It's a Wrap - Christmas, 2014

Christmas Day, 2014 - about to go into the history books, as it is already 10:37 pm.

But, it will go down as a terrific one!  

Our big family celebration was last night, on Christmas Eve.  As any empty nester knows, once your kids are grown and married, with families of their own, you must start sharing them with the "in-laws".  So, after attending Christmas Eve worship service, Eddie Dale and I came home to finish preparing a non-traditional TexMex dinner.  It was a fun, rather chaotic, affair here in our small and cozy cottage.  But, I wouldn't have traded it for anything!  

We stayed up late, watching "A Christmas Story" and slept in this morning.  Today was pretty low key, with a simple midday meal and plenty of time spent dozing in front of the final holiday movies on the TV.  

And, now I am sitting in Eddie Dale's recliner, Pepper snoring loudly beside me and the hubby snoring loudly in the bedroom a few feet away, watching "Julie & Julia" for about the 28th time.......

And plotting my approach for taking down and packing away all the Christmas decor tomorrow!  

I usually take everything down pretty quickly after the holiday.  My plan to get started first thing in the a.m. is intensified because an entire section of our pre-lit Christmas tree has apparently "gone out" this evening.  Being slightly OCD, this is troubling me greatly......

(A different section was not working when I dragged the tree in and started to decorate all those many weeks ago, which necessitated spending about an hour removing the pre-strung lights - stupid little plastic clips and all - and restringing it with more clear lights.  Trust me, it was frustrating and exhausting - and I only went to the trouble because it was sleeting outside that day and I was really feeling too strapped for cash to shell out money for a new tree when this one was only three years old!)

Anyway, my philosophy on un-decorating is pretty much like my philosophy on removing a band-aid - just rip it off as fast as possible!

Now that Christmas is over and done, I must admit I am ready for our home to return to "normal".  In fact, I am actually looking forward to dusting the surfaces of my furniture currently buried under layers of garlands, lights, snow globes and candlesticks - and, of course, a nice thick layer of dust!  

Before I go to bed and fall asleep to dream of the fresh and pristine place that our home will be by this time tomorrow evening, I will leave you with my favorite photo of our tree this year - by far, one of my favorite trees that has come together over the years.  This was taken last night after everybody arrived with their presents to exchange - and it is looking pretty apparent to me that the middle section of the tiny white lights was dead last night.....but, it's still pretty, don't you think?

Hoping you had a most wonderful and memorable Christmas, too!  

See you back here soon for another visit on the porch....

Jane

Our God Is With Us......Emmanuel!!!

Christmas is upon us!  Amazing how it arrives whether we are "ready" or not.

This year is somewhat different for Eddie and me.  For starters, we are "HOME", where we are surrounded with family and friends.  What a huge blessing!  However, this year has been challenging for us financially.  Our income sort of took a plunge with the move....and it's definitely been a "period of adjustment" for us.


With that in mind, we warned the kids some time ago that this would be a lean Christmas.  And, in the back of my mind, I allowed myself to harbor negative feelings about the "lack" of presents.  Every time I was out and about shopping, it seemed, I would see something that would the perfect gift for someone...and I had to pass it by.


But, as I was listening to Christmas music last night, I was struck by the words to the Steven Curtis Chapman song, "Our God Is With Us".  The sheer power of the Message in this classic song struck squarely at my hurting, resentful heart....

"And in one glorious moment, all eternity was shaken

As God broke through the darkness that had kept us apart

And with love that conquers loneliness, hope that fills all emptiness

He came to earth to show our worth. 

And our God is with us, Emmanuel

He's come to save us, Emmanuel, and we will never face life alone

Now that God has made himself known

As Father and Friend, with us through the end, Emmanuel

So rejoice, oh rejoice, Emmanuel has come."

 For the greatest gift of all is not any gift that appears beneath the tree, no matter how grand it might be.  The greatest gift of all was given on the night when Jesus humbly entered this world.

It was as if a bright light was turned on and I saw with clarity all the blessings bestowed upon me, and my family.  And, in that moment, I was able to let go of the negative feelings that I was allowing to stifle Joy in my heart and truly rejoice at the beauty of this season.
 
I hope you will click on the link below and listen to this beautiful song.  I don't know who put the video together and, yes, I know it is over 6 minutes long.  But, the music and the message are worth every second of your time!

