December wonderfulness

Did your December fly by? Ours did! Don had much needed total shoulder replacement December 3,

Sarah, Addie, Janae and Sarah Grace waited with me at Baylor Hospital

bringing life as we knew it to a halt - our calendar was cleared and after the surgery went well, we were home for a few weeks with no to do list. Hoorah! He curled up with his Kindle and old movies; I went into the shop with my paints, jigsaw, canvases, sanding paper, brushes and such and had such fun.

Here are a few shots of what I was busy with:

DIL Janae wanted a 'Kneeling Santa' over $100 at the flea market. I used my projector, got the basic shapes onto a piece of plywood we had in the shop.

Here it is finished. Cost $0. They put it in their front yard with a spotlight. I had such fun pulling out my paint brushes for this one. 

Landon was worried about Santa getting into his house since they have no chimney. Pinterest came through with a 'Santa Key'. I used the key that opened the attic door in our Illinois house (built in 1912). It's where we used to hide the Christmas presents for our kids so it held special memories for us. Perfect. 

Found this project on Pinterest too - very low cost (tiles from Home Depot), printed photos onto regular printer paper, some mod podge and felt for the backs. I really had fun with these. 

The grandbabies helped me make this for their mama, Janae. They loved, loved having their feet painted!

My DIL had this in her home and I made a version of it, coming up with this. We kept decorations to a minimum this year - with surgery and a house on the market, but I really liked how this looked. Displayed in front of it are winter scenes with family members. 

Addie looks less than thrilled but we actually had fun making all sorts of goodies. 

We have an old door framing board with the original marks on it - our family growth chart that is about 30 years old. A couple in Idaho make these, so we ordered one for ourselves and also for our grown kids - to have in their own homes. Transferred the marks and gave them to them for Christmas. This new version looks much better than the original one did. This gift was a big hit.

We gave Cricut minis to our daughter, Sarah and DIL, Janae. Daughter Leslie already has one.  

Janae wants to make gifts like this for all her friends who have a million kids. Sarah will likely do the same. Leslie and I plan to play with our Cricuts when we spend a chunk of summer in Idaho. Who knows what all we'll come up with!

Elfina came to our house on December 1, and when the grandkids came to visit they brought Elfie with them. 

I've had this antique sled for years, and when Sarah admired it (i.e. she asked if she could have it when I died) I tucked in into her trunk. Have it now! I've enjoyed it for years - it's ready for a new home.

Elfie and Elfina played Bananagrams while we slept. Grandkids are convinced Elfina is naughty, and their elf is nice. 

Miss Sarah Grace is fattening up nicely, and starting to be out in public a bit. Her mama is quite smitten with her, and we can see why. Who doesn't love a blonde haired, blue eyed chubby baby?

Miss Jae Beth, born on Christmas Day, celebrated her third birthday. She's starting to not cry when everyone sings to her. After blowing out her candles she immediately licked her cake, pretty much sealing the deal that she got the whole thing to herself! If you look closely you'll see pitiful Papa in the background, sporting his sling. 

Last not least - Christmas photos of our grandkids. She started crying, he started crying. Santa looks ready to cry himself. 

This is what they look like when they're not terrified. 

Caiden, Grayson, Addie and Sarah Grace - all spiffed up for Santa. I can't even believe how big Caiden is starting to look! Pretty soon he'll be asking for boring money for Christmas. This year we gave him a woopie cushion, whirly gig thing, Star Wars toothbrush, cup and toothpaste, and a Cribbage board to play with me. 

Landon is missing multiple teeth here, making for a memorable Christmas photo.

So there you have it - our Christmas.

I'll be back soon with my reading list for 2012 and what's on the list for 2013.