Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!!

What a truly magical day. Surrounded by family and friends and just celebrating togetherness! Christmas lights twinkling inside and out. Christmas tree in all its glory. Delicious feast smelling up the home with heavenly scents making everybody hungry. Christmas cookies and treats to cure the seasonal sweet tooth. Seasonal tunes we all know the words to. Presents from loved ones showing caring thoughts. 

All these wonderful things that build up a perfect Christmas. On this day we do need to remember the ones who aren't as blessed. One's who aren't with their loved ones. These are the ones that Christmas needs to bring us together to pray for, think of. Taking our blessings for granted can be all to easy so taking a step back and realizing how blessed we are brings the truth of what Christmas is all about.

So please, Look at what your blessed with. Grab ahold and squeeze onto the ones you love. Cling to cherished holiday memories if the year has you separated from loved ones. Sit down with a hot cup of cider or hot chocolate and think about this truly wonderful holiday that all began with a special little baby boy in a manger. Never forget where it all began.

To sum this all up we just wish you the Merriest of Christmas's! 

As a little Christmas gift here is some favorite holiday tunes! Take a listen, let it play, while you celebrate this great holiday! 

From, Crafty Honey Badgers

Don't like George Strait at all, huh? Ha! 

Once again we wish you a very Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Stacked Pot

Merry Christmas EVE, EVE!!!!!!!

Last year while staring at all my put up Christmas decorations. I couldn't help but think of more DIY Christmas cheer! The Christmas stacked pot was created.

While shopping I picked up three plastic planters in size sequence. Red outdoor spray paint. Potting soil. A wooden "Merry Christmas" sign. Some fake Christmas greenery. Couple Christmas solar lights. Some extra trimmings from your Christmas tree, or wreath. 

NO snow for my Colorado Christmas? I need all my un raked leaves covered! haha!

Spray paint your three pots and allow to dry. Fill with potting soil, you don't need to fill completely since you need wiggle room to stack the pot and to fill in with greenery. Take your extra tree trimmings  and fill in the pots. Now the fun part! Add in all your accessories and BAM... A beautiful Christmas stacked pot for your porch! 

You can even add some lights to this pot besides the solar ones. I have found some LED battery pack lights that are really neat. Green wire with red lights to weave through your wreaths or decorations and all needed to turn on is a flick of the switch on your battery pack!  

So here you go. An easy DIY Christmas decoration project you can throw together last minute to impress your Christmas guests!! Get to stackin'! 

Merry Christmas!!!

12 Days of Christmas for your love

I did this a couple of years ago for my husband.  It was a hit and I see it coming again in the future, anyone else do something like this?

I seen this super idea on pinterest of course.  I HAD to do it for my husband.  He does so much for me all the time to let me know I'm special to him and I have been way behind in doing nice things for him.  Here were my gifts:

Day 1 ~ 1 Bottle of Crown
Day 2 ~ Pair of really warm socks
Day 3 ~ 3 Love letters(this one was hard! I'm not a mushy person so coming up with enough material for 3 mushy love letters felt like a stretch.  I wrote one about the kind of person my husband is and one about the kind of father my husband is and the last one on all the good things my husband does.)
Day 4 ~ 4 V neck T-shirts
Day 5 ~ 5 Thirty Minute Back massages(now I'm just afraid he is going to cash them all in at once!!)
Day 6 ~ 6 Candy bars
Day 7 ~ 7 Amps
Day 8 ~ 8 Razor blades
Day 9 ~ 9 $1 Scratch Off Tickets
Day 10 ~ 10 Fishing Lures
Day 11 ~Long Underwear (hey! he works outside all winter!)
Day 12 ~ Chap Sticks

I had planned to give my gifts on December 13th - 24th.  But he was working out of town quite a bit so I started the day after Thanksgiving and gave him gifts when he was home. I even had to finish after Christmas. But that doesn't matter.  The point is that I wanted to make him feel important and loved. Every time I gave him a gift I sang my corny little bit of song ''on the ___ day of Christmas your true love gives to you".  I'm certainly not a good singer and my husband  will likely never admit it but I think he liked me singing it to him.  I caught him more than once pausing the TV just to hear me sing it to him. 

With each passing day of gifts I was rewarded with a big smile and a giant kiss.  For a man that speaks volumes.

Mission accomplished.

