Merry Christmas!

May you experience the magic & wonder of the season as we celebrate the Birth of our Savior.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Reindeer Root Beer & Christmas Popcorn

Just in case anyone is looking for a last minute fun Christmas activity with your kids....

 Reindeer Root Beer & Christmas Popcorn!

Christmas Popcorn = popcorn with red & green M&Ms :)  I saw a friend on facebook with similar root beer reindeers, so I made my own version based on the materials I already had laying around the house.  I bought plastic bottles since I thought they would be safer with the kids, a word of warning - the labels were a PAIN to remove.  My advice is to go with the no-label glass bottles and just pour the kid's root beer into another cup when it's time to actually drink it - that's what we ended up doing anyway.

We ate & drank our special treats while watching a Christmas movie and then had our annual weekend before Christmas sleepover under the tree.  I love making memories!!

 Linking to:  simply {kierste}, The Frugal Girls,

Candy Bar Christmas Gift

The kids & I put together some Christmas goodie bags for J's teachers.  Nothing fancy because I wanted J to be able to do most of the work, so it was really from him and not me.  I have seen different versions of these candy bar gifts, but we made up our own based on the candy we could find.  We appreciate J's teachers and his school so much and I hope these treats were a hit!

Each bag contained a copy of the note and each of the candies (and Shout wipe - random I know) pictured above.

If you can't read the note, it said...

KUDOS to you...I want to SHOUT it from the rooftops!

You are EXTRA special, a real ORIGINAL, and one of the RIESENS I love school!

I have MOUNDS of fun here and you are a such a life LIFESAVER, helping me become a SMARTIE!

I wish I could give you 100 GRAND for your PAYDAY ~ you are worth a MINT!

Enjoy your Christmas break, TAKE FIVE, relax, and have fun with your family!

The finished product was definitely not fancy & crafty, but it was filled with love from a student to his wonderful teachers!

 Linking to:  simply {kierste}, The Frugal Girls,

Easy Christmas Card Display

I absolutely love the anticipation of going to the mailbox every day this time of year.  In a time when 99% of our correspondence is done via email or facebook, it is so special to me to actually get Christmas cards from friends and family.  I love every card I get, but I especially love photo cards.  I like to display them throughout the Christmas season, but we do get a lot and sometimes it is hard to find a good spot for them.  For the past few years, I have been taping them to my freezer, but this year I wanted to move them to an area where we would see them more often.

I thought the kitchen or the dining room would be the perfect place since we spend a lot of time in those rooms.  We have a lot of wall space, but I didn't really want to use tape, so that took that idea away.  (Although since then, I have thought about using painter's tape, so that might be an option someday!)

In keeping with my "simple is better" theme, I hung twine from the curtain rod over the sliding doors that lead to our screened-in porch.  I used mini clothespins to attach the cards, and voila ~ instant Christmas card display!

(You can also see the Christmas Burlap Table Runner I made a few years ago, and the Red Chair that we use because our other matching black chair broke!)

Here's a closer view so you can see those cute mini clothespins!  (Find them at places like Hobby Lobby or Michaels).

How do you display your Christmas cards?

Linking to:  simply {kierste},

Christmas Mantel

A post not related to adoption?!  It's a Christmas miracle!  :)

Although I haven't been blogging much lately, I still do read some of my favorite blogs once in awhile, and saw that today at The Lettered Cottage there is a link party for Christmas mantels.  I thought I'd share a few pictures of our Christmas mantel.  It's simple, but I love it.  I love to have a cozy home, and I always think it is the coziest at Christmas!



I've been collecting the Willow Tree Nativity pieces since the year Jon & I were engaged.  I love the simplicity of it.  The old window behind it was the result of some dumpster diving :)

I don't like to be ultra matchy-matchy, so the stockings are all knit but aren't part of the same set.  Two are from a flea market, and two were bought at the Pottery Barn Outlet (different years) after the season when they are all clearanced.  If I'm remembering correctly, the reindeer stocking had monogramming, but the price was right at around $1.97, so my seam ripper and I got to work and it looks great!

 It may not be the fanciest, most unique Christmas mantel, but I love it!

