My New Year's Resolution

As much as I love, love, love, decorating for Christmas, I think I equally love the feeling after everything is put away from the Holidays.  My Living Room seems twice the size and everything just feels less cluttered (besides the millions of toys that somehow made their way into my house from Christmas).   I also love the chance the New Year brings to have a fresh start.  I'm not always big on "official" New Year's resolutions, but I usually try to set a goal of some kind.  This year, however, I want to be more "official."  Remember this craft I made a few months ago?

It came in quite handy during Christmas time as a place to display Christmas cards and pictures we received from friends and family, and now, I'd like to use it as a place to proudly display our family's resolutions.  I thought it might provide some built-in accountability if we kept them up for everyone to see for a little while, until hopefully, what we're trying to accomplish becomes a habit.  So what is my resolution for 2012?

Drum Roll.....

I really want to get back into Flylady.  Have you heard of her?  I discovered her about five years ago shortly after we had moved to Cheyenne.  I know it's typical of New Year resolutions, but she helps with organization, scheduling, and uncluttering (and really so much more).  Finding her was such a breath of fresh air for me.  I felt like this lady, whom I of course had never met, understood me and could totally relate to how I operate.  If you tend to get sidetracked easily - e.g. you start organizing your desk and get lost in  your child's artwork, or you go to a room to quickly put something away, see something else and completely forget what you were doing before - or if you have "perfectionist" tendencies, then I encourage you to check her website out.  You can click here to go to her website.  There is a place to "get started" that will take you through her process of organizing.

I was a very devoted "flybaby" when I first began her routines, but because of life, I have gotten away from many of her helpful routines - some have stuck like glue, but some have needed some upgrading as we have added more children, moved to different houses, and life has thrown all kinds of changes at us.  I haven't taken the time to adapt, and THAT is my plan for this year.  One of the biggest things Flylady preaches is "babysteps."  People like ME tend to try to tackle an entire project or goal with an "all or nothing" attitude, and when that doesn't work and we burn out because we can't maintain our own unrealistic standards, we throw in the towel and don't do anything.  That's the whole perfectionism monster rearing its head.  It says, "If you can't do this perfect, why even bother?"  That  is the voice I have to work to ignore to get back on the Flylady train.  If you have any Flylady stories or are planning on checking her website out, please let me know!

Merry Christmas from the Rohdes!

Hello Family and Friends,

Yes, we're are taking the cheap way out again this year to get our Christmas greetings out to everyone.  I hope you find yourself right where you are supposed to be...right where God wants you. 

This has been a full year for the Rohdes.  We ended 2010 with the hope and plan of moving to a house we found out in the country.  After 3 1/2 months of limbo we moved to our house on the prairie on Valentine's Day.  Kirk really is going to have a hard time beating that Valentine's gift this year.:)  Besides more wind and getting used to the long commute (about 6 extra minutes) we LOVE being country folk.  Kirk and I were just saying last night how amazing the stars are out here.  We have a barn (currently empty, but full of possibility!).  One more thing we certainly couldn't do in the middle of Cheyenne is shoot guns - Kirk got his antelope this year on our neighbor's property (with permission).  Good ol' country fun!

One of the other big changes for this family in the last year is school - after three years of home schooling, we decided to put the school-aged kids in public school.  What an agonizing decision that was, but so far, so good.  One of the ironic things about this decision is how committed I have been to prayer and Bible study with the kids each morning, versus before when they were with me all day.  I definitely feel more urgency to make this a part of our day, now.

Zion (10) is in 5th grade and growing into such a sweet young man.  He loves to get a hug from his mom everyday (I hope that never ends!)  Zion is an eager, quick learner and doing great in school.  He loves to read, and probably like many boys, loves video games.  Reading we encourage, video games have pretty severe limits.:)  He is participating in 4-H and plans to show our dog and do some leather work for fair.  He's still playing piano and just started playing cello (my absolute favorite!) this year.  He does well at these, but his main passion is definitely football.  He played again this last fall, and is still a gigantic Chargers fan (although he's pretty down on Philip Rivers right now).  His grandpa took him to his first pro game this year between the Chargers and the Broncos.  Best. time. EVER! for this kid.

