A REAL Snow...and technically a white Christmas!

Although it didn't start snowing in Cary until about 9 pm yesterday, we technically had a white Christmas! What a treat. When we woke up this morning the entire neighborhood was covered in white and it was still fluttering down out of the sky. The world was silent and still. What a beautiful sight and sound. Sydney has croup, so unfortunately she was not in shape for sledding or snow man building today. So sad. We couldn't not let the kids experience the snow, though, so we bundled them up and took them for a wagon ride around the neighborhood. They loved it! It was perfect for Sydney because the cold air quells her coughing and she didn't have to exert herself at all. The only problem was finding appropriate clothing. Since we are southerners it doesn't make much sense to invest in expensive snow suits that our children will outgrow each year. So we don't bother, but when the snow comes we are always saying, "I wish we had ski or snow clothes for them so they could go out and have fun without getting cold and wet!" Well, we did have ONE snow suit, size 12-18 months from when Sydney was a toddler in Paris...only problem is that it is PINK. Oh well, Brett said it was ok, so Pierce went in the girly pink snow suit and had a good old time! He didn't care what color it was, but I was quite hesitant to put him in it. He loved his snow ride and even loved the pink snow suit. SO CUTE! I love these monkeys!

Pierce's First Snow

Well, as most of you know it has already snowed twice here this year and it's not even Christmas! Pierce enjoyed seeing his first snow last week and as soon as we told him what the white stuff was called he quickly added the word "snow" to his very limited vocabulary. It may be his most used word now even though there is no more snow on the ground to talk about! He can't say the "s" so he makes a sort of "s" sound out of his nose and then says "no". So funny!

Sydney Louise

My sweet little girl is in her last year of preschool, which is really hard to believe. She had a Christmas performance at school today and she was so excited to sing all her songs for me and Pierce. We loved watching her and her classmates perform. My favorite song was the Little Drummer Boy! Great job, Sydney!

Eggs!

I am a big proponent of buying local farm fresh ("free range") eggs. There are numerous reasons to do so, especially nutritional ones since they have more than twice the omega-3's found in "conventional" eggs and half the cholesterol. Not to mention, the conditions that "regular" eggs come from are frighteningly unsanitary and the things they are fed are disgusting (think chicken cannibalism).

But today I learned something new about eggs. The farmer I bought mine from this morning told me that conventional eggs sit in cold storage on the "farm" where they are collected for up to 21 days, at which point the USDA requires the "Use By" date to be stamped on them at 65 days from that day. So the eggs you buy in the store are generally 86 days old by their "use-by" date! 86 DAYS! Yikes. I have noticed that every time I have to buy store eggs (if I missed the farmer's market that weekend), the "use by" date seems to never be more than 2-3 weeks from the day I purchase the eggs. That means that the store bought eggs you / we are buying are 9 to 10 weeks old already! Yikes! Where have they been for those nine to ten weeks? And why are they so old?

The eggs I bought this morning are exactly three days old and I met the man who gathered them for me, so I feel pretty good about their nutrition and freshness. I paid $4, which some people consider extremely expensive. But the way I look at it is that I am willing to make other small sacrifices in order to spend $2 extra on eggs each week. It really isn't all that much money anyway, even for someone on an all cash food budget each week. Our health is worth it!

Gift Giving: a new challenge

We are working in our house to put more meaning into the overly-commercialized and often meaningless Christmas holiday and the traditions that go along with it. The advent Calendar drop-ins I made and sold were one example, but there are lots of other ways to make Christmas a more meaningful time for your family. One other thing we are doing this year is to change how we buy gifts. Every year I feel more and more strongly about the overabundance of gifts exchanged and how many of them don't represent the values we hold. Many of the kids toys are produced in China with unsafe ingredients and do not hold up for long. Gift cards are impersonal. Electronics seem to outdate before you can even get them unwrapped. And so on and so on... I'm sure everyone has some aspect of the gift exchange that they feel is wasteful or impersonal. So, this year, we decided to try to purchase gifts that embody the values we hold as consumers and as a family. We are purchasing things that are one or more of the following (for about 75% of our gifts):


1. made locally (or at least made in the USA)
2. made by a small family-owned business
3. organically or sustainably produced
4. benefit a charitable cause
5. educational
6. recycled
7. made by us!


