celebrating

i picked up some glittery embossing powder on Friday. Ancient Gold and Enchanted Gold. can't go wrong with names like that!

i was anxious to give them a try...




my little princess loves to get dirty. she  loves to stamp. i also discovered {after my yellow stamp pad now appears blue} that she loves to blend and mix colours. despite staining my light coloured pads...she did get some neat effects from this blended stamping.

note to self: buy a rubber roller for her to blend colours on.

there is something about heat embossing. the kids are drawn to it. watching the powders melt and become shiny and glittery. mesmerizing.



our annual Kids Helping Kids art and card sale was scheduled for Sunday. so was the Christmas party hosted by Kristian's company. this year i sent a flyer with Kris to work. the owner of the company suggested that the kids set up a table at the party.

great idea! i would never thought of asking that myself.

in discussion with my friend and collaborator {ha! at times} Gloria, we decided the kids should not split up our time or cards between the two sites. instead put out their display and cards at just the kids' party.

i was hoping the kids would raise at least $100 towards the whole fundraiser. it wasn't part of the advertising for the party. most of the people were parents with young kids. i did wonder about the interest it may generate among the kids and create some inspiration for what they can do for others. seriously i am always impressed with my kids' desire to help others, and have a good attitude about it. i think it will always be meaningful for them to look back and see that they used their talents to help people they did not know when they were only toddlers and preschoolers. if they can make a difference at that age...think of what is possible for them as a teenager...adult.

i am thankful for the Stollery. i am thankful for healthy children and pray that we don't have to know the greatness of the hospital firsthand. my kids don't have a great understanding that some kids just spend too many days fighting illness and disease and have to spend Christmas in the hospital.

the owner {of the company Kris works for}, his wife, and their boys know differently. they are thankful for the care and medical expertise. their son had to have a heart transplant at 6 months old. he is now a teenager and doing well. 

one of the kids joined the art sale after having lost his sister suddenly a few months ago. he was happy to help.

many thanks to one of my bosses', Pat for donating the biggest box of paper and scrapbooking goodies my kids had ever seen. we split it up among all the kids {much to Aidans' dismay....he did get first picks despite wanting the entire box to himself!}. much thanks as well to Urban Scrapbook for lending me some display stands too.

here is more info about Kelley and the fundraiser she began:

ctv news, Edmonton, 2009

Special Event Rentals (past sponsor)

this is our little display. it is our third year being part of the fundraiser. it definitely felt weird to not be with the others!

however it turned out great. you see, Santa also attended the party. never hurts to get a word in with the man in red!

well. my expectations were far surpassed. my kids raised $785 for the Stollery Children's Hospital. donated by parents of young children. and a few grandparents. my kids don't know the difference yet between $10 and $100. they were just happy that people liked their cards well enough to buy them. it was important for them to leave the party with fewer cards than they brought. they knew that one card would make a difference.

combined with the sale at Gloria's house, it looks like the kids raised nearly $2500 for the Stollery Children's Hospital.

well done kids!!


and our two darlings were able to have a chat with the man in the red suit....


Aidan wants a good Beyblade and for Santa to surprise him.
Kiara wants a pink nutcracker. (after seeing one at HomeSense last week.)

they crack me up!

i don't have a photo of Kiara with Santa. missed the chance when she ran up to hug him when he entered the room. missed it again when she budded in front of 40 children, sneaking between the elves to an empty lap. not even when she sat on his lap after Aidan to try and get another gift. she is quite the girl!

must be Santa

the kids {including Kristian and i} went to the first work Christmas party for kids on the weekend. a first for all of us!

they had everything important. toys. crafts. cookie decorating. colouring books and crayons. food.

the highlight was SANTA!

(who also happens to be one of Kristians' bosses' at work...hmmmm)




Aidan was most serious about the meeting with the big guy. he HAD to write a letter and bring it to the party.



apparently there were other times that did not get written on his lengthy list, so he had to whisper these items into Santa's ear as well. we are doing our best to raise greedy and demanding children. i guess we can take a break, because we have apparently already succeeded!




Kiara has always liked Santa. i think Santa liked getting her cuddles!

{the funny thing is that both of the kids just saw Santa - aka Dennis - a few weeks ago. they were very shy. but not this day. very interesting what a red suit and white beard can do.}

 


Kiara was totally thrilled with the Santa visit. although both of the kids happily received their presents, Kiara was the most in awe. she had just spent over an hour doing activities that she loves....in the order that was her choice. then seeing Santa and getting a gift put her into a state of total happiness! she kept hugging Kristian and i and repeating 'thank you'.
we told her that Mrs. Claus would probably like a thank you as well. Mrs. Claus was the brains and muscle behind the party. they had stopped doing the kids' parties for awhile, and she wanted to revive the old tradition. she most certainly deserved our thanks!


December ONE is just around the corner. a short sleep away. Aidan has been asking "when" this day would come for the last month. Advent calendars have been our lifesaver. we have always done one with the kids. this year we will do three of them. for real. the kids will each have their own playmobile one this year. a trial. the third calendar will be filled with activities for us to do.


help yourself to a copy here. i changed it slightly from last year.

the kids and i really enjoyed focusing on one activity a day...and it kept me from getting overwhelmed by what we hadn't done! some of the activities we had to combine and some were done after the actual Christmas day. a bad flu bug was the main cause of the disruption. i am keeping an optimistic attitude that we will be much healthier this year!! the warmer weather this fall has already brought its' share of bugs and i don't think i can stay sane if we remain sick until March (like last year).

we will be healthy. we will be healthy. we will be healthy.....