Our family has never done an advent calendar. It’s not a tradition I grew up with, and it just seemed like a lot of work. I have friends who give small gifts every day of advent. I have other friends who give a piece of candy. But with 4 kids and 24 days, I just didn’t want that much candy doled out, nor did I want plastic trinkets or items that they wouldn’t use. Also, on the practical side, I struggled to find an advent calendar with pockets or doors big enough to fit four items inside, and . . .

We have been doing a neighborhood potluck during the week of Thanksgiving for 14 years now. However, for the first time in 15 years, we live in a new neighborhood. And we don’t have as many friends in our new neighborhood. We had a really tight crew in our previous hood, but we are still getting to know people since moving in May. The kids love this tradition, so we decided we would still invite our old neighbors. And then some parents of their friends. And some friends from Beer and Hymns. And, . . .

This post is sponsored by the fine folks at You Need A Budget I'm already dreading the holiday hangover. Every year, it seems like the number of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas get shorter and shorter. I love Christmas, but I'm almost never ready for it to arrive. Our traditional holiday letter seems to get finished and put in the mail later in December every year. The presents get wrapped closer and closer to Christmas Eve . . . the rush to plan travel, or plan meals, or plan ways to . . .

This post is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse Gift Catalog I'm leading another "Occupy Christmas" movement in our house this year. By that I mean bringing the consumerism down a notch for the holidays and bringing the tangible giving up for those in need. Less plastic toys for privileged kids, more food on the table for those without... that kind of thing. In a season marked by giving, I love the idea of giving back to our community and our planet. I want my kids to have clear and consistent . . .

I would be remiss if I didn’t share photos of our annual “Jafta gets a pie in the face” tradition. It started when he was 5 years old. I’d made a cheesecake for Thanksgiving.  I'm not sure that the kids have ever witnessed me making a dessert that resembles a pie.  When Jafta saw what I was doing, he begged me . . . I mean BEGGED ME . . . to throw it in someone's face.  He was sure that this would be the funniest and coolest thing that could ever happened.  He even . . .

This post was sponsored by the Evangelical Christian Credit Union. The Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU) has created a simple movement this holiday season, encouraging people to find the most creative ways to share love with others, $10 at a time. The #GiveTen Generosity campaign is designed to promote a core value of the ECCU: giving. ECCU is a member-owned financial cooperative that uses member deposits to fuel missions around the world, investing profits back into social causes. ECCU . . .