Reflections Of Christmas

I love looking at old pictures, but especially ones of Christmases past.  Thought I'd share a few of my favorite picks with you.

This one was taken at our home in Harrisburg, NC, where we lived only 18 short months before getting transferred AGAIN!  We must not have been living there for long when this picture was made because the room was nearly bare!  Oh, but there was plenty of room for our short, stubby Christmas tree!  What in the world possessed us to purchase such a pitiful looking tree?  I think if Chris and I had stood next to it, we'd been able to see straight over the top. That's saying a lot for two people who are under 5'4"! Brittany was almost 3 years old when it was taken....and Abby was yet to come! 

This picture really makes me SMILE! We had taken the girls to visit Santa at a mall in Madison, AL.  Abby looks like she's thinking of ripping his beard right off his face.  Brittany's just sitting there all angelic-like...probably so she'd rack in the gifts on Christmas morning!

Here's the girls, once again, at our home in Madison, AL. showing off a couple of the snazzy shirts they received. I think Abby liked Brittany's more!

This picture was made when we lived in Collierville, TN.  Brittany, as you can tell, was just beginning to experiment with wearing makeup.  It's hard to believe that Abby's at that age now.  Can they just stop growing up already!

So, I'm looking forward to snapping away with my camera this Christmas to add to our ever-growing collection of reflective moments. You know me...I wouldn't trade them for anything!


P.S.  Today, we hit the 7-month mark since Chris lost his job. In all honesty, I never thought it would take this long for him to find employment.  However, we try hard to keep in mind that we don't have it nearly as hard as many people do these days.  We are grounded in our faith in God and know that things will turn around soon!  In the meanwhile, please keep us in your prayers...THANKS!

Christmas Memories 2008

Well, I'm just about caught up after our return from South Carolina yesterday afternoon, so I thought I'd go ahead and post about our Christmas while I have a little free time. We're about to head out to the mall to exchange a few items that didn't work for one reason or another. I really hope the lines aren't too bad, so we'll see!

My sweet blogging friend, Lindsay, from The Cross-Stitch House, sent me these Christmas crackers. She'd seen a comment I'd made on my friend, Lorrie's, blog about my not knowing what they were. Lindsay lives in England and put these together herself. Traditionally, they're to be opened on Christmas Day, but since we had so much going on, we opted to open them on Christmas Eve, instead. Two people grab onto each end of the crackers and pull. They make a popping noise and out falls some wrapped goodies and a joke that's to be read aloud. Abby got a London double decker bus keychain. Brittany got a pen with the British flag. Chris got a keychain that resembles a lantern that was carried by miners long ago, and I got a Yorkshire thimble. Thank you, Lindsay, so much for sharing with us this wonderful Christmas tradition!!! We had so much fun!

Here's the girls with their goodies and the paper crowns that were, also, inside. On Christmas Eve, we attended services at our church and hardly an empty seat was found in our worship center. The music and sermon were awesome!Chris took this one...turned out a little too dark...thanks, hon! :)Christmas morning, around 8 AM, Abby bounded into our bedroom proclaiming, "It's Christmas!!!" So, Chris and I hopped out of bed, got Brittany, and downstairs we all went.

Here's the girls opening their Santa gift...Guitar Hero World Tour. Came with an extra guitar, so now they can battle each other...and ME! I can rock out like no tomorrow! Hee hee!!! Brittany opening her gift from her boyfriend, Steven. It's a Build-A-Bear that had a star and diamond necklace around it's neck. She thought it was SOOO cute!!! Not a smidgen of makeup is adorning my face! Sorry for the scare! Brittany gave me a very pretty necklace that I just love...it goes with anything!Abby was thrilled with her "puffy" coat! Brittany FINALLY got the first "Twilight" book...a gift from Abby. She was ecstatic!She's giving Abby a hug...something I don't see often enough. Chris opening the Dallas cowboys blanket I made for him...a huge hit!I made one for Brittany...And Abby, too...she's showing off her new lime green digital camera (her blanket is on her lap). Yes, Brittany got the same camera! Here's a vanity plate I designed for Brittany's car with her nickname on it.My mother-in-law the day after Christmas. My brother-in-law is a die hard Steelers fan, so he gave her a jersey to watch all the games in.
My mother-in-law gave me another beautiful necklace.
Brittany got a nice scarf and gloves set from my mother-in-law, among several other things.
Bella was excited, too!!!
Chris got a Blu-Ray DVD player from my mother-in-law and brother-in-law. He was one happy camper!!!
Here's my brother-in-law, who harasses me constantly!!! :)

