Christmas in July Day 22 The birth of Jesus Christ

Every year on Christmas Eve my family and I read the story of Jesus Christ's birth from the New Testament in the Bible. Luke Chapters 1 & 2. Before I had children of my own I did not truly understand the faith Mary would have to have had to be the mother of the Savior. And Joseph would have been an exceptional man to go against Jewish law and marry Mary while she was pregnant. They had trials to overcome, traveling to Bethlehem, and hiding from Herod in Egypt.

I know that I am grateful that the Savior was born, lived, taught the gospel, and died for me. At Christmas we celebrate Jesus Christ birth but we also practice what he preached: charity and love. 

I hope that although I have talked about many things during my Christmas in July celebration, that what I tried to share is that giving to and serving others is what Christmas is all about. I believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that through his sacrifice I can live with God again someday. I hope and pray that for the rest of this year that I and all that I share with will take the spirit of charity and put it into action. 

Christmas in July Day 21 Salvation Army Angel Tree Program

As a family we started participating in the Salvation Army Angel Program when the girls were little because they were getting a nasty case of the "I wants." So each year the girls pick an angel off the tree and buy a present for a boy or girl who wouldn't otherwise have presents. This reminds my children that one of the most important lessons in life is that it is better to give to others than to worry about what you will receive in return. I know this has made an impression on my daughters because they remind me each year as soon as they see one of the Angel trees go up. Its the end of July but you can take your Christmas spirit out now and participate in a back to school drive to help less fortunate children get the school supplies they need.

Christmas in July Day 20 Cookies Round 2 Peanut butter-candy bar brownies

Oh yes, friends more Christmas Cookies, I promised I would let you down. Here are my cookies.

Here is the recipe:

Seriously read the ingredients, its an insane amount chocolate peanut butter goodness!

Christmas in July Day 19 Christmas Eve and Serving others

Today is July 24th and in my way I like to compare it to December 24th. December 24th is my Dad's birthday and that reminded me of the Christmas Eves my mother, sisters, and I spent serving the officers of the Phoenix police force dinner. My father was a police officer for 35 years. I was 34 when he retired and honestly I was sad in a way that my children would never get to serve the people who protect them everyday like I did. You see many officers worked on Christmas Eve which meant dinner was usually fast food or whatever food they could get if places were closed. This was back 20 years ago when restaurants and other places were not open 24 hours a day. So, my father and mother would cook food and my sisters and I would dress up in dresses and go feed the officers my father worked with on Christmas Eve.  It wasn't really until I was a teenager that I realized that the sacrifices my family was making were appreciated very much by those officers. To this day I cannot tell you any names of the officers we fed but I remember the look on my Dad's face as those officers thanked him for caring about them.  Who can you serve and help? Can you donate your time? Can you donate food? Can you open a door for someone? Can you smile at someone and brighten their day? Why not start today? 

Christmas in July Day 18 Going to see Santa Claus

I am pretty sure my parents took my sisters and I to see Santa when we were little. I usually had a long list of things I wanted for Christmas to tell him. When I became a Mom I thought I would take my daughters to see Santa. Mostly this backfired on me; my children were either too scared or did not want to go. The picture above of my Anaya with Santa is probably one of two pictures in the last 12 years of one of my children with Santa. I know why my children were hesitant and I didn't force them to go once I realized why they didn't want to. Did you visit Santa? Do your children like going to see Santa?

Summer Card Camp 2011 Week 4

I am sad that this card class is over but I have had a great time working with color combinations I never would have thought to use. I have loved the sketches and the videos. I wish all my scrapping friends could have taken this class it was great! Here is my card for week 4.

Christmas in July Day 17 Gifts for Teachers - Christmas Card Keeper

When my girls started going to school I would make gifts for their teachers for Christmas gifts. Over the years my favorite gift to make has become a Christmas Card holder that the teachers can hang up in their classroom. Its a nice place for the teachers to keep all the cards and notes they get from their students and then they can take it home and keep the cards they receive at home as well.

Christmas in July Day 16 - Christmas in July Celebrations

I was unaware of this but the city next to mine, Glendale, had a Christmas in July Celebration recently. Their was a street fair, sales at the down town stores, and even Santa. I want to thank my friend Tina for letting me know about it. Does the town you live in have a Christmas in July Celebration? Does your favorite store have a Christmas in July sale that you shop at each year?

