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!

Christmas Traditions~

Are you getting ready.. are your children excited?? Mine are...and traditions are important. One of our family's favorite traditions is going to Oma's house on Christmas Eve. Another is decorating our tree together.

Including traditions during the holidays can bring families together and give children something to look forward to each Christmas.

This year, we are going to start a couple more simple additions.

If your family doesn't have a Christmas Eve Tradition, I think this one sounds lovely~

Spend Christmas Eve under the tree. Have a picnic next to your Christmas tree. Get cold cuts, cheese, bread, condiments, and sparkling apple cider at the grocery store. Put the food out on nice holiday platters and lay out a blanket next to the tree. Enjoy a simple dinner next to the Christmas tree as a family. This is something fun that children will love.

The next two are simple ones that I am going to add to our household this year.

Make breakfast together on Christmas morning. Elongate the Christmas experience by having the children help make breakfast on Christmas morning. Wait to open up the presents after breakfast is finished. Cinnamon rolls baking in the oven will make the entire house smell festive.

Put together a puzzle. Get a thousand-piece puzzle to start at the beginning of December and try to finish it before Christmas morning. Work on it together each Sunday night after having a family dinner. Read more: http://homemanagement.suite101.com/article.cfm/start_family_christmas_traditions#ixzz0XSomnZQv//homemanagement.suite101.com/article.cfm/start_family_christmas_traditions#ixzz0XSoVjGOx

Family Space ~

I want to do something with our basement.. well or should I say my hubby's basement.. right now it is a finished 700 sq. foot space that one guy watches tv in and plays his video games.. if there were a kitchen down there we'd never see him... seriously!

I think that much finished space should have a few more purposes, don't you?? Craft/wrapping station, homework area, and an office space, game table... all can work there way into that area also..

On the hunt for inspiration..

These photos are exactly what I am trying to achieve this year in our home's Christmas Decorating .. Dark, Warm, Cozy, Rustic, European, Classic, Farm House. I already have the dark going.. and actually pretty close to the same color scheme in my house. I painted my dining room last night the same dark stone brown that is in our reading room, then stumbled across these pictures this morning.. oohh la la.. as my Opa used to say..or Bow chicha wow-wow.. as my husband would call it!! hahahha. Gorgeous!

Getting ready to go outside and put up a few things.. here is the new front door "wreath" that I made. I had an old picture that had bright colors that don't match my home and loved the frame.. so I grabbed the chalkboard paint and painted right over it and then hung the pine cone swag that I made last night and added "w" for our last name. Easy peasy! ~As soon as that paint cures a little I think I am going to write "Merry Christmas" or "Noel" on the chalkboard part.~

Let the Christmas excitement begin... I love to start decorating for Christmas.. new ribbons on the wreaths, we made white stockings and cones for the fireplace and my 2 youngest girls are so excited to pull out the cookies for santa plate and decorations.. so fun to watch them.. Faith came up with a whole cookies for Santa plan this year.. I quietly watched her organizing and arranging over and over..

Our tree will go up after Thanksgiving, for now the wreaths and stockings are going up.. truly is the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year"... I love to cozy up with my family on these long nights, now if it would just cool off a bit..

Hi Dad John,

Brad told me that he just talked to you and that you said that you click on my blog each day, I hope you are enjoying the pictures of the kids and house!

I just want you to know that WE LOVE YOU and are thinking about you each and every day!! We're busy with all of the kids, and I am getting prepared for the holiday time and Christmas, we wish you were closer. We miss you, and the laughter that you always bring with you!

This baby boy of ours sure does remind me a lot of you and Brad, he's a little goof ball already!!

We love you and we all pray for you every night, and Dad... I know we've said it before but I want to tell you again, THANK YOU !!! Thank you for all of the times in the past 20 years that you have been there for us! Thank you for always being a phone call away for Brad or I when we needed to talk things out, work through stressful situations, and for lending a hand when we needed it. We will forever be grateful to you for all that you have done out of love, and your humor that always helped us move forward. I just wanted to make sure again that you know how appreciated you are! We wish that we could be there for you now..the distance is not fun for any of us.

With Love, a BIG HUG,

Jenni

I hate the disease they call Alzheimer's, please pray for a cure!

I don't remember where I got this one, put it in to my "inspiration" file a long time ago..and just noticed that one of my new favorite Blogs "Home Sweet Home" posted it too... oh I LOVE IT!!! LOVE IT!!! LOVE IT!!

Is it the weekend yet???

Our Old House.. I miss it at this time of the year.. CHARACTER...

~ Fur Wreath ~

While browsing blogs yesterday I came upon an old post at Nesting Place on how to make a fur wreath..

I made my own today and added a Monogram plaque, and black grosgrain ribbon to it...

And for $15.00 which includes the plaque this is what I came up with.. What do you think?

From where you are sitting right now reading blogs.. turn around and look... what do you see? This is what I see today.. in my temporary computer spot.. as I am trying to figure out a better mini office placement on our main floor.. hmm... not so easy.. I need a disguising white or black cabinet ... craigslist ?? we'll see :) ( just noticed that I can see "me" reflected all the way down the hall way in the powder room mirror taking the picture .. smile!)

Hosting Christmas.. and a bit nervous about it..

Hello,

Every day that I walk into my house I honestly love it.. so why is it that as I get ready to host my husbands family for Christmas Dinner I am of course fretting over my house, I get anxious knowing that my style is different then theirs.

I started this blog thinking that I was drawn to Parisienne style, however.. I think my German heritage is actually more of what I long for in my home.

If you have known my Oma and Opa... Ah...as a guest in their home, you know the feeling I am talking about..

An eclectic, cozy, imperfectly perfect, clean old home, with a lot of love, and true to who they are people, that makes you instantly feel welcome.

For 36 years I have attended Christmas Eve at my Oma & Opa's home, we have a large family and almost everyone makes it a point to be there on that night. We have had the same German meal each year with only a couple additions due to new family memebers that might like another option.

The Rouladin, Red Cabbage, Mashed Potatoes w/ Gravy, Carrots and a Dinner Roll are always the same and served at 5:00.

We open gifts after 6pm. I remember as a child and then watched my own children run into my Opa to check if we could open our presents and him always making us wait until exactly 6:00 to begin. I lost my Opa a few years back and miss him dearly, but it honestly feels like he is still in my Oma's home, and that is so comforting. We will again be there for Christmas Eve this year.. Oma needs a little help with things but still knows how important it is to her family to come.

I want my children to have the same memories with all of their family.

I am excited and stressed about hosting,but on that day.. I want no stress.

I really hope that everyone feels welcomed, comfortable and loved when they are here at our home this year, just as we feel at my Oma's.

I am going to try my hand at my Oma's Christmas Eve dinner.. with a few additions for maybe different tastes.

I want it to be fun.

With Love,

Jen