Good Tidings of Great Joy

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.   Luke 2:11-14

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.  John 1:14a

Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  Revelation 22:20b

Reposted from Christmas 2010

More Christmas Activities

Laura and Jessica's church kicks off the Christmas season with a wonderful carnival for the kids.  Each year it has added attractions and we love going each year.

This was the new and STAR attraction this year.  A snow hill!!  These poor Texas grandchildren of mine barely know what snow is, and this was so fun for them.

We were at the fair early and were some of the first to try it out.  Elizabeth and Ben are climbing to try their first ride.

I only have shots of Elizabeth.  I took them of Ben and Cooper but they are too far away or blurry.  But trust me, they loved it.

Side view of their church and some of the stands.  They had hot chocolate, popcorn, and cotton candy.  They also had several bounce things, a petting zoo, several arcade type games, a train ride, pony rides, and a living nativity.  All of this is free of charge.

Giant slide.

Look at this cutie.  He kept the hat on all night.

Waiting in line for a ride.

Now our group is ready for the nativity.  We get our hot chocolate and get good seats.

The view from our seats.  They have a little amphitheater near a little pond.

The kids just love the show and always get to go down to see baby Jesus when it's over.  Elizabeth points out that it's a girl because she can see some pink!

Another tradition is to go to a Christmas show.  Last year Elizabeth went to the Nutcracker for the first time.  The boys really wanted to go, so we thought we would try it this year.  I found a cute centerpiece for our lunch table.  We had some pizza at home before we left for our 2:00 show.

Last year I bought Elizabeth a nutcracker to commemorate her first show.  {I suspect that had something to do with the boys desire to see the show.}  Grandma didn't disappoint ~ I picked up some nutcrackers at T*rget.  That's a  much less expensive proposition than picking them up at the theater!

Checking out the table.

They all did a great job at the show.  They were all very attentive and frankly surprised us.  I was wise this year and brought small water bottles and a cookie for intermission which was helpful.  The ballet is at our beautiful theater, and it came complete with snow falling right before intermission.

Magical.

It was a cold day, but we walked to the downtown Christmas tree for a quick picture.  We are on the backside, because the front has Santa, and there was a long line!

We met Grandpa and the dads and Jackson at Cheesec*ke Factory for dinner. It was a long day, but so fun.

You can see we cram a lot into our December, and this is just the stuff I am included in ~ they do many things with friends too.

Some Christmas Fun

We have been having a ton of Christmas fun so far this month.  I have about half of the fun on camera unfortunately.

Our annual St. Nicholas tea party was this past weekend and I did not get 1 picture of the kids!!  There were 10 of them this year and I think a good time was had by all.

I did get a few of the table decorations before the kids arrived.  It was a very simple menu this year.  Elizabeth made a punch from lime sherbet and 7-Up and we had cupcakes that Jessica and I attempted to make look like Santa hats.  They went on the sled in the middle of the table.

Fresh fruit went in the bowl with the Christmas pics.  Something healthy to combat all of that sugar.

Some cute new little elves.

Parting gifts for our guests.  The girls got bracelets and lip gloss and a few other little things.  The boys got a car from Cars 2, a slinky, and the same few other little things.  These are always handed out as they leave with instructions to open in the car.  

The next pictures are from our annual trip to see the decorations at the Gaylord.  This year we went during Thanksgiving when my sister and her family were in town.

My 3 boys.

I was edged out by the moms taking pictures so I could never get all 6 of them in view.  Here Ben and Cooper aren't really in the shot.

Now I have Cooper but still no Ben.

We love the giant Gingerbread house.

And the best one I could find of the group.  It makes me laugh every time I look at it.  It is impossible to get all 6 looking good, but at least we can see all 6 in this one!

So there you have 2 of our recent events.  It really is a wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas! 

More Christmas

I've been trying to get things finished up ~ I don't know why it always takes me so long!  But I see the light at the end of the tunnel, so that makes me happy.  


Coming down the hall from our living room are 3 rooms, library, guest room and guest bath.  I did change things up a little this year in the library.

I added a small tree to this small room.  The living room tree gets my collection of blown glass ornaments and is very sparkly.  This is our family tree.  35 Christmases are represented on this tree.  No ribbon or theme, every ornament is different and most have a story to tell.  I have been sitting in my library a lot lately, it's very cozy, so I am happy to have this tree in here.

                                                                           

                                                                                     

Santa sits on top because this is the Night Before Christmas room.

The fireplace makes winter reading so much fun.

New pillow this year ~ LOVE.

My very favorite smell is the whole wide world ~ The Smell of Christmas ~ with the addition of a clove orange that I made.  Do you make clove oranges?

I was so disappointed at first that my Byer's Choice Santas were a tad too tall for the shelves on my new bookcase.  My mother gave me one a year for several years for Christmas and I just had no where to put them in this house.  But I pulled the pins on 3 shelves and just removed them.  That was so much easier than moving all the shelves around.

Santa sits on top of my basket of Night Before Christmas books.  It's time to start parting with some, so I'm giving each grand one this year.  {doesn't make a dent in the collection:-) }
                                                                       

Cutie pie grandchildren.

I've had this Fitz and Floyd forever.  I'm glad to finally have a place for it.

Sorry my pictures are blurry.  I'd ask Santa for a new camera if only I knew which one to get.  I'd like a great point and shoot ~ any suggestions?

A quick shot of our guest bath, because I wanted to show you my tree made of jewelry from the 50's made by my aunt.  I saw a similar one in West Virginia, about twice as big, for over $2,000.  WOW

Guest room tree is all gold and white.  

This all white nativity sits on the bedside table.

I have a tree in our family room and one in the master, but no pictures yet.  This year had been active ~ to say the least.  I have my cards to do this week and a little shopping.  We celebrate this weekend as Jessica and her family are leaving for Kansas to spend Christmas with her in laws.

Merry Christmas!

I am sharing this at Kristen's Share Your Creation Party.