Reflections

As we say good bye to another year it is a great chance to reflect on all that has happened in 2008. Can you believe that this year is over? I know for me and my family it has been an overall good year. But for the nation it has been a scary year. There are so many people that have suffered through illnesses, loss of a family member, loss of homes, loss of jobs. But through it all I know that the nation will survive. We live in a very choice land and we have a way of surviving.

I know I have set goals for 2009 that will hopefully help me to be a better person. I need to be more patient with my ADHD son. That is my biggest goal. I am so stressed out with him that it could lead to depression. I fear that. I feel like this past year I have become the worse mom. I don't understand him and I have put so much energy into the negative that I have missed the positive.

Another goal I have is to be a better wife. I want to be the person he fell in love with. I want to "losen" up and be able to have a good time with him. I love him so much and I am grateful for the eternal family that we have created.

Another goal is to cut back on my drinking Coke. :) Needless to say I have this goal every year but the more I get stressed the more Coke I need to drink. :) But I know that it does terrible things to my body and I need to take care of myself so I can be here for my children.

I hope our Country survives through this next year. We live in such a great country and I often thank God that I live here. I lived overseas for six years and saw places of the world that have really made me grateful for the United States of America.

I am so grateful for the year 2008. I gave birth to a beautiful girl, my six year old daughter started first grade and it has been so fun to watch her learn, my husband has a good job, and I have great friends that I am so thankful for.

So, take time to reflect on 2008 and let us know your thoughts on the new year.
Please have a safe and happy new years eve. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!!!

Foam Swords

Another fun Christmas present that my boys got were these fun swords. I picked them up at the Dickens Festival, which is this fun holiday boutique that they hold every year. I paid $3.00 a piece for these and my husband was appalled. He said we could have made them for a lot less, but I don't think we could have done it for less, because to do it in bulk, it would be lots less expensive than to make 2 swords. Sorry for the rambling, but anyway. These are made out of a short piece of pvc pipe, an end cap, about 1/3rd of a piece of foam noodle, and some garden edging. So easy! If you were throwing a pirate birthday party these would be so awesome. The pvc is probably about a foot long, so when you get hit with the sword it doesn't hurt, because it's only noodle that your getting hit with. For boys this is a great thing, because they love to sword fight.

Connectagons

These are the coolest things ever. These are Connectagons. We received these from te Williams. They had seen them in a magazine and decided to get them for my kids. SO MUCH FUN!! Josh and I had just as much fun playing with them as my kids. We made race cars, dinosaurs, airplanes and lots of other fun creations. You can see some of the idea's that I got off their website and the dinosaur that my hubby made. I love that they are so bright and easy for little hands to handle. I also love that they are wood. I have a thing for wooden toys. I love them!

If your interested in more information click on the link above to go and check them out. They really are a great gift idea.

Fleece Blanket

I know that everyone probably already knows how to do this, but you never know. Someone may not and is just waiting for me to post a how to on my blog. Maybe?

Anyway, these are the easiest blankets to make. They are simple in the skill department, but do take a little bit of time. I made 3 of these this year for Christmas and it was a favorite gift for everyone who receive it.

First thing you need to do is match up your material. You will want to trim it so that all sides are even. I had to cut the bias off of both of the sides and I had to trim a little bit off of one end on the yellow material.

You will want to cut a 4x4 square out of each corner. It makes the corners rounded in the end.

Now you cut. And cut, cut and cut. You will want each cut 4 inches and you will want each cut to be about 1 inch apart. I cut one side and then I tie that side. It makes it easier to fold up if you need to and to come back to it later. You do that on all 4 sides and you are done!! Easy, huh?

The nice thing about these blankets is that they are very forgiving. No one notices the mistakes if you do make one. By the 3rd quilt, there were definitely mistakes. I had some really uneven cuts and the material didn't always match up just right, but it was day's before Christmas and I was tired of cutting. I tried to use my rotary cutter, but it did not cut well through 2 pieces of fleece.

Good luck!

Merry Christmas To All

Please Vote!!!

YEAH!!!! I am one of Tip Junkies contest finalists!!! My Christmas tree which can be seen here was entered in the contest. And I was chosen as a finalist for Best Themed Tree. Now I need as many votes as possible to win some wonderful prizes! I am so excited.

