Christmas Morning

Ahhh ... what can I say ... we have strong Christmas morning traditions. I realized even the food I serve for breakfast is a tradition. At the last minute I added back the Cinnamon Pull-Apart that I had taken off this year's menu ... Tradition! Matt had shared with Kathy that I serve it every year ... oops!
We met for breakfast at 10 a.m. and enjoyed a leisurely meal sharing many Germer stories and isms. We always enjoy our time around the table.
We gathered around the tree and spent time in our traditional way of opening gifts ... one person, one gift at a time. This can take hours and usually involves a story behind many of the gifts. This year I added pictures for the gift tags so "santa's helpers" a.k.a the grandkids could hand out the presents without having to read names on the tags.
Just when everyone thought gift opening was coming to a close ... the finale was just beginning. It was time to distribute the Twelve Months of Christmas gifts -- see previous post. What a great ending to our fun morning together.
To continue our day-long celebration we enjoyed another tradition ... a sub sandwich bar for dinner and playing games. How I cherish this day with the family ... it truly is "the most wonderful time of the year."
What are some of your family traditions?
Credits:
Template: Moriginals 365 Template No. 15
Paper: jld holidayheart bg4
Ribbon: LJD The season
Wordart: dranet Christmas09WA
Font: American Typewriter

Christmas Eve Tradition

One of our Christmas Eve Traditions is to order a Starbucks and pose in front of the Christmas tree at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. This year I tried a Salted Caramel Mocha ... rich but tasty!
Tim and Rae were with us but missed the photo session due to some last-minute gift shopping.
This year our day began at Rose's on 23rd for breakfast with Byron and Heather and enjoyed a little shopping at our favorite shops in that area. We then joined our family at Pioneer Place. This year it was very crowded due to so many having the day off. Normally the crowds are quite thin on Christmas Eve.
We also enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery and visited Finnegan's Toy Store before leaving the downtown area. We headed south back home when the stores closed and added a tradition we haven't participated in since the grandkids were born ... we went to a movie. The guys saw Tron and the gals and grandkids watched Tangled. Following the movie we went to the TCC Candlelight Service at 11:30 p.m. We love this service ... so calm and quiet. I loved having lit candles for each attendee. We haven't done that since our Englewood days. It's a JOY to be a part of the true meaning of Christmas in word and song.
We got home after 1 a.m. and prepared ourselves for the next day ... time with the family!

Christmas Eve Snowfall

Each year we enjoy a little snow in downtown Portland on Christmas Eve. It "snows" at Pioneer Place.

The kids loved it ... they even made snow angels in the fluffy stuff!
It would have been nice to have a white Christmas but this will have to do this season!

Repeat: Secret Santas

Just in time for Christmas ...
We squeezed a Secret Santa Shopping date in before the holidays. With the POD move it was a little tricky finding just the right time for our traditional date night with the grandkids.
We gave them a dinner choice and Calleigh picked Wendy's ... she knows her grandpa's favorite place to eat : )
We headed over to the nearest Target and shopped for the perfect present for Mom and Dad. After much consideration we decided to buy them a combined gift of a Harry Potter Lego Wii game. We also included gloves for Mom because she needed them. I heard later that the second pair of the set will be shared with Dad!
We ended our evening with popcorn from the cafe while we wrapped and tagged our gifts.
What a fun evening out with the kids!

Glimpse of Christmas

It's always fun to play with Mosiac Maker at Big Huge Labs. I created a glimpse of a few Christmas decorations from our home this year.
Our unique pink Barbie tree is always fascinating for Calleigh. It's getting quite full -- so many Barbie ornaments to display.
This year the Christmas village was a delight to the grandkids. They had more fun rearranging the buildings, people and accessories. I painted the entire set about 16 years ago. Nice to see it provides fun and enjoyment many years later.
We always have a display of various angels and snowmen but the newest addition hanging on our tree was the angel we bought from the Murano glass factory in Venice. What a great reminder of our trip to Italy.
I found a few antique Christmas cards in the family trunk and displayed them on the bookcase we moved from our bedroom to the living room. My little birds were a great find at the Hen's Tooth in Sisters during our fall Sunriver getaway. It seems like nearly every blog I read has a glass displayed with shiny ornaments. I found this glass dome/plate at Goodwill this year and decided to fill it with colorful ornaments and display it on our china hutch. I always love my snowman shelf-sitter in our entryway ... a great holiday welcome!
This year I really tried to be more of a minimalist with my decor and found the house felt more comfortable without the holiday clutter. It will be a little sad to put it away but as the new year draws near, I am ready to have everything in it's place before heading back to work.

