Tree Skirt

This is one of our [after] Christmas Traditions. . . I put the kids' handprints on our Tree Skirt.


We use this type of paint(CAUTION-this doesn't come out of clothes).


Paint their hands {our kids LOVE this part}.


Place their hands on fabric.


Make sure you label their names & the year.

{Sweet Poem}

I love this sweet Poem.

Snowflakes softly falling

upon your window play,

Your blankets snug around you

into sleep you drift away.

I bend to gently kiss you

when I see that on the floor,

There's a letter neatly written

I wonder who its for.

I quietly unfold it

making sure you're still alseep.

It's a Christmas list for Santa-

one my heart will always keep.

It started just as always

with the toys seen on TV,

A new watch for your father

and a winter coat for me.

But as my eyes read on

I could see that deep inside,

There were many things you wished for

that your loving heart would hide.
You asked if your friend Molly

could have another dad;

It seems her father hits her

and it makes you very sad.

Then you asked dear Santa

if the neighbors down the street

Could find a job, that he might have

some food, and clothes and heat.

You saw a family on the news

whose house had blown away;

"Dear Santa, send them just one thing:

a place where they can stay."

"And Santa, those four cookies

that I left you for a treat,

could you take them to the children

who have nothing else to eat?"

"Do you know that little bear I have-

the one I love so dear?

I'm leaving it for you to take

to Africa this year."

"And as you fly your reindeer

on this night of Jesus' birth,

could your magic bring to everyone

goodwill and peace on earth?"

"There's one last thing before you go

so grateful I would be-

If you'd smile at Baby Jesus

in the manger by our tree."

I pulled the letter close to me;

I felt it melt my heart

Those tiny hands had written

what no other could impart.

And a little child shall lead them

was whispered in my ear.

As I watched you sleep on Christmas Eve

while Santa Claus was here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!

Christmas Morning. . .

Every year on Christmas morning, before our kids can go downstairs, they have to wait until mom and dad gets up. So this year this is what they get to keep themselves occupied.

When I have taken all the pictures, they can come down and see all the Christmas gifts. Before any paper tearing is done, we eat breakfast( a tradition in our family since I was little) so our bellies are full of something good. (then I don't mind if they decide to eat all the candy that's in their stocking). This year I'm going to try these yummy looking cinnamon rolls.

Hope you have a good easy recipe to start your Christmas morning off.

{Reindeer} Pillow

A couple years ago, I made these Pillows for the girls to put on their beds during the month of December. We used their foot & hand prints to make a Reindeer face.

Elf Kit

This is the best tool you could have on Christmas morning. Our Elf Kit has been a life saver for a few years now. Before I put this all together I got my exercise going back & forth for tools.


I placed this list just inside the lid.


All the "tools" (great finds at the Dollar store) to put inside the paint can.


{I dressed up the paint can (found at Home Depot or Lowe's) by mod podging some fabric on the bottom, labeling with vinyl, adding a knob to top lid & some ribbon on the handle}


Hope this comes in handy for your Christmas morning.

Please {Santa} . . .

I made a Christmas version of this Door Hanger.

I got these cute keys and this came to mind. Great for the front door.

Our {Crepe} Restaurant

What a journey our family has been through in the last 4 months.

My husband was let go with a local builder before summer hit. Thru the summer we saved as much money as we could, but didn't have a plan of how the bills were going to get paid this coming winter. We've been selling crepes at the downtown Farmer's Market (on Saturdays) & have had such great success. People wanted to know where they could get them during the week. That made think. . .

We looked in different areas of our town & found a place in the same complex as the Edwards 21 Theaters. The deal was too good to pass up & then we knew our prayers had been answered. This is how The Creperie came to be. We had a very small budget & we had to do 80% of the work ourselves(ceiling/walls/flooring/signage/cabinetry). We were blessed to find many things on CraigsList for a great deal and even got some free stuff.

Below are some pictures to showcase our hard work!


The "before" shell of a room.


Family on the scissor lift to paint the ceiling.


Me "fauxing" the walls.


The ceiling, walls and new stain on the concrete flooring DONE!


The back brick wall with a "faux stucco" face. [I really had a challenge with the brick wallpaper so I had to do this "faux stucco". I put up 1/4" wood on the wall then used joint compound to cover it then faux painted it-it was a happy accident.]


Pricing boards [doors & molding from a second hand store & made them chalkboard-MS formula]


CraigsList wall tables-before & after


The END result.

I'm grateful for this humbling experience. I know this will be a legacy for our children.

If you're in the Boise area please stop by & say "hi".

Christmas {2010} Gift for Teachers

This year I needed to do something simple for the kid's teachers as a Christmas Gift.


I took the large candy bars & wrapped them with paper. Then added a sparkly foam letter then tied it off with fabric.

This is our years edition of Homemade Fudge!

Last-Minute Teacher Gifts?

