We're participating in a Jesse tree ornament exchange this year. A Jesse tree is used during Advent, and there is a Bible reading/verse for each day and an ornament with a symbol pertaining to that day's reading. There are 28 total as that is the maximum number of days in Advent. The exchange works like this. 28 families sign up for an ornament. They each make 28 of that particular ornament. At the exchange, each family takes one of each ornament and comes away with a full set. I chose the first day, which is the symbol of the Earth/creation. I made salt dough, cut circles from it, and baked them. Then I painted them like the Earth, and finally tonight, I put on a sealant. Tomorrow, I'll add the ribbon and finally be done!

We found a good deal on a backyard playset on Craig's list. However, it was a little too old, and we ended up having to replace the four main boards (they had rotted) and all the rusty screws, bolts, hinges, etc because they didn't use galvanized parts! James spent most of the weekend putting that together in the windy cold, and it's not quite finished yet. I'll put up pics when it's done.