Sorry, I guess I am a little late on getting this done!  My Christmas was fantastic!  The week leading up to Christmas was kind of nuts, but the actual Christmas time with family was wonderful.  I think it was the first Christmas in 9 years where nobody cried.  Someone is always crying at Christmas.  The kids are tired, over stimulated and usually have a hard time understanding the concept of unwrapping a gift but then not opening it right away and playing with it.  But this year….they all ‘got’ it.  They all enjoyed the magic of Christmas and even told me that it wasn’t just about the presents, but about Jesus.  Nice to know that they are getting that so young!

I love making hand made gifts.  The only problem is that it is very time consuming.  Worth it, yes.  Lots of late nights, yes.  This year I made 4 large purses (one for each teacher at school, one for my mother-in-law and one for my sister-in-law) and then 2 mini purses for my nieces. 

Ashlynn with her purse

They all turned out really cute, but they take a lot of time!  I also made 3 pairs of pj’s for the boys (just pants and then bought shirts and appliqued on them).

Not the best picture I realize, but the best I have

I also made 3 santa bags.  These were my favorite.  I found the idea in a pottery barn catalog a few years back and tucked them away in a file for the future. This year, I pulled it out of the file and did it.  It was pretty easy and they turned out amazing.  I am not sure the pictures do them justice.  I would love to give you a tutorial on how to make them, but I am too tired to do that right now.  If there is an overwhelming response, I will do a tutorial in a future blog.  Here is the only step you need to know: start the project BEFORE December 23rd.  I didn’t follow this advise!  It lead to some quick work at the last minute.

Yes,  I realize that all of these say Luebcke on them.  They were a gift for the Luebcke and Fillhart Families.  I had to finish them before Christmas eve so they could put them under the tree so Santa could fill them with goodies.  Of course, I made one for myself as well.  They looked so cute under the tree.

There is nothing like being in the mountains on Christmas morning.  This is what the 5 kids came down to on Christmas morning.  It was bea-u-ti-ful!  It is always a pain to get up there at midnight on Christmas eve, but being there on Christmas morning is such a joy.  Wish we could spend that time with our WHOLE family, but having smaller separate get togethers is nice too.  Not so overwhelming.

Now I have begun the digging out process.  I am trying to de-Christmas the house and put together a new Lego room.  Makai got his own room for Christmas.  He has been sharing with Tanner for the last 3 1/2 years, so now that Jameson isn’t a baby anymore (sniff), Makai gets his own room.  I will post before and after pictures later!  Makai was pretty excited about his room.  He says it was his favorite gift.  He also got all sorts of fun things to go in his new Lego room.  He didn’t get what he wanted most though…..

We are so blessed and received so many wonderful gifts.  The two greatest gifts: spending time with the people we love the most and the best gift anyone can receive…….the gift of life through Jesus.  I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you all receive the gift of Jesus this season!