bite to eat at Pei Wei's and then headed out to watch "I am Legend." It is that new movie out with Will Smith. It was a pretty interesting film. It kinda has the same feel of Cast Away...lots of silence, not alot of music, and of course...only one main character. Will did a great job of carrying the role. I didn't like the ending as much, but the movie was an interesting concept. Apparently it is a remake of some 70's flick. I could never imagine living in a world where I was the only survivor. You will have to go see it and tell me what you thought.

On Saturday we woke up early and set up to tackle some projects. First I cut the boys hair. I really wish I knew how to do it a little better, but Shawn never seems to complain. In in end it saves us alot of money, and I guess the more I do it...the better I will get. It was so cute when we were finished. Sydney got up on the stool, and said "my turn." I guess that she felt a little left out. I wet her hair down, and then combed it out. She wanted me to use the clippers, but I refrained. We still haven't even trimmed Sydney's hair!

After haircuts we set out to put up our outside lights. We had meant to do them a few weeks back, but with Shawn out of town, and the rain...it never happened. So we finally drug out the box of lights, and set to work. Shawn did the majority of the work, and Sydney enjoyed hanging out with Dad for a bit. We still need to buy some more lights for the outside, but atleast we have some.

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to Tori and Tracy's for "Take Two" of our gingerbread houses. We hoped that these would fair better than our last attempt, and we are glad to say that it was a success! Caden was more into eating the candy this year than actually decorating it, but we still had fun. Tori and Tracy live right down the street from the Mesa Temple so afterwards we bundled up and went to see the lights. It really is one of the most beautiful light displays. At one point, Sydney didn't want to be in the stroller anymore, and all she wanted to do was "walk with Abby." They were so cute walking around hand in hand. It has been so fun watching Sydney...she is getting so independent, and just loves spending time with others.

One thing that has been different this time around is being pregnant during cold weather! Both Caden and Sydney were September babies so I never needed a jacket that would fit around my growing belly. Luckily it doesn't get too cold here, but I may have to go out and by myself a maternity jacket. I feel like it had taken forever for me to actually "look" pregnant, and not just fat...and then it seems as if I woke up this week, and now I am huge! The sad thing is that I know I am only going to get bigger! Oh the joys of pregnancy! Anyhoo, I had Shawn take some pictures of my fat self so you all can see how I am progressing, and be thankful that you aren't has fat as me! :) I am now 7 months along, and March is just around the corner! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by. (Oh...and BTW...No, we haven't opened the envelope yet! :)

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! :)

Gingerbread Mishap

One of the traditions that we have with Shawn's family is getting together and building Gingerbread houses. We started it last year, and Caden never stopped talking about it. Well, the day arrived on Sunday for us to enjoy in the festivities once more. We had gathered loads of candy, the gingerbread was cut and ready to piece together, and the cement (frosting) was loaded.

For those of you who don't live in Arizona, we have been having some crazy weather. It has actually been raining off and on for the past week. It has made it very cold (atleast for AZ), and provided lots of moisture in the air. Well, that moisture proved to be our detriment.

As we started piecing the houses together we noticed that the roof's were having a hard time staying in place. We discovered that even though the gingerbread had sat out all day on Saturday it was still soft! All of the roofs started to bow in the center from the weight of the candy. In the end each house slowly began to fall apart, and only one house managed to make it through. The kids enjoyed pilfering the candy stash, and we had fun as a family.

We all laughed at the mishap we had this year. Last year the roofs were not wide enough so we had a huge gap at the top. It is something that we can look forward to every year, and as you can see creates a different memory each time. Gingerbread House making TAKE TWO will take place this Saturday. Hopefully those will turn out!