So please head over to Tip Junkie and vote on the poll that is on the left side of the blog. Click on Mandees Nightmare Before Xmas!! Thank you so much. Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card Bouquet

How many of you are getting bombarded with christmas cards and pictures? I love receiving pictures and greetings from family and friends that we don't see very often. I like to display them through the season and was looking for a creative way to do so.

I came across this idea in my 6 yr old daughters nick jr. magazine and thought it was adorable and clever. I just filled a vase with green shredded paper and taped the pictures to wooden skewers. Now instead of covering my wall, fridge, or windows I can display the greetings in a cute way without leaving traces of tape behind when it is time to take them down! BayLee had a great time helping me do this. Thanks Nick Jr for a great idea!!!

Some of my Favorite Holiday Decorations

What to post, what to post? I thought it would be fun to share with you a few of my favorite holiday decorations and why I love them so much.

What would Christmas be without a nutcracker? I got this one last year on clearance. He is so much fun. He plays music and his leg and head move. We try to go to the Nutcracker every year, as our cute little neighbor is in it. We didn't make it this year and that was sad, but sometimes life gets in the way.

I have a ton of nativities. I love them. I love how each one is different, but each depicts the same glorious event. I have 7 of them and every year since I have been married I have tried to buy a new one. I also have several pictures set up in beautiful frames. I think that they are beautiful. I think being a mother makes you appreciate the beauty of the scene even more. I love depictions of the Christ Child and the way that His mother, Mary holds him so tenderly and looks at him with so much amazement. Had He been a child of normal birth, she would have still loved Him and looked at Him with the same adoration, because she was His mother. Don't we all look at our children that way?

All the stockings you will find, hanging in a row... This was a gift the 2nd Christmas that Josh and I were married. His mother gave it to us and it is something that he had from his childhood. She made it when she first was married and it has their last name across the top. Being that Josh is their only son, we got it. We do have a wood burning stove, but no mantle. The two Burgundy stockings that are kind of hiding are also favorites of mine. Those were a wedding present. They are crocheted and they are so alike, yet each one is unique. Beautiful addition to our holiday memories.

I love Snowmen! Although I have oodles of Snowmen decor, this is one of my favorites. Another D.I. treasure.

This is probably my very favorite holiday decoration, other than my new picture! I picked this up at a yard sale several years ago. I paid $20.00 for it, which is way more than I would normally spend. I had to have it, though. So cute!! It's made out of fence material. Someday, when I have time, I want to mass produce them for my family present. Already have something planned for next year, so it will have to be Christmas 2010.

I love the word Believe! It can imply to holiday spirit, Santa Clause, and also the birth of the Savior. Believe in what you will!!! I love the Polar Express, because of the theme and the idea that it passes onto our children. BELIEVE in the magic of Santa, believe in the unseen, believe in friendship, believe in others, believe in yourself!!

Have a great weekend everyone! We'll be back next week!!

Only in the Desert

Well, we are snowed in here in good ole Southern Utah. There is one problem with that; we live in the Desert and there are only 2 snow plows in the county!!!! Because of this we are having a snow day and there isn't school. This I find funny, I realize it is because of the lack of plows and deicing equipment but I went to Elementary School in Colorado Springs where we went to school in blizzardy conditions! So think of us here in the desert today with snow and lack of boots, gloves, heavy coats, or scarves. :)

Any ideas for entertaining kids on a snowy day? What are some things you do to pass the day? Would love to hear, although I am sure the kids will spend all day in the snow. It is pretty to look at and fun to watch the kids enjoy something they don't ever have.

Thrift Store Find

I ran to D.I. the other day to drop off some toy's. We've been cleaning out and preparing for Christmas in my boy's room. I glanced to the left as I went to get in to the car and I saw this picture. I had to have it. I asked the man closest to me, actually he was a young kid, how quickly things were put in the store. He asked if I wanted it and of course I said yes, so he told me to go inside and they would bring it in to me. So another nice man brings it in and starts to tease me. He sold the picture already, someone in the back wanted it. "GIVE ME THE DANG PICTURE," I thought. The guy reminded me of my father-in-law. He asked me how much I was willing to pay for it and asked if $10.00 was fair. "Yeah", I said. So he tells me to wait a minute and walks away to put a price on the picture. He only charged me $2.00!! Is that a steal or what?

