A Merry Little Christmas

I love Christmas Eve.  I love the feeling of barely suppressed excitement, of such joy.

In the midst of last minute plans and presents, I want my heart to focus on who and why we are celebrating.  We're celebrating the birth of a King.  The King of kings and Lord of lords, our Savior, Jesus Christ

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

I want to be like the shepherds who, when they heard the glad tidings and saw Jesus, told everyone about Him!  And not just this time of year, but all the year long.  Thank you Jesus for saving me and washing me whiter than the snow that is falling outside!

Update: Totally forgot about this picture!  Hank trimmed this wood circle off the bottom of our tree and I turned it into an ornament for our first Christmas together!

This first Christmas with Hank has been a joyful one.  His family parties hard this time of year, and I'm loving it!  Since Hank and I are spending Christmas day with my family, we celebrated with his family on the 21st.  We exchanged presents and watched Christmas in Connecticut.  Love that movie. *smile*  Last night we went with some of the sibs and saw the Hobbit movie.  And tonight we're getting together for their traditional Christmas Eve meal - lasagna!  We'll probably watch more movies and go to the candlelight service at their church.

Hank has a half day at work today, which I'm super excited about.  Which also means I have to run, because I need to finish sewing his Christmas present before he gets home! Yikes!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone, filled with the joy that only Christ can bring.

I'll see you next year. *smile*

What are some of your family's Christmas traditions?

Are you going to have a white Christmas, or are you dreaming of having one?

I want to know!

Snapshots

It's me!!  So, I don't really know who else it would be.  This is my blog, after all.

I've been married for 2 months now, and I still love it.  LOVE it.  What I don't love, is this sniffle/sore throat I've picked up and had since last Saturday.  So, almost a week now.  It didn't get really bad until Tuesday.  I stayed in bed all day with chills and aches.  But that's all over.  Now, I just have to deal with coughing - major "I wouldn't be surprised if I coughed my lungs up" coughing - and not being able to talk above a whisper.  Really praying about that since I'm supposed to be singing in our church's Christmas Cantata THIS Sunday.  I love to sing, and I'll be really disappointed if I don't get to.  I think the choir will be just fine without me.  They have other sopranos who can hit the really high stuff, after all.  I keep praying and giving my hoarse throat and the cantata to the Lord.  But, it's hard.

Vintage Texas-ware teacups. <3

Anyway, not really complaining...but yeah, I am.

Here's some snapshots from the past few months for you all.  Still working on picking out which wedding photos I want to share here (there are a TON). *smile*

There are doors on the cupboards, but I love looking at my dishes. ;)

I love our vintage Electrolux vaccuum - it's from the 60s!

There's a shelf over the door to the laundry room/mudroom now.

I love browsing Hank's record collection and listening.  So much fun!

My first official visitors to my new house, Kellie and Clara!

Our power went out (right as we were finishing dinner) so we spent the rest of the evening reading (ahem, at least Hank was reading;) by candlelight. :)

My "new to me" car.  I've named her Tracy.

The Bonnie dog seems to be pretty happy at her new home.  She and the cat Smudge (I'll have to get a picture of her) are getting to be friends, and she loves chasing the neighbor dogs out of the yard. *grin*

And that's all I have time for now.  I've got a kitchen full of dirty dishes.  Totally unbelievable how quickly those accumulate when you're sick.  But Hank is bringing dinner home tonight, which makes me happy.  He's so good to me.  I haven't been this cared for while I was sick since I was a little girl.  I could get used to this. *smile*

Anyone want to see a house tour vlog?
Does your power go out a lot during the winter?  What do you do when it does?  I want to know!

Cyber Monday | Free Shipping!

Use coupon code CYBERMONDAY2 to get FREE domestic shipping on your purchase of $10 or more!  Enjoy!

Black Friday | Special Offer!

Black Friday only, receive an additional 10% off your purchase of $25 or more when you use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY1!!  That's 30% off total!

Check out these other shops that are having fabulous sales...

My sister-in-law's shop:)

My friend Maria's shop:)

Both of these shops are just starting out, so let's give them so favorite love, too!

Have a happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone!

What are your favorite items from both shops?  I want to know!

New in the Shop | Thanksgiving Sale 2014

Stay tuned for sale details on the blog, twitter, and G+.

Well, you all might be ready, but I'm still working to get some new goodies in the shop before the sale starts!  Moving to a new house can cause complete chaos and confusion, especially in the crafting department.  I cannot find my crochet thread and snowflake patterns, which is still puzzling and frustrating me. 

 Despite the temporary setback, my crocheted snowflake ornaments are back in the shop.  Hooray!

So, what's new in the shop?  Embellished gloves!

Snowflake Motif // Embellished Knit Gloves // Brown & Cream 

Cute, unique (all designs are one-of-a-kind), and fabulously affordable.

Bright Flora // Embellished Knit Gloves // Green, Purple, and Coral

.....

And now, I need to get busy baking an apple pie for the Thanksgiving get together with our Bible study group tonight.  I'm also looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with Hank's family this year.  It's going to be fantastic!

.....

What's one thing (or person, or event) that you're really, really thankful for this year?

Any fun Thanksgiving traditions in your family?  I want to know!

One Month

Where shall I begin?  Just 32 days ago, the Lord made Hank and I one.

The wedding was amazing.  It was incredible...and so, so unreal.

