Sunday Sustenance

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."

- Jean Massieu

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my ancestors, Thomas Rogers, was among those who traveled here on the Mayflower.

An excerpt from the Thomas Rogers Society site:

“Governor Bradford says in his history of the Plymouth settlement that on board the Mayflower were ‘Thomas Rogers and Joseph his son; his other children came afterwards......Thomas Rogers died in the first sickness but his son Joseph is still living (1650) and is married and hath six children. The rest of Thomas Rogers' [children] came over and are married and have many children.’ Therefore we know that Thomas and his son Joseph arrived at Cape Cod aboard the ship Mayflower and on 11 November 1620 according to their calendar, or 21 November on ours, Thomas was one of forty-one signers of the Mayflower Compact. Thomas did not live through the rigorous winter which carried off half the group but young Joseph, like so many of the children, did survive.”

I’m so grateful for Thomas Rogers’s convictions…  for being brave enough to leave everything behind to seek the freedom to worship as he pleased.

I’m also grateful for and humbled by the many blessings that I enjoy – family, faith, shelter, food, health, friends, freedom… the list is never-ending.  I am unbelievably fortunate and blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday Sustenance

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

- John F. Kennedy

Pattern Pieces :: 12 Days of Christmas

So, do you have a family in mind yet for the 12 Days of Christmas Elves Holiday Tradition?  I’ve been trying to think of one myself… but I have to make sure they don’t read my blog so we’re not Suspect Numero Uno!  :)

Thought that the Pattern Pieces fans might enjoy the backgrounds I created for the 12 Days of Christmas printable package, so I’m releasing them as freebies!  There are 4 patterns in 3 colorways each (red, green, blue) and 2 multi-colored patterns. 

I kept the resolution higher on these, so they’re all sized as 10x10.  If you don’t want the pattern as a square, upload it to Picnik, and crop it to whatever size works best for you.  You could even resize the prints, to create smaller squares for framing or other projects.  I’ve also included a compressed file (.rar) of all the patterns in this group for your downloading ease. 

To download the image(s) for printing, simply click on the collage above, and a new window will open to the download location in 4shared.  Save the file(s) to your computer, and it’s yours!  Just print it out yourself, or upload to your photo printer of choice.

Find other Pattern Pieces here.

PLEASE NOTE:

• All Sprik Space freebie designs are available for your PERSONAL use only.  If you are interested in purchasing a non-exclusive COMMERCIAL USE LICENSE, you can find more details here.
• I'm also now offering custom colors on my designs.  Please find more details here.

I love to see how you’ve put the Pattern Pieces to use.  Please be sure to send them to me!  I love highlighting your amazing projects on the Sprik Space Facebook page.  I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with them.  :)

Enjoy!

P.S.  I’ve placed a handy-dandy “Pin It” button on the bottom left for your pinning pleasure!

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World Prematurity Day

In the United States, 1 in 8 babies are born premature.  Worldwide, 13 million babies are born too soon.  Today is World Prematurity Day.

No mother should ever give birth and have to leave the hospital without her baby.  No parent should ever have to watch their child struggle between life and death.

We feel so fortunate that our outcome with Connor has turned out the way it has… we are beyond lucky and blessed.  Like any toddler, he’s a handful, but he’s an absolute JOY – and we thank our Heavenly Father every day that he’s ours.

You can read more about Connor’s amazing story here.

12 Days of Christmas :: Christmas Elves Holiday Tradition

I believe that traditions are key within a family.  Traditions help create lasting memories and help bind the family together as one.  Each holiday season with Connor has been more and more fun as we’ve been able to begin our own little family traditions.  I love this time of year!

 

My absolute favorite holiday tradition growing up was when our family would play “Christmas Elves” to another unsuspecting family during the 12 Days of Christmas.  The whole family would get in on “choosing” which family we wanted to play Elves to – location and logistics were always taken into consideration, as we wanted to ensure we could remain secret Elves for as long as possible, if not to the very end.  Sometimes we chose neighbors, sometimes fellow church members, sometimes a family we thought could use a little extra Christmas cheer.  Each night of the 12 Days of Christmas, we’d drop off a little note and an inexpensive gift that my mom had prepared.  As soon as we got home from school, all 4 of us kids were looking forward to our nightly delivery.  We tried to always keep our identity a secret, even after the final delivery – some years we were successful, some not.  While I can’t remember every family we chose each year… I remember all the FUN we had together as a family trying to pull off our sneaky little surprises!

