Project 12 - November, December

With all the December craziness, I never got around to posting my November Project 12 page. I actually did it on Dec 20th for the deadline then just set it aside. I wasn't totally happy with it (I've changed it up slightly since then and am a bit happier with it now)...

Pics are: Oldest's Eagle Scout Service Project, Middle Child's Cub Scout "Cub-Anapolis" race, Little Guy's School Thanksgiving Feast, and our actual Thanksgiving dinner.

And for December, well I was a few days behind -- it's the only one I didn't do by the 20th since January :( ... Oh well, it's a cute layout anyway and I'm so happy to have finished the whole Project 12!!!

For December from Top Left clockwise -- DH and me on New Years Eve, Boys on the Santa Train, Christmas Eve at my parents house, Little Guy showing off his Ninja Warrior tattoo, Niece and nephews and Little Guy at Zoo Lights, Oldest showing off his letter jacket, boys with Christmas tree, Writing letters to Santa, Oldest's Eagle Scout Board of Review, and center- boys making gingerbread house.

So that's it for Project 12 for 2010!

But that's not all, as Project 12 will be continuing in 2011! Check out Davinie's Blog for details!

The rest of JYC

And here are the remaining pages of Journal Your Christmas - which runs from December 1st to January 6th.

The best part of the Christmas season is getting the opportunity to share special times together. We spend time together regularly, but at Christmas - the holiday magic makes the moments each memorable, whether going on an outing or playing a board game. It becomes a part of the holiday.

New Year of 2010/2011 was definitely a great one! Very Merry!

Just a list of To Do's for next year

Another holiday season has rushed by and I've  filled another scrapbook with Christmas memories. I'm always sad to see it end and I look forward to Christmas 2011.


And that's it for another year of Journal Your Christmas. We shall now return to our regularly scheduled programming (need to do Project 12 for December! and post November!)

Oh look! More of JYC

The album has been finished a while now but I hate letting it go! The Journal Your Christmas experience is so fab... and every year I dread the way, as it draws to a close, the message board begins to fizzle. On December 1st, there are dozens of entries in  the first prompt thread, by January first there are a handful. By January 6th only us diehards are hanging on.

With the boys finally home our New Years holiday started with the annual decorating of the Gingerbread House - it was great to see them together!

Finally a little snow for the holiday!Just in time for New Years! The boys could not wait to bundle up and get outside!

New Year's Eve :  This New Years Eve was very cold! We spent the holiday with [friends] who will head off to Ft. Drum, NY this year. The evening was spent with kids playing, loads of food and tons of Trivial Pursuit Steal! As midnight on the East Coast rolled up we called down the kids to watch the ball drop, we skipped the sparklers this year. The kids toasted with sparkling cider that they all proclaimed disgusting, and we adults had a little champagne. The kids got settled. And this year we watched the fireworks through a window.

At our house, the New Year began with a visit from Santa Claus, and the usual tearing into gifts. As the boys opened their presents, I was struck by how big they've all gotten, and how few the holiday mornings like this may be... and I made a bit of a resolution - this year I will spend more time focused on my growing boys.
New Years day was spent playing with gifts and a visit from [family] and the kids made for lots of fun! 

Some more JYC Dec 24 - Dec 28

Here's a few more of my JYC pages!

Dec 24th - Christmas Eve:

Tracking Santa on NORAD's Santa Tracker has been a long-time tradition for our kids, but this year our niece and nephews got in on the act. Even after the kids lost interest, the grown ups kept checking in!

December 25th- Christmas Day

Christmas Morning arrived. Since the Little Guy had been up late on Christmas Eve with his cousins, he slept in later than he might have. The day was quiet, and joy-filled and relaxed. What a wonderful Christmas!

Dec. 26th - Boxing Day

On Christmas Morning, I opened Epic Mickey. A lot of Christmas Day and Boxing Day was spent painting and thinning in the Wasteland with Mickey and Oswald! What Fun! In the afternoon, I got to go and pick up the Big Boys.

Dec 27th -Peace and Quiet

Today, we're all at home and it's quiet (as quiet s a house full of boys of all sizes gets) .. and for us, the big holiday is still upcoming. I always feel a little out-of-time on these years -- the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparation is ended, the shopping finished, and we get to take these remaining days before New Years as a bit of a respite. While I miss the boys terribly when they are gone for Christmas, I do love the peaceful week leading up to New Years.