5 fast ways for your Elf on the Shelf to get into mischief

 #1

Ginger Bread House

The girls realized what Elfie made right away

#2 

Big Mess

My kids didn't mind cleaning up after Elfie this time.

#3

All Wrapped Up in Garland

 

#4 

Toilet Paper Christmas Tree

Oh Elfie!

 

#5

 Elfie in a plant

This one is just way to easy, and took the girls a LONG time to find her.

Cheyenne's 4 year old interview

What is your name?  Nanners

What is your mom's name?  Doylenn

What is your dad's name?  Adam

What does your mom do all day?  Clean

What does your dad do all day?  Works

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go? To the store
What is your favorite color? Purple
What is your favorite toy? My doll house
What is your favorite fruit? Cupcakes
What is your favorite cartoon? Team Umizoomie and even Blue Planet too

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Cupcakes

What is the grossest thing to eat for lunch? The Santa lights
What is your favorite thing to wear? All of the things that I got in my closet
What is your favorite game? Hide and seek
What is your favorite snack? Cupcakes

What is your favorite animal? Zebras

Which do you like more, hunting or fishing?  Fishing
What is your favorite song? Christmas songs
What is your favorite book? Miss Piggle Wiggle
Who is your best friend? Harlee

What is your favorite cereal? The ones that I ated last year
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Run around and play
What is your favorite drink? Water

What is your favorite season? Christmas
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Susie
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwhich
What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet

Where is your favorite place to go? This place

What is your favorite restaurant? Applebees

What kind of party to do want for your 5th birthday? Bugs, I mean rainbow horse one

If you could move anywhere in the world where would you live? Right here
What kind of party do you think Harlee should have for her birthday? I think Harlee should have a deer one
What pets do you have? A kitty cat
What is your favorite butterfly? The ones that are just soft, I mean a moon moth, Moon moths are really true and they live out in night, only in night

Polka dots or stripes? polka dots
Do you like showers or baths more? Baths
If you could have any super power what would it be? I got superpower and its see through power.  I have a true power, I can see through my hand.
Who is your favorite person in the whole world? My mom is
What do you hope to do before you next birthday? Color pictures

What would you buy if you had $1000? Cookies
What are you really good at?  Coloring pictures
What is your favorite sport?  The sport that we just goed to
Where do you wish you could go on vacation? At Sarah's
What is your favorite thing to do with friends? Run around

If you could have one wish what would it be? Run around forever
Who is your biggest hero? Harlee
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate dipped fudge
Is there anything else you want to tell me about yourself?  Oh, decorating our house. Even setting up the Christmas tree, and even decorating it, even the ones that makes music. 

All photography in this post is the work of Crafty Honey Badger Mia at Snow Capped Dreams Photography.

Elfie is back! And she still isn't a spy for Santa!

Tonight our elf on the shelf will appear in our house just like in thousands of other homes.  But unlike in thousands of other homes this elf is not a spy for Santa.

Millions of children get the threat of you better be good or Santa won't come.  I've done it.  But it doesn't do anything to improve behavior.  It is just another empty threat, because let's get real,  I'm not going to give my kids nothing but coal for Christmas.

And if Santa was real, he wouldn't either, because he, like Jesus, has harnessed the power of forgiveness.

Our elf is a bit mischievous but not terribly so. Our elf is here to learn to be good and to teach forgiveness.  The girls have to forgive Elfie for being wild and a bit naughty.

The girls can play with Elfie and enjoy her.  I would be silly to get them a new toy and tell them to never touch it.  I want to set them up for success, not failure. 

There is no naughty and nice list.  We have nice girls in this house and only nice girls. Sometimes they make mistakes but so do I and no one threatens to take my Christmas presents away. Jesus has forgiven me and Jesus has forgiven them.

And so has Santa.

 

Santa sent a letter carefully explaining that the naughty and nice list is just something people do for fun.  I didn't want to make 98% of the world out to be liars, well actually you are liars but we don't need to get the kids involved at this point.

Santa is also friends with Jesus and they know all about grace and forgiveness.

And seriously how can your elf be naughty and then it reports back to Santa about your children's naughtiness? Just doesn't make sense!

And maybe just maybe Elfie can teach the girls about love and forgiveness. Because Jesus is the reason for the season and Jesus loves and forgives us,  Every.  Single. Day.