Two Parties, A Mani and A Pedi, Shopping Completed and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Well, maybe not a partridge in a pear tree, but there is definitely a squirrel in the fig tree.  An evil squirrel chewing our Christmas lights off the strand.   Shocking?   I hope so, I really do.

Yesterday was a big day for me.  I went to boot camp, ran errands in town and then drove to Bellingham to finish my Christmas shopping at Lowes, Joann's Fabric, Bellis Fair Mall, Target, and Micheals.  I think I am finished shopping.  {Squeal}

Then I went to A Christmas Party, Party of Two, please! with Emily.  It was our annual pedicure party.  Emily tripped in right behind me.  We laughed, got caught up, had our toes painted a glittery Christmas red.  A wonderful seasonal tradition with Miss K.  We didn't ask for any pictures to be taken, neither of us are making December Daily albums this year.  Last year the girl that was trying to take our photo kept taking shots of her eyeball instead of us.  We giggled and snorted over that incident and decided not to repeat it.  I had a manicure and drove to my next party.

It was a holiday home tour/craft night with Shelly at Holly's Holiday Home.  Holly and Brian do beautiful work creating a winter wonderland at their house.  We toured, oohed and aahed and then got crafty.

 Shelly got busy with her cream silk shorts that she bought from Nordstroms in the 1980's and never wore... they are being recycled into a curtain valance.  Is that a recycle or an up cycle project?  Either way, it is turning out beautifully.  Whimsical even.

Holly had a bowl of burnt out bulbs.  They got a makeover with mod podge and Martha Stewart glitter.

I was crafting and sipping on a glass of wine.  It was difficult though, I kept getting distracted by Holly's Christmas decorations.

Meanwhile, Holly kept glittering and Shelly kept cutting up her shorts.

I made bookmarks.  I had received the green one as a gift.  With ribbon, beads and some baubles I quickly made four bookmarks.  I brought an easy project because I knew my attention span would be handicapped with wine sipping and Holly's pretty Christmas decor.  And it was.

 I used mod podge and ripped paper on a letter P.   I later glittered the edges.  It's part of a bigger project.  A much bigger project that involves many, many Pinterest projects and repainting half of our house.

I'm working on Christmas 2013.  Of course.  

Because I have nothing better to do before December 25, 2012.  Bahhahaha.

And then I was distracted by Holly's cabinet.  Again.

Holly gave us a bag of glittery bulbs to take home.  Shelly and I were happy that Holly shared with us.  We learned a valuable lesson... to save our burnt out bulbs.  Is that a recycle or upcycle project?

Today Sam flies in from Fort Bragg.  

But it's not going well, his flight was delayed so he missed the next flight in Charlotte, NC.

Today Max drives home over Snoqualmie Pass.

But it's not going well, there is a lot of snow.

Thus begins the Christmas Travel 2012 Saga.

Max will get to Seattle way too early to wait for Sam.

Sam doesn't know when he is arriving, besides later than planned.

Max is going to just come home.

Sam will get booked on the Airporter to get to Lynden.

Which he does NOT like, at all.

It's never easy to travel at Christmas

Praying for safety, patience and that we can make it worth their while.

I'm cooking a big pot of split pea soup and baking some bread for dinner.

They love that combination.  I hope they get here for dinner...

A ReALLY BIG WeeKeND

Hubby and I had dinner with friends on Friday evening to celebrate my birthday.  I was fussed over and spoiled.  Saturday evening we went to the Black Forest to celebrate my brother's 50th birthday.  On Sunday Hubby and I hosted the Dykstra Christmas party.

Whew, I think I need a diet and a nap!

For the party on Sunday I found old pictures of our Christmas parties, starting in 1958, and some pictures of our grandparents before that time, which I used as centerpieces.  We had a good time looking at the old pictures.  I never knew I looked like my Grandma Clara until it was pointed out to me yesterday.

I didn't get any photos of the kids yesterday because they were busy playing and hitting the Christmas goodies table.  

We saw pictures with Cranberry Fluff on the table from many years ago.  Our menu is the same every year.  Turkey, ham, meatballs, potato casseroles, cranberry fluff, hot vegetables, fruit trays, veggie trays and rolls.  For dessert everyone brings Christmas goodies including ollie bollen, almond tarts, cookies and bars.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

Today I am going to complete my Christmas shopping, drink a lot of Emergen C, and go to two parties!

Tomorrow Sam and Max come home for Christmas, providing Snoqualmie Pass stays open and Max can drive over the pass.  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Nativity Scenes Part V

I have looked for the perfect large or full nativity set for years.  I couldn't commit.  I'd see them at Costco and wouldn't want to spend the money so close to Christmas.  I researched Fontanini, I could possibly collect a piece per Christmas.  But I didn't love any of these sets.

Last week Hubby and I were flying through the local thrift store on another errand when out of the corner of my eye I saw a large nativity set.

I stopped in my tracks, it wasn't priced, so I grabbed a few pieces, zipped to the counter to ask for help and ran back.  To stand guard, just in case another shopper thought they were meant to have this set instead of moi.

