Improvising

As a rule our family does not do Barbies. Mostly for two reasons. One is the idea of our little girls playing with full-figured "woman" dolls. The other is the immodest clothing worn by the dolls. A couple of our girls LOVE playing with Barbies when they are at someone else's house and have asked for them. We have explained our reasons for not owning them and it hasn't been an issue.

While browsing the toy section during some Christmas shopping I noticed Barbie has "younger sister" dolls available in varying ages. Seth and I talked about whether or not those would be okay for our girls. The body shape is fine, lacking the full-figured bosom. But there was still the issue with the clothes.

We decided I could try to improvise the outfits to make it work. We also plan to use the dolls to jump start a conversation about dressing modestly and being strong enough to make different choices from those around us. It is hard to live in the world and not be of the world. It is hard to stop and take the time to analyse each and every choice we make and ask ourselves, "Is this pleasing to God?" But that is what we want our daughters to be strong enough to do. We also want them to realize that there is still much fun to be had and we do not need to deprive ourselves in order to honor God. Sometimes we just need to improvise.

Below is one of the dolls before altering her outfit. We were not impressed with her off the shoulder shirt and ultra short skirt. Would anyone actually let their daughter out of the house with that skirt?

For both of the taller dolls I lengthened the skirt considerably. And for the doll below I added a scarf to cover her shoulders.

** A little tip for sewing doll clothes- Scrapbooking glue dots work fabulously for holding the fabric in place while you run it through your sewing machine.**  :)

I don't think we will be seeing anyone before Christmas. But if we happen to, please don't mention the dolls. We don't want to spoil their surprise! :)

I hope you all are enjoying the advent season- preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the giver of life!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Caroling

Today we went caroling at the retirement home with our Keepers club. We have done this for the past several years and it is always such a joy. The residents love to hear the familiar carols and see the girls in their pretty dresses. It's so fun to see their smiling faces. They especially light up for the little ones. Cute babies are hard to resist.

The girls passed out homemade ornaments and candy canes as we went from room to room. Violet didn't quite get down the passing out concept and ate her candy cane instead. She was a sticky mess, but the residents still thought she was cute.

Our list of songs included Silent Night,  Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,  Joy to the World,  O Come, All ye Faithful,  O Little Town of Bethlehem,  Away In a Manger,  God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,  The Little Drummer Boy,  Deck The Halls,  Jingle Bells, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

If you have the opportunity to visit a retirement home with family and friends for caroling or even just visiting I highly recommend it. You will be blessed every bit as much as the residents and will create some special Christmas memories for your children.

Merry Christmas!

Surprise Christmas Treat

 Papa and Nana stopped by to drop off some chairs we were borrowing for a party. Nana surprised the girls with a cute and yummy treat- marshmallow snowmen. I thought they were too cute to actually eat, but the girls thought otherwise.

And then there were two...

 Elsie and Violet were down for a nap when Papa and Nana came so two of the snowmen survived a bit longer. Emma said, "Nana just makes the coolest treats!" I have to agree. :)

White As Snow

White is one of my favorite colors. I use it alot in my scrapbook pages. See below...

White to me is happy and bright, and clean and pure. It is a peaceful color. I love blank pieces of white paper and canvas, white buttons, white flowers, a clear bowl filled with sparkling white sugar, white sand beaches and tumbled white rocks. I love when we have snow on the ground. We don't get that often in the Seattle area, but when we do it is pure bliss!

(image from: http://uponafold.com.au/blog/page/4/)

And I love these verses from Isaiah...

"Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land..."

These verses bring me back to my Sunday school years as a little girl. I still remember making a small book with colored construction paper. The pages were blank but the colors told the story of sin and forgiveness. The last page was white and it symbolized our hearts being made "as white as snow".

I am blown away by His love for me. All the crummy selfish things I do, and have done. Being wiped away. Being made clean and white. Not because of anything I do. There is not enough bleach in world to make my heart white. I can not do enough good deeds, or think enough good thoughts. A clean white heart cannot be bought or earned, only received as a gift. It's the best Christmas gift of all. I'm reminded of the song "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus."

White is such a happy color. One of these years I will have to decorate my Christmas tree all in white. :)

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

We decided Thanksgiving was the perfect opportunity for an impromptu photo shoot. I really love being able to include a family picture in our Christmas cards. My sister graciously agreed to snap some pictures of us before we sat down to our Thanksgiving dinner. She's a great photographer and so good at getting all the girls to look at the camera! So much better than me trying to get everyone to smile and make it back in place before the timer snaps the pic! ;)  I still have some editing to do to get it ready for our cards. Like Emma said, with all the leaves in the background the pictures look very "Fallish", and not so "Christmasy". Yay for Photoshop!

 

 

More Fourth Photos

 Nana and Violet

 

Roasting hotdogs over the fire.

     Time for S'Mores!

 Brenda likes her marshmallows well-done. :)

After S'Mores we started some fireworks.

 The girls really enjoyed the ground snakes. I remember liking those as a girl too.

 After sparklers we watched the big fireworks light up the sky. Violet liked them alot. I wondered if she would be scared of all the noise. But she wasn't at all.

 It was nice to cozy up to the fire when it got chilly.

I had Emma take a pic of Violet and me. Just for proof that I was there. Lol. :) We had a wonderful 4th!

Cooling Off in the Backyard

Another Beach Day

 

The day after the Fourth we went to Lake Goodwin Park with the Hickeys. It was such a beautiful warm day! Elsie likes making sand castles.

Emma's favorite place to be is in the water and jumping off the dock.

 

Katie loved feeding the ducks.

While Megan kept busy making her own stream into the lake.

 It's always fun to play at the playground too! The girls are never ready to leave. Even after five hours!

After the beach we stopped for a picnic.

Caitlyn suggested dipping fries in the milkshake. Everyone had to try it. Yum!

Evan and the girls had fun playing in the picnic area after they ate. Megan found a huge mushroom.

It was another fun beach day!!!