Craftiness

A couple months back I made the commitment to make all Christmas gifts this year. Can I just say it has been F-U-N? I've gotten to use so many of my crafting supplies that have been sitting unused since about a year before we moved away from Little Rock. My Cricut die cut machine has been working overtime, as has my glue gun. On our road trips, my crochet hook stayed very busy. The camera has been clicking away. I've also put my sewing machine to good use. The best part...the gifts I'm giving are more beautiful, personal, and special than anything I've ever given in the past! Oh Christmas morning, I can hardly wait for you to arrive! I just wish I could be there in person to give most of the gifts.

I love Christmas, and I love the month of December. Because of all the hustle and bustle of events surrounding Christmas, there are so many opportunities to do fun things as a family. This year Pepper is finally old enough to attend plays and concerts. He can really "get" what Christmas is all about. And he understands numbers and the concept of the calendar. We are capitalizing on this in two ways.

First, we're observing advent. After dinner each night, Matt is leading our family through a neat study he found on some phone app. It focuses on preparing our hearts for Christmas. It uses Scripture, stories, and the history of traditional Christmas carols to focus us on Jesus. Tonight will be our third night.

Second, I'm making a super cute advent calendar. Rather than opening a door and seeing a picture or getting a candy, the kids open an envelope and find an activity for our family to do! I've already got it all planned out. The coolest part is that almost everything is free! Orlando has so many wonderful free events. It is really going to be fun! I worked hard and got caught up on housework this morning so I can make the advent calendar this afternoon. We'll begin this one one December 1 and go through December 24. You know, I think that sounds like a fun December blog focus, and a unique way to approach Project 365 for December! Speaking of Project 365, I haven't forgotten it. I've just been incredibly busy with work, the kids' schoolwork and sports, and other things. Too busy to sit and edit pictures. But they're all safe and sound on my hard drive (and backed up, too!). Life will slow considerably in January. I'll get caught up then.