Christmas Craftiness

Christmas is a time for crafts... for me at least.

This is the tree skirt I made, inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. It didn't turn out exactly how I had imagined..or like the picture, but I think it's alright. The girls even commented that they wished they could have it as a skirt to wear. Guess I can take that as a stamp of approval. :)
I also saw this on Pinterest..keychains made from Jenga blocks. I LOVE these. They are so easy to make and so versatile. These are the ones I made for each member of my Primary Presidency for Christmas. I thought they could keep their primary keys on them.

See? So versatile..each one so different.

I drew Taylee's name for our Family Christmas Gift Exchange. I saw this saying and technique on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect for her. I painted it orange, because she says this is her favorite color.

Guess I could have called this post, "Crafts Inspired from Pinterest".

Concerts Galore!

At our house, the third week in December, was the week of Christmas choir concerts.

Sunday, we started off the week with a Stake Music Concert. This big production included a full orchestra and many lovely numbers.

Thursday, was Rylee's highschool choir concert. We loved the closing number where all the choirs surrounded us and sang their last song together. Saturday, was the Cantus Winter Concert. The choir was composed and crisp. Rylee-Melissa-Eliza

And then on Sunday, we went to the Institute Christmas Concert, directed by Craig Spjute. It was fun, relaxed and family oriented. Good thing, because Abree and Treyson were about to keel over from too many concerts and too much refinement for the week. :)

Service

I'm so far behind, I'm having a hard time getting motivated to complete these posts. I do want to document what we did, so I'm warning you, these next few posts may be brief.... and not very creative.

One of our favorite days was when we volunteered at the Boise Rescue Mission warehouse. The guy in charge there knows what he's doing and makes it fun. When you first arrive everyone is asked to "sign in". Their sign in sheet, is literally a bed sheet. When it's filled, they hang it high on the warehouse wall, along with several others.

Grandpa Waite had come to town for Christmas, and was staying with us, so he came along to help. (Rylee was at choir, of course!)

We were just a part of the big group that showed up that night. There was probably 50-60 people there to help that night.

We got to help fill "food boxes". We formed an assembly line, beginning with someone opening paper grocery bags (grandpa's job), then someone put in canned fruits, then veggies, then a few fresh potatoes and onions, then dried beans/stuffing and finally some sort of boxed dessert (cake mix/brownies/muffins/etc.).

In preparation for our Annual Smullin Service Scavenger Hunt, we made popcorn snowmen again.

We put these cute snowmen on the door handles of the families who donated.

Our donation collection was a success!

Our favorite thing collected were the frozen turkeys...several were donated this year.

Lesson learned: Keeping the area of collection localized is critical. This year I opened up donation to Facebook and received lots of great response all over the valley. I underestimated how long it would take to collect everything. Keeping it simple is the way to go. :)

This night, our service focused on the Humanitarian Center.

We made felt puppets...

and wove hats on plastic looms.

We also had intentions of making plastic canvas blocks and taggy blankets, but ran out of time.

The kids all had a good time weaving the hats. Taylee was especially loving it. She even said out loud that she wished she had her own loom to make hats. She committed to start saving her money to buy some.

Little did she know... Jason and I had already purchased a set for her, for Christmas. We couldn't wait for her to open them... we knew she was going to LOVE them! :)

12 Days of Service

Last year in December, we started a new tradition.... "the 12 days of service".
Because of busy schedules and lack of good planning, we didn't get the whole 12 days in. This year, I wanted to be more organized and was determined to do better.

We had a planning FHE, where we brainstormed service ideas and scheduled our calendar.

Here are the activities we decided on:

1. Free movie on us. Went to a dollar movie and paid for people in line behind us ($20).

2. Leave a note and treat in the mailbox for our mail carrier, thanking them for their service.

3. Volunteer at the Boise Rescue Mission.

4. Service babysitting. Babysit for free, while parents go Christmas Shopping.

5. Volunteer at the Boys/Girl's Club.

6. Go look at Christmas lights and leave notes of appreciation on the decorated houses we really liked.

7. Annual Smullin Service Scavenger Hunt...that's not really a scavenger hunt. :)

8. Work on Humanitarian Kits from the D.I.

9. Gather/donate clothes to a homeless shelter.

10. Give hot chocolate to a bell ringer.

11. Leave notes and candy canes on car windshields wishing a Merry Christmas.

12. Bring a treat to a 24-hour drug store employee that is working on Christmas Eve.

I'm happy to report, we DID better...but not 100%. Still working on getting all 12 days in.

Maybe, the 12 days aren't the point. :)

I wanted to create something to refer to, so we knew which service activity was coming up. I created this pom-pom advent countdown and hung it up by our stockings.



The advent countdown was cute, but still has some need for improvement. Next time, I will put date/day on each activity, so my kids have no reason to ask what's next.




Another cool thing to report... during our service week, my friend posted on Facebook about a family in need. I responded with questions and asked if we could help. She gave me the kid's names and ages. I went to my "gift stash" and found 3 gifts for each of the 4 kids.

My kids helped to wrap the gifts and then we delivered them to my friend, to be given to the family in need.

It felt good to fill a need and be prepared to give spontaneously.

Favorite Things Party

For December's book club, we (again) had a "Favorite Things Party". This year Jilene Ray hosted a WINTER WONDERLAND themed party.The snowflake sugar cookies and the brownie bite pops were AWESOME! Everyone brought one of their favorite treats/snacks to share and a favorite item for the gift exchange.

We also played the game we did last year, "What's Yours Like?" (favorites version). We took the opportunity to go around the room and say WHY it was our favorite. That added an additional element of fun.

With our book club leader moving, the torch has been passed. Hopefully we will continue to carry on as usual. I always look forward to going and hanging out with these women.

Happy Birthday Rylee!

On December 6th, Rylee turned 15!

Since her birthday fell on a Tuesday, she was gone ALL day. It's her regular Tuesday schedule; she leaves at 6:45am and doesn't get home until 9:30pm (Cantus choir practice and babysitting)! So she opened her gifts, when she got home, but we decided to do her birthday dinner and cake/ice cream the next day.
She received a jar from Treyson...

..full of smiles.

Just in case she needs one, she now has a whole jar full. So cute..totally his own idea that Taylee helped him execute.

Isn't this chair funny? I found it at Goodwill and HAD to get it for her. She loves shoes... especially high heels. I thought it would be perfect for her room.

For her birthday dinner, she requested fettucini alfredo, as well as a rainbow cake and "Moose Tracks" icecream.

She was trying to freak me out the other day by saying,

"Mom, do you realize that at this time next year, I could be going to Sweethearts.... and then Prom?!"

I tried to keep it cool and answered,

"Ya.... I'm sooo excited. That will be soooo much fun!"

Really I can't wait to help her think of fun, creative ways to ask guys to dances or answer when they ask. And honestly, really I am a little nervous about it too. :)