Oh no! Tomorrow is the last day of school before Christmas break and my children's teachers' Christmas gifts are still somewhere between "shipped" and my doorstep. Time is running out, and I need to figure out a back-up plan. Fast! If any of you are in the same boat, I found a couple of links that gave me some great ideas. (Now I just need to decide which one I want to do and do it! "Tick-Tock-Tick...")

Ideas from the Dollar Stretcher
Ideas from FlyLady.net
Ideas via SassySites blog

Family Service Project Report

On Monday evening, we took our family to the Boise Rescue Mission warehouse to attend the "Toy Sorting Party". It was a blast! We went with some good friends of ours too, which made it even more enjoyable!

We actually ended up sorting food and decorating placemats and boxes (of food) for the homeless (instead of toys). Our husbands even got to take our boys with them and run a huge load of stuff over to one of the homeless shelters in [our friend's] truck.

The evening was a success! I DO recommend this service for families. It is a very family-friendly activity. We will definately be continuing this tradition in the years to come! My kids are now asking what else they can do to serve others. So we decided as a family, that we would take these last "12 Days of Christmas" and do a family service every day until Christmas. This is awesome!!

Click HERE for volunteering info in my area.

Chocolate Mint Christmas Cookies

My friend, Lexi brought me over some "to-die-for" Christmas cookies last year, a recipe that she found HERE. They are now a Christmas "staple" at my house. You use chocolate chips (melted) in the dough, and Andes mints for the "icing".

I made a double batch of these last week and stuck them in the freezer. I have plans for them that I will share later.

These cookies are seriously sinful, but oh so heavenly!! Click HERE for the recipe.

Did you know that Andes also makes these baking chips?

The red peppermint ones are usually only around during the holidays, but the green ones (which are my fave) you can find all year long. I get them at Walmart.

Cute Christmas Poem from Hymns

I love this poem! I can't even remember where I got it, but it was several years ago. I have given it to friends or gals I visit-teach in the past, attached to a little music-themed tree ornament.

Click HERE to print this poem. Enjoy!!

{Where} is Heather??

Wanna know where Heather is right now?? She is with her husband, opening the doors to their brand new, amazing restaurant called The Creperie in Boise!! How exciting is that?

They plan to serve Savory Crepes, like Parisian, Thai Chicken, Mediteranean, Faux Vegan, and Le Cochon (cheddar cheese & bacon) as well as Sweet Crepes, like Le Arentine (dulce de Leche & powdered sugar), Nutella, Deux Fruits (strawberry, banana, brown sugar) and many, many more. To see the full menu you can go to their website.

I will let Heather share more, about her new restaurant, with you later. Just wait till you see pics of the place... WOW! It's definately been "Heatherised". I can hardly wait to sink my teeth into one (or all )of Heather's husband's amazing crepes!! YUMMMM!!

You LOCALS are in for a TREAT!!

Christmas Gift Idea for Child-Rearing Parents

There have been many readers of ours, friends, and family of mine (locally and outa-town) that wish so badly to attend the "Positive Parenting" class here in the Boise, ID area. This class is a 10-week (per semester) Adult Education class, offered by the LDS Church Educational System (CES) through BYUi. It is taught by Sister Carleen Tanner, who has raised 10 awesome children. She has spoken at Education Week for years and has been teaching this parenting class for about 20 years now. I love the class so much that I can't stop going! (I've taken the classes all the way through about 4 times in the last 9 years.) It keeps my "bucket" full, and gives me new ideas and inspiration each time. (I know Heather goes every few years as well.)

*NOTE: Each "semester" (starting in Sept. and Jan.) is a 2-hour class/once a week, for 10 weeks. So there are roughly 20 different topics that Sis. Tanner covers per year.

If you are one of those moms that really wishes you could take this class, or know someone else that does, then you are in luck!! Sister Tanner has about 10 different CD's that you can purchase from her directly. They are $10 each, and so worth it! I have 5 of her CD's, and I love to listen to them while cleaning or driving. She does not market her CD's or sell them in stores. But because of the demand for recordings of her classes, she is willing to sell and ship them to those interested.


If you would like to find out more about Carleen Tanner's CD's you can email her directly at CarleenTanner AT gmail DOT com.
These would make great gifts!!

Service GIFT

Since life is crazy right now I want this season to be one that we get back to the main reasons of Christmas.

We are going to add a twist to the tradition we do with picking family names for a gift. Instead of doing a "gift=present"(we ususally set a $ limit of what we would spend for each other), we are going to do a gift but in the form of SERVICE. All month long.

After we pick our names, we will all write down any thoughts {about the person, ideas on how to serve this person, about this Christmas season & what we each hope to learn}. During the month, I'm going to encourage the family to write down experiences {moments, feelings} Then at the end of the month they could put them in photo book holder (walmart for $1.00).

I really believe you love those you serve. I hope this is your season also.