Easter videos

Hi Friends - hope you are all having a great Easter weekend.  Here are two videos that have prepared my heart this week to celebrate big the message of Easter - the message of hope and new life.  Happy Easter!

Be sure to watch this one through all the way to the end...

More than 2,000 people from Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, 

My Journey Toward Becoming Green

My last 7 years or so have been the start of a new and exciting journey for me.  A journey of becoming more and more 'green'.  I still have a ways to go, but this learning curve for me has been fascinating.  I love the way I am being stretched.  I'm learning that I can't profess to love God and not care about His creation.  The two go hand in hand.  The truth is I really want to become a better caretaker of this earth.

In addition to the obvious - recycling, green bin, drive less, use reusable bags, reduce water, no plastic bottles and so on....

Here are a few 'green' products that I absolutely love:

1.  Aveda.   As I have mentioned before, I go to an Aveda salon and love Aveda hair products.  They are environmental, organic and smell amazing!  Aveda.com

2.  Diva Cup.   I have been using the Diva Cup for just over 5 years (huge thanks to my sister, who bought it for me one year as a birthday gift!).  It is a menstrual alternative to tampons and pads.  It is easy to use.  Saves a ton of money.  Keeps waste out of the landfills.  Totally game changing.  Wish I knew about it decades ago.  Check out www.divacup.com

3.  Shaklee.  Every month I order my cleaning products, vitamins and skin care through Shaklee.  For sure, Shaklee is not the only great company out there, but it is the one I use the most and love.  Check out shaklee.ca

4.  MAC make up.  I have been using and loving these Canadian cosmetic products since my early 20's.  Long before it was the trendy thing to do.  I love all of their make up, but their lipstick is out of this world!  Check out maccosmetics.com

5.  Milk Bags.  Okay, so obviously milk bags are not a 'company', but I had to add them to my list!  For the last year and a half, instead of buying ziplock bags and cling wrap, I have been cutting the tops off my milk bags, washing them and reusing them for all kinds of things.  Things like:
school lunch snacks
freezing meat
freezing fruit
storing cheese in my refrigerator
and so on...
*I even bought some cute little plastic colourful clips at IKEA and use them to seal my bags and then keep using them again and again :)


I'd love to learn from some of you.  What are some ways you are 'green'?  What are some 'green' products that you love?

p.s.  A super resourceful website is gilldeacon.ca.  You'll especially want to check out her Wallet Tip Sheet as well as Gill's10 Top Ten List of easy tips and tricks.

p.s.s.  Some of you may be surprised to know this about me, but I am also a big fan and advocate for natural family planning as a method of birth control.  While I am no longer in a season of life where I 'use' this method, I loved it for the 12 years that I did.  Even though I never thought about it at the time, now looking back, I realize it was pretty 'green' :)

Embracing a new season

Last week we were in Florida and for whatever reason, I keep noticing babies everywhere I went.  At the airport.  At the pool.  In strollers.  And so on.  And then I'd get teary.  And feel all emotional.  And then I find myself longing for and reminising about those days.  I find myself wanting to go up to these Mom's that I have never met and tell them to treasure the season they are in.  I wanted to say, "I know it's hard and it's exhausting.  I know you get hardly any sleep and your hair is in a pony tail.  But to me, you are the picture of beauty.  I wish I was in your shoes".  I never thought I would say this - but I miss those days.  A lot.  Everyone told me those years would go by fast, but I didn't believe them.

I'm one of those people who loved the infant stage.  I mean, I know it was hard and all that.  But I loved pregnancy and breastfeeding and felt a peace like I had never known before when my girls were babies.  A sense of simplicity, of quietness, of slowing down and contentment.  I loved the co-sleeping and hated being away from my baby girls.  I know, sounds crazy - but I felt like I was born for it.  In some ways, being the oldest of 5 kids - it came to me naturally.  One of the main reasons that I spaced my girls out as much as I did is because I loved the baby stage.  I  wanted to make it last as long as possible.

