Made with Love

Well the best gifts I gave this year would probably be the ones I made....advent calendars for us and my two married brothers. These are an updated version of an advent calendar we grew up with. Even though the kids are all grown, my mom still hangs hers every year. We just loved this thing...it was our favorite decoration by far.


After finding something similar in a few of my magazines, I decided I could do it. I've wanted one for years now, and Kaleb is really understanding Christmas more, I just had to give it a try. Three may have been a bit much to tackle for a beginner, but I was happy with the results. Personalized ornaments included stockings with initials for each family member, Elmo for the babies, a pig for my SIL Terra, a Wii controller for Jo, a Y football for T & V, and then some of our old favs from our childhood.



Some of the fav. gifts we received this year are also homemade. A sign made by Blake & Mandy's Wall Candy that reads: Murdock, There's No Place Like Home, a large tile that says Our Family is raised on LOVE with a cute border, and a small tile with Pres. Hinckley's Be Virtues. Thanks Blake, Shannon & Babs! The best goes to Aunt Carlybell though...she always outdoes herself and somehow she did it again! She made 3 sets of postage stamps for us: one with my fav. snap of Dylan of all time, another great one of my surfer babe, Kaleb, at the beach, and a priceless pic of Aunt C, Mum, Tommy & me at the airport where our goofy dress up tradition all began. LOVE, lOvE, LOVE it... you're the best Aunt C!!!