FREE Thanksgiving printable to make your own thanks GIVING tree to help you focus on gratitude !

Just saw this this morning and wanted to make sure you didn't miss out on this great FREE printable from Ann Voskamp author of "1000 gifts, a dare to live fully right where you are" .




Go to her blog "A Holy Experience"  to get this free printable to make your own thanks GIVING tree.  A great exercise for the whole family.  A chance to be creative and focus on being grateful during this often busy but beautiful season of gratitude.  Ann is a mom of 6, wife to a farmer and best selling author so you may want to stick around and see what else she has to say..... I am always blessed whenever I read her stuff.

The face of hunger...BE A HERO TODAY!!

"Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children who faint from hunger at every street corner." Lamentations 2:19 These 23 children do not have sponsors and live in Shanto Ethiopia.  

They NEED YOU!!!

                                    Click this link to sign up to sponsor a child  www.hopechest.org/community/shanto/sponsor .  Your $35 a month goes so far to a starving child.  PLEASE prayerfully consider how you can help RIGHT NOW before you get distracted.  May we never get so comfortable that it is easy to look the other way.  Starvation has a cure.. it is YOU! I have researched and been involved with this group for almost 2 years now.  They are legit and the money you send goes exactly where you think it does.  To feed, and help with school.  BE A HERO..it is easy!

RV remodel on a dime!

We have a family of 5 and a small budget.  Last summer we really wanted a little RV we could take the family camping in.  Our requirements?  Small enough that we can afford the gas and big enough to sleep most of us (we can always pitch a tent).  We also wanted something with low miles.  We read all we could and found that Toyota Dolphins had a great engine that got up to 18 miles per gallon, a great layout and might be affordable if in bad enough shape on the inside.  This is what we found... a 1983 Dolphin.

Yep.. Clearly in bad enough shape.  I forgot to get more photos, but it was in sorry shape.  The back end was missing the mattress and had only a small blow up mattress on a sheet of plywood.  Everything was 80's from the floral wallpaper to the wood paneling cabinets.  UGLY!  The good part?  It was cheap and though it was a 5 hours drive away (found on craigslist) the engine only had 60,000 original miles on it!!!!

So first things first.. We pulled the disgusting carpet out and painted the floors with floor paint.  Then my husband built a cool stool/ bench behind the front seat for out little ones to climb into the overhead bed.  We then pulled out the non functioning closet to make for more end of bed space on the bed in back (pictured below).

 We then started painting...everything! the cabinets got painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint so we wouldn't have to sand, and the walls were painted blue as was the floral wallpaper in the bathroom.  We replaced the skinny air mattress with a nice piece of foam we had and covered it with a sheet in a matching color.  When  it was completed we grabbed some throw pillows from a garage sale to bring the color scheme together.

 We removed those annoying blinds that were always clanging around and replaced them with curtains.  We mounted a clock and Josh secured a seat belt system for the two car seats.

 I recovered the bench that the two car seats are on with foam and fabric I had on hand.  This is the bench pictured in the first photo.  Sure looks a lot different with some new fabric!  I just stapled gunned it on.

 Those delicious tomatoes pictured below are from my husbands garden and they were SO delicious.  I mean who goes camping with out a pile of fresh tomatoes right? I must say they didn't travel well there and we had to move them into the sink.

 We ripped out the broken curtain divider that was between the above cab bed and the rest of the rv.  We also used beadboard paneling to recover the fridge, and go around the camper at waist height to cover some interior wall damage, and give the place some style.

 We love our cozy little Rv and the whole makeover was pretty darn cheap!

 It did take a few man hours though!  Just goes to show what you can do for under $200!  We finished it last summer and I just kept forgetting to blog about it, but thought those of you remodeling might like a little inspiration!  There is a light at the end of the tunnel!  We had a GREAT trip around Colorado last summer and hope to do something great again this year like hitting up the peach orchards again or going to Pagosa Springs.  What do you think?

