Peter's Memorial: One Year

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since Peter's birth and death. October and November were difficult months for me due to several factors.  If we can all avoid getting sick next year I think that will help. I'm glad to report that I am doing much better and have been enjoying the holiday season.

Last year Peter died the morning of the day before Thanksgiving which was the 23rd. This year the 23rd fell the day after Thanksgiving. I think every year the day before Thanksgiving and the 23rd will both be heavy in my heart.

To commemorate Peter's one year memorial we bought extra-large balloons with polka dots on them and released them at his grave.

Lucy placing her sacrificial clumps of dirt on Peter's headstone.

Saying a prayer.

Lucy said she needed to give Peter a hug before we left.

We love and miss you, Peter.

All our love.
- Mom, Dad, and Lucy

DIY: Fingerprint Christmas Light Cards

This is one of the advent calendar activities Lucy and I did this year. She always loves making artwork, and although this activity was a little more detail oriented than she is used to, she did a great job!

Materials:
- Blank cards (Walmart)
- Washable markers
- Permanent marker
- Wet wipe
- Dry paper towel

So excited to get working!

This is the adult section of the activity as it required drawing the light cord and light bases with a permanent marker.

I found it easier to ink her thumb with one color over and over, and do every card before washing her finger and then moving on to the next color. 

Putting that wet wipe to good use.

The finished product!

Lucy adding her finishing touch inside each card. 

This was a fun project, but by the end Lucy's attention span was wearing thin. In the future I would break it up so she wasn't having to make all of the cards at the same time, or do each stage at different times of the day.


Did you make Christmas cards this year? Link up below to share them!

DIY: Snow Globes

Here is one of the fun activities Lucy and I did together this Christmas. Homemade Snow globes!

Materials:
- Three empty and clean glass jars
- Bottle brush trees (Walmart)
- Pearl branches (from dollar store)
- Fake snow (Walmart)
- Hot glue gun and glue
- White spray paint

Wash empty jars in the dishwasher and use an adhesive remover like Goo Gone to clean off any leftover sticky residue from any labels. Rinse and dry. While waiting, take the clean lids and spray paint the color of your choice. Let dry. 

These pearl sprigs were from the flower arranging aisle.
I used them a few years ago to make Christmas corsages for the widows at church.  They made perfect trees!

Hot glue the trees on the inside of the lid.
Make sure to give enough room on the edges so that it will still close.

Add snow to the inside of the jar holding the open end of the jar up, and turn the trees upside down to put the lid on. Gently slide the trees into the glass. Screw tightly, then flip over and gently shake until the snow covers the "ground".

If you are worried about small children opening them you can add hot glue to the inside edge of the lid before closing.

I like the variety of the three different sizes of jars. If I made these again I would love to find a mini deer or other woodland animals to add as well. 

Lucy loved helping mom with a project, and scooping in the fake snow. This activity is probably better suited for an older child, but Lucy still enjoyed participating.

I love snow and miss having a white Christmas, so any excuse I can find to bring a little into our home, I take!

Merry Christmas!

Surprises in the Mail

Lucy loves walking to the mailbox with me each day to check the mail. She points out every house her friends live in, and makes some up as we go along.

Lucy was delighted when there were two packages for her in the box! The first was a package of paint brushes from my good friend in Idaho, and the second was a homemade Christmas pillowcase from her Grandma Gayle. She was ecstatic! She promptly let me know that she needed to make some artwork, and sat on her newly covered pillow all evening and carried it around the house.

She also really loved the cards that came with the gifts and still carries them all around the house with her.

Thank you for the fun surprises!

Activity and Service Advent Calendar

Growing up we always enjoyed candy advent calendars that counted down the days until Christmas. At my mom's house my favorite was the cardboard calendar with a Christmas scene printed on it that you punched open a little door each day revealing a chocolate underneath.

At my dad's house they had a large cross stitch with ties all around that you used to secure the candy of your choice for each day.

This year I decided to make an advent calendar for Lucy to enjoy. After searching all over the internet and brainstorming ideas I decided to make a very easy and simple paper chain calendar that had a Christmas activity and act of service for Lucy to enjoy each day.

I also wanted to find one of the cardboard chocolate calendars to buy, but couldn't find one! Oh well.

Lucy had fun helping me tape the chain links together and working on a project with me. We hung it along the mantle and have watched it slowly dwindle down as we draw closer to Christmas.

I made an excel spreadsheet and listed the date, day of the week, and the activity and act of service for each day so that I could schedule in church parties, work parties, and Sabbath appropriate activities for Sunday, Monday family night, etc.