 

If this is a tradition you’re interested in beginning with your family, I’ve made it super-duper simple for you with a freebie printable package…

First, you’ll need to choose a special family/person to whom you want to send some holiday cheer.  Each night for the 12 Days of Christmas, plan to drop off an inexpensive gift with a fun little note to their doorstep in secret. 

The “secret” part is probably the key to the fun… maybe you want to choose a family in a location that could give you easy “getaway” access either by foot or car, or a family where you can hide nearby to see their reaction each night.  You could leave the nightly gift for them to find when they get home for the evening or even ding-dong-ditch it.  Back in the ‘80s, when my family was pulling this off year after year, we were able to make “prank” calls telling them to check their doorstep – these days, Caller ID makes that method a little more difficult!

Second, to pull off this fun Christmas cheer stunt, you’ll need Hello & Goodbye Messages and the 12 Daily Notes to attach to each nightly gift.  To compile the inexpensive gifts you’ll need, I’ve created an easy shopping list for you to work from.  I guesstimate that when all is said and done, this activity should only cost about $25 (or less!) in total.  That’s 12 nights of excitement, service, and mystery for your family and the family you choose for not very much money – it’s a lot of bang Christmas cheer for your buck!

It’s up to you how you want to present each gift… could be as simple as taping the note to the gift item, or maybe you’ll want to slip them into gift bags, add ribbon, etc.  Have fun with it!

Third, for those 12 nights prior to Christmas, your family will have a blast leaving these gifts in secret… you’ll plot, you’ll plan, and you’ll hope you don’t get caught!  It’s probably more fun for the giving family, than the receiving family… but can you imagine how surprised and touched your own family would be to be the recipients of the nightly surprises?  I promise this activity will add all kinds of family fun and excitement to your holiday season!

Finally, at the end of the 12 Days, on Christmas Eve, you’ll leave behind a yummy treat, and you can choose whether you want to reveal yourselves (that is, if you haven’t been caught yet!), or keep your Christmas Elves identity a secret forever.  :)

My mom stumbled across this idea decades ago, and over the years she modified it a bit (added the Hello & Goodbye Messages, etc.).  I’ve taken it a step further… I modernized the language and have packaged it all together into a colorful printables package just for you!  Be warned, the notes are “punny”, and all in line with the classic “12 Days of Christmas” carol.  I promise, it’s a lot of fun!  :)

The freebie printable package, with everything you’ll need, looks a little like this:

 

TWO OPTIONS FOR PRINTING THE MESSAGES & DAILY NOTES:

For easy printing by a photo printing service (this is my low-cost recommendation, at about $1 total, or even FREE if you find an online coupon code), simply upload these 15 images and print as 4x6 photos.  Shopping list, Hello/Goodbye Messages, and Daily Notes are all included.  Your images will be printed on heavier photo paper, and with a single cut or less they’ll be ready for gifting (trim guides stated for each image).  Click on the example image, on the right, to see what I mean.  :) 

For easy printing on a color printer, 8.5x11” pages, choose the PDF version.  Shopping list, Hello/Goodbye Messages, and Daily Notes are all included.  You may want to print on cardstock or mount each print on heavier paper before gifting (trim guides stated for each image).

To download the 12 Days of Christmas :: Christmas Elves Holiday Tradition package for printing, simply click on either version button above, and a new window will open to the download locations in 4shared.  Save the file(s) to your computer, and they’re yours!  (Wondering how to download from 4shared?  Please read more here.)

Please do me a favor…  if you download this freebie package, would you mind becoming either a Google Follower or a Facebook fan (see left sidebar)?  I’d really appreciate it!

The 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 13th – 4 weeks from today!

