Highlights of our Christmas Week!

I love Christmas Week.  We get done with school for the rest of the year and have time for special projects.  This year was our 2nd Annual Cousin Gift Swap.  Each cousin draws the name of another cousin and then makes them a handmade gift to receive after our Christmas Dinner.  This tradition was started by our sil Kim and it quickly become the thing I look forward to the most on Christmas.

So, earlier this week, our 3 kids were busy putting finishing touches on their gifts.  Ty had Carden this year.  Carden loves to cook and loves to hostess little parties with her friends.  Ty wanted to make Carden an apron.  A lofty project for a 9 year old boy who has never used a sewing machine, snicker.  But he was sure that was what he wanted to make so he earned some money, we went to Hobby Lobby, he picked out the fabric, ribbon, and every detail needed included the color and size of the buttons.  And a shocking fact for me to admit, he was amazing at having the patience and stubbornness to learn how to use a sewing machine.  He only had one bad needle poke... at which time I not so gently yelled, "don't bleed on the apron!"  He was not adoring his mom nor her lack of compassion at that moment ;[

 We didn't use a pattern.  We just used one of my dress forms, and a drawing Ty had made of how he wanted the end product to look.  In the end, Ty was thrilled with the apron(s) and he was so excited for Carden to see.

 I love this flower detail that Ty added.  The button was the only thing that was handstitched on and after that he decided he was a sewing machine sewer only, snicker.

 There was a small strip of the striped fabric and a tiny scrap of the polka dot fabric left over from the large apron.  Since Ty spent his only money on the fabrics he wanted to use every little piece... funny how important things become when kids spend their own money on them.  So we squeeeeezed out a little half apron out of the remaining fabrics.  We thought Carden would enjoy this apron to wear while hostessing her little parties.

 He added another flower embellishment on this apron too.  This was the very button that the 'Massive Needle Poke of 2011' occured.  OUCH!  He was done, Done, DONE at this point.  I am so proud of all his work for Carden's gift!

 I didn't get pictures but... Savannah had Taylor for the gift swap.  Taylor loves to dance.  Savannah made her some ribbon rings, and jingle bell tamberines, and chachas to dance with.  Savannah was sure to use all shades of purple and the more sparkles the BETTER!  Christian had Bella for the gift swap.  He made her a little fishing game.  He even found a small plastic container that looked like a little tackle box, then made a fishing pole out of bamboo with a long cord and magnet.  He copied little fish, lobsters, oysters, etc onto fun cardstock... laminated and added magnetic washers.  It turned out really cute!

We also spent the week making some baked goodies for friends and neighbors.  This was our gift to our neighbors... which we ADORE!  They have 9 kiddos so there is always fun to be had next door!  Living next to them constantly gives me fond memories of the blessing it was and is to have grown up with tons of siblings.  SO, I found this book at Anthropology and flipped through it and thought it would be fun to create a gift 'basket' around...

 We baked up 2 batches of two different recipes from the book... Oatmeal-Raisin and Chewy Chocolate Chip... and added them to the gift...

 Together with the cookbook and cookies... I added 12 of the old Amish milk glasses I found recently, added some fun Christmas straws... tossed it all into an old Enamelware bowl.  It made me smile, and I hope it made them smile too! 

 Ty made a card for his best friend next door, J.  It really is a blessing when your children are blessed with good friends that live on the farm right next to yours.  Wonderful!

 While I was busy preparing food in preparation for Christmas dinner... Shawn was busy checking things off a 'honey do' list.  I finished the buffet and he was cutting the baseboards so it would fit.  Love this guy!!

 And finally all the preparation was done and time was spent in just enjoying time together.  A quick pic of Christmas Eve PJs.

 Christmas morning brought tons of new legos for Ty, Cash (boring teenager wishlist) and clothes for Christian, and a new cell phone and clothes money for Savannah.

 After presents we had Breakfast Burritos... YUM!!  We were blessed enough to actually get to go to church on this Christmas Day and enjoyed sweet messages and gorgeous music.  When we returned home, we had  few hours of cooking and prep until the whole Family arrived for Dinner!

 I went a little whimsical this year.  I found these plates weeks ago at Party City and thought they would be fun!  The centerpieces were from jars, silver, and candles collected from around the house.  Berries, pinecones, and greenery from the farm... easy!

 The 'littles' table is simply strewn with jingle bells and the kiddos kept wanting to know who the present was for... snicker... they found me quite cruel when I said it was empty and just for pretty's sake.

 Everyone was able to make it for Dinner... even our newest little family addition, Grey.  There were 36 of us all squeezed into our kitchen for a sit down dinner... Cozy at it BEST!  Love this!

 On the Menu:

Pork Roast

Ham and Swiss Sliders (huge hit)

Mashed Potatoes and Corn on the Cob

Cinnamon Apples and Deviled Eggs

Breads Galore

Pasta and Green Salads

 After dinner... the actual HIGHLIGHT of the whole night... the cousin gift swap!  We pack ourselves into the TV room.  We pick a cousin to start and they give their gift to their cousin and it goes from there.  Emma had Ty and made him this Tshirt.  Ty is the classic 'LEGO HEAD'... the boy is a creative genius with these things, and please note that Emma put 'TYGER' on the sleeve in the Lego Brand Font too!  So Brilliant!  Noah made Savannah some beautiful earrings, hair pins, and necklaces... I shall be bumming some of them!  And little Miss Ava made Christian a wooden Christmas Ornament, precious!  Every gift was amazing... so perfectly suited for the cousin receiving the gift. 

 After the gift swap, we pile back into the kitchen/family room for dessert.  I don't know how we find the room for more food but we do....

Cookies,

Creme Puffs with Mississippi Mud Fondue

Peanut Butter Pies

Peach Praline Pie

Pecan Pie

Red Velvet Cupcakes

and Turtle Pound Cake!

After dessert, we let the kiddos play, play, play.  The rest of us just relax and d.i.g.e.s.t!  I personally sat in the TV room and played with my little nieces as they danced with the ribbon rings.  Lo and Behold, some time later as family started to leave and the house became quiet... I walk into the kitchen and my incredible groom has the entire kitchen cleaned, all 3 dishwashers loaded and hummin', counters wiped, trash taken out, etc.  WHEW!  In less than 15 more minutes, the kids and I had the tables undecorated, chairs and tables taken to garage, and the 5 of us gathered together in our bedroom for nightly prayer.  Does it get any better than this?  Truly?  Nothing makes me happier than family.  Nothing.  Merry Christmas.