All Is Full Of Love

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Winter Wonderland... In Alabama???

Yes. It actually snows in the south!

Last week we got about 6 inches of snow and it basically shut down the whole city. We were not the only ones incapacitated by this storm. Atlanta got it as well and with only 10 snow ploughs for the entire city it took a LONG time before roads were passable again.

The kids had a WEEK of snow days (even though that wasn't totally necessary). Keep in mind those snow days happened after they had already been out for 2 weeks for Christmas. Then they went back for 3 days, and then it was a weekend + 5 snow days + a 3 day weekend!

I thought is was beautiful!

Christmas Crafts

After almost 5 years of marriage, a new house, and a baby, this Christmas really got me wanting to do some homemaker-y things.

Here are the crafty things I did for Christmas:

I finished painting those salt dough ornaments...

I wanted the outside of our house to look cozy and festive so I put candles in all the windows and turned them on every night. I also decorated our mailbox and I made a wreath for the front door using scraps from a place nearby that sells Christmas trees this time of year. I even incorporated some greenery from the trees and shrubs surrounding our house.

By the way, the day I made these it was actually warm enough that I could do it outside on a card table I set up in my driveway. This way I didn't have to worry so much about making a mess with all the pine needles and Charlotte could enjoy running around.

I am carrying on the family tradition of making KrumKake (these little Norwegian "ice-cream cones"). I made about 12 plates and gave them out to neighbors, friends, and family.

I had a lot of felt leftover from the felt playhouse I made for Charlotte this year for her birthday so I decided to put some of it to good use as Christmas ornaments.

These are just 2 of the woven felt hearts I made. These are another traditional Christmas decoration you might find in Norwegian households. I made about 8 of these.

And this is how our family room looked all decked for Christmas!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Santa's Village

Tonight we decided to have some family fun at Santa's Village.

It is this darling, historic part of town that they set up special during Christmas. They have live reindeer, Santa's Workshop (where elves are making wooden toys), Mrs. Claus' kitchen (where you can decorate your own gingerbread cookie), a craft area where you can make your own ornament, Story Time with Mrs. Claus, a stage with dancers, and of course a photo op with the man himself - Santa Claus!

Riding Santa's Sleigh

Charlotte's most favorite part was being read to by Mrs. Claus. She eagerly sat on Mrs. Claus' lap was attentive to every word.

What you can't see in this picture is the crowd of 30 or so adults and children packed in the room to listen to the stories. For Charlotte, this made no matter, as far as she was concerned, Mrs. Claus was reading just for HER!

Charlotte even helped pick out one of the books.

Even when she was supposed to be sitting with us, Charlotte had to walk right up to Mrs. Claus to get a better look. And there she stayed, fully captivated.

Afterwards, Mrs. Claus said to Daniel, "You can always tell the children who are read to... and the ones who aren't... Your daughter clearly loves to read!" Well, what would you expect from a girl, who when she spoke her first word, said, "Book!"

***

After such a memorable visit with Mrs. Claus we decided to forgo waiting in the long line outside in the cold, promising that we will stop by and see Santa another time.

Decorating the gingerbread cookie with Daddy.

SNOW!

(although it DOES snow in AL, this was man-made... )

STILL it was fun to see Charlotte's excitement and scrunched up nose as the snowflakes landed on her nose and eyelashes!

Gingerbread Houses

Last weekend we made gingerbread houses.

We let Charlotte stay up past her bedtime to help.

Our friends, Jeremiah and Nicole, made one too - Jeremiah wants you to notice the "tire swing" made out of a LifeSaver and Twizzler Pull-N-Peel... good work!