The original frame was gold and it was filthy. I just did not like it at all. So Josh spray painted it black for me and I am in love with it. Is it possible to be in love with a picture? The picture itself needs a little touching up, but where it is so high on my wall you can hardly tell. I will take it in to see if it could be restored. There are just a few minor little scratches. Here is the kicker. It is by Liz Lemon Swindel, who does amazing work. there is a signature on the print!! I don't need anything else for Christmas, I'm happy!!

Before

Salt Dough Ornaments

My kids and I love to make Salt Dough Ornaments each year and decorate them. We put them on the christmas presents as a keepsake. The Grandparents along with Aunts and Uncles sometimes like the ornaments better than the present!
It is one of my favorite traditions, the thing I love the best is now my kids ask about it each year which means the tradition is working. :)

2 C flour

1/2 C salt

1 C water

Add more flour if needed. Works better if you chill it for a little while after it is mixed. Bake for 2 hours on 250. Be sure to put them on wax paper or they stick to the pan. :)

We have a Winner

Congratulations to Kimala!!!! Email us your address at mandeeandbrandy@yahoo.com and we will get that out to you asap! Hopefully in time for you to enjoy it this holiday season. Thanks to everyone who entered and have a happy Tuesday!

Gingerbread Cookies

Isn't it funny how recipes can be so similar, but just a little different. Here are both mine and Mandee's recipes for gingerbread cookies. Similar, just a little different. I love these one's because they have the pudding in the mix. I don't like the gingerbread that has molasses in it. I know it's more traditional, but just not a fan.

Brandy’s Gingerbread Men

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Butterscotch Instant Pudding
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

BEAT butter, sugar, dry pudding mix and egg in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Mix remaining ingredients. Gradually add to pudding mixture, beating well after each addition. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

HEAT oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch-thickness. Cut into gingerbread shapes with 4-inch cookie cutter. Place, 2 inches apart, on greased baking sheets. Use straw to make hole near top of each cutout.

BAKE 10 to 12 min. or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand on baking sheets 3 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Decorate as desired. Insert ribbon through holes to hang cookies on tree.

Mandees Gingerbread Men

½ cup shortening

1 & ½ tsp. ginger
1 egg

½ tsp. cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp. baking soda
1 & ½ cups flour
1 pkg. instant butterscotch pudding mix

Mix together egg, shortening, and brown sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Roll out dough and cut into gingerbread men shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Decorate with frosting and candy!

Coconut Macaroons

These are also a huge hit on my neighborhood goodie plates. So easy and delicious.

1 pkg (14 oz) coconut flakes
2/3 C sugar
6 T flour
1/4 t salt
4 egg whites
1 t almond extract

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour baking sheets. Mix coconut, sugar, flour and salt in large bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract until well blended. Drop coconut mixture inot 36 mounds, 2 in apart, on baking sheet. I use about 1 T per mound. Bake 17-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediatley move from baking sheet. Cool completely.
I then put a twist on it and melt Bakers chocolate and drizzle it over the cookie. HEAVEN!!! So try this recipe and see what you think. Happy baking.

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Angie! You are the winner of the jello magnets from Pinksweetie. Please email us your info to mandeeandbrandy@yahoo.com . Thank you to all who entered!

Meet Bernard

Ignore the blurry, picture if you will. This is Bernard, he's our Magical Christmas Elf. This is a new tradition that we started this year and has been so much fun. I told my kids that Bernard was a magical elf who had come to watch them to see if they were naughty or nice. Every night Bernard goes and reports to Santa Clause on how they were that day. He moves around our house and every morning the kids have to look for him to find out where he will be watching from that day.

My 6-year-old is the one who is most into this. Every morning the first words out of his mouth are, "I've gotta find Bernard." It's been a lot of fun to hide him all over my house. This morning he was ontop of our light sconces in the living room. The kids enjoy looking for him. It's a fun new activity that I think we will keep as a new family tradition.

ABC Christmas Movie Schedule

I saw this over at Letti's and had to share! I love holiday movies and cartoons. This is the ABC Family 25 days of Christmas show schedule. I wish I had found this a before we were half way through the holiday season.

