Heart and Home

"Home is where the heart is" and my family holds my heart, so that is certainly true for me! 

I'm having a bit of introspective thinking while watching 'Anne with an "E" ' for the first time on Netflix in a very rare moment this summer of being home by myself!  In all my girly splendor I'm enjoying a divine piece of Reese's cheesecake and a cup of coffee as I write you all.  It was one of those days that I found myself wanting to eat my feelings..... it happens!!

I was thinking about home and thought I would snap a few "moments" in time right now, as-is, around my home.  I haven't shared much of our home in a while and because the home can say a lot about someone, I thought I'd invite you in again! 

So if you're new to my blog I welcome you in my home to let you in on our world a little bit more! 

In my world, there's a trail mix of a life the Lord has given me of mommyhood and homemaking, marriage and ministry, creativity and fun and hard work.  All amazing things but the Lord is at the center and my family is right beside me through it all.  There are moments I have to choose joy in the chaos that's out of my control and this sign is the perfect reminder that I can do that because the joy of the Lord is my strength!

You know, I'm learning so much about the Lord and I have so much yet to learn!  While it feels some days I should be a wise ole owl after what the past decade has brought about, everyday I realize a little more that I'll always be a student learning. I have so much more to learn about the places God has put me. The assignments He has given me in the now.

Learning more about my kids, about raising them in the love and admonition of God. Learning more about my husband and how to love him well.  Because if there's one thing I have learned it's that we're all changing and I've come to expect that.  Where change can scare the pants off me, I remember The One who never changes and I've come to this conclusion:

There is adventure in the growing and the changing together with your one love, your spouse, that's like no other adventure!!! 

Dive in head first together.

That truth has helped my whole outlook of marriage!  We've decided to grow together instead of apart and that's a choice we have made as a couple. A glorious decision that goes back to choosing joy in all things!

As I'm watching the "new" Anne of Green Gable, I see this movie in a totally different perspective than I have ever watched it before.  I've see this movie dozens of times, as it's one of my all-time favorite being a fellow idealist like Anne, but there's something strangely real about it this time that's made it harder for me to watch.

Because we have adopted our children, the dynamic of the underlying story line really hits home.

I can see deeper into the struggle Anne has faced in her orphan past and the flashbacks that occur because of triggers that set them off.  It can be a simple phrase or the cry of a baby that's everyday for most folks but shoots Anne's memories into the place she refuses to live... abandonment and ridicule and despair. 

Outwardly she seems to be a bit of a wild card! She has lots to say, she's a vibrant day dreamer and bosom friend on the one hand and a fiery temper covering up a porcelain hearted girl on the other. The imagination she developed is a perfect disguise to cover the hurt and insecurities she arrives with at Marilla and Mathew's door.

I'm familiar with loss. Everyone in my household has suffered from tragedy, as many people have.  Just as most of my house may look clean it took time and effort and work to get to the point of a clean house.  It doesn't just happen without a little sweat and sacrifice.

It's the same with our children.  We've been told that we have always looked like the picture perfect family from the very beginning.  That we looked happy and content as though we've always been together. The truth is that we've come such a long way as a family, but it wasn't that way in the beginning. It was a process that came with hard work, sacrifice and dedication from everyone in the family, but it didn't happen overnight.   We are not the perfect family, but we are so happy nowand our pictures do reflect the joy in our hearts!

God has been incredible to us by shaping and designing our family by way of His perfect plan!  We have come a long way from a few years ago when we were introduced to each other in a room moments before leaving with two beautiful. precious, scared children that made my heart leap and yet I've never been more afraid in my life. Yes, I was afraid, but I was up for what God called us to!  There was a unique challenge parenting bio children doesn't usually come with and that's the challenge of proving our trust and our love in a daily or hourly basis, but mostly proving our commitment to stay the long haul.  

Over and over we were tested and like Marilla I made some mistakes along the way.  I questioned in the early months if I could wake up again to start it all over with a 2 and 3 year old who I didn't always understand their personalities or the mixed up patterns of outbursts.  I wondered if I could handle another early morning after a long night with my husband away at work while I managed the children.  Slowly but surely, I was growing deeper in the secret place with the Lord and in turn I began to see my more strength, more patience, more wisdom, more resiliency. Over time. 

I remember how I would rest on the promise the Lord gave me years ago.  "He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyful mother of children."  We knew that God lead us to buy our first house.  I know He lead us to our babies. So I claimed the joyful part, because that's one of the most important parts!  Anyone can be called mother but not every mom finds joy in it, but I held on to that promise and claimed it like my life depended on it... in a way it did, because when you have joy you feel alive!

