Can It Really Be Over

Wow where has this month gone. It does not seem possible that Christmas is over for another year. I guess as the saying goes " The older we get the faster time flies" I know that is sure holding true for me.

I do pray that you all had the most Wonderful Christmas Ever. We had a great time celebrating on Christmas Eve with family and friends. We were short just four members of the family. One daughter is suffering through a horrible bout of the flu and Grandson did not make it in time to get here so we will see him later before he must return to Camp Pendelton. My mother-in-law was not going to be home til yesterday from my sister-in-laws, and our youngest grandson has had the flu bug so he stayed home with the daughters boyfriend. But the house was full and everyone seems to enjoy themselves.I do not think one person could say they went away from the table hungry.

The late trip to town for the seasoning to inject in the turkey was well worth the time even if I did say I was not going into town on Christmas Eve Day at all. The turkey was so good. Thanks goes to my dear hubby George for deep frying it.The ham was done to perfection. And all the side dishes made for one great meal. Sure wish I had thought to take a few pictures of the table and all the good food. I guess I was more concerned in getting it all on so everyone could eat.

Did not take long to take care of the left overs and put the dishes to soak so the kids could open gifts. My dad was getting pretty tired so we gave him his as he was getting ready to leave.

He was a bit excited when he realized we had gotten him a big popcorn popper like ours. Dad loves his popcorn. It is now headed to Florida with him as of this morning. 

This is Ryleigh our Great Granddaughter checking out the Christmas Ornament on her package. Cadyn, her big brother is patiently waiting a gift from the tree. Also  in this picture is the kids mom Liz and dad Justin is in the plaid hat. Standing in the back though it is dark are my son-in-law Frank,  daughter Bridget, and friend of the family Shane. I was glad that Shane joined us. He just lost his dad in November and was not much in the Christmas spirit.Daughter Lisa is also sitting on the couch. She was rather tired out. Had to be to work early that day and the stores were busy with last minute shoppers. 

Three of the oldest of the Granddaughters are here. Holly, Brittany, and Kelsey. Holly and Kelsey are both Seniors this year and both been accepted to colleges . We are so proud of them. Brittany is a Junior and is studying at the Vo-Tec to become an EMT. She wants to go on to college to become and Ultra Sound Technician.

Behind the girls are son-in-law and daughter Cherrie, and stretched out relaxing hubby George. He was worn out from deep frying that turkey . 

This is Lisa again and grandson Brad. It sure does not take long for the Grandchildren to go up. Sometimes I really miss them as babies . But I am proud of what they are becoming. 

We had gotten the PJ's for Ryleigh and she stood right there upon opening then peeled off her pants and shirt and had to put on the PJ's. I never dreamed she would be so excited over a pair of pajamas. But here she is showing them off to us. Mom Liz and daddy Justin are laughing over her excitement of new PJ's.  

And as for the next picture. I think it tells it all.

George said he had to have a place to put his ribbon so here he is. We decorate it all around here. 

I hope your Christmas was as enjoyable as ours . 

And May I Wish You Each A Very "Happy New Year" May it be a year of rich blessing from above, love, luck and lots of laughter.  

A Few More Decorations

   The time flew by so fast this December and I was so busy I never managed to post the rest of the decorations. So today I thought I would share a few more including my other trees. I kept redoing trees this year and actually never got the main tree to my liking until just a few days before Christmas. I thought I took pictures with all the gifts and guess the Christmas Mouse must have hidden them from site as I sure do not find any . So you get to see that tree naked of gifts.

The big tree in the living room. This tree is the one I put on the rotating stand so it is decorated full all around each side. Loved the stand and can hardly wait to do my friendship tree with it next year. This tree is done with snowmen, snowflakes, icicles, and I used white deco-mesh  tucked in all around to cover more of the green. I had planned on using the white tree as the snowmen are usually on a smaller tree in the computer /sewing room off the kitchen. We can enjoy it while eating. George decided he wanted it in the living room this year. The tree skirt I made 3 years ago to use under the tree.

Our family of snowmen sit next to the tree. Boy the dogs sure barked at them the first few days. I guess they could not figure out what they were. 

I also took this picture before adding the mesh to the tree. 

I also revamped my angel tree and added mesh wired ribbon to it. I like it much better showing less of the green . 

I also added some of the gold wired mesh ribbon to the top of the mantel within the nativity. I thought it just made it look a little more elegant.

This is the tree tree I believe that a tree fairy dropped off sometime during the year. Digging through the boxes I came across this and do not remember buying it at all. Everyone else remembers me getting it last year after Christmas. But I sure do not. Was a nice surprise though. For this I used the extra balls, and poinsettias I had bought for the tree decorating contest at the Senior Center. Lime green, purple and teal colored.For the topper I just added two seeded bushes in lime green and a couple lavender curly clips. Next year I can add the other ornaments from the tree I did at the Senior Center. 

