Making Our Christmas Extra Specail

Today I began looking for crafts I can do for Christmas.  Last year I started a new tradition with our children; we made our first annual Christmas tree ornament.  There are many other families out there in blog land doing the same thing.  I like to use up things I have left over from other projects, so my children and I made felted wreaths.  The only difference was we used left over fleece from ponchos I had made for the fall weather.  Over the course of this past summer I found two whole boxes of yarn at yard sales.  On top of this I was given quiet a bit when a friends mom passed away.  In holding true to the Depression motto I mentioned in a prior post, we will be using some of that yarn for this year's ornament.  We will be making Sparkly Yarn Ornaments and possibly Felt Gingerbread Man Cookies.  The gingerbread cookie idea would give my daughter a chance to practice some beginning sewing by hand skills.

If you would like to find other Christmas ornaments you can make with your own family you might want to start looking at ideas at The Crafty Crow or The Magic Onions.  I know there are a whole store of sites out there to help you get started with your own frugal Christmas crafting with the children, but I just wanted to give you a jump start and help get the creative juices flowing.

I would like to thank the people whose websites I linked to here on this post for their wonderful ideas to make Christmas a memorial time with my family.  To me it's more about the quality time spent with them than it is the expensive gifts I could buy.  Since each child makes their own we will be giving their ornaments to them to add to their trees when they leave home; hopefully this will help the memories of the time we spent making them as a family live on.

Blogs That Caught My Eye this Week

I have found these blogs either helpful or thought provoking in my life and would like to share them with you.  I hope you find them helpful to.  Check back, I will be adding more here as the week goes on.  If you like this I will try to do it weekly as I see post that would fit the bill.  Enjoy the new sites if you've not been to them before.  If you know of a site that we all shouldn't miss please let me know and I will check it out and let others know about it too, if it would be beneficial to many that might be reading my blog.

Good Morning Girls Growth in the Lord

One Hour Craft Teaching your child to sew

My Virtual Sanity Recycling Sweaters for Yarn

Do Stuff Blog Crock Pot Yarn Dyeing (you can dye that yarn you get from recycling sweaters)

Pink Slipper Project Make slippers for charity

Quiltville Use up material scraps

Monday's Musings from the Porch Swing

I have been thinking about family relationships a lot over the last week.  Many families are so distant in their relationships from one another.  Too much time may be spent running too and fro for some families.  Other families may not know how to talk to each other.  Then there are others who haven't spoken to family members in years due to hurt feelings or other problems from the past.  I'm sure there are still other things I didn't mention that your family or some family you know has to deal with that keeps them from being close to their family .  I've decided the best place for me to start working on my family relationships is with prayer.  I am going to ask God to show me what I should do on my end and also to help us to resolve any problems standing in the way to a better relationship.  It is important to me that I not only ask Him to show me, but to pay attention to what He shows me.  He has already been showing me not to let the little things get to me.  Often someone will say or do something small and I get hurt or mad about it.  Instead I need to realize that maybe the other person didn't mean any harm in what they said or did, and even if they did I should be the more mature one and let it roll off my back.

In this day and time it is becoming increasingly important for me to have a good relationship with family, not only close and extended family, but in-laws too.  I feel that if we want our children to love others and love their enemies too that Buzzard and I need to show them the love we have for all of our family.  I do realize that there are some people that we personally may love, but still are not willing to spend time with due to things beyond our control, but God can make a way for all things.  We just have to pray and be patient and also realize we are only human and don't think the way God does. After all is said and done something in from the past may still keep us from as close a realationship with that person as the ones we are hoping to build with other members of our family.  In the end I believe if we desire these things it has to start with us.

Accupressure Mat Giveaway

I have another exciting giveaway to tell you about from The Modest Mom.  She is giving away an accupressure mat from Spoonk Rider.  Accupressure could be helpful to your health.  If intersted go check out The Modest Mom's blog for details on how to enter.  Good luck to all those who enter.

Lilla Rose Giveaway

These hair accesories are beautiful and give a nice feminen look to your hair.  Right now you can enter to win any item up to $15 in value over at A Wise Woman Builds Her Home.  I wish everyone good luck.