Well, I'm one day late, but Happy December, my friends! It's not feeling much like Winter here this week - we've had heavy rain, wild winds and fairly mild temperatures. It's bright once again today but not all that cold - not cold enough for snow anyway! (And Crackerjack is quite desperate for snow, lol.) Of course, it's not technically Winter just yet, so I guess this weather's just right for the end of Autumn. Still, it will be nice when it starts feeling a bit more Christmas-y ... do you have snow yet where you live?
I just have a few things to say this morning and then I must be off ...
First of all, many thanks to The Crafty Crow, for including my post in their Advent Calendar Roundup! (I think I'm going to make it my New Year's Resolution to comb through that fantastic blog for new crafting ideas. The blog layout itself is so fun to peruse - it's soothing and stimulating at the same time.)
Our own Advent calendar is off to a great start! We flipped our first tree yesterday morning, and here's what it said (bear in mind, these are written mostly for Earlybird, my youngest) ...
"Today Mama and brothers are going to A Christmas Carol. Nana is coming to visit with you and make you lunch. Later today we'll read Gingerbread Baby* and Bookworm will let you color with his special crayons."
(*Note: December 1st is Jan Brett's birthday.)
Today's note says ...
"Today we'll clean the Christmas tree spot and read a book about a special tree. We'll also gather evergreen cones and needles from the yard for our Advent Nature Shelf."
I was composing a follow-up post with some of my calendar activities, when I realized I could link to a couple of previous posts on the very same subject!
As you can see, we recycle many of the same activities year after year ... but that's part of the fun, isn't it? Turning activities in traditions. :) I've got some new ideas brewing this year, and I'm sure I'll be posting about them in the weeks to come.
Well, this week has been busy and bustling so far - as I mentioned above, we've been to see a wonderful musical rendition of A Christmas Carol. (We've been listening to the audiobook in the car for a couple of weeks now.) We also have our monthly book group this week, as well as a Yankee Swap one night with friends. Bill is taking time off from work so we can get our tree before the weekend crowds set in - we'll be heading north to a tree farm one morning this week. I'm excited to do some Christmas shopping this Saturday (Barnes & Noble's Special Educator Discount Day!) and the boys are looking forward to a pancake breakfast at church this Sunday. And last but not least, we're thisclose to getting our Christmas card order sent out!
Hope you're all enjoying your week, too - and thank you for stopping by. See you all again in a few days. :)
