Keeping Christ at the Center of Christmas

Christmas time. My personal, favorite time of year.  But it is inevitably, the busiest time of year!  Running from store to store, a Christmas party every weekend, Christmas musicals, caroling around the neighborhood with friends, etc., etc.  December is definitely a marathon!  How then can we be sure, as Christian parents, to purposefully and intentionally instill in our children the true significance of Christmas?

As we see Santa practically on every corner, how can we teach our children about our Savior being born in a manger?  As that popular radio station plays their "month long of Christmas songs", how can we teach our children the Christmas carols of our faith: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman," "Angels From the Realm of Glory," and the many others which proclaim the coming of Christ?  As every commercial on tv is flashing with what we and our children "need", catering to our selfish desires, how can we teach them (and remind ourselves) it is better to give than to receive?

These are all questions Hubby and I asked ourselves 6 Christmases ago as we cradled our newborn, our first-born, and celebrated our first Christmas as a family.  Over the last 6 years we have discovered some tools which have helped us keep the month of December focused only on Christ.  This is not an all-inclusive list, by any means, but I thought it might be helpful for those of you looking for practical resources for a young family.  It is my prayer that they prove helpful to your families too.


Advent Calendar:
Every December 1st we begin our 25 days of celebrating Christ's first advent.  Advent means the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.  (I say we celebrate his first advent, because the Bible is clear that Christ is returning - his second advent - and for this day, we are still waiting!)  Our advent calendar helps us count down the days to December 25th by providing us a small part of the Christmas story each day.  In the picture below, you will see that there are 25 small books numbered 1-25 in this calendar.  We read one of the  books every night before the girls go to bed.  As we finish the books, we hang them on our tree.

This is the advent calendar we use.

The little books pop-out for each day of the month.

Hubby reading to the girls

Me reading to the girls.

The Advent Calendar has been a GREAT way to be reminded of the Christmas story each day of the month.  For our girls, this is one of their favorite parts of the month of December!  There are many different ways to celebrate Advent (Jesse Tree, taking time to celebrate the 4 Sundays before Christmas, etc), but this is the one that has worked well for our family, especially with the age of our children!

Purposeful Christmas Music:
Another tradition we have held to in our house, is to listen to purposeful Christmas music.  With the radio station playing songs about a rogue snowman running all over town, a misfit reindeer with a red nose, a recluse named Mr. Grinch, and a guy who got his heart broken last Christmas and has yet to recover, you are hard-pressed to find many songs that center around Christ's birth.  Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not a complete Scrooge...I appreciate a little "Jingle Bell Rock" in my life as much as the next gal.  What I DO NOT like is my children singing about Frosty, Rudolph, and Santa more than they are singing about Jesus Christ: the Word becoming flesh, born in a manger, taking on the form of a servant, and ultimately giving up his life that we might gain life.  For this reason, Hubby and I make a valiant effort to limit secular "Christmas songs" and focus on songs that proclaim the excellencies of Christ!  The below albums are our 3 favorites.

Check out what they do with God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman - Track 8.  It's pretty epic!

Track 6: Christmas Time - is a household favorite around here!

Track 5: My Soul Magnifies the Lord - is my personal favorite from this album!

Saint Nicholas Day:
An awesome way to get your children's focus off of receiving and onto giving, is to celebrate Saint Nicholas Day.  Saint Nicholas was a pastor in an ancient country called Lycia.  He was known for his kindness, love, and generosity toward his community.  He is, obviously, the man behind the legend of Santa Claus.  The way we begin our Saint Nicholas Day celebration is by reading the book, "Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend."

This book tells the story of Pastor Nicholas and how the stories of his generosity spread across the world.  The reason Hubby and I like it so much is because it focuses on WHY Pastor Nicholas was so generous.  Here is a quote from the book...

"...to this day, people continue to give gifts at Christmas, like Nicholas did, as a way to share God's love and show kindness to others...And like Nicholas, we are filled with Jesus' love so we want to share that love with others."

