Monday, December 22, 2008

Merry Merry

Merry Christmas, dear friends. May the Hope that came to us, in the sweetest and smallest of all packages, be yours. It is a Forever gift. Eternal.

I wanted to share a few photos of our home this Christmas, as well as share our favorite Christmas traditions. May all your Christmases be bright.

Deck the Halls. Our home this year:

Our Traditions:
Our kid-friendly Advent calendar:
A kid's tree, featuring their own precious creations and ornaments:
The ugliest Christmas bag. Each year one lucky recipient gets their gift in the ugly reindeer bag:
Brown paper packages tied up in string. This is how we wrap all of our Christmas presents; practical and stunning under the tree:
Grapefruit ornaments, dried each year:
Waiting for the baby Jesus. When the kids come down the steps each morning during Advent, we ask, "Did the baby Jesus come yet?" Our manger stays empty until Christmas morning. (Poor baby is currently hold-up in the top drawer of our buffet.):

Waiting for Him, in Christmas Joy!

May you have a blessed Christmas!! Merry Merry Christmas!

15 friends had a thing or two to say...:

Kim@Seasons of My Heart said...

Thanks so much for inviting me over, and I truly enjoyed sitting a spell....taking in the beauty and warmth of your home.

Blessings to you...and your's this blessed Christmas.

Christine said...

Oh I love your Christmas home! We do that with the manger as well!

I hope you and your sweet family are having a wonderful Christmas season! Hugs and Merry Christmas! =O)

Anonymous said...

Oh, how beautiful! Thank you for allowing us to visit!! Love the wrapping paper - you are right- simple and stunning! And I will have to try the dried grapefruit ornaments next year, looks wonderful! I have put our baby Jesus away too, although I did have him out last week because I hadn't seen "him" in two years - the kids love going to look and see if he has arrived yet.
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! Meme
Merry Christmas

Flamingo said...

looks beautiful!

i don't think the reindeer bag is ugly! ;)

merry christmas dear friend!

Jessica said...

What a beautiful home! Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Tessa said...

Merry Christmas Darlene! I love your house ... I also love the wrapping paper - what an awesome tradition! I also like the dried grapefruit too ... so simple and fun! Have a wonderful holiday!

Jenny said...

Your home looks beautiful all decorated for Christmas! So warm and inviting! I love your idea of hanging dried fruit on your tree!

I hope you and your sweet family have a wonderful Christmas!

CarJax said...

Beautiful Darlene! Merry Christmas to you and your sweet ones! Jax in AK

Tammy said...

Your pictures of Chistmas in you home are beautiful.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Mrs.Naz@BecomingMe said...

OK, you sreiously live in my dream home...I've always wanted a stone home. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas

Laura said...

The snow is beautiful and so is your home! I can just imagine how lovely it all was on Christmas morn...

Here's to carrying Christmas in our hearts all year long!

Unknown said...

I'm just getting to your blog, I've been behind:) Love your house! It's beautiful! And I love the dried grapefruit on the tree! I might give that a try next year:)

Jennifer @ JenniferDukesLee.com said...

Oh, how wonderful for you to share these photos! I love the ornaments, the empty manger (just as you had shared with my earlier), the reindeer bag, the simply-wrapped gifts. ... I hope your Christmas was as lovely as it looked in the pictures.

Heather Palacios said...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Your Christmas is so different than mine, down here in hot, humid, sunny Florida. But looking at all your pix was a nostalgic walk down the lane of my childhood, growing up in Chicago. Thx for this wonderful post.

Joyeful said...

Beautiful!! LOVE the kid's ornaments and the dried grapefruit! What a GREAT idea! We hide baby Jesus and Thad has to find him.

Sponsor a child in Jesus' name.