Shoes, Orphans and Ethiopia

This is a guest post by a friend of mine Ingrid who works tirelessly with a very trusted group 

that serves the poorest of the poor in Ethiopia.  Ingrid's blog can be found here

www.reachinghiskids.blogspot.com

Famine, Poverty and Injustice...

Right now I'm raising $6,000 for 300 pairs of shoes for my little friends in Ethiopia.  

Fundraising scares me, I feel very inadequate to raise the funds but I know that 

God loves these children WAY more than I do and HE will provide for them.

I visited these children this past March and almost immediately knew that this shoe 

project needed to happen ASAP!  The reason is the picture below.

January 2011

I actually took this picture on my first trip to Ethiopia in January 2011. 

 These shoes belonged to a precious boy named Israel.  When I got him a new pair 

of shoes from our donations he cried.

I cried.  

My life was changed.

January 2011 

As I held him, both of us crying, I knew that I simply could NOT go home and ever be the same.

This past March I had the privilege of seeing Israel again and oh my, he had grown, 

he was taller than me!  A HUGE testament to how much these children are benefiting

 from the feeding program.

Within moments of walking into the school, I spotted Israel's face.  After I hugged him, 

I soon noticed something that

broke

my

heart,

Israel was barefoot.

This boy has a special place in my heart and I REALLY wanted to bring him shoes. 

 Children's HopeChest and FOVC have asked that we try to give donations/gifts that

 are similar for all the children.  Therefore, I wasn't able to bring Israel shoes because 

we didn't have enough room to bring 150 pairs, one for every child.  Throughout the week, 

Israel would smile at me and I often wondered if he was thinking about the shoes

 because I was. 

After he outgrew the pair from 2011, he receive another pair from FOVC in 2012.  

Unfortunately, because of lack of funding this past year, FOVC couldn't provide shoes in 2013. 

 Therefore, many of the children are barefoot or wearing very worn shoes.

Ugh!  My heart is broken and I SO desperately want to provide new shoes. 

 $6,000 will provide 300 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs per child for the next year.

PLEASE donate a pair (or 2) today.  Follow THIS LINK to make a donation.  

I, along with Israel and 149 other of my little friends in Ethiopia, greatly appreciate your support.

March 2013

Thank you Ingrid for working so tirelessly for these little ones and being bold

on their behalf!  I would love to help her raise the funds by spreading the word! 

 Please help if you can and please share this on pinterest and on facebook 

to put shoes on these little ones feet.  Shoes are just one of the many blessings

we take for granted every day.  Lets celebrate our gratitude for these things 

by sharing what we have and spreading the word!

DIY lux face, hand, and diaper cream homemade from whipped coconut & shea butter!

I love, love love this stuff!  I cannot get enough of it.  You know it has to be good if I am bothering to make it with 5 kids and homeschooling! Ok it doesn't hurt that it is really fast and easy and works for a plethora of uses.  Yes I did say plethora! Pretty sure I learned that word from the movie "The Three Amigos" in the early 90's.   Anyway...this all natural moisturizer is not only highly effective, free of unwanted chemicals and additives, but it is made from 2 of natures most amazing products coconut oil and shea butter.  

Coconut oil and shea butter are some of the best possible ingredients when it comes to skin care!  If you aren't familiar with coconut oils miraculous healing powers be sure to read my earlier post  "One of nature's best healers! 20 NEW reasons to love coconut oil!". I can't go on with this recipe without letting you first know why it is so fabulous for your skin.  This combo is unlike most commercial moisturizers in that most commercial moisturizers are filled with water so the lotion becomes ineffective as soon as the water dries on your skin.  They are also often filled with additives, and petroleum byproducts that are carcinogenic and can suffocate skin causing breakouts.  Coconut oil and shea butter on the other hand are rich and truly moisturize your skin down at the deepest levels where they are even responsible for strengthening the underlying tissue .  They are both excellent at treating acne as they kill off bacteria and acne is a bacterial infection   Coconut oil also helps remove the dead, dry, flaky layers that causes rough and dull skin.  Convinced? Not yet?  Well African Shea (pronounced shay) butter has been proven to reduce the appearance of lines, scars and stretch marks as well as ease a host of skin irritations such as psoriasis, eczema, and sunburn.  WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE!

So here it is... your super simple 2 ingredient beauty wonder,,,

Combine 1 cup African shea butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil. 

Mix on medium high with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes till you get a nice whip cream texture.  I make  big batches to jar in several containers so I have diaper cream, body butter, and portable hand cream.

That is it!  Now you have an AMAZING face, body, hand and diaper cream that moisturizes at the deepest level, clarifys skin, strengthens the underlying tissue, reduces the signs of aging, scars, lines and stretch marks while treating eczema, psoriasis, and other irritations!  I buy my coconut oil at Costco for a very inexpensive $22 for 78 ozs and the African shea butter I got from amazon for around $18 for 32 oz. with shipping.  I will never go back to a commercial face or diaper cream again!  My face feels amazing after using this.  I use it every morning and night.  I used it on my baby when he was a newborn with a terrible rash that nothing would touch!  The secret was this cream plus a few shakes of corn starch each diaper change.  It is all we ever use now.  You can use it as chap stick, hand cream, body butter, for stretch marks, for acne, sun burn cream etc....  Let me know how it works for you!

Taking off the weight - What really works

Little Minnow (AKA Trek) now at 10 wks

With a masters degree in natural health and a love for all things healthy it is easy to give nutrition advice.  This time, however, after the birth of our fifth kiddo I find myself  14 pounds over my normal weight and needing to shed the weight myself.  So I am not only giving advice I am sharing what I am currently doing to help loose that weight myself.

I had our 5th child January 6th Trek Anderson Neeley.  I LOVE HIM TO PIECES!  He is so precious.  The one thing I do not love is the extra weight he left me with!  Now that he is a few months old I am working to take it all off.  I had 17 pounds to go when he was around 6-7 wks old.  I now have 14 lbs and am so glad it is not more!  One thing I noticed when searching the web for post natal weight loss ideas was that a lot of the tips were only helpful if you weren't already making healthy choices. Suggestions to give up soda and fast food although good ideas aren't that helpful if you already subscribe to a healthy lifestyle.  So if you haven't already start by eliminating the obvious junk like soda, candy, and processed foods.  Now if you are already past that I discovered there were not a lot of  new ideas really, just the same tried and true stuff that applies to all of healthy living.  So here is where I am at in the process and what I am doing to shed this weight as fast as possible!.

Make time for you!

The first thing I did to start that process was to get my sweet little minnow on a 2 1/2 to 3 hr feeding schedule so that I have the freedom to leave "little minnow" with daddy while I work out.  A bit of set aside time makes a big difference.  If you plan exercise ahead of time it will happen.  If you expect it to just happen it won't.

Drink to your health

I try to drink a lot of water and herbal tea and throw in some lemon to keep bloating at bay and detox the system.  I know you have all heard this a million times!  However keeping track of how much you drink a day and using a sports bottle with a straw really helps me.

Exercise

I joined a gym... That was a biggy for me as we don't have extra cash lying around with 5 kids, but it allows me to focus on working out and keeps me from having to stop every few minutes to help kiddos.  I try to go early before my husband leaves for work.  He is great about filling in for me that hour and gets the kids fed and going on their morning routine.  One thing that helps in that department is to have the kids know what is expected of them.  Every day is the same in that they all know to get dressed, make beds, and clean rooms up before breakfast.  Then they eat and do their chores (bathroom and dishes) before we start homeschool at 8 to 8:30.  So whether it is me or dad they can keep the morning moving along.

Find alternates to the gym that you can do if you can't get help with the kids. Here are a few I like..

