Yarn Along ~ Finished Gifts!

Joining Ginny today for the Yarn Along!

Well...Christmas came and my knitting aspirations did prove to be a little too big. The balaclavas for the boys ran into a major hitch, and the shawls for the girls proved to be a project I could not do around them or even one very easy to take along, but I did get the shawls finished! The balaclavas will take a bit of frogging and  re-working. 

These are the same pattern as the first shawl I made for myself a couple years ago, I wear it tons!

HERE is the ravelry link.

Happy New Year!

The In-between!

The beauty of lights, warmth of making and baking, family on a long dark Solstice night, and celebrating the gift all mankind received on the very first Christmas day! It was all so simple, we did not do everything but it felt so lovely and blessed. And now in the "in-between" we all feel a bit like Petunia in this last picture. Content to relax, enjoy, and just be. I hope this feeling can last as long into the New Year as it possibly can!

Merry Making!

This year I have purposely created time for the small fun things we love about the Christmas season and have purposely chosen to not do things that bring more stress than merry! So far this has been going really well, I hate feeling like Christmas is so overwhelming that I want to skip the whole thing. Hopefully we have not overly offended people but in the grand scheme... 

So here is a bit of our merry making so far!

Saying YES to mini marshmallows!

Our Winter/Advent nature table is one of my favorites.

I am going to be so sad when I don't have a little one who gets excited for the Little People Nativity. I both this for Riley's first Christmas.

Nativity art is always so sweet!

Kirsten got the Lucia outfit this year! And that Nutcracker just next to her is the one my mom splurged on when I was 5 and she took me to see the Nutcracker for the first time.

St. Nickolas Tag ~ we learn about the St. Nickolas and his desire to tell children of the coming Christ Child's birth. December 6th we wake to stockings full!

Christmas crafting with friends!

St. Lucia ~ the Saint of Light celebrated with light and warm goodies!

Cold snowy mornings enjoyed indoors with noses pressed against the windows and warm cups of tea.

Beautiful, yummy, Texas pecans! I could be back in my Grandma's house with the ceramic light up tree when I taste these! 

Beautiful Christmas music and performances! 

And finally a tree carried by my guy...I am a lucky mama!

What are your favorite ways to make merry?