Last week I realized that I am definitely out of that stage.  No more strollers.  Or diapers.  Or baby food.  No more diaper bags.  Or jolly jumpers. * Sigh*

I've been in denial - but last week it hit me.  I am in a new season.  When I see pregnant women and Mom's with babies and toddlers - I am not them.  In fact, I have less and less in common with them.  I am now a Mom with a soon to be school aged girl and two tweens.  Two of my three girls can go to public restrooms by themselves and our dinner time conversations revolve around Taylor Swift, Hannah Montana and Shake it up.  Yikes!  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was with pregnant with these girls?

I guess I am grieving that loss.  And at the same time, embracing my new reality.

As much as I miss and even long for at times those early years with my girls, I am choosing to fully embrace this new season God has for me with both hands.  It doesn't come to me as naturally and clearly, I am in over my head.  I am daily humbled and dependant on God.  Wanting to be fully engaged.  I know that my girls need me just as much now, maybe even more than ever.

Off to a good start

It's Tuesday and here in Florida, our week is off to a good start!

Theme words for the week (so far) include:

sun

swimming

big sunglasses

relaxing

To be continued...

Beth at her Best

How would I describe my 3 1/2 year old?

  

silly

creative

energetic

spunky

girly

exhausted

Storm Hair Group

I know there are tons of great salon's out there, but I need to brag for a minute about the hair salon that I go to.  It's called Storm Hair Group.  It's a really fantastic Aveda concept salon and spa.  They have three locations in Niagara. I attend the Fonthill location for my hair and the Lake Street location for my esthetics:)

Anyways, I am a big fan of Storm for so many reasons.  They have fantastic customer service, great staff, a focus on social justice, give back to their community and their products are chemical free.  I so love the way this company cares about the environment.  The fact that a hair cut and style includes a head, neck and shoulder massage and a hair wash includes a scalp massage and hot towel is pure heaven.  Honestly, I try to make up reasons to get my hair done!

Anyways, Storm has always used Aveda products (which I love) and recently has come out with their own line of products:

I recently tried the Intense Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner and loved them!  The lavender scent is divine.  I also found out that they are made in Canada.  Can I tell you how happy that makes me? 

I couldn't help but share.  Check out their website at stormhairgroup.com

Spring is in the Air

It's Monday morning after the March Break.  All three girls are off to school.  Grace and Eva are off to 'real school' and Beth is off to 'nursery school'.  The house is q-u-i-e-t.  And it's a beautiful thing.  I just realized that yesterday was the first day of spring.  You have no idea how happy that makes me.  Spring is my favourite season.  It's my favourite for so many reasons.

Steve and I started dating in the springtime.  We planned a wedding and were married in the spring.  All of my pregnancies included the springtime.  My favourite flowers are tulips.  As an aside, tulips always remind me of the spring that I spent in Schladming, Austria when I was 21.  That's where I first discovered my love for tulips.  More than tulips, it was a season that marked me and will stay with me forever.  Tulips remind me of that.

I love the anticipation of spring too.  The hope and the promise that it brings. The arrival of new life.  Life after death.  Spring after a long, harsh and cold winter.  As much a I would love to live in a climate where it is warm all year round, there is something about coming through winter that allows one to anticipate, appreciate and yearn for spring.  When everything is dull and grey and lifeless, the thought of spring brings promise and hope.

Here are a few more reasons I love spring:

 - Tulips and fresh flowers in general.

 - Flipflops and sandals

 - My anniversary

 - Running - I am so ready to get out in the fresh air and beat this body into shape!

 - Local fruit.  Need I say more?  In our family, berry picking is a recreational activity:)

Can I also just say that the spring fashion out this year is amazing?  I am itching to do some shopping.  The styles and the colours out this year are amazing.  Is anyone else with me on this one?

This March Break, I'm Thankful For...

Shamrocks

Watching Bethie play with her little people

Catching up with friends

Kids having sleepovers

St. Patrick's Day Themed Dinner Party
(although never again will I attempt to make 'Champ'!)

Family fun night in Waterloo

Windows open

Good hair days

Kids happily playing outside

Learning vulnerability and courage

Kids sleeping in

Gradually being freed from perfectionism

Cousin time

Breakfast at Cora's

My Mom's homemade Soda Bread

Life giving friendships

Size 4 Skinny Jeans

Kids with great imaginations.  Eva was disguising herself, so that Beth wouldn't "bug" her. Never a dull moment around here :)

A God, who is good.  Even when life is hard.  A God, who is worthy of my trust.  A God, who is for me and not against me.

What's Your Story?

Have any of you read Donald Miller's latest book 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years'?  It is a fantastic book! One of my all time favourites.  If you're looking for a challenging and inspiring book to read, you'll want to pick this one up.  This little clip gives you a taste of what the book is like. It just got released today into paperback :)

I Couldn't Resist

Once a week Beth goes to Story Hour at our Local Library with her friend Carter.  Last week, one of the Librarians took this photo of my girl and posted it on the home page of the Library Website.  I couldn't resist sharing it here.  It totally captures her imagination and personality.  There is rarely a dull moment with Bethie around and I wouldn't want it any other way :-)

Meals on Wheels

I'm always looking for ideas as to how to simplify life.

At the beginning of last year, my lovely friend Tracey (who leads the Mom's group I attend every week) was telling us about her friend out west who has 3 friends on her street and between the four of them they take turns cooking for each other. The idea was that on Monday night one girl would make 4 meals, on Tuesday night another girl would make 4 meals and so on. It meant that you cooked one night and then had meals brought to you for 3 nights each week.

I loved the idea and mentioned it to my friend Alison, who lives around the corner from me.  We immediately thought it was a fantastic idea and decided to give it a try between the two of us. So on Tuesday nights Alison brings my family dinner and on Wednesday nights I bring her family dinner.  We intentionally chose nights that each other would benefit most from receiving dinner.  We also talked about what each of our family likes and doesn't like and we agreed to be completely honest with each other.  In other words, if a meal is a big hit, we tell each other and if it wasn't then we tell each other that too.

We decided to try it for a month and we have never looked back!  It's almost been a year that we've been doing this.  We have both found that this really simple, non-rocket science idea is completely game changing.

 Here's what else I have found - it doesn't take any more work to double what you are making for dinner.  I would never have thought so, but it's so true!  And can I just say that Tuesdays are my favourite day of the week?  It's so relaxing during the day knowing that I don't have to think about making dinner :-)

Here's what my dinner table looked like after we received and ate a delicious meal from Alison!

As a Mom, I want to get better at living life in community.  It's so easy to live in isolation and loneliness.    The truth is that we need each other and we can't do this journey of parenting alone.  It's hard stuff!  Wouldn't it be awesome if we were each other's biggest cheerleaders and advocates?

There are so many great ways that we can support and bless one another and swapping meals is at the top of my list these days.  Now if only we could find 2 more neighbours to participate...

What are some ways that you depend on your female friends?

CJ

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

I'm always in search of new recipes.  Here's a slow cooker soup I made last night and I couldn't resist sharing it.  It's so easy - you just throw everything together in the crock pot.  Perfect for a cold, winter day!  And it tastes fantastic.  We grated a big bowl of cheese, topped our soup with it and it was delish!


Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup   
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 8-9 hours

This Makes Extra!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 10-ounce packages frozen corn
1 white onion , chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
7 cups chicken broth
2 10-ounce cans Rotel tomatoes with chilies, undrained
1 teaspoon coarse salt
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
8 6-inch corn tortillas
2 tablespoons canola oil

[1] Combine the chicken breast cubes, corn, onion, garlic, broth, diced tomatoes, salt, cumin and chili powder, ground pepper and bay leaf in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours. Remove and discard bay leaf.