The book also comes with a note to parents with a little more detail on the story of Nicholas and a brief explanation of how to celebrate Saint Nicholas Day.  It also has a glossary in the back of the book which helps define difficult words.

Anyway, back to our tradition...we read this book on the night of December 5th (the eve of Saint Nicholas Day) as a family. In the book, it tells the story of 3 poor sisters who had no money for their dowry.  Without a dowry they would be unable to marry and this would mean they would most likely be sold into slavery.  When Pastor Nicholas learned of their need, he went at night and dropped 3 bags filled with gold coins into their window.  The legend of Saint Nick is that these bags landed in the sisters' shoes or stockings, which they had laid out to dry by the fire. In keeping with this tradition, our girls leave their shoes out in front of their door (or you can do it by the fireplace) on December 5th.  That night, Mommy and Daddy come and leave money in their shoes.  When they discover this money in the morning, they are to use it for gifts for others.

Hubby putting money in the girls' shoes on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day.  Love Bug is using her money to buy some gifts for a Joy Jar, and ZuZu wants to use her money to buy gifts for her grandparents.

Santa Claus:
Well, you may have guessed it by now...but just to confirm your suspicions...no, we don't celebrate Santa.  I know, I know...this is a widely unpopular choice.  However, after prayerfully considering it, Hubby and I decided to ditch the hype about the man in the red suit in order to focus more on the babe in the manger.  We still get our girls gifts to open on Christmas morning, but they know these gifts come from Daddy and Mommy.  Yes, they also know that Santa Claus is not real.  No, they have not "spilled the beans" to any friends or family members who choose to celebrate Santa Claus.  For us, the choice was clear...we want Jesus to be the star of Christmas, not Santa.


Reading Luke 2:
Every Christmas morning before the present opening begins, before we start driving all over the place to different family members homes, before we start gorging ourselves on delicious treats...before everything...we gather together, the 4 of us, and my husband reads the story of Jesus' birth from Luke 2.  This is a tradition that my Dad started when I was little, and it is a tradition Hubby and I carry on to this day.  I know this passage by heart now, after hearing it for so many Christmases past. What a joy it is to still hear my Dad's voice echoing in my head, as my husband now reads it to our girls.  It's my favorite part of Christmas.

Christmas day 2011.  Hubby reading from Luke 2.

I love hearing Luke's account of that night...it overwhelms me...the love of Jesus Christ to come to Earth to save us.  The love of God the Father, sending his Son to live the life I can't live and to die the death I deserve to die.  The story of Christ's birth overwhelms me because I can't separate his birth from his death.  I heard it said once that we must see the cross from the manger.  I love that because it is so true.  We must see the unsurpassed love of God in sending his son to be born in a humble stall and to suffer and then die the worst death imaginable...for us.  He did this in order that we might gain his righteousness, in order that the perfect life of Christ could be credited to us.  He did this so that the death of Christ would cover our sins before a righteous and holy God.  He did this that we might turn from our sin and place our trust in himself, that is Christ, and the complete sufficiency of his life and death.  No, I can not separate the manger from the cross, and it is my prayer that you, dear reader, are unable to as well.

I hope these tools prove helpful to keep your family focused on Christ this Christmas!  I know they all have been great resources for our family.  So from my family to yours, we wish you a very merry CHRISTmas!

The Thankful Tree

"I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30

It has become a tradition in our household to make a Thankful Tree each November.  For the past 3 years, on November 1st, I make some sort of tree and mount it to a door or wall in our home.  Then each night in the month of November, our family sits down and I write out what each of us are thankful for.  I write it on little leaves that we then stick on the tree.  So the tree starts out bald, but ends up full with colorful fall leaves filled with our thanksgiving to God.  

November 1st - the first night our tree was up.  Looking rather bald.

