December Recap

A recap of our December...


Around our house:












Our Christmas Bags:

Remember how B and I have exchanged our gifts to each other in brown bags for the last few years? (If not, you can revisit how that tradition got started here). Well, this year our brown bags got an upgrade, courtesy of my seester!


I had seen the idea for fabric Christmas bags here, at How Does She (an awesome blog that I love to stalk!), so I talked to my seester about making them (she has gotten really good at sewing cute bags) and she offered to make them for us!


We headed to the fabric store, picked out some cute fabrics, and got them done that evening after dinner. They turned out so cute and there was so much room for our presents (even the ones that were huge and bulky)!


Here, see for yourself....


Here's how she made them (with some pinning, turning, and cutting help from me!)...

Thanks Jenny, we LOVE them!




Christmas Eve with my fam....

Maddy...

Hudson...

Both of these cuties...

It was such a fun night! I can't believe I neglected to take pictures of the Phase 10 smackdown that I dealt out to my family! It's a good thing that my memory is like a steel trap and I will NEVER forget the first time I actually won that game!!!

Christmas Day with B's family...

This year my MIL was quite the tricky lady.



I know, I know, she looks all nice and sweet (and she really is), but let me tell you.... she has some wicked tricks up her sleeve!

Case in point, the gift card incident.

This year I thought I was crazy when I opened an old college textbook (make that a CRUSTY old college textbook!) called "The Physics of an Atom." I really thought to my self, "What the French, Toast!" I know I looked completely confused (believe me, I felt confused) and wasn't really sure what to say. I mean I wanted to be polite and all but I wasn't really sure how, it was a PHYSICS textbook, I have never done anything with PHYSICS!

Then, as I turned the book around for B to see the cover, low and behold, a gift card fell out and that nice MIL of mine started to laugh. I admit, it was pretty hilarious and clever too, so I figured I had better watch out for her!

Fast forward to the next surprise present - a jar of dried beans - and again, the total look of confusion. Seriously, how come I didn't learn my lesson from the first time? I was wondering what in the world I was going to do with a jar of dried beans (that wasn't even full) and I was shaking the jar at B, when all of a sudden, there appeared a gift card at the top of the beans.

I told you she had wicked tricks up her sleeve!

We all had a really good laugh but I vow never to look confused again - even if the gift is really, really weird!




And that is a recap of our December! Hope yours was great too!

We miss our family and friends that are far away and want you to know that we love you and think about you often. Here's to a terrific 2011 for all of us!

Songs of the Season

The radio stations have been playing Christmas songs for weeks to help us all find the Christmas Spirit. We hear the "most popular" Christmas songs played repeatedly from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day.

Have you ever really paid attention to what these "popular" songs are telling us year after year, day after day, as we sing along in the car, at work, at home, and just about everywhere we go during this season?

Here are a few of the messages that we hear over and over during this time of year:

• Deck the halls
• Santa Claus is coming to town
• You better not cry
• All I want for Christmas is
• Have yourself a merry little Christmas
• Christmas, Christmas time is here, time for toys
• We've been good, but it can't last
• It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, toys in every store
• Whisper what you'll bring to me
• Bring it right here

No wonder we feel compelled to overshop, overspend, and overindulge ourselves and others!

Now, despite the emphasis on what "I'm getting" in so many popular Christmas songs, there are other good messages to be found in these modern-day songs as well:

• There's no place like home for the holidays
• Feed the world
• It's the best time of the year
• Friends are calling
• As long as you love me so
• May your days be merry and bright

In addition to the "most popular" Christmas songs, the radio stations also mix in a variety of "classic" Christmas carols, which have completely different messages:

• Glad tidings of great joy
• Joy to the world, the Lord is come
• Let every heart prepare him room
• Silent night, holy night
• Christ, the Savior is born
• With wondering awe, the wise men saw
• Good tidings of comfort and joy
• Oh come all ye faithful
• Come and behold him
• Peace on earth, good will to men

But have you ever noticed that these "classic" carols don't get as much play time as the "most popular" songs of the season?

As I reflect on this season, I think a couple of lines from songs in both the "popular" and "classic" categories sum up how I feel the best:

• Where are you Christmas, why can't I find you
  
• Remember Christ the Savior, was born on Christmas day

As Christmas Day grows closer and closer, and as the frenzy and frantic feelings escalate to get presents and packages tied up with strings, to wish you a Merry Christmas, to attend the parties and have a cup of cheer, don't forget that to REALLY make the season bright, we have to make room in our lives for Jesus Christ.