[2] Cut tortillas into 1-inch strips. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tortilla strips and cook, turning once, until brown on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

[3] Serve topped with tortilla chips.   Or you can just buy tortilla chips if you want to keep it simple :-)

p.s.  this is a recipe from relishrelish.com

the writing fast is over!

Well friends, I'm back!

The writing fast is officially over.  Thanks for your patience with me.  The last 30 days have been crazy.  I've been busy with the madness of Christmas holidays and very sick.  The good news (actually great news) is that it is a new year and I am once again healthy (I'll write more about that in the days to come)...

I love new beginnings and I have been dreaming big for 2011.  I have lots to share....so stay tuned :-)

p.s.  I'm reading the Happiness Project and LOVING it!  Can't wait to share my thoughts and goals....

talk soon,

CJ

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Santa's helper

putting the angel on the top of the tree

the arrival of the long awaited "tablet"

the stockings were hung

Beth is warming up to Santa

time to decorate the gingerbread houses

finished products (with the help of a glue gun...touchy subject...don't ask.)

Photo of the Day

On January 1st of this year, I purchased a kit and started a scrapbooking project called Project Life.  Project Life is designed by Becky Higgins and it's a really cool way to capture your memories in a format that is simple and easy to use. The idea is that you take a photo each day and then write a sentence or two about it.  The end result is a professionally-designed book.  Project Life is the simplest form of scrapbooking around.  As you know, I like simplicy, so I was all over this idea when I heard about it.

I really love it.  I love the challenge of taking a photo each day.  I won't lie - some days are easy ( like birthdays, holidays, special events) and other days, I'm taking a photo of my kettle of the new lipstick that I just purchased.  But that's what I love about Project Life.  It captures the every day stuff.  I think I'll love the finished product even more, especially in a few years from now when I look back at the year 2010 and remember what the inside of my closet looked like, some of the meals I made and how cute my kids looked.  Project Life has helped me to celebrate the ordinary and the extra ordinary.  It has helped me realize that every day is sacred and that life is meant to be lived in the moment. It's slowed me down. These are lessons I've needed to learn and will likely need to keep learning.
It's also given me a chance to develop my photography skills.  I carry my camera with me a lot these days :-)

Here are a few of my favourite "photos of the day"

I couldn't find it on the Canadian Amazon site, but I was able to find it at amazon.com.  Here's a link to it if you want to find out more.  Because today is Black Friday, it's just been reduced from $49.99 to $29.99.  I'm tempted to pick up another one for myself...
It would make a great Christmas gift for someone too :-)

or you can check out Becky Higgins website at beckyhiggins.com where you can also see the new stuff that she has designed for 2011.

Happy Birthday to my favourite nine year old!

Here are nine reasons why I love being Eva's Mom.  I need to warn you that for a moment I am going to shamelessly brag about my girl :-)

1.  She wakes up happy every day.  Always has.
2.  She is super affectionate and expressive
3.  She is a peace maker.
4.  She is funny.  Really funny.
5.  She can make friends with anyone.  Quickly.
6.  She is super cute when she is sleeping, especially with those long eye lashes and all.
7.  She is extremely generous.  She loves to give.
8.  She wears her heart on her sleeve.  I always know what she is thinking and how she feels.
9.  She sings like an angel.


She is also super creative and has such a freedom about her that I admire....a freedom to be who God made her to be. Her name, Eva means "gift of life" or "life giving".  We had no idea when we chose her name just how fitting it would be for her.

I can't believe Eva is nine today!   It honestly feels like yesterday she was born.

Here's some of my favourite photos from the last few months that capture her "spirit"

at the beach - why just build sand castles, when you can go underground?

Great attitude about her eye surgery in September 2010

This girl loves being outdoors and loves getting dirty!

