Advent Day Nine

Daddy was home tonight and able to watch the commotion that we call "Craft Time". Afterwards, he encouraged me that even though Little Man doesn't seem to be paying attention he's getting it. He also said that he's glad that God gave him a patient woman as a wife. Wow! I wouldn't ever call myself patient but if my hubby says it, then I'm grateful he thinks so! :)

My hubby was a little concerned that the first lesson he overhears is about Gabriel coming to Joseph in a dream and telling him to marry Mary, that the child is from God. Little Man apparently chose this lesson to listen to because he didn't understand why Joseph wouldn't want to marry her, did he not like kids? So we ended up getting into why having kids before marriage was a big deal. Now I wonder what he's going to talk about in preschool tomorrow! We also discussed why Joseph was wearing a "dress", did he not like wearing pants? Ha! This kid is too much!

Anyway, here's "pantless Joseph":

(Sorry I can't figure out why they are turned)

If you would like to follow along (or to just check out the book for your family) click the link below (or to the right) to visit Amanda's website where you can download a copy for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

 Truth in the Tinsel.

Advent Day Seven

Mary's Magnificant: A Song of Celebration

When Gabriel came to her with news both shameful and wonderous, Mary chose faith. When she told her fiance, she prayed. When she met Elizabeth, she sang. And boy, did she sing! Long, loud and filled with faith in God. It was bittersweet for her too. She faced a once-in-eternity blessing from God and also the rejection of everyone else. But she didn't hesitate. Later, when she saw all that happened, she stored it in her heart.

This was a poignant message and an important truth to teach. Above all else, we are to look up and focus on God, not ourselves, and He will bring us through.

If you would like to follow along (or to just check out the book for your family) click the link below (or to the right) to visit Amanda's website where you can download a copy for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

 Truth in the Tinsel.

Advent Day Six

Now that I think I have a rhythm going I'm ready to post today's craft before noon! Yea!

Little man actually woke up this morning asking to do a craft! And thankfully, I was ready! (well, almost) I wanted to get a little ahead of the game and have paper dolls and outfits cut out with the Cricut (I have the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge and haven't used it yet) but he was a little too ready this morning. So instead of drinking my coffee and checking the news on my computer while he watched Mickey Mouse, I was searching for paper doll images on the web. I printed bodies out on cardstock and dresses on plain paper. He used his scissors to cut out the dresses and colored them in with crayons. I had him draw faces and hair on them (his cousin recently dyed her hair purple, hence the inspiration) and we taped thread to the backs to hang. I like how they turned out, a little big but once we get our big tree next weekend, it won't matter too much.

If you would like to follow along (or to just check out the book for your family) click the link below (or to the right) to visit Amanda's website where you can download a copy for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

 Truth in the Tinsel.

Advent Day Five

I know I have those clothespins around here somewhere....

Little man was ready to do the craft but I was searching for those clothespins I knew I bought. Ugh! So after a frantic search and a quick prayer for patience with myself, I gave up the quest and picked out what I did have on hand - popsicle sticks. He never realized the picture didn't match exactly and I shouldn't care either (can you say perfectionist?). He loves the result and I love that he sat for the story (told in my words, he's still grumpy if I try to read it out of the Bible) but at least he heard it. And remembered it. It probably helps that Little Miss is still young enough he can remember when I was pregnant (and so were two of my cousins) so this part of the story resonates with him.

If you would like to follow along (or to just check out the book for your family) click the link below (or to the right) to visit Amanda's website where you can download a copy for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

 Truth in the Tinsel.

Advent Day Two

So after learning that glitter glue DOES NOT dry overnight, I am finally ready to reveal our Day Two craft (only 3 days late...):

I modified the craft a bit to avoid the drying time associated with paint (I know, lesson learned) and had little man decorate a cutout of the crown on construction paper then once dry, we glued it to the toilet paper roll and trimmed as needed. His favorite tool right now is the hole punch and he's loving getting to punch everything and make the little confetti. I'm looking ahead in the crafts to see where we can use those little scraps ( 'cause I'm getting tired of vacuuming everyday!).