SHAPE magazines Top 10 Moves to Tone Your Trouble Zones
Need to get rid of saddlebags, arm flab, or a muffin top? Use these moves to fight flab at home—and win!"

Workout at home with these workouts posted on my blog that don't require a gym or expensive equipment.

Work out with a video series like Turbo Jam, Insanity or P90X
Work out with free online workout videos from netflix, hulu, youtube, etc,,

Visit six sisters stuff a great blog for a complete list of 25 workouts you can just click on!  Thanks girls!
Grab your dumbells and throw a few reps in between commercials while you are watching TV at night.  Take the kids for a hike, push that huge stroller all over town, dance with the kids to pandora, or just set the timer for 30 minutes and do whatever exercises come to mind till it goes off.

Take advantage of FREE APPS that help you with free workouts, diet and exercise logs, motivate you or track your progress.  I like the free Nike Training Club app from itunes so far the best, but there is A LOT out there!

Photo from Total Beauty

Follow this link from Total Beauty for "12 apps that will make you skinny".  Great resource!

Exercise is a HUGE component to weight loss, and body shaping, but so is diet.  By diet I do not mean to go on one! Just adjust the quality of what you eat.  I follow these rules to keep me on track..

Try to skip as much as possible packaged pre-made foods. 

 When you do by packaged foods read labels.  All natural is a good start but even sugar can claim that so look a little deeper. Keep in mind if it is not organic and it is from a large company like kraft or gm the grains may be genetically modified since they are not required to label it as such.  So try to stick to organic.  I can't afford to do everything organic so I usually make a homemade version wherever possible

 Focus on what to eat not just what not to eat.  

I add extra veggies and beans to soups, casseroles, eggs, and most any dinner dish to up the nutrition, fiber and taste factor.  This is easier to do if you have a fridge stocked with veggies.  Right now I have cucumbers, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, celery, kale, spinach, mixed field greens, zucchini, mushrooms, and Tons of fruit in my fridge. That gives me and the kids a ton of snack options... I have lots of recipes here on this blog just check out this link to see the recipes from healthy egg rolls on the grill, homemade tortillas, to granola and other staples.  There are lots to be inspired by and they are all simple if I made them!

Go quality and eat those super foods!

I love adding quinoa, chia seeds, barley, nuts etc.. into snacks, muffins, smoothies, and meals to bump up the nutrition level.  I have a whole list of "newer" super foods on a previous post here "10 new super foods!"

Avoid white flour and white sugar

Choose whole grains and healthier sweeteners like stevia, xylitol, sucanat, and honey or date puree.  I have a whole article on all natural healthier sweeteners HERE at "The Sweet Stuff Line up" and it gives you the low down on chemical sweeteners as well. Stevia, xylitol, sucanat, and honey are all big hits at our house.  

Make it! don't buy it!

Lots of unwanted ingredients can easily be avoided by simply skipping the packaged version and making it yourself.  I make tortillas, ranch dressing mix , biscuit mix , pancake mix, tomato sauce, yogurt, granola bars, granola, humus, berry pancake syrup, smoothie packs for the freezer, Popsicles, frozen burritos, coconut milk ice cream, cough syrup, pizza sauce and crust, pumpkin spice lattes, you name it we make it!  You can find all these recipes HERE or search DIY kitchen at the side of the blog.  It saves a ton of money too!

Eat often and don't skip meals.

If you eat less you will weigh less right?  Well not exactly... You need to eat to fuel your nursing if you are a new mom, or to fuel your life and exercise.  Eat 6 small meals a day rather than 3 large ones with lots of snacks.  This keeps you full, helps you make better choices and keeps your blood sugar in check. 

Learn to cook!  It makes healthy eating so much yummier and creative!  

Eat fat and love it!

