God's at work, and on my mind...

Our church is next door to a drug and alcohol recovery centre for men, Kinghaven, and so there is often a number of residents with us in the pews on Sunday mornings. God is always at work. Some come and stay for the service, but often they are restless, with either the need for a smoke break pulling them away, or not being interested or focused enough to sit through the whole message. But, from what I understand, our church is the only place they are allowed to go off the facility's property while they're in treatment. I know for many, it's a life changing decision for them to hang out at "the church next door" because I know that God is always at work.

I saw something while at church yesterday that really hit home for me. God is always at work. The service message wasn't a typical message. Our pastor didn't speak, but rather the service consisted of music, dance, and several clips from the movie "Nativity". It was a touching service, but what touched me the most was the young man in front of me (who looked a little tough... and rough around the edges), who was moved to tears during the scene of Mary giving birth to Baby Jesus. God is always at work. I don't know the story of this man's life. I don't know what brought him to Kinghaven. I don't know what Christmas means to him. I don't know if he's ever heard the Christmas Story before. But I know for sure that he felt God at work in his life yesterday... just like I did.

today's the day...

Well, here we are... just four more sleeps. Is everybody ready and taking the last couple days to rest and relax? Yeah, right!!

Today's the day around the Friesen household... the get-it-done day! I'm planning to finish off the laaast gift on my list, and as I type, my girls are both hard at work on final gifts of their own. I'm caught up on laundry, the dishwasher is humming, and there's a Christmas cd singing away. I hope you have a wonderful Monday... and that if it's in the cards, you'll find a moment to put your feet up with me! You know, in a few hours or so!

Christmas parties & mini album tutorial...

Well, the girls' parties over the weekend went really well and everyone had fun. There was scrapbooking to do, hot chocolate and pizza to consume, and a gift exchange to giggle our way through. And now that the house is back in order, I thought I'd share pictures... most of the girls had never scrapbooked before and they did an awesome job! I'm so proud that my girls taught their friends the ropes on making the mini flip books...

And now I thought I'd share a little how-to for those of you who'd like to make a mini flip album of your own. They're so easy and can be done in any theme! My girls have made several and just taught their friends how to make them... so you can do it too!

You start with a 12"x12" piece of cardstock, either a solid color, or one that has a pattern/design on each side. Mine had a Christmas tree print on one side, and was a cream with swirls on the other. Fold your paper in half. Then open it up and fold in half again the other direction. It will now have four squares. From the middle top edge, cut along the fold line until you reach the center of the sheet. This is what mine looks like... ignore the embellishments for now, I'm just showing you where to cut. I took out about a quarter of an inch or so... so when there are pictures and embellishments, the book will still close nicely.Now you can close your book. Fold the two top flaps down toward the middle, then close it like a book. You'll see that you have eight surfaces in total to scrapbook on (if you include the back of the book.)

Here is the front of my book... and the back with a tag that gives room to personalize or write a special message... I've glued a strip of ribbon around the book so I can tie it closed, but the project will work fine without a ribbon. If you add ribbon, it should be the first thing on, before you add pictures or tags.

Here is my book opened, and then with the left flap lifted up. This book has been made without photos... instead I've left areas of black cardstock where pictures can be added. (It may be a gift... I'm a little undecided!)

This is a close up of the bottom left section... as you can see, the tag can be slipped out of a little sleeve. It should be really cute once a picture is added. And on the right (the right section you'd see when the book has just been opened) I've made a large tag (for another photo) that tucks into a holder.

Here is the book completely open... again you can see the place I cut in the center to separate the two top pieces, running from the center top down to the middle. Each of the black areas was designed to hold a picture.
A close up of the top section... perhaps three circles for three kiddos? There's also a place for journalling. And the lower right section has a flip-open piece... I stole the idea from Julianna and I love it! You can also see it in the picture above - it's the snowman with the red background that will flip open like a book.

I tried to tie the whole book together with ribbons stapled here and there. I think it adds some great texture. One important thing - if you choose patterned cardstock for this project, be sure to be careful if the design is directional. You want it to face the right direction when your book is open. The swirls on the cream side of my paper became the front of the album because the Christmas trees on the inside of the book have a right side up. If I folded it so the trees were on the outside, they'd be upside down.

I hope this looks like a fun project for you to try! Have a great Monday...

~Kimberly

winner winner, Christmas dinner!

