Nativity Advent Calendar

I've received a few emails asking about my nativity advent lately, so I thought I'd repost some information. If you are interested in making a felt nativity advent calendar, now is a good time to start. It is rather time consuming, but so worth the effort. This is still my kids' favorite Christmas tradition, and I am always surprised that they remember who's turn it is to put the first piece up every year.

The figures: I made my figures out of a high quality wool felt. It is more durable and easier to work with than a less expensive craft felt. The entire collection requires such a small amount of fabric, that I was willing to pay a higher price per yard. Each little piece has a magnet affixed to the back. This allows them to stick to the magnetic background and can be moved around to change the scene. I hand stitched mine together using coordinating embroidery thread, but if that's not your thing, I'm sure fabric glue would do the trick. I didn't use a pattern (felt is very forgiving that way), but a reader of my blog, Jessica, made templates based on my design that can be found here.

I made 25 pieces, so there is one to put up every day until Christmas morning. Baby Jesus is always the final piece. I keep them in small brown paper mache boxes (from the craft store, you can see them in an old post I linked to down below) that are numbered one to 25. Each morning it's like opening a little present. Oh, it is fun!

The background: I attached two metal shingles (found at the Home Depot for a few dollars) to the backing of my frame. Then I mod-podged craft paper over the top to create the sky, grass, and stable. I wanted a very simple, almost folk look. I put a layer of mod podge over the top, and several years later, it is still in great condition.

Happy crafting!

Other posts about my nativity, including some close-ups, here and here.

happy weekend

Stella is losing teeth left and right. That's what happens when you are almost 7, I guess. She wrote the funniest little note for the tooth fairy the other night, asking for something besides money. Bracelets or rings or cool rocks, she said. The tooth fairy only had money on hand that first night, so it was a pretty disappointing morning. After a trip to the store, however, the next night was a success.

And now here's the part where I complain about the weather: I don't know about you, but if cooler weather doesn't come soon, I am giving up. Giving up! On everything! And by 'cooler' I mean not-100 degrees, so it's not like I'm even asking for much. Give me the high 80s, for heaven's sake! (Actually, it's supposed to be rainy and 90 tomorrow so I'll stop complaining. Until next week when it's too hot again.)

If you need me today I will be sitting in front of a fan, drinking ice water, imagining wide open windows, crisp breezes and chilly mornings, just like I have been for the past 4 months.

Have a good weekend!

p.s. My kids loved the Parent Trap! It is such a classic. Keeping with the Haley Mills theme, I've just requested Pollyanna from the library. Can't wait!

pumpkin gingerbread waffles

It's the first day of fall! Hooray! It might still be 100 degrees here in the desert, but that doesn't mean we can't eat pumpkin waffles and pretend that we are chilly.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Waffles

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup pumpkin
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup melted butter (or coconut oil)
1 egg
3 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl with a whisk. Add the wet ingredients and combine. Cook on a preheated waffle iron until nice and crisp. I put my waffle iron on almost the highest setting. I think pumpkin makes things cook slower, so if you want them crisp, they almost need to be overcooked.

Serve with spiced whipped cream or good old maple syrup (and lots of butter, of course).

This recipe makes 4 or 5 belgian waffles.

happy weekend

I don't know why I feel like I need to take a picture of Elliot every time he takes a nap, but I do. My instagram is full of them. These pictures bring me a lot of joy. They help me remember that he is still small, and that this time is fleeting. Next year, he'll be a big kindergartner, going to school all day long. I am trying to appreciate this last, slow year that we have together. Most days I try to lay down with him. And when I do, it always ends up being the highlight of my day.

Big news: there are no 100 degree days on our forecast! It is so strange to me that the upper 90s mean fall. I literally sigh with relief when the high is only (only!) going to be 97. Oh well, take what you can get, right?

I'm forcing my kids to watch the original Parent Trap tonight. What do you have planned?

Have a good weekend!

knitting revelations

Yesterday was rainy and dark. It was begging for pumpkin bread and a knitting project. So I threw some loaves in the oven and looked through my basket of yarn. I hadn't picked up my knitting needles in years. It was so fun! But here's the best part: as I sat on the couch, knitting away, it was as if my family was compelled to sit with me and talk. One by one, they made their way into the room to tell me about their day. All I had to do was listen. I wasn't focused on a book, or my phone. My hands were busy, but my mind was open, and they must have sensed that difference. It was wonderful. I need to remember this in the future.

Plus, there is just something so satisfying about taking a tangle of yarn and turning it into perfectly ordered rows.

I'm thinking of attempting a sweater next.

The Family, A Proclamation to the World

A few months ago, Mike made this extra large print of The Family, A Proclamation to the World for me. (I talked about it here.) It measures 16x20 inches, and is simple, clear, and easy to read. I love it.

If you'd like a copy for your family, Mike has made them available to download for a small fee. It can be printed in your home or at your favorite printing shop (or Costco), up to 20x24 inches. More details and info here.

It's hard to illustrate the large scale of the print, but I think this grainy action shot does a better job:

happy weekend

The other night, we finished the always hectic homework/dinner/bath/bedtime routine with a little time to spare. I love when that happens. One of my greatest pleasures is reading in bed, and I love when my children are able to do that, too. Stella is discovering chapter books and it makes my heart happy for her.