12/11
7pm/6c Rudolph Shiny New Year
8pm/7c The Year Without a Santa Claus
9pm/8c Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys

12/12
6pm/5c The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
9:30pm/8:30c The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

12/13
All Day Holiday Classics Marathon
8pm/7c A Miser Brothers' Christmas A New ABC Family Original Special

12/14
6pm/5c Snow
8pm/7c Snow 2 Brain Freeze A New ABC Family Original Movie

12/15
7pm/6c Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys
8:30pm/7:30 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

12/16
8pm/7c Mary Poppins

12/17
7pm/6c I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Tip
12/18
7pm/6c Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat
7:30pm/6:30c Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
8pm/7c Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas

12/19
8pm/7c Santa Clause 3

12/20
8pm/7c Christmas in Wonderland
Tip
12/21
6pm/5c THE INCREDIBLES
Tip
12/22
8:30pm/7:30c The Polar Express
Tip
12/23
6pm/5c White Christmas
Tip
12/24
All Day Holiday Classics Marathon
8pm/7c Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas

12/25
6pm/5c THE INCREDIBLES
8:30pm/7:30c CARS

Free Coupon Books

I love coupons. Here are couple of links that you can go to and if you register you will recieve a booklet in the mail for $10.00 in coupons.

There is one for Betty Crocker items and also for Pillsbury. As a side note, Albertsons is having a great sale on Betty Crocker and Pillsbury items this week. While the coupons won't reach you in time for this sale, you will have them for future sales. Hurry quick, though, because they are limited.

Paper Plate Frosty

Another one of those easy crafts that sometimes get forgotten. Sunday afternoon the boys wanted to do a craft. I glued the plates for them with hot glue and they did the rest. We used felt and foam for the the top hats and the eye's. Tyson insisted on a yellow hat. We found clipart on the computer for the carrots. A few buttons and we just used brown paper to make arms! And wala, you've got a snowman!

Christ Centered Christmas

I stumbled upon this AMAZING blog!! Click on the above link to go and visit a wonderful blog that is all about the reason for the season!!

Brandy's Taco Soup

It's amazing how many recipies, you can find for the same dish. I have seen several for Taco soup. Click here to see Mandee's that she posted a few weeks ago. I guess you just have to find one that you like and go with it. I love this soup because it is so easy to prepare and so tasty!

Taco Soup (15 servings)

1 ½ lbs. hamburger & 2 small onions browned w/ garlic, salt and pepper
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans Campbell’s vegetable beef soup
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1 can corn (drained)
1 can olives, sliced
2 cups salsa
1 tsp. chili powder or to taste
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning or to taste
1 Tbsp. brown sugar or to taste

Combine everything in a large pan and heat until hot. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese. This makes a ton!!! I usually half it and it will feed my whole family and have left over’s.

Cry Baby Cookies

These have been a favorite of mine since I was little and now my kids love them. Each Christmas these are on our neighborhood "goodie plates". I am loving the Holidays so far this year and loving the smells of different yummy cookies. I don't know about you but I can never have too many cookie recipes! Enjoy.

2 C flour
2 t soda
1 t cloves
1 t ginger
1 t cinnamon
1 c sugar
1 egg
3/4 C shortening
4 T molasses

Mix well. Roll into balls and roll in a sugar/cinnamon mixture. Press with fork. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Takes at least this long, but watch closely because they are dark cookies and can easily overcook! Should yield 3 doz. Cookies!

Fun Gift Tags

I usually buy fun little gift tags at the dollar store. But I found these and I fell in love with them so I had to share. DARLING! Hopefully you will find something that you like!



I absolutely love this set of fun, colorful gift tags from Martha Stewart. You have to click the link to see them all. I am making these for my kids. They are fun and bright and I love the retro look of some of them!

You may want to try Amy Karol's tags which have witty remarks pre-written. These are HILARIOUS! My favorite one said ~ I love you so much it makes me sick. In a good way. ~ Darling!! I am using these for the adults.

Paper Tree

The first graders at Red Mountain Elementary all had to bring home green paper trees to decorate. BayLee had so much fun and was so proud of her finished product that when she was done she said,"Mom!! You HAVE to put this on your blog!People would love to do this!" So, here ya go....couldn't argue with her.

She pulled out everything she would ever need to do a craft and put it all on this darling tree. She is so proud of it-as she should be. It is amazing that even the simplest of simple crafts are often forgotten. She just used good ole Elmers glue and went to town!!! After she took this picture of the tree she then did more work to it and put tiny marker dots all over the green parts that you could still see. :) (My favorite part of the tree is the Snowman she made out of pompoms)

So we usually do little, tiny, gingerbread houses. We use the milk carton as the base and it's a lot of fun. My friend, Shirley said that she premakes the houses, but that instead of frosting she hot glues them together! What a wonderful idea, I thought.

They look good and they were super sturdy, but it was not as easy as I thought it would be. First of all my thumb on my left hand will never be the same again!! I lost count of how many times I burned, it but it was a lot. I had a hard time getting the initial wall standing up because all it was glued to was the cardboard. Somehow I made the first one work.

On the second house I ended up using Popsicle sticks as braces. It made the second one a little bit easier to glue together. It took me forever to makes these. It was about 1 & 1/2 hours in the making. I also went through a ton of glue sticks. Shirley must have it down to a science, because it was nowhere near as easy as I had pictured it.

The finished product. Not as cool, as I would have liked them to have been, but they worked and they were very sturdy. No collapsing walls or caved in ceilings. They held up well to the frosting and the kids decorating them. We used regular old frosting from a jar this year and it did not work as well for putting the candy on. Here is a great recipe if you need a really stiff frosting for decorating.

2 eggs whites

1 pound Powder sugar

½ tsp. cream of tartar

Beat egg whites until stiff and add tartar and mix. Then add powder sugar and mix until creamy and stiff. Put in plastic baggies and cut the tip of the bag at the bottom corner to create a frosting bag. You can add food coloring to your frosting to add a little bit more color. Remember not to eat this frosting. It is for decorating only! Probably wouldn't hurt ya, but better safe than sorry!

We used this frosting for our Haunted Houses this year and it works really well. I don't think I will do regular frosting again. Just didn't work as well.

Messy, but fun! The kids love to decorate them and we have the tradition of taking them out and using them for target practice after the holiday 's!! Dual purpose! And they make for such festive holiday decor.

A Birthday Cake Only a 4-year-old Could Love.

I am not artistic when it comes to drawing or to decorating cakes. It is the worst combination of things to have me do. Today is my Tyson's 4th birthday and he had his heart set on a Wall E Cake. The boy is having cake 3 times this week!!! So rather than buying a cake I decided to make a cake and I was going to try and free hand a Wall E picture on the cake. My sister-in-law, Kris suggested printing off a picture of Wall E and cutting it out and tracing it onto the cake with frosting. GREAT IDEA!! It really was! And if someone with one ounce of artistic ability did it, then maybe it would have turned out.

They look nothing alike!

I can't decide if it looks like ET or or Wall E. I'm leaning twoards to ET. My kid's don't even know who ET is!! Mandee said maybe Short Circuit! I've never seen it, but maybe~

It's the saddest cake I've ever seen! But it made this little guy grin the biggest birthday grin ever!

Happy Birthday Tyson!

Christmas Book Collection

"MOM, IT'S THE CHRISTMAS BOOKS!" These were the words out of my 10 year old sons mouth when we were pulling out the totes loaded with Christmas Decorations. I put the books away in the totes for this very reason, I want them to be new each year instead of on the shelf throughout the whole year. He was so excited to pull them out and look at them. I never thought it would be the books that would make him the most excited. These books have been around for all of his Christmases and each year we add more and more(I haven't found the rest of my stash-still digging through totes). You could say I am a bit of a Christmas book addict! -Brandy is too. (hee hee).

Each year we read a story a night out of my collection of 24 nights before christmas binder (more religious type of stories)stories ,then we also read a "fun" story too. Christmas Eve we pull out the big guns and read Twas the Night Before Christmas. We have about four different versions and just rotate through them.

I am so excited to add more to my collection this year too! What are some of your favorite Christmas stories?? Please share.

