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| Wrist warmers I made for Britta. This is the first pair I've made and definitely not the last. |
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| Neck Scarf I made for Lindsay Ann I got to use a really cool designer yarn made by Rasti and a button from my vintage collection my Mom gave me. I also knitted a snake and sewed a reversible Batman/Superman cape for Aidan but neglected to get pictures of them. |
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| Kendall and Lacey |
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| Lacey, Me and Kendall |
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| Lacey, Leslie, Me and Kendall |
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| Jan, David and Lincoln The Host and Hostess Extrodinare |
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| Take Away Jan always has a gift for each of the kids usually it is a festive necklace this year she gave these adorable wood cutouts. Jan and Lincoln have hosted Christmas Eve dinner for many years, my family has participated for the last 17 years. For many years the girls would go up the day before Christmas Eve and Jan would plan an activity for them. Over the years they have made ornaments, gingerbread houses, miniature Christmas trees and even personalized Christmas dishes. Many of these items were used as the centerpieces for the dinner. As a mother of young children this spend the night gave me the opportunity to tie up loose ends and finishing wrapping gifts. This event has been a special blessing to our family and I thank Jan and Lincoln for doing this and being dedicated to making it a family tradition. I feel that tradition is part of how we define ourselves and how we find our place in a disposable world, without it we flit from one thing to another without connection, without commitment. I was a little sad this year because for the first time in those 17 years not all my girls came. It reminded me of how many of my families traditions went by the wayside after the death of my Grandparents, everybody went their separate ways, the connective glue was gone. It's hard to see things change, but as we all know change is inevitable, so all we can do is pray that the change ahead will be good and tradition will still be a priority. |
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| The Signature Quilt I gave to Lindsay Ann for her birthday. I made the twin sized quilt top to celebrate Lindsay Ann's graduation from high school in 2003. I had most of her friends and family sign it. Continuing the theme of completion, mainly completing my college degree, I decided I also wanted to finish up some other important unfinished projects this year, so I had Britta and Lindsay Ann's quilt tops quilted. I am thrilled to have come far enough along in my new life to finally be able to afford to have this done. I realize I already presented Lindsay Ann with the quilt top in 2003 and hope she will see the gift in me finally being able to have this quilted for her. The re-gifting so to speak of this quilt has brought to light a great life lesson in the signatures on the quilt. Many of the people who signed the quilt are still friends, some have become family, some have faded and a few are no longer with us. It's amazing how much life can change in 7 years. Life is a blessing and this quilt reminds us that change is a constant part of it! |
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| Personalized Coffee Collars. I knitted them and Kendall hand embroidered the initials and snowflake. |
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| Inside the cup is a package of hot chocolate and a peppermint lollipop. I think Kendall's friends are going to love these! Handmade Christmas! One of my favorite things! |
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| Our real tree before it is decorated |
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| Finish product mostly due to Kendall's decorating skills; it is so beautiful and so much bigger than last years! |
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| Fireplace decorated with greenery and stockings. Chair holding beloved pillows made by me dear friend Lenny. This is the first year Eric's stocking is hanging with the girls; I made it for his Christmas gift last year. A Great Day! The girls and I had so much fun today. We started with a trip to the knitting store to stock up on yarn for some Christmas projects. Then we headed to the tree stand I went to last year to buy a Christmas tree. This year we were able to buy a much bigger tree and the girls were so excited about this. Last year we had a heck of a time putting our tiny tree in the tree stand. I was not looking forward to that again this year, especially with a much bigger tree. I mentioned this to the tree guy and he set me up with the most amazing stand. You just set the tree's drilled based on to the pin of the stand and it's perfect. I have to say this is the best $15 I have spent in a while! On the way home from getting the tree we stopped in Publix for our weekly shopping and it was sample day! We tried mulled cider, ice cream, shrimp cocktail and a few other treats. We bought some of the cider and the ice cream which is seasonal special made by Publix, it is called Santa's White Christmas is amazing, you have to buy some, it is coffee flavored but different then the usual coffee, it has a creamy taste with chocolate slivers. When we got home we decorated, ate dinner and put the train up under the tree to finish off a great day! I love days like this, when I get to spend time dedicated to family!! |