The Hubs and I think it is important for our girls, as well as any guests that come over, to know exactly who it is that we are thankful to, so each leaf starts with, "Thank you, God for..."  The Bible says that God is the giver of all good things, so it is fitting that we glorify him with our thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30).

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17 

This year, we added a fun new twist, we started having any guests that come over add something to our Thankful Tree!  It was so encouraging to see friends and family writing down what they are thankful to God for.

As the month comes to a close, I am overwhelmed as I look up at our very full Thankful Tree and see the many reasons I have to offer praise and thanksgiving to my good, kind, and loving God.  

The Thankful Tree - November 26th, 2012

The thing is, that I must carry this attitude of gratitude throughout the rest of the year.  Thanksgiving is not the only time of year I am called to be thankful, but I am to be thankful all year long.

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Doesn't get much plainer than that!  I have decided to share the things I am thankful for this year.  This will, hopefully, do two things: 1) It will be a good reminder to me as I look back over my blog for the next year of all the things I was/am thankful for. 2) It will hopefully, give you reasons to thank and praise God for the good things he has given you.  So without further ado...(in no particular order)

Thank you, God for...

• your love for us.  Thank you that you loved us first.
• my husband.
• my job.
• saving a wretch like me.
• your rich mercy toward me.
• your provision and kindness toward us.
• Jesus, who lived the life I can't and died the death I deserve to die.
• my co-workers, my co-laborers for Christ and his kingdom.
• our pastors.
• my extended family.
• that Jesus took the wrath which was in store for me, that I may know your grace.
• your immutability.  Thank you that you are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
• where we live - in a beautiful home, close to church, friends, and family.
• my Love Bug.
• that you are slow to anger.
• the Holy Spirit, our helper and comforter.
• my accountability partner.
• my sweet ZuZuBe, my Sunshine Girl.
• for a wise, kind, and gracious boss.
• our Disneyland passes.
• that you are abounding in steadfast love.
• our church.
• that our children get to attend the school they do.
• for the sisters in Christ that you have given me.
• the Bible.
• prayer.  Thank you that I can cast all my burdens on you, because of your great love for me.

Preschool, Day 1

At the first sound of the alarm, my eyes quickly opened.  "I can't believe I have to do this again," I thought.  She was already snuggled next to me, just like she is every morning.  Somewhere between 4-5am every morning, she climbs onto our bed, scoots her little body under the covers, cozies up next to me and falls back asleep until it's time to wake up.  I heard the shower running, Hubby was already up.  And then there was a little whispering voice in my other ear, "Mommy, it's the Bug's first day of school."  ZuZu was lying on the other side of me.  "You're right, baby.  Do you think she's ready?" I whispered back.  "Oh, she's ready," said ZuZu.  We smiled at each other because we knew she really was.  ZuZu started motioning something with her hands.  She does this frequently when she's trying to be quite, it's like a game of  charades. Pointing to the door, then pointing to her room, then motioning like she's taking off her pajamas.  I gave her the thumbs up and she jumped off the bed and ran into her room to get dressed.

And their we lie, just me and my Bug.  She had her blankie in one hand and her Teddy in the other.  I watched her chest rise and fall steadily for a couple minutes as I prayed.  I thanked God for giving her to us.  I thanked God for allowing her to grow healthy and strong.  I thanked God for giving her a sharp mind, a quirky and funny personality, and that sweet little smile.  I prayed for her classmates and her teacher.  I prayed she would be well behaved and a good example.  I prayed she would make friends.  I prayed for strength for both of us today.

I nudged her gently, and whispered, "Buuuuuuuug."  That's all it took.  In a split second she whipped around, sat up, and was looking at me.  "Am I late?!?!" she said.  "No, no baby, you aren't late!  But it is time to wake up."  "OK!  I'm gunna go get dressed!"  Welp, that was easy.  She was DYING to put on her "first day of school outfit" that we had gone shopping for the day before.

