I had big plans for many different posts this month
crafts, parties, new ways to decorate my house with all the blog/pinterest inspiration
then Friday the 14th happened
I just couldn't bring myself to posts about such things
sad beyond words.......
I've decided to do the "26 acts of kindness" that I've seen going around the internet to honor
innocent lives lost that day
love her blog
I'll be doing 27 (to include the shooter's mom)
I don't know her story or the logic behind her deciding to bond with her son over guns
but I do believe that she must of loved him and just
was not able to handle the obvious evilness of his mental illness
I want to do something to help and the only thing I can think to do
is to put kindness out in our world to try to counteract the evil
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today is Christmas Eve Eve
presents wrapped, baking done and movies watched
I wanted to document briefly the month in pictures
I only did one tree this year and decided to go with the traditional color
tree that had all the kids ornaments from when they were young
it just wouldn't be Christmas without it
we display our cards two ways
picture cards on magnetic chalk boards
traditional cards hanging on fishing line above the entry way to the dining room,
living room and family room
these pictures were taken the beginning of December
many cards later we were out of room
looking for something different next year....
did you see all the cute hot chocolate stations around the blog world
what a great idea
my inspiration came from one of my favorites
AWESOME
love the c'est noel banner
can I just say I wish she could come and decorate my house and plan all my parties
I just might be willing to move to make that happen
:-)
cute pillow from ikea
felt ornaments inspired by pinterest
what did we ever do before pinterest
I need to get an actual pillow insert
it's just filled with stuffing and it doesn't do it justice at all
it is so beautiful and is my favorite purchase this Christmas season
definitely check her site out
she's also on the Christmas house tour
One of my favorites
I saw this printed out on a blog and I've tried (and failed) to find the link
:-(
got my Christmas dishes out on Thanksgiving evening and we've used them
every day
makes me very happy
even though I always used traditional Christmas colors in my decorations
I find my tastes changing and I'm being drawn towards
silver, white and aqua
loving the mercury glass and brush trees
another inspiration by paige
really am in love with my dough bowl that Mike got me for our anniversary
glass ornament and snow
my parents got us this beautiful lighted church that I've put in the corner of my kitchen
it's so pretty at night
Thanks Mom and Dad, we love it
our gingerbread house
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Crafts
Mike and I did nutcrackers for grands and niece and nephew in "their signature colors"
little "holy family"
dish towels
I did several other's but either didn't get a picture or they are Christmas
presents that aren't opened yet.
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New Tree
we were hosting the family party this year and a few days before the party
we noticed our tree started turning brown
not slowly either
very rapidly
we always get our tree at Lowes and we've never had a problem
I was beginning to worry because we needed to have this tree up
for at least two more weeks
then......
the day before the party we woke up and tons (and I mean TONS)
of needles were all over the floor
Mike went up to Lowes and took one of the branches and to
our great surprise, they refunded our money and told him
to go pick any tree he wanted for FREE
Thank you Lowes
well that's all you had to tell him
he picked the biggest, freshest tree they had
our ceiling is 10 foot and he had to cut at least 3 feet off just to get it in our house
so the day before the party I'm un-decorating and redecorating
a very large tree
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Family Party
It was our year to host the Christmas party for my extended family
I didn't get alot of pictures because,
well I was playing hostess
but we did have a lot of laughs and fun memories
I can't believe I didn't get a picture of my babies Carrie and Dylan
Several of us weren't able to make it because of work, school or
being out of town
We missed you: Kelly, Matt, Makenzie, Brody, Ryan, Amber, Austin,
Daniel, Dustin and Brittany
I love spending time with my family
sharing memories and laughs
the best present you can ever ask for at Christmas
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Please remember to keep the families in New Town in your prayers
I can't imagine how they must be feeling and even though there are
not words to comfort, I know they will feel the love in our prayers