I'm going to play catch up and rewind several weeks. I do this because once the holidays hit so did the crazy hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Thanksgiving 2011 was fabulous! We hosted our 1st family feast and had Eric's dad, one of his sister's along with her hubby, my parents and my grandma Lutz. I cannot put into words how special that day was to have so many loved ones sitting in our home at our dining room table breaking bread and gorging ourselves with turkey, ham and too many fixings to name!
Eric has become a deep-fry turkey pro. Crispy golden on the outside and tender, juicy deliciousness on the inside.
The hungry family!
Two thumbs up for Uncle Jim! Jonner and Uncle Jim found all the best mud holes to play in and Uncle Jim had to give Jonner a bath before they could come sit down at the table. Uncle Jim is a little kid in a big kid body, and Jonner adores him!
After Thanksgiving I was busy sewing and trying to make as many handmade items as possible to give as Christmas gifts.
I started making Christmas shirts this year and here is a special order for a whole family of reindeer. The daddy & son are sporting a tie and bow tie while mommy & daughter have a ribbon in their antler. These were fun to make and a big hit with so many.
I originally saw this on Pinterest. It's simply a "dry erase" board using the glass from a frame. We have this little wall between the end of the cabinet and hallway and I purchased our wrought iron S a long time ago for this space and it still didn't look finished. So once I saw the tutorial for the dry erase board I knew exactly what was going in that ackward little space. I found a 10x10 square frame and I swap out the scrapbook paper behind the glass to go along with the season/holiday. Super easy, super fun and it makes my life so much easier to just wipe away my to-do tasks everyday.
Another Pinterest find! My girlfriend in S.C. made one of these wreaths for her front door and I loved it so much I decided to give it a go myself. It was so easy and I even enlisted the "help" from my 2 guys....Family Craft Fun!!! It's a wire coat hanger stretched out into the shape of a circle with ornament balls (I used plastic). I took the tops off of each ball and hot glued it on so it wouldn't come apart in a heavy wind and just put the balls on the hanger. The top one I tried to make a pattern and it just didn't work. While it turned out beautiful it wasn't what I had invisioned when I started. I enjoyed making the 1st so much that I decided to make a 2nd. When making the 2nd I decided to use a single color in different textures & shine. It was simply stunning and hard to give as a gift! Plus I personally think the silver can stay up through January since it's not really Christmasy. These wreaths were very satisfying to make. Simple, Quick, Inexpensive and Beautiful. I've already stocked up on supplies to make more for 2012 Christmas gifts!
These were a special order from Santa himself. He visited a family on Christmas night and brought each of the (grand)kid's a book in a reusable fabric gift bag. He's asked the the bags stay at the grandparent's house and each year he'll put a gift in them for the kiddo's. Even the big guy himself is trying to be green!
After the crafts came Christmas! We travelled to Iowa/Northern Illinois for Christmas this year. It was a fun, family filled time. Unfortunately we forgot our camera and even though my sister in law let us borrow hers we didn't think about how to transfer the pictures from her camera to our laptop....and none of us thought about the USB cable thingy! Youda thunk we was blonde or sumthin! Even without the pictures we had a wonderful "Four Christmases". One of the highlights was having Christmas Day Dinner at Eric's grandma's. Grandma, all 4 of her children, the majority of grands & great-grands were in attendance. It was crazy, loud, crowded and an experience we'll never forget and look forward to going to again.
Finishing up 2011 I had a big surprise for Eric who turned 40 on January 2nd. With the help of his cousin Lola we planned a surprise 40th Birthday Party for him on New Year's Eve. It took some planning, and a lot of love from those far away who drove nearly 300 miles to celebrate Eric's birthday.
Eric's grandma was just one of the people who made the trip to celebrate Eric's birthday. She made his cakes when he was a kid and it was only fitting to ask her to make this one as well. Eric was surprised and thrilled to have so many here for the New Year's weekend. He said for days afterward what a good surprise and perfect weekend it was sitting around playing games, chatting & nibbling on food all weekend with everyone. I am so thankful that so many were able to come down and celebrate my honey. He deserves to be showered with love (and gag gifts) from time to time!
I guess this concludes 2011 (a little late). 2012 has started out with illness for both myself and Jonner. He has an ear infection and I'm fighting a double ear infection and sinusitis. With antibiotics we're on the mend. I've decided to start the year out sick to get it out of our system now. Here's to a Happy & Healthy New Year!