Glitter Trees

I found this great idea at this site and wanted to make them for our home. I think a lot of bloggers liked them because I see them featured on many sites in my RSS Feed.
The subway art was a free download so the only investment I made was printing and the frame. The glitter trees required some time in gathering the materials. I wanted to use my Michael's coupon for each item: 3 styrofoam cones and 3 different colors of Martha Stewart glitter. I found the stands (candleholder) at the Dollar Tree and painted them black to match the frame.
I will not deceive you by saying it was a snap to make these. It wasn't so bad time-wise ... just a little messy. I worked on it in the kitchen because it was too cold in the garage. I placed newspaper on the table to protect the surface. The adhesive spray had a wider-range than the protection I placed on our table and attracted the leftover glitter : ( My fingertips were covered in glitter and I did this BEFORE heading off to work! I would recommend having UNDU available to help with clean up both with your work surface and your hands. I think if I made these again I would paint the cones the same color as the glitter. I think this would help with coverage. This might be a nice summer project where you could glitter these outside : )
I have really like the dazzle of color these simple elements have added to our home during the holidays and I have had many compliments. I am so thankful for the creative blogs I subscribe to. It has changed my decorating style to be more simplistic ... but elegant.

Merry Christmas From Our House To Yours

Homemade Marshmallows

My first Monday of Winter Break I wanted to tackle making homemade marshmallows to go with my December theme for "The Twelve Months of Christmas." I found a recipe on Our Best Bites and decided it had the best instructions for tackling this new cooking adventure. It was really a two-day process and they turned out well but the chocolate dipping was the most time consuming part. Dipping anything in chocolate seems to be a challenge for me : ( They are delicious and Walt wonders why you would go to all the work of making them when you can buy them at the store. No ... these are much better!
The packaging made a fun addition to my December theme. I would definitely make these again. However, if you are considering it, you really do need a stand mixer for the best success!
I feel like having a cup of cocoa right now with a yummy marshmallow afloat!
Credits:
Template: In the Making V
Paper: Beth Long/Cold Winter paper 1
Wordart: In Winter's Arms/dydyge wordart1
Font: Chromosome Light, Pea Noodle's Girlfriend

A Taste of Italy

Still excited from our trip to Italy we wanted to include "A Taste of Italy" in our gift giving this Christmas. I remember our tour guide telling us we could find instructions for making Limoncello online so I did a little research. I found a site that included step-by-step instructions with pictures.
We gathered the ingredients, bottles, and equipment and started the process two weeks before Christmas. After mixing the ingredients the container is placed in a dark cupboard and stirred each day for 7 days. The final step is to add sugar and water and put it in bottles. Pierre told us about great glass flasks at The Container Store so we had several shapes and sizes to choose from. However, when we returned to the store for more, they had sold out! Very popular item this year. The added pleasure of the project was the Dehazes making it at the same time but using oranges instead of lemons.
I should have included a caution on the label: You only need a "thimble-ful" to enjoy the great lemony taste!

The Twelve Months of Christmas ...

This year I wanted to do something different for Christmas with our kids ... a theme to go with a "Make It, Bake It, Sew It, Grow It, Repurpose It" idea. After pondering this during a January insomnia night I came up with the idea of the "Twelve Months of Christmas." I could hardly get back to sleep with all sorts of ideas floating through my head. By summer I had a few concrete ideas and I started collecting the items and packaging for each month's theme. Here's what I came up with:
January: Movie night (Regal tickets in a popcorn container)
February: Bouquets in Winter (vase with Trader Joe's gift card)
March: Car Wash (Kaady car wash gift card in a car holder)
April: Gardening (Bucket filled with gloves, garden accessories, gift card)
May: Cinco de Mayo (homemade salsa, Mike's, chips)
June: Summer BBQ (glass votive holder, BBQ sauce, 3 rubs)
July: A Taste of Italy (homemade Limoncello, shot glasses)
August: Happy Hour (gift card to McMenamins)
September: Romance (pasta, sauce, candles & holders, dessert, wine romance music CD)
October: Fall Baking (TJ Bread mix, ceramic measuring spoons, homemade dishcloth, printed freezer labels from Martha Stewart site)
November: Red Box Movie Night ($$$ in a RED box, theater candy/popcorn)
December: It's Cold Outside! (Ceramic cocoa set, homemade marshmallows and cocoa "accessories")
Yes ... that made 36 gifts to wrap, package, and hide : )
Christmas morning we waited until all gifts were opened and then celebrated "The Twelve Months of Christmas." What fun to give ... and share in the joy of the recipients.
It was a great year-long project for Christmas ... fun shopping, finding bargains, discovering a great container idea, trying new recipes, thinking of different things I could find used/repurposed, and getting inspired by the blogs I read.
I already have an idea for next year ... however, I cannot share it because the recipients are also readers!
I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with those you love!