My prayer for you this Christmas, dear Friend, is that you will be filled with all the Joy that comes from accepting the greatest gift of all.  Let us not forget the wondrous gift of that first Christmas or the comfort of knowing that our God is with us!

I am linking with Robin over at "ALL THINGS HEART & HOME" because she asked us to share about something that inspires us at Christmas....and even though there's not a Christmas decoration or recipe to be found in this post, it's all about INSPIRATION for me to share of the miracle of Jesus' birth!

Blessings to you and those you love...

Jane

Holiday Imperfections....

I want to share my Big News FIRST -

I PASSED both sections of my state real estate licensing exam!!!

(Insert heavenly chorus singing "HALLELUJAH" right here.)

I can't even begin to tell you what a relief it is to have that behind me!  For the last few weeks, it felt like I was eating/breathing/sleeping Principles of Real Estate.  For the last two weeks, I haven't even made it to the gym and my body is really letting me know it's not happy about that!

But, now I feel that I can truly slow down and focus on enjoying this special time of the year.

We've already arrived at the last week before Christmas.  Unbelievable!  But, still plenty of time to wrap...and bake...watch our favorite holiday movies...and tweak the decorations.

With some time on my hands this morning, I got out and about and visited some of my favorite blogs.  So many inspiring posts, filled with awesome photos of lovely Christmas decorations....all so perfect!

However, out of the corner of my eye, this is all I can see.....

 YIKES!  Not very perfect, huh?   Eddie and I did some more Christmas shopping on Friday and this is where everything ended up....shoved behind the bed in the back bedroom!  But, in my defense, I had to get it out of sight (sort of) before the grandkids came over on Saturday.

Besides, this is the back bedroom, which serves as a guest room and office/staging area for me.  In addition to studying and hiding gifts back here, it's where all the gift-wrapping gets done.  (And, for the record, let me just say that I will never again use glittery ribbon when wrapping presents....never!  What a mess!!!)

Viewed from this angle, it truly looks like a mountain, don't it?

Oh, well, this IS "Real Life".  And sometimes, at least around here, "Real Life" gets a bit messy!   Although my attention was focused elsewhere for the last few weeks, I can now focus on getting the last of the gifts wrapped.  The ingredients for making Christmas cookies and fudge are already set out on the counter in the kitchen, just waiting for me to get started.  The house is freshly dusted, vacuumed and smelling like a Christmas tree (thanks to the wonder of a Scentsy burner); the laundry is almost caught up....

Whoa!  There I go already....planning to hustle and bustle to get everything just perfect, when mostly what I need to do is just sit down with a nice cup of coffee and Be Still, both in mind and body.

It's okay to do that once in a while.  Just let go of the desire to be perfect and embrace some of our imperfections.  (I don't know about you, but I really suck at being perfect....and I excel at being imperfect.  Consequently, learning to accept my imperfections, including a bit of mess here and there around the house, should be of utmost importance to me.)

So, as we enter the final countdown to Christmas, I hope you will excuse me as I slow down a bit and savor the moments.  After all, the kids are not going to remember how clean my house was when they look back on this Christmas.  They are going to remember the time we spent together, making treasured memories.  So, in the end, it really doesn't matter if "things" are not perfect. 

How are you spending these last couple of days?  Are you at a place where you can savor the moments and accept the imperfections? 

Wishing you peace and contentment as you prepare for the holiday...

Jane

A Christmas Welcome on The Porch

Well, Friends, we have done just about all the Christmas decorating around here that we are going to do this year.  Whew!  I'm glad we have a few weeks to enjoy it now before it all has to come down and be packed away again....

Although we thought we were scaling back a bit, due to being in smaller quarters this year, we were surprised when we ended up emptying most of the boxes and bins of holiday decorations.  We were able to use just about everything we had out at our place in the country.....just in a different way. 

The icicle lights we used to put up along the edge of the roof ended up going into the garbage.  (Yep, they bit the dust and those things aren't worth salvaging when half of them don't work after 5 years.)  This year, Ed and the boys used some of those miles of small twinkle lights we already had to outline the eaves.  Then they used most of the rest of them to "wrap" the mesquite trees out front.  Here's how that turned out....

I love the sculptural look of the mesquites all lit up!