After our shopping trip to the mall.  She picked out her first day of school outfit, and her new school bag all by herself!

By this point, Hubby was out of the shower and he and I began talking over the logistics of the day.  In the middle of our conversation, she appeared in the doorway.  There she stood, with the BIGGEST smile on her face.  "TA-DA!" she said.  She looked adorable.

Hubby wanted some special time with his girls that morning, so he took them downstairs and prepared breakfast for them.  By the time I made it downstairs, they were just finishing up.  "Photo shoot time!"  I yelled.  "WAIT, Mommy!!  I need Teddy!  She needs to be in the pictures too!" the Bug said.  She carries Teddy with her everywhere she goes, if we are out and Teddy isn't in her arms, you can guarantee Teddy is sitting in the car waiting for us to return.  "Ok, quick!  Go get Teddy!" I said.  She was back in a flash and we hurried outside for the inagural first day of school pictures.

First day of Preschool!  Notice Teddy.

Had to get down with Teddy.

Bag on and ready to go!

We wrapped up the photo shoot and headed inside.  We all piled in the car and off to school we went, we wanted to get there early so we could take a few more pictures.

Sisters and Best Buds.

A Bug and her Daddy

Love her so, so much!

We dropped ZuZu off on the black top and then walked around the corner to Bug's class.  There were all the parents, cameras in hand, all of us exchanging nervous yet reassuring smiles.  And then, the door opened.  There stood Bug's teacher with a big, warm smile on her face.  "Good morning, boys and girls!  Come on inside," she chirped happily. Bug just stood there for a moment, hesitating.  Mike and I gave each other the "uh-oh" look.  "Come on, Bug!" Hubby said, "Let's go inside."  The three of us grabbed hands and marched up the steps and into the classroom.  We had barely reached the threshold of the door when Bug, suddenly, let go of our hands and went running into the classroom.  And that's when it happened (you know you were waiting for this) the tears came.  Well, for goodness sake!  Cut a Momma some slack!  I mean, she didn't even say goodbye, she just ran in and away from us!  I stood there crying in the doorway for a second before I realized there were still other families trying to get in the door.  "Come on, honey," Hubby said.  He put his arm around my waist and moved me out of the doorway.  He gave me that sweet look he always does when I cry, "Dry your tears, you don't want her to see you cry. Come on, let's go play with her."  I dried my tears, took his hand, and we headed over to the play area.

There she goes, charging the classroom

Putting on a puppet show for Mommy and Daddy

"Surprise!" she shouted, "It's just me back here!"

Playing with some dough

We stood there, watching her explore the classroom and jump-in on some activities.  She was so confident and so very excited.  Just as Hubby and I were wondering how long the teacher was going to let us stay, she shouted, "Alright kiddos, please put down your activities and join me on the carpet for circle time!"  Bug quickly obeyed the command that was given and was one of the first ones on the floor.  The teacher said, "Good morning, boys and girls!  I'm so excited to be starting the first day of school together!  We are going to read a story but before we do, please turn around and wave goodbye to all the mommies and daddies."  Oh man, there it was...our cue to leave.  I put on the bravest face I could, and started waving goodbye and blowing kisses.  She caught my kiss and put it on her cheek.  I caught her kiss and put it on my heart.  She blew one to Daddy, and he blew one to her.  I grabbed Hubby's hand and we started walking out the door.  I couldn't turn back around to look at her one last time.  I was already crying.

Waving goodbye to Daddy

Hubby and I put our arms around each other and we walked side-by-side out the door, him smiling, me crying.  As I walked through the parking lot the tears continued to flow.  For the first time ever, I was leaving both of my girls at school.  I suddenly became aware that another couple walking to their car was staring at me.  Which made me aware of something else...I forgot my sunglasses this time. "BLAST!" I choked through my tears, "I forgot my sunglasses!"  Hubby Lovey laughed at me and squeezed me tighter.  "You're so funny, Momma," he said. "So, how does it feel to be kid-free for the first time in 6 years."  "Awful!" I exclaimed, still crying.  This drew a hearty laugh from him and his laugh made me laugh.  As we laughed, I dried my tears right as we reached the car.  "Come on, Babe.  Let's go get you some Starbucks."  Oh this man, he so knows the way to my heart...a mocha frappucino and a breakfast date with him...just what the doctor ordered to cure my fragile Mommy heart.