Tekoa (9) is in 3rd grade, and is also doing wonderful in school.  This is the one who pushes my buttons, but I am learning more and more how to "handle" her, and trying to become a "Tekoa whisperer."  She is very strong-willed, which makes for some confrontation, but at the same time, I can see such amazing leadership skills in her.  She is organized (who knows where she gets that?) and has a lot of dedication to things that are important to her.  She is also in 4-H and was elected the club Reporter for this year.  For our church's Christmas play this year, she had one of the main parts with the most lines and did great!  She is playing piano and doing ballet this year.  Tekoa has turned into a crazy reader, too, and is doing so good in school.  She makes me smile when she says she wants to be a mom when she grows up.

Toren (7) is in 1st grade and is such a little teddy bear!  He is doing great in school and his teacher said she wished everyone followed directions like Toren.  This is definitely a child that has a tender heart.  It's very sweet to watch him with his younger siblings - he's an awesome big brother.  Toren also started piano this year.  He is our little athlete.  Just like his daddy, he can pick up most sports pretty easily and did really well in football and is gearing up for basketball.

Micaiah (6) is in kindergarten this year.  She is loving the big kid duty of school each day.  This girl is a sweetie.  She is eager to learn and has come really far in her first few months of school.  Micaiah still loves to do art, and, in this mom's opinion, she does really well.  She also started playing piano this year and is the most likely to be practicing in the music room without being asked to.  She and Shiloh (being the only to same gendered kids next to each other) are great friends and really enjoy being around each other.  It's pretty cute to watch.

Shiloh (4) is officially the oldest here at home during the day.  She LOVES having this role.  Like Tekoa, she is a natural leader and has 2 little siblings following her around all the time.  Lucky for her, I finally feel like I have time to play with her hair and do girly things during the day.  She loves this!  Shiloh is our youngest piano student, and really enjoys her lesson (even though, at this point it's about 5 minutes) because she is "one of the big kids."

Ezra (2 - 3 in a few weeks) is BUSY!  Wow, this kid is SO cute, but he keeps me on my toes!  I'm curious to see how many of my Christmas decorations make it through to the end of the season after they've been Ezrasized.  He's probably the first child I have (that I can remember) who has a major fascination with toilet paper, even at Grandma's house.  Nevertheless, he is stinking adorable, and loves to mimic his older brothers.  He got to attend a CSU football game with Daddy and the boys this year and hasn't stopped doing the crowd chants since then. 

Na'arah (16 months) is delightful.  She is simply a happy little girl!  As long as we get our naps, there is very little crying from this girl.  She is starting to talk and for some reason, the only name she says is "Shiloh."  She and Ezra have a sweet relationship, and somehow he makes her bust up laughing regularly.  I love it!







In March, we will have Baby #8.  In case you don't know our tradition...we take turns on whether we find out the sex or not.  I like to know, Kirk likes to be surprised.  Well, it's his turn, so we won't know until the arrival what exactly is in there, but we can't wait to meet him or her. 

Kirk is still working at WYDOT and manages to stay very busy after work running kids around to all the activities I mentioned.  He is such a great Daddy/husband/provider/friend.  I'm so thankful for him.  Little by little, he is becoming a handyman by necessity.  We have some rentals and between those and this house, he keeps very busy taking care of everything.  His energy and work ethic amazes me.

I'm sitting around eating bon-bons now that I only have three kids here at home - just kidding.  I am still pretty busy.  I continue to lead worship at our church (until I go on my bi-annual maternity leave:).  This pregnancy has been really great, but I definitely don't have the same energy as my husband.  Nap time is crucial for everyone in this house!  I also started blogging quite a bit, which I usually manage to get done during "Sesame Street."  This has been a great outlet for me, and makes me feel very "published" even though no one has to edit or approve what I write.  I'm also still leading worship at our church which I really love.  Thankfully, my pastor fills in the gaps when I'm on maternity leave (about every 18 months) and doesn't mind letting me get back in there afterwards.

I have been so caught up in God's love lately.  He is such a good God and has blessed our family in so many ways.  I am so thankful for His incredible plan of salvation that began in a barn, probably not nearly as nice as the one we have, without a hospital or nurses at their beck and call.  His entry into this world is probably not what we would come up with, but He is REAL and He came in a real way to touch us in a real way.  If you have emptiness in your soul, my Savior, who came in a very un-fancy way, is softly and tenderly calling to you to come home to Him.  That is absolutely the most amazing Christmas gift you could ever receive, but it's worthless unless you accept it and receive it.