I trusted God and slowly but surely through His grace and provision our sweet ones began to really trust us!  It was a process (over time) but a miraculous process!  We still have a ways to go, and  I still run to Jesus crying some days throwing my hands up asking "am I doing this right??"  and "I need Your help more than ever!" as they're getting older.  But through it all, He has definitely fulfilled that Biblical promise that I claim all the time!

I run to Jesus with my hurts and with my fears and my struggle and put everything out there with Him!  He is my strong tower!!! He calls us to hard things sometimes and our dependency of getting though and thriving is all in the power of Jesus name!  I cry out to him and I think sometimes how He must tire of my same prayers. Another weary Leslie coming to the cross and needing help or wisdom or comfort, and lots of forgiveness and grace, but that's when I'm reminded of how sweet the Lord is... well, let me quote this movie for a moment to show you what I mean... 

Matthew and Anne are at the train station as she has run away from home out of fear from being abandoned once again because of being falsely accused at home.  She was confused and hurt so she would rather run and live poor and alone than even look Matthew in the eye and get hurt again. Matthew was old and he had traveled a long way to bring her back home. 

"I've come for you." Matthew says from across the train station's waiting room as she's asking for money. 

But Anne was running because she was broken and hurting. She wouldn't even look at him. 

When a bystander asked Anne if that man (Matthew) was bothering her she says yes.

That's when Matthew revealed his heart towards her.  

"She is my daughter."

Anne turned around in near disbelief at those words, as she has never been anyone's "daughter". No one had been proud of her in her whole life.  She drops her small money bag and goes over to him in tears for a hug to resolve it all.  

That scene pierced my soul so very deep and made me cry.  I couldn't help but think how I too have been like Anne at times.  It's my heavenly Father's loving kindness that draws me to Him!

How many times do we want to just run and thought," I'm done. Enough of this! I can do this on my own, because it's the better way.  There's got to be another way. I don't want to do this anymore"

Be it motherhood, ministry, marriage, family, past jobs or in the midst of tragedy.  There have been times I've felt that I was failing and wanted to throw up my hands run away irrationally.  

God pursues me every time and says, "You are my daughter. Come home."

Being His daughter changes everything and hearing it is what all of us at women around the world need to know and need to hear.  

Please listen to me, friend, because this is really good.  The Lord calls you daughter!

"And I will be a father to you and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

2 Corinthians 6:18 

Abide in the home and in the life, our Father has graciously given us.  We can be scared, we can be hurting, we can be broken, but we must run to Him because we belong to Him!  What comfort I find in that!  That's in part how I relate to my children in a deeper way. 

I was an orphan.  He called me daughter. 

I was barren.  He called me Mother.

I was broken.  He calls me Redeemed.  

I know these are scattered thoughts today, but I wanted to share the real me in the place I am now.  I fill my home with things that mean something to me and to my family. As I look around the house I'm reminded of the blessings I'm surrounded by.  And it fills me with, JOY!

What a blessing to have you around my house today and joining my alone time as I sit and think of the goodness of God!  What's been on your heart these days?   I would love to hear.

April Happenings

Good afternoon, dear Friends!

You know how it's hard to fill your mom, sister, or good friend in all the details of things if you haven't talked to them in a while?  In turn, it usually takes longer to actually make that long phone call to catch up on everything?  Ha....I feel like that here at my blog.  Life is happening in wonderful ways, but as time slips between each post and I'm taking more pictures the thought of sharing all the stories, photos and thoughts from the past day, week, month becomes all the more daunting.  As I write I'm going to incorporate some photos I've taken over the past few weeks to share with you inside my family's world.  With spring break behind us and both kid's birthdays and not to mention Easter, I don't have time to share it all but ... anyways... enough with the rambling! 

Where do I begin?

What a better way to start than the present....

Right now it's a beautifully rainy looking afternoon and the yard and zillion trees we have on our property look gorgeous in their Irish green!

This morning the kids and I spent most of the morning outside as the sun was shining and I wanted them to get some outdoor times before all the rain comes over the weekend.  The kids played and I began some maintenance yard work, which I really enjoy. Once they saw I was in the flower garden pulling weeds they got excited to join me and I was happy for the help!

These pictures here were taken over the course of the last month...

