An AMAZING CHRISTMAS and WONDERFUL DECEMBER - Monthly Highlights

 Christmas has come and gone and we made a lot of amazing memories. December was a wonderful, relaxing, fun month for our family. 

On Christmas Eve, I woke up really early (4:15 am) and was too excited to go back to sleep. I got up and watched a Christmas Hallmark movie while I wrote some letters. Ashtyn woke up early as well and to keep her from waking up her sisters, I had her come down and sit with me on the couch. 

When the other girls woke up, we made breakfast. I made eggs, sausage, and bacon, and I had made rolls the day before. We also had some yummy breads that our neighbors had given us. It was a really good breakfast and we had leftovers for Christmas, which was perfect. 

After breakfast, I needed to make the pie still for Christmas Eve dinner (I had wanted to finish everything before Christmas Eve, but I didn't quite manage it). I put on a movie for the girls (they picked Barbie Nutcracker) and made the pie and ice cream. While the pie was baking, we got out board games and I played them with the girls the rest of the morning. They had been looking forward to playing games with me all week and they had a lot of fun. 

Then we had a quick lunch and put Rylee down for her nap. While she was sleeping, I packed the car with everything we would need for Christmas Eve and cleaned up the house for when we got home. Then I recorded Ashtyn playing her Christmas songs on the piano for her. 

As soon as Rylee woke up from her nap, we went over to Danny and Lindi's for an early Christmas Eve dinner. It was small, with just them and Hannah and Dalin and us, but it was really nice. We had turkey and other traditional foods and it was all really yummy. Then we did the nativity. Parker really wanted to be Mary this year, so we had Ben be Joseph. Ashtyn wanted to be a shepherd and Rylee was her sheep (Rylee crawled around since before her nap saying "Baa!"). The nativity on Christmas Eve is my favorite tradition and it was lovely. 

Parker brought her own hat and scarf to be a head covering for herself. 

Dalin was her donkey to ride on.

With baby Jesus in her tummy.

Wrapped him in swaddling clothes.

The Angel appearing to the shepherds.

Then Hannah had the girls open their presents from her (she was too excited to wait) and the girls had everyone open the presents they had made. Around 6:30, we went over to Ben's grandma's house for about an hour. It was really nice to see her on Christmas Eve, a tradition that Ben's family has had since he was little. 

She made them flower headbands. 

The girls were ecstatic.

When we got home, we did interviews in front of the tree with all the kids. Ben took the other kids upstairs to change into pajamas while I did each child. Then we opened up our Christmas Eve gift--this year we did blankets instead of pajamas and the kids were very excited. Then we set out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer before snuggling up on the couch to read The Night Before Christmas and sing Silent Night together. Then we tucked the kids in and waited for them to fall asleep before finishing Christmas preparations. 

The next morning, Ashtyn woke up really early to check if Santa had come--he had! I made some eggs and heated up leftovers and took that up when Parker woke up (she slept until the normal time). We ate our breakfast upstairs and once we were all done and ready, we went downstairs to see all the goodies Santa brought. 

Christmas morning was so fun! Santa brought the girls everything they wanted and more. We got Rylee a slide and had set it up for her before we went to bed the night before and she was so excited. We could hardly get her to open any other presents because she was having so much fun sliding. We opened the gifts the girls made first, then Liselotte's gifts. Then we let the girls open their big gifts from us. It was a long process, since we gave the girls plenty of time between opening to let them play with some of their new toys. 

The first thing Parker wanted to do was put on her dress from Santa and then go find the headband Hannah had made her. 

Ashtyn and Ben gave Parker a "special surprise" by giving her the Gameboy.

And then Ben gave Ashtyn his old DSI, something she was wanting to save up for. 

It was a complete surprise to her and was her favorite gift.

Once everything was open, Ben and I took a shower and got ready for the day. Around 10:30, we went over to Danny and Lindi's. The girls each got to bring one of their new presents (Ashtyn brought her DSI, Parker brought her Barbies, and Rylee brought her kitty cat who she named Glitter). We ate treats and watched ballet and exchanged the couple of presents we had left (Danny and Lindi do a "Golden ticket" for a date during the year and a memory page of the last year's date, and we had a picture slideshow for them). We stayed until about 2:00, when we brought Rylee back for a late nap. 

Parker loved sitting with Auntie, eating candy and watching ballet.

During Rylee's nap, I read and then took my own nap. I was super tired from waking up so early and being up so late. After dinner, we watched Abominable together until bedtime. After we put the girls down, Ben and I watched a show together while we took down Christmas decorations. 

When I was packing, I asked Ben what clothes he wanted me to pack for him. Parker got really excited, ran upstairs, and came back with about a week's worth of outfits😂

The next morning, we woke up early and loaded up the car to drive to West Jordan. The drive out was really easy--the girls watched Swan princess and The Tigger Movie while drawing on their new drawing tablets the whole time. 

We stopped at my grandparents' house and visited for over an hour. It was so nice to see them. Then we went to my mom's and hung out their for a little while. After Rylee's nap, we went over to the church to see their cousins and let the kids play. It was sad to not do the traditional Christmas get together, but it was so nice to see who we did get to see. 

We already miss Grandma Dee! 

After we cleaned that up, my mom babysat the girls for us while Ben and I went and hung out with Jon the whole evening. It was so fun to catch up and watch some shows with him. I was too tired to stay super late, so we headed back to my mom's and went to bed.

The next morning, we loaded up and came back home. It was a quick trip and we wished we could have stayed longer, but we were so grateful to be able to go out and see some of the family we hadn't seen for a year. We hope we get to go back soon for a longer visit! 

Here are some other highlights from the month: 

This was technically in November, but I couldn't remember if I shared these pictures of us helping Danny and Lindi get a real tree.

The first day of December, we made countdown chains. Each night, we'd take one off and the girls loved it. 

We watched lots of Christmas movies and I got lots of snuggles.

We spent a morning making paper ornaments, then decorated a mini tree up in Parker's room.

This is Ashtyn's baby Jesus on a star.

Parker's Christmas tree

Ashtyn's gingerbread man.

Parker's gingerbread man.

Ashtyn's tree.

My mom got the girls these beautiful white dresses.

Parker especially loved hers and would wear it as often as I let her.

We spent one Sunday morning decorating the tree before taking pictures in front of it.

There weren't any events where the kids could sit on Satna's lap, but Santa came to our house! We invited Makenzie, Koy's cousins, and Ashtyn's friend Elsee to come see him with us. Parker was so excited, she jumped into his lap first and kept trying to give him presents. 

Rylee loved Santa. She was a little shy on his lap, but after her turn was over, she kept trying to climb up on the couch with him again.

Ashtyn was cute with Santa. She tugged on his beard to see if it was real, but when he asked if she had any questions for him, she said no.

Santa was cute. After each child had a turn with him, he gathered them together to talk about the real meaning of Christmas and the symbols that point to Christ. 

One day, we made paper snowflakes to hang on the ceiling of the girls' rooms. Ashtyn made so many on her own and loved seeing the different patterns that emerged. She also loved making tiny ones.

Parker was able to make some snowflakes on her own, but her favorite thing was for me to make different hearts all over her snowflakes. 

I found a recipe online for homemade snow and it was a huge hit! I wasn't sure how Parker would feel about it, since she doesn't like to get messy, but she was actually the one who played with it the longest!

Ashtyn had fun making snowmen out of it. 

Rylee loved it. Eventually, she started trying to eat it (it was baking soda and hair conditioner), so we had to put it away from her. 

One morning, we had Makenzie and Navy come over and we did a Polar Express party. We had tickets, read the book, watched the movie, and ate popcorn and hot chocolate in our pajamas. 

We spent one day making gifts for siblings and Ashtyn had a couple extras she wanted to make. The kids had fun with it.

Parker liked making the gifts, but her favorite part was wrapping them and then putting them under the tree. After she put them under the tree, she would find whoever the gift was for and give them a big hug.

Rylee was pretty young to understand the concept of giving gifts, but she loved the painting part! 

Rylee loved bells! She had a little collection that she would carry around, including her silver bell and her jingle bell. Her favorite song was Jingle Bells and she had me sing it to every time she went to sleep. 

The girls had a lot of fun helping me make gingerbread cookies, coloring paper ones while they waited for their turn with the cookie cutters. I just used store bought frosting to decorate. 

We ended up with a few extra plates we were able to give away, even with halfing my recipe. 

We used graham crackers to make gingerbread houses this year. We also used upside down ice cream cones to make trees to go with the houses. We invited Makenzie and Koy to come decorate with us. Ben put the houses together while Makenzie and Koy and I helped the kids decorate. 

These are the finished products of the paper gingerbread men Parker did. 

One night when i had young women's, Ben did a Pokemon party with the girls. As part of that, they drew Pokemon. Parker's was the first one and it was sad type. Ashtyn's was the second and it was Christmas type. 

I had bought these jewel stickers, and one day the girls used these and markers to decorate paper trees. It was a great activity for all ages, since Rylee could do it mostly on her own and Ashtyn could make it more difficult for herself. 

One tradition we have is to make a new ornament as a family. This year, we used Ashtyn's perler beads to make a Christmas tree.

This was our dancing Craisins experiment. You put baking soda and vinegar in a jar with water and Craisins. The Craisins then dance up and down in the jar, something the kids love to watch.

We did a lot of baking, especially at the end of the month. Rylee was my biggest helper, always wanting to mix for me. The other girls would play or watch movies more, but Rylee stayed with me most of the time in the kitchen. 

Homemade Christmas Oreos. 

Sugar cookies! 

Rolls

Bread and strawberry jam

One night as we were getting ready for bed, I came in and found the girls like this, snuggling while Ashtyn read Rylee How the Grinch Stole Christmas. 

Ashtyn was really excited to get the Magic Tree House books from Grandma Dee and has started reading them on her own. It's her first chapter book and she's really excited. 

The girls set this up on their own ...

I quickly moved it lol 

This was the first time sledding. There's a little sand hill behind Danny and Lindi's house and it was the perfect size for the girls. 

We also got to relax a lot together, especially after Christmas. 

I didn't get any pictures of my birthday, but it was wonderful! Ben got the girls breakfast and made me eggs so I could just relax, and then I read most of the morning with some of my Christmas candy. After naps, Lindi babysat for us and we went to dinner with my mom and Luke's birthday present to us. We went to Swain's Brothers, Vernal's steakhouse. It was yummy. Then Ben took me on a surprise shopping trip to pick out some picture frames for some family pictures. It was a perfect day.

In the afternoon of my birthday, Ashtyn got to go on her golden ticket date with Grandma and Grandpa. She really wanted to go ice fishing and had so much fun! She got to bring some home and we fried it up. The girls love fish. 

Ashtyn was excited on New Year's Eve, because Ben and I let her stay up a little late with us (9:30). We had a special strawberry lemonade drink and played Monopoly deal. Ashtyn had so much fun and felt so grown up. 

This is one of Parker's drawings. The girls got these from Santa and from Grandma Dee and they are constantly drawing on them now. 

These are little papers I had the girls fill out for the New Year. I thought their answers were cute, especially when both Parker and Ashtyn told me (separately!) that the place they most wanted to go this year was Grandma Dee's house 💗

It was such a wonderful month and, despite the craziness and hard times, a wonderful year as well. We're looking forward to 2021 and getting back into our normal routine for January. 

Our JANUARY HOMESCHOOL Plans

Now that the holidays are over, we're getting back to normal life and normal homeschool again. While the holidays are fun, it's nice to relax back into a regular routine. 

Our homeschool routine includes reading, art lessons for Ashtyn, learning letters for Parker, and doing journals. In addition, I like to do a special activity with them each day. Here are the activities I'm planning to do in January. 

Monday, January 4 

Make Snowman Names. This is a craft I had planned earlier and never got to. you simply make a snowman out of paper and each part of his body has a letter of their name. I think this is a great activity with Parker and Rylee learning their letters right now. 

Tuesday, January 5

Fizzing Ice Experiment - This is a baking soda experiment, but with ice. My kids love all things fizzing baking soda, so I think they'll love this one. 

Wednesday, January 6

Play board games - We have quite a few games that the kids love to play that help them with skills like counting, small motor movements, and hand/eye coordination. 

Thursday, January 7

Painting Day - The girls got some different painting activities for Christmas and they are really excited to do them. 

Monday, January 11

Snow Globe Letter Find - I found these cute little worksheets on Pinterest, where they can color the snow globes and find the letters there. Again, letter recognition activities are great for Parker especially right now. 

Tuesday, January 12

Snow Storm in a Jar Science Activity - This is a really fun and simple science experiment that demonstrates how oil and water don't mix, while looking like a snowstorm in a jar! 

Wednesday, January 13

Animal Movement Activity - I'll have cards with different animals or bugs written on them. The kids take turns pulling cards and then act like that animal or bug. 

Thursday, January 14

Playdoh - The kids love playing with playdoh, but it does make quite the mess, so we don't get it out as much as they would like. I'd like to start planning days when we can get it out, so we at least do it that often. 

Monday, January 18

Winter Dot Painting Pages - My kids love dot painting, so I like to find them different pictures like this for different holidays. 

Tuesday, January 19

Build a Snowman from Marshmallows - This is a STEM activity, where they use marshmallows and toothpicks to make as snowman. As a bonus, they can eat the marshmallows when they're done! 

Wednesday, January 20

Letter Hunt - I'm going to hide different letters for the kids to find, as a sort of scavenger hunt. 

Thursday, January 21

A One-Paper Book - We know how to make little books out of one piece of paper. Today, we're going to make some together and then the girls can color their books. 

Monday, January 25

Design Your Snow Globe - This is another worksheet I found on Pinterest that looks fun. Ashtyn especially likes activities like this. 

Tuesday, January 26

Maple Syrup Snow Candy - This is a really fun, historical activity. You boil maple syrup and butter until it's at a soft ball stage, then place it into snow outside. We also have a picture book of when Laura and Mary had maple syrup candy from the Little House books, which we can read with the activity. 

Wednesday, January 27

Playdoh with letters - We're going to get out the playdoh again, and as a twist, I thought I'd get out our magnetic letters for them to spell things in the playdoh with. 

Thursday, January 28

Lines of tape on the floor - This is a simple activity where you tape lines of different shapes along the floor for the kids to walk along. We've done similar activities in the past and the kids really liked it. 

So there are our activities! I try activities that are simple (little or no set up) that will teach the kids a variety of different of skills and allow us to spend time together. My main goal with homeschool is to teach my kids to love learning and to help them pursue their passions. I love spending this time with them and I can see the way it is growing our relationship. 

My Testimony of the Savior

 With Christmas fast approaching, my thoughts have turned more and more to the birth, life, and atonement of the Savior. Today, I just wanted to share my testimony of His love and life. 

I know that Jesus Christ lived on this earth, and that He lives still. 

I know that Christ was born to Mary, of the Holy Ghost. I know that He is both the son of man and the literal Son of God. 

I know His life was the perfect example for us. He loved all, even those who it might be hard for us to love. He cared for those who needed it most. In each instance, He chose to do as His Father would have him do. And everything He did, He did out of love for God and love for us. 

I know He has called me to do His work here on earth. I know that He will strengthen me as I face trials and give me the capacity to love and serve as He would have me do. Even when it's not easy, I know He will be there with comfort and peace. 

I know that He suffered and died for me. Because of His sacrifice, I can live again, with God and with my family. I know that He atoned for me. He suffered for my sins and imperfections. Because of Him, I can repent each day, and continually strive to become like Him. His atonement strengthens me during hardships. I know He is always there for me and loves me. 

I know He loves me personally, but I also know He loves each of us here on earth. He will always be there for us. He is the only way to make it back to God and the one who truly understands what we are going through, no matter the circumstance. I am so grateful for all He has done for me and I love that I can celebrate that each year at Christmas. Each year, we get a new chance to show our love and gratitude for Him by being a little better than we were the year before and by truly loving and serving those who are around us. 

