A Savior, Which is Christ the Lord

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Decor: Final Post

As you can tell I've run out of time for my decor posts. So I'll have to cover the last few rooms at once. And at that, I'm leaving out some because of running out of time and energy! Ha, blame it on watching grandkids over their Christmas Break.

The stockings are hung... in the family room

Our main tree is in the family room

This is a niche outside of the guest room 

The guest room is normally decorated in a beach cottage theme so I chose snowmen for the Christmas theme. Along with a few light houses...

Here is Dan's office tree

I made this wreath this year - it hangs on the guest room door. I don't mean to brag, but I'm amazed I could make something so lovely!

Christmas Decor: Playroom

Today we're in the playroom. I don't use a lot of decor in here because this space is for playing. It features a kid friendly nativity and a Christmas countdown clock.

Christmas Decor: Kitchen

I wanted to decorate my kitchen more extensively this year, but I didn't get around to making the decor that I had in mind. Although these are simple decorations, I really like the feel. And I'm surprised at how many comments I've received about the stockings hung on the cabinets!

Christmas Decor: Craft Room

Here we are on Day Two of my home decor tour!

To the right of the library as you enter my home is the craft room. I haven't yet got it organized exactly the way I want it, but I'm hoping 2015 will be the year I get it together. I've tried different configurations, but just haven't landed on the one that works for me yet.

This is a wreath Jessica made for me a few years ago.

Of course, the craft room tree is purple - my favorite color!

I hang ornaments relating to my crafts and grandkids on this tree.

Christmas Decor: Library

As you enter our home, the first room is our Library. It's supposed to be a living room/dining room combination, but in our house it's the library/playroom.

Welcome...

I decorate this tree more formally. It has glass icicles, a few crystal ornaments, and some of the more ornate ornaments I've collected over the years.

This is a cross stitch I made years ago of the Plaza Lights at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO. The trees in front of it change colors. At night it's very pretty! 

Another cross stitch "I Still Believe" and some of my nativities.

Another nativity

And another

A Nativity music box

And yet another - can you tell I collect nativities?!

The bookshelves act as separation from the playroom.

See What I Made!

When we were in Kansas visiting JD and Janel we stopped in at Menard's. We don't have Menard's out here and we sure wish we did. While we were there we purchased some screening material (that we can't find here in Phoenix), some Christmas decor, and a craft glass block. The block was priced at $8.99, but when we got up to the register it rang in at $3.00. I thought about going back and buying a couple of more, but I didn't.

After we got home, I started experimenting with my glass block. This is what I came up with:

I used trees from my Christmas Village. I bought the snowflake lights at Menard's. They are not only cute, but have three lighting options. Plus, when you turn them on, they burn for six hours and then shut off for 18 hours and then come back on for six hours - how cool is that?!

Jessica made the bow for me, because as we all know, I am bow-challenged. I enjoyed making this block so much that I called JD and asked him to stop by Menard's to buy me two more blocks. He did and will deliver them to me at Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to creating more block decor for this holiday season!

Gearing up for the Holidays

We're about to enter my favorite time of the year: Fall and the Christmas Season. I normally decorate my house for Autumn on Labor Day weekend. This year I will have to do it either the weekend before or the weekend after as we're busy over Labor Day.

In preparing for the holidays I have a finish to share. Here's the stocking I stitched for JD and Janel's newest kitten, Piper.

How about you? Do you have the holidays on your mind?

Christmas in July: The Reason

Wow, Christmas in July has been fun! I've enjoyed reading the posts of the other CIJ bloggers out there. I feel inspired and creative as we head toward the Christmas season. I can't let this series end without sharing the story of the origin of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for visiting - see you soon!

Christmas in July: Family

I enjoy time with my family. Anytime. Anywhere. It doesn't matter to me if our family time occurs on a holiday. It can be on any day.This was a good thing when my kids entered adulthood. As they found girlfriends and boyfriends, and then as they married, we had to make room in our holiday plans for them to spend time with their "new" families. This was easy for me. To accommodate the other Mom, I moved my holiday celebrations to the weekend before. Or the day before in the case of Easter.

I am amazed at my friends who insist that their kids spend the actual holiDAY with them. It cam make for a stressful, disappointing celebration. Would it be fun to wake up every Christmas morning and know that all 14 of us will be together. You bet! Is it realistic? Uh, no.

