Hello wonderful Friends!
I hope this post finds you well and filled with Christmas spirit and truly enjoying the gifts of this season. And of course I don't mean actual presents....but the true gifts being time with family and the peace and joy of anticipating our Lord's birth. Or a blessed Hanukkah or whichever meaningful faith or tradition you hold dear this season. My life has definitely been filled with lots of meaningful family moments, church time, concerts, decorating, baking, and shopping lately. So I know I've been absent of late and I am planning to take a break for the rest of the holiday season. I may try to get a Merry Christmas post up before Christmas with our family card - as I don't have them back yet. This past weekend my son's girlfriend was over and I asked her to take some shots of us as a family outside and of myself and our 2 kids (to get some pics for hubby's desk). It's always nice to have an updated family photo, even if it's just a casual quick unplanned sort of one. ;)
So I thought I would share a post with some Christmas cheer in the form of some fun vintage pics, some recipes, and also of some photos from around our home this season. And if you'd like to get an idea of what our house looks like this time of year, I gave a tour around this time last year and you can find that post by clicking here. A few things change each year...but overall it's a lot the same. Over the holiday time when I get a break I will come around and visit you my Friends and say hello. I miss your posts!! To give you an idea of the busyness around here lately this week alone I have 3 kiddos' concert events (2 at school and 1 at church), and 3 hockey games between them. Also, a full tourney this weekend for Annie. Hockey Mom life folks. In between I'm trying to handle all the details of Christmas as we host family every year. However, I am beyond grateful for the gift of family and it's been a wonderful kind of busy. I am blessed.
I have also been completing the last steps of my hospice training and I will begin "working" in that capacity after the holidays. I will officially be stationed at a local hospice house. I may also do some in home visits as needed now and then. I am so excited spiritually to serve others through that new chapter in my life. I will keep you posted on how things go in the months ahead. For now I wish you all a blessed holiday season filled with laughter, love and peace.
We had some more snow over night so it's definitely looking like it's going to be a white Christmas in the northwoods. And I guess I'm always drawn to vintage pics that remind me of a white cozy Christmas - especially churches and homes with lights glowing in the windows:
But here are some more cozy pics from around our home:
The real reason for the season
I love the tree reflected in the mirror and the window
I've made a good dent with shopping and wrapping ;)
Been practicing holiday hairdos on Ms.Annie - here brushing up on my dutch braid skills

And another special part of this season is that my Hubby and I will celebrate 22 years of marriage shortly after Christmas. We were married on a Friday night because Saturday could only be in the afternoon - and we wanted the Christmas tree twinkling in church and the candles glowing. It was a clear day, but after the service that night we came out of the church to magical big snowflakes falling. It was such a special day. We have been together for almost 30 years now (since we were 16 years old). And life has thrown lots of ups and downs our way - and this past year has been especially stressful with his work and his Mom in a facility with Alzheimer's, worrying about his Dad etc. But I think the true measure of a couple is how you get through those times. How you grow together. In my opinion marriage is a constant roller coaster of joys and sorrows - and if you have enough love to laugh, forgive, learn, and take your turns really being there for each other when you need it...well then I believe you will have a marriage that can stand the test of time. I am blessed with many gifts in my life and my husband is definitely one of them.
And before this post gets too crazy long - here are a few fun recipes I pinned for this season that I may have fun trying:
I thought this was such a cute idea for a veggie tray snowman ;)
And these gingerbread bars with cream cheese frosting sound so good! You can find the pin for it with recipe here.
And I'm really thinking I"m going to decorate my sugar cookies like these Christmas lights this year - so cute!! You can find this pin here.
(one of the pics of the kiddos with me for hubby's desk)
Until we chat again Friends I'm wishing you a very Merry and cozy Christmas and Happy 2018!
xoxo