A Peaceful Quiet Christmas!

         I'm sure everyone has been as busy as I have preparing for this holiday. All of the shopping and wrapping and cooking.....then in the blink of an eye it is over! So I hope everyone is able to take tomorrow, and simply slow down and enjoy being together. Being with those we love that's what makes Christmas special.

Tonight I'm happy to say has been a quiet evening for my husband and I.  Having a glass of wine and remembering great times when we were young, and believed in the magic of Christmas. Time goes so fast, so each and every moment we can come together as a family, should be treasured.

I wanted to also share a wonderful blessing our family has received this season. My father who was diagnosed with lung cancer 3 years ago was told he only had a year to live. He had suffered through chemo several times and then a few months ago developed shingles. He grew weaker and weaker each year. Recently his doctors discovered he was able to start taking a new drug. A drug that some are calling the miracle pill. Two months ago his tumors were 4cm and growing. This week we learned that they are now only 1cm!!!!!!!
He looks better and feels better. I hope and pray this works and he can regain his life. Thank you Jesus....no gift could have been better!

Some of us were brave enough to wear our Christmas sweaters haha!!

My precious elves!

From my family to yours I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

Last Minute Insanity

           On Monday I finally mailed out my last order for Christmas! Whew where did December go?
So now I am trying to get everything finished in time for our family celebration which is on December 23rd. Since I am running out of time and energy I have hired a cleaning service to arrive on the morning of the 23rd. What a treat to myself that I am really excited about. This will allow me to prepare dinner and do last minute decorating for the evening. I may actually have a moment for a glass of wine and a new book I've been given by a sweet blog friend.
So today I have to finish my shopping and wrapping. But I must admit I may have to resort to giving something I truly dislike to give, gift cards and money. I love the line I heard on Monday night from the TV show Mike and Molly. Actor Reno Wilson who plays officer Carl McMillan says to Mike "you know what a gift card says? " "It says here you do it" haha!! That's how I feel, it doesn't have the same impact a gift someone spent the time to find and wrap does. But since time has never been my friend I may have to gift a few out to my family. I have to share what my Mother use to say to us when we would tell her what we wanted for Christmas as adults.....she didn't care!! She believed the joy was in shopping and selecting the gift you wanted to give,and we were always happy because it came from her heart.
I found some great ways to give money at a favorite web site called Under the Table and Dreaming.

I think these two ideas are just to cute. Stop by there if you too have run out of time and perhaps energy for several more ideas.

How about orange blogspot

I actually used this because while we were wrapping I did run out of tags. How About Orange is my go to web site for printable mailing labels and now gift tags too. She has the best site for tons of great printable items. I thought this was much easier and cheaper than buying any more.....well until the day after Christmas clearance sale that is! If you have a sticker machine it makes it easy peasy to then apply them to your packages.

Now for a last minute food gift idea check this out from Six in the Suburbs Blog. They have many many more ideas for just about anything you might need or want.

I am so sorry that I haven't been able to come up with an original thought or idea this year. But I haven't been this busy before and I must say thank you to all of my customers for making this a wonderful holiday season. I do plan to be back on before Christmas day to visit and to perhaps post a few family moments.

So now I'm off to the mall to finish up........I hope!!

I

A Fun Twist On A Gingerbread House

         While I had a moment and was blog hopping I discovered a really great alternative to the traditional gingerbread house.This came from a sweet blog called Big Little Tales. This was actually from December 2010,but I thought it was so cute I just had to share it.

 A Swiss Cake Roll is the main part part of this this darling little cottage. I just love the little peanut butter cup planter to the side. This is a perfect project to make with my five year old grandson this week.

 Easy,yummy and simple....the best ingredients!!

Some Dreamy Craft Ideas

              I have been so busy filling orders ( I feel like Santa with no elves)and trying to squeeze in some time to enjoy the season with the kids that blogging has been terribly neglected........I am sorry.... tis the season to run out of time and money........falalalala! Recently while I was trying to catch up with friends and family on Facebook I noticed one of my favorite web sites had some more great holiday decor ideas.

I know I've told you all about my passion for paper crafts,so this lighted paper snowflake wreath really caught my eye. This can be found at a wonderful web site called Under The Table and Dreaming. Stephanie Lynn always has so many great craft and gift ideas. I love to go there and dream with her.

Since as usual I'm short on time I thought these would be a quick and easy craft to make. I love giving and receiving homemade gifts every year. They just seem to mean more since someone took the time to work on something just for me.
Most everyone loves snowglobes. I know I fell in love them years and years ago during a Shirley Temple movie. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was Heidi. Those movies were wonderful and always made me cry.
The simple idea of using an inexpensive snowy Christmas tree gives them so much charm.I always have tons of ideas each year of what I plan to make, and as usual I never have time to complete it all. This however I think I can, since I have all of the necessary items on hand. My husband and I for some silly reason save jars. Some jars have such unusal shapes that we find it difficult to toss in the garage bin.Yes we are pack rats!!

I think these would make great gifts for anyone on your list.Hummm I feel a late night craft session in my very near future.