The kids and I are already working on making Christmas presents for everyone in the family. It’s great fun, choosing colors and patterns and deciding what would fit whose personality the best! And it’s fantastic bonding time for all of us.

In between Christmas projects, we’ve also embarked on our own family’s little community service project. Since four of our five children spent time in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) after they were born, we’ve decided to give back. So we are crocheting up a ton (well, slight exaggeration) of little, teeny preemie hats to donate to the NICU here in Asheville at Mission Hospital. And we’re having a blast doing that, too. Doesn’t take long for each hat and it’s for a very good cause. If you are interested in patterns, please let me know and I’ll send some along!