The Smith Family: Joyful Times

Seeing the joy in my kiddos faces during this sacred Christmas season is just the best gift any mama could asked for. I know I have been so incredibly blessed by not only the ultimate gift that my savior has given me but also the gift of an amazing husband and our four precious blessings. What more could a mama ask for this Christmas?

It is so easy to get overwhelmed by the rush of the holidays and let's be honest, there is just way too much for us ladies to get done in such a short amount of time. It really is easy for us to be all consumed with the gifts, parties, decorating, baking and so on and forget about why we are doing all of this anyway. I am trying to make it my goal to not feel the pressure to overload my daily schedule but instead to spend as much time as I possibly can cuddling with my family reading Christmas stories or watching a good Christmas movie. Elf is one of our favorites! We bought it for $5 at Target this year so we never have to try and catch it on tv anymore. I want them to always remember Christmas as such a magical time when we together as a family had fun as we celebrated Jesus' birth.

I get so emotional when thinking of my little ones first Christmas. It truly is such a special time and I look forward to so many more years of celebrating with this precious girl of mine.

I do enjoy the baking and crafting that comes along with Christmas so I've tried to incorporate that into our family time hoping that my kids will learn to love it as much as I have. I think it's working.

And where is Maggie while we do these projects? When I look down, this is what I see. Snuggled up in the nest of my sling as she listens to the giggles of her sister and brothers. I can't wait for her to join in the fun next year.

The other day I let the kids out of the car on our way home and let them walk home and collect these to make reindeer. (don't worry we live on a quiet country road these days and I followed them to make sure they were safe)

I made one of these reindeer many years ago in girl scouts and still have it. Such a fun little project and quite inexpensive too! The kids like to play with their reindeer and have them talk to one another. Pretty cute!

(if you look closely you'll see Josh in the background as he was building our mantel)

Aren't the kids aprons so cute? I have been blessed with a mother in law who sews some really cute stuff!

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Gracie totally gets into crafting and the whole concept of the joy you feel when making for others. We use clothes pins for so many purposes around here but mostly for holding bags closed like chip clips and for keeping papers neatly together. They can also be stood up for holding a picture or with a magnet on the back to hang on the fridge to hold notes or pictures. I made some of these last year and they were so easy that I thought she'd have fun making them this year. And she did!

I also made some simple little lavender sachets that I had the boys help with. I bought lavender potpourri and had them crush it into pieces using hammers and other heavy tools. Boy did they love this! Then we added lavender essential oil to give it a stronger scent then scooped it into these little pouches I made to hold them in. I didn't put down that bottle of lavender oil for the duration of my labor with Fletcher as I would breath it in during contractions to help me relax. I don't know how much it helped but I can't ever smell lavender without a flood of memories of my precious boy coming into the world. I even had lavender oil in the tub water when he was born. Go figure that he'd say it smelled like poop while he was helping with this project! He's too much sometimes!

I couldn't wait to make this next project. This was the first bit of sewing I'd done since Maggie's arrival and it felt so good to pull my machine out and put it to use again. And it was just what I needed... quick, easy and instant gratification! I just love it!
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Oh... and check out our fireplace mantel Josh and I made the other night. I had him bring me home some cheap plain pine boards at Home Depot then I let the kids go to town banging on them with various objects. They used hammers, chains, putty knifes, screw drivers and the such, and we made some grooves in them to give a distressed look. We finished by staining the boards and putting a few coats of Waterlox on top for the finish coat. Then Josh cut them to the proper size and constructed a nice chunky mantel for me. It was just what I had envisioned and we made a family project out of it!

I love my fabric banner so much that I thought it would be a fun gift to make for my nieces Ava and Kaya who are here for the month from Costa Rica. They share a room and I am hoping that each time they look at it they'll think of just how much their aunt Jenna loves and misses them!

I love the combination of pinks and browns. So pretty!

Prior to Christmas we really hadn't done much decorating since we're still focusing on finishing the house but we did have fun decorating for our first Christmas here. We actually have stuff to look at now instead of just furniture scattered about.
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Through the years I have loved collecting vintage Christmas decor at various thrift shops I've visited. These old things have so much more wear and love to them than buying brand new and I can't help but think of the many people who must have enjoyed them through the Christmas's of the past. I'm sure there are many stories and memories behind these items that I will never know about. That's my favorite thing about antiques. Every piece has a history and a story behind it yet most will remain a mystery. Ooh.. a rhyme!

This old (and somewhat creepy) Santa was purchased by Fletch last year for $.50 at a yard sale. He loved it and had to have it! The red Santa bag is not old but was made for us by Josh's mom and we love it. Typically we fill it with the smaller gifts that we've wrapped but there aren't any yet this year.

My favorite bowls ever from Anthropologie along with a thrifted Santa mug, a star that was my mom's that I've painted and a thrifted old hobnail milk glass vase.

And more milk glass with some really old glass ornaments that my mom has had since forever along with her cow creamer that I inherited. My mama had good taste I must say!

I love these little old wooden ornaments. I found them at a thrift shop for around $.25 to $.50. I hope to collect more someday. They are so cute and make me smile! : )

This pretty little bird was my Grammy Maggie's. Can't help but look at it and picture it on her tree many many years ago. So special.

Aside from Christmas stuff little Fletch has been loving living on the land. I love this next pouty picture of him. Fletcher came out of the house just as Josh was parking the tractor...

and he became so upset that he missed the ride. He loves to join Josh whenever he's using the tractor but this time he missed out. This picture shows Daddy trying to comfort him and letting him know that he'll get to go next time.

He spends many hours out in the pond trying to catch minnows. He hasn't quite caught on that he has to be extra quick cause these little buggers are fast!

But with the help of big brother and sister his fish bowl gets filled up quick!

Here are pictures from our visit with Santa. Colton surprisingly still believes but I get a feeling this will be his last year although I said that last year too. I'm prepared to tell him however that when he stops believing that'll be the day Santa stops delivering to him. That way hopefully he'll keep his lips zipped so he won't spoil it for the other kids. He asked Josh while we were at the mall "If that is the real Santa, then where is his sleigh?". Josh quickly said "well you know, Santa usually parks up on the roof." Colton's quick come back was "Dad... there is no chimney on the roof of the mall!" And Josh jumped right back with "well of course Santa takes the elevator silly! He'd take the elevator at our house too if we had one".

At Macy's mailing their letters to Santa.
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Colton...

Dear Santa,

I think you are really cool. If you think that I've been a good boy I would really like a Wii, a bb gun, a remote control airplane sunglasses and a DS game.

Gracie...

Dear Santa,

I think you are really nice. For Christmas I would like 2 barbies, bouncy balls, makeup and a DS game.

Fletch...

Dear Santa,

I love you. Please bring me anything you'd like. Merry Christmas.

Jenna...

Dear Santa,

You charged incredibly way too much for my kids to come sit on your lap so I could take a few pictures. $26 is outragious! Yes you did give me a couple little pictures for this price but I didn't want those anyway nor do I even like them. Shouldn't we "remember to love one another" like you told my kids and just let me take my own pictures already? I would have much rather given you 10 bucks to do this than to get your cheapy little poor quality photos. ps... don't be surprised if you get stale cookies this year.

For the record, Colton is not geting a bb gun. Maybe in a year or two when he has matured a bit more but not quite yet. He has a wooden gun that shoots rubber bands and he knows the rules of it. No shooting it in the house and never shoot it at others. Lets just say that that rule gets broken often.