And what about that whole "every other year" deal? It wouldn't work in our family. JD's wife, Janel has two sisters. Jessica's husband, Adam has five siblings, Katie's husband, Gabe has four brothers. There's no such thing as every other year when you have to accommodate that many people.

I did not want Christmas at my house to be an obligation. I wanted it to be fun. Something that they all look forward to. As stress free as possible.

Plus, I want to give my kids the space they need to create traditions within their own families. When my kids were little, we had as many as four Christmases some years. It was horrible. The kids were fussy and cranky because they didn't get to play with their new toys. They were tired and cranky because they stayed up way too late on Christmas Eve at a family celebration. They were off the wall cranky when they missed their naps on Christmas Day because we were at yet another family celebration. And I was cranky because we had no traditions of our own. So, one year, we told the Grandmas at Halloween that things were going to change. We would not be spending Christmas Day at their houses. They were welcome to come to ours.

It was hard for us to make that declaration. There were hurt feelings and plenty of guilt was served up. But it was so worth it in the long run. Having gone through that made it easy for me when it was my turn to be the "grandma".

As you contemplate the upcoming Christmas season, think about your family celebrations. Be honest. Do you participate in a blur of family gatherings? Are you so busy thinking about the next place you have to be that you can hardly enjoy the one you're at? Are your kids constantly whiny, cranky, and exhausted? Is your family missing out on starting your own traditions? If your answer is yes, maybe it's time to make a change. Dream about your fantasy family Christmas and then set about making it a reality.

It's the time we spend together, not the day we spend it on. It's the memories that we're making, not the frantic blur of fulfilling expectations. It's opening our arms to receive new family members and embracing the traditions they bring, not standing with our arms crossed issuing invitations that are commands. It's celebrating the birth of Christ, not dreading the celebrations.

Christmas in July: Nativities

I collect Nativity sets. Each year I add one or two to my collection. I have already spotted one at Hobby Lobby that I want to add to my collection. Rather than show my collection again, look at these great display ideas I found:

What a gorgeous Nativity, and a clever way to display it.

I really like the simplicity of this display.

I actually own a set like this, great idea for display.

Another great display idea!

This is an outdoor display. I've never seen one like it - unique!

Christmas in July: Light Displays

One of our most enjoyable traditions at the holidays is to drive the area looking at all of the terrific exterior light displays. Let's see what's out there as we take a spin around the Internet:

I grew up in the Kansas City area.

Every year we would drive down to see the Plaza Lights.

It's one of the best memories of my childhood.

Wow, this is awesome!

Another good one!

Love this classic look

Beautiful!

Christmas in July: Decor

Do you ever feel you're stuck in a rut when it comes to decorating your home for Christmas? I know I do. It's the same old decor displayed in the same old way in the same old place I put it last year. I'm ready for a change.

This is our second Christmas in this house, but last year I barely decorated since I was short on time because of the move. This year I plan to go all out. I'm trying to look at each room and dream about how I would like to have it decorated. I'm trying to think outside of the box. This is very difficult for me because I am a very black and white kind of person.

One room I have never had much success in decorating is the kitchen. I searched Pinterest and came up with some inspiration. What do you think?

This is a clever idea which would work on the front of the fridge, the cabinets or a wall.

I have all of these materials on hand - this is cute!

I have tons of ribbon, and could totally do this

Love the aprons!

Dollar Store, here I come! This would look great on my pantry door.

Christmas in July: Books

I collect Christmas books and will buy almost any one that I see. The exception being stories that are set in the past. Even though I have a major interest in History, for some reason I don't really care for Historical Fiction.

My hands-down favorite author for Christmas stories is Debbie Macomber. She releases a new Christmas novel each year and I always buy it the first day out in the store!

Each year beginning in August, I start hunting for the newly released Christmas books. I generally buy six to ten books each year. I love to read authors that are new to me. Here are my top five favorites (other than all of the Debbie Macombers!) that I read over each year:

Christmas in July:Only 153 days to go!

I love Christmas countdowns. I have two on my phone, and I always have them on my blogs. I write a weekly countdown on my calendar each year. They are fun and festive!

I searched countdowns on Pinterest looking for some fresh ideas and I found plenty:

Glue cotton balls on Santa's beard to countdown to Christmas!