If you don't know, we live on 4 acres of land that borders several acres of woods on one side.  We have a few established flower gardens in our landscape and around our yard, and those are one of the reasons I was so attracted to this home because they are gorgeous!  The yard our house sits on has over 120 trees alone (yes, I've counted!), so when I say yard work, there is always lots to do! Let's just say it's a very good thing I love the outdoors so much.  It's actually a real blessing for us to have large yard to enjoy! 

Sweet girl has the sun in her eyes!  We were enjoying some quilt time in the yard on a hot April day.  This is one of the many ways we've enjoyed our home this spring!

There's Pebble, basking in the sun with us. 

Our cat is the best cat ever!  I've had a few litters in my lifetime, so I should know!

Watering our newly planted hydrangeas! My husband has spruced up our landscape beautifully this year with new plants.  Thank you, Honey!

So this morning the kids wanted to help me out with the yard work, and it almost became like a game to all do together!  They usually enjoy helping my husband and I outside and since they're growing up at 6 and 7 years old they really do help!  So we were picking up limbs out of the yard, pulling weeds in the flower gardens and I even trimmed some new growth branches on trees that we don't want.  We took a walk around our meadow to see the big evergreen that's covered in honeysuckle!  It smells dreamy when the wind catches the flowery scent and carries it across the field. The temperature was perfect today and while as I sit here typing my back is aching from bending over so much on the ground, being outside and doing all those things along side my kids put me in my "happy place". This time of year is just refreshing for my soul!


Friends, I just got finished doing what I love doing most and haven't done for months!

I just got finished whipping up a big batch of dark chocolate Ghiradelli chocolate chip cookies!!!  Oh my word, these are going to be delish!  The batter is resting in the fridge before I bake a few off tonight after supper.  If you've followed me for a while you already know that years ago I discovered from a pastry chef-friend of mine that most cookie recipes taste the ultimate after allowing the dough to be in the fridge for at least 8 hours or up to 3 days. 





This cookie batter looks and smells so good!  I've never made the Ghiradelli's recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but seeing that that is my favorite kind of cookie to eat, and my favorite kind of chocolate chip, I thought it was high time! 

Let me fill you in on a little guilty pleasure of mine....  Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips, right out of the bag!  They are just so creamy and smooth and larger than the average chip!  In a perfect world --or who am I kidding?--after a long day, they are my go-to treat with a cup of coffee and a good book or movie. 

So this cookie recipe is right on the bag.  I'll let you know how we like them.  If you want to know my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, check this cookie recipe out for my double chocolate sea salt cookies!

This will be the first treat my husband and I have had for quite a while.  We have began a healthier lifestyle that drastically reduces desserts.  We'll never totally cut them out, because a dessert is part of life's little pleasures, and saying "never" is just shooting yourself in the foot when you're talking about a lifestyle change.  We've decided to be very thoughtful about what we eat throughout the day and have the occasional favorite treat...  so needless to say, I am that much more ready to bite into a deliciously warm and gooey chocolate chip cookie!! 

I've got a pork tenderloin cooking down in the slow cooker with BBQ sauce for homemade BBQ sandwiches.  (Heath and I will be enjoying sans bun.) It smells divine in the house right now!  I plan to make some sweet potatoes and green beans to go along side.

Before I go, I have to say that I hope that you all had a beautiful Easter celebrating The Resurrection!

Bubby's eyes were swollen on Easter due to allergies, but aren't they precious!

I just love this sweet eyelet dress.

Easter has become even more meaningful to me since having children.  From the weight of dwelling on our Savior's death on "Good" Friday to the overwhelming joy and praise that comes on reflecting on His resurrection on Sunday always makes me cling tighter to Jesus and the power of the gospel in my own life.  I want them to see us living out that celebration year round... 

It's the story that my life sings!!! 

And I love sharing it with my kids and finding creative ways to do so.  One of our favorite traditions is making yummy resurrection rolls with the kids!  They're an easy way to incorporate the story of the resurrection with children and something they help make and eat! They have come to ask to make these every time spring rolls around!  We still give the kid's Easter baskets, although candy is not what we want it to be all about, it's just so sweet to see their eyes light up at the sight of the basket.

I look forward to putting together a cute Easter basket for them.  For many years Heath and I dreamed about being able to do these family traditions with our own children.  I would walk the candy isle praying the Lord would bless us with a child to love.  I can testify that God has been so faithful to us, and now we have 2 kids!!! 