That is right... I said it...eat fat and like it!  The right fat that is.  You still want to skip that hydrogenated fat, but go for it with organic unrefined coconut oil.  Coconut oil is a delicious alternative to margarine and butter that you can bake and cook with.  We butter our toast with it and use it on everything.  It is so good for you I throw some in my smoothies!  Here is a longer explanation of all the health benefits of coconut oil and how to use it Here at an earlier post "One of nature's best healers! 20 NEW reasons to love coconut oil!  

Keep a food and exercise journal.

By keeping track of what you eat and when you get a real picture of your overall nutrition and can easily spot your weaknesses.  You can also spot when you tend to lapse in judgment and prep yourself for the next time.  I gotta say you think twice about that bite of chocolate cake if you are going to have to write it down.  Get a free printable fitness journal  from my blog  here fitness freebie -free printable fitness journal.

Rule out food intolerances.

Many people find gluten, wheat, dairy or other food intolerances to really hinder weightloss and their well being.  My digestion hasn't been good since baby arrived so I am avoiding lactose, and wheat for a while to see if I feel better and to get rid of the bloating.  These irritants often hamper weight loss as well.  Many people on gluten free diets have shown remarkable weight loss progress and great gains in their overall health.

Quit stressing about it!

I have to admit I struggle with this one.  Stress will slow your metabolism, increase the hormone cortisol which tells your body to retain weight around your belly, cause you to crave sweets, and  sabotage your efforts to make healthier choices.  So find an activity that helps you relax, take your B vitamins that stress depletes as well as your regular supplements, take a few deep breaths and find a few moments to thank the Lord for all the good in your life.  Gratitude melts stress, negativity and draws you closer to your creator.  

Loosing weight is a valid goal but try to relax and make choices that help you become healthier overall rather than choosing actions that lead to short term weight loss at the expense of your overall health.  

Enjoy who you are at any weight and remember you are so much more than the number on your scale!

Felt Christmas Tree Advent Calendar & Kids Felt Play Tree in one!

I wanted to share this quick easy tutorial for a handmade felt Christmas tree advent calendar. It is similar to one I saw at Pottery Barn. No sewing machine needed.  I attached the simple pockets on the front with hand stitching while watching TV.  You can of course pull out the machine if you feel so inclined.  

 On the back side I made a play felt tree for the kids to decorate over and over.  I even had them cut out the shapes of the felt ornaments themselves using cookie cutters and chalk to trace.  You can of course do it yourself and make them much more elaborate.

I first saw this idea here at I can Teach My Child

.

You will need some green felt for the tree, and other colors for the decorations on the back, needle and thread, chalk, ruler, scissors, felt decorative stickers, and a sharpie.  I like to use a rotary cutter and cutting mat with ruler but you don't have to by any means.

The first step is to measure out your tree size.  Cut out a square that size and fold it in half. Now take your chalk and draw the outline of half a tree since your fabric is folded in half.  Cut along that line.  You should have something like the photo below.

Now  use your ruler to mark out your squares using chalk.  I marked in each square how many pockets fit on each row.

Once you measure those out, you can fold your fabric accordingly and cut the advent pockets with a rotary cutting tool and ruler.  If you don't have one you can just cut them out with scissors.

  Then simply attach the pockets to the tree with your needle and thread!

I then randomly added the felt stickers where ever I liked, and marked the date on each box with a sharpie.  You could use cool felt number stickers but I was in a hurry and couldn't find any locally.  I could not get the above photo to turn (though I turned it several times!) so sorry for it's sideways view.

 In each pocket I placed one of the tickets that will have the activity for that day. I simply write the activity on the back.

 I found that printable for the free Christmas "tickets" HERE from Miss Cutie pie goes 80s.  These make really cute gift tags too!

There is a great list of activities here at Baltimore Mommies or you can type in winter bucket list into a google search for a whole array of options.

And that is it!  You can EASILY whip this out in a few hours. 

Have fun and let me know how it turns out! 

