Christmas 2011

I know I never blog anymore. I'm not sure why. But, on the off chance that someone still checks on me, I thought I would share my Christmas decorations from this year. I didn't do as much as last year when all my family came to visit. Just tried to keep it simple this time. You can see 2010's decorations here and here.

Warning:  Since this might be the only post for another month or so, I loaded it up with pictures.  :)

 A different kind of "star" this year.

 I love real trees, but artificial are so much easier.  I bought this pre-lit, flocked tree after Christmas last year.  Oh how I love Hobby Lobby's 90% off clearance sales!

 What do you think about my "J"?  Thrifted vintage boots in a beautiful blue. Too bad my calves are too fat for them to fit over.  I really want to wear them.

 Vintage aquarium (?) from an auction, vintage wagon from a garage sale and vintage bottle brush trees from the thrift.

 A child's toy pot makes a perfect candle holder.

 Vintage barkcloth in an embroidery hoop.

 Old pulleys hold the little stockings made from an antique baby blanket.

 I love to wonder what Mrs. Rose from Delight, Arkansas ordered all the way from Westfield, Mass.

 My mom has one of these angels from when she was a child.  I found this one recently at the thrift store.

 Of course I have to use some vintage Shiny Brites in my decor!

Please don't forget what Christmas is truly about.  Not fancy decorations.  Not pretty packages.  Not bright lights.  Well, except for the one bright light shining in the sky to show the way to baby Jesus.  The gift of Jesus is the reason for the season!

"And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."  Luke 2:9-10

Harvest Blessings

The rumbling of grain trucks going by reminds me that it is harvest time.  The fields that were planted and carefully tended are now reaping their bounty.  It is a wonderful time of year to be thankful for God's provision.

Our family doesn't really celebrate Halloween.  Instead, I like to celebrate the beauty of autumn and all that He has given us.

Fall colors, rustling leaves, a cool breeze, scampering squirrels, pumpkins and gourds.....

How can one not be thankful?

I wanted my fall "mantle" to reflect the gratitude of this season.

Are you enjoying this season?  What is your favorite part of autumn?

Are you able to give thanks?

{Our God has blessed the earth with

a wonderful harvest!  Psalm 67:6}

I'm linking to:

Sunday Blessings

Sunday Blessings

{Faith means being sure of the things we hope for

and knowing that something is real

even if we do not see it.  Hebrews 11:1}

Insta Friday

Good morning!  Today I want to share some of my Instagram photos with you.  Instagram is a fun (and free) iPhone/iPod app.  No, I don't have an iPhone.  My Sweet Girl won an iPod Touch last fall and I like to use it to take photos.  Honestly, I don't know how to do much else on it.  But I love Instagram!

This is what I woke up to this morning - a double rainbow!

This is from a couple weeks ago.  I thought it looked like the clouds exploded into the sky. The sky is probably one of my favorite things to photograph.

One of the highlights of my summer has been watching my Sweet Girl at physical therapy.  Our dream is for her to walk one day and she is making great strides!

Another summer favorite - homemade icecream!

We have done a lot of grilling this summer.  And by we I mostly mean my 13 (until next week) year old son.  The photo is of the 10 year old enjoy the results of the grilling.  Porkchops!

On our way to Colorado last month we made a pit stop in Omaha.  This is my 13 year olds idea of a vacation.

And this one enjoyed the jungle at the Henry Doorly Zoo. 

We had been lacking rain, so I recruited the boys to wash my van.  It rained that night!

This is our version of dining out earlier this week. We have had some gorgeous weather and wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.  It was the first time for us to use the iron patio set that I got on a "curb shopping" adventure a few weeks ago.  Yes, that means it was sitting on someone's curb waiting to be taken or hauled away to the dump.  One person's trash really is another's treasure!

Now you can hop on over and view other InstaFriday images.

{Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.  Luke 18:43}

Sunday Blessings

At a recent auction I purchased several boxes of very old books.  I hadn't planned on buying any books, but the auctioneer could hardly get a bid.  The thought of all those books just being thrown in the dumpster was too much, so I brought them home with me.

Oh what treasures! Jane Eyre, The Red Pony, a children's version of Pilgrim's Progress, a very large family Bible from 1854.......

But perhaps my favorite is A Farmer's Wife, The Story of Ruth.

This beautiful little book was published in 1906.

Are you familiar with the story of Ruth?  Even if not, you have maybe heard this popular verse:

{...for whither thou goest I will go;

and where thou lodgest I will lodge:

thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God....}

It is a beautiful story; one I grew up hearing in Sunday School.  The true depth of the story, though, wasn't revealed to me until last summer.  My husband was unemployed and our future was uncertain.  I was struggling with my faith.  What did God have in store for our family?  One day, while reading some blogs, I came across this online Bible study.

I knew I needed to participate, so I purchased the book and signed up. From the very beginning of the study I could feel God working on me.  It was a comfort to be reminded that God was with us in our trials and that He would be with us when and where we moved. I learned so much from Ruth and her faith.

Jump ahead to this spring.  We'd been in our new location for several months and I was lonely and depressed.  One day a gal from church called to see if I would like to participate in a new women's Bible study.  They were planning on doing the same study I had done last summer - Ruth by Kelly Minter.  This time I was again reminded of Ruth's faith and her strength as she struggled in a foreign land.  My heart did some healing and I developed some wonderful friendships.  For many reasons, Ruth's story has a deeper meaning for me now. 

Well, I meant to make this a short explanation of why I was excited to find the old book.  I guess it didn't end up so short.  If you haven't read the story of Ruth I would encourage you to do so.  You can read it here. 

{The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!"  Ruth 2:12}

Chippy Blue Chest

Have you ever pulled up to a garage sale and immediately spotted something that makes you giddy? It happened to me earlier this summer.  I found myself walking quickly towards the piece and thinking, "Please don't let it be sold already" and "Please don't let it be super expensive."

It wasn't sold and it was only $20!  This beautiful chippy chest was coming home with me. 

Now, I realize some people don't see the beauty in this.  Obviously, at some point this chest started to be refinished.  Did the person change their mind?  Just run out of steam? Eventually, it just got pushed to the back of the shed and forgotten?  I don't know the story, but I do know that I love it just the way it is!

 The wonderful hand-carved pulls.....

....the little extra details....the perfect blue color.

I really do love everything about it.  This chest is a wonderful addition to the master bedroom.

Do you have a favorite furniture find from this summer?

{It takes wisdom to build a house, and understanding to set it on a firm foundation; It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with fine furniture and beautiful draperies. Proverbs 24:3}

I'm linking up to Miss Mustard Seed.