More Handmade Christmas

Margo was very excited to give Harper her picture. There is a little butterfly stuck to the right side of the card.

This one was to the whole family. I love that Margo wrote "to the family." Her message is very sweet: "Les Hav a Good Christmas." This card is mounted on the back of a Little Mermaid birthday invitation. One night while I was lying in bed with Margo she whispered to me "Mom, did you know I am creative?" I hope she always knows this and believes this. And I am so glad she knows this now.

Pajama Pants

Grandma came with several large pieces of fabric to turn into pajamas. Here she is cutting out leopard print pants.

Let the Building Begin

New Lego!!!

More Socks

Merry Christmas!

Model

Grandpa modeling his new socks.

And undies.

Socks

I struck gold this year at the thrift store when I found these Pair of Thieves Dad + Kid socks for $2-4/set. I bought them out and Harper and Margo and Marc now have all kinds of matching socks. With a couple of extra pairs, the grandpas got to get in on the matching sock action as well. 

All I Want for Christmas

Marc asks me to make these photo books for Christmas every year. As evidenced by the title on this book he doesn't always get what he wants. But this year he did.

Fancy

Margo and Harper each received a little mirror from Grandma. Here Margo demonstrates a new way to use the mirror: to check out how awesome her stickers look stuck to her shirt.

Gold tattoos. If there really is a way to get a gold tattoo I would like one.

Knives

Our cheese knife broke this year and we have been lost without it. Now we are back in business. Or the cheesemongers are.

Handmade Christmas

 Even before the tree went up H&M had made and wrapped a present for everyone in our family. I admit that I didn't have high hopes for what was inside because of how fast they put them together. But I was happily surprised by what came out of those brown paper lunch bags on Christmas morning. 

Margo drew a music stand (pictured upside down here) and some butterflies.

Harper made a paper ice cream cone and drew some pictures and gave some prized stickers away.

Margo made me a table (round piece of paper stuck to a Q-tip stuck to a brown piece of folded paper) and a picture of two music stands.

My present from Harper was the fanciest. She is too kind to me. She made me a miniature version of her tooth-fairy pillow: a heart pillow with a pocket made from a mini heart sewed to one side. Her card said: "Dear Mom, Merry Christmas! I gave you this Because you like to collect small things, put your favorite small treasure in here. It's homemade, Best kind. love, Harper." There is a small picture of Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus. She said I had told her that the best gifts are handmade.

A picture of quilts and thread and a sewing machine for Grandma from Harper.

And make-up.

Very adorable marshmallows over a very adorable fire for Grandpa all under a very adorable moon and some stars. By Harper. 

Margo gave out pompoms and chocolate kisses to Grandma and Grandpa.

Hecho en Mexico

I know I get entirely too enamored with things. This miniature nativity set is no exception. I bought it in Mexico when my sister and I cruised through and I have loved pulling it out each Christmas ever since.  

New Toys for All

My mom and I went to Target at 9:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve because we could and because my dad had said he was going to go out and get some egg nog but then went to bed instead. While we were there we looked around because why not. I wandered over to the dog aisles and wondered if anyone had bought anything for the dear old dog. I didn't think so and then I thought I would and then I talked myself out of it because the dog doesn't know it's Christmas. But there on Christmas morning was a new chew toy (that Delphy dismantled before noon) from Marc, who wanted the dear old dog to have something to open with the rest of us. Bless him.

Christmas Morn

Marc was busy in his workshop making stuff for Harper and Margo this year: slingshots, corner shelves, and a climbing wall. I opted for the IOU tent and curtain for their beds. The green canvas fabric is peeking out from under the corner shelves.

Margo Sings

"Said Samuel" was Margo's favorite song each time it was her turn to open an advent surprise.

The hosanna chorus always called for a fist in the air.

Sorry for Your Loss

 At a Christmas party gift exchange, Marc and I came home with a goldfish. Harper has been asking to get a second pet for a long time so I knew she would be pleased. There was a lot of excitement on Sunday morning when both girls woke up and discovered the fish. And there was a lot of moving the fish from this bowl to that bowl, multiple questions about when we could feed the fish again, and big plans for what we could get to make the fish feel at home. Before we left for church, the fish was just hanging out on the bottom of the jar. A quick Google search said that wasn't a good sign. When we came home, we found our fish dead in the jar. Harper wanted to go out side and dig a grave. When we told her that would be impossible given the solid state of the earth at this time of year, she opted to encapsulate the fish in its own pyramid-like tomb: a shoebox with mirrors so it could still look at itself, a tiny glass jar filled with water was the tiny coffin for the fish, and some of its favorite things so it wouldn't get bored on its way to the afterlife.

The Real War on Christmas: Part Rant

As far as I can tell, the elf on the shelf is at the heart of this so-called war on Christmas. A company charging $30 for a piece of plastic made in China that every family needs to make the season magical and the children well-behaved sounds like the exact opposite of what Christmas is. But despite my strong negative feelings for this elf, I found myself thinking I should probably get one for my kids because they are missing out on the magic of Christmas, not to mention an important pop culture phenomenon. I flip-flopped all the way to the store, and if Costco hadn't been sold out, we would be the owners of the plush (and much cheaper) elf on the shelf. (There are some silver linings to procrastination.) With the bad news about the elf came the strength I had been missing earlier. I very confidently told Harper why I could not justify bringing this elf to our house (one of the reasons being Harper does not believe in Santa Claus anymore, and another being I will not be told what to do by a corporation that is going to take my money and then laugh all the way to the bank). Disappointed but understanding, Harper got right to work making her own elf on the shelf when we got home. Once it was all cut out, she needed my help to sew it together. I am not a master sewer, and that was made even more clear with the creation of this elf. But Harper and Margo loved it. Harper moved it around every day and wrote little messages from the elf to all of us. There was no pretense of being good for the elf so Santa would come and bring presents. It was just a fun little elf that made Christmas time, dare I say it, a little more magical.

We found the elf in the bathroom one morning and a note from him/her apologizing for having to use the bathroom. 

Opening Presents in her Best Outfit

Harper thinks this is her best outfit for church.

Learning to Read

Making Cheese Stollen

Tree

This year Margo had a stool and she camped out up high in the tree hanging all of the ornaments on the same few branches. I thought it looked great.

Friends

Evidence for Next Christmas

No one could remember who had placed the star on the top of the tree last year. When we went back to the photos for evidence, there was none. So here is a picture for next year so that we know Dad definitely does not get to put the star on the tree. The problem next year will be which of the two children in our house gets the apparently very special honor.

Hiding

Delphy Strikes Again

Durian Fruit and Vietnamese Food