Christmas Tour of Homes: Deck the Halls with Ribbons and Balls

In my opinion this truly is the MOST wonderful time of the year! I love Jesus--the REASON for this wondrous season! And I love the sounds, the smells, the feel, the tastes and the sights of Christmas! So I love to decorate my house for Christmas...I love the sparkle & glitter. I love to go all out & I also love the look of a simple red ribbon tied here or there to remind you of this festive time of year!

We usually get started decorating right after Thanksgiving and before our oldest's end of November birthday. But this year that did not happen...mainly because our house is on the market & we had a bunch of showings & who can decorate for Christmas without creating a bit of a mess in the process? (If you can, please don't tell me!)

Kitchen island is covered...

Breakfast room table is buried!

So here we are MID-December & I am just now finally getting everything decorated & it sure feels nice! So come on in & take a peek! I'm just barely squeaking in under the wire...

Come on in & take a peek...our front door...

We made our wreath from cuttings from our Christmas tree, you know the stuff they trim off of the bottom so it will fit in your tree-stand. We added in some other plant cuttings and some fake sparkly stuff, topped it off with a bow (that I already had)...so it didn't cost us a penny!

Welcome, please do come in!

This year we decided to go for a smaller tree in our living room right off of the foyer. We usually put up a 12 footer in the family room, but that requires moving furniture, so we decided to keep things a bit more simple this year. I am actually really enjoying the tree in its new spot (even if all of our ornaments don't fit!) because you can see it when you first come in the door and also I can see it from my study where I spend a ton of time anyway! And I followed The Nester's advice, we put the same amount or possibly even more lights on this tree and I'm pretty sure you can see it from outer space, but I LOVE it! There are few things that I like more than sitting & watching the {quiet} sparkle of a Christmas Tree!

A comfy spot to sit & gaze at the Christmas tree!

Below is our Nativity set which was lovingly arranged by our 5 year old daughter. She worked so diligently on this yesterday, carefully unwrapping each piece and placing it carefully. I love our Fontanini Nativity. We received it as a wedding gift from my aunt and uncle and each year other family members have added pieces for us. I don't know if you noticed that baby Jesus is not in his manger...we do this to remember that Christmastime is a season of expectation...waiting for the birth of the King of Kings...so we do not put him in the manger until Christmas morning when we celebrate his wondrous birth & sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.

Here are the Three Wise Men coming from afar...I try to put them in a different part of the room from the Nativity since their journey was quite long and they didn't actually reach Jesus until he was over a year old.

Oh, you need a little break to freshen up, please feel free stop in here...

Now come on into the kitchen...

I LOVE using glass ball ornaments all over the house. These look so pretty in the apothecary jars, this picture doesn't do them justice, but they are so bright & cheery in the center of the island!

My little bird houses cheering up the kitchen window sill. I decorated these 3 years ago & enjoy using them in new ways every year!

Breakfast room table, pretty tray holds fresh flowers & all of the Christmas cards we are receiving. Last year I hung them on a wreath, but I like that here they are easy to flip through and I like the idea of praying over them at dinnertime...but we haven't done that yet because, well, did you see the "in progress" photo above...the table has been a bit of a mess!

Breakfast room sideboard

Little plant stand

Like I mentioned before, I love to just tie a pretty red ribbon on just about anything...it's like dressing something up in its Christmas best!

The clock between our kitchen & family room...at first I kept the ribbon "tendrils" long, but then I decided they looked better shorter...what do you think?

Since I had to give up the huge Christmas tree in the family room with lots of lights, I was sure to incorporate lights on the mantle...I couldn't go completely with out a bit of sparkle!

Like the front door swag, all of the greenery on the mantle is from Christmas tree cuttings or other trees.

All lit up!

Last {thanks for bearing with me, I know this has been a looooong tour!} are a few photos from the dining room...but none of the table because it still is serving as my staging area, so it is a mess!

I noticed in this photo that I really need something on the wall above this china cabinet. I usually have something with height on top of it...I may experiment with moving the candles around...

Whew, done! And it only took 2 hours longer than I thought because blogger crashed & I had to upload all of the photos...AGAIN!

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

I pray that you find rest and peace this Christmas from the One who gives it freely!

Wordless Wednesday--Helpers

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday...Kitty Love

Meet Sammy, our fat cat...

We have had Sammy since we got married, so he was our first "baby." The above picture was taken about 5 years ago and captures his disposition rather well.

Sammy has been on a diet for, well basically for 12 of his not quite 13 years of life!

Here is a before picture (but this is also at least 5 years old, so this doesn't even capture his peak!)

In the last year the vet has REALLY impressed upon us the fact that Sammy needed to lose weight. (He doesn't lead a very active lifestyle.) So, we have even further rationed his food, which has made him a tad bit unhappy...that and adding a dog & 4 kids to the family in the last 10 years.

Above you will see him licking the DOG's empty food bowl yesterday just to get any last crumb or morsel...which if you know our dog, you would know there is nothing left! She inhales her food & licks the bowl clean herself...

You probably can't tell from the picture, but Sammy has actually lost 4 pounds in the last year! So while his displeasure with the current diet has increased, his weight has actually decreased...and I'm sure the overall quality of his life has improved too...just not if you are Sammy, and really not if you are anyone around him as he has taken to incessant meowing anytime someone comes within a 20 foot radius of his food bowl!

But I will say that Sammy appreciates quality rest time and he has learned to adapt to a growing family...he now takes love where he can get it & is actually rather sympathetic...

Darcy has been sick with a fever this week & was not feeling well at all yesterday afternoon...Sammy curled up with her to help make her feel better.