 

I’ll be posting this project to some of the link-up parties listed here:

Under the Table & Dreaming	Kuzak’s Closet	I Heart Naptime
Heather Lynne/Raising Memories	The DIY Show-Off	Keeping It Simple
Sew Can Do	The Girl Creative	Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Making the World Cuter	C.R.A.F.T.	Skip to My Lou
Mad in Crafts	I’m Topsy Turvy	Sugar Bee Craft Edition
Tip Junkie	Oops! I Craft My Pants	Crazy Domestic
My Delicious Ambiguity	Today’s Creative Blog	Hope Studios
Lucky Star Lane	Someday Crafts	Blue Cricket Design
Sew Much Ado	Bargain Shopping Paradise	Night Owl Crafting
Somewhat Simple	My Backyard Eden	Creations by Kara
House of Hepworths	Fireflies and Jellybeans	Beyond the Picket Fence
Everything Etsy	Tatertots and Jello	6 Inches of Ribbon
Fingerprints on the Fridge	A Few of My Favorite Things	It’s a Hodgepodge Life
Fun to Craft	Tidy Mom	The Shabby Nest
KojoDesigns	Chic on a Shoestring Decorating	Just a Girl
Seven Thirty Three	Beat Until Fluffy	A Little Lovely

If you would like to blog about this free printable package, please accompany any images from my site with a credit and link back to this post. As a courtesy, please do not link directly to a downloadable file but rather to this page. Thank you!

 

I always love to see the creative ways you put my freebies to use.  Please be sure to send me links or pictures!  I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with them. 

This time around, I especially want to hear how your families enjoyed this fun little tradition – were you successful at not getting caught all 12 days, did you reveal yourselves at the end or keep ‘em guessing??  I can’t wait to hear!  :)

Enjoy!

P.S.  I’ve placed a handy-dandy “Pin It” button on the bottom left for your pinning pleasure!

 

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Sunday Sustenance

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it.  Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

- Muhammad Ali

It’s coming…

Super excited about the freebie printables package I’ll release here on the blog next week!  There’s a sneak peek on the Freebies page and on Facebook.  I think you’re really gonna love it… stay tuned!

Just because (43)

I know, I know… Thanksgiving is still 2 weeks away.  But, I’m already listening to Christmas music, and getting in a general holiday spirit.  We do give Thanksgiving its proper attention here in the Sprik house, but I like to get a little Christmas-y earlier than most.  Plus I have a nearly-3-year-old super-excited to meet Santa this year… can you blame me??   

So, who doesn’t love Elf?!?  One of the best holiday movies ever made, IMO.  :)

A few of my favorite lines from the movie:

• “Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?”
• “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.”
• “Smiling's my favorite.”
• “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

I have at least a dozen more… seriously LOVE that movie!

I thought it’d be fun to turn one of my favorite quotes into another freebie printable for you… So, here’s another 5x7 installment of the Just Because series – 2 colors.

To download the 5x7 image(s) for printing, simply click on the collage image above, and a new window will open to the download locations in 4shared.  Save the image(s) to your computer, and they’re yours!  Just print it out yourself, or upload to your photo printer of choice.  (Wondering how to download from 4shared?  Please read more here.)

If you would like to blog about this free printable, please accompany any images from my site with a credit and link back to this post. As a courtesy, please do not link directly to a downloadable file but rather to this page. Thank you!

I always love to see the creative ways you put my freebies to use.  Please be sure to send me links or pictures! I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with them.  :)

Enjoy!

P.S.  Other “Winter” printables I’ve offered in the past can be found here.  (Scroll past the Valentine’s freebies.)

P.P.S.  I’ve placed a handy-dandy “Pin It” button on the bottom left for your pinning pleasure!

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Just because (42)

If you’re on Pinterest, I’m sure you’ve seen this gorgeous project by Kerry of Kerry’s Kronicles…

I wanted to work something up for Thanksgiving, and this quote has stuck with me for a few days…

“It is not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy.”

So much truth in it… I love it!

For you, here’s another 5x7 installment of the Just Because series – there are 10 different colorways for you to choose from.

To download the 5x7 image(s) for printing, simply click on the collage image above, and a new window will open to the download locations in 4shared.  Save the image(s) to your computer, and they’re yours!  Just print it out yourself, or upload to your photo printer of choice.  (Wondering how to download from 4shared?  Please read more here.)

If you would like to blog about this free printable, please accompany any images from my site with a credit and link back to this post. As a courtesy, please do not link directly to a downloadable file but rather to this page. Thank you!

I always love to see the creative ways you put my freebies to use.  Please be sure to send me links or pictures! I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with them.  :)

Enjoy!

P.S.  Other “Fall” printables I’ve offered in the past can be found here.

P.P.S.  I’ve placed a handy-dandy “Pin It” button on the bottom left for your pinning pleasure!

Pin It

Sunday Sustenance

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”

- Anna Schwindt

November Birthday Wishes

Dr. Andi turns another year wiser on November 30th.