SO THANKFUL ARE THESE TWO FAMILIES

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

The houses we decorated on Monday and Tuesday of this week could not have come at a better time for a THANKSGIVING post. Their homes overflow with thanksgiving, with an appreciation for life that probably only comes in situations they have been through. I don't want to tell their stories, but am going to share the short version and what I see in their lives. Both live in ABSOLUTELY beautiful homes, both of them have a house full of kids!
Both families have experienced some really hard days and both have witnessed great miracles in their lives (and I do have their permission to shout God's faithfulness)!

The first home is a family I have known for twenty years. The first house I ever did when starting the the tree decorating business, was decorating the parents home of the husband in this home...you might have to read that twice. That's a long sentence and it was many, many moons ago. I remember when this couple married probably 15 or 16 years ago. I may be off a year or so...but it sure makes me feel old.

I remember when they wanted babies and and I vividly remember when they lost four babies. I really want this to encourage all the readers I have that are suffering with fertility problems. That was the story in this home. I remember how sad I felt ever time I heard they had lost another baby and then twins. They desperately wanted a house full of little ones...Five year ago they were able to adopt a little man. He was so loved and really rocked their world...and then a few days after I decorated their home 2 years ago, a little girl came along! The tiniest little bundle of joy. Another Christmas miracle!

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I got an email late one night telling me they had just brought another beautiful little baby girl home from the hospital. Their home is now overflowing with little ones. When they talk about the miracle of the adoptions of all three, their gratitude is so apparent. As I was leaving this week, the Mom was holding this sweet newborn and said to me again...
"These children are miracles and answers to prayer"! This year they celebrate Thanksgiving very GRATEFUL!

Click to enlarge

The tree is one we change up every year and this year she wanted to give it a heavy GREEN touch. Last year we did it in PINK and SILVER!

We spent two days at this next house. Unlike the other family, I have only known this family for 2 years. It is a home that is full of KIDS, FUN and lots of LOVE. The Mom at this home is MULTI-TALENTED! That would be putting it mildly. She designed this home and over several years built it. She is a DOCTOR ( a pediatrician which so fits her) ! She is SUPER MOM to four great kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. She is a wife to a doctor. She is a daughter to aging parents! She is one of the most genuine and warm people I have ever met and I am so thankful to call her my friend. But just a few years ago, life suddenly took a scary turn when she was diagnosed with cancer. Her baby was very young. She went through all the yuk treatment and today she is caner free and totally well. Her zest and appreciation for life just radiates from her. She is one of those people you just want to BE AROUND! And I almost did not meet her...Last December, after I was finished decorating, had put everything away for another year, all my help was home doing their own stuff when I got a call from one of my long time clients that someone really needed help. They had just moved into a new home and needed help getting their holiday decorations up. I first said NO! I thought about it all that night. The next day I called to see if one of my elves could work another day, still not very excited about getting the scissors and ribbon out again. Long story short, I said OK, we would see if we could help, never dreaming we were about to meet one of the sweetest and FUN gals ever. We met a lady that loved life, appreciated every little thing and had a glow that I rarely see in people. We ended up spending two full days with the family. As I drove out of their neighborhood, I had a new appreciation for life and for health and I had made a new friend.. That's one of the great PERKS to my job!
One day I would love to share pictures of their entire house.. NO detail was overlooked and it is AMAZING! But for now, here are some glimpses of their Christmas trees ..We do a true 12 foot Southern Living tree in the family room and then a GIANT 14 ft tree in the game room filled with ornaments the kids have made... Enjoy...

Notice we used all her old stockings in this tree...a great way to preserve memories of stockings of the past.

We made two of these arrangements and they hare full of tall lights in them..perfect for the spot they are in!

The main staircase that you see as you enter the house.....STUNNING

The mantle in the game room

BEAUTIFUL HOMES, but most of all BEAUTIFUL FAMILIES full of THANKSGIVING to GOD for life, health and answered prayers.