I hope you're enjoying the last weekend we have in April, before the busy month of May begins.   The month of yard sales beginning, Mother's Day, and when the end of the school year field trips,  award programs and graduations are being held.  Memorial Day will be after that and then we'll be in the Summertime swing! 

We're ending the month of April with a Night of Worship (woohooo!) at our church on Sunday.  I'm excited about that as we're practicing and preparing for the Lord to change lives that night.  That's what He does best!

Have a beautiful weekend and talk to you again soon!

Back, at Last! A Life Update.

(I apologize that I have no pictures to show, but I'm some trouble getting them to load the past couple of weeks.  I guess my words will just have to paint the pictures vividly enough you can imagine all I'm saying!)


Good morning dear Friends!  I have missed you all!!! 

I've received some very kind and thoughtful emails and comments for some of you concerned for me since it has been since early summer since I've published a blog.  We are all good here!  I just have let time slip away. I've even began several different blogs but either never finished for times sake or had trouble with pictures, but today I decided I must write you and let you all know, we are well!! 

I'm just in a very, very busy season in my life and have more responsibilities than ever.  Because of that, I've had to simplify a few things: realizing I cannot do it all (that's a big one), not looking on my phone and social media nearly as much (I bet a few of you can understand the struggle), and not feeling obligated to write a blog post when I simply don't have the time.  My creative writing has been abuzz in my head with ideas of devotionals, delicious recipes I've made or fun family trips I've wanted to share, but at the end of the day I have been simply out of wind and unfortunately find myself at bedtime with yet not another blog written.  But as much as I never intend to have months between my blog posts, I also write simply from the pleasure of doing so and the connection with you all (I have no income from blogging). I have to give myself more grace than usual in busy seasons and if my blog suffers it's because I'm probably trying to be more present with my family. I am OK with that! God is helping "balance" my life, but I have truly missed talking to you and happy to share a little with you today!

It is autumn!  (I basically skipped summer...yikes) I love all the seasons of the years, but fall is sort of like my happy place --if you will-- out of all the other seasons!  Wonderful holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmastime are just around the corner, the cozy blankets have made there way back in our living room and the sweaters in my drawers.  It's jean and boot wearing weather and my favorite plaid blanket scarf has already been worn once!  It's a blustery fall day outside as I write.  Perfectly chilly and cloudy enough the vivid colors that are beginning to show have a lovely blue-gray sky to set them off.  It's dark enough for the candles to be lit inside!

I have a few of my windows open, and I can hear the slightly crunchy trees blowing in the wind with the occasional thud of hickory nuts and acorns falling to the ground.  We're pretty much surrounded by large, majestic trees on our property so naturally we have a fall landscape all around with colorful leaves, acorns and squirreling scurrying!  We've been seeing deer in our meadow almost every day and it delights our family! There are several sweet young ones that come out with their mama, and our children are delighted to see them!  Our kids are so cute....  When they spot a deer, they'll go outside quietly and hide behind trees and peer around to spy on the deer eating acorns or munching our grass.  That lasts long enough until one of the kids giggles themselves out of their hiding spots and the little deer family runs back into the woods.  It's really adorable to watch!  Their excitement for the small things in life is contagious!

Right now I have beautiful worship music playing that is the set list for our worship team practice tonight.  If you didn't know, my husband and I are very involved with the worship at church, and we love it!  We're are one of the worship leaders there, and he also plays bass guitar. Music has been one of the foundational things in our relationship since day one. Being a part of the worship team is one of the greatest blessings in my life.  I am grateful to serve the Lord in this way, but it's what I've known I've been called to do since I was a teenager!  In January of this year, that calling came to pass as our pastor asked us to be one of the worship leaders! (I could tell you so much surrounding that one thing, alone..)  Tonight I'm singing backup and look forward to what is always a nice interlude mid-week as we come together to practice and focus on the music the Lord has set on our hearts for the upcoming Sunday.

It's commitment to be in ministry, but it is so very worth the time and prayer put into it!  God is stretching me and teaching me as I  learn more and hopefully continue to improve my skill.  I seek God and those who "go before me" for wisdom so that I can lead the team and church in not only beautiful music, but an authentic experience with God!! 

I am humbled by the process. 