We were able to maintain the tradition of a simple evergreen wreath with a large red bow on each window along the front of the house.  And all the lighted deer, spiral trees and even the polar bear made the transition from country place to town cottage with ease.

Frosty still welcomes visitors to The Porch....

And the front door is draped with lighted garland wired up with traditional ornaments and red ribbons.  (Thank you, Lord, for shatterproof balls at the dollar store!)

The three little trees used to be scattered throughout the house, but they found a better home outside this year.  And I simply wired some more ornaments into one of the leftover window wreaths to match the garland around the door.  It hangs above my beloved rocker.

Here's a view from the side of the porch.....more twinkle lights and a glimpse of our tree in the living room through the window.

(Okay, the snowflakes in the planter box were Ed's idea.  I had other plans for that area, but they required removing all the mums from the planter and getting them transplanted in the ground...and I just ran out of steam before I got to it.  Hence, we went with Ed's idea!)

When the kids came over on Saturday evening, we made sure everything was all lit up when they arrived.  Trayden came running into the house, eyes shining, and exclaimed ~

"Mimi!  Your Christmas house is beautiful!!!" 

Ah....that made every bit of the work and effort put into decorating WORTH IT!!!

Next year, we are thinking about starting to make the transition to LED lights outside.  Have any of you tried them yet?  

I'm linking up with Robin for her "All Things Merry & Brite" party, week #5!!!  Her beautiful blog, "All Things Heart & Home" is one of my favorites....a true feast for the eyes and soul.  So, check it out!

Until next time, drop on by anytime....the door is open.

Jane

Adding a Bit of Window Whimsy....

Well, we've been plenty busy decking the halls around here!  And this year I wanted to do something fun around some of the many windows in our home.

It all started with the wide set of three windows in the living room.  They were just begging to be accessorized....and this was my super simple solution!

 

 

I simply took traditional colored shatterproof balls, purchased dirt cheap at Dollar Tree (I got 21 for $3), added pre-cut 20-gauge floral wire and a snippet of left-over ribbon.  To get the whimsical curly-q look of the wire, I wrapped it around the handle of a wooden spoon from the kitchen and then stretched and bent it a bit, making a loop to hang over the curtain rod.

These provided just the touch I was looking for to provide a festive frame above the window.  So, I made more....for the window behind the tree....

 

Hey, I was on to something here....so, why stop in the living room?!?!?  I added some to the windows in our bedroom.  This time I used a box of bronze ornaments purchased at WalMart ($5 for 12).  Fortunately, the green, red and gold colors in our room already lend a holiday feel to the room!

Finally, I focused on Ed's little office, which has a Texas theme anyway.  These cute little wire star ornaments were 2/$1 at Dollar Tree, so this double window got "the treatment", too.  

I'm tickled with the added element of whimsy....and the way the hanging ornaments reflect the light in the rooms, both day and evening.  It was an easy, quick project that didn't break the budget.  (All three rooms came in at $11 for the ornaments; I used leftover ribbon and wire I already had.)

I'm linking up with Robin over at "All Things Heart and Home" for her "All Things Merry & Brite" party.  If you take a moment to click on the link, I know you will be blown away by all the great ideas and inspiration of Merry & Brite party-goers! 

If you've come up with a simple solution to stretch your decorating dollar for the holidays in a non-traditional way, I would love to hear about it!

Keep it warm, Friends!

Jane

Decking the Halls....

Thanksgiving is behind us....and we are barreling straight towards Christmas!

My house began the transformation from Autumn to Christmas nearly two weeks ago....and it took a full week to get the interior decor into place.  (For some reason, I seemed to have trouble finding things that we had packed away before we moved....)  I opted to have most of my i's dotted and my t's crossed prior to Thanksgiving Day so the weekend following would be relaxed and open for other activities.

Of course, the first order of business was the main tree in the living room.  It is loaded with ornaments I have collected since childhood, it's branches tipped with glass birds, candles and poinsettias.  (I will share more of the individual ornaments with you in another post!)

This year is all about working with what we have.....and Lord knows we have A LOT!!!  With this in mind, I tried to work in all of our favorites, although this meant getting a little more creative.

The water globes have their usual home atop the piano....

The hutch is laden with garland, lights and ornaments resting in a variety of glassware, with Mary Engelbreit's "The Night Before Christmas" tucked in for background....