So far, we have found some great gift options that fit one or more of these criteria! I can't share them yet (for obvious reasons!), but I wanted to post my thoughts on gift giving so maybe I can inspire others to change some of their gift giving practices. Of course, there are a few items we just can't seem to get to fit these criteria, but for the most part we have found some great gifts!


A few suggestions:

• your local farmers markets and craft fairs are great resources
• each region of the country has local specialities - find out what yours is and find a small local supplier to purchase from
• a number of not-so-local and not-so-sustainable companies are at least donating a portion of their profits to charities
• tickets to local cultural performances and educational classes are a great way to spend your money
• buying art or pottery from a local artist makes for a unique and personal gift
• auctions are a great place to pick up some unique gifts (just ask my mom!) and give something a second life instead of using more resources to buy it new
• use your own talents to share with others (painting, photography, writing, baking, gardening)

Here's to a more meaningful holiday season and more meaningful consumption throughout the year!

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who purchased advent calendar drop-ins from me! I sold 120 sets and raised over $700 towards our pledge for Home of Hope India. I was a busy bee cutting paper and assembling the sets for several weeks in November! I am glad they are all shipped out and delivered, and I hope everyone enjoys sharing the story of Christmas with their little ones this year.

As for us, we stuck with our little bags from last year as our "advent calendar." I dropped two gold coins and the little scroll in each bag. I also purchased some small Christmas ornaments that look like miniature presents from a craft store and dropped them in to a few of the bags to let the kids know that on that day they have a small present to open. For their gifts during advent I purchased a few Christmas books (like the Grinch Stole Christmas, Berenstein Bears and the Joy of Giving, and so on). So, on a few lucky days when they open their bags they will have a little gift to open!

Happy Holidays!

Children’s Advent Calendar Drop-ins For Sale!!!

Last year I broke down the story of Christ’s birth into 25 short, simple readings to drop into each of day of Sydney’s Advent calendar. After reading each day’s sentence we would glue it to a piece of construction paper and assemble the story of Christmas over the course of Advent. By Christmas Eve we had the entire story pasted together and we could read it together. She and I both enjoyed it and I thought other parents who would like to make sure the story of Christ is an important part of their Christmas season might also like to use our little story.

Because Brett and I have pledged a contribution to help build a new orphanage for the young girls from Home of Hope India, I decided to make and sell my “Children’s Advent Calendar Drop-ins” for $5 each to raise money for our pledge. I hope you will consider buying them for your loved ones this Christmas! The price includes:

• 25 short daily readings recounting the story of Christ’s birth with a short prayer for each Sunday in Advent.
• 25 ribbons to tie each reading into a little scroll to easily fit into the pocket of an advent calendar.
• A small book of colorful paper in which the children can glue their daily readings and create their own “Story of Christmas.”
  

All money raised from the sale of these Drop-ins will go to help purchase a “stepping stone” to build a new orphanage for the young girls living Hyderabad, India through a charity called Home of Hope India. Right now these girls are sleeping on concrete floors at night and they have nowhere to play, so they really need our help!
http://www.homeofhopeindia.org/
http://www.100stepstohome.com/

This is a great and inexpensive gift to give for children, grandchildren, godchildren, nieces and nephews over the Thanksgiving holidays. It is written in language most appropriate for younger children (toddlers through age 10).

If you don’t have an advent calendar, there are SO many ways to make one creatively, or you can buy one at places like Land of Nod, Pottery Barn Kids, etc.

Last year, we bought small, inexpensive Christmas gift bags and wrote a number on each bag from 1-25 and hung them around our breakfast nook. Inside each bag was a small piece of candy and our daily reading. (The little chocolate “gold” coins you can buy are a great sparkly filler to accompany the scrolls.) You can also buy miniature stockings for very little money and hang them on a rope with clothes pins.

Here are some photos of creative do-it-yourself advent calendars if you need some inspiration:

If you would like to order Drop-ins for your loved ones, please email or call me to tell me how many and send a check for $5 each to:

Claire Burkhart
7545 McCrimmon Parkway
Cary, NC 27519

I will have them all completed before Thanksgiving, so please place your orders early in November. Please add $1 for shipping if you are not in Cary or Wilmington (where I can deliver or you can pick them up).

Remember that all money from these Drop-ins will go to build an orphanage for young girls in India!

Thanks!