In review....

Yes, here it is, January twelth, and I am just getting to this post. And, I'm not quite sure what to say about it but, quite obviously, I march to the beat of my very own personal drummer. While enjoying the freshness and clarity of January, I, personally, would love to share a little bit of Christmas in review. If you can't stand one more bite of it all, well... then... er... close one eye or something.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When I pray in the morning, this is where I sit and this is what I would see - very distracting but happy! 

It is my own tree - a lot of the ornaments are ones that I have been collecting since I was a little girl for when I grew up and had a tree of my very own.

Christmas seemed to just happen to me, this year. It went so fast and so slowly at the very same time. It went too fast because I took on an awful lot of extra projects in December. It went wonderfully slow because I, also, made sure to stop and just focus on spending time with my boys and Tom and family and friends. It was just one of those precious years like that - so many wonderful moments! But, decorating-wise, I feel like I just kind of threw everything together. I think, however, that it turned out very pleasantly to my way of thinking. =]

 

 

This is the 'family' tree. We put it together the first year when someone gave us a beautiful tree but our ornaments were still buried in boxes - lost. That Christmas was, also, full of sweet memories of making ornaments for our tree - sitting in the bay window cutting out the snowflakes - the boys making the cookie ornaments from start to finish - the melted crayon star and the paper chain that seemed to go on forever and ever and ever!!! All of the ornaments that we've bought on vacations and the kids have made in school and have been given to them are on this tree, too. The boys picked the tree, put it up and decorated it all on their very own, this year, and it was just beautiful!

and here is Chubbs, on Christmas morning in this picture, who just recently ate one of the cookie ornaments as it was waiting to be put away!

(A cookie's a cookie, I guess. =/)

and for those of you who were concerned if Jeffrey ever saw Santa or not....

Now! Onward! =]

xxoo

Waiting for Santa: a fluffy tale!

 

Twas the night before Christmas and Jeffrey was waiting patiently for Santa to come!

When what to his wondrous ears did he hear....

Could it be...???

Gasp! Do you hear that???

I'm afraid to look.

...the magic of Christmas!!! ;-)

=D

Teehee!

I think I'm a bit punchy/tired! =P

...but happy!!!

Christmas continues on in our home!

=]

xxo

The joy is in the journey!

I don't know.... I think that the build up to Christmas might just be more fun than actually getting to Christmas!

I read in a magazine that someone keeps a sign hung during the holidays to remind them that 'the joy is in the journey' and mentally, I hung the very same words in my heart and have had such a lovely month! It saved me from unneeded stress and ridiculous expectations and very often reminded me to stop and purposefully look - notice - appreciate - all the wonderful things happening around me - things that should not be missed! (For example, my two eldest boys arguing about the very best way to decorate the family tree and, then, peeking in and seeing the captive fir trussed up tight! I mean, I might have missed it if I hadn't stopped and considered! ;-) )

It's a wonderful thing to be alive in the moment!

Anyway, this month....

I've sung in an all acapella Christmas concert with our community choir!

I've decked a few halls!

I've spent some priceless time making memories with my family!!!! (FUN! =D)

We had our annual Christmas open house!

My young friend, Kyrionna, from up the road came and we spent the afternoon making gingerbread houses from scratch - giggled quite a bit and discussed Doris Day! (She didn't know who she was - gasp! We'll save Bing Crosby till next time. ;-) )

We've shopped for trees, shopped for presents, read in our advent book and opened the doors in the calendar, made cookies, falalaaaed, helped out with the live nativity and, tonight, we just had our Christmas Vesper's Service at church and I sang 'Oh, Holy Night!' It was a beautiful time!

...and, I've had a lot of time to pray and to reflect, this month!

Now, the excitement mounts for my boys and the feast approaches!

~ It's all really, really just wonderful, isn't it?! ~

Anyway, I have just a very few scattered pictures....

(Mommy's tree....)

The day of the solstice was beautiful but stormy!

The Open House

(not a good moment for me to attempt photography! =/)

Santa came! ;-)

building a Thomas the Tank Engine track all over the family room!

I'm wishing you, also, the very Christmas that you wish yourself!!!

 Extra hugs and smiles to you and yours at this Christmas-time!

=]

xxoo

An unusual house tour

The Flowers

All the names I know from nurse:

Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse,

Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,

And the Lady Hollyhock.

Fairy places, fairy things,

Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,

Tiny trees for tiny dames-

These must all be fairy names!

Tiny woods below whose boughs

Shady fairies weave a house;

Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,

Where the braver fairies climb!

Fair are grown up people's trees,

But the fairest woods are these;

Where if I were not so tall,

I should live for good and all.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

It's December first and, this morning we woke up to snow! Perfect!!! =]

As I say goodbye to autumn and happily step over to the newness of winter - the restart button to the year - I wanted to share one last festive autumnal celebration with you.

...an unusual house tour in the next town over from us - quaintly picturesque Grafton, Vermont.

On the particular day that we visited, though, there were heavy clouds and the rain was barely holding itself back. We wended our way through and past the village proper because this house tour was at the Grafton Ponds nature museum.

Please note barely discernible bubbles flying up over the museum in the upper left corner and, in the lower right, Toby (who graciously said that he would escort my mom and I) with his Nana.

Yes, this tour was of the woodsy homes belonging to the wild cousins of the garden fairies from the poem and as we went through the archway, across the meadow and into the woods, there was folksy hammered dulcimer music floating on the air and bubbles, magically, endlessly flying everywhere.

Once in the woods, we followed the nature path as the rain started to patter on the leaves but we were safe under the canopy...

 ...and this is what we saw...

 

Alas, we only ever heard the curious whisper of the fairies, felt the brushes of their wings and saw one very golden frog hiding in the roots of a tree. And, so, we emerged from this magic woodland and followed the path back to reality just as it started to rain in earnest - back, just in time, to the warmth of the tavern to sit by the hearth and muse over our adventures over paper mugs of warm apple cider ale as the heavens really let loose and the rain outside poured down!

xo