The next tree is my small table top tree . I did two of these. One is on top of the china cabinet with my santas and the other is sitting on the end table between my chair and Georges' chair. It is just a foot tall tree and just the right size for the table. 

All ornaments I hot glued onto this tree so next year will not have to redecorate it. I have a few of my old word Santa's around it. 

My kitchen tree  is just a 4 foot tree . I love gingerbread men so thus it is my gingerbread candy tree. 

I add my hot cocoa train to the bottom and love it to finish off the tree. 

I have added two trees in my bathroom. 

This is above the closet cabinet and is just an ice tree I bought a few years back. I have it with one of my nativities and have interspersed colored lights through out the arrangement. the lights reflect so pretty and lights the bathroom just enough to see at night. I do not even turn on the lights when I go in there. 

This is just a 2 foot  wall tree. I have just added a couple candle garlands to this tree. 

Adds a little Christmas touch to the bathroom I think. 

The guest bedroom tree is a 3 foot tree and just has a few ornaments. I am hoping to find more at the after Christmas Sales this week for this tree. I want it more vintage looking maybe almost Victorian for next years trimming.   

This is the tree in my computer/sewing room. I did not have the room for the full tree so used just the top two sections of my large tree. Next year I hope that I can use the whole tree . We have an exersize bike  to sell and I have given my cedar chest to my youngest daughter. That will give me a lot more room for my two trees there. I just added a big box under it to bring it up off the floor. George had built the box several years ago when we had kittens to keep them from climbing the tree. 

This ornament is one of my favorites. Several years ago mom had given me the silver set belonging to her grandparents. They were given the set in 1901 as a wedding gift. Grandma passed away in 1906 after the birth and loss of their 4th child. My grandfather was just 4 at the time. Though I treasure the set I wanted for others in the family to also get some enjoyment from it. A few years ago mom gave me a jewelry box full of her mothers jewelry. This would have been my great grandmothers daughter-in-law. One day in a magazine I discovered a picture of a memory Christmas Ornament. My mind clicked and I thought just how perfect this would be.  So I used a spoon from the silver set curved it over a medicine bottle to shape  and  went through grandmas jewelry and glued on a favorite earring of hers. I made one for myself and one for my mother and two others so each of my sisters had one. Now each year I remember family members who are just with us in spirit as I hang my memory ornament on the tree. 

This is  one of my oldest daughter made when she was just a small child. She may have been about 6 or 7 at the time. It was done at church  Sunday night programs for the kids. 

This is the youngest daughter. She was 3 or 4. I believe this was her preschool picture. 

And this is my middle daughter. It is her kindergarten picture. 

I treasure all these ornaments. 

This bird is also a favorite. it is from my childhood and was from the tree the year mom made dad spray our tree silver and she used all pink lights, ornaments on the tree. To this day I can picture that tree. I have no idea where mom found all the pink back then  but I sure wish I had it all now.

Almost all the ornaments I use on this tree are hand made. Hundreds of them made and exchanged with on-line friends I have met  and done exchanges with. I treasure them  and so wish I could share them all with you but I would be all of January posting each one. I actually call the tree "My On-line Friendship Tree" I think over the year of 2012 I will share several of the ornaments with you. 

Now for the final tree and the smallest tree I have decorated.  .

For years I had wanted a doll house when I was small. I never did get one. One year George bought me a kit for Christmas which we built together. It is totally painted but not decorated at this time and is sitting waiting to be done. A few years ago Hobby Lobby had one that sat in the needlework area. They had never carried that particular tree and had no idea why they had a model of it. So I talked the manager into letting me buy it so here is my farmhouse all decorated for Christmas. The tree is done in Noah's ark ornaments and red balls. What fun I had. 

And here is the front of the farmhouse. 

I hope that you have enjoyed  my trees for the year. I do have a couple I have not posted. One in the master bedroom. It is there but I never did get it decorated and also a fiber optic tree I do not decorate at all. It has candles on it and I am not sure what decorating would do toe fiber optic lighting. 

In closing this post I also want to post a couple more pictures of the corner cabinet George made me several years ago. I have angels from my collection on one shelf and a nativity from my collection of the top.  

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. It has been a great one in the Cox household even though we had some of the family members unable to be here because of illness and a couple not arriving here on time from travel but we will see them later. 

I want to take time to thank everyone this past year for visiting me and taking time to comment on my blog. I look forward to continuing on through 2012, meeting new people, learning new ideas ands sharing with everyone. 

May God Bless Each of You. 

    

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Christmas Wishes

The baking is now done, gifts wrapped and under the tree , granddaughter is home for Christmas and Grandson arrives this evening from Camp Pendelten. What a way to spend Christmas . Family and friends surrounding us. I can not ask for a better Christmas gift than that. 

