Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Praying you have a great day! 

Wade is enjoying his first Christmas and Mozzy says Merry Christmas too! Remember why we celebrate and give thanks! ❤️💚❤️💚

Fire Starters

My Aunt Bonnie and Charlotte use to make fire starters all the time to use in the fire place at their cabin in Rochford, SD. I really wanted to try to make some as well and decided to enlist their help and the help of others on Pinterest.

First, I purchased soy wax on Amazon. Most pinners  recommend using essential oils like lavender or eucalyptus to scent the wax. I decided to purchase a delicious smelling wax from a local shop called "Christmas Tree".  

My Aunt made her's using saw dust and melted wax. They would mix together and form balls, wrap in fabric squares then tie another thin scrap of fabric around the ball to create the wick. I tied my fabric wick in a bow. 

 

The next method I tried was lining a muffin tin with cupcake liners, placing small pine cones and filling the cups with wax. I also put some fabric in the bottom to act as a wick. I put these in the oven at 200F for 20 min. I checked on these a lot because I had to add wax in the liners several times to cover the cones. 

My last fire starter was probably my favorite.  I took a large pinecone and tied a piece of fabric around it to double as a handle and wick and then dipped it in the melted wax several times until it was coated. It got easier once the wax started to cool and it actually stuck to the pinecone. These turned out probably the prettiest and they burn really well too. 

I think I'm going to try to make these again next year and give them as gifts for more people because I really think they're going to smell good burning in the fireplace. 

Merry Christmas! 

Wade Meets Santa

We took Wade to meet Santa this weekend. Santa and Mrs. Clause came to Yankton for a visit and we didn't want to miss the opportunity to have Wade get a little positive face recognition with the big guy. Of course, Wade fell asleep in the car en route to visit Santa! But we still did a little photo op to document his first meeting! We even got a hint that Wade was for sure on the nice list since he is such a good little boy! 

Believe

One of my favorite memories is my mom stringing together Christmas bells to create "believe bells" like the one in the movie Polar Express. When my mom watched Wade the other week, they did a little NaNa craft to give to me. Do you love it as much as I do? PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! ❤️❤️❤️

My little Believe baby is so cute! 

Christmas Decor DIY

My friend, Ashleigh Lingo, put together a little Christmas Decor DIY for us to enjoy! Ashleigh is so good at picking out cute projects on Pinterest and actually doing them exactly how they show you how to do it. I regularly creep on her boards and steal her recipes and crafts. This makes her the perfect choice for my first SSS guest blogger! 

All you need for this DIY is tree garland (special tip: buy more than you think!) a tomato cage, scissors, tape and inexpensive pot for the base. Christmas ornaments and lights optional. 

Pinch the top of the tomato cage together and tape in place so that you make a Christmas tree shape cone. Tape the tree garland to the top of your tree and begin wrapping around the perimeter. If you want, you can add some support by using pipe cleaners or zip ties in camouflaged spots to make sure your garland won't sag. Once you have wrapped all the way around, tape the garland in place at the base. Insert your tree in your decorative pot and viola! Perfect Christmas tree decor. You can even add lights or Christmas ornaments to give you front stoop even more curb appeal! 

Thanks for the great Project Ashleigh! 

Office treats🎄

Every Christmas the gals at work share small gifts with each other. I always try to give something clever. This year, I tossed around the idea of fit sugar scrubs and bath bombs but settled on pretzel cookies and these cute jingle-y Christmas tree pens. 

I put the treats in a mini mason jar and wrapped them up in a treat bag and curling ribbon   

I think the ladies will like their gifts! 

Merry Christmas 🎄💚❤️🎄🎉❤️

12 Days of Fitness

We are looking to get back into the swing of things and saw this workout schedule called The Twelve Days of Fitness. We started a little early to make sure we had some days to miss in case we just weren't able to with our new schedule. The workouts seemed pretty easy, honestly. Just what we needed to kickstart our workouts back into action for the new year. 

For day one we even added a few in between exercises and a short yoga routine to finish off. It felt great. But all day today- I can't even laugh without my abs hurting!! I know before baby I could do this workout no problem. But now without any abs I am STRUGGLING! I would recommend to anyone to try out and I'll try to post our workouts each day 🎄

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a program where you fill shoeboxes up with presents such as toys, toiletries, school supplies and prayers and send to a kid who may never have the chance to get a Christmas gift. Kyle and I usually have every intention on participating but usually miss the drop off time, but this year we wanted Wade to participate and we filled shoeboxes up for a boy age 2-4 and a girl age 2-4. To read more about the program visit http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/?utm_source=OCC-Redirect&utm_medium=direct&utm_content=OCC-Redirect

Kyle and Wade shipping for gifts together. 

Wade with the two empty boxes. 

Wade showing off the box for another little boy he helped pack.