Tomorrow night I will draw for the wonderful HOLIDAY CD! and then Friday night for a drawing for a special holiday SURPRISE! So leave your comments...That's all it takes to be in the drawing. More beautiful homes to come in the next few days.

A WEEK IN REVIEW

So much for posting everyday! Can't do it....There is just so much energy and at the end of a day my brain cannot make a complete sentence. My body cannot move and the BED calls my name.

THIS POST will be a long one, as I don't know when I will have another window of time to blog....maybe Wednesday night....I have a some great new "Grammy Pictures" that I will post on my main blog.....I have so much to be thankful for.
So check out Teresa's Treasures in the next day or two and you will see my greatest blessings.

COME with me and lets look at the last week. You can click on the pitures and they will enlarge (I hope)!
If this gets too long, just move on to another blog. Its too long for me.
I would love to do a post on each house, but I am afraid that was just wishful thinking on my part. I hope you will enjoy what I can manage to post today.
This was the week I traveled for four days to another town to work at wonderful homes. My biggest problem was I did not take my elves. They stayed here and worked on their own stuff and one even decorated my house! (thanks Terri)

This started our week ..tree, mantle and staircase....though I don't think there are any pictures on my camera of anything but the tree and staircase.....

TUESDAY'S HOUSE is an entire post. We will spend another day there this week
so I will show all the pictures then...but here is a sneak preview! It is a FABULOUS house that a WONDERFUL family lives in.

Wednesday began travel days.... This is one of my sweet friends that moved to a new city this year and has the CUTEST little 3 month old girl!

And this was the FIRST tree I had done totally by MYSELF in years. Wow do I appreciate all my elves.


The home for the next couple of days was for some dear friends...We have only known them a few years, but feel like we have known them forever. JUST VERY SPECIAL people.
Although there was TONS of work, we really enjoyed our stay in their home. My husband traveled with me this week and that was great...I could do paper work while he drove.
This is one of those homes that just says WELCOME and you instantly feel at home. IT is a stunningly beautiful home that has an ABUNDANCE of Christmas.
The picture below is right out of Southern Living...a beautiful, warm, inviting room. The tree turned out gorgeous and was a great new look! There is not a ROOM in this house that is not filled with Christmas...this home really turns into a WINTER WONDERLAND! They have lots of parties planned, so I know they will bring JOY to many people.

The mantle in this cozy room....

Not a great picture, but a view of the dining room

This is the tree in the foyer, full of Annalee ornaments...Opening the front door just screams Christmas.

This is a HALF TREE that I totally redid.....love the look and want one for myself. This is in the family room and perfect for the spot it is in. Below is the top of the half tree....there are endless possibilities for this tree...one you could change each year.

Snowmen are everywhere in this room and a peak at the mantle!

another view of the BIG TREE!

A few pictures of the kitchen cabinets filled with great collectibles from over the years. The staircase looked beautiful, but somehow I did not get a picture.

Even though this was WORK...this was a fun time with friends....GREAT food, good WINE, and fun helpers! (Thank you Vee, Sue and Brenda)

Back home late on Friday and on to a big job yesterday...but also back to my elves....

This house has 2 large trees and for the first time we flip flopped the trees from the living area and the landing upstairs....Loved it! The tree above is what we call a BALL TREE....totally filled with every color ball, crammed in the tree to give the fullness.....one of the most colorful trees that we do!

The tree on the landing is filled with gold, silver and a touch of burgandy.
and the next picture is the topper for it.

This is the fun combination of colors at the bottom of the staircase.

Hope you have enjoyed the weekly TOUR! I can tell you this body feels it as I sit here with a heating pad on my back...and I finally got a long 12 hours of sleep. That was HEAVEN. My husband is outside putting out our outside lights...Nothing makes me happier than to come home at night to a yard filled with white lights and lots of Disney characters...Be sure and leave me a comment and you will be in the drawing for a wonderful

Holiday CD that I will draw for on Thanksgiving.

