SHE HAS GREAT STUFF

I introduced you to my blog friend that I got to meet in real life a few weeks ago….Kristen…She is beautiful and she is  so talented…
Her blog is full of GREAT IDEAS and her ETSY SHOP is the best.  I have purchased gifts and things for myself.  It’s like treating myself to something that I do but from someone else.  You would have to be in my business to understand that.  I get so sick of my stuff. I have loved every single thing. Her prices are TOO reasonable and she is much better than me at getting things shipped. So stop by and start your holiday shopping or treat yourself

(Just talked to Kristen and her shop was full last night and empty today.  She will be filling it up in the next few days so just keep checking back…I told you her prices were good.  Make yourself a note to visit her.   
So a few more looks for you….

A GIVEAWAY and A GUEST

Keep looking for that white tree and we are going to show you some ways to use it soon.  I also made a run to Hobby Lobby this week and will show you some of their best buys in ornaments this year…If you live near me you probably won’t find them, as I bought all of them. Trees are everywhere in my shop but I just cannot bring myself to work on one until the temperature gets below 90. Also, if you have any specific things you would like me to post on, any “how to’s”,any questions you have.  I know a little about a lot of things, but I know a LOT about trees.
I did finish the fall wreath and will show it to you in the next post…
I have all but one of the ornament giveaways shipped and why not add one more.  So, if you would like a few ornaments, because they are overtaking my house, leave a comment on this post…Parker and Jack are here for the entire weekend, so one of them will draw MONDAY night…. That gives you a really good chance….just a couple of days of comments.
Another Christmas lover is Gretta at The John’s Family, Enjoy her guest post and stop by and visit her. 
I am married to an incredible man named David & we have 4 amazing kids ages 15, 9, 7, & 5.  We are blessed to be able to home school our children and are enjoying this new journey in our lives.  I also enjoy making handmade jewelry and crafts, playing piano and creating photo books to capture fun times we enjoy with family and friends.
Christmas is my favorite time of the year because it brings families together, people all throughout the world focus on Jesus Christ and there is something magical about the Christmas season.  I was raised in a home that had some wonderful family traditions like delicious recipes that were made year after year for Christmas celebrations, extended family gatherings that included Dirty Santa and even a few gag gifts and my personal favorite: our yearly Christmas ornament.  My parents bought me and my sister a special Christmas ornament each year. The tradition began with my very first Christmas. My first Christmas, I received a "Baby's 1st Christmas 1977" ball ornament and one of my cousins made me a Winnie the Pooh dough ornament because I had a Winnie the Pooh nursery.
My grandmother and my two aunts (on my Mom's side of the family) also joined in this yearly ornament tradition.  Each year, we received an ornament from all of them so as we grew up, we got 4 ornaments to add to our collection each year. The ornaments from my parents were always related to something we enjoyed that year (a particular cartoon character, a piano, Barbies, etc) or were from a particular place we had visited.  Our family grew up camping and taking lots of road trips to various places and one of my Mom's favorite things to do on our trips was find a Christmas shop.  Often at these shops, we would find an ornament we just "had to have" and that would end up being our yearly Christmas ornament. 
Each Christmas, as I was growing up, this tradition was creating a Christmas ornament collection that I would one day enjoy as an adult.  In fact, when I married David in 2000, I had enough ornaments from our yearly Christmas ornament gift to fill an entire 6 1/2 foot Christmas tree!  My mother in law wondered where I got all those ornaments and loved the tradition of giving a Christmas ornament so much that she bought David his own ornament that year also to add to our first Christmas tree together.  We have continued this tradition of giving a yearly Christmas ornament to our own children.  Beginning with their very first Christmas, we buy them an ornament.  Like my parents did, it is usually related to something they like that particular year (Veggie Tales, penguins, Barbies, etc) or something they accomplished that year. It is our hope that one day our children will enjoy the same memory-filled Christmases as they fill their own trees with their special ornaments from years past.

Even though I am married with 4 kids, the tradition of receiving a yearly Christmas ornament still continues with my family.  Each Christmas, David & I still receive 3 ornaments (one from my parents and from each of my aunts) and our children receive the same.  My sister and her husband have also joined in to the yearly exchange and give each of our kids a special ornament each year also. My grandmother passed away in 2003 and one of the most precious Christmases for me was putting up my tree the year she had passed away.  I had 26 ornaments she had given me to hang on my tree and each of them had her handwriting somewhere on them.  You see, the person who gives the ornaments always writes the year they gave it (if the year isn't on the ornament somewhere) and their name or initials.  That way, there is no questioning when we got the ornament or who gave it to us years down the road. The first Christmas David & I were married, we put up our tree and then sat on the couch and enjoyed the twinkling lights and a tree filled with treasured family ornaments from people that love us.  Now during the holidays, when people comment on our trees, David always tells them "These are not just trees...they are our family.  Our trees are deeper than Christmas veneer because my wife, our marriage and our 4 kids are represented on our trees and it creates a warmth in my heart every time I look at them." 
I want to encourage you to consider starting your own tradition of giving a yearly ornament to your children, grandchildren, niece/nephew, etc.  It creates a lasting memory for your children and a legacy that lives on after you are gone. 
This is something we have done in our family also…and now do for the grandkids…..nothing like a good ornament collection.

