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,

Emoticons

GOOSENECKS STATE PARK, Utah 9/9/17

San Juan River at  Goosenecks  State Park,  Utah

Dear Friends,   Hope those of you in our country had a great Thanksgiving this year...  I certainly did since I got to see my sons and enjoyed spending time with more family along with eating some great meals!!!!!  Life is GOOD!

But today----I'm featuring another beautiful state park  which we visited on our Utah/Arizona trip in September.    This park is named  Goosenecks State Park  --and it is located off of Highway 163 between  the towns of Bluff and Mexican Hat,  Utah.   It is north of Monument Valley,  Arizona.

From the edges of the cliffs at this state park,  we could see 1000 feet down into the canyon below.  The SAN JUAN RIVER  meanders back and forth as it makes its way through the canyons.... While looking down at the meandering river,  I was reminded that it took 300 million years for the river to carve its way through all of these structures...  AMAZING.....

Another interesting statistic about that river below:   The river flowed over 6 miles in that area  yet it only advanced 1.5 miles!!!!!   (Sounds like some of my hikes!!! ha ha )

From our viewpoint --we could see 3 parts of the San Juan River as it works its way through the canyon...... The picture at the top shows a wide angle view of all three parts of that river from the overlook.  Below are some closer shots of each of the three different views. As you look at that photo,  I will call the part of the river on the right as Part I,  the middle part as Part II,  and the part to the left as Part III... Hope you enjoy these pictures today.

1000 feet below,  this is Part I  of the San Juan River;   

A close up showing the geological structures around the river;  (This is Part II--the middle part)

Part I and II of the San Juan River as it worked its way around those canyons;

I took this picture of George at the rim of Goosenecks  State Park.

Part III (on the left) of the San Juan River  (as I walked farther around the rim)

From another area on the rim,  I took this picture showing both Part III (left) and Part II of the San Juan River.

George took this picture of me at the rim of Goosenecks State Park,  Utah.

Look at this  picture carefully and see if you can tell what it looks like!!!!! (I'll explain it at the end of this post.)

Us at Goosenecks State Park,  Utah,  9/9/17

Hope you enjoyed  seeing this amazing little state park...  I do recommend it if you are in that area..  It's a great place to add to a trip to Monument Valley. Or another interesting nearby place which we did not get to on this trip is Valley of the Gods.   For those of you who want to see something like this without doing a lot of hiking or walking,  Goosenecks is the place!!!  The views are amazing!

Now--go back to the previous picture and look at it again.... This was taken on the road to Goosenecks and is near the small village of Mexican Hat, Utah.   I read that the population in 2010 was 31..... Look back at that picture.... Can you see it now?????   It's a Mexican Hat!!!!!!

If you want more information about his area,  check out the website for Goosenecks State Park.  Click HERE.

Hugs,