Memorable Decorations {Part 2}

Last time I talked about the memories behind our Christmas decorations, we ended in the front room.  I'd like to now take you over to the family room, where more surprises await.

First of all, let's hop to the south side of the house, where windows offer perfect places to drape some greenery.  And what better addition to the greenery than snowflakes?  Probably about ten years ago, my grandma patiently attempted to teach me how to do a simple chain crochet stitch, which I promptly left to do other, more interesting things.  Well, finally, a few years ago, she gave me the idea to make lace snowflakes for my mom.  I readily agreed, not knowing how tedious it would be to learn new stitches and put them to use.  But I'm quite pleased with how they turned out!

A hop and a skip away, and once again, we've got a homemade gift that the guys made probably six or seven years ago.  Mom wanted stocking hangers, and so her sweet husband once again surprised her with eight shining, gold-painted hangers.  I remember that we all gave them to her—Daddy and us kids—and though I didn't do a thing, they were still partially from me, and that was special.  Though it made my brothers slightly irritated.

And let's just take a moment to admire these stocking handcrafted by my very talented mother, shall we?  Not only are they simply stockings, but cowboy boots!  Yeah, have I mentioned her love for western decor?

Now let's take a step back from the mantle (where we put the village every year until we decided to put it on the piano this year) to examine Kordell's fascination/obsession with lights.  The dude seriously finds a new place to string lights every year. (Let's not forget that one year Birdo strung garland across the room suspended from the ceiling... but that's another story.)

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Our house is certainly all decked out this year!  How about yours?

Memorable Decorations

Today marks the start of the 12 Days of Christmas blog party!

Come with me, I'd like to take you on a tour through our house.  Our Christmas decorations are put up, and there are some specific ones that I'd like to show you, each with a special meaning or memory. (And thanks to Kara for taking most of these pics!)

First stop is the front yard.  Looking at the house, you'll see a tree covered in lights, and then a star of lights on top of the house.  That star has been on the house every winter pretty much as long as I can remember.  But once upon a time, Mom really wanted lights on the house, and one year Daddy suddenly surprised her with a homemade star.  You can see it from a couple miles away, and it's certainly a major part of our Christmas decorations.

Next stop: front room.   Remember the Christmas tree that I mentioned?  If you turn to the right after entering the front door, you'll find that tree, laden with lights, garland and ornaments.  Have I mentioned that handmade gifts are kind of a thing around here?  Kordell made mom a box of cutout western (western decor is Mom's favorite) ornaments—bull heads, horseshoes, cowboy boots, etc., and Mom then wrote names of Jesus on them.

A few feet from the tree, you'll find Mom's grand piano covered with a ceramic village.  This village has been collected over the years, with my grandma adding to it every year for quite a long time.  It's probably the decoration us kids enjoyed putting up the most when we were little.

Next to the piano, you'll find a short chest of drawers with this nativity on it.  Us kids had our own nativity scene that we were allowed to put up ourselves.  I don't know how many pieces have been hot-glued (have I ever mentioned that hot glue is another of this family's specialties?) back together again.  So if we got to put up Mom's good brown nativity, man, we were privileged! (If you look closely, you can see that the angel's wing has been glued together... yes, we did mess up sometimes)

On a second chest of drawers around the corner lies this nativity calendar.  On each day of December, counting down to Christmas, you open one of the little doors and pull out an item to stick on the scene.  I remember calculating the number of days to see which of us siblings got to open baby Jesus on Christmas Eve.  We alternated every year, even though we argued about it every year.

These two characters are found pretty much anywhere in the house.  Pushing the yellow sticker on the mouse's foot presses a button that activates it to start dancing and playing its guitar and singing Jingle Bell Rock.  Santa has a switch to turn him on, and once that switch is flipped, he sings Jingle Bells any time he senses a loud noise, or when someone taps him.  These two guys were the best white elephant gifts ever!

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Everyone has their favorite Christmas decorations and memories.  What are some of yours?

Also, don't forget to check out Faith's blog for all the links to the other participants in the blog party!  (Also, there's an epic-looking giveaway going on with all sorts of epic stuff like books and music and I don't even know what else.)

You Know You're a Farmer's Daughter When...

