Christmas Past

Christmas 2008 is now past. Here's what our gifts looked like before they were passed out yesterday. So much time and thought went into selecting just the right presents for each person. So little time and thought went into the way we tore into them sending paper flying everywhere! :) I had promised some of you that I would post some pictures of our Christmas decorations but have just not had the time until now.

Here is our mantle. So many memories. The candy dish in the corner was a gift from a friend many years ago. I have moved it from the lamp table to the mantle top because it is such a nice heavy crystal dish and I don't want little hands to accidently break it. The stockings you can see hanging on the wall are made by hand. The oldest one I made for our daughter's first Christmas.....she is 31 now! You can't tell so much in the picture but the mirror is scratched and worn from many years of use and cleaning. A friend gave it to us just after we first got married 35 years ago. It came out of his Daddy's house. It's a very old vintage beveled mirror. Not the latest in decoration....nothing in my house is! ha.....but I love it!

Our tree! Yes, it's tiny but perfect for our small house. We don't have room for a bigger one at all. This has fiber optic lights that change colors but for some reason did not show up in the picture so it looks a little drab. This is my "angel corner". A good friend gave me the angel ornament on top of the tree and the smaller angel beside the church. The church is lit up also but doesn't show up. It was given to me by a friend when my Dad passed away. It has a wind up music box that plays "Amazing Grace". The hand crocheted doily it is sitting on was made by my mother forty or fifty years ago. The angel picture on the wall was given to my husband by his grandmother many, many years ago.

Our dinner table. We had so much food that we left it on the stove and the counter-top and had a buffet style dinner. It was such a blessing to see all our family together again and enjoying fellowship around the table.

Have you ever seen something whiz by so fast that it was just a blur? Is it just me or do you feel it too? It seems like the past few weeks leading up to Christmas went by in a blur! Sort of like this picture of our little 3-year-old granddaughter yesterday! She could not be still for "GanMamma" to take her picture!

I'm looking forward to 2009 and what the Lord will be doing in our lives then. He has been so good to allow me to meet so many new friends here in the blogging world. You have enriched my life greatly and I am thankful.

May God bless you!

Marilyn