Another January Craft

A good idea I got from Mops last year that we are doing again this January is to make placemats out of all the Christmas card pictures we received this year. I saved them after Christmas, cut out the pictures of our friends and family, and Graham helped me glue them on big cardstock paper. We will take them to be laminated and use them all year. So, if you sent me a Christmas card with a picture of your family on it, it will probably be on our kitchen table throughout the year. We will look at the pictures, talk about our friends and family, and pray for them. So, don't throw away those cards.

Beating the Winter Blues

January is not my favorite month...cloudy skies, cold weather, sick children and mommies, and a lot of time indoors. So, at our house, we've been coming up with some fun winter activities. Here are a few of them: Popcorn balls and hot chocolate by the fire

This was Tim's idea and it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Crayon melts in fun shapes

Patsy got me some silicon snowmen muffin cups for Christmas. I saw on a friend's blog that she had used her silicon muffin cups to make crayon melts. We just took broken crayons, removed the paper, and placed them in the muffins cups. Then, we put the muffin cups in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Snowballs

This recipe was in a newsletter from Graham's preschool. Basically, you make rice crispy treats, roll them into balls, and coat them with powdered sugar. Graham had a lot of fun helping me make these treats. Then, he wanted to take them to friends in the neighborhood.

Snowmen on sticks

We used bananas, mini chocolate chips, apple triangles, and pretzels to make these fun snacks.
I put them on skewers.

Highlights from our trip to Tyler

Despite the fact that Graham and Wesley had colds, my brother had strep throat, and Tim had a bad ear infection, we had a great time visiting our family in Tyler. The boys had lots of fun with their cousins and grandparents. We went to the zoo, a wildlife museum and park, and, of course, one of my favorite mexican restaurants. Graham, Drew and Will in the back of Grandpa Sam's truck

my mom and brother

yummy Mexican food

yummy ice cream

Highlights from Our trip to Memphis

After spending Christmas morning at our home, we traveled to Memphis to see Tim's mom, sister and her family. Wesley and Graham had a great time with their cousins, Davis and Hayley. One night we went to see Zoo Lights, and despite the frigid temperatures, everyone enjoyed it. Zoo Lights

Fake snow from a snow machine welcomed us at the zoo's entrance.

Davis and Graham ready for church

singing Happy Birthday to Jesus