LOTS OF EYE CANDY and WINNERS

  I just returned from my next to last  trip to market before tree season begins...so thought I would give you a little preview of Christmas 2010 and the new looks I saw at market. ...BUT FIRST, near the end of the day I was in a showroom (looking very tired and had one of those end of market days look)  AND  I was in a showroom that I  had not even planned to go in, and there was my  blog friend , Kristen. Hop over to my main blog and read the story. 

The winners of the ORNAMENT GIVEAWAY are

EDWINA at THE PICKET FENCE

and

KIM at A CREATIVE SPIRIT

There will be another guest post this weekend and  ANOTHER GIVEAWAY.  I have ornaments EVERYWHERE.
Here is a look at Holiday Decor 2010

VERY MUCH THE WHIMSICAL HERE and CERTAINLY NOT FOR EVERYONE

I hope these pictures will ENLARGE when you click on them so you can see some detail.   I had the hardest time getting them to load tonight.  

I did not get a picture of the tree but I saw the cutest tree done in all these colors.  Perfect for a little girl's room!

MEET ASHLEY

My first GUEST...Welcome...Meet Ashley from The Happily Ever Afters of the Lancaster's!

I am very happily married to my wonderful husband Kurt, and I am now the extremely proud mommy to our baby girl, Evy! She is the most incredible thing that's ever happened in our lives. Some main interests of mine are Disney, Christmas, and celebrating home and family, and my blog covers all of those topics and more. I love my husband, my baby girl, my home, and most of all the Lord!
See why I loved her...she mentioned Christmas and Disney in the same sentence.

Where do I begin in expressing my love for Christmas? Everything about it makes the season my favorite time of year. The sights, smells, and sounds---all of these wonderful elements of the holiday season should point us to one thing: The Savior!

Sights: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" John 1:29
To "behold" means to "see or observe (a thing or person, esp. a remarkable or impressive one)." What beautiful things we see around Christmastime! Houses beautifully decorated, wrapped in warmth and joy. Strangers greeting each other with kindness. Exchanging the perfect gifts. Christmas lights adorning homes and trees. Candlelight. Snow. A nativity scene. A charming wreath. A table set perfectly for a holiday party.

The most important thing we can behold in our lives is the Person of Jesus Christ. In John 1:29, John the Baptist prepares the way for the Messiah by exclaiming that He is the Lamb of God. But John doesn't stop there: He is the One who takes away the sins of the world! Have you beheld Him? Make time---during Christmas and every day of the year--to behold the one who has washed away YOUR sin.

Smells: "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 2:15
I always know when I smell Christmas for the first time each year. Usually it's in the fall, when fireplaces or leaves are burning. Can you relate? What is your definitive "Christmas smell?" Pine cones, cinnamon, pumpkin pie, peppermint. The perfect Christmas candle. Your family's delicious traditional holiday meal. Hot chocolate, and scrumptious apple cider!
Smells linger with you, don't they? They can transport you to a certain time, place, or in this case, season. A lot of times, we associate something with a smell, just like I do with the smell of burning leaves. In the verse above, it's clear that if we are Christians, we are the aroma or fragrance to fellow Christians AND those who don't know Him! That's so important to recognize--our ministry is not only with one group of people or the other. We are to be relevant to both. In our efforts to decorate our homes, make the perfect meal, or host the perfect gathering for the holidays, we must remember that our whole purpose is to be the fragrance of Christ to those we come in contact with. I'm going to try something this season: every time I light a yummy candle or bake cookies, I'm going to pray for those I need to be ministering to!
Sounds: "Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!" Psalm 150:3-4
There's a reason I listen to Christmas music all year--it just makes me happy and calms me! I love the sound of a full orchestra playing a Christmas medley, or a simple guitar playing "We Three Kings." I so enjoy a flute playing "What Child is This?" or the brass section playing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." It's all perfect to me!
The underlying theme of our holiday season (and our LIVES), should be praise. I am constantly having to work on this, because it's hard to praise Him when things aren't easy! Stress levels can get high, things don't go the way we want them to, the Christmas card picture just doesn't look right....you get the idea! There will always be something to distract us from praise. The enemy desires nothing more than to take away our praise and our joy in the Lord. Even when stress levels run high during the holidays, maintain your praise! The whole season is dedicated to praising God for what He has given us in His Son---Salvation! The out-of-tune adorable singing of caroling children = praise! The ringing sound of someone yelling "Merry Christmas!" across the street = praise! The clinking of your change in the Salvation Army bucket = praise! Listen for it this season.
I'm praying that you BEHOLD Him more vividly, exude the FRAGRANCE of Him more strongly, and PRAISE Him more constantly this Christmas season and all year!

