Merry Christmas!

Here's the highlights from Christmas, and maybe an explanation of why I haven't blogged since November...

I found the cutest Christmas tree (live in a pot) that's not tooooo small, but sits perfectly on top of our desk in the living room. The presents don't fit up top with the tree, so they go under the desk. It's maybe not traditional, but it works great. I couldn't find my tree skirt and it wasn't high enough on the list of handmade priorities... maybe next year. I did decide on a whim to make a fabric garland from scraps of Christmas flannel! It turned out super cute! And the cinnamon gingerbread garland is from HERE!

Thanks to my new Pinterest addiction I may have gone slightly overboard with handmade gifts this year. Here's a rundown of what I REMEMBER making and links to where I got the ideas (if they weren't my own):

Sugar Scrubs for hands and feet

Rice pocket warmers

Citrus Coasters

Tree Stump Coasters

Peppermint Marshmallows

Silhouette Ornaments

iPhone/iPad Gloves

French Macarons

iPhone clip case with zippered pocket

Panda phone/camera case 

"Whatever" Clock

Money Gift "Wallet"

Braided Bracelets

Mug Rugs
Ruffle Pouch
Letter from Santa (to explain why Ethan was getting a used video game....)

(The pictures in the links are the inspiration. 
I forgot to take pictures as I was making stuff!)

Whew... I was a little busy. During that time I also learned how to make my own deodorant and laundry soap!

We had a very nice Christmas celebration. We started off with a Christmas Eve service at the German church where all four of us played a part. Rob was playing the piano the whole time, Haven, Rob and I all sang, and Ethan played the HARP!! That's right! He was at the practice with us and kept trying to play Ariane's harp, so she just brought the baby one for him. And he performed on Christmas Eve with the rest of us! It was SO cute! I don't have pictures yet, but hopefully some good ones were taken.

Christmas Eve was lovely and quiet and full of music and friends and food and fussball!

And then there was the storm of wrapping paper, ribbons, tissue, and squeals of delight this morning! I was busy notating everything the kids got as they shredded paper, so there aren't many pictures... 

These are just a few things I snapped pictures of. The circuit board on the bottom is pretty cool. It's like legos in that it snaps together, but there are real wires and circuit boards to connect and make it run stuff. Ethan loved testing his own designs and then trying to figure out why they didn't work! The kit came with instructions for 100 different circuit configurations!

I heard about the book "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" from a blog I read and Haven bought it for me for Christmas. The pictures in it are really interesting to me. They are all vintage photos which are clearly manipulated, but BEFORE photoshop. So those editors had some skills! The funniest quote of the day came when I opened the book and Haven said, "Don't drop my bookmark! I'm not finished reading it!" HAHAHA!! Yes, she was pre-reading her gift to me. Whatever, as long as she reads. :)

And the other really exciting gift for me (which I get to talk about since I'm the one typing...) is that Rob got me a Jo Totes Camera bag! These bags are super cool! I swoon over how organized my bag is now. I can fit all my junk in it - in an orderly fashion - AND fit my DSLR camera!

Presents are nice, and we are very grateful for the things we received. But the main thing that was so touching to us is the gift of family and friends. With all the "interesting" and, to be honest, painful experiences of 2011, we treasured our Christmas together. We survived 2011 and we have faith that God will continue to direct our paths in 2012.

And if the zombie apocalypse happens to occur, I know how to sew clothes, make soap and deodorant.
So I guess we're set.

Froehlichhe Weihnacten und einen guten Rutsch!!