Merry Christmas~ 2010

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be be taxed.

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Believe

Remember

Worship

Rejoice

Merry Christmas

Christmas Past

These are some old Polaroids I have.

Christmas 1969.

 I would have been just about a month and a half shy of turning 4.

I was looking through these a while back when I was working on another post

 (that I never got finished, but I will!)

I was so excited to see this doll! She was my favorite doll...and I never knew that I had pictures of her!

She was very well loved. I don't know what happened to her. I do know that a couple of the neighbor girls floated her down the ditch once...but she was rescued. I'm sure I just outgrew her, and didn't know my adult self would wish I had her back!

 I loved the stroller/buggy too. Had it for a good many years as well. I think toys were a little sturdier back in the day.

Loved my kitchen set too. I think I must have gotten different pieces to it for a couple of years. I'll have to ask my mom. This is the stove. It was made out of metal. It probably came from Sears. I also had a sink set that really worked! It was awesome. And I had a cupboard that my Grandpa built for me (still have it, though it needs to be refinished).

It's fun to look at these pictures and remember playing with so many of my favorite toys.

This one is pretty washed out. But I loved this Mrs. Beasley doll! She had a pull string in her back & when I pulled the string she would say a different phrase. Wish I still had her too!

I must have been a very good girl in 1969! I got a lot of cool stuff that I had for a long, long time!  I was also the only child at this point...so I think I might have been a little spoiled.

We often had a flocked tree. I don't remember ever going to get the tree, but I do remember watching my dad flock the tree one year. I was a little older than this, but I remember sitting in the basement watching him turn the green tree into a beautiful white one! I loved flocked trees. I don't remember much about decorating our trees when I was a kid. I do remember a few ornaments.  And I do remember that we never did the decorating until around the 15th, which seemed like forever to me! I also remember my mom had these big plaster picture/plaque things. There were 3 of them, each one was one of the Wise Men. She always hung them up in the hallway. They were some of my favorites when I was a kid.

 After my grandpa passed away, my grandma would sometimes spend Christmas Eve at our house. We would always have tacos for dinner. We also used to drive around and look at the Christmas lights. Then, when we got home, we always would listen to Christmas music. My favorite was our Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer record. My brothers and I also each had a candle to burn. They were always those small, cheapo candles, that burned really fast. They are hard to find now~ Santa's, Snowmen, Christmas Trees...the idea was, once our candles were burned out, we had to go to bed.

Santa never wrapped the gifts he brought to us. I used to love to sneak out to the front room, as we called it, and try and get a peak at all the fun stuff he had left under the tree. One year, Grandma was sleeping over and she was in my room & my brothers and I were all in their bedroom. I would have been 10 or older probably. Slowly, stealthily, I crept to the bedroom door, then I got down on my stomach and painstakingly began inching my way ever so slowly past my bedroom door, past my sleeping Grandma. I was almost past the doorway when suddenly Grandma said in a clear voice; "Valerie! Get back in bed!" Try as I might, I could never get past her!

Was I stinkin' cute, or what?

 This was probably my Christmas dress~ made by my Grandma. And my hair is in ringlets. Man, those were painful! My mom could roll those curlers so dang tight! And if I didn't hold still, I might get smacked with the comb! OUCH! 

Merry Christmas

May your heart and home be filled with warm, wonderful memories of Christmas

Fa La La Finally

Finally got the tree decorated earlier this week. It looks a little sparse~ I'm thinking I need to get more ornaments. They are glass & a few have been broken over the years.  Hopefully I can find gold/ivory/blue on clearance after the Holidays.

 I have 3 different sets of ornaments that we rotate each year. This is actually my kids favorite tree.

I had this whole vision in my head of what I was going to do with the mantle this year. I lugged a big, heavy mirror in from the garage and cleaned it up. I was going to put it above the mantle...did I mention it was heavy? Anyways~ the mirror belonged to my grandma. It hung in her living room for as long as I can remember. It has some funky hanging hardware on the back and some pieces are missing & I couldn't just lean it against the wall as I had planned. So..had to scrap that idea for now.

This is my Nativity. I love it~ it's one of my favorite Christmas decor pieces.

 
And these two little guys seem to be Shane's favorites this year. We've had them for a while~ but I haven't gotten them out for a couple of years. I decided they would look cute tucked in the corner of the stair landing. When you press their hands, they bob their heads and croak a Christmas song or two. Once or twice is enough~ I'm just sayin'!

And remember last year? Me scrambling at the last minute to get things done? STRESS?  Everyone getting sick?  Well...REPEAT!!!  My stress level just went through the ceiling today.  Here's hoping I don't get sick too...(crossing all my fingers and toes)! Well...the puking child is calling for me again. (You're welcome).  And on that note~ Hope everyone has a great weekend!

*Update: Kitchen is sparkling clean and the rest of the house is reasonably so. Puker seems to have settled down for now, although not before puking in all 3 bathrooms. I love disinfecting wipes!!! They really help me keep my sanity (what little of it there is). The house is quiet and snow is softly falling outside. I've made my "to-do" list for tomorrow...and hoping that the hubby is feeling better so we can brave the crowds and finish up the shopping. I've one more bathroom to wipe up... and I have to change the bandage on the thumb that I sliced open with the cheese slicer earlier today (and it HURT) then I'm headed off to bed.
This Christmas song is currently playing in my head:

Still, still, still,

One can hear the falling snow.

For all is hushed,

The world is sleeping,

Holy Star its vigil keeping.

Still, still, still,

One can hear the falling snow.

Sleep, sleep, sleep,

'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth.

The night is peaceful all around you,

Close your eyes,

Let sleep surround you.

Sleep, sleep, sleep,

'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth.

 

Dream, dream, dream,

Of the joyous day to come.

While guardian angels without number,

Watch you as you sweetly slumber.

Dream, dream, dream,

Of the joyous day to come.

Cookie Exchange

Are you all ready for Christmas?

I'm not...haven't even started yet! WHAT???  I know, I know.

Haven't even gotten the tree decorated yet! It is up~ and has lights, but that is as far as we've gotten.

I am trying really hard to not be stressed out about all the "stuff".  And just taking things one day at a time.

Hopefully all the Merry Decor will be festively flung this weekend.

Last night, we had our neighborhood Cookie Exchange. Thanks to my brave neighbor, Heidi~ who hosts this every year.

Since I have lots of chocolate left-overs from the wedding, I decided to make something that would use some of that: Oreo Truffles.

 I use Bakerella's recipe. You can find it here: Bakerella's Oreo Truffles
They turned out pretty well. They were ugly (I'm still working on my rolling and dipping technique) but they were good! Everyone was impressed. I was less than happy with the chocolate, though. It has good flavor~ but wasn't quite the same as the molding/dipping chocolate I usually use. It didn't set up very quickly, and it has a thinner consistency than the other stuff. And I still have a whole lot of chocolate left. Maybe I'll melt it down and pour it into my candy molds~ then it will be easier to eat!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful December.

 Merry Christmas from our family to yours.