I intended on printing it out for my chain but was out of ink and so hand wrote each link instead. Some days we have had to save part of the activity for another day and so I save the link on the mantle until we have done all the activities and then throw it away once it is completed.

There were a lot of activities that I would have loved to include from my own childhood memories, but due to the warm climate and inaccessibility of our small town in Texas, I had to leave them out. Maybe another year!

So far we have really enjoyed the count down and I plan on continuing this tradition next year.


Here is the list of our December activities.



What other activities would you include or suggest for next year?

		Activity	Service
Saturday	1-Dec	Go to the park	Give dad a massage
Sunday	2-Dec	Hot chocolate with marshmallows	Sing Lucy a song
Monday	3-Dec	Make cards for Grandparents	Put dads clean clothes away
Tuesday	4-Dec	Make gorilla bread	Sing dad a song
Wednesday	5-Dec	Make Christmas Wish list- put out shoes for St. Nick	Make someone's bed
Thursday	6-Dec	See what St. Nick brought!	Put away dishes
Friday	7-Dec	Hang mistletoe- get a kiss!	Give dad a kiss
Saturday	8-Dec	Christmas Frontier Dance	Dust the living room
Sunday	9-Dec	Make popcorn- watch Mr. Kruger's Christmas	Sing mom a song
Monday	10-Dec	Missionary Christmas cards	Put away games
Tuesday	11-Dec	Hot Apple Cider Tea Party	Give mom a massage
Wednesday	12-Dec	Scrabble Necklace	Clean the fridge, oven, etc.
Thursday	13-Dec	Paint Nails	Clean dads side of bed
Friday	14-Dec	Church Christmas party	Organize shoe rack
Saturday	15-Dec	Christmas Blanket Fort	Clean out car
Sunday	16-Dec	Sing Christmas Hymns	Give mom a kiss
Monday	17-Dec	Make paper snowflakes	Put away shoes
Tuesday	18-Dec	Make ornament	Wipe down toilets
Wednesday	19-Dec	Family Dance Party	Throw away old magazines
Thursday	20-Dec	Decorate cookies	Give Lucy a kiss
Friday	21-Dec	Play a game with dad	Empty trashes
Saturday	22-Dec	Have breakfast for dinner	Clean bathroom
Sunday	23-Dec	Make a fire and read a book	Give Lucy a massage
Monday	24-Dec	Open one present- Go on Christmas Light Tour	Wipe down door handles
Tuesday	25-Dec	Read the story about the birth of Jesus	Take out the trash

Lucy Lately: Hide and Seek

One of Lucy's new favorite activities to do with Zach is to play hide and seek with him when he gets home from work. She really enjoys counting and trying to find him. Sometimes when he hides too well she loses interest and forgets what her goal is. Luckily for her, I can point her in the right direction until she achieves victory. 

What she doesn't seem to really grasp is the hiding part when it is her turn to hide. Zach will count and she will run away giggling in anticipation. When he finally gets to 10, she squeals in delight and comes running to him from her hiding spot screaming, "I found you! I found you, daddy!" 

It makes it really easy for Zach to "find" her. She comes to him!

Sometimes I will try to help her hide and will hide with her until Zach comes looking for us. Unfortunately, she usually can't contain her excitement and will giggle, scream in excitement, wiggle and then get really mad at me for covering her mouth and trying to pin her down to hold her still until Zach inevitably "finds" us. 

An example of one of her original hiding spots: 

Nice try, Lucy! If only that door frame covered the rest of your body.



An example of one of the times Lucy couldn't find Zach and needed a little help and encouragement from mom:

You couldn't even tell he was there! 

What is the best hiding place you've ever seen?

Trick-or-Treating

At the last minute we decided to let Lucy go trick-or-treating with some of our friends from church. She decided to wear her ballet leotard and be a ballerina. She put on a good show and had fun dancing around the house.

She loved going out and was very excited about her loot. She kept saying "Thank you" before she got the candy and "Trick-or-treat!" after. Oh, well. At least she got them both out.

Dance, Lucy, dance!

Right before it was time to go a package came to the door! A Halloween surprise delivery from See's Candy via Grandpa Billy and Grandma Gayle!

Lucy might have been more excited about the bubble wrap than whatever else was in the box.

Lucy got to enjoy a rare candy treat and picked a chocolate lollipop.

Thank you, Grandpa Billy and Grandma Gayle!

Happy Halloween Girl!