Blogging year in review

It is so hard to believe 2008 is almost over. I know it sounds cliche to say it, but they year has certainly flown by. Kelli is hosting a peek through the past year, and I thought it would be fun to join in! The guidelines are to post the first sentence of the first post of each month and a favorite picture from that month. I hope you enjoy mine. (and if you want to figure out the rest of the post, you are welcome to explore my blog in the sidebar!) :)

January

Well, for all of you waiting in suspense for the identity of my top secret Christmas projects, here they are!! :)

February
Yeah, they are done!!! (finished my first pair of socks)


March
As of today, I have been blogging for one year.


April
Certain crafters have a certain identity.



May
I love ivies.


June
And can I yet delay
My little all to give?
To tear my soul from earth away
For Jesus to receive?


July
My Dear Friends,

I venture to communicate this evening in a manner that I am not accustomed to writing and, I dare say, that you are not accustomed to reading.


August
I haven't done a whole lot of crafting this week, so I decided to share an older project with you today.


September
27 years ago, you came into this world with soft brown hair and baby blue eyes. (Guest post from my hubby, for my birthday.)

October
More Bows!! I have discovered how much fun it is to make bows!


November
Vote and Pray!!!


December
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

I hope you have enjoyed this blogging year in review. I have enjoyed looking over the events of the past year - some joyful and some sad. The blessing is that God is with us in each event of our lives and He works all things together for our good. Mark and I have been so blessed by God in the past year and we are looking forward to the many blessings in store for 2009!

Blessings!

Our Christmas...

... with Mark's family! We had a wonderful visit with Mark's family over Christmas. Here are just a few pictures from our time with them... it is so hard to pick which ones to share! :) I hope you enjoy them.

Here is one of Santa's elves hard at work.


Reading the Christmas story.


Opening presents




This little guy loves "MoMen." So I made a little one just for him. :)



Monkey see.... Monkey Do!


Playing games


The last piece to the puzzle!

Well, that's a little snippet of our Christmas days (some pictures are from surrounding days.) :) If you would like to see more pictures click here. We are back home now and I am enjoying some "down" time. This past weekend has been very full and fun, and I am enjoying a day of not doing much at all! :)

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone has a very blessed Christmas Day! Maybe this video will give you time to take a little pause to remember the first Christmas. What a wonderful story!

I will be taking a little blogging break. I will "see" you all next week! :)

Merry Christmas!

Days of Christmas: Day 24

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
'Round yon virgin mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace!

Mark and I took some time after our Christmas program Sunday night to enjoy some of the Christmas lights in town. I love this white manger scene. Off to the side were more shepherds and sheep. It is so pretty!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Eve!
We are looking forward to a happy Christmas with family.

Days of Christmas: Day 23

Just a little Christmas baking!
Christmas Biscotti Recipe
They are soo good!

Days of Christmas: Day 22

Wow! Only three days to Christmas!! I need to get some gifts wrapped!

Anyone else have a large collection of Christmas mugs? I love having them to drink hot chocolate out of! :)

Sunday Blessing: Days of Chrstmas - 21

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
translated by John M. Neal

This Christmas the name, Emmanuel, has stood out to me more than the others. The fact that God actually came and dwelt with men as a Man is stunning. The fact that He cares that much for us is humbling. Yet, I am so grateful. He came to bring us life! I hope each one of you has a very blessed Christmas. I hope that we aren't so busy with the events of the season that we forget Emmanuel! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come!

Many Blessings!


PS~ The manger scene is my in-laws. I mentioned it in this post. Isn't it beautiful?

Days of Christmas: Day 20

Just "keepin' it real!"
This is my gift wrapping hub... or train wreck as the case may be!
On the agenda for Monday:
WRAP GIFTS! :)
(and clean up guest room.)

Memories

I just wanted to share a few of my memories about my Grandpa. Today is his funeral, and it is hard not to be there in body (although my heart is up there.)
My grandparents live in Idaho, about a three day drive. Every fall they would drive down and spend most of November with us. Many of my memories naturally revolve around these extended visits - the excitement of their coming, spending time together, and missing them so much each time they left. Every two or three years, my family made the long trek as well. We all enjoyed spending time out in the country with Grandpa and Grandma.
Grandpa was a farmer. When I was young, he had an apple orchard, and would bring a truckload of apples to sell when they came. So Yummy! I remember on our visits, his huge gardens. He loved growing things and sharing them with others.

Here are some other random memories.

• Hugs
• Fall leaves
• Crisp apples
  
• A train ride
• Laughter
• Chinese food
• Raking leaves
• Picking up pecans
• Fishing trips
• Picnics at the lake
• Thanksgiving dinner
• Big gardens
• Christmas presents at Thanksgiving
• Funny stories

I love you and miss you, Grandpa! See you in Heaven!

Love,
Chari

Days of Christmas: Day 19

I love this runner I got for Christmas last year!

Finished Object Friday

I made this cake Wednesday for Faithie's birthday.
She really liked it!
(When Regina and I were thinking about what kind of cake she needed, we both had the same thoughts: Faithie likes shoes and purses... Shoes too hard, purse... YES!) :)
Here she is with her cake:


This is really easy. I made two round cakes (9 in. pans):

Cut them in half ans stood them on the flat sides:

One of the best steps I took was to do a thin layer of frosting to "seal" it, then refrigerated it before I decorated it.

This layer kept me from having a bunch of little brown crumbs in my pink frosting!

