Scenes from the Holidays

The Twelfth Day of Christmas is rapidly approaching which means the ornaments will soon be taken off the tree, carefully wrapped and packed away for another year.
 

 I'm an ornament person and I can sit and stare at them on the tree for hours

I'll miss the sparkle and the sweetness of them

I'll miss these too

 The Kitchen Witch

 the kitchen carolers

the Kindels Bakerkins.  This little fellow's name is Batter

 and the house lights.  I wouldn't mind keeping lights up all year but my neighbors would label me as the weirdo in the neighborhood (although there is a house that's had a giant Christmas gingerbread house in their front garden for over a year now).

Here are some things from the Christmas season that I enjoyed.

My Jesse Tree - Out of the stump of David's Family will grow a shoot - Isaiah 1:1

Instead of an Advent Wreath this year I had a Jesse Tree


 A Jesse Tree is similar to an Advent wreath in that you are celebrating the coming of Jesus.  For the 25 days prior to Christmas you will discover and celebrate Jesus' lineage as well as Jesus himself

There's all sorts of ways to make your Jesse Tree.  I cut down a little scrub juniper in my woods.

I put it in a small vase and set that inside a larger vase with lights around it







I decorated it with some ornaments I made when I was in Junior High School


Each day there was an ornament to add as I had my quiet time.  These beautiful ornaments came as a gift with a very special devotional book.



"The Greatest Gift" by Ann Voskamp was a beautiful book that lead me on a daily journey during the Advent season, the coming of Christ.

 

 

 

 Jim and Amy sent us this sweet wreath

 It's a Partridge Berry Wreath.  It's the prettiest little thing and I have never seen one before.  You set it in a little water and every few days spritz the leaves with cold water.  Mine has lasted since before Thanksgiving and it still looks great.

It would be perfect to set a red candle in the middle of it but I thought it looked cute all by itself on this old cake stand.


Office Christmas Decorations

Hunt Oil always does a knock-out job on decorating our building during the holiday

 

 giant toy soldiers welcome us at the door

 

 

 
the wreath on the parking garage

 the wreath in the lobby

 flower arrangements in the Commons (where we eat)

 

and these icicle balls, bursts, what ever you choose to call them are all over the building; and they are ginormous

The first week in December brought us an ice storm

looks like a pretty snow but it was solid ice

 our driveway was an ice rink

 we were iced in for four days

I loved every minute of it.