Merry Christmas! 

Our CHRISTMAS PRESENTS this Year!

 I love Christmas! I love everything about Christmas, but I especially love Christmas presents. It actually is really easy for me to go overboard, so I have some systems in place to help me not to. Today, I just wanted to share what we do for presents each year and what we've gotten for the kids this year. It's really just a way for me to talk about it, because I love thinking about Christmas morning :) 

We try to not buy too many gifts for the kids. One year when Ashtyn was two, I bought way too many gifts and ended up opening most of them on Christmas morning for her. We ended up with too many toys afterward, and in fact, four years later, we don't have many of those toys still. That year, we decided to try something different, and changed to getting one big gift for each child. We also get a combined gift for all the kids. We budget $50 for each child, though some years, this is less. 

For each other, we also budget $50. Some years, we get something we really want, though some years we just get the cash to spend on whatever we want. This can be really fun. While we're trying to pay off the house really fast, we don't usually budget spending money for ourselves. 

Anything smaller I want to get the kids, Santa brings. We budget $50 for stockings and try to get some nicer things, though I do make a stop at the dollar store for things like puzzles. 

My grandparents also gives us $25 for each child. I pick out the gift from them and then we wait until we're at my grandparents for the kids to open them. 

One other tradition we have is for the kids to make gifts for their siblings. I try to keep these as cheap as possible, though sometimes I need to buy some craft supplies. 

We don't exchange gifts with my in-laws. Instead, in December, we find a family in need and put together a little gift basket and give the money we would have spent on gifts to the family. It is one of my favorite traditions.

We do exchange gifts with my brother and his wife, and I love to find a way to give a gift to my parents and Ben's parents still. Often, I try for more sentimental items, or I'll find a book I think they'd really like. I also love to find a book to gift to the ladies I minister to.

Now onto the presents I'm getting this year!

Ashtyn's main gift is Legos. I'm really excited for this, because I think she will LOVE it. We have big blocks, but this will be the first time we have little Legos. She loves to build and create, so I think they'll be very well used. My mom actually gave us some of her old Legos, so we were able to not budget for Ashtyn's gift this year. 

Parker's gift is Disney Polly Lockets. This is another thing my mom gave us, and I'm so grateful because it's the perfect gift for Parker, but I couldn't find anything even similar online anywhere. I loved them as a child, and I know Parker will be ecstatic. It has a Cinderella castle with it, too, and I can't wait to see her face when she opens it. 

For Rylee this year, we got her a Little Tykes slide. This is something that I honestly never thought I'd buy for our kids, but it's the perfect gift for Rylee. She doesn't really play with toys very well, but she loves to climb and she LOVES the slides at the park. We decided to not wrap it, but to simply set it up on Christmas Eve so she can come down and see it on Christmas morning. 

For their combined gift, I got them some Kelly Barbie dolls. Parker and Ashtyn were asking for Barbies for Christmas, but I was really reluctant to get them. I honestly don't think Ashtyn would play with them very much and Parker is still young enough that she would need a lot of help (dressing, undressing, etc.) to play with Barbies. In October, though, my mom brought her Kelly dolls and let the girls take some into the bathtub. They LOVED the Kelly dolls and I found some for not very expensive. I also found a couple of mermaid ones that can be bath toys, which I think they will really love.

From Santa, Parker is asking for binoculars, Ashtyn is asking for a bike bell and a bike basket, and Rylee is asking for Winnie the Pooh and Minnie Mouse (wooden puzzles). They also are asking for a princess dress each, and I'm most excited for Rylee's (it's ADORABLE). Santa is also planning on bringing little writing tablets, which they've used before (their cousins have some) and really liked. They also have puzzles, scarfs, and candy for inside their stockings. 

