Advent

It's no surprise to the people who know me that Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love the lights, the tree, wreaths, nativities, cookies, candies, parties, and...well...I pretty much love all of it. I love the Christmas season so much that we set up the tree before Thanksgiving this year.  :)  I sit by it every night and crochet the evening away.

Our 2012 Christmas Tree

I am especially loving this year as I watch Nathan's excitement over the season. I watch him as he remembers traditions from last year and makes the connection that we are continuing this memories. I love watching Alex's face as she experiences Christmas as a toddler who is walking around and understanding things. I love watching them anticipate the season together.  Watching them laugh and sing and dance around.  Watching them listen to the Christmas story and make connections about Jesus.  Watching them take in the Christmas lights on our walk.  I love it all.

Sorting ornaments for "their" tree.

But along with the excitement and joy I feel watching them experience Christmas comes a great feeling of responsibility. Craig and I are directly responsible for how our kids view Christmas. We are directly responsible for whether they come out of childhood thinking Christmas is all about them or if they come out of childhood knowing Christmas is all about HIM.

The nativity I received from my in-laws.  My constant reminder of WHO the season is really about it.  

How do you find the balance? The balance of receiving gifts and giving gifts. The balance of fun and excitement and reverence for what this day means to us. The balance of the material side of Christmas and the spiritual side of Christmas. The balance of going and doing and just sitting and abiding. It's a big job we have as parents. How to "do Christmas".  Sometimes it overwhelms me.

Daddy and Alex, decorating the kids' tree.

For our family in this season, we're making Christmas about giving. Giving to Jesus through giving to others. We're also doing everything we can to point our kids to Jesus this season. For us this means minimizing Santa.  We're also not doing the Elf on the Shelf. (Pretty sure I'd stress out trying to keep up with that guy!). We're not doing a tree full of gifts or an advent activity full of chocolate and presents. While they are young we want to instill a spirit of giving in their hearts in a world that tells us we need to "get".

All dressed up and ready to deliver some cookies.  

So what are we doing? Well, this year we are doing an advent activity called Truth in the Tinsel. Every day the kids make an ornament that represents part of the Christmas story. (If you don't have an advent activity and are looking for one - I highly recommend this one.  WELL worth the 8 bucks.)  We are also doing random acts of kindness throughout December. (Check out this site for lots of ideas!) We've already taken the kids to carol and deliver cookies twice (practicing on our parents to see if the kids would really sing). By the way, they did.  And loved it! We are doing gifts, but are not going overboard with them like we have in the past.

Their first advent craft of 2012.

Does this mean we're cutting down on the excitement? I don't think so. Changing the focus of the excitement? Sure. But diminishing it? No. They are enjoying their crafts and look forward to moving the trinket on the advent calendar. They love delivering cookies and making other people smile. Nathan keeps telling me he likes to "help people". They love counting down to Jesus's birthday so they can celebrate it.

Jesus came to give light to a dark world.  Their candle ornaments are reminders of that.  

And that's what is working for us this year.

What does your family do to celebrate Christmas?

Hats

Christmas is coming.  It's the Crafting Mommies' busiest time of year.  You know, because people love to give handmade gifts.  And we love to sell handmade gifts!

Some of the most recent orders I've completed:

An Update on the Owls Who've Travelled

If you've been following my blog, you saw a post last week where I shared pictures with you of two sweet girls and their owls.  

I received an email today from our case worker (the one who delivered the first package of owls for us) and I wanted to share with you the update she gave me.  Some details have been changed to protect privacy.