 

 And filling the space between the bookcase and tv on the opposite side of the room is our traditional Texas Tree....

Although our home is smaller this year, it is oh-so warm and cozy. My goal is to make you feel like you have stepped into a Thomas Kincade painting, with all the warmth and  light inviting you to sit and stay awhile.  I love the way the room "glows" as I look across from the sofa...

In the coming days, I will share more of our decorations from throughout the house...and outside, too. 

And I have a very special treat for you!  My mother has agreed to let me take you on a tour of her lovely little cottage.  You will love it!!!

Until next time, I hope wish you warm tidings of the season....

Jane

The Week Before Thanksgiving....

Oh, what a hectic week....and it's not over yet! 

I've not had the time to post this week...or get out and look around at all my favorite blogs.   I miss visiting everyone and getting my inspiration "on"!!!

I figure a lot of you are doing what I am doing this week - preparing for Thanksgiving....and, oh yeah, that holiday that comes nipping on Turkey Day's heels....CHRISTMAS!!! 

I'm truly hoping to find the pace slow down a bit soon so I can sit down and bring you up to speed on all the going's-on around The Porch.  It's about time to change out all the Autumn decor around here for something a little more red and green, silver and gold......maybe a little something more like this......

So, be watching for the changes comin' soon! 

Hopin' y'all have a terrific weekend.....

Jane

The True Meaning of Christmas

Well, Christmas is nearly here. My, how the few weeks since Thanksgiving have flown by this year! But, I guess we are just about as ready for the holiday as we can get around here.

We have finished the shopping. There are only a few last gifts to wrap and place under the tree. I still have a bit of baking to do, but the fudge is made. (Are you reading this, Daddy?) And now I have a bit more time to be still and reflect on the true meaning of this most holy of holidays...

Christmas will be different for us this year. Eddie and I have had some pretty big changes come upon us this last couple of weeks. There are big, life-changing decisions to be made and, although Christmas is in some ways the worst time of the year to have this happen, it is also the time of year when perhaps we are most receptive to God's reminders to us about what is truly important in Life.

Amid all the hustle and bustle of what Christmas has come to mean to the secular world, it is too easy to get caught up in the commercialism of the season and forget about the most precious Gift of all.

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:11



What a miracle the birth of Jesus was! God's only Son, come to Earth as a Man, to walk among us and pay the ultimate price for our sin. Imagine how wondrous must have been that humble birth in a stable; how bright the star leading the Way; how sweet the singing of the angels; and how precious the feel of a newborn baby in Mary's loving arms. Oh, don't you wish you could have been there?

My prayer for this season is two-fold:

* Deep Gratitude and Thanksgiving that God is teaching me so much more about the true meaning of Christmas, and

* Bountiful Blessings to all my Family and Friends, that they, too, will know the tremendous Gift bestowed upon them by a loving Father.

Take the time to savor the special moments of the Season! Enjoy time spent with those you love, the gifts, the lights, the traditions...but seek the stillness, the quiet, the joy...and listen for God to speak to your heart.

Warm Christmas Hugs,

Jane

CrAfTiNg for ChRiStMaS!!!

Here is it...just a few days before Christmas. And I have finally completed a Christmas craft project!!! It's just been one of those years when time has gotten away from me. But, I saw this great gift idea on a couple of different blogs and just had to give it a try.

First off, I couldn't find any tiles here in our little town, so I asked Eddie to pick some up at Lowe's when he went over to Amarillo. I specifically asked for 'matte finish' tiles and these were the only ones he could find that he considered 'matte finish'. Uh, they weren't smooth...more like tumbled stone, kinda uneven...and I wasn't sure how they would work.



But, I forged on. A trip to Dollar General yielded some pretty tissue paper. The instructions I had seen called for cocktail napkins with a design that would fit on the tiles, so I was 'making do' again when I went with the tissue paper. But, at this point, I was beginning to get a vision in my head of how my project might turn out, even though it would be somewhat different from what I originally planned.



Next, I got some little felt pads in the hardward department of WalMart and a fresh bottle of ModPodge and spray polyurethane. The original directions called for cork to cover the bottom of the tiles, but, alas, I couldn't find any cork in this town either!



After covering the work surface of my dining room table (my most favorite crafting surface), I was ready to get busy!



