Something for the Road

Library Card

Caleb received a wonderful, new wallet from Jessamyne for Christmas.  Part of the gift included his own library card for our local library – I thought that was pretty thoughtful – actually Jessamyne’s idea.  We signed him up for his own – he has been begging for months.  So, yesterday we made a trip to the library so he could use his card.  I must’ve been pretty distracted because here’s what he checked out:

It’s a scientific book, right?  Oh, the amazing things I’ve learned in the past day . . . . .

Of Mice and Art

I just had to write about this little mouse.  My friend, Jenee, made him without a pattern, . . . she just got a whim to make a little mouse out of felt for her son, and then gave it to him for Christmas.  She even wrote a little mouse tale to go with it.  When I got this picture, it just made me happy.  It looks like he is anxious to go outside and play.  Does he know how cold it is out there? . . . . .I just had to share.

By the way, Jenee and her husband are both artists.  Her husband, Albin Veselka, happens to be a professional artist, and I have a dream of having him paint my children.  She also shared these pictures of the doll he and she sculpted together for their daughter.

Although I am not even close to being an artist, I feel blessed to be surrounded by so many talented friends.

No Need for Speed

For his birthday, my dad treated us all to some racing at FastKart Speedway in Spokane. 

I will admit, I am not a fan of speed – I thought this experience would just be wasted on me.  The kids were too small to drive, so they would be watching and I was happy just hanging out with them.  But, before I knew it, I was sitting in a cart, wondering when it would be over.  It was kind of fun – it would’ve been more fun if it were a girls only race.  Us girls were definitely the slowest and the least aggressive.  I kept pulling to the right so I wouldn’t get barreled over by the big, burly, fast guys.  The guys had a blast and I must say, there was more than a little competition.

On the way, home, as Mike was telling me how much fun he had and that maybe he should become a “Professional Kart Driver,” a friendly police officer passed us and motioned for us to pull over.  Mike sheepishly accepted his ticket.  So, Sweetie, how do you become a professional, anyway?!

Christmas Eve Traditions

A little ride in the ToolCat with Grandpa

A little dress-up with cousins

A little visit with Grandma and Grandpa A

 

A little dinner

 

A little program

A lot of fun with good memories made.

Homemade Christmas Gift: Decopauged Artist Portfolio

I think maybe the toughest gift to come up with was one that Nora could do.  I wanted her to be involved but of course she’s a little limited, being only four.  Gabi loves art and is always looking for somewhere to keep her art.  We decided to purchase a Recycled Artist Portfolio, and add some fun scrapbook paper that I had laying around, just to personalize it a little.

We like it and Nora was pretty proud.  She kept bragging that she had wrapped the largest present under the tree.

Homemade Christmas Gift: The Jane Doll

Gabi is so excited about her present for Nora, and it was definitely worth all of the effort.  A couple of months ago, my sister sent me a link to Bit of Whimsy and her “Jane Doll.”  I loved it, and when Gabi saw it, she knew she had to make it.  The fun part is that we were able to make it out of scraps of fabric that I already had.  I also loved that I could order the PDF pattern and have it within a day. 

 

I did the sewing machine sewing, Gabi did all of the stuffing and some of the embroidery as well as picking out all of the fabrics.  We really like how it turned out, and it’s a sweet little gift – we can’t wait to see Nora’s face on Christmas morning!

This was one of her intermediate patterns, but she has a ton that are beginner patterns as well.  More favorites of mine include the “Nutmeg Gnomes,” and the “Butterbean Babies.”, although it really is hard to find a favorite.

Homemade Christmas Gift: Duct Tape Wallet

I know we all joke about duct tape being good for everything, but really. . . . it is! 

We found this cool tutorial on making a wallet out of it.  And, now you can buy duct tape in so many cool colors, you end up with something really stylish.  Jessamyne thought it was the perfect and only gift to make for Caleb for Christmas and it was a pretty fun and quick process.

 

Finding a homemade gift that a boy would like can be tough, so this is the easy solution.  Jessamyne is determined to make one for herself in some pretty colors.  And, honestly, I had no idea that making things out of duct tape was all the rage.

If you need an extra tutorial, this one was pretty helpful.

Homemade Christmas Gift: Journal Cover

This is the week of homemade gifts.  Caleb drew Jessamyne’s name and decided to make this journal cover.

He chose to cover a little planner we bought, and picked out some of Jessamyne’s favorite colors.  Although I did most of the sewing, he tried a little and he did all of the trimming and ironing and designing.  I think it turned out great . . .

 

He was pretty proud, even though his skills were a little limited.

This project was pretty straight-forward and didn’t take very long.  I would definitely do this one again, maybe with a couple of alterations – it became a little confusing when we ended up using a notebook that was slightly a different size than the one she used – I think I could figure it out, but I just felt like I was under a time crunch today.

Joy to the World?

 

While having a conversation with my mom this morning I realized all of a sudden, that it was becoming more and more difficult for me to concentrate on the conversation because the noise level around me had dramatically increased.  I’m pretty sure I started the conversation with quiet kids and Songs for Christmas by Sufjan Stevens playing in the background.

My music had stopped playing.  In its place, Jessamyne was at the piano playing “Joy to the World,” Nora was banging pretty persistently on the pipe chimes, and Caleb was adding a special part using our battery-operated screwdriver.  Now, that’s music. . . . .

Delay and Christmas Spirit

Every year I promise myself that I will not go to the post office after the first 2 weeks in December.  Somehow, I always procrastinate sending one package and end up there anyway.  This year was no exception.  I ran to the local post office at 12:45 – just before closing at 1:00 on Saturday, of all days!  When I got there, I think I was 40th in line, and there were only two employees at the 4-spot counter.  I just took my place in line and decided to settle in – I really didn’t have a choice. 

In some ways, it felt oddly relaxing to just stand there in line – I had been running at full speed all day.  I felt pretty calm while I stood there taking in my surroundings, even though periodically I wondered to myself why in the world they didn’t have the counter running at full capacity when this would’ve clearly been anticipated.  I observed many things, standing in that line . . .

Every time a newcomer arrived carrying an armload of packages and a slightly perturbed look, someone would rush to the door and open it for them and smiles and thank-you’s were exchanged.

One man was having difficulty finding a box that would fix a package he had brought with him.  Another man, said he had an idea and before long the two were working side by side, cutting, taping, and altering the box to work.  A woman in line joined in and they all exchanged happy conversation, even though they had been waiting quite some time.

I saw a young boy come in and go to the end of the line with his mother, holding a small wrapped package.  He whispered something to his mother and then bravely trudged to the front of the line, delivering the package to the postal worker behind the counter.  He smiled at the young boy and it seemed his pace quickened just a little.

I waited in line for 45 minutes.  I wondered if these things would normally have caught my attention. But, somehow, I was overwhelmed with the Christmas Spirit in the post office, and I was reminded how many decent people there are still in the world.  The cares I came with seemed a little less important . . . who would’ve thought a last-minute trip to the post office would give me a new perspective?