Heavenly Hosts?!

Christmas Day has come and gone and we managed to survive the EPIC CHRISTMAS BLIZZARD OF 2009! We were snowed in a few days and church services were cancelled but we managed to have the family brave the elements and come over yet on Christmas Day. At one point during the raging winds I looked out of our back window and saw what I thought was a very cool snow drift. So I took a picture and then I posted it on facebook. And then it was brought to my attention that it looks like an angel.

Do you see an angel? Or do you see a super model? I don't know about you, but I much prefer the idea of having an angel outside my window than a super model!

Merry Christmas!!!

Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth, peace to men on whom His favor rests.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Blessings in the New Year!

Humble

There used to be a barn along Highway 60 that sat close to the road. It was old. Falling down. Not safe. Not pretty. I remember coming around the bend and seeing the side of the barn and could tell the owners had put Christmas lights on it. Being the good frugal Dutch girl that I am, I remember thinking "What a waste to put Christmas lights on that old, falling down barn!" And then as I came farther around that bend I could start to see the front of that barn was quite decorated... and then... I could see inside....

While it was just a cheap plastic nativity scene inside, it was enough to make me stop and go "Oh. Sorry." Instantly I was humbled when I put together this falling down shack with the reminder of our Mighty Savior's humble entrance into this world. His parents were grateful for the shack, and the star of David shone like Christmas lights to point out this humble abode.

The old barn isn't there anymore. They doubled the road width and the barn was taken down. I miss it whenever I approach that curve. It was a gentle reminder when I needed it most.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 1But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 1Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Chris the Lord.This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest! and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:8-14

Christmas Tour of Homes

Every year, (for at least one year!) I find the bloggy Christmas Tour of Homes, usually hosted by Boo Mama, this year by the Nester, and love it! So, here is my own little tour. And because I am so good at technology, these pictures appear in no particular order.

My cute little Kitchen Tree. I love the little muffin pans, rolling pins and wooden spoons! So much fun!

Here is our "advent calendar" Some year, I will have one, Maicy wants one badly, but for now, this will have to do.

Oh yes, lets start outside shall we?? Ahem. I have no control over these pics! I would have tried to clean this up a bit, but it is only 3 degrees outside and the wind was blowing, so we snapped quickly and hurried back inside. (the chair is serving a purpose right there too, its holding that tree from falling in the wind)

Here it is above on set of cabinets. I love this area. I am really happy with how my clearance items turned out this year And the other cabinets... pay no attention to the glowing pink rock. My dear hubby was cleaning out the cupboard right below and clearly forgot to put it away. And I just didn't feel like it. My MIL gave me most of these pieces, starting the year Steve and I got engaged.

Here is our main tree... notice anything different than the last time you all saw it?! huh huh?That's right, my dear hubby "fixed" them! And yes, by fix, I do mean found the string that had come and plugged and magically plugged it back in and wha-la! We had light! I know, he is pretty smart that man I married. ( we won't say what that says about me) Here is this year's solution for Christmas Card pictures. I love to have them out, but get tired of taping them to a door somewhere. I did have this great idea that I found in Family Fun magazine using a tomato cage, but it turns out, you just can't find tomato cages at the store in December. Huh. Who knew.

This is my other "big" tree, and my favorite.This one is only 7 1/2 feet tall compared to the nine footer in the living room. I love the ornaments because they are vintage looking with bells and handmade stockings. ( handmade of course is code for a factory in China somewhere)

The best decoration of all, despite the poor camera skills. I love to sit and stare at this at night and just imagine what it was like that night so long ago...

Ah, I had to include this little gem. It isn't much and its only 20" tall, but it was our first Christmas tree. Back when we were first married and living in a basement apartment, that's all we had room for, or could afford really. I still love it. It sits in the perfect cut out of a wall on our stairway landing.

So, I hope you enjoyed the little tour. You can go to the Nester and find several hundred more homes to check out! It's just for fun, and maybe its able to get you into the holiday spirit!

Merry Christmas and God Bless you!!

In the Interest of Full Disclosure...

