Day Four

December 4th

Many people are hungry - not just for food, but for love, for acceptance, for support. Some are starving spiritually. Jesus knew how to feed every kind of hunger. In our small way, we can do the same.

Scripture
Matthew 14:15-19

Suggestion
Feed someone spiritually. Write your testimony in a Book of Mormon and give it away.

Song
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus, Children's Songbook pg. #57

Day Three

December 3rd

All that we have, the air we breathe, the light by which we see, are gifts from a loving Father and His Son. In this season of giving, let us give one of the greatest gifts we can offer; a grateful, humble heart.

Scripture
Luke 17:12, 14-15, 17

Suggestion
In one of your prayers today, give thanks for every blessing you can name, without asking anything.

Song
Count Your Many Blessings, Hymn #241

Day Two

December 2nd
At Christmas we celebrate much more than the birth of a baby. We celebrate who that child already was, and what He would yet become. Christmas is a time of looking - to the past, with its glimpses of premortal glory, and to the future, with its promise of eternity.

Scripture
Mosiah 3:5, 8-10

Suggestion
As you decorate for Christmas, choose or make a decoration that will remind you of the Savior and his mission.

Song
O Come All Ye Faithful, Hymn #202

Day One

I happen to love collecting and using Advent Calendar’s! They are a great way to take a few moments each day to get a yummy treat, or read a scripture, or do a kind deed for others as we count down the days until Christmas.

Here are some of the ways we count down the days and build the excitement for the day we celebrate our Savior's birth:

Candy Cane counter - take one candy cane each day (we rotate who gets the candy each day)

I happen to love the wooden blocks that I made last month at our Relief Society Craft Night

I love this pizza pie pan advent calendar that my good friends at Ellemenopea sale!

And my newest creation (well I copied the ideas from Blue Cricket Design and my friend Kim, but I still made them so that counts right?):

A Spiritual Advent calendar! I had fun using my new Cricut Expressions to make this new twist on an old tradition. Check out the link for Blue Cricket Design for the tutorial.

To make this advent a little more focused on the birth and life of Jesus I borrowed the Spiritual Advent Calendar that my friend Kim posted on her blog last year. So each night we plan to read the insert and hopefully take a few minutes to remember the whole reason for this wonderful celebration!

Here are the directions for the Spiritual Advent Calendar and what we did today:

Spiritual Advent Calendar
This is no ordinary advent calendar with little windows to open or snowmen to past on. You are the only moving part. This calendar reviews the Savior's entire mission from the premortal councils on through his future return as Lord of Lord and King of Kings.

Beginning on December 1st, each day you'll read one or more passages of scripture, moving from epoch to epoch across the vast span of the Redeemer's work.

Each day there will be a suggestion of something you can do to grow closer to the Savior. There will also be a hymn or carol to sing.


December 1st

Remember the Savior's promise!

Scripture:

Matthew 18:20

Suggestion:
Invite your family to join you in each day's reading and singing.

Song:
O Come all Ye Faithful
Hymn #202

Happy Counting To You, Megan

Christmas Memories

The Christmas decorations are coming down and I am finally in the mood to post again. We have had a great Christmas and our New Year is off to a good start! Here is a slide show of our Christmas celebrations!

Snow globe how-to's

What you will need:
A small or medium sized glass baby food jar (cleaned and the lid could be painted)
Florist clay
A small item to be highlighted in your snowglobe (we used minature trees)
Distilled Water
Glycerin
Glitter
Glue Gun

1. Place a small piece of florist clay onto the inside of the lid. Press down but be sure not to cover the entire lid top, or the clay pushed to the sides may make it hard to close.
2. Press your decoration into the florist clay. Set aside.
3. Fill baby food jar almost to full with distilled water, a drop or two of glycerin and 1/4 tsp of white glitter or glitter snow.
4. Carefully attach the lid onto the jar and tighten.
5. Turn over and make sure that the water level is right. If it is where you would like move onto the next step.
6. Hot glue the around the rim of the lid - this will create a nice seal.
7. Enjoy your snowglobe.

Class Party

Today was Big D's class party and we had so much fun...

making snow globes,

Christmas caroling to the school secretaries,

and eating the candies that were to adorn gingerbread houses! YUM!

(might I draw your attention to the darling paper snowflakes that are hanging from the ceiling. My best friend, Lydia, made those. I will post the "how to's" in the next few days)

Dina, myself, and Lydia (we're the room mom's and we enjoy planning these parties)

Mini water bottles that I decorated with these red and white polka dot labels that read "Happy Holidays"

Mr. Barnes and the entire class with the red scarfs that he and his wife gave to each student. I am glad that he let's us go a little over the top to make these parties fun and hopefully memorable!

Some of my favorite things...

Christmas Tag

1. Do you like hot chocolate or egg nog?
I prefer hot chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just put them under the tree?
A little of both

3. Colored or white lights on tree/house?
I like white lights. They are so simple and beautiful!

4. When do you put up your decorations?
Usually the Saturday after Thanksgiving!

5. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Swedish Pancakes

6. What is your favorite holiday memory from your childhood?
Singing christmas carols with the whole family

7. Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?
At the Kanzler Christmas Party I do.

8. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
White lights, red berries, red ball ornaments, white snowflakes, and fun wood ornaments that friends have given me through the years. Next year I want to decorate the tree in seashells (hopefully they will make me feel warmer, thinking about the beach and all)

9. Snow! Love it or dread it?
Dread it - I do not like being cold. I'm too big of a whimp.

10. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Oh golly. I will never forget the stereo I got from Santa one year. I love music and that was such a neat gift! Thanks Santa ;-)

11. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Being sure my little ones understand why we celebrate the holiday.

12. What is your favorite Holiday dessert?
I don't have a favorite. Any dessert is truly my favorite. I LOVE sweets!

13. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Reading a Christmas story Christmas morning before we open the gifts.

14. What tops your tree?
A star!

15. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
I'm not gonna lie, a little of both!

16. What is your favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night and What Child is this (listen to my music below)

17.Candy canes?
They are good on chocolate covered pretzels and in hot cocoa

18. Secret Santa?
So much fun

19. Favorite Christmas movie?
Oh I don't have a favorite.

20. Can you ice skate?

Yes, not well but I can manage. Now rollerskating, look out! I love rollerskating!

You're turn. Tag, your it!

Happy Holiday's

I have been a little preoccupied with the busy-ness of this month: from parties, to helping in Big D's class, to sewing a few (well okay a lot) of Christmas gifts, to all the other fun things that make December so fun and chaotic. Hence the lack of blogging!

I just wanted to take a moment to share with you the love that I have for our Savior, Jesus Christ! I remember the first time I knew that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. I was about 16 years old and it was around Christmas time. I was in the midst of some serious spiritual searching and came to the realization that our Heavenly Father indeed loved us and that the Plan of Salvation, the whole reason we are here, was so simple and complete. That the pinnacle of this plan was the need for us to have a savior, someone who could live a perfect life and show us how we should be and ultimately to take upon himself our sins, sorrows, trials and to seal it all with his death and his amazing resurrection. How grateful I am that Jesus agreed to do that for us!

I absolutely love this time of year when, as a world, we

celebrate the birth of the greatest man to ever walk the

Earth. He is the comforter, the Prince of Peace, the Jehovah

of old and the Redeemer of all! My greatest hope is that the

promise of eternal life will motivate us to do our best in all

areas of our lives - that we are trying our very best! May

you feel the miracle of our Savior's birth, life, and his amazing

death and resurrection throughout the coming year!

Your blogging friend, Megan