Recovery Period

I'm finally raising my head up again after the holiday....whew! 

We have 13 people here for 13 days and it's quite fun but quite tiring. 

We had our caroling party on the 22nd 

We had music (which went unused...THIS group was no Mormon Tabernacle Choir )

And bells (which were used PLENTY....I'm still hearing the ringing in my head)

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Seeing Red

Sometimes I write these posts and don't even realize what I'm doing I think! 

On a recent post I made the statement

 "I really don't use much red (referring to decorations at Christmas) 

and then proceeded to post pictures 

which had red in EVERY SINGLE ONE!! 

Too funny!

I had taken a lot of photos of my vintage things 

and red and green were very popular in the 50's for Christmas.....

at least for the folks I inherited them from. 

So, as Christmas is drawing near,

 I thought I'd share a bit of my "other" decorations.....

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12 Days Til Christmas....

OK, after you read the title....

you need to take a cleansing breath....

that's it....

now roll your neck around a few times....

shake those arms.....

And now...... jump up and get back to it!! 

LOL

This guy is hanging on the front porch.

That's why I go through the garage....

too much pressure.....

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Beautiful Tree

I usually decorate my own tree. As many of you do,

 I change up the tree each year and it never looks exactly the same. 

There are some constants, 

white lights, 

lots of silver and white ornaments,

 vintage looking ornaments (my favorite) 

and no tinsel. 

I do the decorating while the kids are in school 

not because I don't trust them with my things 

but because an organized tree decorating attempt the first year they were here 

ended in fighting.

 Not exactly what I had planned for the Christmas experience!

They are getting better and better at getting along with each other so there is progress. 

But

 I often choose the activities very carefully so they will be as pleasant as possible. 

In addition, one thing I am learning to do is to 

be considerate of MYSELF.

 The arguing upsets me and the feelings often persist for quite awhile. 

I can very easily become blue for days after these episodes of fighting

So, I did it myself the past two Christmases.

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King of Kings Ornament

The Christmas season is a favorite of mine. 

There are so many beautiful things about it.

lights

special foods

gift giving

beautiful music

decorations

family

When my children were younger and I became a Christian, I was determined that they would not just think of Christmas as a big gift getting day 

but remember the greatest gift that was ever given to humankind....

Jesus. 

So, I began the tradition of having a birthday cake on Christmas morning. We all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. 

It was something they could easily understand. 

We also talked about why we give gifts to each other on that day 

(as a symbolic remembrance of the gifts of the kings) 

and what gifts we should be giving to Jesus.....

 manifesting the fruits of the spirit.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, 
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. 

Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

These days, on Christmas morning, 

when we go to my youngest daughter's home 

to watch our grandsons open their gifts,

 she has a birthday cake ready so we can sing Happy Birthday. 

So, the tradition continues.

This year I felt led to make a special Christmas ornament 

which would remind us of the reason we celebrate Christmas at all.

I was inspired by some small chipboard crowns I spotted one day. 

Almost immediately, I was able to visualize what I wanted to do.

Here is the end result:

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Same Time Next Year

Saturday was Cookie day in my house. 

I started a tradition many years ago of setting aside the first weekend in December....

no exceptions....

for cookie baking day. 

I wanted to be able to spend time with my daughters and all my grandchildren 

in the midst of all the busyness of the season. 

So, on the first Friday in December, the adults would get together to 

bake cookies, 

have lunch 

and visit. 

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Of Mice and Men

"The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry".....isn't that the truth?

I am constantly beset by appointments and events it seems!

Christmas decorating and finishing up projects end up on the

back burner often.

Yesterday morning I needed to attend the

DARE graduation for my youngest

This is the third DARE ceremony I've attended

two for my kids and one for my grandson.

Luckily I get a break now since the next grandson is only 2 1/2

Next time, I'll be using my walker

I rushed home and managed to do some decorating in the foyer

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