Fall Crafts

Acorn wreath. So pretty. So simple. So cheap. 'Nuff said. A Thanksgiving blessings board. I saw a tute for this on another blog, and I hate not to credit it, but I can't remember who's it was. For mine, I bought a cheap frame from Wal-mart (wish I had a prettier one lying around the house that I could have painted), then I put large staples in the back of it and tied hemp twine (from the dollar store!) and ribbon on the staples in strips. I embellished it with some scrapbook paper and chipboard pieces. Lastly, I cut out a ton of leaf shapes with my Sizzix (the kids were able to help with that). Now, every night each of us writes one thing we are thankful for on a leaf and I punch a hole in them and tie them on the ribbon with extra twine. So far, I think Finn has had me write down "Kitty" every night, but who am I to tell him what to be thankful for? (Although I am secretly wishing that he might utter "Mommy" one night)

End of Year Wrap-Up

How can I begin to describe 2008? It was PHENOMENAL! Above all, I realized just how lucky I have it this year. As everything came sort of crashing down all over the country, I just felt so thankful for all that I have--My kids, my husband, my family, my friends. It amazes me that you really NEVER STOP LEARNING! I've learned a lot about what it means to be grateful in 2008 and hopefully I can always apply that and keep things in perspective.

Here's a few pictures of us at the beginning of the year. Finn was such a baby still!:

And here he is now (so big!):

Here's McKinley at 2 days old:

And here she is now: