• HOME
  • {A}’s Chipmunk Training Archives

 Homepage

  • The Homestead
    • Home Projects
    • Home Improvement
    • Home Decor
      • Seasonal Home decor
        • FALL Home Decor
        • WINTER Home Decor
        • SPRING Crafts and Creations
        • SUMMER Crafts and Creations
    • Our Chickens
    • Gardening
    • Organization
    • Re-Purposing
    • Furniture Refinishing
    • Budget
  • Crafts & Creations
    • Seasonal Home decor
      • FALL Crafts and Creations
      • WINTER Crafts and Creations
      • SPRING Crafts and Creations
      • SUMMER Crafts and Creations
    • DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Project
    • Kids Arts and Crafts
    • Homemade/Handmade Gift Ideas
    • Holiday Crafts
    • Fan Pulls
    • Free Printable/Downloadable
    • Sewing Projects
    • Giveaways
    • Business Features
  • Recipes/FoodFun
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Main Dish
    • Sandwiches
    • Appetizers
    • Slow Cooker
    • On The Grill
    • Side Dishes
      • Soups
      • Salads
    • Baking
      • Breads, Rolls and Muffins
    • Snacks
    • Treats
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
  • Homeschooling
    • Elementary Homeschooling
      • Elementary Homeschooling READING
      • Elementary Homeschooling MATH
      • Elementary Homeschooling LANGUAGE ARTS
      • Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE
      • Elementary Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS
      • Kids Arts and Crafts
    • Middle School Homeschooling
      • Middle School Homeschooling SCIENCE
      • Middle School Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS
    • Language Arts
    • Math
    • History / Social Studies
    • Geography
    • Foreign Language
    • Field Trips
    • Games
    • Nature Study
  • The Big Picture
    • Life In General
    • Celebrations
    • Faith
      • Into the Light; The Series
    • Giveaways
    • Reviews & Sponsors
  • Photography & Lettering
    • Photography
    • truck lettering
    • vehicle graphics
    • Newborns
    • Kids
    • Engagement
    • High School Senior Pictures
    • High School Senior Pictures Sneak Peeks

A Christmas Heirloom in the Making | Hand-Sewn Advent Calendar

December 30, 2009 By Laura 3 Comments

My mother-in-law/Michael’s mother/(the kid’s grandmother, if you are not catching on to who I am referring to yet..lol), seemingly got quite crafty this year, and we surely benefited from her doing so, in the way of wonderful gifts this Christmas!

A package full of goods arrived from Florida in early December, but there was one that we were instructed to open right away.  So we did, and I literally gasped, and naturally, because I am becoming more of a sap with each passing day in my older years here, teared up.  I guess I kept saying, “Oh my gosh….I LOVE that!”….because Michael said, “We KNOW Honey.  We HEARD you.  You LOVE it!”  lol.  He loves it too.  We immediately started discussing where we could hang it.

Christmas advent calendar It’s an Advent Calendar she sewed and quilted herself.

Christmas advent calendar I love the art of the scene, there at the manger in Bethlehem, that starry, blessed night.

I love the royal colors!

Every numbered day is a little pocket too, to be able to put little notes or treats in for the kids, I would imagine.   And they need to search for the day on the calendar.

Christmas advent calendar
{O}, who didn’t yet understand the purpose of the numbers being mixed up, said “Grandma did a really nice job making this, but I just can’t believe she doesn’t know her numbers yet!” lol.

I love the little details.

Do you see the light coming down from the star on the right there?  It’s twinkle dust that she applied.

Christmas advent calendar This angel has a flower-sequin in her hair.

Christmas advent calendar We decided to put it right next to the front door, where every one who comes and goes, can enjoy it as much as we do through-out this Christmas season.

Honestly, this is a gift to our family, that I will truly treasure, every year for the rest of my life.  I’m sure we all will!  It’s one of those truly meaningful things I’ll be anxious to find first, and dig out of the boxes of Christmas ‘stuff’, every year when we bring out the decorations.  In time, it’ll become a family heirloom.  Everyone knows what our faith means to us, and how much we soley focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  So that in itself makes it a wonderful gift for us.  But what makes it a TREASURE, is that it was made with love, by someone we love,  for us.  It matters none to us, if she made more, or who else got one too.  This one is ours, and it came from a loved one 2 generations back (to our kids.)  I know I’ve talked much about how much I love ‘family pieces’ in our home, so I guess I’ve made my point well enough now.

Suffice it to say, it will bring us joy, every family Christmas to come, that we ever blessed to embrace and celebrate.

Save

Filed Under: Crafts & Creations, Homemade/Handmade Gift Ideas Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-Christmas, Catholic-families, Christmas-handmade-advent-calendar, handmade gifts, religious-advent-calendar

Christmas at Home

December 28, 2008 By Laura 6 Comments

Christmas-tree-ornaments-lights

We hope your Christmas was as beautiful and filled with peace as ours was.  Of course, I don’t necessarily mean auditory peace, if you have a house full of excited kids as we do, but you know, inner peace.  That quiet kind of Christmas joy you feel in your heart, that tends to bring such moments of clear perspective of your whole life, all that truly matters, and all that you are blessed with.  I love those Christmas moments, and hope you all had many of them.

While I did take lots of photos of our kids on Christmas Eve and morning, I won’t be posting all of those.  Suffice it to say, they had such a wonderful Christmas, that seemed to go on for days here.  To see them embrace every moment with such beaming happiness and anticipation in their eyes, is truly a big part of our Christmas joy.   They even each had such beautiful and surprise gifts for us. And the HEART they put into them. <sigh/melt> Now we know what all of their ‘Club Days’ in big sister’s room was all about. We really had no idea.  I can’t tell you how much fun they have been having for weeks.  But here are just some fun Christmas shots I took around our home here and there, now and then, in quiet moments, and moments of loud celebration.

Happy-Birthday-Jesus-cake

cake-Happy-Birthday-Jesus

4songcake

5_nativity

6_lit-Christmas-tree

7_Christmas-tree-ornaments-lights

Below is one of my new favorite Christmas ornaments.  A friend of mine made it for me, and I just think it is so cute and fun!  I smile every time I see it on my tree. It has a soft white feather on it too-you can barely see.   I love polka dots.  : )

9_Christmas-tree-ornaments-lights

10_ornaments-on-Christmas-tree

{A} made waffles, one by one, for like 3 hours one day a few days before Christmas, and threw them in the freezer.  They were delicious as part of our late-morning Christmas breakfast.  Thanks Honey!

11_waffles-teapot

12_brunch

Chocolate Buddies.

13_chocolate-animals

There’s a few more Christmas-sy areas of our home I may take some shots of and share over the next couple of days as well, just for fun. We really enjoy making our home reflect the Christmas season, and many other holidays as well.  Thanks for coming to see!

Save

Filed Under: Celebrations, Faith, Faith/ Catholic, Holidays, Home Decor, The Big Picture, The Homestead Tagged With: Catholic, Catholic-Christmas, Catholic-families, celebrations, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas-nativity-sets, decor, decorations, home, home decor, homestead, nativity-sets, photography, photos

We are wicked happy to have you here! We hope you find much inspiration, help, humor and enjoyment here.




Archives



POPULAR POSTS

* * * * * *

SUBSCRIBE to House of Joyful Noise blog! Every new post, delivered right to your email box!


Privacy Policy

Amazon Affiliates

Never at any additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission for our endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products from our website. Your purchase through our links helps support our family, while sharing with you the products we authentically use and recommend, for various ideas, and letting you know where you can purchase them. Thank you for your support!

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 HouseOfJoyfulNoise.com · Genesis Framework by StudioPress