Ben just wants cash this year, so I put his money in an envelope and wrapped it up for him. He also sent me two different games that he wants from Santa, and I managed to get both of them (I think that will be a little surprise for him). My gift this year is a little bit of a splurge, because it's over budget (I'm putting all my Christmas and birthday money towards it, and we still needed to add some to the budget), but it's a new phone, a Google Pixel 3a. I'm very excited. My current phone's battery is dying (and it has other issues as well), and my new phone will have an amazing camera. That will be great not only for taking pictures of the kids, but also for my YouTube and Instagram things that I do. I can't wait! 

Deciding on gifts from my grandparents felt tricky this year. For Ashtyn, I ended up deciding on stencils and sticky notes that are black and turn to rainbow as you draw on them. For Parker, we got her toy sunglasses and a little toy purse that has things like keys and make up in it. For Rylee, I got an adorable Winnie the Pooh train and little Winnie the Pooh hand puppets. 

For sibling gifts, Ashtyn made Parker a little tie quilt, Parker made Rylee some puzzles from popsicle sticks, and Rylee made Ashtyn a picture frame with a picture of the three sisters for her nightstand. Ashtyn also upgraded to real pillow this year (she was using a small doll pillow before) and is going to give her old pillow to Rylee. This was something she came up with on her own and really wants to do. It was so fun this year to make the gifts and then help the girls wrap their presents and put them under the tree. 

I am very excited for Christmas morning! As a parent, it's even more fun to get gifts for your kids than it is when you're a child and on the receiving end. I have been loving the Christmas season and am so glad we can end 2020 on such a positive note. 

Our Thanksgiving!

November was a fun month for us and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebrating!

Thanksgiving morning, we started the day by watching the Thanksgiving Day parade on YouTube. I made sure to get the turkey in the oven, but my pies were already done and that was the only thing I needed to do until the potatoes close to when we ate. 

Once I got the turkey in, we watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which Ashtyn especially loved. I also read in my book and the girls drew for awhile. When it got closer to when everyone was coming, we cleaned up the house, got out the paper table cloth (I got it at Walmart, it had little activities and pictures on it) for the girls to draw on, and started the potatoes boiling. 

Then Lindi, Danny, Hannah, Dalin, and Ben's cousin Chris with his wife Ashley came over and we had our Thanksgiving feast. We did most of the traditional dishes, though we didn't have stuffing. It was delicious. 

We ate at one, so I let Rylee stay up for our late lunch, then put her down at 2:30. The girls had so much fun with everyone and doing the activities on the tablecloth. They liked the food for the most part and especially loved the chocolate pie. My favorite this year was my apple pie, it turned out really well and we had made vanilla ice cream to go with it. 

After dinner, we turned on Christmas music and everyone visited. Caleb also called and was able to talk for awhile in the evening. After everyone left, we turned on Miracle on 34th Street, which the girls watched the beginning of, but lost interest in by the end. We relaxed together and had more turkey and pie before bed. It was wonderful to spend time with family and relax together. 

A few days later, on Saturday, Ben's dad's family had their Thanksgiving get-together, so we did a second Thanksgiving. It was nice to see everyone and the good was yummy. After dinner, Grandma Leah got out 3D wooden puzzles that we helped the girls put together. Then afterward, we went to Ben's parents and Danny helped Ashtyn and I make a wooden manger. It was a great day! 

Some other highlights from our month: 

We did a thankful tree during the month, and each day when we did scriptures, we would each write down something we were thankful for on a leaf and then put the leaves on the tree. I forgot to take a picture of the tree at the end of the month, but it was cute and a fun way to focus on gratitude. 

Our dancing popcorn experiment was a huge hit! All three of them giggled and giggled as the popcorn kernels floated up and down in the jar! 

We had a lot of fun painting these leaves with water paints. All three of the girls had me help them, but they had a blast and loved the way their leaves turned out. 

When it snowed, we did this little experiment. We made a mini snowman and took it inside. We measured it, and then each took guesses for how long it would take to melt. Then we measured it every half hour--it took about four hours to melt. 

The day it snowed, Ben ended work early and we went out to play in the snow together before the sun disappeared. This was the snowman I helped them build, but Ben helped them build an even bigger one. They had so much fun, though true to past years, Rylee and Parker didn't last nearly as long as Ashtyn out in the snow.