Gifts that bring joy and opportunity to the poor! View on the Web | Forward to a Friend
	Dear Kristy, This Black Friday, instead of running around town to find this year’s “it” gift, take a moment and choose a present that will save a life. Food For The Poor’s Christmas Gift Catalog makes gift giving easy, meaningful, and there are options to fit every budget. Your loved ones will be delighted to know that a practical, desperately-needed gift has been given to the poor in their honor.

Let your dollars do double duty!  Get your Christmas presents and feed the poor!

How To Have a Peaceful, Budget Friendly Christmas Season.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving up at my parents with all the kid-lets, my uncle, and some friends.  We ate a beautiful feast.  Of course I forgot my camera, which is my common response to a lot going on!  We ate our typical feast (all the recipes listed earlier on "My All Favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner Recipes year after year (made with whole foods)."  YUMMY!

When we are being thankful it is such a reminder of God's grace in our lives. All the little and big things we are thankful for are gifts from God.  Made me think that next year I would love to add a time of praise and worship to our traditional celebration.  A time of showing God our thankfulness and enjoying His presence.

Came home by 5:30 after stopping to look at Christmas lights on the way home, got everyone into jammies and watched a fun family movie.  By 7:30 we were all exhausted (pregnancy and sleep are not going that great for me at the moment) and in bed!  I was of course just "laying down with Cruz" my 2 year old, but at nine I woke up to find a quiet house, husband in bed and feeling refreshed :).  I love a quiet house to sew, blog or craft in!

The end of Thanksgiving signifies for my family the start of the Christmas season as well.  I love the weekend after Thanksgiving as it is so fun to put up the tree, decorate and get in the Christmas Spirit.  I don't however get into the whole Black Friday craze, and was sorry to see that so many stores started black Friday tonight.  The consumerism can really rob from the time of thankfulness and time with family.

I LOVE Christmas.  Everything about it... The lights, the craftiness of making decorations, presents, and what not, the music, the spirit of generosity.  It is the perfect way to celebrate the gift of Jesus.  Being generous with others as God was so generous with the gift of his Son Jesus the hope of salvation. I always explain it to my kids like this.."We give gifts to others, because God gave Jesus to us."  It blesses Gods heart to see generosity, so that is our gift to God.  We also keep it simple at our house. Setting a budget at the begining of the season helps too.  We have 5 kids (if you count the one due Christmas day), and a small budget so we make a lot of gifts, swap names between the adults and include thrifted gifts as well that we have scoped out at the local thrift store, on craigslist, or at garage sales.  This year I found a pink DS in great shape for my daughter at a garage sale for $1!!!  I also found her a kids sewing machine (something I had been wanting to get her), and a few board games that looked new.  She is by far the easiest to get gifts for!

Christmas can be simple, budget friendly, and peaceful.  I try to focus on the traditions and season of giving more than just the presents.   I wasn't raised with Santa and we choose not to do it at all at our house. I didn't want to confuse the reason for the season with Santa as it can be overshadowing but we do read stories about Saint Nick and other Christmas tales that inspire generosity and love.  We have started a few holiday traditions like wrapping 24 Christmas books under the tree, some we own, tons are from the library, etc.. and then the kids take turns every night of December till Christmas unwrapping one and that is what we read before bedtime.  We try to incorporate giving to the hungry or needy where ever we can.  We might sponsor a child, give gifts from World Vision so the profits go to feed the hungry, or buy a sheep through World Vision for a family across the globe in need etc.. in someones name on our gift list who doesn't want anything.  We also have an advent calender (tutorial coming soon) that we fill with activity ideas like making cookies, seeing the lights, giving a gift in secret to a friend, etc...  Christmas morning we will eat a big fun breakfast and read the Christmas story, and we always have our big meal Christmas Eve so mom's don't have to cook Christmas day!  Then we can snack on all the leftovers all day on Christmas.  I also have the kids find or make each other presents so they get to participate in the giving side of things.  They love it!