Christmas in July Day 15 Traditions Food gifts

The Christmas tradition I wanted to talk about today is giving food gifts. You have already seen the Christmas cookies but I also give other types of food gifts. The tin I decorated in the above photo I filled with toffee and fudge in 2006. Other years, I had made breads,peanut brittle, and even Texas sheet cake. I usually take the food gifts to people local so that the food stays fresh.

 

I have also been the recipient of many plates of goodies over the years from friends and family members. One of my favorite food items to get from my friends is Divinity, I love that sweet fluffy stuff. I have yet to learn to make Divinity maybe I will learn someday. What food gifts do you make for others? Have you tried anything new?

Christmas in July Day 14 Traditions Christmas Dinner

Every year we have Christmas dinner. Dinner might be with our extended family or just the 5 of us at home. Each year the menu is different; one year it might be traditional with turkey and trimmings (see the fabulous turkey David made in 2007 up above) and the next  year Mexican food with tamales and enchiladas. The other favorite thing I love at Christmas time is my mother Marilyn's cheesecake. I LOVE her cheesecake. I learned to make it just because its so darn good. (See the cheesecake I made below in 2006) What traditions do you have for dinner? Do you eat anything special? Do you eat on Christmas Eve?

Christmas in July Day 11 Traditions Opening gifts

When my daughters were little we decided that we would try different ideas about how to open the presents on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. I wanted to avoid the "dash and trash" that did not allow the girls to really appreciate the gifts they were given. I didn't want my girls to look at a gift for 5 seconds and then toss it on the pile. What we do is we give the girls one present to open on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning the girls get to look at what Santa brought them. When David and I join the girls we all take turns opening one gift at a time so we can ooh and aah over everyone's gifts. We also decided to limit the gifts that were given (see my note of 5 seconds per gift and then it goes on a pile.) The picture above is from 2010, that's my Lela being photo surprised while opening her gifts. What traditions does your family have? Do you wake up at dawn to open gifts on Christmas morning? Do you open on Christmas Eve? If you get a gift on Christmas Eve is it a special gift, pajamas maybe?

Summer Card Camp 2011 Week 3 card #1

Christmas in July Day 12 Traditions Gift traditions

Today I wanted to talk about gift traditions. Growing up my parents usually gave all of us one gift that was the same but slightly different for each of us (that happens when you have three girls.)  Every year it was something different. Some times my mother made the gifts. My family (David, Me, and the girls) started a tradition with gifts in a very funny way. A few years ago we decided to give our daughters more practical gifts like pajamas, socks, and underwear because of a tight holiday budget. The girls laughed at the socks and underwear and ever since then they can't wait to see what kind of crazy stuff we will buy them. The picture above is of my sweet Cora 3 years ago at Christmas with Christmas pajamas on. Do you have special gifts that you give your family?

Christmas in July Day 11 Traditions- Stockings

Sorry this is so late today but hey, life happens. In my family growing up we hung up our stockings every year at Christmas time. Usually we got an orange, peanuts, or even small gifts. Christmas stockings were like the "appetizer" before the Christmas present "meal." I have carried on the same tradition with my daughters, they never know what Santa will bring them. The stocking pictured above is my Anaya's when she was just two years old. Do you hang up your stockings? What other traditions do you have with stockings?

Christmas in July Day 10- Traditions Christmas Trees

Every year we pull out our pre-lit fake Christmas tree (I'm allergic to pine trees) to be decorated. My children started helping us decorate when each of them was about 2 years old. They help hang up their stockings too. The date we put out the tree varies from year to year. We replace our ornaments every 5 years and we usually leave the tree up until New Years. What is your family tradition with your Christmas tree? Do you go cut down your own tree each year? When do you put your tree up or take it down? Do you have different themes each year? My mom has had a Southwestern theme with chili lights, another year it was ornaments with everyone's pictures on it, and this year she may change it again. Do you get a live tree or a fake one? So many of  my memories include present under the tree: Do you put yours under the tree?

Christmas in July Day 9- Just for you ladies- Holiday Hair Styles

During the Holiday Season there are parties to go to, people to visit, and other events that you may attend. I'll admit I am obsessive about my hair but I know that during the holidays we ladies sometimes like to do a little something extra with our hair. My dear cousin Kristina posted on her Face book page about an e- book that was offered on a Hair Blog. I don't know how she found it but I was glad she posted it. I did buy the e-book "The 30 Days of Twist & Pin Hairstyles" because she gave instructions on how to do each of the hairstyles. I actually put the PDF file on my I-pod so when I travel I have the book with me. On her blog she has pictures of each of the days and if you are talented enough to figure it out from just the pictures Kudos to you. (Sorry to you ladies out there with short hair I did not find any holiday styles for you.)  Here is the link to her blog:Hair Romance 

I actually tried several of the styles on my hair. This one is from Day 12. Here is my hair.

