VISIT WITH SANTA

This is the first year Boo Boo wanted to sit on Santa's lap. In the past, it was all three of us ... poor Santa ;-) She's always loved and cuddled with the Easter Bunny, but not the strange man in the red suit. This time, she had a plan of exactly what she was asking for ... "all I want is a wooden doll swing if your elves can make it. If not, then surprise me".

ADVENT CALENDAR BANNER

I saw this cute Advent Banner last year and finally finished it for the beginning of Advent this year. Well, almost ... I ran out of winter white wool felt and only have the last "25" pouch to go. So, it will be complete within days. For now, here's a picture of the 24 days. I chose to place a surprise of one crayon rock for each of the first 7 pouches to follow along with the idea of stones in this Advent verse by Steiner:

“The first light of Advent is the light of stone–.Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.The second light of Advent is the light of plants–Plants that reach up to the sun and in the breezes dance.The third light of Advent is the light of beasts–All await the birth, from the greatest and in least.The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind–The light of hope that we may learn to love and understand.”

The second week of Advent, I'm thinking I'll put a surprise of different types of seeds in each pouch. The third week, possibly needle felted animals ... and so on.

After saying our verse from above and lighting the appropriate candles on our Advent Spiral, Boo Boo gets to open up the pouch for the day. She is really excited about this and seems to be drawn in by our new tradition.

CHILLY NIGHT IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Brrrr ... it got chilly here Thanksgiving evening and we took advantage of it. Daddy lit a fire in the firepit and we busted out the vegan marshmallows, dark chocolate and graham squares for some smores right before bedtime. YUMMY!!!

LET THE DECORATING COMMENCE!

Boo Boo is just about as crazy about decorating for Christmas as I am. Our tradition over the past couple of years is to spend Thanksgiving evening decorating the house for the Christmas season. Full tummy, lots to be thankful for, Christmas music and decorating fun ...

THANKSGIVING DAY AT THE ZOO

We decided to spend the morning at the Miami Metro Zoo before heading home to have our yummy Thanksgiving dinner where "Tom" the Turkey is a guest rather than on the menu ;-) What a wonderful experience. We biked through the zoo with cooler temps and no crowds. This may become a tradition for us. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

WINTER NATURE TABLE SWAP

I have been reading about these swaps on others' blogs and really wanted to do one. After learning about Bits of Goodness, I just had to jump on in. I really didn't have enough projects on my plate, now did I ;-) But, who could resist. For those not familiar with swaps, this particular group holds participants to using only natural materials in their crafting/handwork endeavors. Each swap has a theme and within those guidelines you let your imagination and handwork skills take over and then multiply that times 5 or 10 or however many items are requested. Oh, and one extra for the host/hostess of the swap. Then, by the deadline, mail your little creations to the hostess. She receives all the items for each participants and then mails off a magical package filled with handmade goodies from all over the world. In this particular swap, the theme is "Winter Nature Table". Boo Boo and I made little tiny needle felted holly babies snug in their little walnut cradles. We placed the other half of the walnut on top and tied them up with a pretty bow of matching wool yarn. We made 5 and one for the hostess. We are both very excited and waiting anxiously to see what arrives at our house in a few weeks. We'll keep you posted.

SHHHHH... Abigail is getting a baby sister for Christmas

Of all my projects lately, this has been the most special. For those of you who know, I made Boo Boo a Waldorf Doll two years ago for Christmas and she named her "Abigail". Abigail has become a part of our family and goes with us everywhere. We've had some close calls (pen explosions in my bag, some hair issues), but Abigail is doing fine and very well loved. This year, Abigail will be getting long, wavy hair at her two-year birthday (Santa's elves will help out with that one over night ;-) Christmas Eve) and Abigail will be getting a new baby sister. I really enjoyed making this delightful little doll. I'll keep you updated after Christmas when Boo Boo and Abigail choose a name for her. Until then ... shhhhhhhhhh, don't tell.

DINING ROOM ARTWORK

Well, we are coming along with our house and finally decided that the dining room should actually be a dining room ... rather than a playroom, den, or other ideas we've experimented with. It is an awkward area ... triangular shaped just on the other side of our bar and kitchen. So, makes sense it should be a dining room ... although we don't need a dining room. Oh well, it is looking nice and we decided we needed artwork on the big wall behind the table. This was all Boo Boo and I needed to hear. Daddy gave us the okay, and we went to work. I provided the appropriate color palette with olives, wine, rust, golden, browns for the space and Boo Boo was ready to dive in. I especially love her signature at the bottom right corner of the paintings.

AUTUMN ART WORK

We decided to make a festive table runner for our dining table this year. Here are some pics of our potato stamping fun!

Halloween Campout

Here are some pics from our fun Halloween Campout. I really have to say that this was MY best Halloween ever. Boo Boo agrees and is already planning the next trip. Next time, we will feed the ants something special several feet AWAY from our tent so we can actually sleep in there ;-)