Remember this?

It wasn't all that long ago that I was catching Danna hidden up in some small corner of the house with a guilty expression, a marker/pen, and a  'beard' or "make-up".

Remember these?

Well,

 She has passed the torch. . .

This kid LOVES to draw----everywhere except paper.

gifts

I'm a horrible gift giver.

I always wanted to be the type of person who remembered everyone's birthdays and special times in their lives with card or small gifts.

Or the type of person who felt like making dozens of cookies or candies or treats for their neighbors during the holidays.

Or the person who is prepared with teacher gifts, doctor gifts or coach gifts. 

Or the person who makes a card and sends it to someone who shared a moving talk at church or just because they are an inspiration.

Or even the type of person who gives a phone call and lets someone know they're being thought of.

But, I'm not.

I wish I were.

I have tons of craft supplies from my hoarding station downstairs to make (theoretically easy and quick) gifts, but I never seem to actually make them.

Under my bed I have 3 boxes of gift bags, wrapping paper and ribbons for making some beautiful decoration to a well-planned gift. But, most often, I don't actually prepare a gift to wrap.

See. . . horrible.

But I'm still trying.

With Christmas less than 2 weeks away I'm still trying to finish up presents for my daughters (get excited, it's turning out sooo cute), and of course, for my husband, and mine and Mike's families, and then I thought I should definitely get presents for my visiting teach-ees, oh, and my violin students, and of course the girls who regularly babysit for me, etc. . .

And instead of getting overwhelmed this year, I'm on a roll. 

It feels soooooo good to use up that wrapping paper under my bed.

And of course, it feels extra good that I was able to think about and show a little of my gratitude for these wonderful and helpful people in my life.

I wish these pictures turned out less blurry because they look pretty darn awesome in real life. I decided to make ornaments for all my violin students (and I happened to have all the supplies on hand) 

I printed off those cute violin player silhouettes onto vellum, there's also antiqued sheet music behind it that peeks through. I also personalized each ornament by stamping each student's name and the year. Then there are curls or ribbon thrown in for a bit of color and tied to the top for the ornaments to hang. 

 Not professional by any means but hopefully it'll help them remember their wonderful accomplishments this year.

It's beginning

to look a lot like Christmas. . .

And this is not all, no this is not all. . .

(sorry Janet, I forgot to snap a picture of my front door, but it's not all that exciting anyway)

New Year's Resolution:

   Don't buy any more Christmas decorations.

Do you ever

feel like it's impossible to get things done?

Every year I realize how busy the holidays are going to be and try to prepare for the rush. . .

. . .the rush of getting presents ready, for travel, for setting up decorations, for special musical numbers, for the snow and all it's curses, and of course for having fun as a family.

So, in order to accomplish these I've tried to avoid turning on the computer (one of my main 

'time suckers') and focus on what needs to be done. 

Needless to say, my laundry is still not done, my piano lessons not quite practiced, the dishes still dirty, the garbage still overflowing, and suitcases still half unpacked after our Thanksgiving getaway. 

But, despite my short-term head cold and my inability to prioritize housecleaning, we have had some exceptionally sweet moments in our family.

Thank goodness for daughters, sisters, friends, parents, FAMILY . .

Thank goodness especially for husbands. . .

Thank goodness for delicious food. . .

Thank goodness for kid's naps. . .

Thank goodness for hot chocolate, and heaters. . .

Thank goodness for romance novels. . .

Thank goodness for cameras to capture precious moments in our lives. . .

Thank goodness that laundry, dishes, garbage and vacuuming really can wait. . .

Thank goodness for the joy of the Christmas season and all the fun times that come with it!

havin' a blast beautifying our Christmas tree.

Here's mike dancing with Carina to keep her from pulling all the glass bulbs off the tree. . . cute pair.

Carina fell asleep next to the refrigerator in the girls' little 'fort.' Yes, she fell asleep on that box.

This darling picture speaks for itself. . .

Enjoying hot chocolate with the girls after shoveling snow in the driveway. It took about 40 minutes to get them dressed in all their winter gear just to have them crying of cold within about 10 minutes outside...(7 degrees F) 

See. . . not getting stuff done is totally worth it but please don't come over. . . :)