Merry Christmas!
Ashley

What a great post to start your holiday preparations.  Thanks Ashley!...Now go  visit her blog and leave her a comment at
The Happily Ever Afters of the Lancasters!
Let me know you did and you will get 2 extra chances at this NEXT GIVEAWAY....Sorry for the same picture...could not find any clip art that was as pretty as my ornaments..

ANOTHER ORNAMENT GIVEAWAY

WINNERS! PLUS MY BODY IS TELLING ME I AM NOT 35 ANYMORE

WOW, I never expected to have such a huge response to the first HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY of the year!  I am thrilled to have so many new readers. Once the season starts, its tough to post and it makes it much easier if I know I am helping someone.  This year we are hoping to give you lots of tree ideas early.  I am going to give you a little teaser at the end of this post...Before I announce the winners, I will describe a little of the life of a tree decorator. The last week in August and all of September you will find me unloading boxes, sorting ornaments and ribbon, stock piling lights, garland, picks, berries, grapevine, wire, making last minute trips to market,double and triple checking the schedule,glancing at every holiday magazine I can find for new ideals, checking on delivery dates for live garland.  Really it is not near as glamorous as it sounds.       My husband just informed me that there were 102 boxes left in our storage building.  I got twenty boxes unpacked yesterday and that took me a lot of hours.  My body reminded me today that I am no longer 35 or 45 for that matter...This is one of the jobs that I almost HAVE TO DO myself, or I won't know where things are once we began work.  I am also mentally decorating four new houses that we have. Thinking about all we need, as these houses are totally starting over.  A NEW LOOK!Another part of my job is looking for good trees for my customers that need new ones. I don't actually sell trees, but I try to find them the best tree for the best price...if you are getting a new tree, USE your old tree in your yard as a decoration..GREAT light effect at no cost...RECYCLE IT.  That's not really a tip, but seems people never think of that. 
Here is the tip....Buy a white tree. I have never liked white trees, don't do any, but we came up with so many theme trees that we could do on this little (I think 3 or 4 ft) tree late last year.  We went and bought everyone we could find for this year...In the next few weeks, I will show you a transformed tree. 

OK, for the FIRST ORNAMENT WINNERS THIS SEASON, ( don't worry there will be many more) are
Kelly at Blessed Mama, Blessed Wife
and
Trish at Me and My Boys
Both are super cute blogs that I want to read more of. If you stop by these blogs and say hello, I will make SURE you get two entries in the next ornament GIVEAWAY.  That will come later this week when I have my first guest poster.  While I am unpacking ornaments, hundreds of them, its a good time to give some away.  Be sure and check out my main blog for a little catch up on the littles and of course a little football.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE CHRISTMAS, AT LEAST AT MY HOUSE! THAT CALLS FOR A GIVEAWAY

As of today, this blog goes back to all things HOLIDAY!  My shop is filled with storage boxes, trees, wreaths, ornaments, more ornaments, ribbon (probably more than you have ever seen and we will still run out), mesh ribbon in every color you can imagine (I just counted 90 rolls).  It is really  dangerous to be in the shop. I do a lot of tripping over things.   I spend the entire month of September sorting ornaments, making plans for new jobs, making wreaths, and on and on...It is a hard work month.  

So for this month I am going to have some guest bloggers.  I already have the post from the first blog friend that I will post later this week.  I would love hearing from others that love Christmas; about your decorating themes, any tips you want to share about preparing for the holidays.  I had someone ask me to do a post on a "to do" schedule and how to have a stress-free Christmas.  In my work, there is no such thing and my schedule is so different than others that one of you might be better at addressing that. I would love to hear from you.  I will be happy to showcase your blog. 75% of my shopping is done  and my trees will go up the first of October, so my schedule is really not one that fits most people.  I have the privilege of getting exquisite ornaments at market for great prices.  So the first GIVEAWAY will be a group of ornaments very similar to the ones above. THERE WILL BE 2 WINNERS, so two packages of gorgeous ornaments are waiting for YOU to win. I am one of those people that think there is no such thing as TOO many ornaments! Parker will draw on Monday night so spread the word that there is a

CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY!  I am excited to give away something glitzy!  Also, email me at (annah99@aol.com) if you would like to write a post. You will also be hearing from Terri, my head elf...but first she is going on a 7 day cruise next week..
For the GIVEAWAY, as always, ALL you have to do is leave a comment..If there is anything special you want to see more of or know more about on this blog, also include that.