Herron Hacienda | Faith, Family, & Frugal Finds in Michigan

~ Christmas 2012 Memories ~

Here are some pics of the highlights of the season this year!  Enjoy!

 

        

        

     

     

     

   

 

~ Book Review: God Gave Us Christmas ~

 

I was very excited to have the opportunity to review God Gave Us Christmas since we already have read and love God Gave Us So Much by the same author!  Lisa T. Bergren does a beautiful job teaching your child about the true meaning of Christmas.  She focuses on God giving the best gift of all - Jesus.  Bergren helps your child to appreciate the good qualities portrayed in Santa while at the same time, making Jesus the center of the Christmas holiday.  Little Cub discovers on the expedition with her mother that God is all around us if we look for Him.  She finds that God loves everyone (even those who make bad choices) and that is why God gave us Christmas!  God's love for us is why baby Jesus was born.  The illustrations are beautiful and captivating to little eyes.  I highly recommend adding this book to your list of children's Christmas books.  Don't just take my word for it - here's my 6 year old's opinion:

 

Josiah decided that Slinky also needed to give a review:                   So, there you have it! 6 year olds and wiener dogs agree that this is a must read book!

*I received this book in exchange for my honest review as part of WaterBrook/Multnomah's Blogging for Books program.

~ The Return of the Advent Countdown! ~

Several years ago, I spent quite a bit of time making an advent countdown activity.  Last year I decided to take a break since I was working a lot and didn't need another thing to add to the busyness of the season.  I have decided to bring it back this year though!  My mom is visiting for the first 12 days so I figured between 3 adults, we can make sure we get to it each day. 

I am keeping activities such as:

reading parts of the Christmas story

making hot chocolate w/ all the fixins'

looking at Christmas lights

having breakfast for dinner in our pajamas

visiting live reindeer

reading about St. Nicholas Day Dec. 6 (read here for our take on Santa Claus). 

 

 

I added a few new activities that I think Josiah will enjoy -

make & play with peppermint play doh and cookie cutters

have a red and green dinner

playing w/ Christmas activity cards (i.e. march like the nutcracker, spread your branches like a Christmas tree, and prance like a reindeer). 

I love little traditions that make the season extra special and memorable for my kids! 

~ All Treats! ~

The cold rainy weather didn't get in the way of Josiah and Ainsleigh donning their adorable matching costumes for Halloween last week!  Josiah got to trick or treat at the Medical Care Facility in town with his class, show off his costume in the school parade, and trick or treat in town that night.  Let's just say, there's no possible way that kid can eat all the candy he received!  Jon and I don't mind helping him though!  ;-) 

Here is my Peter Pan and Tinkerbell....

 

The best part of Josiah's costume is the little foam knife/compass and bow and arrow that goes with it!  The best part of Ainsleigh's costume is the adorable shoes with jingle bells!  We just may have to wear those now and then! 

 

Daddy's girl!

 

~ Christmas is Coming! ~

I know.  I know.  It's not even Halloween yet and I already mentioned the "C" word!  This, however, is the perfect time to be picking out that special holiday card to share with friends and family this season.  This task is made easy and fun thanks to Shutterfly's great selection of holiday cards for 2012! 

I know I am super excited to pick out that special sentiment to share with others this year!  We just got our family photos updated too.  The hardest part truly is picking out which creative design to use.  Whether you prefer traditional or whimsical, Shutterfly has the perfect card to fit your style!  Some of my favorites are:

I thought this design was a hilarious one that any parent can relate to!

 

I love the classic style of this card combined with text that relates to my family.  Plus you get to choose several photos to include!

 

Seriously, how fun is this card?  I love all the bright colors, monogram,  & multiple photos.  I love the text most of all!  This just may be my selection for this year...

 

Here's another serious contender for this year.  I love how you can give a brief update on your year with this design with plenty of room left for photos and a splash of color!

I could literally post at least 10 other options I love!  Check out these Christmas Cards for yourself!  Remember all the great special offers Shutterfly lists on their special offers page too.

Don't let the trend of social media take away the timeless tradition of mailing a Christmas card this season.  Add that special touch with your custom text and photos of your precious family.  I am excited to share our photo Christmas card with friends and family.  I hope to see yours in my mailbox come December!

For more info on all Shutterfly has to offer, check out their social channels!

