Well if they can keep their Christmas lights up...

As I drove home from work last night and saw the strands of Christmas lights STILL lining some trees on our block, I couldn't help but think - "Hey I can post about Christmas on my blog, if they can still keep their Christmas lights up!" I know, I know, I'm ridiculously behind on updates. But the thing is, I've been pretty tied up with some other personal matters and blogging has not been one of my top priorities right now.

AND what with Facebook, I figured everyone has already been inundated with Christmas photos ;-0

Anyway - let's begin.

You know that tender Tennessee Christmas I was hoping for? Well we woke up to snow Christmas morning and it couldn't have been more magical!

We must have gotten close to 6-7 inches maybe? It was breathtaking all around us.

The icicles hung so far off the house, that we could break them off and give them as treats to the boys.

The property did not have a fence, so the boys enjoyed some rare roaming privileges wandering through the forest.

And Seven loved the snow so much that he would literally roll around in it like it was grass.

A few different times Jason would take the boys down to a nearby kids camp that was closed up for the season and get some of their energy out.

And then later that afternoon he would soothe his muscles by sitting for hours in the hot tub out back with his brother-in-law Scott.

The guys surprised us with a little tree, which Grandma set right away to decorating and the rest of us filled up with presents!

The house was so cozy! It was better than we could ever imagine and had every amenity we could ever ask for! You can see Grandma and Sherry working the puzzle in the living room below.

And while the women puzzled, the men played a few rounds of golf (cards that is).

For most of the family, it was their first white Christmas ever! I believe this is Jason's self-portrait snowman he made.

Jason made this little guy on the front porch railing outside our bedroom. I woke up every morning to this tiny snowman and he held steady until we departed our final day. How cute is that carrot nose?

Kelley's Boston snowman.

Christmas morning snuggles with Jeep. He was pretty distraught most of the vacation since we had a fire continuously going. He is terribly afraid of fire and had to stay behind the couch where he couldn't see it.

I married a nut.

Jeep & Seven conked out from a long day playing in the snow.

Jason said he would build me my own cabin someday - so he got started right away on the prototype.

Seriously, how cute are my boys? They are inseparable and the best ever!

It was a wonderful time and I hope that we can spend another Christmas there in the future!

A Tender Tennessee Christmas

My first Christmas album (and only Christmas album) was Amy Grant's first Christmas CD when it came out in 1993.

On that CD, track # 1 is the song Tennessee Christmas. I would listen to that song over and over again and see that picture of the album cover and dream that one day I could experience something similar to "a tender Tennessee Christmas".

Here I am 17 years later and experiencing my 2nd Tennessee Christmas in a cabin out in the Smokey Mountains. Isn't it funny how God puts dreams in your heart so early and then years later are realized? Amazing.

This Christmas Jason's family will be joining us at a cabin in Coker Creek, Tennessee out in the Smokey Mountains for 5 glorious days! And with the way our winter's been going so far, we might even have a chance to see some snow!

Back in early August, we booked a beautiful cabin called the Phoenix in Newport, Tennessee.

Two months later on November 18th we got a phone call from the owner of the Phoenix that their cabin had burned down!! The ironic thing is, the cabin was named the Phoenix because it had been built on the foundation of another cabin that had burned down years earlier. Coincidence? Hmm....

So that left us in a huge rush to find another cabin to accommodate all 7 of us, was available over Christmas with the late notice, needed to be pet friendly and yet not be overly expensive in their rates.

Then we stumbled across Windy Ridge in Coker Creek, Tennessee. A beautiful 3 bedroom, 3 bath cabin with a cozy living area, gorgeous kitchen, a hot tub and wood burning fireplace. I AM PUMPED. I envision a lot of puzzle making, book reading, lazy mornings with hot biscuits and jam, hot apple crisp baking in the oven and watching fun holiday movies while sipping hot peppermint cocoa cuddled up with loved ones.

10 days and counting!

House for Sale....no not mine!

LeeAnn Rimes is selling her house in Franklin, TN if anyone's interested.

Walnut plank hardwood floors.

Private dance studio

Guest House

Home Theatre

Infinity Pool

Only listed for a measly $6,250,000.

13,310 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms and situated on 5 acres.

Wowzas. Any takers?

Do you Advent?

I think there is just something so fun about an Advent Calendar. I grew up with the candy ones that had the little molded chocolates inside and thought they were so fun to open through out the month of December.

Jason and I have a cute little painted wood one that I picked up from Old Time Pottery and I like to fill it with peppermint & chocolate candy. But lately, I've seen some Advent Calendars that I am just drooling over and would love to make myself for my own family someday.

How fun are these?!! This one is homemade by Scrapbook Dimensions.

And I love these two from Pottery Barn:
And there's even a whole group on Flickr with some seriously cute homemade Advent Calendars that you should check out here.