Betsey II Adorned and Miss Darcy

Just a few pics!

Here's just a few pictures!

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens Christmas Lights!

A "Magical" Winter Wonderland

"Sleigh bells ring"...well, it wasn't really sleigh bells; it was bells the carolers had.
"Are you listening? In the lane snow is glistening"...okay, it wasn't snow either...but
it was thousands of "merry Christmas" lights!
"A beautiful sight, happy tonight...walking in a winter wonderland!" And it was!!!
A beautiful sight and a winter wonderland....and it is at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in
Belmont, NC...not too far from here!

It's a "must see"! It does cost...$12 a person but it was worth it! You can walk around outside and inside. You ride a tram through much of the gardens and it's just plain FUN!

Delicious hot cider, cocoa, or coffee and Christmas cookies and other treats are available and it's perfect after being out in the cold, freezing weather.

Check it out on the web and GO!

PS...didn't have my camera...bummer! But our friend took some pics on his Iphone but I'm having difficulty getting them to my blog! Am such a computer wiz here...maybe I can figure it out later!

Whew!

Now I almost feel as though I can sit back and relax a bit since my main Christmas "responsibilities" are done! I mean the things I was in charge of....still have PLENTY of activities coming up but it seems all "down hill" now!
Nutcracker stuff next week, church Christmas party, get-to-gethers with friends and family...
all good fellowship.
Tomorrow I'll have a special time with "my" girls...our daughters/daughter by marriage too, while Mike will do something with our son. Just "all us girls" will be a first having our daughter by marriage join us and we are SO looking forward to our time! (Have wonderful daughters AND sons for that matter!)
Sunday after church we decorate Mike's parents' house and then meet friends for the Stowe Botanical Gardens' Christmas tour and dinner at Sammy's in Belmont!
Just gets better and better!
It's a "Merry Christmas..Merry, Merry Christmas" time!

What a Thursday!

Yesterday was one "fun-filled" day! It was the Weddington Park Assisted Living Christmas party hosted by our church and then book club last night!

It all went very well and the residents were so appreciative. We had Christmas goodies, stockings, candies and then they made Christmas crafts. Twelve of us from church served them, encouraged them and helped them with their crafts. It was wonderful to see them all just jump in and really love on the Treasures. Had three teens to come and I was so proud of their mingling and their eagerness to serve. It couldn't have been better!

Sharing a few pictures....

Our Nativity

For years I wanted a special Nativity. I could see it in my mind and heart but just never could actually find it. Oh, we've had several over the years that found their way to other homes but never the one I envisioned.
A few years ago I read Jan Karon's Shepherds Abiding from the Mitford series and all the talk of the Nativity Father Tim was restoring for Cynthia, his wife, (read it! the whole series is great!) just awakened my "dream" Nativity.
One day a couple of years ago I was out and about and running low on time, I decided to quickly run in a Family Christian Bookstore to pick up a few small gifts. Actually I really just wanted to go on home but something or Someone was "tugging" on me so I went inside. As I entered the door my eyes quickly went to the right and there it was! "My dream Nativity"!
I practically ran to it and could hardly believe my eyes. I didn't see another like it and found a sales clerk, only to discover that was the very last one...the VERY LAST one! He packed it ever so carefully for me and I brought it home and immediately set it out.
This isn't a very good picture and one day I'll get a better one but here is some of it. It's on the sofa table at the front window in our livingroom. I have tiny white lights around it hidden by fresh pine and cedar. The first year I put it up, it came down with all the other Christmas decorations but for some reason last year I left it out...all year.
Had a preacher long ago who said that we should leave something "Christmas" out all through the year to remind us of the Spirit of Christmas...the true meaning. You know, like Ebeneezer Scrooge,
who promised to keep the spirit of Christmas in his heart all year and according to Dickens, he did!
So our nativity no longer gets put away but stays in a place of honor all year through. It reminds me of God's unconditonal love for all mankind and that I should aspire to show that kind of love to all who come across my path...and especially to my family, who sometimes, unfortunately see the worst of me but are also growing in that unconditonal love.
We all need to be reminded.
Well then, what part of Christmas will you leave out?

Christmas Reflections Day 2

Two of our Christmas trees this year, the bigger one in our den and the other in our livingroom.

I turn them on every morning when I first get up and usually keep the den one on all day.

It's geared to the Grands with the Peanuts gang on a sled, a stuffed Santa and reindeer, Charlie Brown and Snoopy with the famous "Charlie Brown" tree and a piano that plays the theme from Charlie's Christmas show and my favorite one...my musical bears...all under and around the tree.

And yes, that's exactly where all the Grands head when they come. Christmas trees have a "magnetic presence" about them, I do believe. At least they do on me!