Tag Archives: traditions

The White Envelope Story

I thought that I would kick off the Christmas season again this year with my most favorite Christmas story and tradition!  We have been doing this tradition in our home for several years now and I always look forward to it more than anything else that we do!  But even if you do not do this tradition in your home…it is a great story to start of your holiday season and get you in the true meaning of Christmas!

We have a tradition in our home that we started a few years ago.  My children are all grown and married, and every year we would go through this little ritual– They would say, “Mom, what do you and dad want for Christmas?”  and I would reply “that we really did not need anything,” and I could never come up with any ideas for them.

We usually all get together for Sunday dinner, and four years ago at one of these family nights, I read the following story to my family.  It reminds me so much of my own husband, because he does not like the commercialism of Christmas just like the man in the story and all of our kids had to agree, and thus was born the tradition of the “White Envelope”.  It is truly the highlight of Christmas for my husband and I.  We wake up on Christmas morning and we read the letters from each of our children and their family and I must admit, that it usually brings tears to our eyes!  What a beautiful way to start our Christmas Day!

This is my “White Envelope”, I made it out of fabric and it goes on the Christmas tree.  You could use any white envelope, but I decorated it up and we use it year after year.  All of the grand kids know exactly what it is and they get caught up in the spirit also!

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Sinterklaas Party 2013

We had our annual Sinterklaas party this last weekend and the kids had a great time!

 Sinterklass day is not until Dec. 5th, but we always have our party on the weekend when we can all be together.  We started this tradition after my oldest son served a mission for our church, in the Netherlands.  I love all of the rich traditions that go along with the arrival of Sinterklaas and the start of the Christmas season.  That is why we celebrate it every year.  It is just a fun way to kick off the holidays!   I will apologize in advanced for all the family pictures in this post, but that is what this party is all about and then also this fun guy:

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope that your day is filled with Love, Kindness and Pumpkin Pie!

The Graphics Fairy

I will be taking a couple of days off to spend time with the family!  Hope that you get to do the same.

Have a Thankful Day and Count Your Blessings.  Love Ya!

Keep in touch…Like on Facebook and Pinterest

If you need some reading to get you in the holiday mode, here are a couple of Christmas traditions that we have in our home, perhaps you will want to  make one of them a tradition in your home!

This first one is the one that I cherish the most.  You will want to read through this post, but be prepared to have a tissue at hand!  If you have children, this is a great tradition.  My husband and I do this every year with our family because all of our children are grown and so this is what we have the kids and grandkids do for our gifts!  It is wonderful!

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The White Envelope

The second tradition that we do is the Nativity.  The kids love to act this out and I have a very simple way to make all of the costumes!  You could even do these as a no-sew project if you want to.  They are very basic and simple, but the thing that I love about them is the fact that one size fits all…literally!  You just tie them up a little higher or tuck them in for the little ones!  Perfect, you make them once and then you have them forever!

Aren’t these kids the cutest ever? :)

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Super Easy Darling Nativity Costumes

Did that get you in the Christmas Spirit?  

If you are a black Friday shopper, all I can say, is GOOD LUCK  and I hope you are able to get all the deals that you are out there for!  :)

As for me, I think that I will just stay home and enjoy my Christmas Decorations and get ready for our Sinterklaas Party!

Thanks for stopping by today.

 I am really grateful for all of my readers and I appreciate the support that you give to me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Fishing Adventures

 Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?
Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?
Is that what you do? So do I!

Children’s Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 245

Last week my husband told my oldest grandson and his brother that he would pay them $5 each to be fishing guides for a couple of the other grandkids.  They gladly accepted and so we were able to have a great fishing adventure and I did not even have to touch a worm or a fish!  :)

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Spring Break 2013

I am having a hard time getting back into a routine.  After our trip to Arizona and a long weekend at the cabin I just want to play all day!  Who wants to clean house and work when you have had so much fun?

This last week was spring break here, so we decided to go to the cabin for 4 days and we had two of our families come up.  It was non-stop commotion, but it was fun commotion!  Not too long after we arrived the first day, my son-in-law texted me asking me to send him a picture of his two kids with the reservoir in the background.  This is what I sent him…

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Sunny Arizona

My husband and I just got back from our annual trip to Sunny Arizona!  We go every year for Spring Training Baseball, well at least that is what we say we go for, but we pack a whole lot more into this trip than just baseball!  My number one favorite reason for going this time of year is for the beautiful sunny skies!  It is always so warm and wonderful every year when we go and I love just soaking in all of that gorgeous sunshine.   It does make it a little difficult to come home when everyone back home (Utah) says that it is snowing again, but after a glorious 10 days we did decide to come back! :)

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Grandma and Grandpa Dates

Part of our granddaughter’s Christmas gift was to have a date with Grandma and go to the beauty salon! So last week we went to a local beauty school and each of the girls got their hair done and their fingernails painted!

It was so much fun and the girls loved it!

 I think that we might even have to do it again sometime! :)

Look at how darling that hair is!  Each one of them turned out sooo cute!

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Sinterklaas Party, Our Family Tradition

Several years ago, my oldest son served a mission for our church to the Netherlands.  So I asked him about some of the Christmas traditions while he was there and every year since we have celebrated Sinterklaas day in some way or another.

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Feeding An Army

Yesterday for our Sunday dinner I made Stromboli.  This used to be a family favorite when my kids were all at home and we would make this a lot of times on Sunday night.  Now when I make this I have to make enough for an army..well almost! When we get together for Sunday dinner now we are up to 19 or 20 people depending on who is there.  It is fun chaos and the noise decible goes up considerably when everyone is there.  But it is great to see the cousins become good friends to each other!

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Swiss Days Finds

Labor Day Weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year!  Not because we have some great family traditions that we do, but because I have a personal tradition that I do! I go to Swiss Days in Midway, Utah every year.  I have been going for years and I look forward to it every fall!  We go up Provo canyon to get there and it is always such a beautiful drive because the leaves have started turning their bright and beautiful colors. There is usually a little bit of coolness in the air and it is perfect for shopping at all the different boutique booths! Continue reading