Sitting down for our day-after-Christmas dinner. The guy on the right is a close family friend, Russel.
Now, the big thing that happened on Christmas Day is after the girls, Chris, and I opened all our gifts, Chris told us to sit tight that he had one more thing for us. So, he ran down to the basement and came back with an envelope that he handed to me. It stated that he knows how much making memories as a family means to me...so, he's taking us on a four day ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado during Spring Break in early April!!! I mean, the tears started pouring! I was completely blown away! FINALLY, we'll get to see some snow! Then, he ran off, again, and came back with three boxes, one for me and one for each of the girls. We opened them up to find ski jackets that he'd picked out all on his own! We love them!

Now, the only problem with this scenario is that the girls and I have never EVER snow skied!!! Chris has snow skied, off and on, for many years. He's skied the Alps when he lived in Italy. So, he's not going to have a problem, at all. The girls and I...now that's a different story! Oh, I don't care, I'll try anything once...even if I break my leg trying!!! I REALLY hope that doesn't happen! All I know is that I can hardly wait till our trip and to be able to make some more lasting memories with my girls and Chris. That is definitely one of the most thoughtful things he's ever done for me. I think I'll keep him!!! :)

I'm off to the mall...have a super day, my friends!!!

Have Yourselves a Merry Little Christmas!!!

I just wanted to take this time to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! Things are about to get pretty busy, so this will be my last post until after Christmas sometime. I'll do my best to check in on your blogs, though. We'll have our own Christmas celebration with just the four of us. Then, the day after Christmas, we'll travel to South Carolina to visit my mother-in-law and brother-in-law for a couple of days. Stella can hardly wait!

I hope you all know how much you've come to mean to me. I, never in a million years, thought that I could actually form friendships through blogging...of all things! I am so appreciative of all the love and support you've shown me. You are a wonderful bunch of ladies and I'm so fortunate to have gotten to know you. What a blessing you are to me!

Enjoy spending time with your family and loved ones. So, from our family to yours...Merry Christmas!

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

The Gift of Giving

We had a great weekend...hope all of you did, too! The only problem is that it went by way too fast!

Chris got home late on Thursday night. On Friday, we went out to lunch together, which is always nice. Gives us a chance to catch up with each other. Then, we had some errands to run. The most important one was buying some gifts for a very special little boy. You see, last weekend after church, Chris and I chose a tag off our church's Christmas tree of a 10 year old boy who's in need. On his wish list were items that included socks, shirts, pants, a remote control car, and, like most boys his age...a BIKE. For some reason, maybe it was Divine Intervention, we were we both drawn to this nameless 10 year old little boy.

So, on Friday after lunch, we headed to the nearest store in search of the items on his wish list. We found some warm-up pants and a matching shirt with footballs on it...perfect for a boy his age! We, also, got him a big bag of socks. Last, but not least, we got him a brand new bike! It was so neat...bronze in color with racing stripes. Chris and I just couldn't resist! When we made our decision, I got so choked up just thinking about how excited he'll be when he sees what he's gotten for Christmas! I seriously almost had to excuse myself from the store because tears were rolling down my face.

I'm not sharing this story to put myself on some sort of pedestal. I simply want to share the joy it brought to Chris and I knowing we were about to make a little boy very happy. That means the world to both of us. We feel that we have been so blessed in many ways...Chris has a job he loves, we all are in good health, we have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food on our table. God has been so incredibly good to us and we want to give back some of all He's given to us. To me, that's what the spirit of Christmas is about...loving others more than yourself. I pray that little boy has one of the happiest Christmases ever!