For December 28th, the topic of the day is Christmas Indulgences, I've journalled about my favorite tea, and egg nog shakes and things in the past.... this year my focus was on Christmas movies

My very favorite holiday indulgence is curling up to watch a holiday movie! I love getting lost in the experience - especially the old musicals. I can't imagine letting a Christmas slip away without watching Holiday Inn!

Journal Your Christmas Dec 19 -23

Here's some more of my missing JYC pages!

Dec 19th, we got a phone call from my brother asking if we'd like to go to the Zoo's Christmas light display. It was a great time! And aren't my niece, nephews and the Little Guy CUTE?

For the 20th, the prompt was the Unexpected -- since I had done that for the 19th, I picked up an earlier prompt about Menus!

"Two years ago, on a year when the older boys were away for Christmas, we concluded that a big traditional holiday dinner was too much for the three of us -- and I picked up some lovely steaks to grill with mushrooms, peppers, and mashed potatoes. We loved it so I think it may be a new Christmas Day tradition."

"I spent way too much time and money today -- running errands, grocery shopping, finishing up the shopping - mostly for DH and Oldest, taking advantage of a chance to get it all done without the Little Guy along. It was a long day. I fully intend to relax this evening, and wrap and bake... no wait, just RELAX!

I think this one for the 22nd is my favorite! I am just happy with it! The prompt was for a Still To Do List

For the 23rd, the prompt focused on Stockings -- since I've done the stockings topic to death in the last three years, I just went with a 'today' page of the Little Guy baking some cookies.

More soon.

Journal Your Christmas Dec 14-18

I fell way behind in scanning, uploading and posting my JYC pages...

For 14th December I went off prompt to slip in a page relating to a visit we made with some friends to a great Holiday event at Rock Ledge Ranch!

Before they left for 6 months in Florida, we spent the Holiday Evening at Rock Ledge Ranch -- sleigh riding, tramping through the cold and enjoying the frosty evening - with [Our Friends] It was a great time but REALLY cold outside!

15th December called for an entry on the topic of Visiting/Visitors

A couple of weeks ago DH got a strange airline e-mail. Thinking it was spam, he deleted it - then went back to check. Good thing he checked - it was an itinerary for Elizabeth! That's right Z is coming for a visit! I'll pick her up Friday Night!!

16th -- the prompt for today was things we're Grateful for... today that was EASY! On Dec 16th, my oldest son passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review!

Today Oldest met and passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review!!

17th -- the topic for today was the Perfect Gift but I was working on the SNOW!!

Today, before leaving to spend Christmas with their dad, the older boys and the Little Guy all went out to play together in the fresh new snow!There wasn't much of it but they made the most of it -- even producing a snowman of sorts. After dropping the boys off, he Little Guy and I spent the evening with my parents and AndyPandy.

18th -- The topic was Christmas Dinner which I covered in a later page, for this one I addressed the earlier perfect gift topic

Christmas Shopping has been underway for a while. This year if there's one perfect gift being given by us it is probably our gift for DH's parents, I sure hope they love it.
 (see yesterday's post for results of that!)

Gift Album

Here's a quick peek at the 8x8 album I made for my Inlaws' Christmas Gift. The photos are from a trip they took this year.

I did 50 pages and it was a fun little album to make! Most of the papers were DCWV - Old World and Rustic Stacks, with a little of this and that (BG and MAMBI) thrown in, too.

The ILs were delighted with it (or at least pretended very well).

Starting the year from behind!

I just realized that I haven't posted any JYC since Dec 13th! And I never posted November's Project 12! or my cards or any of the other projects I've been up to! Sometime, I'm totally going to do that - but not right now.

Today I have to say -- I have taken down all the Christmas stuff and it makes me sad. I'd prefer to leave it up through Epiphany. Our busy schedule made that seem impossible this week, so we just tackled it yesterday.  There are scattered remnants of the Holiday here and there - I haven't taken down the snowflake handtowels in the bathroom. A cup filled with Candy Canes from the tree rests on the kitchen counter. I still need to hunt out the regular doormat instead of the Christmas-tree one. But most of it is stacked in boxes, where yesterday the tree stood filling the house with light and warmth. And it seems sort of hollow without it.