The Long Awaited Home: 2012

Thursday, December 27, 2012

CHRISTMAS 2012

Christmas morning...

Because we spent the two weekends before Christmas having our family parties,

we decided to have a quiet Christmas

with just our little family.

While I was showering,

my family set the table with my gift.

Dishes and accessories from

Pottery Barn and Target.

I washed all the dishes and set the table for breakfast.

We had Overnight Eggnog French Toast.

Megan

Daniel

Nick

Later we had a special Christmas dinner of Filet Mignon, but I didn't take any photos.

Then some friends came over and the kids built Gingerbread houses.

We ended the day by doing something I never thought I would do on Christmas -

going to the movies.

We saw The Hobbit.

I actually enjoyed it.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

CHRISTMAS PARTIES, CONCERTS, & SNOW

We had my family's Christmas get together this weekend. The little guy above is my nephew Logan.

He's always on the move, so getting a good photo is not easy. As you can see, I didn't get one.

These lovely ladies are my niece Alisha and my daughter Megan.

CHRISTMAS SADNESS

Today I host our annual Family Christmas Party.

This year, it will be different.

Our hearts are heavy

and the tears flow

for the victims of this week's horrible tragedy in Connecticut.

I pray.

But it just doesn't feel like it's enough.

PALLET CHRISTMAS SIGN

Using an old pallet, some leftover paint, and some greens I cut, I made a Christmas sign - for $0.

THE LONG AWAITED HOME CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR

Welcome to my home!

LIVING ROOM CABIN STYLE

I have finally got some photos of the living room during the day.

SIMPLICITY (or My Boring Christmas Mantel)

I don't have a real

honest-to-goodness mantel,

but what I do have is this

fake fireplace heater thing.

CHRISTMAS COMES TO THE FAMILY ROOM

I have been having a real hard time

taking Christmas photos of the house.

The days have been gloomy,

and it gets dark so early.

CHRISTMAS SIGN & MORE fOR THE DOOR

Through my incessant blog stalking, I was inspired to make a Christmas sign to go over my front door.

Now, there are some pretty good signmakers out there (The House of Belonging for one).

I am not one of them.

MAKING THE MUDROOM MERRY

I needed something festive to decorate my mudroom. I wanted to keep it natural, and low cost. Hey, my mudroom's a real mudroom, muddy, and full of shoes, coats, wood, and mud.

This ain't your Pinterest mudroom baby.

AT CHRISTMAS, ALL HEARTS GO HOME

At Christmas all hearts go home.

We dress our windows and doors with evergreens, welcoming family and friends.

Our gaily decked homes welcome passersby too.

I'LL TAKE MY COFFEE IN A CUP

I woke up this morning to a chilly house.

I lit a fire, made a pot of coffee,

and curled up in a comfy chair

for my morning devotions.

Today was supposed to be an easy day.

It was the last day of school

before Thanksgiving break.

We were having fruit salad

with our first grade buddies.

The grocery shopping was done.

The house cleaning was done.

Then......

CHRISTMAS BEDROOM

I always wait until the day after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas.

I just really like the fall decorations for Thanksgiving - the last hurrah if you will -

before going full-out for Christmas.

But......

COPY CAT CHRISTMAS PILLOWS

Christmas Pillows!

I. Love. Christmas. Pillows.

After purchasing our new white Ikea sofa, we were in need of an ottoman for the room. This is where we watch tv, and we really like to put our feet up. We also like to put a tray on the ottoman for our coffee.