As we pack up the Christmas decorations this Epiphany weekend we hang onto the cards sent to us. They go into a little drawer near where we pray in the evening.  We pull out the first one and include their intentions in our prayers.  The card goes to the bottom of the stack and we can draw the next one the following day and so on through the year. So easy.  It's a good turn done for the thoughtfulness of sending good cheer. 

God bless you in 2018

Our house has been wonderfully full and loud and busy over the Christmas holiday. The last "away" kids have returned to their homes and we are started a new year with gusto today. I finally sat down tonight and gathered up bits and pieces of our time together. 

Alannah baked for us. I made one of the treats.  That would be the Andes Candies Mint Cookies which are a little brown lol. 

We learned how to make Finnish Stars.  

And stockings.  Many stockings. 

There was untold joy when the big brothers and sisters began to arrive.

There was also snow.  A bunch.  

There were a lot of laughs over the grown up activity placemats. You may not get fancy food over here but we can guarantee a good time. 

And board games.  For hours.

Aidan got Bean Boozled. He said it was pretty yuck.

Not gonna lie.  This was not my best year for gift acquisition and organization. Or cards. 

Yeah. 

But, this bunch couldn't be more laid back nor care much less about that part. 

They laughed, they teased, they talked late into the night.  It was good.  So good.  

The new year is already off to a running start.  Projects completed, new ones started.  Planners and lists galore. I love this time of year and can't wait to share. 

I hope you've had a very Merry Christmas and have all the makings of a Happy New Year. 

from our house to yours:

(and since the guys were willing to stand there for about two minutes tops, I took two pics to get the married's below instead of setting up the tripod)

It was a bit of Germany in Utah. The open fires, the food, music and dancing, and of course the wonderful wooden ornaments were all there. Fortunately it was also uncommonly mild which made for a long evening of leisurely walking.

The first Christmas we spent in the Utah house we realized that the tree we had purchased some years earlier was not quite right for a room with a cathedral ceiling.  We bought another that suited the room better but noticed that artifical trees these days are significantly higher off the ground than the older ones.  For two years now we have placed a tree skirt around the bottom, noticed the vast space between that and the branches, and said to each other, "Hmm.  That really does look odd being SO high."  

Given our very traditional holiday decor, I had been looking at the new tree collars available and fell in love with the ones like this that were fashioned like Christmas drums:

 I was not in love with the price tag however, which ran up to $85 some places, especially since many wide trees need two collars to fit around.  We found this video online and ended up DIY-ing a collar for about ten dollars.  It was putzy but easy and I am ridiculously pleased.  If this is not your thing please just scroll quickly lol.  I'm a little tree obsessed.  While we are at it, I stumbled upon this tutorial a few years ago and it turns out there is a proper order to tree trimming.  I have incorporated some of their ideas such as the floral picks.  Cheap and easy way to fill in your tree and add texture. 

So now that you know what a tree geek I am, if you are still with me, here are some phone snaps of the tree collar process.   I cut heavy posterboard to the desired height (floor to bottom of tree) and taped those together to get the circumference needed. 

We covered the resulting long strip of poster board with wrapping paper.  Fabric would have been nicer and sturdier, no doubt.  We were aiming for speed and cheap and have no toddlers at the moment.  Next, I glued gold ribbon. 

Then we trimmed the top and bottom with plaid ribbon. 

There you have it. One woman's giant paper drum.  I can laugh at my own ideas y'all.  I can laugh.  I'm still happy I did this. 

Being homeowners we had enough paint cans lying around to place one between each leg of the tree base to round it. (per the video)  Then we wrapped this tube around, clipped it with a large chip clip, and tossed a white sheet inside.  I wanted the drum effect but not enough to do any more DIYing.   

PS – there are some strong opinions in cyber space about artificial versus tree farm trees.  They both have their merits!  I love a fresh tree.  Due to some allergies and budget and the recent fires in the west we are happily decorating our faux tree for now.  

Gaudete! The foundation of the Christmas decorations are in place. Reason to rejoice right there! We have a steady stream of arrivals starting early this week so this is essential.  From here out we will be making rooms ready and baking special treats.  There will be flowers to arrange and paper stars to cut out and carols to practice.  There are other things we could not get to this advent.  Hand written Christmas cards were on that list.  It makes me sad, but in the end it is most important to keep things light and let go of what cannot be happily done.  

I hope you have a fruitful final week of advent, enjoying the simple things of this season, wherever you are reading this. 

"When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things—not the great occasions—give off the greatest glow of happiness."

Bob Hope