checklist

Christmas tree down..........check



Christmas decorations taken down and packed up............check



After-Christmas clearance shopping at Target............check



MAJOR clearing out of the 1 and 2 yr olds room, resulting in 3 bags of toys for Goodwill and 2 for trash........................check



Purchase new calendars ( somehow I seem to require 3: one for my purse, one for my desk, and a central family one on the refrigerator).............check



Return all library Christmas books.................check



Finish eating all fudge, banana bread, etc. from holiday baking..........check



Print December pictures to put in Christmas album...................check






Okay, bring on the new year!

St. Nicholas Day

My older kids haven't believed in Santa for years, but they still like to pretend for the younger boys. The idea of Santa as a gift-bringer doesn't bother me too much, just not the "all-seeing", "all-knowing" part. We've been pretty up front with our kids when they've asked questions.

A couple years ago a friend mentioned a tradition her family practiced. Her husband is from Hungary and this is common there. They celebrate St. Nicholas Day on the 6th of December. That is when "Santa" brings his presents and fills stockings.

I loved this, as it still let the kids experience the fun of receiving gifts from Santa, but it also separated it from Christmas. Unfortunately, I kept forgetting until later in December.

So this year I made sure to plan in time. The kids cleaned and put out their "boots" (just their regular shoes) for Santa but decided they'd rather do stockings on Christmas morning. They've long known that in our household mom fills those, not Santa anyway. =)

They awoke on the 6th to chocolate Santas in their shoes, and a family gift under the tree.

This came with the added bonus of giving the kids something new to do during Christmas break. We definitely plan to make it a new Riley tradition.

baking

Brenna and I spent the day with my sister-in-law and nieces, baking breads and cinnamon ornaments.

The girls were very "hands on"

Here are a couple of Brenna's ornaments after they were dried and decorated

Oogave Soda Tour

A friend set up a fun tour for our homeschool group to the factory that make Oogave Soda. Right now it's sold mainly at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Sunflower Market. They use natural agave nectar in place of sugar or sweeteners in their soda.


It's a small business, so the tour was short but we learned a lot and the kids each got their own bottle to try.

This picture reminded me of Laverne & Shirley

We enjoyed the different flavors; the kids voted Watermelon Cream and Root Beer as their favorites. Give it a try if you see it in your store!

December daily book

I really love the idea of this book so I'm working on my own. You create a scrapbook for the month of December, and work on it each day so you have a completed book at the end of the month. I was able to go scrapbooking with a friend last month and got started on it. Since then, I've found a few spare minutes here and there and got all the pages done. Now I'm taking a picture a day to put in it. The first few pages will be advent and decorating the house.

A couple of my brilliant friends planned a fun activity for the first night of advent. We got together and had a Jesus birthday party. We had cake and crafts and talked about the real meaning of Christmas.

Each of us ladies created an advent wreath to take home.

Later, the men enjoyed a few games of darts.

At home, we lit the first candle and read some verses of the Bible. I hadn't yet dug out Jotham's Journey which we usually read each night.

All this week we have been getting the house decorated and making crafts. We did a simple, homemade advent calendar which I'm filling with small treats.

I'll try to update as the season goes on.

Yes, that is my SON =)

Thanksgiving 09

My parents were in town for Thanksgiving again this year. We had our big meal around 1pm and then had all my in-laws over for dessert in the evening. It was a wonderful day; I love taking the time out from our busy lives to just slow down and enjoy family.

It was especially sweet since Scott had been out of town the 10 days leading up to Thanksgiving. I was extremely thankful to have him back home again!!

My mom and dad with their grandkids