If you would like to follow along (or to just check out the book for your family) click the link below (or to the right) to visit Amanda's website where you can download a copy for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

 Truth in the Tinsel.

Advent Day Three

Today's craft focused on Zachariah, who in the story didn't believe what the angel Gabriel told him and so had to wait in silence until what the angel said came true.

Nate had fun with the glitter glue and cotton balls (our version of the instructions) and as a four-year-old can insist upon - only one eye.

He still won't sit still to listen to the reading but tonight he surprised me at bedtime by choosing two Christmas story books and said, so we can read about our friend Jesus. {tear!} I guess he is listening. And getting it. That's what this project is about and for me that's a win!

If you would like to follow along (or to just check out the book for your family) click the link below (or to the right) to visit Amanda's website where you can download a copy for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

 Truth in the Tinsel.

A Creative Delay

I apologize that I'm not quite ready for today's post - we've hit a creative delay. I didn't realize how long glitter glue would take to dry! But I promise that once it dries and everything is assembled, I will post the second day with Truth in the Tinsel. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post!

{Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out this post!}

Advent Day One

If you missed yesterday's post, I am trying to teach my 4 year old son the true meaning of Christmas. I am choosing to do Amanda White's "Truth in the Tinsel" ebook. I like it so far and my son was able to complete the craft but, unfortunately, I chose a hard-to-understand version of the Bible to read to him. I guess I'll be out looking for a kid-friendly version on my errands today! After we made it through the story (to stop for every "shalt" and "wilt" to explain what "shalt" and "wilt" mean) we moved on to making the ornament. The first ornament is a light catcher in the outline of a candle to represent Jesus as the Light in the darkness.

If you would like to follow along (or to just check out the book for your family) click the link below (or to the right) to visit Amanda's website where you can download a copy for yourself.

Merry Christmas!

Truth in the Tinsel.

Putting Christ back into Christmas

As we've been approaching the Christmas season, we've been talking as a family about the real reason for the season and trying to move the focus (even just a little bit) off the presents and back on to Christ's birthday. As I've been planning our advent calendar for this year (check out this post from last year) I was agonizing over how to make the activities more centered on Christ and less on the "fluff" of the holiday when my MOPS group discussed the e-book "Truth in the Tinsel" written by Amanda White. Once home I ravaged her website, Facebook page, Pinterest account, etc and finally felt a peace about how to teach "Christmas" to my son. I bought the book (a simple pdf) and ornaments template and got to work.

The focus of the book is to teach the Christmas story to little ones through reading and a fun craft each day. Each craft will make an ornament that focuses on a different aspect of the story - and the kids decorate your Christmas tree without having to buy all those expensive ornaments! (We're doing a real tree this year for the first time and I was worried how I would afford to decorate a much larger tree so this is a double win for me!)

We'll be making the ornaments each day and posting our completed projects here. If you want to follow along, check out Amanda's book "Truth in the Tinsel" and get your own copy (use the link on the right so I get credit for referring you). The crafts are simple and can be done with what you have on hand already. Even if you don't start right on December 1st, you can still pick up and join in on the fun.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is a day to celebrate all that we are blessed with and to give thanks to the One who gave it to us. Even when times are tough, there is much to be thankful for. I pray continued blessings to you and your family.

Here is a quick craft I did with my son and his cousins this week for them to hand out to friends.

I used CTMH Kraft paper, cut to 4" x 4" squares, cocoa cardstock cut with the 2" scallop punch and cocoa, cranberry, honey, sunset & olive inks.

I had each of the kids use their thumbs in the cocoa ink to make a thumb print on the cocoa scallop then had them use each finger in the remaining colors to make the "feathers" before adhering the scallop circle. Using CTMH's new chalk marker, they made two eyes on the thumbprint and drew two feet with the Honey marker (retired). Each card took less then two minutes and the kids were able to complete a whole line of them with little help. And did they like getting messy! I should have taken pictures but I was following them quickly to the bathroom to wash hands! But not to worry, since CTMH's inks are waterbased, they are very easy to clean up. I used our stamp cleaner on the furniture where I saw multi-colored finger prints and it came right up. I stamped the sentiment at the top of each card and they wrote their names on the back.

Happy Thanksgiving!