We built our house 5 years ago. And yes, by "we" I mean my husband, not actually "me", but that's not the point. And approximately 3 years ago, it went on the market, because if you have a husband that builds houses, that's just what you do. Evidently its fun. (I am waiting for that moment). So, our house doesn't get shown that often, because well, its priced well above the median home prices in our area, and we don't care, because "we" really don't want to sell it and move away from our fabulous cul-de-sac neighborhood with neighbors that call to borrow sugar, or who I can call to borrow butter and don't forget to come over Friday night with a glass of wine so we can solve the world's problems while our children sleep. And yes, in that incredibly long run-on sentence "we" meant "me". So, we don't show it often, therefore, my house is not "staged" for sale. Anyway. The local realtor websites show our house looking nice and clean as you would of course expect. However, I would like that to be changed. Because when you are in the midst of baking 13 dozen cookies and candies for the school's annual cookie walk, and you are behind in the laundry (folding, not washing) and well, the house has been neglected because there are usually better things to be doing than cleaning and organizing and the phone rings to tell you that your house will be shown in 24 hours, you just may flip out a bit. If you cannot relate to this, please, just step away and don't even scroll down. I can't handle your judgement.

So, these are the new picture that I would like posted on the realtor sites. That way when the phone rings, if my house looks like this, well then, that's what the people are expecting because they have already seen that on the website! And if it happens to be clean at the time, or I have time to clean, then they will be extra impressed upon walking thru my front door! I know, I am a genius! Okay, here they are, now brace yourselves:

The living room, complete with half dead Christmas lights on the tree, cards intending to get mailed out, and while a quick fix at this point, could be better.

Ahh, the master bath. How relaxing, you can see the places where your laundry will naturally collect, because the hamper is clearly too much effort for some people.

The large master bedroom: Complete with area for dumping all clean laundry waiting you to take the time to fold and put it away. Also not shown, is ample storage for tossing anything that you would like to deal with later.

The laundry room. Lets face it, you already hate to be in here, this is designed so that you will get in and out as quickly as possible! *stinky hockey equipment not included*

I had another picture of the toy/craft/game room, it didn't turn out. Believe it or not, it was messier than any of these rooms. Now, pick your jaw up off the floor and stop judging me. The house is now sparkling clean, thanks to my husbands help. ( He gained lots of points this weekend!) Now, if only I could find a place to store the kids so it stays clean through the holidays....

Fa. La. La. De. Da.

I typically LOVE getting ready for Christmas. And by "LOVE", I mean run around like a crazy person, barking at whoever is in my way, and stressing about how something doesn't look right. What's not to love? Really it isn't that bad, I just prefer to do the decorating when no one else is around. Then all is well.

This year, while it was taking me awhile, we had a busy weekend with family so I squeezed in decorating where I could, it was still going well. I had a new tree, so I figured I wouldn't have to worry about lights. HA! The tree went up on Saturday night, and this is what I woke up to on Monday morning:

(the poor photography skills are deliberate to enhance the lighting issue. yeah, yeah, that's it)

Imagine my sheer delight to wake up and see that 1/3 of the tree is already off. Now I can try to figure out what fuse is out and try to replace it. Or I can wait until Wednesday night when my hubby gets home and have him do it! (My guess is he'll get right on that...just in time for New Year's that is.)

Please keep in mind that this tree was supposed to simplify my life. We used to have this monster 12' thing taking up our entire living room. Steve and I came to a mutual decision to rid our lives of it, or we would probably not be living under the same roof. (yes, I realize we don't right now during the week anyways, but I mean that me and the tree would probably be living under a bridge somewhere curled up in the fetal position) It was a nightmare of a tree.

Here it is on its last glorious Christmas Eve. Say good-bye to the giant tree kids, its going to get hurled into the fire soon! (not that its easy to hurl a 350lb mass into a fire, but you get the idea)

That's all for Scrooge talk today. I am working to regain my sanity be the end of the week. All should be well. Then we'll talk about "Christmas Tree Addiction" You'll want to stay tuned... I just know it! ;)