Spoiler Alert! Family members beware of gift spoiler - Proceed with caution.

Tyler, my dear son, and I made a Christmas project today. I have been very much in the gift-making mode lately and he wanted to join in. So, today we sat down and made Christmas ornaments for him to give as gifts to various family members.

Handprint Ornaments:

Front: Back:

I've called ahead to Kinkos to find out how much they will cost to laminate. Much to my surprise, it's only $3.99 per 11x17 sheet. I think that's a pretty good deal. That makes each ornament about 36 cents each. Once they are lamenated, I'll punch a hole in them and string them with ribbon. So cute!

I'm sure the grandparents will go crazy for them!

Cheers! Happy Crafting!

{Andrea}

10 Things...

In an email coresspondence with a friend she listed 10 things she was greatful for. I thought, wow, I too need to count my blessings. So, here I am to share with you all 10 Things I Am Greatful For:

* I have a husband that, even after five years of marriage and learning all my quirks, still loves me and lets me know it!
* My children are creative, intellegent, kind, adventurous, loving, happy, resourceful, and love God as much as Troy and I do.
* Despite the frozen tundra outside, it's warm inside our little, happy home.
* I get to go "home" for the holidays.
* We have made friends here in Spokane that are now are "family."
* This year, my husband has snow tires, so I don't have to worry about him getting safely to and from work.
* The snow didn't start falling until the end of November - last year it started at the end of October.
* I've come to a peace agreement with my sewing machine and can actually put the darn thing to use.
* May kids get three meals a day - more than a lot of people in this world can say.
* Tyler says at least one thing a day that makes me laugh.

Wordless Wednesday: First Snow

See more Wordless Wednesday posts at 5 Minutes For Mom

Tackle It Tuesday: Catch All Room

Do you have one of those rooms in your house where you shove everything into it to hide it from visitors? This same place is usually where random peices to various games end up, one of your child's shoes, your spouses dirty underwear, and a plethora of other items. I certainly do! It's our master bedroom. It's one of our most neglected rooms. Pretty romantic, huh? It's a wonder we have two children.

Today I decided to tackle our "junk drawer" of a room. I can proudly say that 98% of the items are legitamate bedroom items and none of my childrens miscellaneous foreign objects are in there. Woo hoo! What a day!

Here are before and after pictures:

Neglected Blog & The Adventure Begins

So, it's been a month or longer since I last posted. This blog is so neglected. In my defense, I went on a mini-week-long-vacation & have had a heck of a time getting my body to be okay with this time change. Anyhow, I'm back and ready to start participating in the blog-o-sphere again.

As for the adventure, well, it's in home improvement. We recently moved the kids into one room. The are thrilled with having bunkbeds. To a 2 and 4 yr old it's like having a jungle gym and fort in their room. I'm thrilled because I got the bunk bed frame for $30 on craigslist - we already had the matresses! Since K is now in with T we are going to convert K's old room into an office/craftroom/guestroom.

Last night I started ripping up the carpet in the room knowing that the original hardwoods are still intact. So, far they aren't as awful as imagined they'd be. Of course, they aren't completely exposed yet either. Don't get me wrong, they will take work, but I don't think as much as I originally had anticipated. Here are some pictures of what I'm looking forward to:

That's all for now - hope you are all well,

Love, {Andrea}