And he does enjoy watching a good football game with the boys!

We <3 you Sammy!

(Even if your belly no longer drags the floor when you walk...there is still plenty of you to love!)

We had the neat opportunity this afternoon to attend a season-end celebration for Champ Sports, the youth sports league where our kids have played football & soccer for the past 4 years. The wonderful thing about Champ is that it is equal parts sports & ministry outreach. The focus is on fun, sports, and Christ--a winning combination if you ask me!

So this afternoon we were able to head to a Charlotte Bobcats basketball game where the coaches & players from this season had special access to the courts before the game. The kids (and grown-ups) got to try shooting baskets & there were lots of free prizes including t-shirts, bags, & key-chains. My parents were kind enough to babysit the younger two kids, so Jeff & I were able to spend some time with just Jack & Sophie. We all had a wonderful time! Jack especially enjoyed the fun as he was one of the kids selected from our group to go on the court to be a "high-fiver" or "National Anthem Buddy." For Jack, this event was just the start of many little fun things planned over the next few days to celebrate his upcoming birthday!

Jack excited about the festivities!

Daddy & Sophie

Jeff getting to participate in a coaches shoot-out

Jack getting to shoot the ball on the court before the game.

It was lots of fun for the kids to just get to be out there on the court & feel big!

After the pre-game festivities we had a little time to kill before the game started. A group of us walked to a nearby restaurant for pizza before the game. The restaurant had little balls of pizza dough for the kids to play with while we were waiting on our food...sort of like play-dough...

Yes, I'm posting this on my blog...yes, this is my son with a piece of pizza dough stuck to his nose...yes, he is pretending it is a booger...yes, he is very proud of it!

Watching & waiting to see the kids go out on the court!

Jack (blue shirt) & his friend Corban (yellow shirt) waiting to take the court for the singing of the National Anthem

National Anthem Buddies

Jack & Corban standing in front of the players while the National Anthem was being sung (by our church vocal ensemble!) Don't they look so small compared to those HUGE basketball players! The kids took their job very seriously & were so sweet & respectful with their hands on their hearts. :-)

Brothers

At my baby shower for Drew, a sweet friend gave me an adorable picture frame that she made for me. We knew we were having a boy and, of course after two girls, Jack was SO excited to be getting a brother! On the frame my friend put the Scripture, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." I have had a cute snapshot of Jack & Drew in it from when Drew was a newborn, but he's gotten so big that I needed to update the picture. I had a couple of minutes on Sunday afternoon & was able to snap these photos of the brothers. Can't wait to print one out & put it in the frame!

And it is my prayer that the boys would "sharpen" one another, encourage one another, hold one another accountable to the Word of God. Jack is already a great big brother playing with Drew, making silly faces & cheering up Drew when he is fussy. Even though they are 7 years apart, I pray that they will always be close friends who look out for one another.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Monday, November 9th and continued on Wednesday, November 11th...and finally posted Sunday night, November 15th!

Outside my window...It is late afternoon & the clouds are coming in now, but it has been yet another gloriously MILD fall day in Carolina! It was pretty much the perfect temperature outside for me today. The fall leaf color continues to dazzle; it is one of the prettiest years I can remember...and now the rain has come and it has rained 2 days straight. It is warm though and I cannot complain, I actually like the rain! (Sunday night note: So it rained almost all week, and I was getting pretty tired of it by the end...especially taking kids in & out of school multiple times a day...but it was a GLORIOUS weekend, beautiful sun & warm temps!)
I am thinking...Great is the Lord & most worthy of praise!
I am thankful for...Our house, it is a great house! I am SO excited about starting a new chapter in our "new-old" house, but having our current home on the market has made me really appreciate it even more...I'm appreciating all of the space here that I will be missing as we down-size a bit for the next few years (until we add-on to the new-old house.) I'm thankful for the house showings we have had thus far...and I trust that God has the right buyer in mind...in His timing, and I'm thankful for that...and if that timing is sooner rather than later, well I would be thankful for that, too!
From the learning rooms...
From the kitchen...Not much has been coming out of our kitchen lately...in efforts to keep it "showing ready" it is much simpler not to mess it up in the first place ;-)
I am wearing...

I am remembering…
I am creating...
I am going...
I am reading...
I am hoping...to be able to complete my Simple Woman's Daybook for next week (tomorrow!)
I am hearing...

Noticing that…I sure didn't find much time this week to blog...how is it that I couldn't even put this one post together? I will try to do better this week!

Pondering these words…

On my mind…
Around the house...
One of my favorite things...
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Sweet baby Drew turned 8 months on Saturday!

Darcy & Drew napping after a BUSY Saturday morning...do you notice the bandage on Darcy's head??? More on that tomorrow...

Wordless Wednesday--Four Little Pumpkins...

Four little pumpkins sitting on the steps...

The first one's a cheerleader, all full of pep!

The second one's a football player, his favorite thing!

The third one's a dinosaur for his first Halloween!

The fourth one's a princess, as pretty as can be!

(Please excuse my quite unintentional blogging break for the last few weeks...I have no good excuse other than the fact that life has just been crazy...you try keeping a house "showing ready" at all times with 4 kids, a dog & a cat...God is teaching me LOTS of patience & complete dependence on Him...and I'm really working on remaining cheerful & kind throughout as God has really impressed upon my heart lately how every minute counts--especially with my kids--and so I need to be sure to make the most of each moment and enjoy the ups & downs more and just really give thanks in all things...I'll let you know how that goes! Ask my kids...or maybe don't! Anyway, I promise I'll be back with updates on what we've been up to soon!)