12 Days -- Post-A-Day

Yep, I'm back!!  I know, crazy, huh?!  Thought I'd challenge myself to this post-a-day, not only to slow myself down and reflect upon what we're doing this month, but to catch up on what's been going on since April.  I can't believe it's been so long, where does the time go?

I started thinking about blogging again as I was decorating our house for Christmas.  I was going through my phone pics and camera--I use the photos to remember how I decorate year-to-year as we move so much nothing ever goes up in the same place--and thought it would be nice to share those with everyone.  Pulling out all the stuff we've collected really brings back the memories of the MANY places we have lived, or traveled to.  I especially like finding the crafts and such that my children have made through the years, goodness, how they have grown!

Last year I used these photos of their art/craft projects from their younger school days as our Christmas card collage.  I had intended to take a snapshot of us together at some point in the fall and it just never happened.  With Jake away at school, we weren't all together much and I realized I didn't have a single family photo since the beach.  Well, that one had girlfriends in it and I wasn't ready for a card like that.  Smile.  I loved how it turned out, lots of nostalgia in these simple things.

Jacob circa 2004

Jacob made the Santa painting in what I believe was 5th grade, I'll have to double-check that.  Gregg's mom has always thought it should have been on a gift bag, like some we saw of child-art at a dollar store one year.  Lacking gift ideas one Christmas, I copied it onto photo paper, full-sized, and had them matted and framed for our Moms that year.  Love when you can give a gift like that!  Last year I had a couple of more copied, smaller though, and just had the matting done for a store bought frame.  Have been holding out to frame the original, think I'll frame one more full-sizer for Jake and then I'll do mine.

Sam 2001

The banner/handprint tree is Sam's work from pre-school at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Leavenworth, KS.  Loved that place!!  They did the best things with the kids, wish all of mine could have gone there.  Hard to imagine his hand being so small. Sniffle.  Harder to imagine he sat still long enough to make all of those handprints.  Chuckle.

Daniel 2004

And last, but not least, is Daniel's handprint/snowman ornament.  How darling is that?!  They painted their hands white and had the children cup the little ornament in their palm, wrapping their fingers around the side.  Then they got to decorate each "snowman" finger with colored paint pens.  It just so happens their are five of us, so he said each snowman was someone in his family.  Cry.  We still laugh about one of the stick-arms looking like a gun, Dad is in the Army you know.  

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the creativity that spills out of our home.  It warms my heart bring those years back to life every holiday season!!