I pray your Christmas is full of joy, wonder, excitement, and blessing.  Merry Christmas!

What should we do with Santa?

I recently had a friend who has been overseas for several years ask me what we do about Santa Claus.  She said where they were it was much easier to focus on Jesus and the commercialism just wasn't there.  I really think parents have to make a decision for their own family.  I know there can be a lot of pressure either way.  Some parents are made to feel like a real kill-joy if they don't promote the man in red and are all about "killing the magic."  At the same time, I've seen parents looking down their nose at those parents who would choose promote lies to their children because they are certainly crumbling any trust their kids could have in them.  Well, similar to my views on Halloween, which you can read here, I definitely tend to be in the middle of the road on this topic.  And, similar to my views on Halloween, there's been an evolution of my thoughts.
Growing up, we had relatives within pretty close driving distance, so we spent part of the holidays driving from Wyoming to Nebraska, and then up to South Dakota.  Plus, my mom's birthday was added in there on Christmas Eve.  It made for some busy days.  We usually would (if I remember right) go out to eat for my mom's birthday on the 23rd, come home and have our immediate family Christmas time, which always included reading the Christmas story from Luke 2, and then - score for me - youngest to oldest got to open presents, one at a time.  The next morning we would trek our way to Nebraska, only about 3 hours away, to Grandma and Grandpa's house, where a loud, fairly large group of my aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather for another round of "Christmas."  My grandma had made each of us stockings that had long since outgrown the mantle and stretched across the wall of the living room.  The funny thing is, Santa would always come to my Grandma June's house, but would seem to come in a more dramatic way for some of my cousins and less for others.  Hmmm...  Christmas morning, after a brief opening of "Santa Claus" presents,  we would head up to my aunt and uncle's in South Dakota, and have our 3rd round of Christmas there with more cousins, aunts and uncles and my grandma.
I honestly don't remember sitting on Santa's knee too many times. I'm sure I did, but I know it wasn't an annual tradition, something we had to do in order to make Christmas "Christmas."  Santa just wasn't a big focus in our family.
When I was in college (wow, this sounds just like my Halloween progression), I definitely went through a phase of not wanting anything to do with Santa.  I could see the point people had of the unbridled consumerism and this big fat man in the red suit upstaging the King of Kings.  Jesus absolutely should be the focus of Christmas.  Of course, I wasn't a parent yet, I didn't decorate my own tree or house, and I was only marginally interested in playing Christmas music.  It may sound silly, but that is probably what brought me to where I am now - music.
I have SO many great memories of fun, classic Christmas music from when I was young.  We had a gigantic record player (which is still in my parents basement and could be confused with a coffin).  Every year, when we were decorating and celebrating Christmas, we would play a fairly set list of songs.  It was a VERY eclectic playlist, and included songs focused on Jesus' birth, but also songs that were about Santa, reindeer, missing front teeth, and a puppy under the Christmas tree.  Bing Crosby, Evie, Perry Como, Dave Boyer, even Ray Stevens would be heard resounding throughout the house.  As an adult, these musical memories came back to me and tempered my views about hating Santa.  Songs like this one made me want Christmas to be about nostalgic fun, too.

OK...here's another classic from my childhood

OK...one more from when I was little that is about Jesus

I could go on and on with Bing, Perry, etc. but I think you get the idea.

Now, as a parent of seven, soon to be eight children, I've kind of come full-circle.  I really can't imagine using Santa to make my children behave a certain way.  In our immediate family, we can't and don't make gifts a huge part of everything.  So, the small amount they get at Christmas from us would not do much to motivate their behavior the other 11 months of the year.  I'm definitely okay with that.  Still, I don't want to throw the fat man out with the reindeer.  Personally, I love the old vintage looking Santa Claus for decorating.  I love stories like those from Little House on the Prairie when Mr. Edwards "ran into" Santa and helped him bring the gifts to Laura and Mary.  And...the music.  Like I said before, I would have a hard time NOT sharing all the wonderful music with my kids.