Amy,

I wanted to give you an update on the owls.  The representative that was supposed to meet with me was unable to, so I didn't have a reliable way to get them to the original orphanage and into the hands of the kids.  I decided to give the owls to some of the children I visited at a different orphanage.  This is the orphanage who cares for two girls some friends of ours are trying to adopt. They care for about 40 special needs kids and 40 healthy with most under 3 years in age.  Your owls ended up on a floor where the most severely disabled children are cared for.  One went to our friend's future little girl.  She is very shy and can't sit up.  She got the pink one.  She was very attracted to the big eyes and liked touching the texture of the toy also.  Another girl is about a size 12 months at 3 years and was parked in a stroller facing a wall with no toys.  Some people believe she is so damaged there is no point in giving her any attention.  I interacted with her for about 15 minutes and was able to get her to smile, grasp my finger and track her eyes with the little orange owl.  He stayed with her and I hope she will now at least have one toy to touch and look at!  One of the purple and green owls stayed with a little girl named P.  She was sitting in a special chair that an agency provided to support her large head.  She is 10 years old and has hydrocephalus.  The chair was parked in a dark hallway and P reached out for attention as we passed by. She smiled and hugged the owl to her face. She was very excited.   The next owl went to the little one I have been calling B on the blog.  She is an active little girl who gets attention because she demands it!  She saw me giving them to the other children through the window of her room and tapped to get my attention.  I couldn't resist giving her one!  One owl did also end up with a little girl who traveled to her new home (in the US!) this week.  She saw them on my bed and I really couldn't say NO! 

Your little owls really made some children happy.  Even in the room with the healthy toddlers there were no soft toys.  None of the children in cribs had anything soft or textured to touch.  

 Friends, this is what it's all about.  Your support of this project does not go unnoticed.  God has blessed your giving, your sharing, and your prayers in ways I can't even share!  

The Drive

The drive to Atlanta

was 5 hours each way.

Can you guess

How I spent my time?

Yep.  Four more owls ready for homes!

Owls In Action

I received permission last night to share some photos with you.  Katie Musser was the second child to ever receive an owl from the Owls for Orphans project.  Katie was adopted and brought out of "The Bad Place" - the orphanage where our Miah is now.  Susanna's blog is where we found our Miah, so the Musser family will always hold a special place in our heart which is why I wanted so badly to send Katie an owl.  And because it's not enough that ONE adorable child has an owl, Susanna ordered one for their daughter Verity as well.  So know you get to see pictures of TWO adorable kids with owls.  It just might make your day!  

These pictures have been taken with permission from Susanna's blog post HERE.

Brace yourself for the cuteness.  (I should also add that these pictures left tears streaming down my face.  If you've read Katie's story you'll understand why.)

Sweet Katie, with the best smile in the world.  Friends, less than ONE year ago she was trapped in a crib with no food and no love.  Look what a family does!!!!  LOOK!!!  

And here comes the Verity cuteness:

Words aren't enough to explain the joy in my heart after seeing these photos.  Everyone who is helping with Owls for Orphans - THIS is why.  

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."  Matthew 19:14

God's heart is with children.  Especially those the world sees as "worthless".  They are not worthless!  They are MORE than worthy of love, joy, family, and a little something soft to hug.  

Thanks again, Susanna, for letting me share your sweet girls.  

 

The Kitchen

A couple of days ago I mentioned that I'm joining in on a challenge to organize our home.   

This might be the only time it's ever organized again.

This week's challenge was the kitchen. Can I tell you how much I love kitchens?  After Craig and I were married we completely refinished the kitchen.  We painted the cabinets, installed new flooring, and put in granite countertops.  When we decided to move I was so torn because I knew I'd be leaving our kitchen.  So when we stumbled upon this house and I walked in and saw the VERY SAME granite counters as our old house, I knew we had to buy this one.  :)  And here we are!

So.  Back to the organizing.  I cannot lie.  I thoroughly gutted and organized our kitchen about a month ago and it has stayed pretty tidy since then.  So I don't have much in the way of "before" pictures.  I went back through and straightened things up and did a good cleaning.  That's all there was to do this week for me!  (But just wait.  When we do closets it's gonna be tough!)

I started with the kid's cabinet.  I'm working with Nathan and Alex on putting away their dishes after they're clean, so this one gets messy pretty quickly.

