Keeping track of the number of days until Christmas

We don't use a traditional Advent Calendar to count down the days until Christmas. Instead we use this fabric snowman calendar to move us along through the season. Each day, one of the girls moves the baby snowman into the next day's pocket. In the past, there has been arguing over who gets to make the move and we had to implement an "even-day-for-Abby-&-odd-day-for -Kippy" plan. Now, it just seems to be whoever gets to it first, although there is still competition.
I can't remember exactly when I got this cute reusable fabric calendar, but I do know it came from a very, very dear friend as a Christmas gift several years ago. I also know Abby & Angelique have been using it to track the "count down until Christmas" for the entire time we have lived in Fergus.
My favorite thing about it is the adorable carrot nose! Of course, the fact that we can use it again and again is a bonus. It is definitely a favorite thing to unpack each year. Oh my goodness... only 19 more days to go until Christmas! What??

It's all about the hat.

We have been borderline obsessed about wearing Santa hats for a very long time. We wear our Santa hats for just about any activity during the month of December... decorating the Christmas tree, baking cookies, wrapping presents, shopping, caroling or anytime we want to feel festive. This picture is from December 2003, when Kippy was 3 years old and Abby was 6. It is one of my all time favorites taken one afternoon as they were laying on our bed.
Look at these chubby cheeks from 1998, when Abby was one year old. That little Santa hat was used by Angelique and eventually outgrown and replaced.
Here is Kippy in December 2004 at the mall eating an ice cream cone, while wearing her Santa hat.
I believe this was just after we attended a Christmas movie together, all sporting our Santa hats. Seven year old Abby has a very cute toothless grin.

We each have a Santa hat and over the years we have had to progressively get bigger sizes for the girls. Kippy's hat looks a little TOO big in this photo from 2006.

Here we are in 2007.

More hats just after hanging up the last ornaments on the tree in 2009...
But then later in December 2009, Abby found a bling-bling Santa hat, so now she is the most stylish of us all.

Even Miss Bella has her own Santa hat.

And look, we even made our snowman wear a Santa hat too (2009).

We are a Santa hat lovin' family for 13 years and counting.

The elves have been shopping.

A Christmas tradition which began 8 years ago when we first moved to Fergus Falls, is to buy gifts for the Salvation Army Angel giving tree. We started the tradition as a result of our church (Our Lady of Victory) sponsoring an Angel tree, which is how we learned about the program. The Angel tree is decorated with paper angels designating the age and gender of the intended recipient.
Abby and Angelique choose an angel tag from the tree that matches their current age, then we take them shopping. The girls each choose a gift for themselves, but instead of keeping the gift...
they place the angle tag on the unwrapped gift and place it back under the Angel tree. When our elves were much younger, it was a bit challenging for them to get the concept.
Now, the elves are professional as they quickly search for an Angel tag that exactly matches their current age and thoughtfully pick out a gift for their Angel. The Salvation Army distributes the gifts to children in our area. The elves will place these gifts under the Angel tree on Sunday. It is a wonderful way to show Christmas spirit by helping others.

The busy elves.

The elves are folding,

stuffing,

sticking and stamping as they assemble our annual 2010 Holiday Christmas cards.
We have a couple of rules when it comes to our Christmas card.

1. Steve is the official author of our annual Holiday letter. He has been for 18 years and he usually interjects some type of a humorous twist in the annual recap. I have saved every letter he has written since we have been married. So far, they are just in a file, but some day I'll make a book out of those letters.
2. Our Christmas photo must include our whole family. This is actually Steve's rule. He requires the photo to be of the family so the recipient knows that we belong together. I have artistic license on the picture choice. Some years it has been very difficult to get a picture of the family that I really like. Last year I resorted to a collage of photos because I didn't have the perfect pic. This year was a different story because my bestie, Heather {of Heather Hubert Photography}, did a photo-shoot of our family a couple of months ago. I had a lot of options and the only difficulty was narrowing down the choice.

Here are a few pics that didn't make our 2010 Holiday card...
When you receive this year's Christmas card from us, know that it was assembled by elves of the highest caliber and much thought was put into the letter content and family photo choice {photography by Heather}. In other words, be impressed. Be very impressed.
If you don't receive one, then blame it on the terrible weather in MN because I know the USPS is doing its very best.

Our Gratitude Album

I bought this simple 4x6 photo album at Target for $3.99 and made a Thanksgiving keepsake called a Gratitude Album. The template was purchased from Cathy Zielske and was super easy to put together.
I printed out pictures and cards in advance and added other photos which had been taken this Fall. Each attendee filled out his/her respective cards and all were slid back into the album.
Fourteen of our family members gathered at Russ & Kristy's house in Thompson. Despite the dire weather warnings, we were all able to safely traverse to their new closer locale. The only party missing was my older brother, Randy, who was busy tracking, hunting and killing an elk in MT with buddies.
So much to be thankful for and now it is captured and saved in this tidy, cute little package.

My buddy, Nixin, helped me to get all these album pictures taken and when I told him, "I love you, Nixin." Nixin replied, "Me too." Ah... melts my heart.
Although Angelique pointed out, "Did he say that because he loves himself or because he loves you?" Me, of course!
Nix filled out the most precious Thankful item of all....
"LOVE. Thankful for My God." Amen.

It's official.

I have been waiting for this day. It has taken 13 years, 6 months, 13 days, and my first born is officially taller than me. She was the exact same height as me on my birthday last month, but now I have been passed. This is an important milestone which I was NEVER able to achieve, as I will forever be shorter than my momma.

Way to go, ABBY!

Thankful from A to Z

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here is a listing of what I am grateful for from A to Z:

A: Abbigail & Angelique, love you both to the moon and back.
B: Books... one of my favorite escapes & I adore our local Viking library.
C: coffee... its how I start my day, every day... love, love, love it.
D: our fluffy, white, loving, doggie... Miss Bella, what did we talk about before her?
E: employment for Steve at M-State and for me with USBank.
F: our loving-supportive family, fantastic friends, & Faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
G: grandparents... they are the best and my kids are so lucky to have 3 very loving grandparents in their lives.
H: our comfortable, sheltering home, filled with love and fun.
I: iris, it is my favorite flower, so incredibly beautiful and fragile.
J: for being able to keep this online journal of our Lindgren-style life.
K: I love giving and receiving kisses, especially at bedtime accompanied by hugs and "Iloveyous"
L: laughter - I am positive it is the best medicine and mood lifter of all.
M: good manners, nothing like "please, thank you, I'm sorry, pardon me..." to help smooth the daily ups and downs of life.
N: for naps... I wish I could take a nap eVeRYdAy!
O: for on-line shopping... no lines and frequently, no shipping charges - BONUS.
P: Photographs, I love taking pictures and trying to capture the emotion of the moment.
Q: quinoa, our family loves the nutty flavor and we frequently use it as a stand-in for rice.
R: running, it is a necessary stress reliever for me
S: my spouse for almost 19 years and love of my life, Steve.
T: texting, it is a communication tool that I never knew I would love. It keeps connected to the besties in my life.
U: for my husband's understanding nature, and unconditional love. He is one in a million.
V: vegetables that are homegrown in our garden or from the gardens of generous friends.
W: Wii... It makes for great family game night competitions, and also for walks, my 3 day weekends and our family's well-being.
X: X-mas, I love celebrating Christ's birth. The season brings out the best in people.
Y: for these 42 years of my life. I am blessed beyond measure.
Z: zero-homework nights... even if they are pretty rare these days... it just takes the pressure off.

So many, many things that I am thankful and grateful for. Most especially being able to gather together with our family to enjoy laughter, delicious food & make memories. Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!