Because, let me tell you, this one was  the  one!  The colors were perfect in our living room.  Our drapes are from Pottery Barn and honestly, Pottery Barn couldn't have come up with better colors to match.

Help was found, calls were made, a price was set.

Eighteen pieces for $10.99!

I could hardly wait to get home and set it up.

But first we had to go to Best Buy and get a TV mount so that I'd have the perfect spot for it. 

 In my mind a sweet, little Grandma made this set in ceramics class.  She did a beautiful job of painting, choosing Pottery Barn colors(GO Grandma), embellishing with metallic gold paint and keeping any pieces from getting broken over the years.  I imagine this Grandma going to ceramics with her friends on Wednesday night to paint, drink coffee and visit.  It must have taken hours and hours.  God bless her.

Oh, and when I plugged it in the light went on in the stable!  

I am so happy I didn't settle for another set or collect some expensive pieces.  

I love this beautiful nativity set to remind me of our dear Savior's birth.

Nativity Scenes Part IV

I have a glitzy. glittery nativity set.  It is one piece and it shines.  I put in a low trough container with a string of beaded lights, glittery snowflakes, beaded ornaments and a lot of bling.  I know this isn't how the story goes, but it is pretty.  It sits on our dining room table and since we sit around the table a lot it is front and center for us.  A beautiful reminder of a beautiful story.

Years ago I bought our stockings at a drug store in Quincy.  They were sewn together but each one needed to have the stitching added.  I'm not really very handy with a needle and thread but I muddled though and completed the project.  I added our names free hand using a needle and thread.  I ironed on the stars, trees and candy canes, then I stitched an outline around them.  I used  most of the stars on Hubby's stocking.  I sewed on embellishments, including a nativity set made of buttons on Hubby's stocking.

Again, our nativity sets remind us of our dear Savior's birth.

Nativity Scenes Part III

Some of our nativity sets were gifts.  A simple painted wood set was given to me by my parents.  I got it for my birthday one year in the 1980's.  I love the little star above baby Jesus.

 Hubby's Mom gave us a ceramic set when the boys were little.  She wanted them to have it to play with, and they did.  Which is why some pieces are chipped, horns are missing and the donkey is missing an ear.

The guys grew up and I moved it to higher shelf, it survived.  I loved it and could not watch it get broken.  Even though my Mother-in-law made some ceramics, I think she bought this nativity set at a craft fair.  I picked up the stable at Joann's Fabric.

 The wise men came from the East and they still do today.  At least at my house!

 My Aunt Shirley moved to an assisted living apartment this Spring, I got a wood set from her garage sale.

It's just the stable, a forest, Mary and Baby Jesus.  My Aunt and Uncle lived all over the world.  My Uncle was with the U.S Army military police.  They had several deployments to Germany.  The trees are stamped on the bottom with 'Made in German Democratic Republic'.  It is a simple but beautiful set.   It reminds me of Aunt Shirley and her family.

These three nativity sets remind me of the gift of family and of our dear Savior's birth.

Nativity Scenes Part II

The clear plastic nativity that is on the window sill in the bathroom is about four inches tall and has a tint of purple in the plastic.  It was a Christmas gift from Sam.  It has the least monetary value of my nativity sets.  That doesn't lessen its value though.

When the boys were little and we lived on Cherry Street we had neighbors, a married couple with two boys.  Our kids played together.  Their Dad had issues and tried to take their Mom's life.

I read it in the paper and was shocked.  The boys and Mom stayed living next door, Dad went to jail.  Hubby and I tried to help her with the boys once in a while.  The boys went with Hubby and our guys to our church's Cadet program for young boys.  They spent time at our place when their Mom had commitments.

One afternoon during Christmas vacation they were staying with us.  The subject of Christmas gifts came up. The boys were worried about getting a gift for their Mom.

It wasn't a high budget Christmas for us.  But I knew they needed to feel good about giving gifts.

So after lunch I loaded up five boys and drove to the dollar store in Bellingham.

I told them they could buy a gift for whoever they wanted to give a gift to and that we would wrap them when we got home.

I remember them asking me if they could get a gift for their uncle.  Sure.  Grandpa and Grandma? Yes.

Could they get a gift for each other?  Absolutely.  On it went...

The pile on the counter grew. We had so much fun picking and choosing each gift.

A lot of thought went into those gifts.

I never had to ask anyone to pick another gift because it was too expensive, after all,  

everything was a dollar.

My guys shopped too and found something for everyone.  Sam picked out this Nativity for me.  It will always remind me of that fun shopping trip with five little boys.  We've lost touch with the family that lived next door.  We moved.  They moved.  Hubby has run into the boys, they haven't made the best choices in life.  Then one Sunday after church a girl with a baby came looking for help.  It was the girlfriend and baby son of one of the neighbor boys.  I don't think it was a coincidence that we were there having lunch and were able to help.

God kept putting this family in front of us.  I won't forget them.  I pray they have a blessed Christmas and that they too remember the birth of our Savior.