Believe in Santa

It was weird to walk into the house and see our bare coat closet door.  So I wanted to try & make a large door decoration for the Christmas season.  I found a great pattern!

Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer

Two Christmas trees with a star on top.  Not a great picture, though.

Of course, Santa Clause!

"Believe"!

Not the best lighting for picture, but you can see the size of Santa better.

It's finished size is about 18" tall.

This pattern, "Believe" was designed by Donna Harelik and can be purchased through e-PatternsCentral.com

I chose to do his eyes using the Googly Eyes and didn't bother to put glasses on him.  I used Red Heart brand Cherry Red and Aran color yarn for his suit and face.  I used Simply Soft Caron yarn for all the white parts.  It's very soft & helped his beard lay beautifully.  Rudolph is made with Simply Soft Caron yarn as well; Chocolate.  The trees were made with Red Heart Paddy Green, stars were Simply Soft Caron.

This pattern was a bit frustrating.  I found mistakes with the mittens, beard, & the trees.  I totally screwed up Rudolph the first time I tried putting him together.  But that was no fault of the designer.  I just had a big brain fart!   But I love the finished product and the closet door doesn't look naked anymore:)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Recital

Kara had her 1st recital as a guitar student on December 8th.  She'd been taking lessons for exactly 3 weeks and she learned AND even memorized "Jingle Bells" to perform.  She's so awesome!    I have to gush, it's a mom thing, you know.  I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished in the few short weeks of guitar lessons.

Kara was nervous, but she bit the bullet & willingly played her solo.  She didn't even hesitate on her way up to the chair.  She was so swift & sure that she was half way through "Jingle Bells" before I could even start recording!  So of course, I didn't get it.  But she played again for me at home so that I could record it.  Now I just have to convert it in order to blog it.   I'm just not getting it done fast enough:(

Not only did she do her guitar solo, she learned a few chords so that she could be part of the accompaniment for the Sing Along at the end of the night.

For the Sing Along, she played Silent Night, Jingle Bells, and Jingle Bell Rock.  Yah, Kara ROCKS!!!

Kara loves her teacher, Mrs. Haggarty!  She used to substitute in the public schools for the music classes.

She's amazing with the kids and has great incentive programs they enjoy.

Kara was so happy and proud of herself for accomplishing such a hurdle.   She even SMILED for me to take a couple of pictures!  That's almost unheard of for her:)   I haven't seen her countenance sparkle like this before, so I know that she's enjoying every minute of it!

Kara is so totally AWESOME!

(Movie footage coming soon)

New Tradition

I've never made a ginger bread house or graham cracker house before.  But this shouldn't surprise you, because I'm always saying that I don't get out much:)   We were invited to a friend's house to make cracker houses.  It was a lot of fun with plenty of mess and at the end of the night, vomiting!  Thanks Evy!

BUSTED!!!!   Kara:  "What?!  I didn't do anything!"

Who needs all the candy when one can just suck the frosting from the bag?

Nice scallops and shingles, Brynn!  Very detailed.   Santa's feet are sticking up out of  the chimney and his body is just inside the house.  Very clever!

Terry's is still a work in progress.  So far, he has half of the shingles on his house.

Thanks to our friends for the invite!   It was totally worth the $22 of sugar.  We had a great time!

No More Braces!

After 2 1/2 years of braces, she now has a beautiful smile!

Brynn is taking a wood shop class in school.  This is something to put on your table or counter to place hot pans on.  Works like a pot holder/hot pad.  I've already used it & it works great!  Brynn received the highest grade in the class!  Great job Brynn!

Christmas Is Coming!

With Christmas on it's way, I was able to FINALLY sort through Halloween decorations that were still out.  I then put them and the Thanksgiving/Autumn decorations back up in the attic & pull down all the Christmas crap.  "Crap" is my word for "stuff" or "things".  I love most of our Christmas decorations and enjoy the look once it's all in place.

The girls all helped with decorating.  This year I wanted to try the tree in front of the window.  That meant moving the couch, which is awkward, but I think I can stand it for the month:)  I love having the tree there!  The girls did a great job decorating it and they plead with me to rearrange the red bows.  But I didn't do it until AFTER I took this picture.  So you get to see the original workmanship!

My mother-in-law made this Nativity set.  For years, she gave us another piece of the set for Christmas until the set was complete.  She is awesome with ceramics and painted every piece herself!

Traditional fireplace decor.  Elsy & Eli are lovin' it up there with Santa Clause (who, by the way, was also the creation of my mother-in-law).  The Snowmen in the middle of the hearth say "Let It Snow" across the front. Mother-in-law made that, too!

Advent Calendar House is a favorite at our house!  It holds candy, jewelry, toys, and any other small prize I can come up with.  The ceramic tree stump is out all year long.  It holds 3 ceramic characters on it and can change for each holiday or season.  Guess who made it???   Yep, my mother-in-law!  Told you she was awesome:)

The grand piano is holding the Jingle Bells Reindeer this year.  Aren't they cute?!  Yah, we have our own ceramic maker.  The snowmen and penguins are ceramic, too.  However,  they were made by my sister-in-law years ago.  She's awesome, too.  But only 2 awesomes.  (not that I'm counting)  Mother-in-law is 22 awesomes.

The upright piano gets the village.

Sorry people, these were all store bought!

See how green & sunny it is outside?  I love those kind of Christmas's the bestest!
SAY NO TO SNOW!

Morning Boost

15 minutes before the girls' alarms start going off, I see movement in Livvy's room.  I went in to investigate:

Me:  Livvy?  Are you awake?
Livvy:  Yep.
Me:  How come you're up so early?
Livvy:  Because my tank was full.
Me:  *Giggle*  What?!
Livvy:  My tank was full!


I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!  The tears in my eyes helped wipe the sleep away.

Me:  Where did you get that from?
Livvy: *Smiling*  From TV on Saturday mornings.

Seriously, feeling the effects of a full bladder will never be the same again:)