It's way more fun to read a book when you are dressed up as Jasmine

she loves her Archie comics

"Weblina"
Hallowe'en 2010

Happy Birthday, girl!  We are crazy about you :-)

Monthly Dinner Parties

While reading Bittersweet this summer, Steve and I got on the topic of dinner parties.  If you have read anything by Shauna Niequist, you know that she loves getting people and food together as much as possible.  We began talking about all of the people we say we want to have over for dinner and never do anything about it.  We decided no more "someday".  We wrote a list of all of the people that we want to have over for dinner in the next year.  As we began to talk about it, I recognized that I have 8 seats around my dining room table, china for 8, 8 wine glasses and so on......so let's invite six people over for a meal once a month.  As I casually ran the idea past Steve, to say that he loved it would be an understatement. He is a strong extravert and would love to have friends over each weekend, all weekend. So from there, we put a list together of all of the people we would love to have over in the next 5-6 months and arranged them into groups - our criteria being that we wanted to stimulate great dialogue.  Typically we don't allow our worlds to collide much - so to combine family and friends and different groups of friends is a bit outside the box for us. But we're learning to take risks.  Our theory is that when you combine great food (hopefully!), wine and fantastic people around a table, what can go wrong?

The great thing about this is that you only have to make one large meal and you only have to get your house all tidy once.  I'm loving the simplicity aspect!

I still host life group and coffee dates and family dinners - but only one big hosting event a month and I never thought I would - but here's the thing...I love it.  I love the menu planning and using my china and going all out and experimenting with new recipes.  It's been really life giving for me.

We started in October and this past Saturday we had our "November Dinner Party".

So, here's the recap for this past Saturday...
Everyone came over for dinner at 7 p.m.  Beth was just falling asleep and I bribed my older girls with the Ramona and Beezus movie and a bowl full of popcorn and they were happy for the night :-)

I put on some Christmas Music and lit my candles and off we went.  This month we had Leah, Craig, Kelly, Chris, Becky and Jeff over.

For appetizers I made:
-cherry tomatoes wrapped in fresh basil plus ripe mozzerella balls placed on skewers and then I drizzled fig balsamic vinegar on them.  Simple and really yummy.
-Brie covered with pecans, brown sugar and brandy - all wrapped up in pastry and baked at 350 degrees - yummy and I served it with a fresh bagette sliced up.


I took these photos right before everyone arrived and left my camera out to take more more photos as the night went on, but got so caught up in the moment and was having so much fun that I totally forgot to take photos.  Whoops!

The dinner turned out great.  I'm a bit strange in the sense that I love to try new recipes when having friends over.  I love the menu planning aspect and here's what I came up with for November.  Fortunately for me, everything turned out awesome. This was the first time I ever roasted beets and they were delish.

PEPPERCORN ROAST BEEF WITH BALSAMIC BEETS
HOLIDAY FOOD AND WINE 2009
By: Julia Aitken
As with all roasts, remove the beef from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking. Crack the peppercorns either by grinding them in a pepper grinder set to the coarsest setting, or by crushing them with the base of a cast-iron skillet.

8 medium beets, trimmed and peeled,
about 1½ lb (750 g)
3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
2 tbsp (25 mL) finely chopped fresh
rosemary leaves
2¼ tsp (11 mL) salt
2 red onions, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm)
wedges
8 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tbsp (45 mL) cracked black peppercorns
1 beef tenderloin, about 3 lbs (1.5 kg)
2 tbsp (25 mL) good-quality balsamic
vinegar
Rosemary sprigs for garnish


1. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

2. Cut beets into 1-inch (2.5-cm) wedges. In a large shallow roasting pan, toss together beets, 2 tbsp (25 mL) oil, rosemary and ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt; spread beets out in roasting pan. Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring once.


