Have a Blessed Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve and our thoughts are on the Little Lord Jesus away in a manger, the song for this post.   I often think, what if they had all celebrated the King's arrival, knowing who He would be.  He would have been adorned with the finest linen and lace.

One day I created a canvas in linen and lace and used papers with scripture to create his gown.  A little crown is on His head and tiny jewels are on this collage of love.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, 
and the government shall be upon His shoulder, 
and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, 
Mighty God, Everlasting Father (of Eternity), Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6, Amplified Bible.

My gift for you this Christmas Eve is a print of our little Lord Jesus in a manger I created out of fabric and paper.  This collage is made into an 8" x 8" print for you.  You can print this out on paper or card stock and it will print on an 8.5" x 11" or 8" x 10" paper.

The name of the file is Advent Calendar Day 24, Christmas Eve.

You can download your file here.

Today is day 24 of our Christmas Countdown.  Please take home any artwork on this post as my Christmas present to you tonight.

The Wonder of Snow through a child's eyes

 The look of wonder on a child's face when he sees snow.

It makes you smile and reminds you to stop and love the little things.

 We started to decorate the Christmas tree, when we noticed it had started to snow.

RJ ran to the door and was so excited.

He just can't wait to build his first snowman and take a ride on a sleigh.

What a lovely memory to have, a bit of snow outside the window as we decorate the tree.

It doesn't get any better than this.  Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a two year old is priceless.

Today is day 22 of the Christmas countdown.  Please take home your countdown artwork as my gift to you for stopping by.

I will remember this scene, reminding me to embrace the little things with the joy of a two year old.

Christmas Ornaments, the keeper of our memories

There is something so charming about a Christmas tree on top of a car. We bought our tree last week,

Favorite ornaments aren't just ornaments,

they are the keeper of our memories.



Each year as I select an ornament to hang on the tree,  I walk back through time

and recall the meaning of each ornament.

Christmas ornaments...



they decorate our tree, they decorate our memories, and light up our life and hearts,

and they remind us of lovely memories.

The Christmas tree, the keeper of our memories.

Today is day 21 of the Christmas countdown.  Please take home any images from this post as my gift to you for stopping by.
The song for this post is Tannenbaum, my mother's favorite Christmas song.

A Perfectly Imperfect Christmas

Just a few more days until Christmas and I have to confess, I didn't manage to create the perfectly decorated home this year.  I have laid down my quest to be like Martha Stewart, do every perfect thing found on Pinterest, bake Christmas cookies and join blogging Christmas home tours.

 It was weighing heavy on my heart the other day that my usual Christmas "To Do" list wasn't going to get done.  Until I went out to dinner with daughter, Sarah and my son-in-law, Mike.
I had such a fun time with them, and it made me think about what is really important.

I awoke yesterday with a lighter list to do and instead took a drive with my daughter Ashley and Grandson, RJ.  Even though we had set out to find something fun to do with him, and possibly find a new tree to replace our ugly tree this year, we didn't because he fell asleep.  So, instead we drove to some Christmas tree places, had a wonderful conversation and realized that our tree was just fine.

When we returned, we didn't decorate the tree, we didn't do any of the things that I had on my list.  Instead we packed the car with Ashley, Ricky, RJ and Brayden and headed for Edenville to see the Festival of Lights.  I will share the photos with you tomorrow.

All that I can tell you, is that when I saw the look of my Grandson's face as we rode on the train through the Festival of Lights and watched as little Brayden swayed to the Christmas music, I knew that this was what was most important.

Today is day 20 of the Christmas countdown.  Please take home any artwork from this post that you might enjoy.  The song for this post is sung by Amy Grant, Grown-up Christmas List.  It make my cry when I heard the message again.  More than anytime before, we need the message in this song.

The Magic of Winter

Christmas waves a magic wand over the world,

and behold everything is softer and more beautiful.

Norman Vincent Peale

Today is Day 19 of the Christmas countdown.  Please take home any image or artwork from this post as my gift.

The song for this post is a Winter lullaby.  The photos on this post were taken by me, but I have a lovely board of Winter Inspiration on Pinterest.  So, if you would like to fall under the spell of Winter Enchantment, please stop by.