I took everything out first and then put away all of the nursing supplies.  (Won't be needing those anytime soon!)  Then I put all of the cups in the big blue bin and put the bowls in the basket.  Everything else just sits in the cabinet for easy access.

Much better.  In a week it'll be back to stage one and I'll get to do this all over again!

I also straightened the ziplock/potholder drawer.  This one seems to get cluttered quickly too!  

When I was organizing a couple of weeks ago I completed straightened out our cabinet under the sink.  In the left basket you'll find our dishwasher detergent and rinse aid.  The middle basket is cleaning supplies and the right basket is dish soap.  In the back is the dreaded fish tank cleaning stuff.  Bleh.  And behind all of that (unseen in the picture) is all of our cleaning rags.  We've officially gotten rid of paper towels, so I have lots of rags back there.  And you probably noticed our handy fire extinguisher.  Every house needs one.  But especially ours since we have a home study walk through next week!!

Here's my baking cabinet.  Complete with oils, spices, baking powder, soda, salt, and bowls.  See that curtain rod holding up my little spices?  Yep, that's a Pinterest idea!  A little tip - make sure you get the tension really tight.  Otherwise you might open your cabinet to find a bunch of spices falling all over you.  Not that I'd know that.  Ahem.  Hidden in the basket on the left you'll also find the kids' playdough supplies.  I keep them in the kitchen closest to the table because it's an easy way to keep them entertained while I'm baking or cooking.

Here's the back wall of the kitchen.  Baking supplies are top left, kids' cabinet is bottom left.  To the right on top are the plates and Pyrex bakeware (no picture - it's boring) and the bottom left is pots and pans.  Again no picture.  Sorry.  I know you're missing it dreadfully.

Here's the right wall of the kitchen.  I don't like this spot.  Because it's so ridiculously hot down here right now I'm not drinking coffee.  So all of that is stored on top of the fridge in that mess.  When it's cold there's a nice little coffee corner in this nook.  But for now it just looks weird.  I'm thinking about switching to tea since my taste for coffee comes and goes.  If that happens, I can stash the coffee away in a cabinet far away and only pull it out for company.  What do you think: coffee or tea?  And yes, I still need to clean the fridge.  You caught me.  

In our dining nook we have another Pinterest find: our family calender center.  I spray painted an old frame and created a scrapbook type layout to go inside.  It has our calendar, a weekly planner, a note section, our family picture, and some of my artwork from college.  It makes me happy.  And gets rave reviews from company!

And here's the breakfast nook.  Which is our "every meal nook" since our dining room is the school room right now.  Can I tell you how much I love this table??  It was Craig's grandmother's table that was passed along to him.  It was previously a pine color that didn't match the new house.  And the finish was almost completely worn off from so many years of love.  So we refinished it!  The legs are painted white and the tabletop and chair seats are stained a dark brown.  I then brushed some stain on the legs to age it a bit.  The white was too stark next to the stain.  I LOVE it in our kitchen.  It fits perfectly.  

And there you have it.  Our lovely kitchen. 

And They're Off!

Early this morning I packed up a very special box.  I lovingly taped it up and said goodbye to hours and hours of work.  I carefully wrote down the name of someone who has quickly become one of the greatest people I know.  The kids said their goodbyes as I set the box by the door. 

And with great joy I tell you that these little guys are on their way to Washington state.  Once there they will be packed into the suitcase of my dear friend Nina, who is graciously taking them to Eastern Europe with her.  Nina is our case worker for our adoption.  She is amazing.  Not a day goes by that this woman isn't working - even when she's supposed to be "off".  (We got the email that we had been officially matched with Miah at 6 AM her time.  I don't think she sleeps!) And now she's offered to make room in her suitcase for my owls.  

Once they are packed the owls will board a plane and be on their way to Eastern Europe.  More specifically, to Miah's country.  They will leave Nina's hands and be given to a woman who can deliver them to Miah's orphanage.  We're praying they will then make their way into the arms of the children who need them most right now.  

