Christmas Card I just received.. thought I'd share~ tee hee

Sound asleep at the moment.... however we now have a walking baby boy.. What started out as 2 steps on Thanksgiving has evolved in the past 10 days to full walk across the living room...which is a great thing!! ... only now more to search for, open, pull down etc. etc. This being my only boy I have already learned that boys love to explore and figure out the way everything around them works. I love watching his mind work, and now his feet too! Next, Dad and Mitch need to head off to get that first hair cut, the natural mohawk is starting to really get crazy.. haha

Very glad that Faith's Christmas Program was last night, considering the weather we are supposed to get today. ( ice and snow) I am also in awe of the fact that I read in the Farmers Almanac back in September that we were supposed to get our first winter storm around the 12th of December...and here it comes.

The stockings are hung, the tree is up, my menu is finally pinned down.. now just to host.. we are excited and ready for Christmas Dinner with my husbands family next weekend...

I was going to do Rouladin however, the more I have thought about it I am not sure that everyone would like it..so we are still doing a meal with a European taste..

Christmas Menu~

Pomegranate and Pear Salad

Tomato and Basil Soup

Rosemary Pork Roast (and Christmas Chicken for those that do not like Rosemary)

Roasted Winter Vegetables

Mashed Potato and Gravy

Crusty Dinner Rolls w/ butter

Dessert~

My friend Brigette is making a layered white cake for us, to serve w/ peppermint ice cream.

I will also have other sweet goodies.

Sparkling Cider

The guests are bringing the appetizers and wine...

Merry Christmas!

wish me luck, hopefully all the food turns out well :)

Seriously... Does anyone know of a place that sells adult footie pajamas the kind that are soft on the inside and on the outside? I have found the scratch inside kind already...I am again getting ready for bed and freezing.. no one else seems to be.. just me..need to invest in a pair.. brr

English Countryside Lovely~

On this Cold...very cold... Friday night I am sitting here wrapped in a long fur throw AND a quilt... (yes, the heat is on:)...thinking about going to sleep so I thought I'd post some comfy looking bedrooms to say " Good Night...and stay warm"

~Jen

Italian Farmhouse Style Inspiration~

In our family we always have had an advent calendar.. if you are not familiar here is information on them.

The first advent calendar with small hatches that could be opened was printed in Germany in 1904. They had often pious images taken from the biblical story or traditional Christmas legends. In Norway, such calendars for prominence in the late 1940s when the Norwegian Girl Scout Association produced and sold these calendars. The first advent calendar was released to the advent in 1947 and had 25 hatches. The following period from 1 Sunday of Advent through Christmas Eve. It was designed by Ragnhild Elisabeth Boye. Already the following year, he advent calendar 24 hatches for use from 1 December. This principle is applied since all advent calendars (Wikipedia)

....please remember.... there is NO " X " in CHRISTmas ...

Our Home is Eclectic~

Rock Glam / Urban Chic...

Let it Snow... Let it Snow... Let it Snow~ we might get our first snow today.. I'm ready.

Mitch 10 Months now.. brushing his teeth for the first time... he loved it!

When You Marry Him... When you marry him, love him. After you marry him, study him. If he is secretive, trust him. If he is sad, cheer him. When he is talkative, listen to him. When he is quarrelsome, ignore him. If he is jealous, cure him. If he cares naught for pleasure, coax him. If he favors society, accompany him. When he deserves it, kiss him. Let him think how well you understand him, But never let him know that you manage him. When you Marry Her~ When you marry her, love her. After you marry her, study her. When she is blue, cheer her. When she is talkative, by all means listen to her. If she dresses well, compliment her. When she is cross, humor her. When she does you a favor, kiss her. If she is jealous, cure her. If she is lonely, comfort her. When she looks pretty, tell her so. Let her feel how well you understand her, But never let her know she isn´t boss.

I Promise

Dorothy R. Colgan

I promise to give you the best of myself and to ask of you no more than you can give.

I promise to respect you as your own person and to realize that your interests, desires and needs are no less important than my own.

I promise to share with you my time and my attention and to bring joy, strength and imagination to our relationship. I promise to keep myself open to you, to let you see through the window of my world into my innermost fears and feelings, secrets and dreams.

I promise to grow along with you, to be willing to face changes in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting. I promise to love you in good times and bad, with all I have to give and all I feel inside in the only way I know how. Completely and forever.

Farmhouse Style...

I am a lover of so many different styles.. suppose it's just eclectic taste.... Last year I saw the last three of these photos of Billy Reid's home in Alabama in Country Living Magazine and fell in love with them.. for more go to www.countryliving.com and look up Sweet Home Alabama..

Dad and Faith picked out the "perfect tree"... we had planned to go cut one today, but some of our crew went with grandma, some with cousins, mom went and did a little shopping after all and dad and faith went tree shopping... and I must say terrific pick... my favorite tree.. Great job guys!

Mitchell ~n~ Daddy.. working on Mitchell's First Christmas Tree...

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with our family at Oma's house.. that... I am most thankful for..

Boston Alexander~ One Day Old...

Congratulations Alex and Ashley on your baby boy ~~Boston Alexander....you are very loved....

Baby on the wayyyy~ Yay~!!!

I am so excited to announce that Ashley is having her baby!! Big excitement yesterday evening with some questionable issues and a call to the doctor and by midnight they were off!! This morning she has had her epi and is feeling much better..shouldn't be long!!! So excited for both of them and praying that all goes well today. Hopefully they will all be back happy and healthy cozied up at home for the arrival of Ashley's mom after Thanksgiving.

So much to be Thankful for!

~Jen

The look I am loving right now...

Let me count the ways that I love this kitchen!