3. Add onions and garlic to roasting pan; stir to combine with beets, breaking up onion wedges as you stir. Roast for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, stir together peppercorns and remaining salt in a small bowl. On work surface, lay a piece of plastic wrap large enough to enclose beef; sprinkle with half of peppercorn mixture. Rub beef all over with remaining oil. Lay beef on peppercorn mixture on plastic wrap; sprinkle evenly with remaining peppercorn mixture. Wrap beef in plastic wrap, pressing so that peppercorns and salt adhere evenly to meat. Unwrap beef; transfer carefully to a wire rack.

5. Stir vegetables. Set rack holding beef in roasting pan containing vegetables; roast for 25 to 30 minutes for rare (125°F/52°C on a meat thermometer), 30 to 35 minutes for medium-rare (135°F/57°C on a meat thermometer).

6. Remove beef to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil and let stand for 15 minutes. Stir balsamic vinegar into vegetables; season with more salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Spoon vegetables onto a warm serving platter. Cut beef into slices; arrange on top of vegetables. Garnish with rosemary ( I forgot to do this part!)




Roasted Potatoes with Bacon, Onions, and Sage
Bon Appétit  | November 2009
by Josie Le Balch
1 pound thick-cut bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips
5 pounds assorted baby potatoes (such as red-skinned, white-skinned, and Dutch yellow), rinsed, dried, halved
2 large red onions, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3/4 cup 1/3-inch pieces torn fresh sage leaves (from about 2 bunches), divided
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
Coarse kosher salt



Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp and golden. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve 4 tablespoons drippings from skillet.

Combine potatoes, onions, 1/2 cup torn sage leaves, melted butter, and reserved 4 tablespoons bacon drippings in very large bowl. Sprinkle generously with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat. Spread potato mixture evenly on 18x12x1-inch baking sheet. Roast 1 hour, stirring occasionally. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand on baking sheet at room temperature.

Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Stir bacon into potato mixture and continue to roast until potatoes are tender and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer mixture to large serving bowl. Season to taste with more coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with remaining torn sage leaves and serve.

I also put out some fresh bread and lots of butter.

For dessert, Becky made a white and dark chocolate mousse/pie and it was divine.  Maybe I'll see if she'll share her recipe.  She makes the best chocolate desserts :-)

Not that we needed help with great conversation because we clearly did not..it was a lively and fun crowd..but we did play this game that my friend Christa introduced me to last month and it was super fun.  Easy to learn and easy to play.

Want to hear the spectacular thing? My husband, who is the king of the budget - is so excited about these monthly dinner parties -that he lets me blow the budget.  If you know him, you know that this is no small thing!   And on top of it all, he does all of the dishes after everyone leaves.  Seriously, this is win - win.  We'll see where things land in the next 6 - 12 months, but for now I'm sold on the idea.

Homemade Christmas

Last Christmas my sister Leah suggested that instead of purchasing gifts, we all make homemade gifts for each other.  We all agreed - well all of us except our parents.  I know that I was willing to participate, but if I'm honest, I had fairly low expectations.

WOW - was I ever blown away?  Last Christmas was full of so much laughter and surprise.  It was definitely our family's favourite Christmas.  Ever.
My parents were so sorry they didn't participate and have already started their homemade gifts for this year!  As for this year, I can't write about what I am making, but I will blog about it after Christmas:-)

Last year, I gave everyone local canned peaches (that I had made in the summer) and homemade chocolate truffles, all boxed up nicely :-)

Leah and Craig  put together family cookbooks for everyone.  This was a gift we all knew about, so we all had a chance to submit our favourite recipes.  The only thing we didn't know was how fantastic it would turn out!  They did an amazing job putting together the cookbook, complete with personal thoughts and photos!

Lauren beaded the girls all necklaces and gave each of the guys personalized t-shirts. Her and Nat bought the t-shirts and then either stitched a cool design on it or ironed on a personalized logo.  Super thoughtful.