Tonight is our big night. It is our tradition to celebrate our Christmas on Christmas Eve. It clears Christmas Day for our daughters and their families to spend time with their spouses families.

George has the turkey fryer all ready to deep fry the turkey, ham is ready for the oven, pies and birthday cake for Jesus are baked, and I will be getting the relishes around this morning. I do have cookie and candy trays to make up for the family but everything else is done. Am looking forward to the evening .

I would like to share a poem I have been using this year with the Goldentones Chime Group in our program. It is one of my favorites.

 Santa's Prayer 

By Warren D. Jennings

The sleigh was all packed, the reindeer were fed,
But Santa still knelt by the side of the bed.

"Dear Father," he prayed "Be with me tonight.
There's much work to do and my schedule is tight.

I must jump in my sleigh and streak through the sky,
Knowing full well that a reindeer can't fly.

I will visit each household before the first light,
I'll cover the world and all in one night.

With sleigh bells a-ringing, I'll land on each roof,
Amid the soft clatter of each little hoof.

To get in the house is the difficult part,
So I'll slide down the chimney of each child's heart.

My sack will hold toys to grant all their wishes.
The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes.

I will fill all the stockings and not leave a track.
I'll eat every cookie that is left for my snack.

I can do all these things Lord, only through You,
I just need your blessing, then it's easy to do.

All this is to honor the birth of the One,
That was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son.

So to all of my friends, least Your glory I rob,
Please Lord, remind them who gave me this job."

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry CHRISTMAS.

May this season bring you peace , love, and happiness, and may God Bless Each of you. 

Creating Family Traditions

I have always loved "Family Traditions" rather it be for Christmas or any other season of the year. Christmas traditions were always a part of my childhood from decorating the Christmas tree as a family ( though I never would let my sisters add the tinsel.),to our tradition Christmas Eve dinner of moms homemade chop suey and birthday cake for Jesus for our dessert. After  Christmas Eve dinner we always attended the midnight candlelight service. My youngest daughter was baptised at the midnight service. Was so beautiful with all the lite candles.

I thought maybe I could offer a few traditions you could start with your family.

Gather around the tree and read  "The Night Before Christmas". My girls and the grandchildren always loved hearing that story.

Bake a birthday cake for Jesus and sing happy birthday.  It is a day for celebrating his birth.

Have your children make homemade gifts for other family members. There are just so may wonderful ideas for them that can be found on-line. Some of my most prized ornaments and gifts were made by my children and grandchildren.

Make or buy a special ornament each year for your child. Put his or her name and the date someplace on it. When they grow up and are on their own these will be ornaments to start their first tree with. 

Sponsor a needy child ,family or elderly person. Let your children help pick out a special gift for them. 

If you have a tree farm close by make a day of going to pick and cut your tree. Many tree farms in our area have wagon or sleigh rides and special things for the family to do.; Hot cocoa and cookies included. Or go home to hot cocoa and cookies. 

Turn on the Christmas Carols and decorate the tree together. 

Set up a Nativity. Let you children help with it by placing a piece of it in the scene. You can read the scripture that tells of each piece as it is placed. 

Add baby Jesus on Christmas Eve while singing "Joy to the World" remembering that Jesus is the Reason for this season. 

Have a cookie and candy making day or week end. Everyone can pitch in and help. My girls still love getting together and bring their kids and grand kids to our home to help with the baking. 

Even the youngest of them can help in one way or another. Make everyone a Christmas Apron as an early gift and above all have fun.

I hope that you will try one of these as a new tradition in your family for the Christmas  Season.

Its Beginning to Look like Christmas

That is one of my favorite Christmas songs. And I can not truly say that here in my home it is Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. I have got most of the decorating finished. A few touches to do here and there but  at least if it does not get done right away the house still looks festive.

Even  Cinnamon, Patches, and Peanut are getting into the Christmas spirit. Especially Peanut who likes to take the ornaments off our tree as fast as I can get them on. Needless to say she has spent some time in her cage so she is doing a bit better. Just one ornament off so far today and was one I made so I guess I can forgive her.

Here they are all decked out for the Christmas Season. I really wanted to get them under the tree but could not keep them altogether and get myself on the floor to get a good shot. May have to have George help me to get them there. 

I thought I would share a few of my decorations now and more in a later post. Walking in from our carport we have a large china cabinet. I decided rather than just decorating on top of it this year I could add a lot to the inside of it and keep knick-knacks sitting out to dust to a minimum The older I get the more I hate dusting. It stirs up the asthma more each year . 

Each shelf contains somewhat of a collection I have. 

