Saturday, December 19, 2009

'Twas the Saturday before Christmas

So I live on the East Coast and they are calling for something blizzardy here today. I like snow... I love to watch it fall and I love the way Christmas lights sparkle against it and I love how it makes the trees seem frosted. But not today thank you anyway. Daughter1 is due home this evening, coming by train, and then of course we have to get out of our little town and down the mountain and into the train station to pick her up and that takes almost an hour on a good day. And of course she can stay put for a day but WHAAA...we want her home. Okay, done whining for the moment.

I was going to write a little something about my two days in England but I'm so caught up in all things Christmas that I think I will just say this...you can go home again. A fabulous two days spent catching up with friends...a luncheon at the magnificent Stoke Park Club, a walk down the village High Street, a browse thru Marks and Spencers, those wonderful accents, Christmas bunco fun, and then on Monday... a morning spent with the ladies from my former Bible Study group which made my heart hurt just a little for the missing...then lunch in a local pub and then I was headed home. Which is here. NJ. But its still a little bit there too. And I'm okay with that.

Now...how about some Christmas cheer? I'm very late to the party but I'm going to link up to the Holiday Home tour over at The Nesters anyway...


We are celebrating our first Christmas in this house and it has been fun to decorate and especially to see some of our Christmas ornaments and decorations that went off to storage 6+ years ago. Like my snow village....


Nearly impossible to get in a photo because we set it up on top of our kitchen cabinets this year and if you read down a bit here I mention my ineptitude at picture taking...you'll have to trust me when I tell you how cute it all is...I love it. You can't fully appreciate all the detail (like the teeny tiny skis propped up on the ski lodge) in the way you would if I had it on a table at eye level but I have a lot of pieces now and they require lots of space. In fact you can't even see the whole village in this picture...it continues around a bit further. I especially love the way it looks all lit up when you come into a dark kitchen early in the morning. I need to adjust some of the 'snow' so it doesn't look quite so boxy but I'm enjoying having it all out again.

We have two trees up at the moment and when Daughter1 arrives home later today she will decorate a small tree in her room. It is all things ballet and so adorable. We have a 6 foot tree in our sunroom


and the main tree in our family room.


I absolutely love all the windows in this house but it does make for slightly tricky photography. And if I had waited a bit to take this photo you'd most likely see two feet of snow behind the tree. Sigh. The family room tree holds all of the homemade ornaments and all of our travel ornaments. We tried to buy a little something for our tree on every trip and there were many many trips so I will not post them all...here are a few favorites...


Venezia


Scotland


Paris


and of course England...the British taxi is my favorite of all our travel ornaments


This ornament was sent to me by my sweet blogger friend Valerie and it is absolutely beautiful


Of course there is nothing like seeing the smiling face of your four year old on a Christmas tree


or in your kitchen making fudge


and yes it is approximately 7 degrees outside and Miss Sweetness is wearing a short sleeved tee...she only arrived from South Carolina on Wednesday and hasn't quite gotten with the weather program yet.

It almost makes me teary eyed to see the sweet expression on the face of my kindergartner...


which for sure should not be stuck in a snowstorm in D.C. today


This soldier sits in my foyer year round but we've made him more festive for the holiday season with the big red bow. He may just be my favorite souvenir from our years in England and he makes me smile every single time I walk by him.


And finally, a tour wouldn't be complete without a picture of my nativity set. I bought it the first year we were married and I still love it. My husband likes to say Joseph has a bit of a pituitary issue as he is just a little too tall for the stable. He's the only piece that is not original but he's okay I think.


Thanks for visiting today...May you experience real peace and joy as you celebrate this season of God's greatest gift to us...the babe born in a manger so long ago. Merry Christmas!

9 comments:

  1. Your decorations are just amazing Joyce!! I love the village on top of the cabinets. Something that is on my wish list....
    And your trees are just perfect!
    The best part though, is your daughter standing in the kitchen helping you. I can´t wait to show such a picture on my blog. :) (next week)
    Wishing you many blessings for this Christmas and a great New Year!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have a beautiful home. I love all the special ornaments. We awoke this morning to over 6 inches of snow and more on its way.
    Blessings, andrea

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joyce,

    I enjoyed the tour of your lovely home. I'm praying that daughter1 gets home quickly. Daughter2 is way too cute at the stove stirring fudge. Boy, does that look yummy!

    I love all of your ornaments. We never thought about collecting an ornament from each place we've visited until just these past couple of weeks. Bummer. I think I'm going to order some online so that we have them when we move. It's looking like our move will be at the end of March. It's not definite though.

    Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Be safe! Aren't you glad you made it out of France before the snow came! Must have followed you. I grew up in NJ and have 3 sister there. In northern Jersey, Allendale. Love NJ! Love all your ornaments, we have collected through our travels it's fun to look back and remember your travels. Have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loved your tour and I am jealous of all of your travels! Enjoy your Christmas with your girls-your house is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Loved looking at your pretty decorations. Is your eldest home yet?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing the pics -- hope everyone is home safe and sound by now!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your decorations are beautiful. I hope you have a wonderful blessed Christmas

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your home looks beautiful all dressed up for Christmas!! Our tree is the same way, with ornaments that have the girl's pictures on them. Oranaments from trips we have taken, etc. Thanks for sharing and enjoy time with your precious girls. Love & blessings from NC!

    ReplyDelete