2009 almost gone...

Dear blogging friends,

The year 2009 has been a special year for me in several ways and I just want to spend a few minutes recalling these moments of blessing.
Of course this is the year I discovered blogging and what a joy it has been, for I have been so blessed to find a whole new world of caring friends who share interests and beliefs and take the time to visit with me. THANK YOU ONE & ALL!

2009 is the year I turned 40 and as you assured me - it's not so bad after all (I just don't like checking the mirror too often!!lol)

2009 was the year a long cherished dream of mine came true thanks to my DH and I got to go Lancaster County PA to visit Amish country and I sooo loved it I want to go back!!

But I think the highlight of 2009 for me was that two of my children came to personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and accepted Him as Savior. For this I can only humbly thank the LORD for His mercy.
We, as a family have truly known the blessing of the LORD upon us this year.

So as this old year departs, I want to wish you all God's richest blessings for the New Year and thank you all for all your kindnesses.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Over already

That was the quickest Christmas ever! I almost blinked and missed it! At least it feels like that now everyone is gone and the kids are sleeping soundly, totally exhausted after so much excitement!

We had a great time with the kids up at 6am barely able to contain themselves and so eager to tear open all their prezzies!Someone's very pleased!
And lots of wrapping paper to wade through!
So I supposed it was time for a change and tweaked my blog a little. Onwards toward 2010 and a new decade. Time flies.

Thanks to you all for a wonderful first Christmas in blogland. Friendship is one of life's sweetest gifts!

Best wishes

Happy Christmas and new blog!

Wishing everyone a safe and joyous Christmas as we celebrate the Birth of Christ who came to be our Savior - 'Thou shalt call his name JESUS for he shall save his people from their sins.'

Love my snow man plate that reminds us of the joy of Christmas.

And here's the quilt I've been working on (almost!! finished:o)

Here it is folded over the rocking chair my DH gave for Christmas when we were expecting our first baby~If you remember, I got help from my quilting expert friend Sharon to put the binding on this quilt and she has decided to start blogging!! So please go on over to her blog Countryprims and enjoy lovely photos of her home at Christmas!
I will catch up with everyone next week when I'll be relaxing... I wish...lol!
Once again, Have a blessed Christmas!

Lovely weekend

Hi friends! Hope you had a great weekend. I truly enjoyed mine for it was kind of like an early
Christmas with family and fun and blessings all rolled into one!
First off my mom returned home on Sat. afternoon - she had been on holiday with my recently widowed aunt in Portugal. Although she was only gone for a week I still missed being able to pop over for a visit as we are close. So it was lovely to have her home safe and sound and my dad came over also in the evening and we had a delicious Chinese meal around our table. Just lovely to be together!

And then what excitement for the kids to wake up to snow the next morning! They couldn't wait to get into it! We got about an inch and for me that's plenty!
There's just something so magical about making the first set of footprints in the snow!
Later on they made a snowman. His head was so heavy their Dad had to lift it up to put it on his body! The girls were pleased with him!

Sunday evening was our special Christmas family service at church, with different groups taking part and singing. Our Sunday school sang a beautiful carol which was new to me - it really sums up what Christmas is all about. This is the first verse:

Joy has dawned upon the world,
Promised from creation.
God's salvation now unfurled;
Hope for every nation.
Not with fanfares from above,
Not with scenes of glory,
But a humble gift of love,
Jesus born of Mary.

That Christ should be born to be my Savior is truly marvelous!
'Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.'

Blessings

Little details

Happy weekend, everyone! I see some of you have snow already or waiting on it coming; over here we got the slightest dusting of snow and now we have rain.

Anyhow, now that I've done most of the gift wrapping (and a little bit of cleaning...) I turned my thoughts to the table settings - yes I know I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I love to make a bit of a fuss over arranging the table for Christmas day. The idea for this came from a Christmas tv show I watched a few nights ago and as my daughter said, 'I knew you'd do something like that!' so I'm really predictable!lol!

