Christmas Wrap Up

Our Christmas was delightful and I hope your Christmas was as well. Saturday I finished up the baking and made goodie trays. I didn't leave home once and it was wonderful!

Sunday we joined Chuck's mom and step-dad for lunch and then exchanged gifts. 

It started to snow as we were leaving.  We headed home to unload the van and meet my family for dinner.  We were celebrating my dad for his 68th birthday.  

It snowed the entire time we dined.

Monday we were all up early.  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I walked down the hall at 6:30 and heard Megan say, "Hi Mama."  

The aftermath!  

We were able to relax until our next celebration at noon. 

We went to Chuck's dad and step-mom's for lunch and gifts.  Then we were off to my parents for dinner and a gift exchange.  It sounds exhausting, but it wasn't.  It was probably one of the more relaxed Christmas seasons we have enjoyed.  

I will be back after the first of the year.  Chuck will hopefully finish up a work project today and be home with us for the remainder of the year.  Our plan is to play with new gifts and enjoy family time. 

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Gingerbread Fun

While out shopping Chuck threw a gingerbread house into the cart. Neither one of us realized it was the unassembled kit. Oh my, those are a pain! After some struggle Megan suggested we use hot glue. Smart! Smart! Smart! It worked like a charm.

Enjoy some snapshots of the fun. 

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!

Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

We're on Christmas break which means I have been able to enjoy a slower start to my day.

We had our first snow fall on Saturday.  It was less then an inch and was gone by the evening.  It was super pretty to watch it fall. 

The falling snow put us in the perfect mood to head to my parents for cookie day! 

We baked with my mom, sister and nieces.  At the end of the evening we were able to make trays to share and the guys joined us for pizza. A fun tradition!

Chucks' company provided tickets to Christmas at the Zoo.  It was extremely hard to get pictures. Trust me that the lights were beautiful.

Three of my nieces went along.  The company provided ride tickets snacks and hot chocolate.  It was a nice evening.

The girls used their ride tickets for the carousel.   

Lauren and Kayla behaving like typical teenagers. Ha!

We rarely leave our suburban area. Since we were already downtown we decided to drive by the Circle of Lights. 

Well, this is as close as we got. It was crazy! We were about two blocks away when I snapped this shot. Aftert this we turned off and said forget it. The traffic was that crazy. One of the reasons that we stay in our burb! 

After our trip to the zoo the calendar is clear.  We have nothing scheduled until Christmas Eve. That means we are enjoying cozy days at home.  Megan has been spending her time crafting and I've been reading. 

In case you are wondering how we don't have a jammed packed schedule ... we made a conscience decision a few years ago to step off of the crazy train. Not only at Christmas, but everyday.  We don't feel like we have to keep up with others and their over packed calendars. Our goal is family and home; not a long list of activities.  Now with that said, this is what works for us and if you thrive on the packed schedule this isn't meant as judgment.  We realized that wasn't the life that brought our family joy and started living the life that is best for our little family.

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!

Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

The beginning of week we were still experiencing unseasonably warm days.  We were able to rake some leaves away from the fence line and then Chuck pulled out the mower to cut them up.  Speaking of the mower.... we were able to replace our rider with a used mower for $200! We had anticipated paying upwards of $1000 or more in the Spring. A blessing indeed!

I am still working on the room remodel project.  I sprayed the gold rod black.  If I'm doing things such as curtains then you know we are getting close to finished.  Can you feel the excitement?!

Megan decided she needed a kitchen to play with.  It's been years since she has had a toy kitchen so she got inventive.  Cardboard boxes, thin cardboard sheets and a glue gun was all she needed.  I must say I was impressed with her sauce pan! That goes to show that when there is the will you will find a way. 

Each morning, courtesy of my early rising husband, I walk into the living room with the tree glowing.  It gives my day a warm and cozy start. 

The cards have been mailed. 

Cookie baking has begun.  

These are tucked away in the freezer waiting for our annual cookie day with my mom, sister and nieces.  

It's time for me to get with it! I have a slight headache this morning (weather induced as it has turned cold and snow is coming in for the weekend) so I need to take something for it and get ready for the day.  The lazy morning has been nice but there are plenty of things to be done.  Have a great weekend!

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!

Tables of Christmas

My mother-in-law signed up to be a table hostess for Tables of Christmas at church. She offered me a seat at her table and once I confirmed I could go she was like; "Well, I might need some help setting it up." Which turned into me basically picking out the design for the center piece and spending a day out shopping with her.

 At first I wasn't very happy because I've been super busy and didn't feel I had the time. Honestly, I didn't, but I made it happen. I told her next year she'll have to give me more notice then two weeks! I didn't feel I was able to give it my best, but in the end it turned out well. I also happened to enjoy it once the day arrived and I blocked out the other things on my list.

This is our table.

I thought you might light to see a few of the other tables.  The cookie baking theme was my favorite. 

I also liked this one a lot.  

Simple and peaceful.

There were many comments on this table.  I don't think everyone understood the concept.  I thought it was clever since the purpose was to invite people to be guest at your table and show them hospitality. In case you don't know the pineapple represents hospitality. 

At a distance it was hard to tell what the theme of this table was.  It turned out to be Alice in Wonderland. 

 

It was a nice afternoon.  We enjoyed delicious cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.  I had birthday cheesecake which was layers of chocolate cake with cheese cake in between.  It was fabulous!

I ran into a few people I know and was able to catch up with a ton of women that went to our former church.  It was fun to get to know my mother-in-laws friends better. They are a lovely group of ladies.

There was musical entertainment and a guest speaker.  We even sang my favorite Christmas song "O  Come All Ye Faithful."  I left feeling refreshed and ready to enjoy this Christmas season. 

May your day be filled with joy in the journey!