Helping Families to Connect and Thrive

New Years at the Coast– Welcome, 2020!

01.16.20

After a very full Christmas season, we headed down to the cottage to welcome 2020! We love starting the new year on the coast. Last year we set our intention to experience more fulfillment in work and as a family. This year we hope to find CONTENTMENT in all aspects of our lives– no easy task, but so critical in living a joyful life.

Our littlest collector.
We love, love, love that Cole is showing such an interest in searching for treasures on our walks. Today he carried his own collection bag for the first time and couldn’t wait to fill it with rocks, bits of shell, and a crab claw or two— just like Isla when she was his age!

His biggest belly laughs happen when he is being mischievous! Cole has given us a run for our money since turning two, but goodness, we love him SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

“I almost saw a sneaker wave.” Isla is writing up a storm these days, and she was very diligent about watching the ocean.

The cold, rainy weather provided lots of opportunities for creative pursuits indoors. I passed my easel down to Isla at Christmas and she had been asking to paint on it every day since. We brought it down to the cottage, along with a GIANT tub of craft supplies, to keep us entertained while the rain poured down outside. Our dining table proved the best space to create, and was constantly covered with all sorts of residual from our masterpieces. Paints, brushes, papers, scissors, bits of string, and glue bottles lay scattered across the tabletop— spare for one clean corner, which we huddled around during meal times. Our floors were dusted with glitter and paper scraps. Paint has ended up places it shouldn’t have, like when Cole dumped it on the rug and painted the cat! Amidst this artistic chaos, however, our hearts were content as we created together by the sea.

Buddy the Elf’s got nothing on us! I had so much fun making and hanging these snowflakes around our dining room.

How many other parents show their kids a New Year’s Eve countdown from an earlier time zone so they can get them to bed? We played a video of the countdown at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and welcomed the new year with their fabulous fireworks display! Kids were in bed before 9:00pm and the grown ups were in bed before 11:00pm. Ha!
This little strategy allowed us a full night’s sleep so we could head down to the beach bright and early before the rain returned. We were surprised to find the shoreline covered in giant mounds of sea foam. I managed to keep Cole out of it for 0.4 seconds. Then I just embraced the messiness and took photos!

For the fourth year in a row we spent the first morning of the new year sand sledding. Nothing better than welcoming a new decade with salt air, good friends, excitement, and lots of laughter!!!

Isla found her first agate of 2020 while we were sledding and it was enormous!

We spent one afternoon at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Our sincerest apologies to the individuals responsible for cleaning the glass…

The McD’s joined us for the last few days at the cottage. The stormy weather and high tides kept us in the cottage most of the time, but we made it down for one nice beach walk!

Advent Activities Days 24 & 25– Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

12.26.19

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ARE the 24th and 25th advent activities. No additional planning needed!

We spent the night at the McD’s after our prawns and champagne night, and created our own little Christmas morning experience with them on Christmas Eve morning. We relaxed in our jammies, enjoyed biscuits and gravy, and opened presents.

Grauntie and I definitely ventured into the unknown when we decided to design and create the white Elsa dress from Frozen 2 for Isla based off of a few blurry photos from the internet. It took numerous trips to the craft store, several redesigns, and hours upon hours of work, but seeing this joyful reaction made every challenge completely worth it!!!

Isla couldn’t wait to put her dress on and get into character!

Cole was in love with Isla’s Elsa dress too, so we gave him the first top we made that was too small.

Christmas Eve 2019 was a cozy one with the Marshall Fam! Our evening began with a candlelight service at church, and was followed by an appetizer dinner, happy conversation, thoughtful gift exchange, and lots of harmonica playing! Nana and Papa gifted each of the grand kids their own harmonica and they happily played them throughout the evening! Papa has played the harmonica for years so we are hopeful he can teach Isla and Cole the basics. We deeply appreciate when people give gifts from the heart that encourage connection and the sharing of interests! Nana and Papa also gave all the grand kids walkie talkies that work together and they were a huge hit! The walkie talkies have a several mile range, so we cannot wait to try them out with all the cousins at the beach next year! I can already envision the silly giggling and make believe they’ll share as they call each other, and that makes my heart so happy!

Christmas morning magic. There’s really nothing like it, is there? We soaked it all up this year. From the excited squeals our kids made when they saw the tree, to the breakfast Santa provided (wink, wink), to the heartfelt exchange of gifts. It really was a magical morning, and we feel so grateful to have experienced it all together.

