Whew!  It's been a busy couple of weeks here on my tiny piece of internet homestead! Fall Favorites Swap packages were due out on Friday, Psalter Groups sign-ups began on Monday and now we're getting ready for our annual Orthodox Kid's Ornament Exchange!  Hooray!Every Christmas for the past five years, our family and readers of Adventures of an Orthodox Mom have teamed up with our littles to create the most beautiful Orthodox Christmas ornaments that we swap between our families.  It is a much anticipated project, with emails starting in September asking if we'll be doing it again this year and making sure they haven't missed the sign up deadlline, lol.  (No worries in that department folks, I'm definitely not that organized!)  :)  Both parents and children love opening the mailbox throughout the next several weeks and finding creatively decorated envelopes filled with Christmas joy.In our home, we have a special box reserved for all of the precious ornaments we’ve received over the years.  The boys love taking them out and reminiscing on the times they arrived and what goodies accompanied them, before hanging them on the tree.  It’s so much fun for all of us. Last year, we made icons out of Shrinky Dinks.  You all know how much we love our Shrinky Dinks; we've done so many different things with them in the past and they've always turned out very well and held up over time, making them perfect for a project like this.So, I placed a big pot of hot cocoa and bowls of marshmallows and peppermint sticks on the table and we got to work.  First, I printed the icons and the boys cut them out.  Then, they punched holes and carefully laid them out on a brown paper bag.When they were all neatly arranged, I placed them in the oven and we watched them bake.  We all love this part!When they were all finished, I sprayed them with a clear gloss spray paint to seal the icon on the plastic and let them dry a few minutes.Then, the boys strung them on ribbons, packaged them up with some other little goodies and sent them off to their new homes all over the country!

I posted some links to previous swaps below. Every year  we have an awesome turnout.  Last year, we had over 55 kids!  I hope you'll join in the fun this time around!

2012 Ornament Exchange

2011 Ornament Exchange2010 Ornament Exchange2009 Ornament Exchange2008 Book SwapThe rules of the swap are simple:

04. Packages must be postmarked by Wednesday, November 27, 2012 to ensure plenty of time for the children to enjoy their ornaments before Christmas.05.  Ornaments are swapped one per family not per child.  Sibling names are included so that packages and cards are addressed to all of them.06.  Something new I'd like to try this year is a Flickr group.  We usually have several groups of 12-15 people and so we don't get to see any of the ornaments shared in the other groups.  I'm hoping by using Flickr we can all upload photos of our ornaments for everyone to see and enjoy!  You have to request membership so it will remain private and the link for that is here.  I'd really love for everyone to do this!  There's also a Flickr app for your phone to make uploading your photos even easier.If you’re interested, please email your children’s names, ages and addresses to Sylvia{at}OrthodoxMom{dot}com by Monday, November 18, 2013.   Please be sure to include all the info!  Comments on this post will not automatically sign you up but I do recommend commenting so I can compare the comments to the emails I receive to make sure I got everyone's info who wants to participate!  But either way, be sure to send an email with the correct subject line so you can receive the list of names and addresses for your group.  If you don't include 2013 Ornament Swap your message may get lost! Looking forward to swapping with all of you again this year!!