Baking Cookies!!

Baking today and tomorrow and these are my favorite cookies!  I've only missed one year in 33 years without them!!  It wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't have some frosted sugar cookies.  We have such great memories of our family sitting down to frost these cookies.  Good Times!!  5 days until Christmas!!!!

Christmas is Coming!!

...and the snowmen and women are coming out at my house!  I just love them!!  It's beginning to feel a little bit like Christmas!!!

Thankfulness #25

Thankful for my favorite time of year!  I love Christmas!  I love the true meaning of Christmas ~ Jesus birth!  I love the lights!  I love decorated trees!  I love Christmas carols! I love a Snowman decoration! ( I have a small collection!) I love Christmas cookies!  I love fudge and egg nog at Christmas!  I love my home with all the Christmas decorations!  It's so warm and pretty!   Time to start the decorating!!

25 Days of CHRISTMAS Awesome!

Day 4

Here I am getting ready to celebrate Christmas and we have no decorations or lights.  They are coming!  We just got back from my dad's memorial in Arizona.  

It's time to decorate the tree and my home.  I love my home at Christmas!  So welcome to my home and I hope your home is a warm one to be in this time of year whether you go all out or decorate just a small area of your home make time to welcome people in for a cup of coffee, a meal or some baked goodies.  Remember the holidays as well as our daily lives should be more about our relationships than things or that perfect home.  Make it an awesome Christmas while you enjoy it with others.

25 Days of CHRISTMAS Awesome!

Day 3

With all the Black Friday sales and the continuous bombardment of shopping for Christmas I need to stop during this time and remember the real reason for this holiday.  It's to celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.  Below are two mangers scenes...the top one is the hubby's family manger scene that is over 50 years old.  The second one is our manger scene that my children grew up with.  It's over 30 years old.  

Just like these manger scenes that have been in our Christmas decor throughout the years, Jesus is with us even when our focus isn't truly on Him!  Let's remember HIM more this next year in everything we do and we will be awesomely blessed!

25 Days of CHRISTMAS Awesome!

It's my Birthday!

That's pretty awesome!

Day 2

To celebrate my birthday, we have a selection of cupcakes!!  How awesome is that??  This little shop is near The Mission Inn which has over a million lights on it!  It is so pretty!!  I know you can't wait to see it.  I'll show it to you in a future post.  For the time being...enjoy a cupcake with me.  

So...would you like a Cinnamon/Sugar, a Banana Blast, a Gingerbread, a Chocolate, a strawberry or a Raspberry cupcake???

What's your favorite???  I'll tell you mine after I taste them all!  More Christmas goodies to come in these "25 Days of CHRISTMAS Awesome"!!


P.S.  We are driving to Arizona for my dad's memorial on Friday.  Please pray for our family as we celebrate his life.

25 Days of CHRISTMAS Awesome!

Day 1

My niece, Tawnya wrote a blog series called "30 Days of Awesome" where she shared something interesting that she experienced for 30 days.  She is an adventuresome young woman and is doing what she loves.  She is one of the editors of Snowboard magazine and gets to live out her life writing about it, experiencing it throughout the world and she looks for fun all the time!!  She decided to write about her 25 days of Christmas Awesome and I am stealing her idea.  So here goes!


I, like Tawnya love Christmas!  I like the lights, the food, the decorations, the presents (just NOT shopping for them~it stresses me out to HAVE to find the right gift), times with family, our church Christmas program, the Mission Inn at Christmas, pictures of snow and the music!  Especially the LIGHTS!!  

My first Awesome find is this little book called Christmas Classics, The Story Behind 40 Favorite Carols.  We all know the carol, Joy to the World but did you know that it was written in 1719 by Isaac Watts who is known as the father of English hymnody.  He was the first prolific hymn writer.  He wrote over 750 hymns.  Watts was punished for speaking in verse as a child.  He loved to write songs of "Christian Experience" and this is what Joy to the World was to him.  It tells of the experience that Christians everywhere eagerly anticipate.  This song is about the second coming of Christ NOT his birth like most of us think it is.  


The world should be a joyful place at Christmas, but it isn't always so.  When Jesus comes back, though, as Isaac Watts points out, the joy of the whole world will be unrestrained.  Even the rocks will sing!  Something for all of us to think about this Christmas when we sing this beautiful song!  Now isn't that Awesome??


  
Thanks to Tawnya for a great idea!  24 more days to go!!