Per tradition, we put out bacon and beer for Santa. And just like in years past, he thoroughly enjoyed them!

Isla was so thrilled to give Charlie the gift she bought for him. He thoroughly enjoyed his treats (even though it looks like he’s being force fed in the photo- ha!), his new toys, and his catnip spray!

Charlie surprised Isla with a puzzle featuring a photo from the first time they met. Such a thoughtful kitty!

Isla made Daddo a beautiful new pencil holder for his desk at work.

Isla was so pumped when we gifted her the “grown up wooden easel” she had requested. It was actually the easel I had as a child, and I cannot wait to see all of the wonderful things she will create on it!

Cole painted a beautiful frame and we put a family photo in it for Daddo’s desk.

The kiddos exchanged gifts this year. Since Cole runs around playing “Dr Jill” (a game he has made up after his wonderful pediatrician) all the time, Isla gave him his own doctor’s kit. Cole gave Isla a Toothless stuffed animal. Both kiddos were absolutely ecstatic with the gifts. With a little help and encouragement it’s amazing how thoughtful kids can be with giving!

Cole’s train from Santa! He played with it all morning.

We spent the evening of Christmas at the McD’s with our extended family. It was a merry celebration, and the perfect way to wrap up our Christmas season!

These kiddos are definitely the BEST gift ever!!!

Children’s Snowflake Drawing Necklaces!

12.23.19

We’ve spoken before about how meaningful gift giving is really important to us. I knew having a piece of Isla’s art that could be worn for years would be such a sentimental keepsake, so we had necklaces made using Isla’s snowflake drawings!!!

I came up with the necklace idea just after Christmas last year and have been waiting patiently for the holidays to roll around again so we could make them. Isla drew many, many snowflakes and we selected a handful of our favorite designs– one unique snowflake for each person, just like in nature! We submitted our favorites to a wonderful shop on Etsy that makes an exact replica of each drawing in silver. The snowflakes are even more beautiful than I imagined and one of my favorite gifts we’ve ever created! In fact we loved them so much that Isla and I ordered necklaces too and have been wearing them non-stop! We opted for identical snowflakes, so not true to nature, but really meaningful mom-daughter pieces!

Tips for creating a successful piece of jewelry with your child’s drawings:

choose a drawing that isn’t too complicated– clean, clear lines are easier to replicate!
make sure all the elements of the drawing are connected in some way, otherwise it isn’t possible to replicate it in the jewelry (for example, if your child draws a face where the pupil is floating in the middle of the eye, the jewelers would either have to omit the pupil from the necklace or move it over and connect it to the outline of the eye)
have your child make their drawing with a marker (or trace it in marker) so the lines are a little bit thicker and easy to see
photograph your child’s drawing straight on, in natural light
pay close attention to your jeweler’s production timeline– custom pieces often take 4-6 weeks to make, so plan accordingly
embrace the quirks of your child’s drawings– they are what will pull at your heartstrings over the years

We let Isla wrap all of the necklaces. The wrapping was great fine motor skills practice for her, allowed her to take more ownership over the gift, and the final gift looked SO adorable!

Do you also love dreaming up heartfelt gifts for the people you love? HERE is another one of our all time favorite meaningful presents we’ve ever given!

Advent Activities Day 23– Prawns and Champagne Night

12.23.19

In our tips for simple, stress-free advent activities we encourage you to create advent activities around things you’d already be doing. Incorporating your family traditions into your advent activities works so well! Every December 23, the anniversary of my grandmother’s passing, we gather together with my aunt, uncle, and cousins to share a meal and lots of heartfelt conversation. We sip glasses of bubbly, eat Cajun prawns around the coffee table in the living room, and take turns reflecting upon our year and all that we are thankful for. It is, without a doubt, our favorite tradition with my side of the family!

Advent Activities Day 22– Cookie Baking Day

12.22.19

Cookie baking day is another tradition we love so much— especially when there is yummy ginger snap dough to sneak!

Isla was so excited to spend time with her Uncle Ian, who was home from grad school in Michigan!

When we gather for cookie baking we each bring one or two pre-made doughs to bake, and spend the afternoon rolling, cutting out, and decorating. This year I broke from tradition and made mini dark chocolate cupcakes with candy cane frosting. They’re going to be a regular in the holiday rotation for sure!