Home Church Christmas & Homemade Cheer Bucket

This is the first year we'll be at our own house that we actually live in for Christmas. (First time EVER in the kids' OR JB's lives! I grew up with Christmas at my house, and then we'd go over to Grandmommy's for lunch; JB grew up always traveling to his two sets of grandparents in two different states, which is also all our kids have ever known.) Us staying here is no big moral stand for our household - neither of us feel like we *MUST* have a Christmas inside these four walls - or any certain walls in particular; it's purely financial. Everyone keeps asking why my mom doesn't come here for Christmas; it would be cheaper for them to come here than the four of us to fly there, and there are so many amazing new things we could do & explore here since the kids are off school & the summer heat is gone, but she wants to have Christmas in her home. Maybe next year? :-)

I am sooo excited to actually get to be a part of the Christmas festivities at the church we belong to for the very first time!!! Singing on the Praise Team is a big part of my life, and I've never been able to participate in any Christmas services, b/c we're always gone. This year, I got to sing this Sunday of Christmas week, ("O Come, All Ye Faithful"! "What Child Is This?"!) and I get to sing for our two Christmas Eve Candlelight services ("O Come, O Come Emmanuel"! "Joy to the World"!, "O Holy Night"! "Silent Night"!), as well!!! A few people asked to see "Breath of Heaven" from two weeks ago. The quality is *AWFUL* (loud sounds are distorted when recorded, & this phone was right by an amp; there was also a reverb effect on my mic - you can really hear it at 1:20; start there to skip the blah beginning; also, forgive the tragic 3-sizes-too-big pants (although yay that they are! :-D) :-P) but...


Also, since we're not traveling, we've gotten the kids some bulky Christmas presents we wouldn't have, otherwise. The standout for Annelise: a cheer bucket. What's a cheer bucket? A white 5 gallon paint bucket that's been decorated with your team's colors and whose lid has been turned into a padded foam seat. The girls carry their megaphones, poms, water, etc. in them and use them as sideline seats at break after halftime shows. I actually think they are kind of a waste, (they're heavier & clunkier than just carrying your stuff,) ...but they sure are cute!!! :-D Annelise has asked & asked for one, so we're giving in & making it ourselves. Our local athletic store here will personalize the buckets for $36(!!!), but you still have to do the lid yourself = no deal. I got a bucket & lid for a few bucks at ACE Hardware and used my Silhouette for the decoration; JB cut the wood & foam circles, and we stapled the spirit-color fabric I bought over the top, before he screwed it tight to the lid:

I still have to add ribbons on the handle and maybe some decoration where the lid & top of the bucket meet, but I think we'll wait and ask her what else she wants on Christmas. :-) Ok, for now, back into the recesses of my closet... ;-)