Still, our society is SO focused on gifts and buying things. It is a struggle to turn my children's attention to the stable in Bethlehem. It has to be a very deliberate decision.  Each family has to find a balance for themselves that they can be comfortable with and not worry about what other people are doing.  Our family doesn't make a huge deal out of it.  The littler kids probably have some belief in Santa, but since he's not a regular topic in our house,  it's not something that comes up.  I wouldn't be devastated if someone made a blanket declaration that Santa isn't real and I think the movies we watch that talk about belief in Santa (Miracle on 34th Street, Elf) actually show that enough people doubt, so maybe they should, too.  Bottomline, I am totally cool with the fact that people celebrate differently than us, and I think each family has to find a balance for themselves that they can be comfortable with and not worry about what other how other families celebrate.  Make traditions that your kids will cherish and "own."

It's beginning to look like....some holidays?

I hope this doesn't sound like a whiny post, especially at this time of year, but I have to admit...I'm a little annoyed.  This is our first year with kids in public school.  I've heard how things have become extremely "PC", but this year, I actually had to experience it. Bleh! 
The whole thing really baffles me.  I would guess that, at least where we live in Wyoming , probably at least 95% of the people here celebrate Christmas.  (I have no statistical evidence of this, but I think it's a fair, probably low, guess.)  I'm not pretending that even half of those people actually know and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, but it just seems like if that many people are claiming to take part in Christmas, more attention should be given to this holiday in it's truest sense.  I honestly don't have a problem with my kids learning about other holidays, especially since we're working hard at home to teach them the real meaning of why we celebrate.  I want my kids to be multi-cultural, and have little dreams of them becoming missionaries spreading the Gospel to unreached people, but for now, we live in America, where instead of a "melting pot," we're forced to be a "big stew."  Going along with that food analogy, there are tons of artificial ingredients being put into this stew that are not healthy at all.  For instance, when Christmas is mentioned (briefly) it's of course completely secular and all about reindeer, snow, mittens, and Santa (although I even noticed that guy was pretty absent at the programs we went to).  The other holidays which are highlighted seem to be portrayed with cautious care, making sure the facts are portrayed correctly, even if there is "religion" involved.  My biggest question after our last program was, "What are they afraid of?"  We can learn the miracle of Hanukkah, so why can't we accurately hear the story of Jesus?  If they are taking such great pains to be all-inclusive, why can't we have the real story?  I'm curious to know what the rules are?  I do have some music teacher friends, and I'll have to do some asking around to find what actually can be done.  Are educators just scared of what could happen if they are not painstakingly PC, or are there laws that truly dictate what can be proclaimed in a "Winter" Concert.
Our culture is so "enlightened" that we can't even enjoy these types of things because a lot of it honestly feels forced.  For example, at my son's concert, there was a "Kwanzaa" part of the program.  This cracked me up, because all of the children singing about this made-up holiday (I know....very un-PC) were as white as Saltine Crackers!  I was told there are some black kids at his school, just not in the first grade.  (I wonder how many of those kids celebrate Kwanzaa?)
I tend to be a fairly "middle of the road" person on a lot of these kinds of topics.  I wish there could be some balance.  When our kids attended a private Christian school, the pendulum was clear on the other side.  The kids (ranging from preschool to 6th grade) sang sacred Latin songs and only things that were accompanied by an organ.  Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful, even though I had to nudge Kirk to keep him awake.  I don't think the fun has to be sucked out of Christmas, but I do want to celebrate Christmas, really and truly CHRISTMAS!  I would really love to hear from you all about the topic of today.  What are some solutions?  Should Christians just sit back and continue to see everything watered down or removed completely?  What really are the "rules" and what are the consequences of not following those rules?  I really want to hear your thoughts.