Happy 2010

Happy New Year! We enjoyed a wonderful evening with lifelong friends, the Petersons. Don made an amazing meal and we enjoyed catching-up until the wee hours of morning. We are so thankful for these dear friends ... what a way to start out the new year.
In keeping with my "Word of the Year" ... VITALITY ... we started a membership at Club Sport yesterday afternoon. We are both excited to work on wellness this year. This was our Christmas present to each other ... the gift of a healthier lifestyle!
I would love to hear if you have a Word of the Year for 2010 ...

Home: Simplified

Monday I moved my new box of cookware to the kitchen to wash and put away (thanks again, kids!) and for some reason ... I made a decision to take all our holiday decorations down -- tree and all ... by myself. It took most of the day because as I packed things away I was also "simplifying" (purging) some of our Christmas decor. Yesterday I tackled the Christmas storage closet ... organizing gift wrap, bows, tissue paper and putting everything away until next year. I did discover a crate of gift wrapping essentials (that I couldn't find before Christmas) after stocking up on clearance items Saturday @ Target. I guess I'm set for several years now.
It's nice to have the house clean and in order ... it just feels peaceful and relaxing ... Simplified.
The lights are still up ... I will leave that to Walt. I'm not brave enough to get up on the ladder : )

Cookies Anyone?

Monday night I went to our annual cookie exchange ... my 20th year. I've missed a few along the way due to illness or ER visits but this year ... thankfully, I felt well. I made my favorite cookie recipe ... Chocolate Crackles. I love them but I have to say that my kitchen looked like a snowstorm had blown through after rolling all of them in powdered sugar. I packaged twelve dozen for the exchange, took a couple dozen to TCC's Tastes and Sounds and sent the rest to work with Walt.
Tuesday the moms at school invited the staff to a "cookie exchange" ... tables were covered with plates and platters of cookies they had lovingly baked for us. We were invited to select two dozen cookies but we were encouraged to enjoy another round as there were so many cookies leftover. What a thoughtful school community. I would love to have some of their recipes.
Needless to say, I will not have to worry about baking next week. If you stop by, please help us out and have a cookie or two. They're delicious!
P.S. Matt: I saved your favorite -- Loretta's candied nuts :)

Our Christmas Card

This year we discovered that Costco Photo has a new option where you can custom design your own Christmas photo card so we decided to give it a try this year. Walt tweaked the template I downloaded last year and we just added paper, embellishments, and photos. It was fun to have enough space to include everyone in the family ... including a few 35th anniversary shots.
Sending our Christmas greetings to all of you ...

P.S. Passing on a great idea ... we sent our Christmas card jpg file to Costco and ordered an 8x10 to insure the color was correct and that the pictures weren't distorted etc. before placing a large quantity card order. I framed this and displayed it in our home during the holidays. It was enjoyable to view this often since we usually send the cards and don't usually have one on display in our home. A good idea to keep in mind for 2010!

It's Been A Hard Days Night ...

This Beatle song was playing on the radio when I pulled out of the school parking lot yesterday ... the first minute of my two week winter break. Very appropriate for how much I have been juggling while working full-time and keeping up with Christmas traditions.
You know you're ready for a break when ...

• While on lunch duty and trying to keep the cafeteria quiet, I walk by a second grade table with the intention of saying, "This table is too noisy." but in my fatigued mind I said, "This table is too quiet." ... and believe me, they haven't let me forget it : ) Now any time I'm near their table they comment loud enough for me to hear ... "Hey, we're being too quiet!" and laugh. OK ... hopefully they forget about that over the break. I think I'm starting to feel "at home" in my school community and find myself getting attached to so many of the students. There are more hugs, a lot of smiles and teasing ... and connection in seeing a student's love of reading. I think I will miss many of them over the next two weeks.
• My RSS inbox shows 287 unread posts. I haven't had time to keep up with my favorite blogs and miss these "internet" friends and what is going on in their lives.
• Shopping is only about a third of the way completed and I haven't started wrapping yet. Everything always comes together by the 24th and I'm thankful to be off work to pull it all together.
• I haven't had the time or energy to make an appointment for a haircut ... my last one was in June >gasp<>

There have been very few blank squares on my calendar this month. We have been to parties, cookie exchanges, school programs, dinner out with friends, church programs, volunteering time as stocking stuffers @ Templeton, shopping for presents, mailing cards ... all that is usually associated with the season. And it can all squeeze out the reason for the season ... Jesus' birthday and "making room" for Him in our heart ... and with our time.
I am looking forward to a relaxing vacation ... one of the great benefits of my job! I hope you are finding time for JOY ON YOUR JOURNEY this week.