These fun things keep the focus on togetherness, generosity and love the real reason of the Season.  If I don't get it all crafted I am not too worried.  I am not looking to focus on getting everyone the perfect gift (although I would love it if they were thrilled!), but on really enjoying each other and God's goodness the whole season through.  I do not want consumerism, long lists of "I want", in fact we don't let the kids make lists or get them into the habit of thinking they need to tell us exactly what they want for this very reason.  It should all be a pleasant surprise not a demand or expectation.  They know that thrifted presents are part of it and in fact they look forward to finding things for their brothers and sisters at the thrift store too!  It just sets them up to appreciate whatever comes their way and allows us to get them something they would really like even though it is not in a new wrapper.
Here are some of the fun DIY ideas I am using for my kids this year!

 I am making her and my younger daughter these owl  pillows from Button Bird Designs but in fun fabrics (in fact I started those a while ago and am almost done).

These amazingly cute wool cape's for the girls are next on the sewing list!  The pattern is made like a simple circle skirt so as cute as they are they shouldn't take long.  I LOVE them and once I get the hang of how to make them I plan on making one for myself!
I think with all the things I have to sew for her, and all the gifts I have found over time that I need to be done for her.  They get gifts from grandmas, and grandpas, and aunts so we try not to go overboard. I do not want to set the expectation at this stage in life that Christmas is an over top budget blower.  My youngest is really starting to get into imaginative play so I am making her a DIY doctor kit.  I have found some really fun ideas for it and have so many of the supplies on hand around the house.  She will love it!  I will post a tutorial on that once it is done.

My oldest son who is 8 will be getting a really cool fort kid that I found a tutorial for here at Saltwater-kids. I can't wait to get started on this!  He will love it!  What a great birthday presents for his friends as well.  I am sure I will have to sew a few more up in the near future!  Just so you know I really don't get to sew that often.  We homeschool and being pregnant, having a 2 yr old, 3 yr old, 5 yr old and 8 yr old they keep me busy getting water, doing school, cleaning, cooking etc... So most of the projects I picked for this year are really simple ones!
 
Like this cape for my youngest son.  I followed the cutting tutorial to get the right shape from the picture above at Moms Rising, but used black knit so there was no sewing involved with that part.  I did however create the CUTEST felt logo with a lightning bolt and his initial out of felt that I sewed on the back!  I love it! I added some cuffs from this tutorial at The Train To Crazy, and made two cute super hero masks with lightning bolts that I will have to show you when I make my DIY super hero outfit tutorial.  I hope he loves it.  It is too cute and we can't let the girls have all the fun with their princess dress ups!

I plan to make these sock monkeys for Cruz my youngest and our newest baby boy for when he is born.  They are so cute!! Not sure how hard they are.  We will see.  I have lots of stuff to make all the kids on my list but this last one for Cruz is so cute I had to share in case you have a little "cowboy" on your list as well!

I adore these stick horse, hobby horse or whatever you want to call them!  The tutorial is Here at Light Blue Grey.  So like I said I have way more ideas of what I want to make for all kinds of people on my list and if you want to see the tutorials and gift ideas I am pinning at pinterest be sure to  and check out my Christmas gift ideas board and my Christmas and fall holidays board.  There are tons of fun ideas that I plan on adding to as well. I figure if I don't make it all this Christmas there are plenty of holidays that I will be looking for gift ideas for!  I also posted some money saving ideas on these older posts Here and Here.

Anyway, I got a little sidetracked showing you all the fun DIY ideas out there for presents but my point was that Christmas is about God's Love and should remain the focus of the season!  I may not get all my ideas crafted, or get around to Christmas cards (so please don't be offended if you don't get one), or get my house perfectly decked out, or get around to throwing that great holiday party, but that is ok.  I don't want anything to take the place of focusing on God's great gift and opportunities to be generous and be a blessing. I really want to take the time to enjoy my family which is His second greatest gift to me.  If any to-do item is robbing me of my joy and stressing me out than it isn't that important!   What do you do to keep the spirit in the season and avoid the craziness that can rob your joy during the holidays?