Homemade Christmas

I had waaay too much fun making gifts this year for people and pictures have been requested, so I am going to indulge. I am not typically a homemade gift kind of person...unless there is some really good reason to do otherwise, I like to give gifts with gift receipts so people can get something they will use and enjoy if I pick something terrible, but most of these were things I would have bought for people if I weren't capable of making them just as cute!

So here are the homemade Christmas gifts we gave out...

there is more to come that the kids got, but that will be another post entirely!

Can't Wait to Share

these pictures were just too cute, they couldn't wait for me to finish going through all of the Christmas Pictures before posting!

(The boots are actually slippers from Old Navy...wish they were in my size!)

So Much to Tell...

Christmas really has felt a little like a tornado this year...it came and went in a whirlwind and left the evidence in its wake! I feel like we actually slowed it down a bit this year and enjoyed every minute, though. So...I am currently moving 2 GB worth of pictures from my camera to my computer from Christmas Week and then I will find some great ones to share with you.

But, lest you think I am slacking off on my blogging, I just want you to know that yesterday was the first day we have been home for more than an hour when we weren't hosting a party or preparing food and that was only because Morgan was throwing up all morning. It was a lovely day of relaxing and playing with toys and watching new movies and getting all of the presents out of their packaging and trying to figure out how in the world to get rid of 5 garbage bags full of recycling beyond what will fit in our bin. We were really looking forward to today being similar only without the sick part...so we spent the morning playing games and rearranging rooms to find places for toys.

In fact, that's how we found mold growing in between our lovesac and wall. We proceeded to rip out said wall, remove all interior wall that had touched mold, cut out carpet that had mold, reframe and sheetrock wall, and mud wall. Thankfully Grandma Becky came to the rescue to take the kids to lunch because it was a really long day for everyone! When you are 4 and your bedroom becomes off-limits because your mom and dad are frantically ripping out your wall, you tend to think the world might be ending.

Anyway...we now have a new mold-free wall that will be ready for more mud and paint on Thursday, Seth's next day off. Also on the agenda for Thursday...patch in carpet piece...and while we are at it, maybe we should patch in a piece where Morgan decided to practice drawing rainbows on the carpet with "washable" markers. Yippee! Sound like a fun New Years Eve to anyone else...feel free to join us! hehe.

So, today I am grateful for a handy husband...for being pretty handy myself...for a shop vac...for KSL.com (where I got rid of affected lovesac that I cut a giant hole in and removed a bunch of stuffing from)...bleach...power tools...and a one-day room makeover! Amazing how much different Morgan's room looks without a lovesac in it!

All in all, it has actually been a pretty awesome day! I love the feeling that accompanies accomplishing something and doing it right. In fact, it struck me that this little project is a lot like life. Stuff happens that is crappy and seemingly insurmountable and we have a choice: we can sit down and cry about it and feel downhearted and picked on, or we can grab the hand of the people we love the most, assure each other that we can do it, make a plan and get to work.

Christmas Greetings...Just in Case

In the name of simplifying my life

and really enjoying the holiday season with my family this year,

and saving a LOT of money on postage...tee hee

I may not get around to sending out Christmas cards this year.

Who knows, maybe I'll temporarily turn into superwoman and pull it off

but just in case...

Merry Christmas from the Tate Family!

We are truly fortunate to have so many dear friends and neighbors and such wonderful family!

Thank you for being a special part of our lives, past or present!

We hope that the coming year is filled with Peace, Love and especially Joy!

Keeping Busy

As if the holidays weren't busy enough,

here are some fun crafts that have been keeping me busy.

In reality, the many handmade gifts

(which have not been given and thus will not be pictured yet)

I have been making lately, have been keeping me more busy,

but without pictures that isn't a very exciting post!Felt Mr. Potato Heads

(these are the basic ones for an under $3 gift exchange we have coming up, but there are some additional fun accessories that the kidlets will be getting with theirs for Christmas.)
One of the Advent Calendars I put together made from a cookie sheet and magnets.
We now have 3 advent calendars...so everyone gets a turn every day.
Inside the 25th container is a Star ornament to hang on the tree...
preferably BEFORE tearing into the goodies from Santa.

Christmas Magic

She probably won't remember the first time she saw her reflection in an ornament...or the way she loved seeing it dangle above her...
he probably won't remember the years up until this one
when we had a real live Christmas tree...
or what a big deal it was to "make the switch"... And they probably won't remember that they got most excited about reading
the Chistmas books that had been boxed up since last season.

But I'll remember.

Because every bit of it is magical to me.

Every second reminds me that this season isn't about finding the perfect gift,

or filling every second of time with something,

or making sure that everything is fair.

It is about making memories,

celebrating together,

believing in something that you've never seen,

anticipation,

reverence,

appreciation,

traditions,

giving,

and most of all

Love.

That is when you find

the magic.

Recession House

In honor of economic recession (which apparently is over if you didn't get the memo)

I present to you our 2010 Gingerbread house...

recession style. We used our leftover halloween candy...

(which barely made a dent in the large quantity of candy that remained...and still remains)

+

some cereal from our cupboard

(for the roof)

+

an unopened bag of dark chocolate m&ms from Easter

(the Easter bunny didn't notice the word "dark" on the pastel package...ooops)

+

a bag of marshmallows from our food storage

which Chloe molded into a snowman,

complete with nerds for the eyes randomly placed all over its body

(and yes, I stock cake mixes and marshmallows in my food storage)

And all in all, it is most definitely our most colorful house EVER!

And Morgan posed for this cute picture with the finished project

even though he spent approximately 5.3 seconds actually helping before he was off to play with his cousins.

Chloe, on the other hand, stuck around until the project was finished...

sticking candy on the frosting, making sure I knew when we ran out of frosting to stick candy to, building marshmallow snowmen,

and - my favorite - placing random m&m "paving stones" throughout the yard.

I LOVE having a baby girl who wants to be all domestic and girly with me!

And here is the whole fam with our little house.

It looked this cute for a whole day while I kept little fingers away

then they won me over and went to town.

Suffice it to say, I wouldn't so much describe it as cute anymore.

Absolutely Gorgeous

and yet...

Sunday she got in the car after church and proclaimed,

"Let's talk about boys."

Dear Chloe,
Hey there little miss all-grown-up,

can you just slow down this growing up stuff and smell the roses a bit.

You only get to be little once,

princesses

my little ponies

and imagination land,

maybe we should just stick with talking about those for now,

because,

trust me,

you'll have plenty of time to talk about boys later...

maybe when you are 3.

Scared to death to meet your teenage self,

but I love love love you anyway!

-kisses and loves-

Mom