Monday's Musings: Guard Your Marriage

I'm not quite sure why marriages have been so strong on my heart lately, but....they are.  What I want to talk about today is probably a little controversial, or at least may come with some opposing opinions.  That's okay.  I just blog it like I see it.
When I was in high school, I formed the opinion that it is pretty hard for guys and girls to be "just friends."  This was a hard lesson for me to learn, since, looking back, some of my best friends throughout jr. high and high school were male.  What I discovered was, at some point, one of the friends would want more than just a friendship.  In my case, for some reason, it seemed like I would have these amazing guy friends that I loved to be around, and then the guy would figure out I wasn't really interested in more than a friendship and magically our great friendship would fizzle.  This happened several times to me, so I definitely formulated this opinion based on experience. 
Some time later, maybe after I was married, I heard that Billy Graham NEVER spent time alone with any woman besides his wife.  WOW!  That's a pretty radical stance, but when it's dissected, it really makes sense to me especially when it's coupled with my opinion on guy/girl friendships.  One of the main reasons Billy Graham was never alone with any other woman was because of appearances.  Given his position of notoriety and seemingly amazing integrity, he had a lot to lose, even just from rumors.  Most of us are not in that same position, but people are watching us, especially if we proclaim to be Christians.
Personally, I don't feel comfortable being alone in the same room with any guys besides Kirk unless it's family.  The funny thing is, I love hanging out with other COUPLES, and I'm fine spending time with other men if Kirk is around.  Nevertheless, I have made a decision to not be alone with other men (besides family).  It's not really because I'm worried what others will think (although that is a part of it).  I just don't want to give Satan any opportunity to get a foothold in my marriage,especially given my opinion on guy/girl friendships.  If one of my best guy friends from growing up called me and asked to get together (which has never happened), I would talk to Kirk and most likely invite the guy to have dinner with our family.  I would never meet one of these friends by myself.
What really made me think about this recently was Herman Cain.  If you don't follow politics, (pleeeeeease don't feel bad about that) he was a Republican presidential candidate who became embroiled in scandal involving many accusations of sexual harassment.  I obviously don't know this guy personally, and when the accusations started flowing in, I thought..."Oh, it's just the media attacking him."  When the biggest accusation came in of him having a 13 year affair with a woman I thought that would be a little bit harder to either prove or disprove.  The thing that I want to bring up regarding this topic is when Herman Cain decided to withdraw from the Presidential race, he didn't admit to the affair, but he DID say he had a 13 year friendship with this woman, he had had given her money, AND his wife never knew about it.  I'm sorry, but if I found out something like this from Kirk, a lot of trust would be eroded instantly.  I know most of you are not politicians (thankfully, most make me throw up in my mouth).  You don't have to worry about skeletons coming out of your closet that will affect a campaign down the road, or like Billy Graham, you don't have to worry about naysayers who are waiting for a chance to trip you up and ruin your reputation, but you do have one VERY important person to keep your integrity for, your spouse.
I realized when I was thinking about this topic that some people would think I'm way over the top.  It may be impossible for some of you to avoid private interactions with the opposite sex (I can't think of too many, but....)  This relationship of marriage should absolutely be the most important human relationship in your life.  If it's not guarded viciously (think of a snarling dog here), the enemy of our souls will jump on the chance to tear you apart.
I'm not directing this blog at YOUR spouse, although I would love it to be shared.  I'm talking about taking some personal responsibility for your own integrity.  If you're imposing these kind of standards on your spouse, and bring what I've made as my own standards as an attack on him or her, you may come across as a jealous, over-reacting person, but when he or she sees YOU taking a stand to only be with them in every sense, I think he or she will be more drawn to you. 

God, I pray for marriages today.  I pray that husbands and wives would love each other the way You love us.  I pray for grace in couples to see each other as they did when they married.  I pray for the integrity of Joseph who was willing to RUN when he was confronted with temptation.  I pray we would all give 100% to make our marriages stronger.  Amen.

Secret of a Happy Marriage - Part 2

This post is kind of a sequel to my post on marriage the other day.  I had said at the end of that post how important it is to remember that you are on the same team as your spouse.  The enemy of our souls wants ALL Christians to be pitted against each other, which is why he attacks unity so viciously.  How much more is he going to go after the most important example of unity and Christ's love - MARRIAGE.
It's so easy to be negative - and then, that negativity breeds more negativity.  When I'm already irritated, something simple like not being able to find my keys or dropping a handful of "stuff" (which in my pregnant state - I'm constanty doing!) it's so much easier for me to fly off the handle and make a big deal over something so dumb.  Thankfully, this is usually when the Holy Spirit stops me and reminds me what I'm getting irritated about and helps me put things in perspective.  Losing a child's shoe is no big deal, when some people have gone through the pain of losing a child.  Not being able to find my phone is nothing compared to service men and women who can't just call or text home whenever they want, let alone BE home.
Anyway, the point I want to make today has been made so many times: I think of the old church chorus that says,

"Count your blessings,
name them one by one, Count your blessings,
see what God hath done! Count your blessings,
name them one by one,  And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done."

