A Christmas treasure...

My family and I went for a hike along the Sandy River to get some fresh air on Christmas. I have been so cooped up lately that I couldn't handle it anymore. It was sunny and beautiful on Christmas Day but by the time we got to the river in the very late afternoon the sun was no longer hitting our side of the river. Nalah was leading our hike through the woods full charge and the other older kids were hesitant at first but had a fun time building forts and throwing rocks into the river. The kids stayed behind with their Papa and Uncle, and I walked  up ahead to check out the rocks along the shore. I  noticed my footprints were the only ones along on the beach that day and lucky for me there was a giant red agate just sitting there on the beach. My Christmas treasure!

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt...........

Homemade advent calendar.......

Sometimes my craft ambition, mixed with my stubborn personality gets me into huge last minute projects, such as deciding 4 days before December to sew an advent calendar......

It is a tricky craft to photograph,especially in the dark gloomy weather we had. Please forgive the dark blurry photos.

I cut the mitten pieces out of felt and sewed them together by hand, I would have sewn the numbers on too, but I realized that would have taken me well into December so they are glued on with fabric glue. the mittens are individually clipped onto a piece of ribbon with tiny clothespins. I glued a star on one of the clothespins to mark the day of the Month.

I plan to stuff the little mittens with small candies and stickers and coins for my children to discover.

And I need to decide were to put it......

A few Christmas pictures.... before the vomiting