Woo Hoo! It's Friday!

That means in two days it will be Sunday and I'll be picking a winner for this week's giveaway. So make sure you click that cute little snowman (over there to the right) to enter! Ignore the little snowman to the left...the one that says there are 14 days to Christmas...YIKES!!

I was working on my plastic covered tree last night and it's actually looking kinda good! Hmmmm...this isn't going to be hard at all! Thank you for all your encouraging words about this year's "different" Christmas tree. It really is going to be a good thing. Diane Knott's comment said, "What a wonderful idea, Marie. The wee ones will be safe but still be able to be curious, which is a good thing at that age!" That's the most important thing ~ that they're safe ~ and I'm all for babies learning through curiousity. So it will be good! I'll show photos of the tree on Sunday when I announce the giveaway winner.

I hope you all have a really.....

I'm going to ~ and it's going to be even happier once "quittin' time rolls around.

Have a great weekend!

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway.

Giveaway #3 will be announced next Tuesday!

I Choose Plastic

Yesterday I posted a picture of my three beautiful grandbabies. They are so cute and so sweet and so very mobile! Bill and I were talking about our Christmas tree Tuesday night and we both agreed that we should pass on our regular tree filled with extra special (and sometimes breakable) ornaments this year. We need to go for safety first. My living room is small and it will be difficult to keep the little ones away from the tree. So we decided to go with plastic and soft ornaments this year...except for a few little favorites tucked up high.

This is so hard for me ~ I'm pretty traditional in my Christmas decorating. But Mandy and I went shopping at Target and she thought if we were going to do something different we should do something REALLY different. So we went with shiny, glittery, sparkly plastic in bright, happy colors. Did I say this is hard for me? It is!

But each of my grandbabies will be under the age of two for Christmas and they are very curious...especially Elijah & Charlotte. I don't want to worry about something breaking and someone getting hurt, and I want the adults to be able to relax while we're in that room ~ so the tree is going to have a very different look this year. I started working on it last night. I was also babysitting so I had a little help. She loves these ornaments and because they're plastic she can examine them to her heart's content.

The tree still needs some work, but here's a couple tiny peeks. I snuck in the little house...just to make me feel better about all the plastic! I need to find a few more things like it.

The plastic is pretty much in place. I just need to find some soft stuff to tuck in the holes in the branches. I'll post some pictures when it's complete....maybe! The tree will be so different from last year...but it'll be perfect for exploring little hands. 'Cause even if they're told no they're going to manage to touch a few. And they'll squeeze them...but it'll be okay....because they're plastic!

Love Their Visits!

"Our greatest blessings call us
Gramma & Grandpa"


At least they will when they can talk!
We are so fortunate to have them all so near to us.

Giveaway Week 2

Here we go with a Giveaway for the second week of December. I'm not sure what happened to the first week ~ but it's gone!

I sure hope I got everything done that I needed to last week!

Here's some photos of the giveaway items for today.

I'd love to share one of the little snowmen boxes I made. He has a "musical" hat with some pretty tinsel trim ~ he's perfect for tucking a tiny gift into. There's also a sparkly star that I added a cute vintage snowman to, and a silvery snowflake with a beautiful poem. I might even (gently) toss in some pretty vintage Christmas balls!

~ here's the rules to win ~

1) Leave a comment telling all of us your favorite sparkly thing...that gets you one chance.

2) Mention my giveaway on your blog. I want to hear about all kinds of sparkly things ~ so the more comments the better. Two more chances if you share a link to me from you!

3) If someone comments and tells me you sent them my way ~ well, I'll give you one more chance for that!

So you can get up to four chances!

I'll be picking a winner on Sunday, Dec 13th...probably in the afternoon.
So, go ahead.....say something! : )

Making New Memories

Saturday, in the midst of a slushy, cold, wintery mix of rain & snow, over 100 women gathered at my church for "A Cozy Christmas" luncheon. Fourteen tables were decorated by different hostesses and a splendid potluck was enjoyed by everyone. There were soups, sandwiches and salads, casseroles and pasta dishes, veggies of all kinds, and most importantly....desserts!

The food and fellowship was wonderful.

Here's a peek at each table.

Actually there are two peeks at this table ~ the first one is Friday evening and the second is Saturday ~ after the goldfish arrived!

Here's a pretty angel themed table ~ with some sweet smelling hand lotions for favors.

Ornament dishes and red candles ~ lend a lovely glow to this table.

Guests at this table received a "Casting Crowns" CD. I love the fun centerpiece!

Holly and berries and a pretty red candle dish greeted guests at this table.

Sparkling cider fit right in at these silvery place settings. Love the glitter too!

These lighthouse plates are perfect for a Maryland luncheon.

Christmas trees, packages and ornaments decorate this festive table.

I love the gold plates ~ aren't they a beautiful touch!

Red plaid and poinsettias ~ A Christmas tradition.

I love all the crystal on this table ~ and the colors are so pretty.

Mirror tile for a placemat ~ the reflection made a wonderful design on the ceiling!!

I love this table. It was simple and elegant. The angels are stunning.

The colors of this table were so rich ~ just lovely!

Everything was just amazing. Despite the nasty weather outside we were all warm and cozy inside. Three hours to relax and enjoy one another's company and to eat yummy food! Yes, we enjoyed our friendly gathering with candlelight and pretty little favors.

But the best part was focusing on why we celebrate Christmas, the best part was remembering the birth of our Redeemer....the greatest gift of all.

We Have a Winner!

It's M.L. ~ she lives in the House of Whimsy! She has some BEAUTIFUL Christmas decorations at her house. You should take a peek if you get a chance!

M.L.....I need your address please!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. I'll be posting another one on Tuesday!!

"Cause it's Christmas time!

Reminder & A Busy Day

Have you entered my giveaway for that pretty cross stitch piece? I'll be picking a winner on Sunday. Just click over there on my right sidebar to read about and comment for a chance to win. It's pretty piece with a really special story behind it.

~~~:::~~~

I've been busy working on our 2nd Annual Ladies Luncheon for the past month or so. Set-up is tonight and the luncheon begins at 1:00pm on Saturday. You can read about last year's luncheon here and you can see photos of the beautiful table settings here.

I'm looking forward to taking lots of photos tonight and tomorrow so I can show you all the tables from this year.

Christmas Wishes

The Jo(e)s have been asking me for a Christmas wish list and I have been slow in giving one to them. But I was visiting Diane Knott the other day and discovered something I'd like to have. Diane made some really pretty candle bracelets using scraps of paper and paper punches.

I have plenty of scraps of paper but I'm definitely lacking in the paper punches department.

I'd like a two inch scallop edge punch and a 1 3/4 inch circle punch. I'd like square punches and oval punches too! But I think the scallop and circle would be a nice start.

Then I could make candle bracelets and other good stuff!

Grandbabies