And just to tickle your funny bones... here is another picture of the birthday girl!

She is so happy about the baby we got her! (This one replaces the old one with "punk rocker" hair and dirty outfit, which had been lost. It was her constant companion, much to her mother's chagrin!) :)

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I know this isn't really a Christmas-y post, but I wanted to share the cake! :) I am excited to see what all of you have been up too, or maybe you have an older project you want to share. If you need to see the guidelines, click here.

Days of Christmas: Day 18

My new sled!
So what if it is just the size for the bear? :)
I got it at my favorite store, Hobby Lobby ... on sale!

Days of Christmas: Day 17 - A Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my favorite two year old... Faithie!!

(Pardon me while I repost a favorite picture!)



(This picture from last year. One year old.)

Don't they grow so fast! I know her mommy and daddy are very proud of her. She is such a special little girl!

First born with Daddy:

(Picture from Regina's camera.)

Such a big girl now!

(In pigtails, reading her favorite book at Chari's house... Sheep in a Jeep {link for preview}. I have it memorized now!)

A big shout out to Darren and Regina for raising such sweet little girls! and for letting me spoil them just a little bit! :)

Just a bit about Faithie:

• The first thing she does when coming to my house is head for the pantry!
• She has a favorite blanket at my house, and she knows where to find it.
• She loves to sing (very musical like the rest of her family.)
• She loves shoes and purses - girly girl!
• She has been slow in talking but is at a three year old level in some intellectual areas.
• She loves to say "Amen" in church.
• If she doesn't know you, you might think she is very serious... but just wait! :)
• She can be very focused... just try getting her attention!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!!

Days of Christmas: Day 16

A Lone Star Christmas
(We went to the family Christmas Reunion Saturday. Uncle Bobby and Aunt Peggy have a beautiful collection of Texas ornaments. This one is of the inside of the capital dome.)

Christmas: Time for Joy

First a bit of news, my Grandpa went Home Sunday morning. Home as in his Heavenly home. He is greatly missed. It is especially hard because it is Christmas time. My Grandma prayed for one more Christmas with him, but God knows best. Please help pray for her and for the rest of my family as we work through this hard time.

Through the pain, though, I've been thinking. It's been kindof a hard Christmas this year, anyway. We've been waiting a while for children, and many of my close friends have been very blessed this year. Yet, we wait another year. I'm very glad for those, don't mistake me, I don't want to sound bitter. Mark and I have a lot of love to give.

So through the death of my Grandpa and the pain of waiting for a child, I got to thinking. Along with all those that are so happy this year, there are many, like us, who have a lot of pain through the past year. Some have lost a child or another family member. Some are going through really hard times. So it may be hard for them, like me, to feel the Christmas "sparkle" this year. We may not feel the excitement we felt in previous years. That's where the joy of Christmas comes in.

Through my pain, God is revealing more to me that this is the reason Christ came. Jesus wasn't born to a perfect world. The stable may have been quite cold, not the cozy scene we imagine. Mary and Joseph were by no means wealthy. His first visitors were lowly shepherds. Israel was a captive nation, bound to the power of Rome. There was much sadness and many tears shed that year. But Jesus is Emanuel, "God with us." He came to heal the broken hearted. He came to bring comfort. To love us. To bring us lasting joy.

That's why I can celebrate Christmas this year. We have Emanuel. God is with us this year. So often, we feel Him closer to us through the pain. He draws us closer to His side. He wants us to know that we can still be joyful, even though we are sad. He is with us in our pain. I am so glad that He came. I can't imagine facing the hardships of life without the reassurance of Jesus's love and guiding Presence.

So to all my friends, but especially those who have had a hard year, Merry CHRISTmas! May God's blessings be upon you, and may His love shine upon you and comfort you. May you feel the true joy of Christmas this year.

Blessings!

Days of Christmas: Day 13

It's so much fun visiting with family!
(My cousin Jennifer and her two kiddos!)

Finished Object Friday

"And the cherries were hung on the tree with care..."

If you'll look carefully, you'll see that they are different from the ones I made earlier this year. These cherries are for my Grandma for Christmas. Since she rarely visits my blog and since she already ordered them for Christmas, I figured it was safe to post them. :)

The main difference in this is that I crocheted a little loop at the top for a ornament hanger. It's more convenient. I wished I would have done it on mine.

So do you have any special Christmas projects you've been working on this week? Or even something you made last year. Here are the guidelines for posting.

Days of Christmas: Day 11

A Lone Star Christmas!
(Another picture from last year. [this has been a busy week!] This one was taken at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas.)

Days of Christmas: Day 10

My coffee table.
(The picture is actually from last year, but the decor is basically the same.) :)

In other news... I saw a snowflake or two today! Yes, real ones!! :) It's been a rather chilly day in Texas!

Days of Christmas: Day 9

I watched all three girls last night. We had a blast! I made cookies with the older two. They had a blast decorating (and eating) the cookies! :)

Faithie is really a character. She is growing up so fast! (sniff!)
I think she ate more sprinkles than made it to the cookies.
Oh, well.


Gracey had so much fun. She was so excited to make cookies!
She wanted to make blue trees. So we did!
(There's one on the table - not the one she's eating.)
They actually turned out pretty cute - kind of like "blue spruce."

(Note Baby Hope in the background. She's not quite into cookies yet, but it won't be long! She'll be a month old on Thursday!)