santa, we're ready.

Well, I suppose we're not officially ready until the cookies and milk have been placed near the tree and the kids are tucked snugly in bed. But, we do have stockings ready to be filled with goodies! And my lovely sister, niece, and ma will be here tomorrow to help us bake and decorate sugar cookies, make chocolate dipped (and sprinkle) pretzels because they're fun for the little ones to nibble on, and of course there will be the famous chocolate chip cookies, brownies, apple pie, and a new treat my sister and I have decided to attempt... peppermint bark ice cream cake! She's bringing the recipe or else I'd share it with you all. I promise to do lots of taste testing and report back, along with the recipe as long as it turns out as delicious as it sounds.

I sure am excited to see what hubby Santa will have for me under the tree but in complete honesty, my favorite part of the holiday is family. Seeing the kids faces light up as they come down the stairs and see the presents under the tree, watching them sit and tinker with their new toys. I love sharing new photos with my ma and my mother-in-law. Grandmas love photos of their kids and grandkids. And I always love seeing them proudly displayed in their homes. It's my favorite part just to have everyone here, in one place, kids running wild, windows fogging from the heat in the house, watching the snow fall outside. Filling our bellies with one of my favorite foods... stromboli! I know it's non-traditional but it's quick, easy, and delicious and allows us to enjoy the day having fun as oppsed to cooking. Not to mention all the sweets we will have to devour. I'm so excited part of the crazy bunch will be arriving tomorrow. I may not sleep tonight. :)

As for our stockings, we don't have a fireplace (the one thing we MUST have in our next home) so they are adorning thr dresser I painted and next year hopefully they'll hang from a photo ledge we intend to install.

I am proud. They were handmade, by me, with love. For my boys....

 

 

 

The cream cable-knit stocking is mine. The "M" was an easy substitute since they were sold out of the "A" because most of my family calls me "Mandy" anyway, and I'm a "Mama" , so it works. :) If I would have found two more stockings like it, I would have bought them immediately. I love it. But, I only found one. So, I thought, I'll make some for my boys!

I used lightweight drop cloth and cream colored twine. Simply used the cardboard insert that came in my stocking to trace on the drop cloth. Cut out the two pieces, and stitched them together with twine. Now, I should mention that twine isn't exactly for sewing so it gave my poor little hand a workout to stitch it through drop cloth, but it was so worth it. You'll notice Jack's stocking faces the wrong way. It was late, I was tired, and my hand hurt so I wasn't completely paying attention to what I was doing. I may fix it by just making him another one, and then again, I may just leave it the way it is since things around here are "perfectly imperfect" and that fits right in.

The "2" represents his age right now and will serve as a friendly reminder to me as to what year it is in photos. hehehe. But I have a "J" for next year. They're just little wooden letters I picked up for .75 each and I gave a very light coat of spray paint to, then distressed. Actually, when I started spray painting them last night it seemed the paint was very thin. Turns out, it's because you're supposed to use it in at least 50 degree weather and it was freezing in our garage. Not freezing as in, "I'm cold and need some hot cocoa" freezing. Freezing as in, "it's literally below 32 degrees out here and I can see my breath. I probably shouldn't be doing this right now" freezing. But it turns out, the very thin coat it applied was perfect seeing as I wanted the wood to show through.

They don't all match, and they have their flaws. But I made them. By hand. With love. So to me, they're perfect for us.

May your homes be filled with warmth, love, and all things merry and bright. For those of you who will be apart from your loved ones this Christmas, remember, we all share the same stars and the same moon and love is something that can be felt across the earth so smile and know that someone out there is smiling back.

From our family to yours, we wish you the merriest of Christmases.