Bug LOVED her first day.  She told us all about the reading circle, going outside to play, heading to chapel, doing some arts and crafts, and meeting new friends.  She can't wait to go back tomorrow.  Her sister was right about the Bug, she was so ready for school.

Kindergarten, Day 1

The day finally arrived...August 27th, 2012.  It was a day the ZuZuBe had been waiting for all summer long.  The first day of Kindergarten.

She came running into our room at 6:30am ON. THE. DOT.

"Daddy, Daddy, how many minutes until we leave for school???"
"90." he said through a half smile and closed eyes.

He pulled her up into bed with him and tried to snuggle with her, which lasted for about .9 seconds.  "OK, I'm going to go get dressed now!!" She said, and ran out of the room just as quickly as she had entered it.

 Hubby Lovey rolled over, squeezed my hand, and smiled at me.  I smiled back as reassuringly as possible, but I was already fighting back the tears.  It's not that I was sad, in fact, sadness was the furthest from any emotion that I was feeling.  I was just...emotional. Everyone tells you, "They grow up so fast," and of course you always shake your head and say, "I know."  But on days like today, the reality of that statement really sets in.

Our girl is in Kindergarten.  KINDERGARTEN!  Wasn't she just learning to walk yesterday?

I threw my feet over the side of the bed, grabbed my phone and tip-toed to her bedroom door.

Uniform on!

There she was, putting her socks on, looking like a really big girl.  I ducked behind the door and gulped back the tears again.  By this time Hubby Lovey and the Love Bug were out of bed and the house was hustling and bustling with all the morning activities.  I quickly got dressed then ran downstairs to get breakfast started and lunch packed.

ZuZu was right on my heels but informed me, before we reached the kitchen, "My tummy is too excited for breakfast."  I gave her a bagel and a slice of cheese.  She ate half the cheese and one bite of the bagel.  I wasn't too worried, I knew the adrenaline of the day would get her through despite the lack of calories (at least that's what I told myself).  Then I started to doubt that train of thought, so I made her drink a glass of milk (that's filling...right??).  So with her "excited tummy" filled with as much food as it could handle, I shooed her upstairs to put her shoes on.

And that's when I saw it...the lunch box.  I had set it out on the counter last night to remind myself to pack her lunch (Hey, when it's your first time ever packing lunch for your kid, you want to make sure you remember to do it!).  Something about that lunch box made me completely loose it.  The floodgates opened.

With tears streaming down my face I grabbed the string cheese, fruit cup, yogurt and sandwich fixings out of the refrigerator and began packing her lunch.  I don't know what it was about that lunch box.  Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't stop visualizing her sitting at the school picnic tables eating her lunch...would she be eating alone?  Would the other kids sit next to her?  Maybe it was because this is the first time I had ever packed her a lunch that she wouldn't eat with me.  Would she eat everything?  Would it stay cold long enough?  Maybe it's because I knew this was the first of many lunches I would pack during the course of her school years.  Whatever the reason was, I stood there by myself in the kitchen crying and praying.

First ever school lunch.  Yogurt, string cheese, fruit cup of peaches, Wheat Thins, and a butterfly shaped turkey and cheese sandwich!  Complete with a note from Daddy and Mommy.

As I dried my tears and finished packing her lunch, the whole family came downstairs.  We still had a few minutes before we needed to head to school...just enough time for a little photo shoot.

She did this pose on her own.

