May peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through.

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.

Peg Bracken

At Christmas, all roads lead home.

Marjorie Holmes

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope; the spirit of Christmas which is peace; the heart of Christmas which is love.

Ada V Hendricks

As much as I love the Christmas Season ... I love the days that follow Christmas as well ... a time for quiet ... a time for stillness.  

As a New Year is just around the corner, we cherish precious moments in our humble home, planning and preparing simple food in our cosy farmhouse kitchen while focusing on our simple budget for the New Year.  We also cherish warm and cosy times with our family and friends in our home. 

Merry Christmas

and a

Blessed New Year

As we plan and prepare for the Christmas Season, we keep it simple and old-fashioned in our home.  We want to enjoy the peace and quiet as we cherish the real Reason for the Season.

We have a small Christmas Tree with simple decorations and we have a few sweet treasures throughout our home.  Many we have had for a very long time.  We have our simple homemade Wreath on our front door.  Our Christmas Cards will be ready to be mailed out soon.  Christmas Gifts that need to be mailed out will be ready very soon as well.  We will be wrapping our Christmas Gifts to go under our Christmas Tree during the upcoming days.  We always love watching a few Christmas Movies, listening to Christmas Music and reading a few Christmas Books.  We have a list of the foods that we will be having throughout the holiday season.  We have many of the ingredients that we will need, but we will be putting those that we do not have on our shopping list.  

Throughout the Christmas Season, we will be with our son and 'daughter' and we will be going to our Church for all that they will be sharing. We will have goodies for family and friends who come by.  Bible reading is a big part of our Christmas Season as well.

I am sharing a few heartwarming words from my Home Journal ... from my stash of sayings, quotes and thoughts that I have saved over the many years.  

 Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and a talk beside the fire: it is time for home.  

Edith Sitwell

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.  

William Blake

It seems like everything sleeps in winter, but it's really a time of renewal and reflection. 

Elizabeth Camden

Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour. 

John Boswell

TAKE CARE - the Lord will strengthen you each step of the way.

TAKE TIME ... and let God's Spirit guide you gently day by day.

TAKE COURAGE ... for the Lord has the power to help you heal and grow.

TAKE HEART ... because the love of God will never let you go.

Unknown

The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing something better than anything else her hands could find to do beneath the skies. 

J.R. Miller

The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.     

Louisa May Alcott

The way you keep your house, the way you organize your time, the care you take in your personal appearance, the things you spend your money on, all speak loudly about what you believe.  The beauty of thy peace shines forth in an ordered life.  A disordered life speaks loudly of disorder in the soul. 

Elizabeth Elliot

A cup of coffee and a good book is the perfect blend for a cosy winter day.

Warmest Blessings

 
Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~ Stanley Horowitz

HOW I PREPARE FOR THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS - I MAKE A LIST

Gifts to make - handmade treasures and homemade goodies

Events - church, family and friend get togethers

Menu - keep a basic menu for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day  

Recipes - favorites and new recipes

Travel Plans - add to calendar and start packing lists

Christmas cards to send

Supplies needed for handmade gifts and cards

Shopping list for gifts, decorations, wrapping paper and any other items you might need - keep this with you and then shop sales when out and about

Christmas books and movies

ORGANIZE

Check decorations, wrapping paper and cards from last year.  If you are really organized you will plan ahead a whole year and buy these things after Christmas and store them with your Christmas decorations.  Just don't forget what you bought and buy them again when the stores start putting out their Christmas decor.  Sort through decorations.  Keep only what you love and will use.

Plan Christmas Cards:  If you want to make them, buy your paper, ink and other embellishments.

Purchase Supplies for Making Gifts:  Look at the list of gifts you want to make for Christmas, then make a list of all supplies you will need to buy.  Most likely you will have many of the items in your stash of supplies.

Add Deadlines to Calendar:  Part of being organized is making sure all of your events are on the calendar.  You will also want to add deadlines for handmade gifts.  Mine is December 1st.  This makes December a much more relaxed month and I will have time to spend with my family and friends.

Create Gift Storage Area:  Keep everything in one place.