Any fun plans this weekend? I think yard work might be on our agenda. And maybe ice cream. So I guess that makes the yard work ok.

I hope the morning air is crisp and the leaves are starting to turn wherever you are! Have a good weekend.

my sister's birth story

My little sister, Julianne, had her birth story featured on Design Mom yesterday. It is definitely worth a read. I am so proud of the work she is doing in the world. Good job, Jooj!

Good Pictures Bad Pictures

I don't claim to be an expert in parenting. I realize that my experience is very limited. My situation is unique, and what my family and I experience can be very different from what other families experience. But when I find something really great that works for our family, that is a solution to a problem that we (and others might) face, I can't help but pass it on.

Like you, maybe, I have wanted to talk to my children about the dangers of pornography for a long time, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. It can be such an uncomfortable subject. I was nervous. I didn't think they were ready. I didn't want to shatter their innocence by talking about something so yucky. The truth is, I was always able to come up with a hundred excuses to put it off a little longer.

On the recommendation of a friend, I purchased the book Good Pictures Bad Pictures. And then it sat under my bed for a few months, gathering dust. But on the heels of a really great Relief Society lesson last Sunday, I felt prompted to share it with my kids now. I couldn't put it off any longer. The risk is too great. Did you know that 100% of teenagers will be exposed to pornography by the time they are 18? 100%! It's actually not that shocking to me. Pornography is everywhere. On every newsstand, on many billboards, definitely all over the internet and so, so easily accessible. I believe that it is Satan's number one tool for destroying families these days. I wasn't willing to risk mine for one more minute.

So on Monday night, after we had fun at the park, we piled onto the couch and read Good Pictures Bad Pictures together as a family. And then we talked about it! And it wasn't awkward! Oh! I can't speak highly enough about this book. It explains pornogrpahy in a way that even my Stella could understand. It teaches about addiction, and how an addiction to pornography can change your brain and damage your ability to have meaningful relationships later in life. It tells kids about their "feeling brain" and their "thinking brain" and how those two brains work together to keep them safe. And it puts it all in such a way that they can understand and then act on what they have learned. One of my favorite parts is the plan of action it describes in case they are ever exposed to pornography. It teaches them to look away, to alert an adult, how to distract themselves from the memory of the harmful images, and how to put their "thinking brain" in charge so that they don't become susceptible to addiction.

Reading this book together started the conversation. It made it comfortable and easy. And now I feel confident to continue the conversation with my children, because it really is something that needs to be ongoing.

If this is something you are worried about, I can't recommend this book highly enough.


This talk by Sister Reeves, Protection from Pornography - A Christ-Focused Home, from our last General Conference and this article from the Ensign, Healing Hidden Wounds, are good references on the subject, too.

on a Monday

We woke up Monday morning to rain. Lots and lots of rain. So much rain that our street completely disappeared and waves lapped half way up our driveway. So much rain that the park behind our house (which doubles as a retention basin) became a lake. And when that happens on a Monday, well Family Home Evening becomes a lot more exciting, I'll tell you what.

happy birthday Oliver!

On our way to Ike's for Oliver's birthday dinner Saturday night, we went around the car telling him what we love most about him. There were lots of "he's funny" and "he plays with me." I said that I loved how obedient he is. Really, I only have to ask him to do something once and he will do it, usually without complaint.

Oliver is a good brother with a big, generous heart. He'd give you the shirt off his back and make you smile while he did it.

We love our Oliver!

happy weekend

Hooray for the weekend! I'm so glad it's here. A cold has been making its way around our house, and it has found me, so I am looking forward to not doing a thing this weekend. How about you?

Plus, it's supposed to rain. That makes us all very happy, but especially our Oliver, who is hoping for a storm tomorrow on his birthday. He'll be 10! I feel like he should have been 10 ages ago, such a smart, mature boy. I can't wait to wrap up his presents and celebrate with him.

Have a good one!

fall redecorating

Every fall, when the kids are back at school and the house is quiet, I wander room by room, notepad in hand, making a list of things that need a change - things that aren't working for our family anymore, things that need to be freshened or organized or purged. It might still be blazing hot outside, but the urge has struck and I can't ignore it. The first thing I tackled was our little office off of the kitchen.

Originally an old upright freezer sat in this spot. Then Mike built the desk and I did my sewing here. Then we switched my sewing machine for the computer. Now Mike works from home most of the time, so we moved the computer into my sewing room so that he can have some peace and quiet while he is working. This little desk was staring me in the face, begging for a job to do.

Meanwhile, our family room in the basement was feeling quite cramped. There was a small table in the corner for coloring and crafts, but my kids' legs were getting too long for that darling little table and it wasn't getting much use anymore. So I moved all of the art supplies upstairs into our bright office instead. Moving things that I already own to a new spot is my favorite kind of redecorating.

As soon as I finished, Elliot got right to work. Ideally Mabel and Oliver will do their homework here, but you know they'll end up at the kitchen table, papers and books spread over every inch of it instead, right? :)


painting by Beth Allen