Once Upon A Time: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

Farmukkah: Day 3

December 29th
The Thought That Counts
{Ah, ah, ah, ah}

Today was The Thought That Counts. Have you ever wanted to give someone a gift, but don't have the money to do so? And when you tell that person how you would have loved to be able to afford it and they say, "Well, its the thought that counts right?" That's what today is all about! We all drew names and had to come up with something you wish you could give that person.

Here's what we all did.

My thought that counts to Mom.

I did these pictures on an awesome program Fresh Paint on my new computer.

This originally was a picture and I painted over it with the colors it was. I just love using Fresh Paint!

Robert's thought that counts to Dad.

Dad's thought that counts to me.

Melissa's thought that counts to Jessica.

Jessica's thought that counts to Melissa.

Jess made a book.

Last but not least. Mom's thought that counts to Robby.
She made a video.

I couldn't get it to upload though ;(
It was having a self sustainable farm. Sounds great!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Farmukkah: Day 2

December 28th
Silly Dinner Hats
{Because there's no reason not to}

This is probably one of my favorite days. It's so much fun!! It's pretty self explanatory, but I will do a little bit of explaining.

We all draw names and have to make or buy a silly hat for that person to wear at dinner. It can be as off the wall as you want. That's the fun part. There are endless possibilities of what to make.

Check out the hats we made this year.
Dinner was leftovers from the Farmukkah Feast.

First we have Robby's hat made by yours truly.
The big B is the best part to me! haha

The bat symbols were cut out of foam and the big B was once red. I glued black foam to it. The mask was bought as is. It's awesome!

I glued all those gems onto the hat and painted them and the sides of the hat black.

Next we have my hat that Mom made. Isn't it lovely?!

She hand sewed all the little balls and butterflies to it.

She also put on the ribbon, feather, and blue butterfly.

That feather is just ridiculous! haha

Next up, Jessica's hat from Dad.

Dad went tame this year. Silly and practical is what he called this one. I think its cute!

Another tame hat is Dad's hat from Robby.

Although that face is far from tame!

The next two are most definitively not tame.
Over the top is more like it!

This one is Mom's hat from Melissa. I love that it lights up!

Melissa said its an enchanted forest. haha So great! It was once a clear cone. Melissa glued brown felt, dried moss, a fake birds nest with bird, embroidered flowers, and a white picket fence.

See how it lights up? Awesomeness.
The battery pack was tucked away in the top of the hat.

Last, but not least, Melissa's hat from Jessica.

It was so big Melissa couldn't keep it on her head. hahaha
Jessica started with a wooden container and glued all kinds of sticks and moss to it.
She also attached that branch to look like a tree.

Isn't this neat?! Jess cut a branch to make log seats. Bought the tea set at Hobby Lobby and glued it down. It looks so enchanting. I want to have a tea party there!!

So there you have it! This night was sooooo much fun!!!
I can't wait to do it again next year!!

Just a normal family portrait.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Merry Happy Farmukkah

It's that time of year

Farmukkah is here

Merry Happy Farmukkah everyone!!! What is Farmukkah you ask?

I shall tell you.

Farmukkah was created from an idea my dad had about opening gifts earlier than Christmas. He is the biggest kid when it comes to presents. In 2010, the week before Christmas, he began to say "Today is open present Wednesday" or "Today is open present Thursday." You get the point. Dad claimed he would get this to stick and sure enough he did! It was so funny that we definitely remembered it the following year. But instead of "open present {insert date here}" Farmukkah was born. I don't remember every detail of how it came about. Just the basics that we all discussed having our own holiday leading up to Christmas, and since we live on a Farm...we called it Farmukkah.

Then came the fun part of creating what this holiday would be.

Last year we had the 7 days of Farmukkah:

The Thought That Counts

Silly Dinner Hats

Farmukkah Folklore

From the Farm

Jingle Toes

Back of the Tree Ornament

Christmas Marnin' jammies

It was one of the best things we have done as a family.

So many memories from those 7 days.

This year we have added on to our holiday. We all sat down, prayed, and talked about how to really make this a special time. Even more than last year. Farmukkah to us isn't about the gifts we receive {although it started that way}, it is about the time we share as a family. Yes, there will be presents, but the stipulation is that we pray about everything we buy. I tell you from experience that praying about what to give someone always becomes the best gifts. He knows if someone needs anything and exactly what that person would want.

I love shopping with God!!

So with these new insights for our holiday we have made some changes. We have moved the starting date of Farmukkah to be after Christmas, instead of before. This has worked out SOOO much better. Now our holiday doesn't have to be wrapped up in the craziness leading up to Christmas. Another change is instead of the 7 days of Farmukkah it has been expanded to 10 days. Some days have stayed the same, some have been dropped, and new ones have been added.

These are our new Farmukkah days:

Farmukkah Feast

Silly Dinner Hats

The Thought That Counts

Don't Let This Happen To You

Fired Up

A Day To Remember

Sock Wars

Farm Fresh

We Be Jammin'

That's A Wrap

I'm so excited for these 10 days!!! It's going to be a blast.

Now for our first day of Farmukkah.

December 27th
Farmukkah Feast { May the forks be with you }

Today we, you guessed it, feast! To start off our day of feasting we have a yummy breakfast of Sweet Potato Biscuits, scrambled eggs, and homemade sausage. Milk and fresh squeezed orange juice to drink.
It was delicious!!

After breakfast my mom, sisters, and I were in the kitchen preparing for our feast. It was very enjoyable and worth the work. Melissa mainly did decorating in the dining room/living room area. {I helped some.} She did a fantastic job! Everything looked great.