Set A Budget:  Start setting aside a little money every paycheck and you will not feel the pressure.  Be realistic and remember that it is not the stuff that make Christmas special.

With the winter season upon us, I cherish quiet time while snuggled under a fleece throw, a good book, a warm fire, with a cup of coffee, cup of tea or a cup of spiced apple cider as I plan and prepare for the holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving

from our home to your home.

Warmest Blessings

MY KITCHEN PRAYER

Bless my little kitchen Lord,

I love its every nook.

And bless me as I do my work,

Wash pots and pans and cook.

May the meals that I prepare,

Be seasoned from above, 

With Thy blessing and Thy grace,

But most of all Thy love.

As we partake of earthly food,

The table Thou hast spread,

We'll not forget to thank Thee, Lord,

For all our daily bread.

So bless my little kitchen, Lord,

And those who enter in,

May they find naught but joy and peace,

And happiness therein.

Amen

Our kitchen is the heart of our home.

Our kitchen is filled with treasures that I have gathered throughout the years and I love each and every one.  They are useful.  We use them everyday.  They warm my heart each time I see them.  My farmhouse kitchen is quite small, but just perfect for me.  I spend a lot of my time in my kitchen.  

I cook and bake from scratch.  Most of my cooking and baking, I keep simple, but oh so yummy.  

I keep a frugal pantry, I stock the basics, cook from scratch, we grow some of our own food and we preserve what is in season. 

It is now our quiet time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  Our small space garden has been made ready for the spring time.  It is now at rest.   

Being content is a cosy home, a warm bed, clothes to wear, food on our table and a stocked pantry filled with the basics as we share with our family and those who may come by to chat.

A cup of coffee warms the body; a moment of prayer warms the soul.

I am planning and preparing for the upcoming holidays in a simple way, so to keep my days peaceful.  It is nice to keep order in our home and create a quiet home.  Pride in your work puts joy in your day.

Warmest Blessings

This is such a pleasant time of the year.  There is so much to be thankful for.  The fall season shares cosiness, warmth, peace, a sense of quiet and gentle living.  

This time of the year, I begin planning and preparing for the upcoming holidays.  The beginning of fall reminds me that the holidays are just around the corner.  Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's give us a reason to give thanks, to smile, to celebrate and to make memories with our family and friends.  I feel planning and preparing early helps to keep our home in order and I love taking the time to tend to little things so that when those holidays come, we will have quiet time so that we may enjoy our family and friends and not be scurrying around.  We keep our planning and preparing simple and old fashioned.

We also begin planning and preparing for the winter season.  It is a good time to go over our pantry, refrigerator and freezer.  It is good to be stocked up, not having to venture out when the weather is cold and snowy.  It gives us a bit of time to make sure that we can be safe and sound during the winter months.

It is the most wonderful time of the year.

During this fall season, may you find joy and love in your life and reflect on all of the reasons to be thankful.  Also, it is a perfect time to plan and prepare for the upcoming days, weeks and months.

Warmest Blessings

Fall Blessings

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.  I love all four seasons, but Fall is the best of all.

Each year I look forward to the Fall season and all that it has to offer.

I love the fall colors.  The oranges, reds, golds and browns warm my heart.

The weather is near perfect.  I love the crisp mornings, the warm days and the chilly nights.

I love sweater weather, warm and cosy.

I love sitting around a bonfire with family and friends.  It makes for such a cosy and pleasant time.

I love all things pumpkin, apple, comfort food, homemade bread and so much more.

Fall nights are perfect for curling up with a good book and a steaming cup of coffee.  

Fleece throws are a very favorite of mine.

Fall is such a quiet and peaceful time.

Warmest Blessings

 Fall is the perfect season for its pleasant weather, the pretty colors of changing leaves, the comfort of cosy clothes and comfort foods.  The season also brings us fall festivals, a time to go to the pumpkin patch, apple cider markets, bonfires and so much more.  Fall brings a sense of calm and renewal as nature prepares for winter.

Warmest Blessings

We cherish precious moments in our humble home, planning and preparing simple food in our cosy farmhouse kitchen while focusing on our simple budget and puttering in our small space garden.

Warmest Blessings