The Fourth Day of Christmas: Charitable Gifts

Charitable Gifts

We're big fans of charitable gifts. They're unique, they make a difference and they mean less "stuff" that people may or may not use.

Heifer International is a fun place to start. You can buy a share of an animal that will be sent to an impoverished community so that a family can become self-sufficient. How neat would it be to tell a friend or family member that you sent a goat to a family in South America in their name?

We also think a donation to Kiva could make a great gift. Kiva lets you make "microloans" to small business entrepreneurs all over the world so that they can start up self-sufficient businesses. The loans are then paid back so you can reinvest in other projects. Invest $25 or $50 in someone else's name and they can keep picking projects for as long as they want! It's a gift that keeps giving.

The Third Day of Christmas: Our Christmas Present to the Internet

Our Christmas Present to the Internet

Every so often I'll get an idea in the morning and by the evening, that idea has totally morphed into a different beast. Today... that happened. Please indulge my train of thought:

For our favorite things for 12 Days of Christmas, I was going to talk about the Christmas station on Pandora. Well, thinking about the Christmas station made me think about my favorite Christmas song... Better Days by the Goo Goo Dolls (you may not have realized that this is a Christmas song, but it is). When I was thinking about Better Days, I thought about how in high school... I was kind of a rock star. Way bigger than Taylor Swift... just kidding, but I did have a demo album of sorts and I did a cover of Better Days because it's the best song ever. While thinking about rock star me, I started thinking, "What if I had known Jake back then?". Then I remembered... Jake was a total soccer-hottie in high school (he still is, of course). I mean David-Beckham-eat-your-heart-out hot. He also had long hair. Oh, yes.

With all of these amazing thoughts going through my head, I knew a post about Pandora would be boring. And so, without further ado, I present to you our gift to you and to the internet this Christmas...

Oh, and by the way...

Tobi's Favorite Christmas Songs

Better Days

Baby It's Cold Outside /Santa Baby

Oh Come Oh Come Immanuel

Jake's Favorite Christmas Songs

The Peanuts Christmas Piano Riff

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Rockin' Around the Christmas

The Second Day of Christmas: Shopping Online

Alright, so you ordered your Christmas cards in November and you got your decorations up stat, but then life happened and you got into the second week of December and you realized you haven't even STARTED in on presents. The malls are stuffed full of people that you don't really feel like rubbing up against and the couch is so so comfy. Thats why we love...

SHOPPING ONLINE

Avoid the mall. Stay on the cozy couch.

Sites for Finding Something Different:

Wantist.com

UncommonGoods.com

Then find your gift at Amazon.com and get free unlimited two-day shipping when you sign up for a free month of AmazonPlus. No, I am not being paid by Amazon, I am just REALLY stoked about the fast & free shipping. It's like a Christmas miracle for procrastinators.

The First Day of Christmas: Christmas Cards

To get into the proper holiday spirit, we've decided to count down the 12 Days of Christmas with things we love about the season. It's only fitting that we're starting a day late, so do us a favor and pretend we're on time! Kay, thanks.

CHRISTMAS CARDS

Nothing makes you feel more loved than opening a Christmas card... alright, maybe opening a wedding invitation, but a Christmas card can really put you in a merry mood. We're so grateful for the people who have loved on us via mail so far this season.

Also, getting your Christmas cards out early makes you feel pretty accomplished during a season when falling behind is pretty easy to do. Here's our Christmas card for this year:

In case you're all hopped up on Christmas card-ness too... I recommend Tiny Prints.

Here's a super cute idea I saw over at Bower Power. It's a fun way to share family news without writing a novel. Can't wait to try something like this in the future!

Baby, it's cold outside...

We're eight days into December and I'm having Christmas cravings like a holiday addict. There is no good way to organize this post, so you're going to get a look inside my brain. I'm a list maker...

1. Schools Out: I have three classes, three finals and one project to go before Christmas break begins. It's different than other years, because Jake has a big kid job and I'll be working, but we are taking a whole week off from Christmas Eve to January 3rd. It's a beautiful glowing light at the end of a long semester's tunnel.