First of all, let me say a huge THANK YOU all for your interest in my little giveaway! I was blown away by all the comments! And so many from far away...

I had to laugh when the name was drawn. The lucky lady is such a wonderful person that I'm really happy for her to be on the receiving end of my giveaway. She's also in the process of lending me a series of quilting patterns... now our packages will cross in the mail! It's just like Christmas or something! And she is... drumroll please... Julie from Country Girl at Heart. Congratulations Julie!

And thank you again for all your kind words and entries! Have a great Sunday afternoon! We're watching the snow fall and working on little projects here and there... Yes, Christmas is coming!

don't forget to enter my giveaway!!

I'm drawing the big winnah tomorrow... and with more than 100 entries (wowzers - who woulda thunk it?), you'll stand as much of a chance as anyone else... so get your name in the running!

Comments left on this post won't make it into the draw... click here to enter!

Good luck and have a great weekend!

I think I'm all set...

It started when Emily was in Kindergarten... Christmas parties for her and a few friends. Just simple little after school get togethers where the kids (and the mess) are the focus. Through the years we've done things like decorating sugar cookies (no, no girls... the sprinkles are for on your cookies, not to be poured into your mouth!), painting wooden ornaments (wow, that's a LOT of paint... hope it's dry before Christmas!), and going to town with the hot glue gun, floral picks, and small grapevine wreaths (pity the poor teacher THAT year... how many identical wreaths handmade by little girls does one person need?). Each party has ended with an ornament exchange. Last year I felt bad that the annual party just didn't happen. With a later season show after my open houses, and then Robyn and I in Mexico for a week... time flew too fast. So THIS year, we're doing a little more than usual...

Both of my girls are getting a party of their own. Emily's is today after school, and Julianna's is tomorrow afternoon. We've planned a bigger-than-usual project and we're all very excited. What are we making? I'll post all about it on Monday. But for now I'll show you that the table is ready, the supplies are waiting, the snacks are chillin' in the fridge, and Emily's gift is wrapped and ready to go. Oh, and Robyn and I are wondering just how much pizza we're going to need to order. Because really, how much food can a gaggle of 12-13 year old girls eat...?

...wish me luck...

feeling nostalgic...

Once again, it almost feels like Christmas is rushing past before I can get a good hold on it. We did our tree on Sunday afternoon, and Emily helped me do some baking. It's so neat to watch her excitement in the kitchen... to her, Christmas Rice Krispie squares are just the best thing going. I don't think she really believes that the recipe wasn't invented yesterday. This pan of treats was made entirely by her... when I try to make them, they turn out like rocks! And the pumpkin pie..? I just made it 'cause it smells so good while it bakes!

And speaking of something not being invented yesterday... one thing I remember fondly from when I was little was my Grandma using a cookie press when she baked shortbread cookies. My shortbread recipe is for a drop type cookie, but I must have been feeling a little sentimental because I dug out my press and gave it a try. I just love how my cookies turned out... very vintage-ish and Chriatmasy and just like my Grandma's! They're even baked on her old pan!

We spent Monday night helping my parents decorate their tree... we brought pizza and homemade danish, shared a bottle of wine, and had a really nice evening. My mom hurt her leg a couple of weeks ago and will be on crutches for the holidays, and I know my dad was happy for the help (even though we left quite a mess behind!) It was wonderful to watch my girls place the fragile vintage ornaments that belonged to my grandparents on the tree. (For some reason, I CAN NOT get blogger to upload the pictures of those ornaments.) They really are beautiful - even the original boxes are keepsakes!

And now this morning I'm feeling a little draggy, even though I have a lot to do. It's December 10th, and 10 years ago was a very hard day. I had a rough time with a miscarriage, and at the same time my girlfriend from highschool gave birth to twins. I'm not sure why this is on my mind today more than usual... 10 years has brought a lot of change and growth into our family. I love that God's given me a great life with so many memories, even though they're not all good. Everything is just so small compared with eternity.

Julianna told me yesterday that she doesn't get excited for Christmas any more... I think it was something to do with her having lost the childlike excitement of it all. In some ways, she's so mature... but she's still so little. Heck, I'M still so little! I pray that NONE OF US loses that Chriatmas morning excitement. We're celebrating the birth of Christ... that's the big package under the tree. If we look at it through the eyes of a child, everything else is just the icing on top. And the memories are the sprinkles.

I must be getting older, because I'm enjoying the sprinkles almost more than enything else.