•             Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shutterfly

•             Twitter: http://twitter.com/Shutterfly

•             Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/shutterfly/

•             Instagram: Shutterfly

•             Google +: https://plus.google.com/+shutterfly

•             Blog: http://blog.shutterfly.com/

*This is a sponsored post by Shutterfly.  In exchange for my honest review of their holiday card selection, I am being offered a $100 credit.  All the opinions are my own.

~ Easter Best ~

My two kiddos all dressed up for Easter Sunday!

 

Being this beautiful is exhausting!

 

 

~ Valentine Traditions ~

Tiny Prints sent me an email asking the question, "how do you make valentine's day special for your kids?"  I realized that I have never shared our valentine tradition with Josiah. 

Jonathan and I have never been huge on celebrating Valentine's since it is mostly a "Hallmark holiday."  My mindset changed with regards to our child when I thought about my own childhood. 

One of my best childhood memories with my grandparents was from Valentine's Day.  My grandma cooked a nice dinner for us.  Grandpa bought us the big box of Whitman's Sampler - a big deal to a 7 year old!  He also bought us a stuffed goose with a straw hat.  It was a simple moment.  It didn't involve spending lots of money, a fancy restaurant, or expensive flowers.  That is all part of what makes it my favorite Valentine's memory.  Grandma and Grandpa spent quality time with us and showed us their love for us.

We decided to show our love for Josiah on Valentine's Day through the gift of books.  Surprise, surprise, right?  (it's no secret we are HUGE book lovers here!)  Each year, I scour tons of children's books to find the perfect one.  It is always a book that talks about how much we love Josiah.  I also try to find a book that emphasizes similarities to Josiah's personality or developmental stage.  Once the perfect book is selected, I write a letter to Josiah inside the front cover explaining why we chose it and how much we love him!  I figured he would appreciate that part when he is much older.  To my surprise, when I get those books out to read, he wants me to read the inscription to him repeatedly before the story.  He will have these books to hold on to and always know he is loved!

Some of the titles we have chosen include:  The Yummiest Love, How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You, Wherever You Go My Love Will Find You, and I Love You Little Monkey.

What about you?  Any fun or special Valentine's Day traditions?

*Thanks to Tiny Prints for inspiring me to share these thoughts!  You can find tons of unique and creative Valentines for something extra special this year by visiting their site.  You can also follow them on twitter(https://twitter.com/#!/TinyPrints), facebook(https://www.facebook.com/tinyprints), or pinterest(http://pinterest.com/tiny_prints/)!

~ Make Christmas Greetings Personal with Tiny Prints! ~

Have you discovered the gem that is Tiny Prints?  You still have time to check them out for your personalized holiday greetings this season!  They have so many unique and creative options.  I will warn you it is hard to even decide what card to select!  Here are a couple I loved that just might show up in your mailbox this Christmas from the Herron family...

Aren't they just beautiful?  Tiny Prints offers a convenient side-bar filter to narrow down your choices and show you the various options.  Take a look for yourself here!

~ My Day in Pictures ~

I am LOVING my Canon EOS that was a birthday/early Christmas gift from my AWESOME husband!  I try to take pictures every day to improve my skills.  Here are some from today's events...

The day started with getting some sugar cookies in the oven...

Once all the dough was cut out and baking, Josiah and I had some downtime with his cars!

Josiah headed off to school for his Christmas party and Jon & I visited a little cafe downtown for a lunch date. 

This afternoon, we headed to the library to see the reindeer!

We ventured inside in search of cookies and cider.  We immediately noticed that "Santa" goes to Colwood.  As I have shared before, we have an attitude of redeeming Santa.  We couldn't pass up getting in line.  Once it was our turn and "Santa" miraculously knew Josiah's name, he became shy boy!  This lead "Santa" into coaxing me on his lap to lure in Josiah.  Wow!  It's been a LONG time since I sat on Santa's knee - the things you do for your kids!

Doesn't Josiah face look like this is all a fun game to play on mom?  LOL.

We came home, ate dinner and then decorated our cookies!

A day that ends with eating a frosted sugar cookie is a great day!

 

~ 2010 Herron Family Christmas Cards! ~

We decided to go with a photo card this year.  It was so hard to choose one out of the many great choices, but we decided on this one from Shutterfly!  We love how it turned out.  Merry Christmas!

 

Merry & Bright Holiday

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