Oh come, let us adore him,
Oh come, let us adore him,
Oh come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

December comes to a close

With 2010 looming just hours away, I realize that I have neglected to update my blog with some awesome December moments. So, what better way to show these experiences than with pictures!


My brother-in-law retired after 20 years of service in the Air Force...

...so we headed down to San Antonio...







Although it was a quick trip for B & K, we were really glad to be able to go down and be there as Joe and his family were honored in his retirement ceremony (of course, we also get to tease him about being "retired!")


Christmas brought with it some ups and some downs. My dad was hospitalized for an infection in his leg, and I battled a sinus and upper respitory infection. Despite these downs, the ups of the season were greater.

We got a little snow...

Maddy made us smile...








We ate yummy treats...






We gave gifts from the heart...

My gift to Brian was a "Brown Bag Special" (brown bag gifts are a huge tradition in my family) containing 30 cards (1 card to be opened each day for the next 30 days) with each card depicting a characteristic or trait that I love about him:

Brian's gift to me was a "Year in Review" letter with pictures and memories describing the different experiences we had in 2009 that were meaningful to him:
(plus an I-Tunes gift card because he's just sneaky!)






2009 was filled with many fantastic days for B&K and now we look forward to a new year filled with more great opportunities to experience and memories to make.

Happy New Year!

Up Too Late (a Christmas tradition)

Well, since staying up too late is really most every night of my life, I guess it doesn't really fit into the category of "Christmas tradition!"

However, the couple of nights leading up to Christmas are a little different than every other late night in my life life because I am usually putting together gifts during these late hours - as was the case tonight. And the gift I was working on tonight is awesome!

Brian and I have a tradition where one of the gifts we give each other is "A Gift from the Heart." This is a gift that is meaningful, personal, and follows a very important rule: you can't buy it.

In years past, I have had no trouble coming up with my Gift from the Heart to Brian, but it seems that the creative side of my brain has recently turned to jello and I have been floundering around trying to figure out what to do this year.

Don't get me wrong, at the beginning of November I had some stellar ideas, some big plans, actually I was planning the grand poobah of all meaningful gifts... I just couldn't get any of them going (much less finished) because of this problem I have called: TIME MANAGEMENT (I have none, therefore it is a problem).

So, here's my novel idea for next year (I'm sure nobody has thought of this yet!)....start working on those stellar ideas, those big plans, and the grand poobah of all meaningful gifts DURING THE YEAR! Yeah, right... a girl can wish it now. It's just that when spring rolls into summer, which rolls into fall, which rolls into... you got it: Christmas again, I realize I am not organized enough to get it done during the year.

And now, enough rabbit chasing ... back to my post about being up too late tonight.

Even though none of the amazingly awesome gifts I had planned earlier got done, tonight I finally figured out my Gift from the Heart for Brian and I have worked my tail off getting it done.

I loved putting it together and can't wait to give it to him!

I love this Gift from the Heart tradition, it is one of my favorite things!

Sing a new tune with me!

Pause the music player at the bottom and sing along to...

Kirsten's version of "Deck the Halls"

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
(This year we'll just keep it real simple)...

Tis the season to be jolly
(Doing things that bring us happiness)...

Don we now our gay apparel
(Who needs that we'll just wear comfy clothes)...

Troll the ancient Yule tide carol
(Spending time together matters most).


This season B and I are trying to to do something together each day to help us focus on what this season is really about - family, friends, and our Savior.

So, while "Decking the halls" and putting our tree up together is one of the things we have done (and one of the things I LOVE!), it is just part of what we have included on our Days of December calendar.

The interesting thing about our Days of December quest, is that I am really finding that no matter what we do, when we purposefully take time to do something that brings us closer together or closer to others, we are also drawn closer to our Savior, and that is helping ME to find the true Spirit of Christmas in a busy world where buying gifts seems to matter most.

What about you? What do you do to find the Spirit of Christmas?

Sing with me

Pause the music player at the bottom so you can keep the tune in your head while you sing...

Kirsten's Version of "Jingle Bells!"

Dashing through the door

Christmas is on it's way

the days will quickly go

laughing on their way.

The boxes must come down

we'll decorate tonight (NOT!)

the ornaments and shiny things
will dress our house up bright.

Oh... December Days, December Days

they fly by in a haze

the hardest thing for me to do

is to avoid the craze.

December Days, December Days

I want to use them well
if anyone knows how I can
please leave a note and tell!

So... with all of the busyness of the season how are YOU managing your December Days?