*****And because I have SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR, I want to bless someone this week with a BOX of CHRISTMAS goodies! All comments this week will go in a drawing that I will do on Friday night....SO TWO GIVEAWAYS this week.

I cannot end this post without telling you that you MUST see

THE BLIND SIDE with Sandra Bullok and Tim McGraw...Jack and I slipped into the movie on our way home yesterday. A rare treat during tree season. WE are movie lovers and this was one of the BEST movies I have seen in several years. One of those movies that when the credits roll, no one gets up. A movie you think about! A movie that you think about again.

A movie that makes you take stock of your own life. A movie that somehow makes you want to be a better person. A perfect movie for Thanksgiving week. Have a blessed week.

****Just checked and a few pictures will not enlarge....will try and change that later today....

A LONG HARD WEEK, BUT PICTURES ARE COMING SOON

This has been A LONG WORK WEEK, but I promise pictures of lots of trees and a post are coming tonight or early tomorrow...along with a another GIVEAWAY.
I had really planned to post every night, but I have literally been working around the clock....

WE SURVIVED

I have ZERO energy tonight to blog....
This is a week that I travel to do some trees, so have spent the day packing all that I will need for the entire week. I normally do that day to day, but this week I have to be SUPER ORGANIZED! We have a long day tomorrow and then do the largest house we do all season on Tuesday, but also one of the most special. I will do an entire post on it.
Here are just a few pictures from the week......This is the
fallen tree that is up AGAIN!
WE rarely put an angel on top, but are pretty sure this one kept us safe. We survived on a tight time schedule, but I would love to have a smoother week this week.

My elf that has helped me the longest...I could not make it without her.

Another tree, another day...they begin to run together..This was for a friend that has had an incredibly HARD year, so I left her house knowing that the beauty of the tree was going to make her smile. That's a good feeling.

A CUTE GINGERBREAD TREE

Love this snowman house

A TREE FULL OF SNOWMEN
This picture does not do this tree justice...

And this is what I have not seen nearly enough of the past few weeks...my youngest little grandson, any of the boys for that matter...Being Grammy is my passion, trees are just a job!

Grayson 5 months old!

If you have not checked out THIS post, be sure and read it. All comments will go into a drawing on Thanksgiving Day for one of these holiday CD's! PLUS, we are getting close to a special number in followers and I have a surprise for SEVERAL bloggers.

TIP FOR THE DAY....GREAT ORNAMENTS AT GREAT PRICES AT CRACKER BARREL!

NEVER EVER HAPPENED IN MY 17 YEARS of TREE DECORATING You DO NOT want TO MISS THIS POST

I am trying to think about how to start this post..I am between laughing, several glasses of wine, a lot of ICY HOT and VERY GRATEFUL that this happened when it did and no one was hurt.

