No related posts.
Wordless Wednesday (with some words)
Sunday Snapshots {Tradition}
Growing up, we had a grandmother and grandfather who had a great idea that sorta grew probably way beyond what they thought it would. They made big felt advent calendars with pockets for each day in December for their grandchildren. But, as you can imagine, the number of their grandchildren grew and grew and grew. My grandfather had 4 daughters of his own who had, oh, just a few kids and my grandmother had 3 kids who gave her 5 grandchildren. They ended up making these calendars and filling their pockets each year for, I think, 20 kids.
That’s 480 felt pockets with 480 little wrapped presents every December.
Yup, that’s a lot.
And, we loved it. That is, until we were too old to appreciate stickers or pencils or a hand stamp or a rainbow eraser in which case we then got $1 for each day until Christmas.
So, needless to say, my mom decided she needed to keep up this tradition. And, we didn’t argue with her. After all, tradition is tradition.
She now has 9 grandchildren herself. And, though, we know that number will never be 23 (promise…really), that’s still 216 little presents she has to buy and wrap and label by name and number each December. That’s a lot. It’s not 480, but it is a lot. Good thing they spend a good bit of time in China. (You’ll see why)
Pictures of the setting up which is oodles of fun in an of itself. Lots of trying to peek through the tissue paper and guessing what items might be from their shape.
On the 1st day of Christmas, Nanma and Granddaddy gave to me…a little box with notepaper in it.
On the 2nd day of Christmas, Nanma and Grandaddy gave to me…a notepad with a nifty cardboard pen for the three older kids and a little fork and spoon set for Lydia complete with teeny chopsticks.
On the 3rd day of Christmas, Nanma and Grandaddy gave to me…a silly bandz necklace with mini silly bandz.
On the 4th day of Christmas, Nanma and Granddaddy gave to me…training chopsticks which were used that night for dinner!
On the 5th day of Christmas, Nanma and Grandaddy gave to me…parachute Toy Story figures and a Mickey Mouse sticker.
Stay tuned to see what is coming up…
And, only a few mishaps so far with Lydia sneaking in and unwrapping Ashlyn’s #17 and #19. And, she totally knew she was doing something wrong. What a stinker.
He’s a Star
Do you remember those childhood moments that just made you feel like a star? Maybe you guessed the right number of gumballs in the jar. Maybe you remember seeing the team list posted and saw that you made the cut. Maybe it was simply a comment, a passing word from someone who had no idea it would make a lasting impression on you. Maybe it was a simple pat on the back that gave you such a feeling of assurance and accomplishment.
Evan got that pat on the back yesterday.
At lunch, they announced the students of the month. They do this every month. And, he’s in 3rd grade. So, he’s heard the names called each month and watched the kids go up to get their award. This time, his name was announced. He was so excited to tell me. And, you know that I made a huge deal about it and gave him the red “you are special” cup at dinner and had an ice cream party for dessert to celebrate complete with chocolate syrup and seconds. He told me a couple times, “I heard them start to make the announcement and I was hoping it would be me and it was!” His friend Matt told him he was famous. And, he sorta is. At least at Barkley Elementary School. And in our house.
Just look at that proud smile.
I created!
So, it’s not anything close to Red Thread Stitches, but I’m pretty darn proud of myself.
I have a really cool vintage Disney pillowcase I wanted to make into a tunic top for Ashlyn. But, I didn’t want to ruin it with my first attempt at it. So, I made this yesterday out of an old tank top we had and some old Raggedy Ann and Andy sheets from when I was little. I’m so happy with how it turned out. It’s super cute. And, I loved it with the red striped socks and red Mary Janes today.
There is something so rewarding about turning nothing into something, you know? And, there is something so rewarding about having a finished product to my efforts. So much of what I do doesn’t have any sort of finished product–“mom stuff” typically doesn’t.
I could get into this.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- …
- 50
- Next Page »