I was the bride wearing that white wedding dress and veil, standing across from my handsome groom, committing to be faithful to him, to love him, to submit to him, for the rest of our lives.  Getting my first kiss...honestly, that was so weird.  Wonderful, but weird.  It's not weird anymore...we've been practicing a lot. *grin* And I am so, so glad that we waited until we were officially married to kiss.  Definitely worth it, ladies! 

Married life.  Like my wedding registry says, "Day 32 of Happily Ever After".  Totally loving it!  The Lord has blessed me beyond anything I could possibly deserve, or ever imagined, by giving me Hank.  I thank Him every day for bringing us together.  Running my own house, cleaning, decorating, grocery shopping, cooking, laundry...it's my joy and delight.  Sending my man off to work every morning is so hard - especially at 5:30 am - but welcoming him home in the evening more than makes up for it.  The joy of his face being the first and last I see every day.  Yes, I love being married.

I'm still waiting to get all of my wedding photos, but here are a few to tide you over...

The wedding party: Abbie (my cousin), Kellie, me, Hank, and Austin (his brother)

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."  Genesis 2:24

 ~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~

And what have all of you been up to while I've been away?  I want to know!

Time...where are you?

My word...it's been a while since I've rattled the keys and given you all an update.

And I've missed it - I've missed you.  So much.

Time.  Where has it gone?  I used to have it.  Between planning a wedding, living my current life, and preparing for my future one, I seem to have misplaced all my free time, as well as my spare moments.  You wouldn't believe how much time and energy go into planning a wedding...unless, of course, you've planned one yourself.  In that case, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

But seriously.  This is insanity!  Which is exactly why the little bride-to-be ends up in tears or fits so often - everything else is crazy, so jump on in, the water is fine!  Actually, everything is going along so smoothly.  The venue is ready, the dress is (just about) finished, the dance floor is rented, the marriage license obtained, and everything has been planned out down to the smallest detail.  I praise the Lord for that and give Him all of the glory.

This is the picture we used for our invitations.

We are less than 2 weeks away from the wedding, people!  Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!  Last time I was on here, I believe we were still about 60 or so days out.  Yikes!  Time does fly.  These past few months have been both incredibly amazing and challenging.  But mostly amazing.  Hank and I have been going through premarital counseling with our pastor.  Which has been so, so good.  You know what my greatest discovery has been during this time?  Praying with Hank and for him.  Girls, there is nothing like it.  It draws you closer to the Lord while drawing the two of you closer together on a whole new level.  And it helps to keep the focus on God.  It is so, so easy to let that focus slip.  But how can you build a relationship when there is no foundation?  "Keep our eyes on You", has become our constant prayer.  I thank the Lord for everything that He has been teaching us during this season.

Goodness, that's all the time I can spare right now.  But here are some engagement pictures to keep you all busy until after the wedding! *grin*  So enjoy, and I'll see you all soon...ish.  Sometime towards the end of October, I'm thinking. *smile*

We used this one for the back of our invitation, with the details in the middle.  It turned out so lovely.

Photo credit goes to Kellie and Alex.  Thanks, you two! :)

Photo a Day // July

O N E | Pretty much the entire church lined up for a water balloon toss at our Independence Day picnic.  Way too much fun!!

T W O |  Being engaged to the best man in the whole world is incredible.  And completely unreal still, but entirely wonderful.

T H R E E | At the beach at Jenny's bachelorette party.

F O U R | Hank's birthday!  And my first time cooking in the "soon to be mine" kitchen. :)

F I V E | Getting to zip along to church in my bro's Mazda Miata!  So much fun!  Blingy sunglasses are a must.

S I X & S E V E N |  Sheep shearing with Hank again, which is pretty much my favorite thing ever.  Just spending time with him, and getting to see some really awesome sheep setups!  This place was particularly awesome.

And these yearling rams were huge!

E I G H T | Cherry picking and pitting time.  A ring picture was entirely necessary.

N I N E | Us. *smile*

T E N | My "soon to be" niece, Annie, at Jenny's wedding rehearsal.

E L E V E N |  Jenny's wedding, which I was honored and privileged to help photograph.  I was so, so nervous!  It's a huge responsibility, photographing a wedding!  But I made it through, and although I wouldn't want a career in it, I had fun and did a pretty good job...I hope. ;)

Anybody know of to turn off auto edit on Blogger?  Because it's really irritating me the way it's messing with my pictures!

And that was my July.  Crazy, insanely busy, but so much fun.

So far, I'm still on top of the planning for my own wedding.  The invitations were ordered, arrived ahead of schedule, and will hopefully be sent out on Monday.  Kellie and I have the fabric for my dress and for the bridesmaids dresses, so we'll be starting on those soon.  And I've still got some time to figure out the cake, the refreshments for the reception, the flowers, and the dancing.  Yep, it's all coming together.  I praise the Lord for helping me to stay calm and for all of my friends and family who have been helping me with the details.

Through this all, I've really been missing my mom.  I mean, she's here and everything, but because she's still in a wheelchair and not feeling good most of the time, she can't help me with a lot of the planning.  And I miss having her help with everything, but especially with my wedding.  Kellie's mom has watched me grow up and I've always looked at her as a second mom to me.  I am so thankful for her help and advice right now.  She has so many good ideas!  So, thank you Ma, for everything.  I appreciate and love you so much.

Well, I'd better start addressing those invitation envelopes if I want to mail them on Monday!

How was your July?  Full of fun, I hope!  
Tell me how your summer has been so far.  I want to know!