Also, we just had our annual viewing of "White Christmas" a few weeks ago.  The sweet lullaby by Bing is one of my favorites.
Writer: PORTER, COLE

When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

Of course, some people are marked as "Pollyanna" types, usually painted in a way that makes this out to be a bad thing - is it?

One more "blessing" thought is "The Power of Postive Thinking," by Norman Vincent Peale.  I have to be honest here and admit that I have never read this book, but I remember it being one of my dad's favorite books when I was growing up, and I think the name kinda says it all.

My whole point today is this - make a decision to get off the negative train.  It is powerful to think positively.  What does this have to do with marriage?  I'll tell you.  I've been there where a negative thought creeps in about Kirk.  If I let it stay in my mind, another negative thought will join that one.  Negativity breeds negativity.  If I think the worst about someone, how I treat them will be affected more and more.  My challenge to you today is to make a list of all the things you love about your spouse, the things you are thankful for, the ways that person blesses you.  Count the blessings of your spouse.

Here is a partial list for me:

I' m so thankful for Kirk's work ethic.  I can't think of anyone I know who works as hard as him.  He leaves before any of the rest of us are awake, and works ALL day!  Even so, he still makes sure I have time to sit in a comfy chair and relax.

I'm thankful for his financial restraint.  Honestly, this is probably our biggest area of dischord in our marriage, but if I truly had my way and could just spend willy-nilly, we'd be broke, and have serious debt.  He is a simple person (as far as possessions go) and is resourceful and wise with the money God has blessed us with.

I'm thankful for Kirk's involvement with our kids.  No one could ever accuse him of being a "stand-offish" dad.  He is more willing than I am to take ALL seven kids grocery shopping, to CSU sporting events, basically anywhere.  He changes diapers, gets kids ready for bed, and lets me sleep in on Saturdays.



I know you may be thinking...."Cara must have a perfect husband."  (well, you're just about right) "How can I come up with a list of blessings!??!?!  You don't know my situation or what my husband or wife has done to me!!"  Yeah, some of you may have to dig a little deeper, but may I propose that by thinking and then treating your spouse more positively, they may in turn respond the same way.  I understand for many of you this means eating a ginormous slice of humble pie and being the initiator in being "nice," but who knows....you might find yourself to be already married to the man or woman of your dreams.

Tuesday's Craft: Christmas Trimmins' at My House

Last year at this time, we were in the loooong process of moving.  We knew we were going to be leaving the house we were currently in, we just weren't sure when.  Unfortunately for me, Christmas decorating (one of my most favoritest things) did not happen.  This year, I was VERY excited to decorate!  I restrained myself until the day after Thanksgiving, but I couldn't wait to get started.  Since this is our first Christmas out in the country, I kind of wanted to go with a country looking theme (not that I change all my decorations every year) and I wanted to share some of the things I did with you.

So...Come on in!

At our front door, I had dreamed of having some pretty evergreen bushes in my planters with the good old white lights, but Kirk informed me that the outlet out there doesn't work, so....I guess maybe next year I'll get on that.  For this year, I copied something I saw on Pinterest - I cut some of my Spruce boughs and placed in some red (non-breakable) ball ornaments.  The wreath is nothing too fancy, but I had it and it was ready to go up right away.  (Did I mention I was eager to decorate?)

This was the help I had on hand the day we decorated, everyone else was at the CSU football game (they lost).  Shoulda stayed and helped Mommy:)

picture from dickblick.com

Probably the handiest thing I had for decorating this year was jute twine.  I think it definitely has a country feel to it.  I used it in just about every aspect of my decorating, from our Advent calendar, hanging a Christmas curtain over the kitchen sink, and tying little bows on our banister.  What a great, inexpensive helper!

