What Christmas Is All About

Last week I watched Charlie Brown's Christmas Special. I was struck by Linus's speech about the real meaning of Christmas. In today's world, it is so easy to forget or overlook it. We all know the story or have at least heard of it. But doesn't the terminology "savior" strike you? We all need one and one has been provided. Acceptance is the key.

Here's my handsome boy not acting silly. But you can tell by the glint in his eye that he is about to start!

We had a fun time taking pictures this morning. Some were great until the kids got the "I'm-going-to-be-as-silly-as-I-can-be" syndrome. Here is Abby smiling very nicely.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree..... I love the sparkle that this wonderful season brings into our home. What a blessing it is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ!

Here is the first picture of Abby's newly "shabby chic" room. The walls are a light mint green. We got the comforter set (including the valance) off of ebay. It was a great deal. The furniture was Mike's as a child. We had painted them white for Luke's room when he was first born but the knobs were a navy with green and light blue stars painted on them. I swapped them out with some pink glass knobs that I found on-line also at a great price. I'm sure that we will fill up the walls as the years go on!

Abby's shabby chic room 2.

Abby's shabby chic room 3

Here's a picture of our newly painted upstairs bathroom.

White and Nerdy

Al Yankovich's White and Nerdy

Here was our backyard after the landscaping company took off all the grass. The grass was in a very bad state, many dead spots and extremely uneven. You can't tell the grade change from this picture but you can see it more as the wall is built.

This was our snowy backyard when we moved in last December.

This to the right of the yard, looking out our dining room. You can see my garden (wow! the plants have really grown since this was taken), as well as the little area next to the pre-existing patio where Luke & Abby's sandbox now it.

Here you can see one of the new walls, the patio (with a fire pit) and the space where our shed will eventually go.

Here is a picture of our new backyard!

Here's our front walkway. I added the little curved flowerbed this spring. The marigolds were started indoors from seed. The pink bush is actually flower carpet rose bush. By the door we bought some great flower pots at Sam's and added petunias and snapdragons (also started from seed. It helps add a little bit of sunshine to the yard!

Luke standing in front of our new fridge

Close up of chair

New Table and chairs!

Better Late than Never, Right?

Wow! I can see that it has been a long time since I posted on here. My bad! I thought that you might like to see an update of how our new house is coming along. We've painted some rooms and changed some lighting. Mike, sweetheart and savvy electrician that he is, put in some undercounter lights in the kitchen today which make all the world of a difference. Not sure which room will be next but we'll see.

Just as a note, we are going to get a larger table so we can have more of you sit with us at a meal. :)

Before of 1/2 Living Room, Dining Room, & Kitchen

After of Dining Room & Kitchen

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

A new valance in black toile. I think it works!