Another of our science experiments was making butter. You put cream in a jar and shake it until it turns into the ball of butter. It took forever to shake but we persevered and it was fun. Even Rylee loved shaking the jar! I was also able to talk with them about the science behind it, which was fun. I added salt to our cream and our butter actually turned out pretty yummy.

We did a lot of crafts, but their favorites were probably their toilet paper roll turkeys. We covered these papers with colored paper and then put a face on a toiler paper roll and glued it on. They were fairly sturdy and the girls loved both making them and playing with them. 

Ashtyn also did a lot of holiday art lessons on YouTube. 

These were our gratitude turkeys. The girls drew a picture of things they were grateful for on the feather and loved making the faces for their turkey bodies. 

Our final science experiment was this salt and popcorn in a jar. You mix up the salt and popcorn kernels, then tap the jar against the counter. As you tap, the popcorn kernels float to the top of the salt and it's actually really cool to watch. It was also something the kids could do themselves (the tapping part) which was fun for them. 

Our month was a great one and we're having a lot of fun with December now! I love the holidays as a parent, maybe even more than when I was a child myself. It is so fun to share the magic of these holidays with them and the kids bring such a special spirit to them as well. 

I hope your holidays have been wonderful so far! 

Our DECEMBER HOMESCHOOL Plans!

 I've already done a post on our countdown to Christmas and many of these will be the same as that. Some of those, however, are family activities or take place in the evening, or are shorter. I have some other homeschool activities I want to do as well, and this is a good place for me to outline that. 

Tuesday, December 1

On the first day of December each year, we make a Christmas countdown chain. I have strips of red, green, and white paper prepared beforehand and I help the kids staple them together. We hang the chains by the back door and take one off each night. I love this as a visual way for them to see how close Christmas is! 

Wednesday, December 2 

I wanted to write to Santa early on in the year. After we write to Santa, I have a search and color activity page for the girls. 

Thursday, December 3

The kids have a little tree up in their room. This is the day we make Paper Ornaments to decorate their tree with. I love having a tree for them, because then they can do whatever they want with it and have fun with it. 

Friday, December 4 

This is the day we're going to set up our nativity set. Because this is a short activity, I'm also going to do a dancing Craisins experiment. We did a similar one with popcorn in November and the girls LOVED it. You put Craisins in a jar with water, vinegar, and baking soda, and the Craisins move up and down in the jar. 

Monday, December 7

In the afternoon today, we're going to shop for and put together gift for a local family in need. In the morning, I have some dot and paint pages for the kids. They love doing dot and paint, and I love finding holiday pages for them.  

Tuesday, December 8

I love doing snow activities, but you can't plan when it snows. Today, we are going to make paper snowflakes together and then hang them up in their rooms. If we have time, I will also make "snow" out of baking soda and hair conditioner with the girls. 

Wednesday, December 9

This year, we're going to try to have Santa visit our home for a few minutes. While we're waiting, I have some coloring pages, mazes, and word search activities for the kids. 

Thursday, December 10

This is our Polar Express party! We stay dressed in cozy pajamas, make hot chocolate and popcorn, and present our golden tickets (which I'll make beforehand) to watch the Polar Express movie. It's one of our favorite activities! 

Friday, December 11

This is the day we will make Gingerbread cookies. I also have paper gingerbread I'm going to cut out that they can color when it's not their turn. Anytime I use cookie cutters, I like to let the kids take turns "helping" me. 

Monday, December 14

On this day, I wanted to finish making and wrapping gifts for extended family. Ashtyn and Parker love making gifts for grandparents, cousins, etc.

Tuesday, December 15

Today, we're going to make some Christmas playdough. There are some different recipes on Pinterest, like peppermint and gingerbread. The girls have been wanting to make more playdoh, so they'll be excited! 

Wednesday, December 16

This is a big day for us, the day we make cookies for neighbors! I make four different kinds of cookies, and with all the "help" I get from the girls, plus delivering the cookies, it makes for an exhausting day.  I'll let the girls play with playdoh more, and have some coloring pages ready as well.  

Thursday, December 17

We're keeping things easy on this day, since making cookies is going to be pretty exhausting. I wanted to do a Christmas craft, and I found one on Pinterest where they can decorate paper Christmas trees with stickers. I thought it was a cute little craft that they can do however they want and will be a nice breather for me. 

Friday, December 18

This is our Candy Cane party! We read a book about the history of candy canes while the kids eat a real candy cane. Then we are going to make paper candy canes to put on their tree upstairs, go on a candy cane hunt (I will hide the candy canes places and they will have to find them), and do a candy cane dissolving science experiment.  I also have a "how to draw a candy cane" tutorial for Ashtyn. 

Monday, December 21

I found a fun craft on Pinterest I want to do with the girls--a five senses of Christmas book. They have a candy cane for taste, pine tree needles for feel, etc. I also want to do a Christmas "chemistry" activity, where we mix baking soda and vinegar with red and green food coloring. This is an easy, no prep science activity that the kids love. 

Tuesday, December 22

Today, we're going to finish making sibling gifts, and then wrap them. I'll have to distract the other two, with coloring pages and Christmas movies, while I work with them one-on-one.  

Wednesday, December 23

The day before Christmas Eve is when we make cookies for Santa. We like to make Christmas sugar cookies and red/green homemade Oreos. While the kids are waiting, I have some tracing Christmas pictures for the girls. These are fun for all the kids, but really good for Parker practicing her writing. 

Thursday, December 24

On Christmas Eve, I try to keep it simple. In past years, I've done coloring pages, but this year, I think I actually want to start a new tradition of playing board games with the kids during the day. We have quite a few favorite board games, plus a couple new ones my mom gave us that we can try. I also have a build a snowman game, using a dice, that I found on Pinterest that the kids might like. I'm excited to spend this time with the girls! 

Monday, December 30 

This is my birthday, so I'm planning on doing something fun as a family. I'm not sure what this will be yet, but we will probably take the day off of school.

Tuesday, December 31

New Year's review for the kids. I will have them draw a picture of themselves, and then answer questions about their year. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

I am THANKFUL for my Blessings!

This is a post I've been planning on doing for Thanksgiving, but it feels especially timely after President Nelson's wonderful message of hope this week. I love the emphasis on gratitude at this time of year. 

This week, I loved reading 6:9 (And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord) and singing our own "hymn of praise" as a family. It reminded me to not only be grateful for my blessings, but to grateful TO God for my blessings. God has given me so much.

Today I just wanted to share the things I am MOST grateful for, though the list is truly endless. 

My Family 

This is my biggest blessing. It doesn't matter what else happens in life, because I have my family. My husband loves and supports me. I am blessed with three beautiful daughters that I get to spend time with as they learn and grow and play. I also have a wonderful extended family. My mother, who has done more for me than anyone else. My step dad and his family, who came later in my life, but have brought new love and blessings. My grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, who created a strong and loving support system as I grew up. My in-laws, who accepted me as one of them and have become as much a family to me as the one I grew up with. And many friends, who I love as if they were my family. I have always been blessed with loving people surrounding me, and as I've grown older, that circle has only grown. 

The Gospel

This encompasses so much that bring so many blessings to my life. Church, and the blessings that come from my ward family. Service, both service we receive and service we can give. The temple and the blessing of eternal families. The scriptures and the Holy Ghost. The Savior, and his atonement. Oh, how blessed I am to have the gospel in my life!  

My Books 

This might seem like a minor one to some people, but this is a large part of my life. I've always been a "book nerd" and loved books (thanks to my mother!) before I even knew how to read. Now, I have a YouTube channel around books and writing, a bookish bullet journal that is so fun to me, and get to write my own books! This is all on top of continuing to love to read books of all kinds. I am so grateful for those who have shared their talents with me by publishing their books and for the chance to develop my own writing talent. 

My heart is so full as we come to the holidays this year. I am so blessed and am so glad we focus on that this time of year. I would love to hear your biggest blessings in the comments below!