christmas cookie baking and delivery

two nights ago we made a whole lot of sugar and peanut butter blossom cookies (the ones with hershey kisses in the middle!). then yesterday morning we packaged them up, added a christmas card and delivered them to our neighbors. norah was a good helper with the delivery part, but she definitely enjoyed the cookie baking more ;)

so excited

i do it mommy

i was actually very impressed with how well she did with the cookie cutters. most of them came out ok with just a missing limb or a crooked head ;)

my two favorite shapes of norah's, and the cookie that she sprinkled all by herself 

::drool::

half the batch

packaged and ready to go // my little delivery girl

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hopefully we brightened some peoples day!

thrifting thursday // v. 11

The parts for Norah's "big" Christmas gift this year all came from thrifting in some form! I'm really excited with everything we got and even more excited about the money we saved by buying second hand. 

Because we were able to save so much, we were able to help out two separate families this holiday season by sending them gifts for their children who otherwise wouldn't have had anything to open on Christmas morning. And THAT is what Christmas is about right? (At least part of it.) I'd much rather help others who need it more than buy for my family who doesn't need a single thing this year. True joy is found in giving and that's what I hope to teach Norah. 

We decided as a family to keep Norah's Christmas gifts on the small side. She will get 3 gifts from Santa, as Jesus got 3 gifts, plus some small stocking stuffers. I don't want her to grow up thinking Christmas is all about her and all the new toys she might get, but I also don't want to rob her of the excitement of opening presents on Christmas morning. By limiting her gifts we're doing good on her part and we're also doing good for others. Win-win in my book.

Anyway, I'm rambling and I've yet to share my thrifting scores! Here we go:

I found both these wooden pieces from the same consignment shop on different days. The high chair was already white so we simply painted the cradle to match!

The cabbage patch doll and the mini granny square quilt were each from separate thrift stores. 

Total cost: $24

The dress that the cabbage patch doll was wearing was hideous, so after searching around on ebay for a new one, I came across a listing for all of these (handmade!) doll dresses, plus the one she's wearing in the first picture. I ended up winning the auction and I'm even happier with these than I thought I'd be. They are so cute in person!

Total cost: $5.50

I can't wait to see Norah's face on Tuesday morning. She has been really interested in her one baby doll lately and I'm so happy to be able to add to her "collection" of baby things. She's quite the little mommy! 

the season of giving

The holiday season always puts me in the mood to help others. I like buying a few gifts for my daughter, but that's about it and even then we don't go overboard. (I will be writing a separate post on our family "policies" on gift-giving.) There are way too many people in this world who need a hot meal or a warm coat more than I need ANOTHER scarf or ANOTHER book or ANOTHER anything!

So when I came across Mandy's post about helping each other out I was elated. I urge you to click that link and read through the comments. I was able to connect with another young mother (our little ones are only 8 days apart!) and we each feel equally blessed to have met each other. My family is fortunate enough this year that we have some extra money to spare but we have totally been there before. Scraping by and unsure of how our bills are even going to get paid. It is not a fun place to be especially around Christmas. 

Please, even if you only have $1 to spare, click on that link and see who is in need. Or, if you need help this year here is a great place to ask! Please do not hesitate to ask for help. We've all been there and we can all understand. Plus the joy of the season is not in who gets to open the most expensive or most amount of gifts on Christmas morning. It is about the Lord our God, it is about loving others, and it is about connecting with each other through the spirit of the season. I would much rather give than receive, remembering that the greatest gift we will ever know was given to us in Jesus.