Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Just wanted to stop by and say MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours this year.  George and I wish for you a lifetime of blessings including joy, happiness and peace.  May God's love always be within you, guiding your path as you journey through life's many roads.  We love you and pray for you daily.  God Bless You!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Hope 2014 is a fantastic year for you. 

Much Love,

Friday, December 20, 2013

Christmas at our Home-- Part III

Our Home all Decorated for Christmas
Well---my Special Blog Friends,  this will be my last post for 2013... I cannot believe the year has passed by so quickly!!!  Time flies when you are having fun I guess.... AND--I certainly have had a great year...

Today,  I'll share with you a little more of our Christmas here in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee.   On Monday,  I talked about our special ornaments.  Then on Wednesday,  I showed you my Angel Collection... Today--I'll share with you more of our Christmas --both inside and outside.

Be sure to click on the photos for enlargements.  The photo above shows you what the outside of our home looks like from the street. We don't do alot of fancy decorating --but love our three lit wreaths especially.




Front Porch and Wreaths



Little tree on the front porch (with lights/bows/candy canes)


The Wreath on the Garage side --plus lights in the windows



Our deck with garland and bows



Looking at our home from the backyard;  You can see the tree inside.



Our Tree inside --full of MEMORIES!!!!



In addition to loving our Christmas tree,  we love our FIREPLACE all winter!!



A wider view of some of our Living Room/Great Room area



The Center of our Lives;  Our Nativity



Some of my Christmas BABIES --which take care of us at Christmas!!!  (Center top is a Christmas COW---Do you have one of these????? ha)



Advent Calendar --made by my sister-in-law many years ago



More decorations -- all with many special memories attached



Dining Room Table ---all ready for a big TURKEY DINNER



More memories scattered around the room



OH---the memories here!!  Read below.
When George and I first got married,  one dream I had (still have) is to own a little cabin on top of a mountain somewhere...   WELL---this is our 'mountain cabin'---which we gave to each other the first year we were married...

The other thing I want to point out in the photo is the HUGE snowball which I got from a friend many years ago when she lived in Colorado... She's in Texas now ---and even though Texas grows BIG STUFF,  they don't have snowballs like this one!!!!!

WELL---this wraps up our Christmas at Home....  As you can tell,  I am one who loves Christmas ---not all of the fancy stuff about Christmas,  but mainly the memories.  Most of the 'stuff' around our home is a gift from someone special... When I decorate,  I can re-live all of these memories...

I thank all of you for your love and faithfulness in following my blog/Facebook/emails this year... You are ALL so very special to me --and I want to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and  a Happy New Year.   I will blog again on JANUARY 6, 2014.

We Wish You a Merry♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ ♥We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ And a Happy New Year!!! Seasons Greetings to everyone........

Hugs,

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Christmas at our Home--Part II

As I said on Monday,  this will be my last week of blogging in 2013 since I will take two weeks off to celebrate the Birth of Christ.   SO--this week I am sharing some of our Christmas with you... On Monday,  I shared our special ornaments... Today,  I'll share with you some of the little angels in my ANGEL COLLECTION.   I have lots and lots --so will just pick out some favorites to share today.

I've been collecting angels for many years... My parents actually gave me this adorable little angel (pictured above) many many years ago (in the 1940's ).  Isn't she angelic?????  Looked just like me --don't you think??????  WELL---if you think that my parents thought that I was so angelic,  look at the picture below of the BACK of that sweet little angel!!!!!



Can you see the SLINGSHOT in the back of her dress or robe?????  WELL---that would be ME I'm sure ---or at least,  what my parents thought I was.... I wasn't just an angel with 'horns' --but was an angel with a slingshot in my pocket....  ha ha ha   (My hubby will say that Mom and Dad knew me well....)



This little lady with the Marilyn Monroe look was my Tree Topper in 1962 when we had our first Christmas tree after our marriage.... That year I remember that we had all blue lights,  new ornaments and then sprayed that old nasty snow all over the tree!!!  (It was the 'thing to do' back then I guess.... ha)




This little dolly is one of my favorites... I bought her sometime in the 1980's --and she has been with me ever since.  Isn't she adorable?




Here are two fav's...  The one on the left is my Texas Angel ---which I got when I lived in Texas for 12 years.. The one on the right is one I saw somewhere --and just 'had' to have it --since I am definitely an Angel Collector.




This angel has always been a favorite since she is made from a MOP..... Bet you don't have a "Mop Angel"..... ha




I love this angel,  which I named Carole ---after my friend, Carole, who made her.  Isn't she pretty?   The two little angels beside Carole are two of my Glass Angels.




