Oh, There's No Place Like HOME For The Holidays....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....

I know, I know.....you're saying FINALLY, right?!?!?  I really wanted to get some Christmas pictures posted last week, but I just could not get it done in time, but I have finally gotten a few pics to share with you.

This little guy is on my back door welcoming all.  After all, back door friends are best, right! Ya'll come on in!

I have my Willow Tree Nativity on a table in my kitchen.  I absolutely LOVE it and just stop and look at it every time I walk by. 

 
I hope to be able to add additional pieces each year, but for now these are all the pieces I have. I really would like to leave it out year-round because I love it so much!

This is the table in my breakfast area.

For some reason the jeweled fruit in the vase look fluorescent pink, but it is actually red.

These are my little poinsettia balls that I have hanging from my kitchen light fixture.

A Fontanini snow globe that I have had for many years which I dearly love.

Some pictures of my fireplace and mantel....

Just some fun little frosted glass balls that I have in a vase on the trunk that I use as a coffee table in my living room.

This is another nativity set that I have on a table in my dining room.  

I actually received this set as a gift at a Christmas office party over 15 years ago and have always loved it.

We have really down-sized with our decorating and we only put up a small tree.  I have it sitting on a trunk next to my china cabinet.

This is an ornament that Josh made me in Sunday School one year and is one of my favorites.

This little girl goes on the tree every year, too. Believe it or not, when Faith was a baby, we all called her "Miss Piggy" cause she was such a chubby little thing. This reminder has been on the tree every year since!

 

This is an ornament that Grace made at church and is one of my favorites, too! What a special little angel!

And this is my treetop angel that has been on our tree for as long as I can remember.  She's not really anything special, but my tree would not be complete each year without her!

And, finally one of my very favorite Christmas things are these....

My sweet husband gave me these a couple of years ago and my kids have added some special pieces to them since then.  I just love the red cardinals and I can use them all through the Winter -- not just for Christmas.

So that's just a short little tour of some of my Christmas "stuff". Thank you so much for stopping by for a little visit.  

I hope all of you have a  VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a BLESSED NEW YEAR!

Apparently...I'm a Blogging Slackard!

I received a comment from my daughter yesterday saying, "Mother, where are you and why aren't you blogging?????" So....at the risk of being ex-communicated from the blogging world I decided I better let ya'll know I'm still alive and kickin' out here!

I have just not been able to "get it together" lately. I was "tagged" by several of my sweet blogging friends recently and I have just simply not had the time to sit down to do the memes and awards, but I want you to know that I WILL!  

I have not had very much to blog about in recent days, but I did have something exciting happen to me last week.  I had a very stressful day at work and when I finally got home that night it was dark outside when I went to check my mail.  There was a box in the mail from a company that said "Kritters In The Mailbox"!  I'll be honest -- I was a little nervous about EXACTLY what MIGHT be in this box! I'm not usually real crazy about "kritters"!

But, when I opened up the box, I found the sweetest gift from one of the sweetest people I have "met" through this blogging world, Dawn. She had read one of my previous posts about one of my favorite things and had remembered it.  This is what was in the box:

The cutest little pewter owl pin!

And the cutest owl socks you have ever seen!

How precious are these guys!!

I'll be honest -- it just lifted my spirits so much! Isn't it wonderful how God will use a friend to lift our spirits at JUST the RIGHT time! I think that's what I love so much about blogging! Many of you have no idea what an encouragement you are to me after a stressful day when I come home and read your posts.  

Just know that God uses you in so many ways in my life and I thank each one of you for the encouragement that you give.  Even when I don't have time to leave a comment on your blogs or post on my own, I am still reading your blogs and are so blessed by them!

Please don't give up on me!  I promise I'll be back in the swing of things very soon!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, FAITH AND CHAD!!

Today is Faith and Chad's anniversary! It doesn't seem possible that it has been 8 years since this beautiful bride walked down the aisle and married the man that her dad and I had prayed for since she was born.

Everything about the day was perfect.  It was a Christmas wedding complete with Christmas trees, poinsettias and lots and lots of tiny white lights and candles!  It was magical!

It has been so exciting for us as parents to watch God work in their lives in so many ways since they took that first dance!

Faith and Chad, as you embark on another year, we cannot wait to see what God is going to do in your lives! There is no limit to what God can do with a couple that is "sold out" to Him like the two of you are!

We love you more than words can say and could not be any prouder of the two of you! 

We pray a special blessing on you as you celebrate this special day!  May God grant you both the desires of your heart!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Faith and Chad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHAD!!

Today is my sweet son-in-law's, birthday! I cannot even imagine our family without Chad in it. He brings so much joy to our family with his wit, his humor, and his fun-loving spirit!   He has a deep knowledge of God's Word and a great love for the Lord. 

From the moment that we first met him, we knew that he was the one that we had prayed for for our daughter!

Chad has the sweetest spirit of any man that I know and is such a godly influence in many people's lives.

He is the best "Bubba" that any little girl or boy could ever have, too!

He is s huge Red Sox fan!

A great cook!

And a VERY important part of this family!  We all love you very much, Chad, and may your birthday be just as special as you are to us!

May God grant you the desires of your heart and may this be your very best year yet!

WE LOVE YOU TO PIECES!!

All My Children!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE SON-IN-LAW !!!!!

A Very Special Gift From A Very Special Friend!

I was sooooo excited this evening as I turned into my driveway after work to see this very special package on my front porch.

I knew it was something from my sweet blogging friend, Becky ! I recently won her giveaway that she had in honor of her 100th post and I have been so excited to get the package that she was sending. As you can see, EVERYBODY at my house was excited about the arrival of this gift!

"No.......you open it!"


"No...... you open it!"

I did the honors and..... drum roll........

Could these Christmas towels be ANY cuter! I mean really! Becky had also included some cute little napkins and a very special Christmas card.

A Christmas card with a picture of her precious little grandboys --- Reid, Cade and Ridge! It is the cutest thing ever! I absolutely LOVE these little guys!

What a special gift to come home to! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Becky!

I so wish that we lived closer to each other because I am convinced that we very possibly may have been separated at birth and I know that our girls and our grand-babies would love each other, too! I'm so thankful that I discovered you in this blog world because I so enjoy reading your blog and getting to know you and your precious family better.


Your grand-babies are on my fridge and I will think of you every time I look at their picture! I have the towels already in my guest bathroom and they are just perfect!


Thanks again, sweet friend!