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...

Monday, December 4, 2017

Christmas at Our Home, Part I ---- A Special Tradition

Welcome to our Home at Christmas  (one of my favorite ornaments)
Dear Friends,  It's hard to believe that it is December and that Christmas will be here before we know it..... Time Flies When We are having FUN,  doesn't it??????   (not sure all of this hustle and bustle is always fun though... ha).....

Anyhow,  since I will only have 3 blog posts between now and Christmas Day,  I want to take those three posts and share more about  our Christmases.  If you have been following my blog for years,  then you  may already know a lot about Christmas at our Home....  Many of you know how much I LOVE Christmas... I love to decorate the 'old-fashioned' way using multi-colored lights,   the regular Christmas colors of greens and reds--and doing things inexpensively!!!!!   My home is definitely not a fancy one by a long shot when looking at others' homes at Christmastime.   BUT--it's OURS and we love it....

One non-expensive tradition which I love and which George and I started in 2001 when we got married is to exchange cute and sometimes crazy ornaments each Christmas.   I love unwrapping all of these 'memories' each year as I put them on our tree....   I've shared some of the ornaments through the years on blog posts, but since I'm never sure what I've shown before and what I haven't,   I just chose a bunch to share today with you.   Hope you enjoy seeing one of our special Christmas Traditions!!!!


All we need at Christmas is each other!

One of my MANY Bird Ornaments 

Another pretty birdie --but I think he may be a 'tad' too big to get inside that birdhouse!!!!! ha

My all-time favorite bird,  the Eastern Bluebird;   I ordered this one from Etsy --and absolutely LOVE it.  

That little Cardinal is sitting in his nest in our tree!!!!

Ah---how sweet;  George and I are lovers forever!

This was one of our FIRST ornaments --from 2001... AH---it's all about MEMORIES.

A cute little Bluebird house sitting in our Christmas Tree

These 3 ornaments show some of our many trips we took in 2014.

As you know,  we grow ROSES --along with many other beautiful flowers in our yard.... We try to keep something blooming most of the year  (except Winter).

Both George and I LOVE Music....  Right now we have been listening to Christmas music  in the house,  while working in the yard,  and while we are in the car!!!!!  LOVE it!

We collect ornaments from many of our travels...  This is a neat little ornament from Mt. Rushmore.

HA HA HA ---Here's a FUNNY ONE which needs no explanation......Glad she admitted it though  so that Santa would know that all she deserved was a 'bag of coal'..... ha ha 

A cup of Hot Chocolate is warming --but not as warming to my heart as George is!!!!

Another Cute One I got for George one year,  showing Santa and his LONG list....  (Seems as if I always have a "honey do"  list going for George.... ha ha )

Another one I got for George in about 2001;   I call this little fishie   my little 'kissie' ornament --since I love George's kisses so much!!!!!!
WELL----I could go on and on and on --but this is plenty for  one post!!!!!!  You can see how much fun we have exchanging ornaments every Christmas morning.    We experience such joy --and so many memories through the years!!!!!!

I hope you will share some of your special Christmas memories this month.....

Have a great week ---and always remember that none of us bloggers really know what our blog friends are going through in their lives and families... We need to be patient with each other --when some of us do not have time to comment on others' posts as much as we wish we could....I have experienced this 'need for patience' first hand this past year.   George and I just hope and pray that 2018 is a better year for us and our families....

Hugs,