Enjoying my hot chocolate and....

getting myself ready to wrap the presents...tomorrow!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

All about the Grandchildren!

My mom came from Arizona to see her newest great grandson, Mason.  She found out on Christmas eve, that she was a great grandma for the 4th time.  Her husband's grandson's wife had a baby boy!

The most precious present I got this Christmas!!

Dustin giving his dad a BIG hug for the new snow jacket and pants.

My fabulous daughter, Danielle with her 7 week old precious one!

Ballerina Bella...couldn't wait to try on her new tutu 

and show us how to dance like the Nutcracker!

Dylan didn't need presents!  Just bows and paper!

 I enjoyed myself so much that I only have a few pictures.  

That doesn't happen often.  

My Mom is still here.  

Dallas and Selena are getting remarried Sunday in Big Bear!  

Brrrrr...it's supposed to be a high of 45 degrees.  

That's COLD for a southern California city girl!   

I will have Bella, Dylan and my mom and GA all here until Wednesday.

Never a dull moment!  I love it! 

Lovin' the Lights!

Bella standing next to our outdoor decorations. Check out her cool Elmo slippers!

My BIL's beautifully decorated home.

Back at our house..full display on the front lawn.

It's not Christmas if I can't drive around and look at some lights. It's just a tradition that I can't let go of. Hubby doesn't get as thrilled as I do about the lights so Bella and I started a new tradition of seeing the lights together. She put on her Elmo slippers and a jacket and away we went. We saw sparkly snowmen, trains, nativity scenes, candy canes, the Mission Inn(with over one million lights), horse drawn carriages all lit up too and so much more. Nothing compares though to my BIL's lights. He goes all out and has won his city contest two years in a row now for best outdoor light display. Only 3 days until Christmas and my mom comes tomorrow! Enjoy the lights!

Isn't She Cute??

My Christmas cards are in the mail, some presents have been bought, I've had to work this week, watch the grand babies and we had our small group Christmas dinner at our house. It's been a full and fun packed week and I'm not done yet. But look what I got at our small group gift exchange...Isn't she cute??? I just love snowmen, don't you? I'm joining Kelli today at There's No Place Like Home. If you'd like to see more favorite things and do your own show and tell. Head on over to Kelli's by clicking here.

If you're stressed...just take a breath and think of me going through it right there with ya. We will get it all done; just like we always do! Have a good weekend!

Christmas Home Tour

Welcome to my first Christmas Home Tour!  BooMama is hosting this event today.  Go to her blog and see over 400 other Home Tours.  I finally got most of the house decorated and the tree up over the weekend.  I still have to finish my mantle.  I need a new garland to put up there so will show you that later.  I will also show you the outside at a later post.  So grab yourself a cup of coffee with cinnamon bun creamer(my favorite right now!) and come on in see how the snowmen have taken over!

First Father Christmas welcomes you on my dining room table.

Our manger scene that I bought many years ago at one of those Christmas in home parties. It wouldn't be Christmas without it! 

The table in the foreground is our pool table.  We use it as a table at the holidays and are expecting our small group bible study for dinner tomorrow night.

My buffet with the manger on it!

The Tree!  It looks nicer in person than this picture.  It's in a spot between the kitchen and the family room.  Our tree is full of memories.  The ornaments are from our travels, my snowmen collection, my husbands time working at Disney, handmade ornaments from the children and others, Dwight and my first ornaments, etc.  I'm not a decorator so it's not one of those fancy trees...just a down home Christmas tree and I love it!  I need a new topper though...our one of many years broke last year and I can't find anything good to put up there yet.

One of the snowmen on my tree.

An angel snowman!

A handmade snowman.

Snowmen on my mantle...it's not done yet...need some kind of garland.

My favorite snow couple...Aren't they cute?

My dining room table with my favorite old fashioned Santa welcoming everyone!

More snowmen in the kitchen!

A few more!

I've had this little guy years ago and just love him!  

He welcomes everyone as they come in the door!

My musical snowman collection from Hallmark.  The grandchildren love them!

Another snowman!

One more!

I have kept so much of my children's art work over the years and at Christmas post some of their Christmas art work on my cabinets for all to see.  My children are all in their 20's and they get a kick out of what they wrote when they were little and so do their significant others.  

This is it for today.  I hope you enjoyed my tour of Christmas at our house.  If you want to continue on your Christmas Home Tour, go by BooMama's.  Click Here. 

And theres another Home Tour here hosted by Julia.  

Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas!