The Countdown to Christmas!

With just a few more days until December, it’s time to start thinking about ways to make the Christmas season more meaningful to our family.  In preparation, I thought I would share what we are planning to do as a this year.  As always, I’d love to hear how you celebrate the holidays, so feel free to leave additional ideas/ links in the comments section!

First of all, beginning December 1st, we will be reading one story per night from the Jesus Storybook Bible.  After hearing so many great reviews of this Bible, my mom gifted us with one last year.  The author found a way to weave the arrival of Jesus into each story, & if you start at the beginning & read one story per day, you will end with the stories of Christmas.



We will also celebrate each day, by doing an activity together as a family.  I will most likely repeat last year’s chalkboard advent calendar.



Here is the list, as it stands (I may make some changes):

December 1- Decorate Christmas Tree/ Begin Jesus Storybook Bible
December 2- Stuff & Stamp Christmas Cards
December 3- Shop for Angel Tree Gifts
December 4- Watch Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town
December 5- Read Christmas Books
December 6- Church Christmas Party
December 7- Tree Lighting Ceremony
December 8- Family Christmas Night (at church)
December 9- Wrap Toy Drive Presents & have a paper snowball fight!
December 10- Make Ornaments
December 11- Watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
December 12- Christmas Game Night
December 13- Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt
December 14- Pancakes with Santa & Downtown Dazzle
December 15- Live Nativity & Conservatory Holiday Show
December 16- Make Cookies
December 17- Ding Dong Ditch the Neighbors
December 18- Watch Frosty & Frosty Returns
December 19- Make a Gingerbread Nativity
December 20- Christmas Caroling
December 21- Minivan Express (Watch Polar Express/ Visit Christmas Farm)
December 22- Act Out the Nativity story
December 23- Christmas Comes Early!  (Open presents from mommy & daddy!)
December 24- Sing Christmas Songs
December 25- Christmas Day/ Read about Jesus’ birth

To create this list, I thought about our schedule, our traditions, & local events sponsored by our church, schools, & community.  I inserted any of those events that would fit our schedule.  Then, I scoured the Internet for additional ideas & placed those where they seemed to fit best.  We have Netflix & some Christmas movies on DVD, but you may need to check here to plan for TV specials.

So, that’s what we will be doing for Christmas!  What are your plans?  I’d love to hear them!

A Few Exciting Features!

Last month our study was featured on two exciting sites!  I guess I got so star struck that I forgot to share with you guys!  Oops!  Anyway, it was featured at I Heart Organizing & Apartment Therapy! 



I hope you’ll stop by & check out these features & some of the other many great projects & ideas you can find on their sites!

Also, I wanted to let you know that my sister started a food blog.  Aimee has a love & a gift for cooking that she is now sharing with the world!  I hope you'll stop by her blog Fork, Heart, Kentucky!

Hanging Double Shower Curtains & Shower Art

Despite the fact that my kids’ bathroom does not boast beautiful tiled walls, I opted for an opened double shower curtain anyway! 



To pretty up the inside of the shower, I decided to hang this outdoor decoration I found at Hobby Lobby.



It is pretty light weight, so I just use a suction cup hook & it has held up very well for the past four weeks.



I purchased 96” curtains from this e-bay seller (I chose the 50” width & the hidden back tab option).  I used the original shower curtain rod & just moved it as high as it could go, after sliding the curtains on it.



I had purchased a 96” clear vinyl shower curtain liner & just hung it on an adjustable dowel curtain rod behind the larger curtain rod.



You can’t really see this rod, unless you are in the shower or standing directly below it, looking up!  I keep the liner pushed to one end, hidden behind one curtain panel.



I searched all over for how to achieve this look, so hopefully someone will see this post & it will make their life easier! 

Kids’ Bathroom Sources

So, a few weeks have past since the One Room Challenge ended, & I am finally getting around to posting the sources for the bathroom.  Oops!



The walls are painted Quill by Olympic Paints.



Soap Pump/ Mirror/ Book Art/ Towel Hooks/ Coral Towels/ Bath Brush



Candle/ Hand Towels/ Toilet Seat



Art/ Dog



Shower Curtains/ Shower Flower



Black & White Towels/ Bucket



I think that does it!  If the link just went to the store & not the actual item, it means I couldn’t find the item online.  Let me know if I forgot anything!  Click here to see more bathroom details!

Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Samaritan’s Purse is an organization that has been dear to my heart for many years.  Our family has been packing shoe boxes every November for the last nine years as part of their Operation Christmas Child.  The goal of OCC is to share God’s love around the world to needy children by giving them shoe boxes filled with small toys, hygiene items, & school supplies.  The organization includes a book in the child’s native language that shares the gospel with them!

Packing a shoe box is so simple, even Uncle Si can do it!  (Fact- I'm a fan of Duck Dynasty too!)

Anyway, this week (November 18- 25) is collection week for Operation Christmas Child.  If you would like to fill a shoe box, click here for all the details, fill up a shoe box, & drop it off at the closest drop-off location.  If this seems like too much, you now have the option to fill one online for $30.  It doesn't get much easier than that!

So, have you ever participated in Operation Christmas Child?  If you are interested in giving to a charity this Christmas, you might want to take a look at the Samaritan's Purse Christmas Gift Catalog.  There are so many great options, I especially love the idea of giving fruit trees, stocking a fish pond, or livestock, since these are gifts that can keep on giving!

P.S. This is not a sponsored post... I'm just blogging about this, because I support the mission of this organization & wanted to make others aware of it on my own accord!

Neutral Gray Kids’ Shared Bathroom

Well, the end of the six week One Room Challenge is officially over and…. the bathroom is finished!  Click here to see the week by week details.



In order to truly appreciate the after pictures, we should take a look at what the bathroom looked like “before”… (That’s my work too!)



I came up with a plan, inspired by the book Harry the Dirty Dog:



Here’s what the bathroom looks like today:





















I’ll have to come back later & share my sources, since I’m running late for Bible study!  Sorry for the POOR quality photos!

Sharing here too:

Remodelaholic

Patio Update

The last time I blogged about our patio, it looked like this:



As I warned in that post, it got worse!

 

Okay, this was after we started organizing the storage closet, but it had already acquired a lot of junk!

After organizing the closet & power washing the wall & patio, things were looking much better…



The old door was a hollow interior door that started falling apart once it got wet.  We replaced it with a solid wood door & painted it black.  We also scored a great deal on a swing & I accessorized with a palmetto plant (which is currently residing inside until it gets warm again) & an indoor/outdoor rug I originally bought for the entry way.



We added a few strings of patio lights, which look awesome at night, but you’ll just have to take my word for it!

I really wanted to do something to the concrete wall.  Despite it being more clean, I still think it’s ugly!  Any ideas?

Toddler Proof Coffee Table Styling

I love a well-styled coffee table, but toddler safe accessories are hard to find.  In my effort to create a stylish & safe coffee table (keep in mind a glass coffee table is not exactly safe!) I scoured several stores & finally decided to DIY my own accessories.



In order for my accessories to be considered safe, they needed to be light weight (so they won’t break the glass table top when they become projectiles!).  They also needed to be non-breakable themselves--- no glass or ceramic items.  The accessories needed to be large enough that they did not pose a choking hazard.  Finally, they needed to be cute!  If I could come up with items that fit into these four categories, I figured I would be golden!



I was on the hunt to make one of these diy gold urchins when I spotted the spiky stem above.  The “spikes” are basically little straws.  After removing the stem…



it got a coat of spray primer & two quick coats of gold spray paint.  



I really like having a bouquet of colorful flowers on the coffee table too, but finding a vase that was light weight & unbreakable was proving to be difficult.  I found inspiration during a visit to McDonald's & decided to make my own vase out of one of their milk jugs!  (Scroll up to see the before picture!)

I first removed the plastic wrapper & threaded section using some scissors.  Then, I shaved off any rough pieces with a cutting tool.



After two quick coats of black spray paint (intended for plastic) and the last of our knockout roses, it was looking like a cute little toddler proof vase!  (While I believe these roses to be non-toxic, a vase of water & prickly roses isn't the best item to have within a toddlers reach!  Therefore, these will most likely get replaced with artificial flowers in the very near future!)



I finished off the styling with a few books & a small wooden candle holder I painted gold.



It’s good to know this table can still look good with a toddler in the house!  (Please ignore the blue pillows... I was trying out some fabric that obviously isn't going to work!)