Lasso The Moon

Teaching Kids about Money and Giving

It's almost here! Are you ready?  This year is almost over, and a new one is waiting just around the corner!  I think this might be my favorite time of year.  I love the hustle and excitement of Christmas, but I REALLY love coming down from the height of the season to the clean slate of the New Year.  Like landing on fresh powder.

Our holidays were wonderful, and I'm overflowing with thankfulness.

Since we are homeschooling this year, we were able to take a full three weeks off and really soak in the restfulness.  Well, sort of.  We went to 14 parties in 30 days...but in between, we had some REST.  At least we weren't trying to fit in spelling lists and geography!

During our time off, the big kids each made some crafts so they could raise money for Christmas.  Half of their earnings were for gift-buying, and the other half was marked to give away to a charity of their choice.

Emma (10) made these  sets of hair ties:

We gave them cute names like Build a Snowman and Midnight, and added them to my esty shop, since I was running a virtual pop-up shop there anyway.  We also advertised on Instagram and Facebook.

Here's what Ethan (8) made:

Mini wreaths made from felted wool clothing scraps.  Each one was about 5 inches across.  In addition to facebook and IG, Ethan showed Emma how to hustle.  He sold most of his to people he came into contact with--not an ounce of fear in that kid!

When it was all said and done, it was amazing how close their sales totals were.  Emma ended up selling 21 sets of hair ties, while Ethan sold 19 wreaths.  We also had a couple people donate extra money to their charitable giving.  Both kids were so excited! Especially when they got orders online--that felt really official.

Today, we added up everything, decided to go with World Vision, and chose which gifts they wanted to give (rabbits and ducks).

They raised exactly $94.

 

Adding up the totals from our #kidmade handicraft sale this year. They earned a combined total of $94 to donate to #worldvision. You should have seen them pore over that catalog! They chose rabbits and ducks. And get this: 2 rabbits + 8 ducks cost exactly $94! #ChristmasMiracle #thankful

A photo posted by Anna (@lasso_the_moon) on Dec 12, 2014 at 2:28pm PST

 

I went back and forth between the pages of the catalog, trying to do the math in my head. As it turns out, the price of 8 ducks and 2 rabbits comes to exactly $94.  I felt like I was in one of those stories were the family prays for the last $14 for the rent, and a stranger walks up and hands them exactly what they needed in cash...you know those stories, right?  Our friends, family, and even complete strangers came together to help my kids earn exactly what they needed to give exactly what they'd hoped they could give.  This kind of thing is a huge boost in faith in the midst of the daily gettin-stuff-done, ya know?

I love doing this kind of thing with my kids.  It pulls them out of themselves in this potentially selfish time of year, and helps them focus on someone else.  I'm sure they don't really understand the good that they might be doing by donating these animals to families in need--I'm not sure I even understand it fully--but the sheer act of working for the benefit of someone else was exciting and rewarding to them.  And $94 is totally worth getting excited over!

Another benefit of doing a little business with the kids, is that they were constantly doing math in their heads.  Ethan's ornaments were worth more than Emma's hair ties, especially since she had to pay back part of her sale price for supplies. (Ethan did too, just not as much since we had most of the supplies on hand.)  We also learned the value of expanding your target customer.  The wreaths were more expensive, but they were also appealing to a wider range of people.  The hair ties were cute, affordable, and had great packaging, but didn't work as a gift for someone without longish hair.  Or boys.  On the other hand, they made really easy stocking stuffers, so people bought in multiples.  Believe me, all of these factors are running through their heads as they consider doing this again next time.

And there will be a next time! We are going to open up the shop again really soon, and incorporate business, money management, and charitable giving into our regular homeschool routine.  We are planning to open back up on January 10, with a new line for the Valentine's, wedding, baby shower season, so stay tuned!

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So how about you?  How was your Christmas season? Are you worn out or ready to charge the gates into the New Year?  Have you ever given to a cause like Compassion, World Vision, or Heifer International? Today is a good day to start!

 

 

My Life Flashed Before My Eyes

The other night Donnie and I planned a romantic date night.  The plan was to have a little dinner and then go see this tree.

