This in my opinion was the highlight of our Christmas this year. Every year the kids draw names among the 5 of them and get a gift for the person whose name they drew. I don't know how it happened...kind of a snowball effect I think, but this year they all made their gifts. They were gifts that took a lot of planning and time to complete. I LOVED it because they spent several weeks of the holiday season thinking about and making something for their brother or sister. I was so proud of what they came up with and how much work they put into it.
Kade made Kylee a cedar chest. It has a great story. Grandpa Ward started this project and never finished it before he passed away. A year ago Grandpa Southwick brought it and gave it to Chris to see if he could finish it up. Chris decided to ask Kade if he wanted to help him finish it and give it to Kylee for her gift. He was a little hesitant because of the work involved, but he eventually dived in and it turned out beautiful. Kylee was so excited on Christmas morning to see what Kade had made for her. It was awesome!
Kylee and Emilee worked together on their project. Amazingly enough, the two of them drew Quincy and Brinley. It worked out great. Emilee came up with the idea and got Kylee to help her. A few days after Em shared her idea with us we found this great little table at the DI for $10. We brought it home, hid it in the shed and they put up a sheet blocking the entrance to the family room downstairs and went to work on it. They made it into the cutest chalkboard table...complete with original artwork by Emilee! Then they thought they needed matching stools so we went back to the DI. Lucked out again and found 2 barstools that we cut the legs down on. They painted them to match. It turned out sooo cute and Quincy and Brinley could not have been happier. It was so fun watching Kylee and Emilee get so excited to give the little girls their gift.
Quincy made Emilee a rag quilt. It took her a ton of time and was a little overwhelming at times. She cut all of the squares (99) and helped sew them into rows and then sew the rows together. She worked on it after school every Wednesday for an hour before Emilee came home from school. She also spent 3 hours every Monday night working on it while Emilee was in Logan at Volleyball practice. It took her almost a month to complete! She was a trooper though and she got more excited to give it to Emilee as it came together. It is sooo cute and Emilee loves it!
Brinley made Kade a BYU blanket and a matching BYU pillowcase. She helped with the cutting and the sewing of the binding that we put around the edges. She also helped cut out and sew the pillowcase. She was super excited about having a surprise. She worked on it while he went to Young Men's on Wednesday nights. It was awesome to see her excitement as she gave it to him on Christmas morning.
I think all of the planning, preparing and working in behalf of another person during the month of December helped us all remember what Christmas is really about. I'm not sure we will be able to top this next year though!! Way to go kids...you did such a great job!!
