Welcome to My Home

I haven't written in over two weeks! There has just been so much going on getting ready for Christmas that I haven't really had time to write....and there just hasn't been that much to say unless you want my day-to-day routine. Anyway---a lot of the women that are blogging are showing off their Christmas decorations for the Hooked on Holiday House Tours, so I thought I would do the same. Every year I add a few more things. Here is my home:

My Nutcracker collection. They all sit on my buffet in the entry way of the house. I try to buy at least one new one every year. And, my mom gets me a new one every year as a gift too!

This is my new one that I bought. I liked it b/c its different from any other one I've seen.

These are my LARGE nutcrackers. I bought my first one in high school at Mervyn's the day after Christmas. Its the red and blue one. I think my mom bought the rest of them over time.

This is my new nutcracker from mom this year. I think it might be more for Kenny than me. ;) Its a police officer!!!

I have two trees every year and this one sits in the den. This is the fun one with ALL the ornaments I can find to put on it. A couple years ago, mom gave me all my ornaments from growing up at home, and they now all go on this tree. I can't say which is my favorite b/c they all have some kind of meaning, but I added a few pictures of some of the ornaments. I wish I could put them all on here, but that take FOREVER!

This is my nativity ornament...if you look closely, you can see Joseph (on your right) and Mary and Baby Jesus in the center.

The rest of the den has an assortment of decorations. They have everything that has to do with Christmas. I bought a new advent house and it will probably go in the den next year.

I actually keep this angel and glass box up year round b/c I think she is so beautiful, but they were actually meant to be for Christmas. The block says, "Wise Men Still Seek Him." I keep it up year round as well, reminding me at all times that the wise still seek Him.

Next to the angel is this beautiful and festive new addition!!! My mom gave me this the last time I was home. I love it!!! It definitely gets me in the spirit when I look at it. :) And after Christmas, I get to take that big log to Kenny's wood burning stove! I love that thing!!! It makes his living room SO warm!!!

And, right next to that the log I have this. I love these Pottery Barn candles!!! They are hard to take pictures of b/c the flash makes them very shiny....but I love them. All three of these things sit on my fireplace. If I had a mantle...it would make my fireplace PERFECT!!!! And since I don't have a mantle, I have to hang my stockings from some shelves. :(

This is Kenny's stocking!!! YAY!!! I am so glad it finally belongs to someone....and he is the PERFECT someone for me!!! :) His reindeer ornament is from my mom. Its too heavy for his little tree, so I "stole" it and put it with his stocking. He asked me why my mom andI like elk so much...THEY ARE REINDEER!!!! NOT ELK!!! They can be elk the day AFTER Christmas!!!

And this is my stocking! The ornament that is hanging with it is also too heavy for my tree. Its from Pottery Barn and has a reindeer inside the glass ball.

This book is from my grandma and sits between our stockings.

My mom painted the two little pictures above. You can see the "Joy" one, but the other one glared from the flash. Its red with an abstract, gold Christmas tree. And the church is my ornament from my parents this year. It plays "Silent Night" sung by ELVIS!

Then as you walk from the den into the dining room this is probably what you would see first:

This is the centerpiece on my dining room table. Its an idea I got from Pottery Barn.

This is one of my Nativity Scenes I have. This one sits on the built in hutch in the dining room. I love it b/c each piece is so tall. What you can't see are the 3 wisemen and the shepherd off to the side. I only bring this one out at Christmas.

From the dining room, I take you into the formal living room. This is where I put all the "pretty" things and make everything coordinate.

This is my second Nativity. This one actually stays out all year. Its a reminder that everyday of our life, we should celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ, God Himself, came to this earth as a human, solely, to die for us so that we can be reconciled to God the Father. That is worth celebrating everyday and not just waiting until December.

And finally my tree!

And my cutie little tree topper...again from Pottery Barn (LOVE day-after-Christmas shopping!)

And, always my favorite, is my tree lit up at night! One of my favorite things about my house is that there is a HUGE window that faces the street! I love it so much that I can have my tree there every Christmas!

Now that you have seen all of my treasures from my favorite holiday, here is my imperfection. I love looking at everyone's Christmas decorations...and I have to say that I get a little jealous of the decorating bug that some people have. I wish I could put things together like they do. What I have realized is that I CAN put them together...I just don't have that visual talent they have. I am so thankful that God gives us all different talents and gifts....and that we can teach people, take things from others, learn from them, and use them in our lives. I am thankful for all the people who blog their Christmas decorations so I can see them in real life....I get wonderful ideas and it will help as I am "day-after" shopping. This is my favorite holiday....I love the music (which I honestly listen to NON-STOP from Thanksgiving until Christmas), I love the food, the get-togethers, going to see The Nutcracker, visiting family, buying presents, receiving presents, going to look at Christmas lights, and just the warm and coziness you feel going to other people's homes. Its all fabulous!!! So, no matter what little imperfections I am about to share with you, I have to remember that they build character and it just means we live real lives. :)

My first is that my "fun" tree with all the ornaments has no lights this year. I even plugged them in to make sure they worked before I got them on the tree....but guess what? Once on the tree, the decided not to work. So, there are no pretty lights on that tree. My solution is to find orange ones since I bleed orange! ;)

The second is my reindeer on top of my piano need to be cleaned. I haven't had time. Christmas snuck up on me this year and I just haven't had the time (or made the time) to clean the silver. But they are beautiful and I love them! I so badly wanted to buy them when they first came out at Pottery Barn , but there was NO way I could afford them. My mom and I were shopping at Hobby Lobby one year and there they were!!! And in my price range! I absolutely love them!

And, my favorite story of all!!! The magic of taking pictures is that you only get to see what I want you to see. I bought my first pre-lit tree when Ruger was 1.5 years old. Now, that is definitely still considered a puppy...or a 10.5 year old kid, right? Anyway---I had it up and it was so pretty and I was so excited....and then I came home from work one day....

The bottom portion of the tree wasn't working...I looked and looked to find the problem. The problem was my puppy had decided to chew on one of the lights. Thankfully it wasn't plugged in...however, I never found the bulb! So as you can see from below...my wonderful dog and the tree where only 3/4 of the lights work!

I love the imperfections of life. It gives us areas to grow. It shows our weaknesses and that we are human and can only do things through Christ. It reminds me that I am fallend and need a Savior! It reminds me that I can ask others for help. They love extending grace to me just as much as I love extending it to them. I love my home b/c its mine. I love my decorations b/c they have meaning...and as I get older, they will change and I will continue to add.