Also linking to:  simply {kierste},

Christmas Time is Here.....and Gone!

What happened?  I blinked and not only is Christmas over, but it's 2012?!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  Our was busy with lots of family get togethers and traveling, but it was a very blessed time being with the ones we love.

Here's my two loves in front of the Christmas tree.....yes, C tends to be in pajamas an awful lot.

One of my favorite traditions is that each year when we decorate the tree, the kids each get a new ornament representing their favorite things, or something from that year.  This year, J got a Lego Star Wars Darth Vader (who would have guessed?), and C's was the Little Mermaid.  We also had a special ornament on our tree representing our littlest love/s in Ethiopia.  Although we don't know him/them yet, they hold a special place in our heats and can't wait for the day when we can celebrate Christmas with them in our family.

Ethiopian Cross

One of my goals for the New Year is to become a more active blogger again.....I have a few more posts in the works ..... as long as my children cooperate, they might even come today!  :)

Holiday Craft Along!

Just a reminder that today I'm guest-posting over at According to Kelly as part of the Holiday Craft Along!  I'm thrilled and honored to be a part of such an amazing collection of bloggers and ideas!!!  Literally, I was a little nervous that it might be a really well thought out prank when I saw some of the other people participating! 

The Holiday Bake, Craft & Sew Along has gotten me super excited for Christmas this year!  (Ok, I still am like a kid at Christmastime, but seeing all these projects has me itching to start decorating.....must wait until after Thanksgiving!!)  You can check out all the projects using these links:  crafts @ According to Kelly, edible goodness @ A Southern Fairytale, and sewing-inspired projects @ Skip to my Lou.

Now, how early is too early to start decorating for Christmas?  :)

Countdown to 2011

Just when I'm finally getting used to writing 2010 on my checks....2011 sneaks up on me.  We have exciting New Year's Eve plans - putting the kids to bed and relaxing!  Seriously, at this point, it's my ideal night.  It's been a busy week - here's a little of what we've been up to:
On Christmas Eve, we completed our last Christmas project of the year, which was to make the melted snowman cookies that have been showing up everywhere in blogland.  I didn't have most of the cute decorating things I wanted, but with my only option being to head out to the grocery store for the billionth time, we went the "less is more"  (aka - grab whatever I can find in the pantry) route.  Jackson was super proud of them, so really that's what matters!

Later that evening we headed to church for the Christmas Eve service and then drove around to look at Christmas lights.  When we got back home, it was time for a new tradition - finding the pickle on the Christmas tree.  I have always thought this was such a cute idea (a pickle ornament is hidden and the first one to find it gets a special present) and this year a special friend gave me a pickle ornament!  We decided to hide it on Christmas Eve so it didn't get missed in the craziness of Christmas morning.  Jackson was very excited to find the pickle and wanted to pretend he was going to take a bite out of it for the picture...

His prize was the Yeti car from the Cars movie - to which he remarked, "If anyone else would have found the pickle, this present still would have been for me!"  Smartie pants.

Then the kids got to open their new Christmas jammies...

and then we sent them to bed!

Christmas morning was great, with J being thrilled over every new Star Wars toy and Carly loving on her new baby doll.  We spent most of the day at my in-laws, eating lots of good food and having fun with lots of family!  Unfortunately I forgot my camera :(

We had planned to leave for Western MD Monday, but when we woke up Sunday morning to get ready for church, we saw the weather predictions for a possible 6-10 inches of snow arriving later that day (as it turned out, we only got a dusting)!  Our plans quickly changed and we packed up and headed to Maryland to visit my family.  We spent several days there, exchanging gifts, playing in the snow...

and meeting up with extended family.  There were some bittersweet moments due to some life changes that happened in 2010 - my maternal grandmother moved to a different area, so we were only able to talk to her on the phone for Christmas this year (although we hope to go see her soon!), and my paternal grandmother moved into an Assisted Living.  It is becoming increasingly harder for her to get around, so this year for Christmas, we used the Nursing Home's Multipurpose Room for our family get-together.  We missed the coziness of being in a home, but it was great to see all the family who could be there, and every moment spent with my sweet Grandma is a treasure!
Since coming home, we've been finishing up some projects, playing with all our new toys, making some returns, checking out all the after-Christmas sales, and doing some freezer cooking.  The week has been jam-packed, so yes...now with the kids all snuggled in their beds, it is time to relax with my hubby to ring in the New Year!  Happy 2011!

Merry Christmas!

Gifted Tag Christmas

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How Many Kings?

As I have mentioned previously, I am a girl who loves traditions.  A few years ago, my in-laws started the tradition of getting each of us girls a new Christmas cd for Thanksgiving each year.  I love Christmas music and I love this tradition!  This year I picked Downhere's "How Many Kings?" and I am definitely not disappointed!  I have enjoyed Downhere since they first played at Cherry Glade Mennonite's Breakaway all those years ago in my tiny hometown of Accident (yes, you read it right), Maryland.  They sang the Mentos theme song and hung out with those of us in the youth group....laughed as group members were "measured for a coffin" by some of the youth group guys....which is a little initiation-type game that involves pouring water down the unsuspecting party's pants leg, making them appear as if they had a potty accident.
Anyhoo....the song "How Many Kings" has become my favorite Christmas song this year, and I think it pefectly captures the true meaning of Christmas. 



Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe, after all we've projected,
A child in a manger?
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother's shawl -
Just a child -
Is this who we've waited for? 'cause...

How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have, whether costly or meek
Because we believe.
Gold for his honor, and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross he will suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we've waited for?

All for me...
All for you...

So thankful for Christmas and the gift of Jesus.

Christmas Craft: Trees

Jackson is having so much fun being creative and doing crafts lately, so when Carly takes a nap, I usually try to think of a fun project for us to do.  Today we made Christmas trees!  The styrofoam cones were from Dollar Tree, the sparkly pom poms were from Joann's in the dollar section, and I had the rest of the supplies on hand, so this was a really fun and inexpensive craft for us to do together.

I had seen this tree at Target and wanted to make something similar....

For J's, I cut up squares of green construction paper and had him glue them all over the styrofoam.  There is a definite reason why gluesticks are more popular than regular white glue....what a mess.  Plus he got bored about halfway through so I had to finish sticking on the construction paper.  After that, I used the glue gun to put on everything else exactly where he showed me.

Here's our final products!  I love them!

Click here for some parties I may have linked up to!

Christmas Craft: Burlap Table Runner

I'm not sure why, but I really have a love for burlap.  Maybe because it's supposed to look a little frayed and imperfect - you can't really mess it up too much, it just adds character!  This is a super easy project I did earlier this week with just some burlap, ribbon, rick rack, and a glue gun.  I wanted it to be pretty plain so it wouldn't interfere with whatever I decide to sit on top of it.

Hint:  I discovered that instead of taking time to try and cut a perfectly straight line on the burlap, just snip a little and rip out one of the strings where you snipped.  It will leave a gap in the burlap and make it super easy for you to know where to cut.

Click here for some parties I may have linked up to!

I'm Sensing a Theme Here...

So, yeah.  I am a cheapskate frugalista.  I was shopping at Target (said with a French accent to sound super classy) and saw a pack of Christmas letter stickers ("JOY") for 99cents!  I have quite the fascination with letter stickers, letter rub-ons, etc, and for 99cents....I "splurged."  This afternoon I had a few minutes while the baby was napping and the guys were out, so I decided to do something with the stickers.  (Sidenote:  soooo proud of myself for this, because usually these things just end up in a drawer somewhere!)
Here's the supplies I used:

I wasn't sure what paper to use, so that's why 3 kinds made it into the picture.  This project was SUPER simple.  I painted the frame black (used one of the very basic wooden frames from Michaels - it doesn't have glass so it showed off the 3D stickers), cut the paper to fit, glued it on, and then put the stickers on.  Doesn't get much easier than that! And here's the finished product....

Since I had all the supplies except for the stickers, the project was completed for a grand total of 99cents!

Click here for a list of parties I may have linked to!

My very first feature!  Thanks SO much!!

El Cheapo Christmas Decorations

The tree farm we went to last weekend offered free greens....so of course hearing the word "free," I helped myself.  I figured I could make a wreath instead of buying one....and so I did!
This was my first wreath making attempt, so I didn't have any of the supplies I needed.  I bought a wreath form for $2.99 and some green floral wire for around $2 and went to town with my free greens!  It wasn't too hard and I think it turned out ok....maybe next year i will make it a little fuller.  Tied it up with some Christmasy ribbon and....viola - a pretty cheap decoration for the front door.  Note to self:  next year, pay attention to instructions and wear gloves!  Things got pretty sticky.

I also have scattered greens throughout the house, on the mantle, around the nativity, etc.  I love the added bonus of the pine smell!
I am lucky enough to have a massive holly tree in our front yard, so each year I take advantage of that for more decor freebies.  I love the cute little red berries!

Our (Im)Perfect Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is probably one of the most "non-frugal" things we do... we insist each year on buying a real tree.  Every year after the holidays when the great sales are going on I am tempted to buy a prelit tree, which would end up saving so much money over the years....but I just can't bring myself to do it!  I love getting a real tree - love picking it, love the smell, love everything.  I especially love all the little imperfections that make it - perfect.  I just couldn't imagine having a cookie cutter perfect tree - no branches out of place, no dead needles, no bare spots.  I have wanted (for years) to start the tradition (i am a tradition-loving girl) of cutting down our own tree instead of buying it from a lot.  Finally, this was the year! 

We headed out a few days early to tag our tree.....

Poor Carly never makes it into the action shots - this is a picture to prove she was there.

Tagging our tree!

"Mommy, can we get this one?!  It's ORANGE!!"

Jon worked the day after Thanksgiving, so Saturday we went to pick it up!  We were glad we tagged it early because it was FRIGID, and we did not want to spend any more time there than we needed to.

BRRR.... borrowing Ellie's gloves.

We brought it home and after a quick run to KMart when we realized half of our lights no longer worked, the decorating began!  We love to go through all of our favorite ornaments - the kids get one as a present each year representing their favorite things or something special from the year.  Of course the little guy still needs some direction - "let's not put 3 ornaments on the same branch" - but overall things stay where he puts them - so yeah, we have some ornaments that are definitely too close, but again those imperfections are what end up making it perfect. 

Decorating was extra fun this year because we had special help from our Thanksgiving guest, Ellie, from England!

And here it is.... our perfect tree.

50 FREE Shutterfly Cards

Let me just begin by saying how EXCITED I am for this time of year!  I just LOVE the holiday season!  Starting with my birthday (yes, I am now 30....) and then the months of November and December are just PACKED with hectic holiday fun.  I love all the preparations - right now I have my fall decorations up, but as soon as I awake from my Thanksgiving coma, the first thing I do is to start decorating for Christmas!  One of my FAVORITE things about the Christmas season is CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!  **I am not exaggerating this for the purpose of this post.**  Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, I practically sprint to the mailbox each day in hopes of receiving a Christmas card.  I do love any card, and immediately tape it up on a wall somewhere, but the ones I especially love are photo cards!  I love seeing how kids have grown or people have changed in the past year.  Love it so much that I keep all my photo cards in a special album that comes out only at Christmas.  Seriously people, I know most of you just throw out your cards, but they bring me much joy :)
Which brings me to the actual point of this post...right now, Shutterfly has a special deal where bloggers can receive 50 FREE photo cards!  Photo cards can be expensive sometimes, but you just can't beat FREE!  (and since they are free, how about sending me one, eh?)
 

I can speak from experience and say that creating cards on Shutterfly is very simple!  The hardest part by far is picking out your favorite design....and this year they have some super cute ones!  Here are a few of my favorites:





Love the 5x7 size!

So cute, but folded cards are a lot more expensive!

Might be "the one" for this year....we'll see what kind of cute pics we get!

Here's our card from last year ~ the little lump is Carly who was only about a month old in this picture :)

So check out Shutterfly's selection of cards and stationary!  They have Thanksgiving cards too!  Don't forget, if you are a blogger, you can get 50 free cards too, just follow the link here!