I've been singing for God in church since I was 8 years old.  I recognize that He gave me my singing voice (I inherited from Mom) and I told him as a girl that I would always use it to glorify and honor Him alone.  He gives us talents and gifts so we can use them in some capacity for Him! One of my favorite things to do is go with the body of Christ into the presence of the Lord.  Even when I don't "feel" like it, once I start singing those words of adoration to Him, I feel his presence so close to me.  Almighty God the Creator and Healer and Savior of the world is also...my Father and Friend and Counselor. Wow!  We are all called to worship Him....God created us to worship Him and to know Him intimately!  I could go on and on and on about this, but ultimately spending time with God in worship leaves me more joyful and at peace than anything else on earth, and so I love sharing that with my church.  Also, that's why I had to let you in on that part of my life! :) 

This coming weekend my husband and I celebrate our 12 wedding anniversary!  He is my favorite person on the planet and I can't believe it's been 12 years since we walked out of the candlelit church to a ringing bell that would be the beginning of an entire life hand in hand.  I love him so much and being married is the best earthly thing besides my children that has happened to me!!!  We have known each other now for 24 years, sweethearts in grade school and friends thereafter.  When he became my boyfriend our Junior year of high school, we both knew that we knew we were meant for each other as husband and wife. We had what most would call a bold or fierce love so early on to be just 17 years old and to declare marriage in our future, but we meant it with all of our hearts. During all the trials or changes that happened over the following 3 years before our wedding, we never once even thought about breaking up or even taking a break of any kind, if anything we became all the more committed.  We knew that in marriage a break-up wouldn't be an option, so why do it when dating because we would get married anyways, period!!  I remember getting a few chuckles after just after he became my boyfriend and when I told some people that we were getting married one day.  I guess most people who talk like sound immature, but I knew we had a strong love for one another and believed God orchestrated our relationship from the start!

The fierce love we established even before our wedding carried into our marriage, and it's that kind of commitment to one another that has gotten us through the hardest and most difficult times we've ever faced in our lives.  That kind of fierce love isn't comes from the having Jesus Christ in the middle of our relationship.  He IS our fierce LOVE, and He has given us that kind of love in our marriage to brave the storms and uncertainties of life together.  Decade after decade. 

We've experienced trials over the past 10 years or so that I have felt completely at a loss... that have been so terrible or unexpected ... I felt as though Heath and I were in a the real life fiery furnace.  A furnace just like In Daniel 3 when the king threw the three Israelite boys in, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  It was said in the Bible it was heated up "seven times hotter than usual" . They were thrown in for obeying God instead of him.  The miracle of it all is they came out ALIVE and not even a hair singed on their head. This was from a furnace big enough to hold people!  It was because God sent an angel in there for their protection.  It was God that protected them!! That extra hot furnace that the Israelites came out unharmed burned up very guards that threw them in, just from them getting too close to it.

In God's goodness and mercy, since we are His children and have asked God to be the center of our marriage from the beginning, my husband and I too have survived a fiery furnace.  We've come out of what I've considered a furnace of trials that many couples would not have been able to survive on the other side.   Our "secret" is no secret, because I want everyone to know and I will cry it out from the rooftops! 

It's simply, Jesus.  Jesus is the answer!

I love talking about our anniversary because I love Heath! I honestly can say I love him more now than ever, because with God, what the fire leaves after wards is refined and more beautiful than before!  We aren't perfect, our story isn't perfect, but it is our great adventure that we are just 12 chapters in.  It's exciting to think about what will unfold this next year in our family!

I hope that I have left you with some beauty and inspiration here, and more insight into my life.  I really do appreciate every one of my readers and I pray that all is well with you, too! I love receiving emails from you, so if you ever want to talk especially if I'm not writing as much, I would be delighted to get an email from you! (My email address is in the side bar.)

Have a joy filled Autumn day and remember if you have a need go to God with it! He is near and loves you so much!

Welcome to my Christmas Home

Welcome!

Come in from the cold air and warm up with a cup of wassail!  I'll show you around...  

(Please keep in mind I'm a real person not a designer and you'll see toys here and there because I have a 4 and 5 year old.  If I'm going to keep blogging, you have to be good with the imperfections, because it's real life!)

It's always an old fashioned Christmas at our house.  The kind that I hope helps you imagine stepping back into Jo March's Orchard House with warm glow from the crackling fire to warm up by and a bustling of children.

Perhaps you feel the joyful merriment of Fred's house from A Christmas Carol!  

A home that's filled with the simple pleasures of a joyful Christmas with laughter and a pot of Christmas wassail simmering on the stove.

As you know I love having antiques in our home here and there.  The look of old and new coming together is so timeless to me.  

For Christmas I use lots of woodsy greenery, but especially now since we're living in the country again.  If you're new here, we moved into our home back in the summer. We have a beautiful view of woods, fields and even a horse farm from our windows!