2. Christmas in the Cave: I'm going to reveal embarrassing private facts now (thats an actual legal term I learned in my Media Law class). Jake and I call each other bears. Well, actually we say it in a so-cute-it-makes-you-want-to-vomit way so that it sounds more like "beaws" really, and thats how we spell it. Well, it follows that since we are bears, this is our bear cave. And thats how we lovingly refer to our tiny little apartment home... the "beaw cave". Are you embarrassed for us yet? Like watching a cheesy teenage melodrama? Thought so.

Anyways, it is definitly Christmas in the cave. We bought our first Christmas tree. It's four feet tall, pre-lit and made of plastic. I'm in love.

Our Pandora is set to Christmas music and my blog list is full of holiday inspiration, so much so that I've decided on about five different advent calendars I'm going to make. Problem is, I haven't started a single one. It's our first Christmas as husband and wife, which is probably where this urge to over do it comes from. I'm doing a pretty good job at pacing myself though (being on a tight budget helps). Only two things are essential this year, our first tree and enough candles to lower our heating bill.

3. Sending our Love: We could not be more excited about Christmas cards this year. We ordered them from TinyPrints a few weeks ago and the anticipation has been killing me. I scoured the internet to see what the "proper" time to send Christmas cards is. I came up with nothing. Jake and I decided that any time after the 1st sounded acceptable. Ours will go out today or tomorrow!

On the receiving end, I'm happy to report that the winner of the "First Christmas Card Received in the Curtis House" Award goes to the Osbornes of Australia. Their card is wonderful and just as quirky as they are. My favorite part is the boxing Kangaroo.

4. The Reason for the Season: Christmas music and tree aside, there is one thing that has really filled us with Christmas joy this week. Along with a group of friends from church, we are adopting a family this year. Yesterday, we all pitched in and then split up to go shopping for them. We had the immense pleasure of skipping through the aisles at Michaels to put together an art kit and a stocking for a little girl who loves color and paint and putting stickers on things. We got to see the love and generosity of our friends as they unselfishly gave of themselves to help a family that needs it. We feel so blessed to be able to bless their Christmas this year. We have a Savior who loves us so deeply and completely that he died for us. He commanded us to love one another as he loved us. So, I guess we're just getting started.

Two Landmark Days

We started off this week with two very significant days. The first was our 6th month-iversary on Sunday the 5th. We can hardly believe that it has been six months from the day we tied the knot! Married life is pretty much our favorite thing ever and we count our blessings every day. We had a laid back day, since relaxation has been scarce lately. We went to church, went out to lunch and spent the evening curled up on the couch while it poured outside. We have so many fond memories from our wedding and look forward to celebrating our one year anniversary in the summer.

Total Flirts

Then Monday rolled around and it was an emotional day for me. On the 6th, I officially passed on my position as chapter president to my very good friend and sister, Jessica. I spend a good part of the day trying to come up with the final words I wanted to say to my sisters as their president. During the meeting and ceremony, I cried pretty much the whole time, so I'm sure they couldn't understand a word. They got the gist though. It has been a roller coaster of a year. From coming together as forty-five total strangers to receiving our charter and all the way to being an eighty woman chapter, I have learned so much about myself, about leadership and about sisterhood. It feels strange to be moving on from this position and wrapping up school next semester, but I know I've left the chapter in good hands with Jessica and I'm proud of what we've built.

Alpha Xi Delta - Iota Omicron

We're so excited for Winter Break in a few days and having some time to really relax and refocus.

Where did November go?

Remember when I said we were tired from a big Halloween and were planning on coasting through November? Well, thats exactly what happened. In fact, we don't even know where November went!

It was a month full of stressful school projects, icy cold days and just plain busyness. We were thrilled to get the chance to go down to Southern California to visit my family. It was one of the most packed trips we've ever taken. We crafted and cooked, had two family get togethers and I went to a bridal shower for my good friend Emily.

The whole weekend proved one thing for sure... I might be talented at crafting and decorating, but my mother is a GENIUS! I hope I can be as good when I grow up. Sorry about the photo quality, all we had on us were our iPhones.

I was in charge of the kids' table. We combined a few different ideas. A map with boats, fall leaves, a paper turkey and super cute "corn poppers" with fun treats inside for the little ones! I can't wait to make it even better next year.

Now December is here and we couldn't be more excited! For once I feel ahead of the game. Our Christmas tree is up and our cards are addressed... now all thats left to do is the shopping!