Had to get the Ariel backpack in there

With Photo Shoot #1 taken care of, we headed to school....for Photo Shoot #2.

The Daddy and his oldest

ZuZuBe and Mommy

Sisters

Us.

Then she saw her teacher...

Cuteness

A whistle blew and all the older students quickly assembled into single file lines on the blacktop.  ZuZu's teacher directed her new Kindergarteners, as well as their parents, where to stand.  Then, they walked over to the flags for the pledges and prayer.  All the parents stood there snapping thousands of photos as we captured the first moments of the 2012/2013 school year.  With the pledges and prayer done, we were invited into the classroom for...you guessed it...Photo Shoot #3.

At her desk!

Sissy

Mommy and Daddy with our biggest girl

As we snapped this last picture the teacher said, "OK Mommies and Daddies say your goodbyes, we've got a busy day ahead of us!"  That's when it happened again.  Tight throat. Eyes burning.  Nose tickling.  I felt them coming.  The tears.  I grabbed my purse and threw on the biggest pair of sunglasses I own.  I gave my daughter the biggest hug and kiss I could and choking back tears I said, "Have the best day EVER!  I'll be back to pick you up in a few hours.  I CAN'T WAIT to hear about your day!"  She squeezed me back and said, "OK, Momma.  I'll remember every thing so I can tell you all about it!"  Phew, she didn't notice I was about to do the ugly cry.  (The ugly cry is when you fall into hysterics.  You know where it's not a cute single tear rolling down your face.  It's a furrowed brow, snot running down your face, and mascara smeared every.  You know the one...it's ugly.)

With that, I ran out the door.  Poor Hubby Lovey and the Bug weren't quite sure what I was doing but they said their goodbyes and met me outside.  By that time I had composed myself.  Hubby Lovey gave me a big hug and said, "Good job, Momma!"  (He knows my emotional tendencies.)  I squeezed him back, took a deep breath, and hand-in-hand we walked away from her classroom and off the school campus...

6 hours later, I returned with the Bug and Auntie Kissy in tow.  We saw her class in a single file line, walking to the pick up area.  When we picked her up, the Bug ran straight up to her, threw her arms around her sister and exclaimed, "I missed you!"

A little blurry but still sweet.

ZuZu was SO happy to see Auntie Kissy (silly Mommy forgot to take a picture of the 2 of them).  We piled into the car and off to 7-Eleven for some First Day of School Slurpees!  After we dropped off Auntie Kissy, the car got really quiet...ZuZu was tired.  But I couldn't help but sneak in another question before she fell asleep on the way home.  

"So my Love, do you think this will be a great school year?"

"Yeah, Momma, this is going to be a great year."

"Are you excited to go back tomorrow?"

"I'm super-de-duper excited to go back tomorrow."

And there it was.  First Day of Kindergarten.  Done.

Scissors and Glue Sticks and Paint, Oh My!

I've been in a project kind of mood the last week.  I've completed 3 fun projects that have made a big difference in my kitchen, so I thought I'd share them with all of you.  The first 2 projects are fairly simple, so I will just describe how I did them.  The last one was a little more involved so I will give more of a tutorial on that one.  Hope you enjoy and maybe get some fun ideas for your kitchen too!

Back to School/First Day of School Countdown:
With school starting in just a few short weeks, I found that my girls were constantly asking, "How many more days until school?  Now, how many more days until school?"  My hubby and I are super blessed to have 2 girls who LOVE learning and LOVE school!  (We pray those feelings last!)  I thought making a school countdown would be a good visual example of how many days are left until school begins AND I knew it would help with my patience level as it makes for one less question I need to answer during the day (mommy confession).  This was a SUPER simple project.  I choose 4 different sheets of colored paper, cut them into strips, and taped them into a ring in an alternating pattern.  I made as many rings as days that are left until school begins.  I then chose one of the pieces of paper, cut it in half and wrote their own title of the countdown so they each had their very own.  Here is the finished product!