I printed this cute, old-fashioned looking banner from At Second Street.  You can check that out here.  (This is the same place I found the Thanksgiving banner, too.)  It's hanging near our entryway.

I printed this one from the same site, and hung it over our wood burning stove fireplace.  The link for this banner is here.  Hopefully next year I'll have a nice mantle here, too:)

This is one of our other fireplaces  - Alas, no mantle here either - Kirk's got some work to do:)

This is our Advent Calendar.  I posted this craft last month here.  I was pretty excited with how it turned out.

This is a partial view of my fun pot rack in the the kitchen.  We found an old rustic looking ladder by our garage when we moved in.  I thought it looked pretty cool and figured I could probably come up with a use for it, at least with the help of the Internet.  I honestly can't remember who to give credit too for this, since it's been awhile, but I love how it makes my kitchen feel.  Country & cozy.  What I didn't realize it how great it would be for decorating in different holidays.  For Fall, I had some wheat and Indian corn hanging, and here are some of the things I've put on it for Christmas:

I may regret the Spruce boughs up there once the needles start falling, but for now it's SO festive!

Here is our table.  This centerpiece kind of evolved.  I saw a few things on Pinterest, thought about what I had on hand, and went with it.  The tree in the background is our kids' tree.  This may change to a bigger tree as they make more and more ornaments, but for now it looks so cute here with our toys and snowmen gathered around it.

This is probably my favorite part of the centerpiece.  Many years ago I had found an old colander at my grandma's house.  It's been a decoration in my kitchen, but it's perfect for Christmas because it has a star design all over it.  I had fun scouring our yard for pine cones with the kids.  The red ornaments are from the same package as the ones on my front porch.  Again, I may regret all these pine needles soon, but for now it's a great kid deflector! (Ouch:)

I probably should put a bow or something on this, but it's kind of nice being simple.  This is a mason jar with water and cranberries, with a pine scented, green candle that amazingly happens to fit perfectly in the top.

I had seen something on Pinterest similar to this.  I used a hammer and nail, but I think a drill may have worked better.  I'd like to add some more holes so you can actually tell this is a star:)  I printed off the size of star I wanted from my clip art and taped it on the can to use as a template.  But, again, I think a drill would be much easier!

 

This is still a work in progress, but this is my seasonal bulletin board I had posted a while back.  You can check that out here.

Here is the "main" tree.  Does anyone else have a bare bottom half of their tree?  Believe me, it didn't start out that way, but as little hands explore, things keep moving up:)  I realized night pictures are probably better for a Christmas tree, but you can get the idea.  Don't you love my cute little stool I found at Goodwill a few weeks ago?  Oh, and the mirror - I found that there for $6!  This thing is solid wood framed (I made sure I put it into 2 studs).  Most places sell good mirrors for over $100.  I was stoked!  Wait...is that one more tree in the background, there?

How many trees does a family of 9 need?  Well, I guess one for every three people!  This tree has a pretty funny story.  I was garage sale hopping this summer, when I found 3 mirrored closet doors.  The funny thing about this house is NONE of the kids' rooms upstairs have closet doors!  I was serious about getting these doors, and he said I could have them for $10.  After my day of shopping, I didn't quite have enough, so he took $8.  He was so eager to get rid of those monstrously large (and heavy) doors, he said he'd throw in a Christmas tree.  (Which I'm sure he was equally excited to get rid of.)  At first, I thought, "Yeah, like I need another tree."  But, he was persistent, telling me all of it's features, which I forgot until we pulled it out for Christmas.  It came pre-lit - the lights actually worked! - AND it spins around!  I've never seen anything like it.  It kind of throws people off who are walking up to our front door. "Is that tree moving?!?"  I haven't done anything to it at all, other than the beautiful handmade nativity tree skirt, made by one of our Chi Alphan's grandma. 

Well, those are the highlights around here.  I absolutely love this time of year.  I love the music, the excessive use of our wood-burning stove, the Salvation Army bell-ringers, and the uncontainable excitement my kids express.  What's even more amazing, as a woman who is "great with child," is the thought of Mary getting ready to give birth to Jesus.  She didn't have the luxury of nesting, or getting everything "just right" for her first-born, but she took the time to ponder in her heart everything that was happening.  I hope we all take the time to do the same.