Dave and Kristal made something different for each of us.  A birdfeeder for my family, an outdoor stand-up ash tray for Leah and Craig ( they are not smokers, but entertain a lot and have friends who do smoke), a Christmas tree stand for Lauren and Nat and a personalized "Gran and Granda" sign for my parents house.  I think Drew received money, being the student and all...

Drew was the wild card.  Last Christmas Drew was just finishing up his first semester of his second year at University.  He literally came home for Christmas after his last exam on the 23rd.  I think we all kind of assumed that Drew would make his famous "tablet" for everyone, which we were great with. Tablet is a british candy - kind of like fudge...made with condensed milk, sugar and vanilla.  It sounds easy to make, but it's trickier than it sounds.  The key to fabulous tablet is all in the boiling - knowing how long and how hard to boil it for.  This is a family recipe that my Granny Harper used to make and  Drew has continued the tradition.

In case you are wondering, Drew still did make tablet and I received a tin of it on my birthday just before Christmas.  Drew has started a bit of a tradition and each year he makes me a tin of tablet for my birthday. It's pure gold.  I'm already looking forward to my upcoming birthday :-)

Anyways, Drew totally surprised us and between the time he came home on the evening of December 23rd and the afternoon of December 26th when we exchanged gifts - Drew knit us all hats.  All different colours.  19 in total.  Unbelievable.

Here are some photos:

peaches

Leah

Dave

Steve and Drew

Eva

In addition to making my parents a family cookbook, Leah also put together a book for my Dad which was full of all his favourite sayings.

Even my girls got into it.  Grace made all of the females embroirdered pin cushions and all of the males crocheted dish clothes ( gotta love a modern girl!).  I had no idea what Grace had even made everyone, because she made them all one weekend at Gran's house and even wrapped them before she came home.  Eva painted every family a small painting on a canvas.  Super cute.

I'd love to hear from you...
Are you making homemade gifts this holiday season?  What types of gifts have you made in the past and what are some home made gifts you have received?  What went well and what didn't?

If you want to give homemade gifts, but don't have the time,  check out Hand Made Market.  It's happening in Niagara on the 27th and 28th of November and is fabulous.  Some of my friends are the organizers and this is their second year.  It's pretty fantastic.
handmademarket.ca

This year I am making homemade gifts for as many people as possible.  I figure it's super thoughtful and way easier on my budget.  These days I am trying to simplify in every area of my life and this seems like a good way to be creative and simplify at the same time.

There are so many cool things you can make.  Here are some that I have been thinking about and considering for the years to come:

- fudge
- knitting mittens, hats and/or scarves
- homemade chocolates
- homemade flower arrangements
- jam, jellies, preserves
- knitting slippers
- homemade greeting cards all boxed up as a gift
- jewlery
- a homemade quilt
- wine
- gift certificates for babysitting, delivery of cookies each month, meals etc
- a personalized scrapbook


In addition to making gifts, I've also been thinking how I can combine the gift of giving with making a difference in the world.  Here are some cool ideas I have come across:

- kiva gift cards Kiva.org
- fair trade jewlery, coffee, chocolate, ornaments, scarves and more from 10 000 Villages ( you can even order on line at www.tenthousandvillages.com)
- purchase a pair of shoes from www.tomsshoes.ca and a second pair is given to a child in a third world    country.  I just found out that you can also purchase Toms gift cards.  Super cool.
- purchase an item from the World Vision Catalogue on behalf of someone www.worldvision.ca/gifts
- It's not on the website yet, but  at Southridge, you can also purchase a gift on behalf of someone - a backpack for a child in Guatemala, a year's tuition for a child in Africa or a care package for a resident at the homeless shelter.

Oh and there are some great ideas for creative, homemade, eco-friendly and budget-friendly wrapping ( from the Simple Mom blog): at www.simplemom.net - just click on the "green and frugal" link.

There are so many great ideas out there and I love that Christmas awakens in each of us a spirit of generosity!  Happy giving!