Our oldest is heading BACK to school, but our youngest is heading to school for the FIRST time!

Each night they take one ring  off the chain.

Menu Board:

The next project I tackled was creating a Menu Board.  I've been wanting to get one for quite some time but was a little shocked when I searched for one on Etsy, and couldn't find one for less than $25 (at least the type/size I wanted).  I decided this was definitely a project I could handle on my own.

I started with purchasing 3 coordinating 12x12 sheets of paper, letter stickers, and a fine tip Dry Erase Marker.  I already had an extra 11.5x13.5 black frame lying around the house so I didn't need to purchase one.  I then arranged the paper in a way that I liked, cut it down to size and glued the pieces of paper together.  Then, I used the stickers for the wording.  The whole thing ended up costing about $12.50, so I saved half of what Etsy wanted, and I got to customize it just the way I wanted!  If you wanted to save money, you could forgo the stickers and hand-write on the paper the days of the week.  I love the way it turned out and I know this is going to help me be even more coordinated with my meal planning.

Up close - the finished product

Use the Dry Erase Marker directly on top of the glass.  Easily erases for changes in your weekly plan, or to begin a new week!

Refrigerator Frames:

The final project I tackled was a cute idea I, of course, found on Pinterest.  I thought it looked so charming that I decided to try it and I have to say, I'm kind of obsessed with how it turned out!  I will first start by stating (rather, showing) the problem. I give you exhibit A...my messy refrigerator:

Messy, cluttered refrigerator!

And now, I give you Exhibit B...the finished product...

Clean, organized, and cute refrigerator!

Ok, so how did I get from Exhibit A to Exhibit B?  Well, let me show you!

The project started with a trip to Goodwill.  I was in search of some light-weight wood frames.  It's very crucial that you get LIGHT weight frames (I will explain later why this is important).  I was pleased to find EXACTLY (even down to the color) what I was looking for at my local Goodwill.  The most I paid for any of the frames was $2.99.

These frames came exactly like this, with no glass or backing to them which is exactly what I was looking for.  They were also very light weight AND in the colors I wanted...thanks, God!

There was only one frame I purchased that I needed to change the color on.  So I picked up some acrylic paint from Michael's and went to work painting the frame...

Changed this frame from Gold to Grey...took about 30 seconds.

While my newly grey frame was drying, I began working on the next step...adding magnets to the back of the frames.  I picked up these magnets from Michael's.  These are awesome because they come with a sticky side so you can apply the magnet to whatever you like.

Purchased at my local Michael's

I started with one of the larger frames.  It is important to remove the metal bracket from the back of the frame before proceeding.  They come off with just a little tug...

Pulling off the metal bracket

Then, measure the width of the back of your frame and cut strips of the magnet accordingly.  Peel off the protective strip from the sticky side of the magnet...

Then, firmly apply the adhesive side to the frame.  Continue to do this around the entire back border of the frame and....Voila!  You have a frame magnet!  Here's an important tip: the reason why it is crucial to purchase light-weight frames is otherwise, the magnets will not hold the weight of the frame.

I wanted to make one of the frames look a little different than the rest.  So I decided to use some rope I had lying around the house to string from opposing sides of the frame in order to hang birth announcements, flyers, invitations, etc. from it...

Some extra rope I had from a previous project.

Cut the rope down to size and use a stapler to attach the rope to the back-side of the frame...

This is what the back of the frame looked like once completed...

I found some mini clothespins (also at my local Michael's) and put them on the rope in order to hang things from them.

Mini Clothespins

After applying the magnets to the back of all the frames, I re-arranged our refrigerator and came up with this!  Like I said, I love, love, LOVE how organized and clean it looks!

Finished product!

So, I hope you enjoyed these projects and ideas!  Do you think you'll take a stab at any of them?  Let me know if you end up trying any of these projects out and please send pictures if you do! <3  TTFN.