*GREETINGS*

From Our House

To Yours

We wish you a

Happy Christmas

and a

Joyous New Year!

Christmas 2012 in Review

Although Christmas has been over for a few weeks, and my decorations are put away, I neglected to blog much about this past Christmas.

Honestly I was in "Let's get through this with a good attitude" mode through most of December. 

This was our first Christmas without my sweet husband, the father of my children, and I was determined to make it a good one despite having such a great loss.

I am happy to report that we did have a wonderful Christmas, thanks to the help of loving family and friends. 

Many expressed their love and concern and many more kept us in their prayers. I know that the power of those prayers kept me going and I am very grateful!

We made new memories. Some memories were hard, but still special, like visiting the cemetery on a cold, snowy Christmas eve.  
Other memories, like having a girls craft night with my daughter and daughter-in-law were fun. 

There were tears but thankfully a lot of laughter too. I am blessed to be the mother of witty, wise-crackin', laughter-loving children who keep me smiling everyday despite the trials of life. 

They are why I feel joy in my home. 

Through the Years

One of the best things about having a blog

  

(2008) 

is being able to look back (2009)

through the years (2010)

to see how I've used many of the same decorations (2011)

 in different ways. (2012)

Bottle Brush Tree Mantle

My love for decorating for the holidays comes from my mother. Every year she would adorn our home with the trinkets and baubles that represented each celebration. Both she and my father knew how to be creative on a shoe string budget. It's been many years since my father passed but I think of him nearly every time I build something just as I think of my mom whenever I decorate, expecially at Christmas.
  
Although my mother is still alive she is suffering from the affects of Alzheimer's. The other day as I decorated her home for Christmas I reminded her of Christmases past and of the work she would go to to make our home festive and beautiful. I am so very grateful for her and the effort she made to create wonderful memories of home. 
  Some of the decorations I remember from my childhood are brass reindeer and bottle brush trees. Because those things are associated with happy memories I have managed to collect a few along the years.
This year I thought it fitting to decorate our family room mantle with the symbols from my youth and share with my children the stories of years gone by.

Linked to: The Lettered Cottage  

Belated Greetings

Christmas is over

And New Year's is through.

I've neglected my blog

and several projects too.
But I've made some new goals
I'm determined to keep.Get back to blogging,finish projects. . .tackle the heap.I'm excited to host
some great giveaways too.
I hope you'll stay with meas I share my life with you.

Got The Red Out

After years of having red walls in our family room,

they are now a
delightfully, delicious
chocolate brown.Yum!

Reminiscing The Past With The Present

When we were first married my husband and I always had a real tree for Christmas. The tree selection process would take nearly the entire day as we would visit several lots trying to find the biggest and cheapest tree (almost always under $10). There were a couple of years that we were lucky enough to find a tree with a double trunk which meant that it would fill up the entire six foot window of our first home. When our children were young we took them to a wooded lot to select and cut down the Christmas tree.
As the years progressed and the prices of Christmas trees increased we began to celebrate the holiday with artificial trees.This year I tried to put up the old artificial tree in the family room. . .several times in fact, yet every time it just looked too pitiful to trim. My frustration mounted as the sad, unadorned tree leaned against the wall day after day.
Last Saturday, just a week before Christmas, we shopped at a freight damage store. That morning before we left I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice if the store was selling real trees for a big discount." True enough, an announcement was made that Christmas trees were being cleared out for $10. I was smiling from ear to ear as I ran through the store to find the exit where the trees were, my husband trailing behind trying his best to keep up with his giddy wife.Once home the real tree was placed in an old bucket filled with water hidden inside a garden urn. Not only was the tree a bargain so were the decorations---most were purchased at dollar stores over the past few years.

It's our bargain tree that looks like a million!

Quite the Sight

It must have been quite the sight to see
the middle-aged woman
rolling a very heavy, snow covered stump through the empty lot,
across the street, and up onto her porch. And even stranger
that she was wearing her husband's gloves and boots
and dressed in her son's trench coat (an old Halloween prop).Yes, it must have been quite the sight.
But it was worth it! Am I the only one
that does crazy things
for the sake of good design?

Almost Free Florals and a Winner

I always love having a fresh and free bouquet in my living room. In the spring and summer I bring branches or flowers in from my yard and even though it's winter I've found a way to bring in nature without spending a lot of money. One trick is to ask the employees of tree lots or big box stores if you can have the cuttings from the Christmas trees. They're usually happy to give them away for free. I just plop a bunch into a tarnished silver urn and add a few faux glittered branches for a little more interest and then I stand back and enjoy the beauty and the fresh evergreen aroma.And who says that you have to keep that traditional poinsettia in it's foil covered container? I clipped the flowers and added more evergreens, and curly branches to make this eye catching Christmas bouquet.The only thing that can beat the beauty of two fresh bouquets is the low, low price!Congratulations to Cheryl, comment #38. Random organizer picked her to be the winner of the beautiful Mod Lattice Pillow from FabulousButFrugal.com