How Many Days 'til Christmas?

I love Christmas time, so when I found this fun idea for an advent calendar, I wanted to try to make one of my own. I found the idea on SplitCoast Stampers. The original idea is from Beate Johns. I adapted it a bit to fit the canvas I found at JoAnn's. It took a bit longer than I anticipated, but I started and finished it today. :) Now, we have a fun calendar for next year's Christmas season.

Ms A had a great time 'helping' me fill the containers with my scrap paper. She also loved watching me use the punches and stamps. She's even figured out how to use the stamps. We had a fun time crafting together.

If you are interested, here are the instructions from Beate .
I bought the canvas, tins and one of the papers at JoAnn's. The tins I found in the bead storage area.

Christmas is Here!

Santa put her new Ariel phone and glitter ball in Sweet Pea's stocking and left in on the sofa. When she came downstairs Christmas day, she saw the stocking and hung it back where it belonged without knowing there was something inside. It took some coaxing from mom and dad for her to discover the items inside.

She was so excited about her new Little Mermaid phone. When she pushed a button Ariel talked to her. It startled her so she hid behind mom until she got over her shyness of Ariel 'talking' to her.

Sweet Pea had a wonderful time playing with her Lincoln logs. We made houses for her Little Ponies and she was set, until we opened the next present.

Sweet Pea and dolly with her new stroller. She was so excited about her new stroller. She couldn't wait to put her doll in and push her all over the place. She would ask us to open the buckle repeatedly so she could readjust her doll whenever she moved. Sweet Pea would make sure her doll was safe and then off she would go. Sweet Pea also made sure her doll had a nice warm blanket to keep her warm.

The next day, Sweet Pea was holding her doll and said "One for the money, two for the show, four to go!" (She doesn't like the number 3) Then she would place the doll in the stroller. It was so fun to watch her repeat what we have done to her, but usually it was us throwing her into our bed.

It has been so fun watching her play mom with her doll and the stroller.

Christmas Eve

Pierce, Erin and Sara spent Christmas Eve at our place. The kids were so excited to opened their presents from one another. Pierce loved his Transformer. Erin had a wonderful time with her Sleeping Beauty Polly Pocket.

Ms A was waving her Tinkerbell wand all over the place. The wand can also change colors in the tub and change the water color. Ms A had a great time with her bath later that day! HURRAY!

Aunt Sara received the coolest popcorn popper. (It was hard not to buy one for us.) It is a bowl that pops popcorn in the microwave. She also received some popcorn flavoring. Now she can have the yummy taste of homemade popcorn with the ease of using the microwave.

Sara and the kids gave us an Ice Cream sandwich maker with a couple of cookie kits and fun snowflake place mats. The sandwich maker has three fun shapes. I've been looking at place mats and ice cream sandwich makers, but hadn't told anyone. Sara is so good at reading my mind. :)

I can't wait to try out the sandwich maker!

Breakfast with Santa

We went to our annual Breakfast with Santa this morning. Ms A and her daddy went to visit Santa. She wasn't sure what to think of Santa.

I love the way she looked at Santa. At least this time she sat on his lap. I think it was the lure of the candy cane that encouraged her sitting on Santa's lap.

I thought I'd include a picture of her first time meeting Santa at last year's breakfast.


Ah, the things parents do to their children. :)

Sara

A few weeks ago, I received a call from Deanna, a friend of my sister, Sara. She and a group of friends from our ward decided to honor Sara with a makeover, complete with hair, makeup and clothes, for the upcoming holidays and New Year. Sara has touched the lives of so many people and I wanted her to know how amazing she truly is.

Sara,

You are an amazing person.
You are a wonderful mother, sister and friend.
Your have an inner strength that gives me the courage to move forward.
Your gentle and kind heart touches me and others around you in a profound and memorable way.
You have an amazing way finding out how to help others. You give without thinking of yourself and offer humble gratitude when others give to you.
Your testimony of the gospel is awe inspiring.
You have a noble and pure spirit.

I am so grateful to have you be a part of my family's life. I remember talking to you around this time last year. I remember tears shared. I told you about your foundation of inner strength would carry you through. I have been so blessed to see your growth and the miracles in your life this past year. I feel extremely grateful to witness the beautiful person you have become. Thank you for you example.

I love you.

Gingerbread House

Last night, we decided to decorate our Gingerbread House for Family Home Evening. Ms A was so excited to build a house with mom and dad. Reed and Ms A started putting the walls together and then we all put the candies on. She was so excited until she noticed the frosting sticking to her fingers. Every couple of minutes I would have to clean her hands so she could continue decorating.
She noticed Reed had eaten a couple of candies, so she want to to try them as well. We gave her a gumdrop which she quickly gobbled up and asked for more 'gum'. The next piece got stuck between her teeth which startled her. Once Reed and I calmed her down, she decided that she had enough candy. :)
I love this picture of Ms A . She loves to say cheese and hold that pose until the flash goes off. :)

Giza and the Great Pyramids

We had a tour guide most of the the time we were in Egypt. Definitely the best way to be introduced to the country. our guide was giving us all this background of who built the pyramids and what they represented. When she ended the explanation, our driver made a turn and suddenly these gigantic structures were before us. Words couldn't describe the impression they made. They are the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They are believed to have been built as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaohs: Khafre (the grandfather), Khufu (the father) and Menkaure (the son).
Reed decided to go inside the pyramid of Khufu. I took this picture of him entering. About five minutes later a tourist police asked someone else not to take pictures of the people entering. Oops.