On Saturday night, we had family movie night and watched "Facing the Giants". I had never seen it, but I've heard a lot about it. Let me just say that it was so touching! I think I started crying about 30 minutes after it started! The theme of the movie was, "All things are possible with God." Oh, how true that is! If you haven't seen it, go out and rent it...it really is worth seeing for the whole family.

Here's a couple of pictures I took over the weekend. We got a few gifts (dog treats) for Maddie and Bella and I wrapped them and put them under the tree. Maddie is very protective of hers, needless to say. In fact, it's turned her from a docile dachshund to an EVIL dachshund! She, literally, sits under our Christmas tree all day long guarding her presents. If anyone walks within a couple of feet of her, she starts growling and snarling. If you get too close, she chases you out of the room. I get so tickled at her...she means business! Bella, on the other hand, could care less about her gifts...OR, maybe she's just too much of a chicken to get close to Maddie. I really can't blame her!

Maddie's guarding her Christmas presents, which are right under her nose...Bella looks too intimidated to move!

Bella went to the "hair salon" on Friday and came back with a new "do". She even smelled like peppermint!

Enjoy your day and take a moment to count your blessings!

Hugs!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like CHRISTMAS!!

Well, after my in-laws got on the road, we decided it was time to get some Christmas decorating done around the house, mainly getting our tree put up. Remember, it's a big one, so Chris had to carry it up from the basement in three sections. He ended up knocking two pictures off the wall and breaking one of them. I really wanted to say, "Way to go, hon!"...but I knew better!

Once we got it up, it took us forever to get all the limbs folded down...at least 45 mins. or so. My arms were so scratched up by the time all was said and done that it looked like I had some sort of terrible rash from my elbows to my wrists.

The girls and I cranked up some Christmas music. Oh, you should have heard us singing!! It was something, I tell ya! We, also, made cups of apple cider to sip on and it was so yummy!

Here's Abby hanging the first ornament on the tree...

We had to use a ladder to get to the top...Bella parked herself right below the ladder and fell sound asleep for most of the time... Brittany checking out one of our ornaments...The finished product at night...I love how the lights make the whole room glow...
One of my favorite decorations...an old-fashioned Santa...
And another...there's a small blue light that shines down on the nativity scene and illuminates it...see how it spells out FAITH? I'm not close to being finished with my decorating...there's still much to do! I will probably get a lot accomplished today with the girls being back in school...of which they're not too happy about. It's been so nice sleeping in since Wednesday...having to get up, again, at 5:15 AM is a real shock to the system!!!

As Easy as Pie

This is beginning to get very worrisome! I'm actually sharing a craft idea with YOU this time! What has gotten into me? Hello?.....9-1-1???

This craft is so easy to make, I promise! You may have seen them at craft fairs or places like them. I've seen them sold for upwards of $25.

You will need to purchase a glass block at somewhere like Lowe's or Home Depot. I prefer the opaque ones because you can't see the lights on the inside of them as easily. I bought mine at Lowe's for a whopping $5.


You will need a diamond drill bit for your hand drill (or a drill press, if you have one). You'll, also, need a 50 count strand of mini-lights and some wired ribbon.

OK, so this is what you do:

1. You will need to drill a hole in one of the four sides of the glass block. It will need to be just large enough to feed the lights through, minus the plug. I had Chris do this part for me and it took him about 5 mins.

2. You can clean the dust out of the inside of the block with a little bit of water and a good shake or two. Allow it to drip dry.

3. Insert the lights through the hole that you've drilled, but leave the plug outside of it.

4. Tie ribbon around the block to make it look like a wrapped present. I have an E-Z Bow Maker that makes this so much easier. I purchased it several years ago at Michael's for around $10, I think.

5. Plug it in and enjoy!


Now, see, isn't it pretty? They make such great Christmas decorations or gifts for family, friends, teachers, you name it! Trust me...if I can do this...so can YOU!