On the top of the cabinet are several of our Santa's. These two on the right are from when the girls were small. The taller of the two sings Jingle bells and the shorter one walks around and will shake the bell he is holding

The taller one on the left side sings and his arm waves his light back and forth. The two ceramic ones were painted by my daughter and I when she was first married. The Christmas tree is one that I hot glued all the mini ornaments on I then added a few candles and just a bit of garland

One the top shelf in the cabinet are several of my angels. 

This  angel is one of my favorites made and given to me by a wonderful lady I had worked with years ago. 

The angel dressed in blue was a gift to my mom and made by my mother-in-law. The far right is my tree topper which I did not use as I used a smaller tree this year for my friendship tree.

 The little angel that is a candlestick was given to me just before Thanksgiving by my 14 year old Grandson Austin. He told his mom he knew I would just love her. And I do she is just precious. The gold glass angel was given to me by my boss when I worked at Hobby Lobby and the blue tone glass angel was a gift from my boss at the Senior Center. She glows when the lights go out and looks so pretty.  . 

On the middle shelf I put several of my Noah's Ark s I have in my collection. My original one I will do a post on at a later date. It was lovingly made for me by my husband . My mom had loved it so that we made one for her that year for Christmas. Several of my Arks were given to me at different times by my parents. Mom loved adding things to my different collections. 

This is one of the large ones I have and was given to me two years ago by a co-worker. She had found it while garage saleing and said she just had to get it for my collection. When I retired she gave me a large Noahs' Ark painting which I treasure.

Just a few more.

And on the bottom shelf of my cabinet are things that I love that belonged to my Mom, Grandparents, and Great Grandparents. Somehow having these out at Christmas time just helps bring back so many wonderful memories of them. 

Moms milk glass set. Creamer, sugar, salt and pepper, and vinegar cruet all on a little plate. 

Carolers on the right we given to my Great Grandmother for Christmas the last year she was living. She at the time was in the hospital with cancer. It is a vase in the back which I now have filled with a bit of spruce and holly. The two carolers on the right I found this year at a sale. They are just like the ones my Great Aunt had. I always loved them so just had to get these in memory of her. The silver candle holders belonged to mom. 

The ball filled bowl belonged to another of my Great Grandmothers. Grandma O'Leary passed away when I was just 11. She passed away on my birthday that year.  The blue carnival glass bowl belonged to my  Grandmother. It started my moms journey on collecting carnival glass. The tall pitcher in the back was given to me by my parents several years ago. It belonged to my dads boss who had taken my dad under his wing way back before dad was a teen. He gave my dad a job washing windows for his company and when dad retired he was owner of the company. Dad never worked anywhere but there. 

Now on to my wall tree and fireplace. The wall tree is a 4 foot tree and is all done in angels. My mom collected angels and after her passing a year ago this past May I decided I wanted my wall tree all in angels in her memory. 

There are so many different angels and I can not pick a favorite. But there is one special one on the tree that I wrote about in a post back in  July in my Holidays Blog. If you would like to read about how I can to have this angel this is the link .http://karansholidayscorner.blogspot.com/2011/07/pennies-from-heaven-and-other-signs.html

I love this frosted angel. 

Love the colors of this wooden angel.

This angel is so sweet. A gift made for me from on of my on-line friends. 

This tree is hung over our electric fireplace. I have a nativity on the mantel. This is one of the larger ones in my nativity collection. Nothing more fitting over the nativity that a "Host of  Heavenly Angels"

This is my wreath to the left of the angel tree.

And to the right of the tree is a nativity picture I found last year at Hobby Lobby. I had my eye on it all season and when they reduced it to 80% off and it was still there I just could not walk by it. I love it. 

Now to my kitchen tree. 

This tree I do in gingerbread ornaments and a candy garland. 

This is my cocoa train running around the bottom of the tree. It was a gift from my oldest daughter and her family a few years ago. There is a cookie jar , cocoa container, marshmallow container and the caboose is a cocoa mug.

This is one of my favorite ornaments made by an on-line friend from Canada.

These are a few of my other favorites. 

I did the tree different this year. I had bought some deco mesh last year thinking it just might be useful in some way. I wanted this tree a bit more together looking so cut squares of the red and white mesh and tucked in throughout the branches. I like the way it turned out. 

This week end I will be posting a lot more of my decorations and trees. . I hope that you have enjoyed what I have done so far. 

I am looking forward to the Christmas Holiday. We have found out my Grandson will be able to be home on leave from the Marines. It may be the last Christmas for a few years having all the Grandkids under our roof. It seems the years have flown by and they are old enough to be scattering through out the USA. One in the Marines in California, another living now in Chicago while going to Grad School. Another  two granddaughters will be leaving for college next fall. Just do not know where the time has gone too. 

So I will enjoy  the Christmas Season to the fullest this year with the family all around me. 

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