I just cut squares of tissue paper and used the ModPodge to cover the tiles, top and sides. Once that was dry, I gave it two more coats of ModPodge, brushing the surface in one direction on the first coat, and across the other way on the second coat. See how it gives the finish the look of canvas??



After these dried overnight, I took them out to the garage for a couple of thin coats of spray polyurethane. After letting that dry overnight, I used hot glue to set the little felt pads on the corners of coaster bottoms. There's no way those little suckers are coming off!



Finally, on the third day, I put sets of four coasters together and tied them with pretty wired ribbon. I even used those little dollar store bells on some of the bows.



Voila! A perfect little gift for someone special at Christmas-time.



I was pleased with how these turned out. They aren't quite like the ones I had seen online, but I still like them. Just goes to show ya that you can use what you have (or what you can find) to modify a craft project and make it your very own!

Wishing you and yours a season filled with love and wonderful new memories!!

Jane

Christmas Blessings and Simple Ideas

HoLiDaY GrEeTiNgS to one and all and a special WELCOME to all the SITSahood!!! I'm linking up to "The Secret's In The Sauce" over at http://www.thesitsgirls.com/ for Merry SITSmas 2009.

We are under three weeks on the CoUnTdOwN to ChRiStMaS...can you BeLiEvE that?!?!? I've been out there in BlogWorld, busily perusing all the fabulous ideas for crafting and decorating. So many Fabulous and Fantastic Ideas...I'm going into "sponge-mode-overload" trying to soak them all up!

I really haven't had just a whole lot of time to craft in recent years, but I wanted to show you a few of my FaVoRiTeS for this year. They're not all homemade...they're not all terribly crafty...but they all WoRk for Me!!!

My "Best Find" for this year is this beautiful red vase, which I picked up for $7.99 (nope, that's not a typo!) at Ross. I couldn't believe my luck when I spotted it AND got my hands on it before my Mother did!!! I simply filled it with a couple dozen old silver glass balls (already had these, don't we all?) and - voila - a beautiful piece that really makes a statement!

Next project: We had a need for a large centerpiece for the dining table that can be easily picked up and moved. I recently purchased a simple brown wooden serving tray at WalMart that I knew I wanted to use a the base. I took a cheap 9-foot artificial garland and wrapped it around a couple of times and shaped it to fit snugly down in the tray. Left-over silver beads and ornaments were just draped and snuggled into the greenery and a trio of silver candlesticks nestled in the center completed the arrangement. I just love the way this turned out and it's soooo easy to just grab it and move it when we need the table space!


Finally, I unwrapped these little pinecone trees I crafted a couple of years ago. I had the tiny clay pots, leftover from a project years ago, and transformed them with silver spray paint. Pinecones, gathered from our property, were simply tipped with glue, using a spongebrush, and dusted with silver glitter. A little dried spanish moss was tucked in the base and a pinecone hot-glued on top of that. How simple!


I made about a dozen of these one evening and have tucked them here and there as accent pieces to finish out little vignettes. Great fillers!


So, there you have it! These fun and simple decorations - some made and some bought -help brighten our country home for the Holiday Season.

You know, at this Special Time of the Year, Eddie Dale and I are feeling truly BLESSED. We have a wonderful home, our health, our awesome Family and Friends...too many BLESSINGS to list.


I wish for each and every one of you Abundant Blessings during this Season of JOY!!!

Jane

Check out other great DIY projects from BlogLand over at: http://asoftplace.net/

(Sorry, Kimba, can't get your button to load up over here!)

**Lighting Up the Night**

Well, after braving frigid temps and a bitter ol' North wind, we have finally gotten the outdoor Christmas decorations up and burnin'!!!

Okay, so it took the two us the better part of two days (and Eddie working alone an extra afternoon) to git 'er done....but, just look at it!!! WE'RE ALL LIT UP!!!



Isn't it GRAND?!?!?! And oh so FABULOUS?!?!?!



We have a herd of deer grazing on the knoll in front of the house....



(Do NOT look at the electrical cords hanging from the deer....just pretend you do not see them!!!)

And a polar bear, complete with trees and presents....



And Frosty the Snowman....



And Lots and Lots of LIGHTS!!!!











So, we can just bundle up...and sit back and sip from our cuppa hot cocoa...and enjoy the view from the Porch!!!



Season's Best Wishes!!!

Jane