While Reed was inside, Ms A and I looked around. Our tour guide warned us about the camel drivers, saying they will charge one price for getting up and another, higher price for getting down! That made me a bit wary of camel rides. She was interested in the camels, so we went to look at one. Her interest piqued a drivers attention, so he offered to let her sit on the camel. I was a bit nervous of the situation, so I declined. He tried to take her hand, which upset and scared her away from the idea of riding a camel. :(
If you have your picture taken with a local individual, they want a tip. We started to take this picture, when the tourist police stepped in. He had taken a picture with the three of us also, so when he asked for a tip, we gave him one.
The overview area. From the left to the right is the pyramids of Khafre, Khufu and Menkaure. Ms A was much more interested in the ants than having her picture taken. This is the only picture we have where she is looking at the camera instead of the ants. :)

The Sphinx guarding the pyramid of Khufu. The top portion of this pyramid is the only one that has the granite covering the limestone.







It is believed that the face on the sphinx is the face of Khafre.

My Dandelion Princess

In Greece, Ms A had this fascination with dandelions. Every place in Greece we visited, she found some. She would hold them until we returned back to the hotel later that day. Some times that was the only way we could get her to go where we wanted to visit. It also gave us something to distract her when it was nap time and we weren't even close to our hotel.

Our tour guide joked about her flowers as an offering to Zeus or Apollo.

We went for a walk this afternoon and she spotted some dandelions which she promptly suggested that "we pick them".

Sweet Pea's prayer

Reed decided to clean up some of those hard-to-reach spider webs the other day. Since Sweet Pea has entered the stage of asking: "What's happening?" or "What you doing?", she was very interested in watching Reed and asked him repeatedly those two questions.
That night as Sweet Pea was saying her nightly prayers, she asked Heavenly Father to bless the 'spider crabs' (spider webs). Reed and I had the hardest time keeping a straight face as she finished her prayer. We were so touched by her saying her prayer all by herself for the first time, but it was so funny listening to parts of her prayer. I thought about her prayer, I thought how blessed I am to have a child remind me how Heavenly Father cares for the spiders and their webs. We have such a sweet little girl.

Christmas Lights

So the other day, Reed came up to me and asked me a question that was totally unexpected. He asked if we could put the Christmas decorations up. What a pleasant surprise! I have such a wonderful husband. Typically, our decorations don't go up for another week and it's a challenge to get Reed to help as quickly as I want him to help. I jumped on the offer, only to discover we have no outside lights.
We went to the store and found the decoration area. When we went to the light aisle, Reed's eyes lit up with excitement. They had LED lights! Reed was so excited that they were available. He loves anything energy-efficient. Plus they have a longer life that incandescent lights! :) (Another benefit for Reed)
We hurried home and while Reed, Ms A and my nephew, Mr P, hung the lights, I put up the tree. Ms A and Mr P came inside once they found out they Reed wouldn't let them climb the ladder. Both of the children help decorate the tree.
Ms A has taken it upon herself to constantly readjust, play with and add new ornaments. From the tie for the tree skirt, to her beads, to stickers and her newest, her good luck charm from Greece, our tree changes daily.

Meteora

The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron – This is the largest of the monasteries located at Metéora.







I loved visiting this site. I was so impressed by the location of the monasteries. We climbed several sets of stairs to reach the monastery.

The Ayia Triada - James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only"
toward the end of the movie.

Ayios Nikolaos Anapaphsas.
The construction of the monasteries was an awe-inspiring feat.

More Pictures of Greece

Ms A saying 'cheese' in front of the Erechtheon on the Acropolis. When we entered the Acropolis, Ms A was very excited about walking up the steps, she refused to have us help her.

A night view of the Parthenon.

We fed the pigeons in front of the Parliament Building. Ms A had a great time chasing them, but she was unsure of them landing on her.

Chasing the birds in the National Garden.

Olympia - Temple of Zeus. One of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

Acropolis

We've had so many people ask how our trip was and when are the pictures available, I thought a little view of some of my pictures might be enjoyed. This is our favorite picture of the Acropolis. Reed and I were looking to find another site, when we climbed to the top of the hill. We were amazed at the view and then the sun began to set and the colors on the Parthenon and acropolis became even more breath-taking.

Give it a try

After visiting friends blogs, I thought I'd give it a try and see what happens. This format also makes it easier for family (grandparents) and friends to see what we're up to. I also thought it would be the perfect way to share pictures of our adventures.