Well, you never know, maybe I'll keep up this post-once-a-week thing.

I've had this idea for a post in the back of my mind for quite awhile now.  And I needed something to post this week.

So congratulations, this is what you get!

A list of things that I, as a farmer's daughter, can testify to as being one-hundred-percent truthful.  This will hopefully turn into a series of posts.  Most things on this list generally happen in the summer.

DISCLAIMER: I know that not all other farming people can relate, and I know that there's some people that don't live on a farm that do relate; this is strictly from my perspective. ;)

You know you're a farmer's daughter when...

...You get juice on your hands from picking mulberries, then run inside screaming that you've got blood on your hands, trying to freak Mom out.

                      

...One of the most familiar/fondest childhood sights/memories is the inside of a tractor cab.

...There is no such thing as summer vacation.

...One of the biggest highlights of the year is wheat harvest.

...The best place in the world to read a book (other than a cushy chair, of course) is the cab of a combine.  Or under a shade tree if that isn't available.

...There's not much you like more than squishing your bare feet in the mud.

...You actually attend that 'little country church' with a gravel parking lot that everyone thinks is only in storybooks and country songs.

...Your food is practically in your backyard.

...Rain is the most welcome sight in the world.

...People visit your house and can't believe how quiet it is.  And you just smile, forever grateful that you live where you live.

And there you have it folks, a glimpse into my small and insignificant life.

Do you think you'd like more posts like this?

~Kaitlyn

Memories and Traditions

Hi people!

Today I will be sharing something special with you.

You know those special times with loved ones, sad times, or just plain silly times?  I've had a few of those. And I'd like to share some of those memories with y'all.

Something that I will remember always is just a little thing. I remember our cousins visiting from out of state: two girls and a boy. Two of them are older than me, and when they would visit, my mom would put a Lonestar CD in the player.  The very first song on the CD is "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", and us kids (ranging from the ages of 10 to 3) would just dance around the house.  I was the youngest at that time, and to be included in their fun, to dance and laugh… now, every time I hear that song, I think of dancing with my siblings and cousins. ;)

December 25, 2008

It was Christmas morning.  All the children were excited to open presents and stockings. Kaitlyn was on her way to the Christmas tree when the phone rang.

They didn't open presents that morning.

They rushed to the local hospital, where Kaitlyn's grandfather was being airlifted to the city with severe pneumonia.  

There he stayed in ICU for 40 days.  

He was not expected to live.

I remember visiting the hospital, staying in the waiting room doing jigsaw puzzles, jealous because my older brothers could visit Grandpa but I couldn't because I was too young to visit ICU.

Until one day.

My parents came to us with face masks to put on.  I didn't like the masks, feeling that they made me look silly.  But I put it on, and Kordell and I were ushered into Grandpa's room.  He looked so weak, with tubes and IV's attached to him.
"They're happy to see you," Grandma said. "You can see it in their eyes."
The doctors had let us see him because he wasn't expected to live through another day.
But God performed a miracle; in February of 2009, Grandpa was released from the hospital and he is still alive and well today!

Traditions.
They are fun.
(Yes, that's all I have to say; what more needs to be said?)
We have several traditions in the Krispense household.
1. Each year, we make Brenig with my grandma.  We go to our grandparents' house, and us kids will roll the cookies and place them on the pans while Grandma cuts them. (I'm sorry if that sounds confusing; it's hard to explain.)  Brenig is a foreign peppermint cookie that is about the texture of heavy cake.  It's a Krispense favorite.
2. Christmas Eve program at church.  Somebody organizes some sort of program, whether it's a simple candlelight service or a pageant performed by the kids.  This year we're having music with a slideshow. :)
4. Daddy usually reads an advent story.  We especially like the books by Arnold Ytreeide: Tabitha's Travels, Jotham's Journey, Bartholemew's Passage, and Ishtar's Odyssey.  Each of these books actually have one or two of the characters from the other books, so it's neat to see how all the stories tie together. ;)

And, I suppose another tradition would be listening to the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas CD while decorating, or making brenig, or eating on Christmas Eve :D
I'll include the first song here.

Well, there ya go; a couple of Christmas memories, and some traditions that our family enjoys.
What are your favorite Christmas memories and traditions?
~Kaitlyn