The housing market in Green Bay is INSANE. Let me just put this out there... We called a broker on July 5th to inquire if home ownership was even a possibility for us. Our offer was accepted on July 22!
In the midst of packing our family of 4 and moving, our Little Lady also started 4K. It has been a blessed whirlwind.
Yesterday, Little Lady asked me why we don't do projects together anymore. Guys, my heart seriously broke.
Just the day before, I had planned a blog post all about how the Holidays would be different for us this year... fewer craft projects, less home-made gifts, etc. With a new house, there just wasn't time for all of that. When our daughter pleaded with me to spend the afternoon making Christmas Ornaments "like we usually do when it gets chilly out", I realized these traditions matter to her, It's special to her. She needs that time with me as much as I need that time with her and her little brother. That's exactly what I had hoped for.
These posts are 0% about how beautiful your project is in the end. They are 100% about the time you spend together as a family, creating something to show your love for others.
I have no idea when my Time of Grace will end and when my Lord will call me home. Do I want to spend it frantically cleaning, organizing and constantly short-tempered??? Nope. I'd much rather balance my responsibilities of maintaining our household with great, QUALITY time with my husband and children. I'm so glad that little 4 year old girl helped me reevaluate my priorities. I'm BLESSED that she looks forward to these days together, preparing to celebrate the birth of our Savior. I hope her brother will feel the same one day.
After I dropped her off at school yesterday, I took my Monkey to the craft store and bought supplies to make Christmas Ornaments. I found a pre-planned/pre-cut project in a bucket for $7.99. It had all of the parts and pieces necessary to make 24 s'mores characters out of craft foam. They were so stinkin' cute! I immediately started thinking about how we could turn them into Christmas ornaments. A trip down the aisle with pompoms, bells, glitter, etc. proved to be fruitful. I found beads that looked like snowflakes, red bells, and gold bells. Each were only $0.99. I also found some ornament hooks for $2. If you're keeping track, that comes out to only $0.54 an ornament!
This project is, admittedly, one of my less imaginative and probably one of the more expensive but let me explain. Sometimes I just do not have it in me to make three batches of "Better Thank Salt Dough" on the stove and cut out ornaments for an entire day. You know what? That's okay. It's about the time spent together. That time I had with them was simply priceless.
After we finished up for the day, we went outside to get the mail and 5 minutes later, the neighbor girls came over with snacks... enough to share with my kids, too! I sat outside and had a great talk with their mom; my new friend. These are the things I prayed for. The dishes will wait. (Maybe your husband will even do them when you fall asleep early after a long, special day... Love you, Adam.)
Cheers,
Alyssa
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| In most craft stores, there is typically a section dedicated to kid's craft projects. That is where I found this kit. There were several options. Never use something the way it comes. Think of ways to make it yours. |
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| These pieces are all craft foam. This made it very easy to poke the hooks into the back. I secured the hook with a dot of hot glue. |
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| We wrote on the bottom of the ornament, "Merry Christmas! Love R & J - 2016" |