A little bit of light in a very lonely place.  How I pray God will use them to bring joy to a few sweet kids who need to know they're loved.  

A Little Break

Y'all.  There are owls coming out of my ears.  Since starting Owls for Orphans a month ago, I've made 5 owls, 7 orphan owls, and have 11 more orders waiting.  I'm pretty sure I could make these little guys in my sleep!  This has been such a huge blessing for me!  I'm able to do my share to raise money for our adoption (since I'm not working outside the home) and I'm able to help give kids something to smile about.  So amazing.

But I must be honest.  I'm going a little stir crazy with all of these owls.  And Pinterest isn't helping any.  I see so many cute things I want to make, but I'm still not caught up on owl orders.  So I gave myself permission to take a short break this afternoon to work on something other than owls.  (Don't worry.  I made an owl this morning.  If you have an order waiting, I'm still working on them! :))  But my poor brain needed a break.  So I started something new today.  I'm going to work on it a little at a time as I need a break from the owls.  It should be enough of a break here and there to keep me energized.  :)

When it's done it will be a scarf.  What do you think?  Cute, right?  I love the colors. They'll repeat in a pattern in that order.  They're cheery, but still "fall-ish".  Is fall-ish a word?  If not, it is now. I think I'm going to love this scarf when it's finished.  I'm all about the stripes these days, so this makes me smile.  

When we travel to Miah's country it is recommended that we give a gift to her caretakers, her baba, the orphanage director and a few other people.  I'm thinking scarves would make a good gift since our first trip will be in winter.  Good idea?  It'd give me something to work on on the long flight.  As long as a crochet hook is allowed in my carry on.  Anyone know?  Does TSA consider crochet hooks to be weapons?  I surely hope not.  

Alrighty then.  I've taken a long enough break of scarf making and blogging to move back to the owls now.  There's a lime green and blue one in the works for a sweet orphan in Eastern Europe.  I hope he or she loves it.  

Waiting

Well, here we are.  Still waiting.  No news from the FBI yet on our clearances.  If you don't remember, we need them done in order to finish our home study.  So while we wait, I thought you might like to see the latest owls.  :)

There ya go!  :)  

For more info on the owls, click on the Owls for Orphans tab at the top of the screen.  

Happy News!

You remember the Owls for Orphans?  If you've been following from the beginning you'll remember that the orphan owls right now are going to former orphans who have found their families.  The first owl was sent to my friend Lindsay, who is bringing her son Gavin home within the next few months.  The second owl went to a sweet girl named Lina who has been home for a few months now.  The third and fourth "orphan owls" are going to Katie Musser and a child Katie's mom knows.

You'll also remember that my goal for the owls was that they would eventually be going to current orphans who don't yet have families.  Logistically that looked like a nightmare, so I started sending the owls to former orphans as a reminder to them and their parents that they are VALUED and LOVED all the time.  I prayed over the children as I made owls for them and wrote their parents a note that was mailed with the owl.  It's been a huge blessing to be able to honor these kids and the legacy they are leaving.  But sending owls to former orphans was not my original goal.  My original goal was to send owls to current orphans.  Orphans who don't yet have anyone telling them how much they are loved.

With that said, I'm excited to announce that the logistical nightmare is not such a nightmare!  Owls can be sent to MIAH'S ORPHANAGE!  To current orphans!  These kids will have something soft to hold and squeeze! 

Our case worker is taking a trip to Miah's country next month.  She has graciously offered to take some owls with her.  The owls will be given to a woman who works with the "grandmothers" and the "grandmothers" will deliver the owls to the children.  (Don't worry, this is all legal!)  When we take our first trip to visit Miah (probably in February or March) we will also be able to take owls with us as gifts for the children.

Can I even begin to tell you how excited this makes me?!  Probably not.  I have a geeky smile on my face right now because I'm so happy about this!  Yay!