I am really to tired to post this but I am afraid if I wait until tomorrow, I will forget the details. And I want you to know the DETAILS! This began as a very ordinary day....arrived at a house that I have done for probably 12 years plus. I KNOW this tree well and it is one I could do with my eyes closed. First of all they forgot to turn the alarm off, so when I opened the front door the entire neighborhood knew I was there. No problem. Just a few phone calls and we had it turned off, my elves arrived and we started in on our normal routine. This is a HUGE 10-12 foot FAT tree that stands in the middle of the room and you see the entire tree as you walk through the front door. One that is beautiful and fits the room perfectly. Early into the decorating we felt the tree was a little loose (that's a tree term) so we tightened the screws which we found VERY loose and noticed the center pole was a little bent... NO PROBLEM or so we thought. Middle of the afternoon, I knew we were within an hour of being done and was even thinking about going to get a new set of nails...the mantle was finished, all the decorations put in their place and the tree was 90% finished....I was working on the topper and within five minutes I would have been ready to start attaching it..Understand this tree was FULL and beginning to look beautiful!
I was standing back and looking to see where we needed to fill in holes. It just happened that all three of us were on the same side of the tree, none of us on the ladder (THANK YOU LORD), when in a split second the tree (probably one of the heaviest trees we work on) FELL! Just snapped and fell toward a couch. We just stood there in shock.....I think we all either said or thought the same word at the same time...(I need to interject here and THIS IS BRAGGING...we secure the ornaments so well that only 4 things came off and nothing broke.) BUT what TO DO???
We had no idea if the three of us could lift it up. After a couple of one, two, three LIFT, we finally got it upright. But we could not let it go...two elves got under it, worked with every tool we had trying to secure it while I held it from the top...NOTHING. The tree stands between two large columns. Our first thought was to move the tree to one side and wire it to a column... we spent lots of time moving it and TRYING to get it stable. We finally got it wired to the column, still swaying as in REALLY swaying. (not even sure if that was a word) Nothing was working. Then we decided to call my husband to go to Lowe's and get some bags of Quick Crete. We thought we could pile those up under the tree and cover it with a giant tree skirt. This was a stretch but we thought it MIGHT WORK! With that and securing it to the column, we felt like we COULD have a solution. Wrong again!The tree was just an accident waiting to happen. We used everything we could think of including a pizza pan to secure the base..absolutely nothing was working..Remember during this entire time one of us had to be keeping the tree upright. We will all have aching ARMS tomorrow and probably a few bruises.
Now we have been holding the tree up for well over an
hour...and are getting very tired...I happen to have two helpers that don't panic...along with a husband that nothing moves his needle...After he arrived and surveyed the situation and once we realized that nothing we had tried was making a dent...There was only ONE option that we could feel safe with. Take the tree down and buy a new tree. So my client/friend is out looking for a tree tonight. We totally stripped the tree and are now back to SQUARE ONE! In a couple of days when we have a few extra hours we will do the tree again. There are young grandchildren in the house often and it makes me sick to think that the tree might have fallen on one of them.
So TODAY was a FIRST, an exhausting day, BUT we will be on to the next tree tomorrow...I will post some pictures tomorrow night! Be sure and check out the post before this one and listen to some great music...it gives you a chance to win another GIVEAWAY!

PICTURES JUST ARRIVED
we never got a picture of it decorated and on the floor...as in no hands were available to get the camera. These will be very self explanatory!

ONE OF MY FAVORITE SINGERS, SINGING CHRISTMAS..and A GREAT GIVEAWAY

I am so sorry that I have missed a few days posting. We had some GIANT projects that had to be done. They took every ounce of energy that I had.

Wednesday night I will have more trees to show you. We have a gingerbread tree almost finished and will do a gorgeous tree tomorrow. Wednesday night will be filled with tree pictures and a FEW TIPS!

BUT tonight I have a special surprise to share with you. An old friend of mine has recently moved to Shreveport. I have known him as a wonderful singer for 20 years and was so excited to hear that he was making a new HOLIDAY CD! Anyone that reads the blog, knows that I LOVE Christmas music. He now has his website up and samples of some of the songs. They are wonderful. And on a side note, he just married a friend of mine. As I was listening to his CD, I realized I was hearing a man not only in love with the BABY THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING, but also a man
MADLY in LOVE!!! I think that makes this CD even more special!

Please visit his site..jeoffreybenward.com then come back here and tell me in the comments that you made a visit! I would love to know which song you liked best.
Then on Thanksgiving night I will have Parker draw and give away 2 copies of the CD...These would make great gifts to give away early in the season or for your on holiday collection.

Just some thoughts from Jeoff....
When my other friends were listening to Elvis or The Beatles, I was forced then but I realize now-blest, to have to listen to such artists as Frank Sinatra,Tony Bennett, John Raitt, Gordan McRae to name a few. You see my late Father was a singer of the standards. Dad missed hitting the rockn'roll seen by a few years and because of that he didn't like any of it and wouldn't allow it in our home. He was a crooner and in my opinion the best I've ever heard. Dad was on his way out and I'm convinced he knew it.
But in 1949 before television existed, Dad crooned his way to winning the Original Ted Mack Amateur Hour heard live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City that was broadcast nationwide over the radio-the TV of that day. The Ted Mack Hour was...the first American Idol. Because of the financial pressures of taking care of a family of four, Dad decided not to make the move to NYC to start his singing career on the radio after winning. Instead, he opted to stay in rural northern Indiana where my 4 sisters and I were raised. I remember Dad standing in front of the mirror in our one and only bathroom in our pastel green aluminum sided 3 bedroom ranch, belting out "WHEN I FALL IN LOVE" as well as other amazing songs, pretending he was on stage. We'd all yell, "Dad stop!" And he would look at us with those regretful eyes and would reluctantly give in. He spent his life wondering-what if. Oh how I wish I could hear him now. I'd tell him, "Belt it out Popps!" Dad had a word for rock'n roll "cacophony"...which is a little too tense for me. Yes...I'm forever a huge Beatles fan! Little did I know that thru his distaste for this new genre of artistic expression, which led to my limited access to it, would come my chance to hear history's greatest singer/crooners and to memorize such pieces of music as OKLAHOMA and THE SOUND OF MUSIC to name a few. Those were the only kinds of recordings we owned as a family. But from my isolated musical life came my love for great melodies that lives to this day. On my new CD project "O STAR OF CHRISTMAS" I discovered anew the voice of my Dad in me and my love for great songs and a music style that I can wear. Instead of having someone write the typical artist bio I felt like I needed to tell my story because many are taking on the standards with great sounding commercial success these days, but very few have sat in front of 33 1/3 phonograph like I have as a kid and crooned out those great songs at the top of their lungs. On my new CD you'll be listening to my roots. It's been rare in my recording career that spans 30 plus years now, that I've ever recorded a record, that after I was done, I didn't want to change something. Not so on "O STAR OF CHRISTMAS". I really love this CD almost as much as I love Christmas! I so hope you enjoy and turn it up loud...Merry Christmas!! Jeoffrey Benward

I have not forgotten about the winners from last week.....The Winners of the Holiday Goodies this past week are

Sondra at Happy Clean Living and
Rambling Gal

Both of these gals will have holiday goodies coming their way! Please visit their blogs!

IT'S A GOOD FEELING TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE MADE SOMEONES DAY HAPPY!

****Thanks for all the kind emails asking if I was sick. I am fine, just had more work than I could do this past week and a super stressful week. I have HELP on the way tomorrow so I promise a post tomorrow night and will be announcing the winner of this week's giveaway.


Today was a good day, even though I really did not feel good. (please pray that I am not getting sick and am just tired and aching in every part of my body from OLD AGE; sometimes the first few trees just stress every muscle, but I definitely was not feeling great today and there is SO much stuff including the SWINE FLU EVERYWHERE!) ..... BACK to the HOUSE. The owners are dear friends and it is a home where they LOVE the HOLIDAYS, LOVE the LIGHTS and are the BEST at storing their things each year. They are organized to the MAX!!! That always makes our day go so much smoother. This was a home I have done for many years. This year we added a new green. The tree has a Victorian look, though the pictures don't really show it that well. It is a tree filled with balls,ribbon,Victorian ornaments,and lots of beads that we just cut up and lay over the limbs just for the sparkle. I also added a picture of the wreath over the fireplace...it is one of my favorite. There are a lot of shots that look almost the same, but if you enlarge the pictures I think you will see the many different things that make up the total look. .

I also added multiple colors into the TOPPER. You can see the great look that comes from MANY colors and textures in the RIBBON. I wish I could make a bow and topper for everyone of you!

This is a house that is arranged in a way that you can see the tree from several rooms. So any door you come in, you see the glimmer of the tree and you can FEEL Christmas! I love it that my clients are also my friends!