Here is her hair Day 12, yeah its way better than mine but hey I tried.

Sassy hair during the Holidays is fun, but you can give it a try any day!

Christmas in July Day 8- Cookies Round 2 Peanut Butter-Toffee Turtle Cookies

This batch of cookies is courtesy of my thoughtful friend Denise, who loaned me one of her cookbooks. Denise is a great cook so I was very excited to borrow this book. I loved the picture on the cover (see below.) One cookie on the cover in particular caught my attention and I knew I needed to "audition" the recipe for Christmas cookies. Besides borrowing cookbooks from friends I also get recipes on-line. I especially like the websites that have reviews. I like reviews because I know that people tried the recipe and often people will give recommendations on how to alter the recipe or things to watch out for that might not be spelled out implicitly in the instructions. Getting ideas on-line is a free way to try new things. I loved this recipe and cannot wait to make it at Christmas time!

*Just a note on the recipe before we launch into this awesome cookie. You will notice that the recipe calls for all-purpose baking mix. I did not know what that was so I looked it up on-line. Here is the recipe for 1 cup of all purpose baking mix:

1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt

Here are my cookies

The recipe (*see my note above)

The cook book

Christmas in July Day 7- Using the skills you have to make gifts- Sewing

Now I know I already talked about using fabric to make gifts but that really was not the reason why I posted that in  Christmas in July Day 3. Today I am talking about using the skills that you have to make gifts for others. This is a long standing tradition my family, I encourage my daughters to make things for gifts as much as they can. The project I am going to show you today, is from my Fourth of July crafting I did but its the idea that matters. I made head bands for my daughters. I have posted a link to the pattern I used (with alterations of course.) Think about what skills you have: do you sew, crochet, scrapbook, do woodwork, or construction work (seriously who wouldn't want a new patio for Christmas.) Everyone has skills of some sort that can be a gift to another.

Reversible Fabric Headband Pattern

These are the headbands before I finished them with the elastic.

Summer Card Camp 2011 Week 2- 2nd card

Christmas in July Day 6- Gift ideas Books the classics re-visited

I thought that I would share a gift that was given to me while I was bedridden and recovering from my surgery. I love to give and get books as Christmas gifts; so when theses titles were given to me I knew I needed to share them.  At first I wasn't sure I could handle the paranormal twists to classic literature but in the end it helped the story along in an interesting way. I enjoyed all of them.

Do you think all the classics would be more interesting with a paranormal twist?

Summer Card Camp 2011 Week 2- 1st card

Christmas in July day 5- Christmas Cards

I like making cards, sending cards, and getting cards in return. Christmas cards are my favorite for many reasons. I love the colors, I love the themes, and I love the letters & pictures that come inside the cards  So today I am sharing some of the Christmas cards I have made in the previous years. I had hoped to make my 2011 Christmas card today but the alternator in my van had other ideas. Enjoy!

Send a card today to someone.

Christmas in July Day 4- Movies

There are several movies that I would look forward to seeing on the television at Christmas time. My poor children will never know what it means to wait for something to come on TV since DVD's, streaming video, and on-demand videos are the norm now. So here are a few of my favorites from my childhood.

What is your favorite Holiday movie?

Christmas in July Day 3- Making gifts with gifts- Fabric

I have always believed that the best gifts are those that you make yourself and sometimes you have to use what you to have or can get with little cost. My mother and grandmothers often sent homemade Christmas gifts. Some of the most cherished gifts I have received were made by people I love. So for this Christmas in July day we are talking about making things with what others have given us.  My older sister Holly has a beautiful Geisha themed quilt that she made (I wish I had a picture of it to show you its amazing.) I had been admiring all the wonderful fabrics that she had used in her quilt and I had an idea. I called my sister and asked if I could have the remnants from her quilt for a project; being the wonderful sister that she is she agreed and sent me several pieces. With these remnants I made several sewing projects. Below I will show two of them, the others cannot be shown as they are gifts for my sweet sister I mentioned before (that's right Holly you'll just have to wait and see =)

This is a cute zippered cosmetic bag I made.

This is a matching pocket tissue holder.

This is where I got the pattern for the pocket tissue holder just in case there are some sewers out there who want the pattern:

Pocket Tissue Holder by Skip to My Lou

Look around.  What do you have? What can you make for someone else?