I like candles and weathered pieces like these old windows that add a sense of age and character, but our family's pictures around and the children's homemade ornaments are really what makes my house our home!

Cotton and bells.

Berries, burlap and pinecones.

My husband helped me by putting up garland on the banister with an old fashioned looking holly ribbon intertwining through it.  He is definitely a man of many talents!  He also picked out the gorgeous live evergreen wreath for the door, and I love it!!

Since those pictures above I decided to embellish the banister even more.  I cut sizable sprigs from our holly trees to add some fresh holly to the garland and liven it up!  It did just the trick!

 Next, I hung the stockings from the banister, looping through some of the sturdy evergreen sprigs to hold them in place.  I think it looks darling and whimsical, especially with the kid's bedroom upstairs they'll really enjoy seeing them going up and down!

Follow me into the living room.  This is truly one of the most festively adorned rooms in the house! 

As we step in on the natural maple hardwood floors you can find an oversized leather chair perfect to curl up in to read or even take a little nap.  This fair isle patterned throw is the softest and best blanket I've ever been under.  (It's by Martha Stewart and still available at Macy's.) It was a special gift from my husband last Christmas!  A home cannot have too many soft and cozy blankets!

The advent calender house is a wonderful tradition we've started with our children.  I get it down everyday (well, if we remember!) for them to open the charming doors and find a message or treat inside.  

We remind them the ultimate gift we have everyday...  Jesus coming to earth and dying on the cross for our sins (and arising 3 days later).  Doing so He gave us freedom from our sins and cleanses our heart.  He made a way for us to have an intimate relationship with Him on earth and a way to Heaven to live forever with Him!  All we do is surrender our lives to Him!  It's a free gift that we could never ever earn by being good, but only by accepting Him as our Lord and Savior!  God sent His Son because He LOVES us that much!!! (John 3:16 & 17)

It's hard to fathom but I serve a God who --no matter what I've done-- He runs to me!  He is in so love with me and I him, so I will worship Him for all my days!!  

It all goes back to Jesus, because it's a good reminder to the kids and myself that although sharing gifts are fun and festive it doesn't compare to sharing with others the gift of what Jesus Christ has done for them!!!  

He came to save us. It's the very reason we celebrate Christmas.

Our big tree is full of memories over the past 11 years of marriage and 3 years of parenting. We try to get ornaments wherever we travel to and for the big events in our lives.  Our family knows I love collecting ornaments and will also give us some from their travels!  Now several of the ornaments are homemade by our kids at school and use their sweet faces or handprints and of course they're the most cherished!

Lastly the kids add candy canes and we add a large plaid bow to the top to complete the homespun look I want.  I think it's beautiful placed next to the fireplace!

When we bought this house I just knew it would be a beautiful "Christmas" home!  

Especially with the colors we chose of grey walls in the living room and red in the family room, the Christmas decor pops.

See my baby girl over there? :)

  

These beautiful red shelves are a unique find we got at a wonderful furniture store named Feagans in Fredonia, Ky.  Turns out they're one of my favorite things in the room and the cozy chair completes a library type reading nook perfect for quiet moments.  Favorite books and pictures fill it out with some sweet festive touches this time of year.

Behind the chair is my "partridge in a pear tree".... Well minus the partridge (ha!). I need to find that bird!!  

Special Christmas memories adorn the shelves such as this homemade stocking filled with dried flowers.  We have kept this from our very first Christmas we were married.  Just about 6 weeks after our honeymoon we went to a special B & B, and the stocking was a gift on our bed from the owners.  What a magical time that little getaway was for us!

Our century old piano gets a lift with a faux garland of greenery and berries!  It just looks so old fashioned, decorated this way.  It doesn't have a great sound, nonetheless we love playing worship music and singing together almost every day.

Mr. Cozy plays the guitar as well, and we both absolutely love music so when we moved in we had no doubt the piano and guitar would be a focal point in our home!  We want a place friends and family can kick back and play themselves or we can sing and play together.  We want our home to exude peace and joy and warmth to all who enter!

Another view to give you from the other side of the room.  

This day I was getting the house cleaned and ready for a French themed Christmas dinner party!  I'll have to show you some pictures for that night soon!

So that's the nickel tour of our entryway and living room here at Christmastime! I hope you feel like you know my space a little better where I relax and do some of my blogging from.  It's always a pleasure for you to visit me here my blog!

From my cozy home to yours,

Merry Christmas!

"For unto you born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11