Through the hustle and bustle of this Christmas Season we celebrated Christmas with gusto and zest, as my husband and I moved into our forever home. We embraced all of our dear family who live in the DFW area, and they embraced us. In fact, they all made the journey out of their comfort zones, to visit us in our new home. We gently savoured the miracle of the season with several Christmas celebrations, which included making gingerbread houses, sleepovers with cousins and Christmas carols. A few of my dear friends, and you know who you are, predicted  that my paperwhites would bloom just in time for Christmas and they did! These paperwhites traveled from the apartment to the Hotel to the House and seemed to thrive through it all. Truly, this is the season for all types of miracles, they really do exist, they are all around us and they come in all shapes, sizes and scenarios. I would like to share a little Christmas story with you, which happened this year on  Christmas Ev

I had seriously told myself that I was not going to write another post until I had real news to share. Well, who would have thought that I would already have some. My husband has been telling me that I talk non-stop so I guess I really do have something to say. I will leave it up to you if it is worth reading or replying to...if not delete and disregard. I truly will understand. Moving and Christmas may have altered my rational state... They power washed the front and garages of our new home today, it is so dusty and has all the residue of leftover mortar and such, and mud.  Yes, we did get more rain. Honestly, it is such a mess and I just know that we are going to be cleaning and recleaning for months and months. Then the painters began to touch up the inside, the baseboards, cabinets, crown moulding and all marks on the walls. Well, I had been washing the kitchen cupboards and noticed some spots in the cabinet drawers that I felt needed some touch up. I went to one of the nice painte

Christmas present , is a time to rejoice in the moments that surround us, and this past Saturday my Christmas present was bursting with them. I wrote a little post this past Sunday on  Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas  where I shared with you how my heart was a little heavy and melancholy as I thought about Christmases past. You know those misty memories of what was and missing those who are no longer physically with us, even though I know in my heart they are spiritually. However, as I reflected on Saturday, I embraced the enchanting afternoon we had as we attended the performance of the Nutcracker. The Nutcracker is a tradition for us and although we usually watch this classic at the Bass Hall in Fort Worth Texas, this year we attended the performance in Irving. The reason for the change of venue was for watching our little granddaughter perform in this marvelous classic. Maisy Lou is one of the baby clowns and you can see her in the far left of this photo, leaping in the air.

It is a rainy morning here in Rockwall Texas and as I sip on my coffee and look out the Hotel room  window I find myself   feeling a little merry and a little melancholy all at the same time. Christmas has a way of bundling up all of those feelings in one neatly wrapped package, and it seems the cloaked sky, and droplets of rain pitter pattering on the window jar many memories of Merry Little Christmases of long ago. Today I am thinking of my sweet parents and envisioning my Mother standing on a makeshift scaffolding in the snow hanging up Christmas lights on the eaves of our red brick house. I don't know how she did, but she was always one of the most capable people I have ever know. Oh, she was such a wonderful woman, full of sugar a little sassy spice and truly everything nice. Hope you have sweet memories today and if they are laced with a little melancholy, that is alright too.  So today I am sharing with you one of my favorite Instrumental Christmas Songs. A touching video ac

Welcome to our French Country Home Christmas. We haven't quite moved in, there are still many last minute touches, but all in all this new home of ours is taking shape. This Christmas Tale began about 2 months ago when Stacey from Poofing The Pillows  extended her w arm and caring Texas hand of friendship, and invited twenty plus Texas bloggers to come together to share their Christmas cheer. I was thrilled when she issued the invite and in my mind's eye I have been preparing for this Blog Hop for quite some time. I recall envisioning myself in our new French Country Style Home  sitting by a perfectly dressed Christmas Tree, a roaring fire, boxwood wreaths on each window and maybe even a hot cocoa station nestled among greenery on the Butlers Pantry.  Well, that is not going to happen this week, so we have moved on to~ "Keep Calm and Go To Plan B."  So right this minute we are in a Hotel Room, with all of the things from our apartment in the garage of our new home. We

You know you are celebrating Christmas in Texas when you see a Suburban with  a set of longhorns on their grill, and a colorful wreath on those horns. As much as my heart will always love Idaho, the place of my birth, and where I spent twenty years of my life. My heart also loves Texas where my youngest child was born, and where most of my family now lives I fondly remember when we moved to Texas 25 years ago to an Oak filled  neighborhood, where I embraced the Texas landscape and friendly folks. I was immediately welcomed by a native Texan, she eventually became a loyal and caring girlfriend. To this day I can see her pulling up to my front door in her blue "Texas Cadillac," also known as a Suburban. We loaded our little girls into her Texas Cadillac ( Jessica and Amanda) and I can still recall looking over my shoulder into the back seat of that looooong vehicle. I believe I might I have even commented to Tracey that our  two youngsters seemed lost  among all of those seats

Happy December dear friends! Goodness, I cannot believe that this month is well on it's  way and here we are, moved out  of  our apartment into a lovely Hotel in Rockwall Texas. We are just days away from totally moving into our  new French  Style home, where I will be sharing some Christmas photos of our home on Friday. I am participating in  Christmas In Texas , hosted by my   Rockwall neighbor  Stacey @  Poofing The Pillows . When I think of  Christmas I think of family, decorating, baking, singing and rejoicing in the Birth of our sweet Jesus who was born on that starry night in Bethlehem. So today I am sharing some special photos of our dear family with you.  All of these photos are all from our Three event Thanksgiving, beginning in Keller Texas  with our son and his family. We began Thanksgiving Day with a hearty breakfast  of bacon and eggs and cookies. My son and his wife hosted this gathering and as you can see it was filled with much joy. P.J's and tiny tots are a w