Today I'm linking on over to
Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive, 365,
A Beach Cottage and
Best Posts of the Week with pictures of my Christmas decor, family photos, and some Christmas activities!
I'm feeling pretty festive. Maybe it's because my family and I have been going to some fun-filled Christmas activities lately. A few weeks ago, our city had their monthly "First Fridays" on the main square. Vendors sold kettle corn and bbq chicken, among other goodies. Stores had huge sales. There were live re-enactments, including characters from the civil war and a live nativity scene, with donkeys and all. There was a children's choir and best of all, horse-drawn sleigh rides. It was a really fun, albeit cold, evening.
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| (Live nativity, with live donkeys and goats to the left) |
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| (Getting ready to go on the horse-drawn carriage ride) |
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| (Trying to keep warm on the open carriage ride) |
We've also been decorating and taking family pictures around the house.
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| Our fireplace and hearth |
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| Some family Christmas photos |
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| (Gettin' a little silly, As you may have noticed, our tree is very colorful and eclectic) |
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| (my tree-topper is a fiber-optic angel) |
Here are some of my favorite tree ornaments.
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| I have several Religious wood ornaments that I love |
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| I love nature, so a little birdhouse is put on the tree, too. |
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| (These are a few (of several) quilted ornaments I made several years ago) | |
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| I hang this Santa decoration in a window. I love his fluffy beard! |
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| Family photo in front of a Christmas quilt I made. |
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| A simply lit Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus on my front door. |
It seems like some years it's really difficult for me to get into the Christmas mood. I've even had a few where it didn't even feel like Christmas at all. Just no festiveness in the air, I guess. Gladly, it seems that this year will not be that way. Every time I turn around there is something or someone encouraging me to get into the Christmas-y mood.
How about you? Are you getting that Christmas cheer? Or is this a year that leaves you feeling more discouraged and un-festive? If you are the latter, I pray someone or something comes into your day and cheers you up. If you know someone who may be going through a difficult year or just has that "Ba-humbug" demeanor, pray for them. If God leads you to say something nice or show compassion towards them, do it. We all need encouragement at times in our lives, and for some, especially at Christmas.
I read this touching story on
Sharing the Journey and it made me think to look and listen. All around us people are hurting or struggling. All we have to do is let God open our hearts up to see where we can be an encouragement.