Usually I just use paper napkins with a festive image on but this year I have decided to be a bit more individual and personal with these napkins as i'd seen on tv. I used cotton and then stitched on some Christmas motifs with the words love, joy, peace, noel in one corner. I only need 4 for the adults - yes the kids can have the paper ones!! I am just having my parents for dinner on Christmas Day as my brothers go to their in-laws.
So if you enjoy stitching as much as I do and you want to stress yourself out even more this Christmas, give it a go!
Here's how the first couple turned out -

I was so pleased with them I even had to set a place at the table just to see the over all effect! I love the crisp snowy white tablecloth and of course I bring out the best china - this set was given to me as wedding gifts as was the silverware~
So now I'm looking forward to a delicious meal with loved ones and hopefully these little details will add to the festivities!

Before I go here's one last item I finished and its message is from me to you ~

BTW - it's a free pattern from Twigs' site 'Primitive Blessings'.

Last of the Christmas decorating pics

Hello friends in blogland! How are things going for you? Busy, I'm sure! I'm finished shopping for gifts, thankfully, and now I can enjoy wrapping them. I even received my first gift and it contains my favorite things to eat - yes, you guessed it - chocolates! lol!The boxes are lovely too as they're covered in velvet. But for now here are the last of my Christmas decorating pics - I made the Noel star last week!
This is an idea I copied from Country Sampler in one of the Christmas editions.

Wishing you all a happy week!

Our favorite dessert recipe

Happy Monday, one and all! Hope you enjoyed your weekend. As I said in my last post, I was going to a family gathering on Sat. evening. Well, we had a great time meeting up with family and enjoyed a fabulous feast of good things to eat. One of the things I was asked to make by special request was my pavlova dessert. It always goes down well with everyone. So here's the recipe, should you care to try it - it's sweet but light!

Ingredients;

4 egg whites
8 oz caster sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
whipped cream and fruit to decorate

Simply whisk the 4 egg whites until stiff - this usually takes about 3 mins.Next sift in HALF of the sugar, the cornflour and then add the vanilla essence.
Whisk again for approx 2 mins until mixture is glossy in appearance.
Now add the remainder of the sugar but this time gently FOLD in with a spatula.

You are now ready to place mixture onto an ovenproof plate covered in greaseproof baking parchment.
Spread out evenly.Place in the oven for 50 - 60 mins but keep a close watch on it that it doesn't brown too much. It should be crisp on the outside and a light golden color.

Don't worry it will crack and sink a little after it is removed from the oven.
I flip it over carefully as the base gives a smoother surface on which to spread the whipped cream.Decorate with fruit of your choice. I used strawberries and sliced kiwi fruit for a Christmas look.
Now you're ready to enjoy it.Sometimes I also grate chocolate over it too for an extra touch of decadence!
Have a good week,
Best wishes

Some Christmas decorating

Can you believe that in just two weeks we will be celebrating Christmas Day? I know I can't!
But I'm trying to create that warm Christmassy glow around our home and have had so much fun placing things and arranging then rearranging just to get a better atmosphere. I hope this comes across in my pics, though sometimes, no matter how hard I try, they still come out fuzzy!

Here's our main Christmas tree~

I put fake presents around the base to hide the stand - the kids still want to have a peek inside them!
This is the hall way with garland on the handrail ~


Here are my attempts to add to the kitchen with jars of gingers and dried oranges and a mini tree~

I simply added some greenery to the shelf in my crafting room with my new Merry Christmas blocks~This is another simple arrangement in a basket based on Kris's tutorial on her blog Simply Prim - Thanks Kris for all your inspirational ideas!

I'll leave you with my favorite whimsical snowman trying to escape the cold on an old bicycle - my husband collects all things to do with bicycles -

Wishing you all a lovely and happy weekend - we're going to a family Christmas gathering tomorrow night and I need to bake for it - just might share a recipe with you next time!
Best wishes and thanks to all my readers for taking the time to visit.

Some Christmas greenery decoration

Can't you hear me puffing and panting? I'm so out of breath with all this Christmas rushing about! It's all of my own making, I admit. But I have just had a few minutes to gather some greenery from the garden and try to put together a teardrop arrangement for my front door.
It consists of three branches of fir tied together with some ivy strands adorned with ribbon and some rusty stars tied onto the ends of the branches and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it!

With what was left over, I just had enough to fill the little tote for my kitchen table center piece and added some dried orange slices and fir cones also.
Here it is glowing all Christmassy with no flash.Like Loretta, I love snowmen. Here's a jolly snowman to greet you on entering the kitchen
I promise I'll post more Christmas decor photos asap but duty calls for now!
Best wishes for a great week!