It doesn't look like much in the dark, but this is one of the oldest trees in Dallas.  It sits in a very fancy neighborhood, the kind that would make Kevin McCallister's part of town look shabby.  It is a giant pecan tree, and every year the people of the town drape its huge canopy in colorful lights.  It's such a spectacle that when we passed this same tree 12 years ago, on our way to dinner, I asked my then-boyfriend Donnie if we could stop and see it.  We'd been dating for more than five years, and I thought it would be romantic to stop and share a kiss under such a gorgeous tree.  But he didn't stop.  We were in the middle of a date, and we had places to be.  We went on to have dinner at a special restaurant, we saw a musical version of our favorite movie (It's a Wonderful Life), and then without me realizing where he was going, he took me back across town to the tree.

I stood under the tree, overwhelmed by the beauty of the night and the lights.  He gave me a kiss.

And then he asked me to marry him.

This is a special tree. 

Since that night, we've done our best to get back to it every couple of years to see how it's doing.  This year we happened to make it to the actual lighting ceremony.  The only problem was, all of our sitters were busy.  So our romantic night out turned into a family thing.

It's okay.  There were tons of people there with their families.  It was more of an event than we'd realized.  They even had Starbucks there serving cocoa.

After what seemed like forever, the Mayor came out and introduced the oldest lady in this fancy part of town.  She was adorable (103 yrs old) and was in charge of  flipping the switch.

And that's when it happened.

I looked up at the beautiful lights, and looked around at my beautiful kids taking in the sight, and I suddenly realized that everything that I love, everything that I hold dear, everything that I currently am, and even every hope that I have for our future...it all started right here.  Twelve years ago.  Under this tree.  A question.  An answer.  A kiss.  It was the start of our family.

Donnie caught my eye and laughed a little when he saw the tears welling up.  (He sees this a lot.) But I couldn't helped being overwhelmed as I traced back over the road we'd traveled since that first night under our tree.

 

And even though the night hadn't exactly gone as we'd planned, I felt so grateful that our kids were there to experience it with us.

 

A Rustic Wreath from the Roadside

This wild, rustic wreath is exactly what I was hoping for this year for the front door.  And I made it for $0.

I already had a wire frame and the floral wire.  The wire was a continuous roll and was 22 gauge.

The first place I went to collect my free greenery was Home Depot.  I asked the guy in the Christmas tree tent if they had any broken branches they were throwing away, and he gave me all he had.  I may have to go back for more in a couple days!

Next I called my friend Sarah because I knew she had a HUGE rosemary bush in her front yard.  She said I could cut all I wanted.  And I did.

Then on the way home I passed a big wild part of my neighborhood--the one my kids and husband explored one day and found a tent where someone might have been living (yikes!). I didn't go back there.  But near the road were several juniper trees, some cool twisty vines, some wild-looking black and orange-ish sticks, and some glossy green leaves that I didn't recognize.

Finally at home I cut some pieces from our holly tree, full of red berries.

I set it all out on the table in a huge messy pile.

Then, holding the wreath base in my left hand, I used the right hand to cut, arrange, and wire.  {I don't have any pictures of this stage...because I was making a wreath.}  Each piece of greenery I added was about 12 inches long.  Layer the sprigs thickly, adding them one at a time and wrapping the wire around the middle of each piece.  Continue in a pattern.  Cut, add, wrap.  Cut, add, wrap.  If you have a nice long spool of wire, you can do the entire wreath with a continuous piece. 

Aim the tips of the greenery out from the wreath, and point a few of them in for a wild, messy look.  I love that!

Remember to add some bare sticks every once in a while if you have them.

At the end, carefully tuck the ends under the greenery you started with.  Add more wire and tie off.  Be careful when wiring to not smash your sprigs with the wire.  Ease it in and keep everything fluffy.

When you're done, hang it up as it is, or add a ribbon or other decoration.  These vintage ornaments are the real thing, and I know they'll probably end up smashed, but I love how they look, and I have lots more.

Here's Eli (18 mos) photo bombing while I was trying to get a straight-on shot.  He can't resist a camera.

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If you are visiting today from the Nesting Place, WELCOME, FRIEND!

I hope you'll stay a minute and poke around!

If you want lots more holiday inspiration, follow my Christmas Board on Pinterest.

Or just for the fun of it, follow me on Instagram.  It's where I share the behind-the-scenes on EVERYTHING.  @lasso_the_moon

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO, Anna