thank you!

We finished up 2007 with thank you notes. Forcing my family through the process demands continual pressure (all day long, and still I only squeezed 2 out of Nathan, under great duress), but, in the end, the girls were dancing with excitement (they really do this) about giving and receiving their notes. Audrey developed a new watercolor technique, and once I re-remember my YouTube account info, I'll post a little video tutorial she graciously shared...You can see Marian adopting her idea below.

[Although I started to crop it out, I like how this photo shows evidence of more of our holiday fun. The arrangement our landlord sent us for Christmas. A "saved" game of Bohnanza (thank you, Cody!). My little origami book that Audrey pulled out and the girls used to make folded books (Marian's is all about penguins, and Audrey's is a manual of games that can be played with "1-8 people" and the coveted vintage Vera silk scarf Marian found in her stocking). My beloved old avocado Bernina, which finally hemmed the girls' Christmas Eve nightgowns yesterday. The (*sob*) last issue of Blueprint, inspiring me to get organized...funnily enough, the only idea I've really implemented is to recognize, in the "before" shot of a kitchen re-do, the same microwave cart we have, and decide to pull our microwave off the counter and onto the cart. Hopefully instead of the junk that accumulates. Yup, we effectively got ideas from a "before". Awesome.]
To make the process a little less painful, as well as set practical parameters to it, I help the girls to list who deserves a special thanks (Santa included), and print templates on the computer. This year, I chose white cardstock foldover cards so each could feature a little bit of original seasonal artwork. They chose their own font, and how they wanted their fill-in-the-blank text to read.
I picked up this little red tin mailbox in the Target dollar bins last week, part of the Valentine goods, and using it to deliver the in-house notes brought immediate gratification. And the dancing I mentioned earlier.

**the girls and I also started working today on an important new project that we'll "unveil" in a couple of weeks, both in our (really, I'm going to send them!) New Year's cards and here, though it will mostly be tracked on Marian's blog. 2008 will be a very pivotal year for our little family. With great hope, we proceed!

[My New Year's ringing in was the least auspicious ever. The earlier evening was very nice; our friends Ed & Glenda invited us over for games & treats, but we brought the girls home to bed around 8. Late nights have been particularly crabby-inducing lately, so no "fun mom" this year. Nathan fell asleep in front of the TV, his favorite thing, and I scrubbed--baking soda & vinegar!--and rearranged the kitchen. Didn't notice the changing of the time. Maybe this will portend of a new and kitchen-responsible me. Ugh. But the "new" kitchen is much nicer. And day 1 does end with it clean.]