Ssshhhhh! We're Secret Santas

Last night we picked up the grandkids for a dinner date and Christmas shopping for Mom & Dad. We let them pick the place and it was WENDY'S ... honest, Grandpa had no influence on the decision : ) We enjoyed our favorite entrees and the best part of the meal ... a Leap Frog calculator!
Next it was off to the Tanasbourne area and their favorite place to shop ... Target. What fun we had looking at EVERYTHING ... especially the toy dept. We now have some good ideas for our shopping lists. Our favorite part of this adventure was in the Christmas aisle. Calleigh found all the dancing-singing stuffed characters and had an entire row "performing" at once. What fun!
We did accomplish our mission ... these Secret Santas are good. They picked out one gift for Mom and one for Dad. We even bought gift bags and tissue, went over to the snack bar in the store, ordered Colin's favorite --popcorn, and sat down to wrap our gifts before heading home.
I think this will be one of the highlights of the holiday season and could easily become an annual tradition. However, we need to plan "date nights" for the other 11 months of the year. I'll have to come up with some fun ideas ... do you have one to share?
The only disappointment in our outing ... my "purse" camera was left behind at home. It would have been wonderful to capture some of the magic of the evening!
I hope you are finding JOY in this season ...

Photo-a-Day December 23

"Hark the Herald Angels Sing ... Glory to the newborn king!"
Time to move on to something other than snowfall ...
This year I have worked at simplifying Christmas decor. I wanted to display things that do not overload the senses, have meaning, and can be handled by the grandkids. For me, clutter is not peaceful. I found a spot in our living room to set up a few of the angels I have in my collection. They've come from many different sources ... gift exchanges, a candle from Woodstock, NY when I visited in 1985, and my newest addition -- a find at Goodwill for $1.99. I discovered, quite by accident, that she plays "Silent Night" while I was in the checkout line. I thought it would be a great "hands-on"addition for the grandkids to play with plus I LOVE a bargain : )
As we draw near to Christmas, it is good to ponder the lyrics -- "Peace on earth and mercy mild -- God and sinners reconciled." -- and remember the reason for the season.

Tickled Pink

After 15 years of collecting holiday Barbie Ornaments I finally found the perfect tree for displaying them while shopping on Black Friday. Yeah to Michael's for the great deal on a pink flocked 36 inch tree ... every little girl's dream.
Knowing how much Calleigh loves dolls and Barbie I wanted to have a fun display she could enjoy and remember for years to come. The ornaments are high impact plastic so she can touch and admire each one.
I know how you all can't wait to see this : ) ... tours available by request ... hahaha. Now you can feel sorry for Walt who has to deal with a pink Christmas tree on display in our home : ) But not to worry ... we do have a traditional tree set up too!

Toy and JOY

One of our favorite Christmas traditions over the past twenty years has been joining friends at church for a progressive dinner/gift exchange. This year we had a change in our gift giving and I have to say it was not only fun for us but will bring JOY to a child's life this Christmas.
We drew names and shopped for a toy that reminded us of that person. How fun is that??? and I had the JOY of buying Hawaiian Barbie and Ken for our recipients ... a double bonus for a Barbie fan : ) The toys we opened were then donated to the Toy and Joy Program. What great food, fun and fellowship ... and an opportunity to make a difference in someone else's life.

Knit One, Save One Update

Several posts ago I shared an opportunity for knitters to get involved in making a difference in our world. I made a commitment to knit as many baby caps as I could before the December 31st deadline and from one skein of yarn I made six caps. I carried this project with me everywhere ... I spent time knitting on breaks at work, waiting in long Costco gas lines, and I even knit a row or two while waiting in gridlock traffic!
This season I am focusing on a more "missional" Christmas. I want to see my world through different eyes. This year our Black Friday was focused on what we could buy for those in need ... sock and gloves for City Team, clothes and toys for a family our REACH group is sponsoring. I am so thankful for our church, friends and family who have encouraged me to put "feet" to what my ears hear ... what my eyes see. I encourage you to REACH OUT this Christmas and then make it a habit year round.


Yes ... we can make a difference!