Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish everyone a “Very Merry Christmas!”

I hope you & your family are able to spend some good quality time together this week.

May we all reflect on what is really important in our lives; family, friends, and our relationship with God.

Isaiah 9:7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The word “Peace” here means “wholeness” – if we want true peace & wholeness in our lives, we can only find these things through a relationship with God.

Looking forward to sharing piles of information over the days ahead!

Great Christmas Find – $1.49

I wanted to post a picture of my newest find at the local thrift shop. These little Christmas trees have such a wonderful vintage look to them with their creamy color & hints of sparkle. I only paid $1.49 for both of them! While I was there, I saw HUGE piles of Christmas items to choose from.

Think about it… people everywhere are pulling out boxes & boxes of Christmas decorations from their attics. As they sort through it all, they decided that it might be time to finally get rid of some of it 🙂 So – they pass it on to the local thrift shops. This is your opportunity to pick up some very nice things at VERY nice prices!

If you enjoy vintage style decorations you will find some very nice finds, because many times, people want the “newest styles”. But, I did find a BRAND NEW Martha Stewart wreath made up of silver bells for $1.98 – so you can find new things as well.

Enjoy & be sure to come back & post your newest finds!

Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments & Gift Tags

Each year I save my favorite Christmas cards & re-purpose them into different things. Here is a card that I turned into a Christmas ornament. I just added a bow that came from a different gift that year.

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Last year I kept all of my Christmas cards! They come with such beautiful colors & pictures, that I knew I’d think of something to do with them!

This year, I decided to cut out all the pictures & use them as this year’s gift tags!

Cut out whatever shapes you’d like, punch a hole in the corner, & tie on with ribbon. You could also tape them right on the package if you’d like.

Because you’re cutting out the picture from the front of the card, the back is normally white & not written on.

Use a pretty color gel pen & write your message on the back.
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Christmas card display
Hang varying lengths of beautiful ribbon from your curtain rod. As you get a Christmas card, pin it on one of the ribbons with a straight pin. Hopefully, you have lots of friends & can fill the whole window with cards! =) The end product looks like a holiday window treatment.

* You could also use last year’s cards for an instant display.

Stained Glass Christmas Ornaments

stained glass christmas ornaments

About today’s picture:

A dear friend of mine makes wonderful stained glass Christmas ornaments. We have her make a new ornament for each family in our church every year. This was last year’s edition. It sparkles so nicely with the tiny lights shining on the Austrian crystals!

I will post the whole collection – including the newest edition very soon. You can feel free to contact me if you’d like to pick any of them up for family – friends – or yourself 🙂

You can find her shop “The Glass Menagerie” here on Etsy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This morning my husband & I woke up early to pray & give God thanks for everything He has done in our lives. As we were sharing all of the things we were thankful for, the sun starting waking up as well. We’ve had quite a long season of rain, so you can imagine the joy of seeing the sun – especially on this joyous occasion of giving thanks.

I decided to put on my coat & shoes and go out to save a few memories with my camera.

This is one of the beautiful views from my office window. I love the way the sun was sparkling like thousands of tiny dancing crystals as it kissed the frosty blanket that the forest woke up with this morning.

As I was walking through the woods with our 2 little dogs, I could hear the church bells playing Thanksgiving hymns such as “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” down in the little village below. I love to hear the bells, especially on holiday mornings such as this.

It has been our tradition for the last several years to come together as a family at my brother’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving. This year we will bring, sauteed green beans, candied carrots, and apple crisp. It is always such a wonderful day.

I tend to cook a lot like my great grandmother Pearl. I usually go by how something feels & tastes more often than what the recipe says 🙂 My family really enjoys these carrots, so I wanted to share them with you. They are so easy – but so yummy!

Candied Carrots:

– Peel & chop carrots (I like to use baby carrots)
– Cook in a pot with water until tender – but not to soft
– Drain water
– Mix equal amounts of maple syrup & brown sugar enough to coat carrots.
– Add to the pot
– Add 1/2 stick of butter and salt/pepper/garlic to taste
– Heat through

A few thoughts for the day…

No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”
~ H. U. Westermayer