You know how much we love ROSES.... Well----do you have a "Rose Angel"  like I do????  Isn't she pretty?????




This is one of my newer angels,  my Fall Angel,  given to me by a special friend in Virginia.  I love the leaves used as angel wings.




Well--since I have an angel made from a mop and an angel made from a Rose Bud,  then you know I MUST have an angel made from what else---  a WASHCLOTH.   To her right is another photo of the little Rose Angel.  On the left is my Cleaning Angel.  Wish she'd wake up and clean my house for me!!!!! ha




Here is my newest angel,  my  Willow Angel Ornament,  given to me by my husband last Christmas.  She looks awesome on our tree.




Finally,  here is my all-time favorite Angel Collection, my Willow Angels... I now have 13 of them --counting the one hanging on our tree.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Willows...



**********************************
NOW--I am going to end today by changing the subject and showing you a collage I did last year showing some of my wonderful BIRD ORNAMENTS.  I didn't get these posted on Monday---and since the birds are so important to me,  I wanted to share them with you today.

Hope you have enjoyed seeing many of the reasons I love Christmas so much.  I'll have one more blog post on Friday sharing our Christmas with you...  

Check out my Photo Blog (click HERE) for another photo showing my love of the lights and colors of Christmas here at home!  And come back here on Friday for one more Christmas Post!!!!!

We Wish You a Merry♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ ♥We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ And a Happy New Year!!! Seasons Greetings to everyone........

Hugs,

Monday, December 16, 2013

Christmas at our Home --Part I

Ornament talking about our beautiful flowers
This will be my last week of blogging in 2013 since I'm taking two weeks off after this week to celebrate the birth of Christ.    SO---I'll spend this week sharing our Christmas here at home with you.  I am one who absolutely loves Christmas ---so I hope you enjoy seeing my posts this week.

Today,  I'll  share with you one of George's and my favorite traditions ---the collection of ORNAMENTS.   When George and I got married,  we had 'his' and 'her' Christmas decorations.. So,  we decided to exchange ornaments each year as part of our Christmas to each other.  We give silly ones,  romantic ones showing our love,  ones from trips we take,  and ones portraying interests that we have.  Opening our ornaments is definitely a highlight of each Christmas.

It's hard to 'pick and choose' since there are SO many great ones.  So---this year I've divided the ornaments into three groups (Favorites from 2012,  Favorite Special Ones through the Years,  and  Favorite Trip Ornaments).   Hope you enjoy seeing some of our memories...  Be sure and click on the photos for enlargements.  The first group shows some of our 'funny' and/or 'unique' or 'special' Ornaments.  The above ornament shows a HUGE part of our lives ---our love for Roses and all of our beautiful flowers.



Funny Ornament I gave to George one year since I am ALWAYS dieting --and he doesn't always get his CAKE or special desserts!!!!! ha



George gave me this adorable little 'hot house' one year since I have such a huge love for our flowers.



I gave this one to George one year since I always give 'my' Santa a LONG "Honey-Do" List... ha




This is my "Kissie-Kissie" Fishie ---since I love to beg for kissies from my Sweetie!




George LOVES to cook (and he's a great cook),  so I gave him this ornament one year since he is my special Chef!




Cass Railroad in West Virginia
The second group I chose to feature this year are from some of our many, many trips through the years.   Above is one of our favorite trips---to West Virginia, and a trip on the Cass Railroad.



King's Arm Tavern at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia




Biltmore House and Gardens,  Asheville,  North Carolina




One of our favorite places,  Ocean Isle Beach,  North Carolina




From our visit to Mt.  Rushmore,  South Dakota in 2012




Bird House Ornament
And the third group includes four ornaments from last Christmas!  Above is a great ornament which George gave me since he knows how much I love my Backyard Birds!




I gave this little Ladybug to George --expressing my special love.



Showing our LOVE of MUSIC




Two Lovebirds----that would be US!!!!




I'll close showing a collage I did a year ago showing two more special ornaments of ours,  a computer and a cellphone... Aren't they cute????  AND--they are sooooooo  US--since we use both of them ALOT.  ha

As you can tell,  ornaments are very special to George and me.  When we decorate the tree each year,  it is so much fun just re-living the memories.   Our Christmas tree is definitely a 'hodge-podge' tree FULL of MEMORIES... We love it!!!

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of our little ornaments today.  There are many other special ornaments such as my bird collection and the angels... BUT--that will have to come in another post!!!!!

Have a wonderful day.

We Wish You a Merry♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪We Wish You a Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♥ ♥ ♥We Wish You A Merry ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ And a Happy New Year!!! Seasons Greetings to everyone........

Hugs,