Some changes will be made to the Owls for Orphans pricing, sizing and such soon to accommodate for this exciting news.  I'll update you soon!

Time

The biggest lesson I'm learning as a parent is that I can't get back the time I miss with the kids.

Some of the time missed is necessary.  The house has to be cleaned, dinner has to be made (though Nathan helps with that some), and errands have to be run.  I can't spend every waking moment playing with the kids.  But I've been guilty of wasting my time when I could be investing in the lives of our children.  I've spent too much time on Facebook and Pinterest.  I've spent nap time doing NOTHING instead of being productive to give me more time with the kids when they wake.  Changing this habit is something I've been working hard on.  (While still maintaining that balance of having "me time".)

(Why yes, the kids do spend most of their days without pants on.) 

When Miah comes home I won't have as much play time with the kids as I do now.  So I've made it my mission to spend as much time having fun with the kids as I can right now so that I don't miss out on this time in their lives.  They're growing up way faster than I want them to.

This is why I love Pinterest (in moderation).  There are so many awesome ideas for projects to do with the kids.  Like this crayon art.  Nathan LOVED it!

When did he turn into a BOY and not a baby?  

Owls for Orphans

So...what is Owls for Orphans?  Well, I'm glad you asked!  Let me share with you.

Owls for Orphans is a cute little ministry I've started.  See these awesome little owls?

You know you love them.  And I'm sure there's a kid in your life who would love one too.  Or a shelf in your house that needs to be decorated with an owl.  Everyone needs an owl.  :)  He's where Owls for Orphans starts.  Buy an owl and help an orphan.  Easy peasy!

Wait.  How does buying a hand crocheted stuffed owl help an orphan?  Well, there are two ways.  Double whammy!

1.  When you buy (or custom order) an owl, all profits from the owl (anything above the cost of materials) goes into our adoption fund.  Once our adoption is funded, the profits will go to either help cover the cost of orphan care, or will be donated to someone else's adoption fund.

2.  When you buy an owl, you have the option of buying TWO owls.  One for you, and one for an orphan or former orphan.  

Friends, I want to pause right here and share my heart with you.  There is a place in Eastern Europe where children are not loved.  There are orphanages over there that do not take their jobs seriously enough.  There are 7 year old children the size of my one year old Alex.  Neglect is like a disease over there.  It's taken over these poor children's bodies and they are wasting away.  Nobody deserves that kind of care.  But there is good news!  There are amazing people out there who are working VERY HARD to turn things around.  There are children being adopted who are freed from a lifetime in a crib and are coming home to families that love them!  Praise God!  

The orphan owls will be sent to children in orphanages in Eastern Europe.  Some are even going to Miah's orphanage!

Pretty cool, right?  So here are your options for ordering an owl:

1.  Buy an owl for $40 and an orphan owl will be sent to an orphan in an orphanage.  I reserve the right to decide where the owls are going, but for now they will be going to Miah's birth country.  I'm hoping to send some to a local orphanage here in town soon as well. 

2.  You can now also just buy an owl for yourself.  I know $40 is a lot of money.  For those who can't afford both owls, you can buy one owl for yourself for $30.  This owl will be the normal size.  (Roughly 8x10")  The profits from these owls will go into our adoption fund to help us adopt Miah. 

3.   Want to just bless an orphan?  You can now donate money to send an owl to an orphan without buying both owls.  For just $10 a little owl will be made and sent to an orphan.  This money covers the cost of materials and the cost of shipping.  I am not making any money off of the orphan owls - they are my ministry. 

Want to buy an owl?  Send me an email (or facebook me if you're my friend) and let me know what colors you'd like.  You can also visit this post on our Etsy page for more details on the owl himself.  I'll get started on it as soon as I can.  amybmoss (at) gmail (dot) com

Due to the number of orders I have right now, he current wait time for owls is about 1 month.