Free Shipping at Oriental Trader

Hurry quick!! Order online by 11:59 p.m. CT, December 3, 2008, to get free standard shipping on any purchase, within the contiguous U.S. Enter keycode WC97541 during checkout. To go shopping, click here! I love Oriental Trading!!

Mandees Christmas Tree

I know what you are thinking!! It is time to take the Halloween decorations down. Well, we decided to do something different this year. After 11 Christmases together, my husband came up with a new tradition this year-do a different themed tree each year. I think it sounds great-kinda crazy- but great. His birthday is Christmas day so I decided what the heck, I will let him choose this years theme.
The day after Halloween we were out on a date cruisin Target(what we call a date) and we were checking out the clearance for Halloween decorations. They were pretty much GIVING things away. My husband, Mr D., looked at me and said "Let's do our tree in the Nightmare before Christmas theme". I thought it was a wonderful idea and my oldest daughter LOVES this movie. We had so much fun shopping for the tree, we wanted to come straight home and decorate!
I made ornaments for the tree too.
*Since I originally did this post, I have entered a contest over at Tip Junkie. Go check it out!!!



These are the ornaments. I took Balsa wood,(used for rc planes-Mr D. has TONS) and printed out images from the movie. After that I used,any guesses?????? Of course, MODGE PODGE! I modge podged the images onto the wood and got this cool yarn from the Dollar Store. It was so much fun and it will look great on a garland for Halloween next year.

We found these darling little pumpkin and skeleton plaster baskets that we used as ornaments too. We also used Skeleton and spider garland instead of ribbon or rag garland. Again we will be able to use the garland for Halloween next year too.
We found the very last white illuminating pumpkin at Walmart. I dug and dug for it. It makes the perfect tree topper!

Here is the finished product! We used orange and purple lights and minature pumpkin lights. I know that this isn't "traditional" but we are really enjoying it. It is fun doing something different. I told my husband it has to stop at the tree so Christmas will be felt in our home! I wonder what the theme will be next year?............

A Fun Twist on Peanut Butter Cookies

Just a little something to share. You'd think we had turned into a cooking blog!!! Promise to be back next week with crafts and more fun. If you haven't entered the giveaway, go above and do so. What fun little lounge pants. They'd make a great stocking stuffer!!!

This is not a new idea, but sometimes we forget the easy stuff!! I also love to do this with Reese's Peanut butter cups!! I got a great deal on Kisses earlier this week. I had a coupon save $1.50 when you buy 3. They had a clearance cart full of Kisses, from the olympics, for $1.50 a bag. I paid $1.00 a bag!! I bought them for our gingerbread houses, but I've got a baptism to go to today and I needed some cookies. If you need a great peanut butter cookie recipe, go here! Just remember not to squish the cookies and make sure you put the kisses in right away!! See you guy's on Monday!

This was too good not to pass on! A wonderful basket that you could share with your favorite teacher! For a chance to win, click here!! You have until the 10th of December to enter. I'm undecided who I would share it with. To many great teachers in my life, but I would probably pick a certain preschool teacher I know!!!!

Deck Your Halls Swap Package!

I GOT MY SWAP PACKAGE TODAY! I am so excited. Alisha sent me the funnest and cutest stuff. Look at the darling nesting boxes! She also made me beautiful rag garland! I know how much work goes into that, I made some 4-years ago and it is something I will never get rid of. It took me forever, but I made enough for my tree. The garland Alisha sent is perfect! I don't have a mantle, but I do have the perfect spot for it, infact I already have it up and it's beautiful. THANK YOU ALISHA!!

This fun little nativity came home with Alisha from her vacation in Mexico!! Isn't it cute!! I think I may use this as my nativity tradition this year. Every year we buy a new nativity and I think this so darling. My boy's loved it. The little house top fits right over the top of the the family. It

I LOVE SNOWMEN!! IT MATCHES MY DECOR SO WELL.

DARLING LITTLE ELF SHOE!

What a crafty girl. I have a feeling everything is homemade and I LOVE it!! Inside the nesting boxes was the shoe, the nativity and a bag full of Blessing Mix.

Thank you again, Alisha! And for those of you who haven't gotten your packages out, you need to hurry because Santa's watching. And watch for more swaps in the near future. This was a lot of fun and we will definitely be doing it again!