Making Christmas Merry!

Here is a rundown of the events and activities of our family during the last week. Man, has it been busy! Oh, and this post is lovingly dedicated to Pamela~ ;o)

Merry Christmas from the Basham Family!!

Below are the photos of our December ladies fellowship. We met at the Highlander Buffet restaurant here in Burnet. We had a really good time.

Here is Sandra - she just recently joined our church!
Caroline and Margaret enjoying the good food!
Isabelle, Doris and Kathy enjoying each other!
Ann and Evelyn - Smile! You're on Life in the Hill Country!!

Just so you know I was there, here I am! :0)

Every year I try to make a homemade gift for each family in my church. I am not a great cook, and I cannot sew. This limits me greatly. Therefore, I rely on "crafty" ideas. You know, little crafts that have pretty simple instructions that even I can do! This year, I made lollipop ornaments.

Step one: Gather supplies. You need the metal lids from juice concentrate. This is the candy part. You'll also need craft sticks (for the handle), acrylic gloss paint in the colors of your lollipops: I used real red, real green and white. You'll also need pink. You'll need a flat brush or a stencil brush. You'll need a 10-12 inch square of cellophane for each lollipop you make, some ribbon to tie it with and some gold cord - about 7 -12 inches per ornament.

Step 2: If you're handy with tools, then drill a hole in the top of each lid using a 3/32 drill bit. If you're not, have your husband do it!

Step 3: Paint each lid the color you desire. You'll need to do several coats, letting them dry in between.

Step 4: Dab your sponge brush into the pink paint, blotting it till almost dry. Then, dab on some pink on each side of the lid for cheeks. CHECK! Be sure the hole is at the top center before putting smiley face on lids!

Step 5: After the pink paint is dry, take the end of a water color or small paint brush and dab a dot of white paint on each pink spot - at the top. This will be where you'll be beginning your smile.

Here are the ornaments right before I drew on the smiley face.

Step 6: If you're doing the peppermint ornaments, you'll draw in the red or green for the peppermint on the white lids at this time.

Step 7: Draw smiley faces on each ornament.

Step 8: Glue craft stick on back of lid - be sure again that the hole is at the top center! Glue only about 1 1/2 inch of stick to lid.

Step 9: Cut out squares of cellophane, and a length of ribbon. Wrap cellophane around ornament , gathering it around the bottom and tying with ribbon.

Step 10: Poke hole through cellophane where the hole in the lid is. String with gold cord and tie a knot.

You can label the back of each ornament with your name and the year. Do this before you wrap it with the cellophane!

Tada! The finished product! What a relief! I think they were a big hit.
I couldn't resist getting one more picture with my prized project! Lollipop anyone?

Laci's birthday was a lot of fun. I can't believe my baby is already one year old! Where did the year go? I did a much simpler cake for her than for the other kids' first birthdays. Since they can't understand or appreciate it much on their first birthday, I just do something easy for me. As they grow, I do harder ones. I did Laci's cake with Cool Whip for frosting. I got this idea from my friend Amanda!(See my post "Good Friends are Forever") I loved it! It was easy, and tasty!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!
Hmmm...this isn't too bad!!
She really loved her birthday present...come to think of it, all the kids loved it!
She's on the move now!

It's been a busy month so far, and Christmas is still a week away! Yikes! I've still got so much to do. I'm trying to relax and enjoy the Christmas season, but it's hard. I'll be working on that...oh no! Did I say "working?" I mean, I'll be resting on that! ;o)

Have a Merry Christmas, everybody!

My Holiday Letdown Response System

I love this time of year. I enjoy some cold weather. I enjoy trying to think up great gifts for friends and family - especially Terry! He's hard to buy for and to surprise! Last year, I shocked him by getting him a bi-pod for his gun. And he thought I didn't know about guns! (Well, I don't, but I'm observant! I saw him eyeing one at the store once!) I love the food, the decorations, the food, the music, the lights, the food...well, you get the idea. I love it all!!!!
The down side is, that when it's time to take down the decorations and lights, turn off the music and start losing the weight from all the food, that I can get very melancholy. I feel like it was all over so fast! I was so excited about it, and then it's over, that fast! I've been looking back at all the photos of past Christmases and I can't believe how much my kids have changed! It's already been almost a year since Laci was born! I guess I'm just "female"! I go from up to down so quickly. And when I get down, it's hard for me to get back up again!
Because I'm aware of my "holiday letdown pattern", the get excited-have the event-get blue pattern, I've developed a "holiday letdown response system." Or, H.L.R.S. for short. My system is simple: have something fun planned to do after the big day! I am blessed to have an anniversary on January 2nd. My Hubby and I try to go out to eat that day, or do something together. But, that sort of blends in with the other holidays, so I try to plan something else after that. Maybe I plan to go to the mall to spend some Christmas money (I hate to admit this, but I don't buy clothes! I usually buy books!), or a trip to the library, or I may plan to call a friend and visit. I plan something. Something that I can immediately shift my focus to after the holidays.
I am also prone to look back at the past all year long. I look back at old photos and think about when the kids were smaller. I think about the friends and family that I never see, I think about my Dad and I feel like I didn't get to have him long enough - though I know others who've lost parents younger than I did, I still wish I'd had him longer. I remember the great Christmases Mom and Dad gave me, and on and on I go until I'm in tears! It's not pretty! But, I've developed a system for those times too! When I feel that way, I remember Phil. 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Now, I know Paul was probably saying that we should forget the mistakes of the past and move forward, and that's so true. But I also have to forget the good times. I can't dwell on the happy memories of yesteryear, because I begin to feel like I'll never be happy again, life stinks, poor me, and so forth. After all, if I stay in that mood, I certainly am not getting anything done for Christ, I'm giving the Devil the victory! No, I have to forget those good times (temporarily) and move forward, making new happy memories, today. Yesterday is over. I'm so glad I got to live it, and there are times I can look back and not feel so blue, but I need to focus on today. What can I do today for my kids? How can I invest my life today so that it impacts eternity? How can I help you today? This is the stuff the Christian life is made of: giving ourselves to Him, so that someday, we can stand in Heaven with no sorrow, no regret, and no "holiday blues" - but with satisfaction of a life lived wholly for Him.

Do you have a Holiday Letdown Response System? I sure couldn't make it without mine!