Tradition #6

#6- Ever since 2002 my sister and I have always gotten a nutcracker for Christmas. The first year we picked our our own (I chose a snowman) and the other years my mom surprised us on Christmas morning. They always sit on top of our entertainment canter during the holiday:) 

There is a snowman.

a pirate monkey.

Alice in wonderland.

A mouse.

Clara... holding her mini nutcracker.

A skier.

A cook.

and lots of other ones. I remember getting them every year growing up. I always know before I open them that it's the nutcracker all wrapped up, because the paper is all crumpled, trying to cover every inch of the surprise :)

Tradition #5

#5- To go with my festive socks that keep me warm, of coarse I have to have a festive mug to go along with it! In the mornings leading to Christmas I always drink out of these cute (but kinda creepy) Santa mugs. There are some snowflake mugs that match it, but my favorite is the Santa:). 

Notice that peppermint mocha latte mix that Santa is sitting on. Always a great Holiday treat.

My mom was telling my the other day that she had mugs just like this one when she was growing up, so as you could guess she was thrilled when she found some in the store a few years ago.

They are so cute.

jolly.

and festive... I like festive :)

What's in your festive mugs this year??

Tradition #4

#4- Christmas socks! Aren't they great? You can almost always find them on my feet during this time. My feet always get cold, so what better way to keep them warm than to wear some festive socks??

Right now I am wearing some with little mini gingerbread men on them. I have lots of Christmas socks. I also have a couple pairs of toe socks, which means I can wear them with chacos... and that makes me happy.

Wearing Christmas socks is definitely a Tradition... a small one, but it makes this season even more special. 

How are your little piggys staying warm this year?

Tradition #3

#3- I remember in elementary school, whenever December rolled around I would take out the little calendar tree and hang it on our front door. And every morning I would go and move the mini Santa down a day, getting closer to Christmas. I would count how many days until Christmas and excitedly announce it to anyone who would listen. It was my job, and a very important one if I do say so myself. 

So now, just for the sake of tradition I still move the little Santa down everyday. During December i always know what day it is, without fail- thanks to my trusty tree calendar.

As I start getting older, when my mom decorates the house for Christmas she asks me, "Do you still want to hang this tree on the door."

With no hesitation, as you would guess, my reply was, "Of coarse!

Do you see little Santa's head popping out of today's date? - the 14th.

Now do you understand why I like it so much??

Tradition #2

#2- These are the stockings that hang above our fireplace every Christmas. Usually there is not a fire blazing below them because it is never cold enough. Maybe this year we'll get lucky!

I get so excited every year when the stockings go up. The cool thing is that my grandma made these for us as we were born, so every grandchild and family member has one made just for them!

Mine is my favorite (surprising huh?). I just think the little bear is so cute holding his candy cane. He looks happy... or maybe it's a girl. I haven't decided yet. What do you think?

Tradition #1

Through the next week, until Christmas day, I will do a blog post everyday about a Holiday tradition that we have at our house. I hope this gets you in the Christmas spirit!

#1- Let's start with the tree... Every year when I was young my family and I would drive out to a Christmas Tree farm to cut down our desired tree. After it was sawed down we would drag that tree for what seemed like miles to get it ready to take home. Even though it was freezing, I always loved going with the whole family.

A few years ago that Tree farm was shut down for business, so we settled for picking a tree at Lowe's. Most recently, we have gotten our tree from a local tree dealer from North Carolina. They have great trees.

For some reason we have always had a live tree. I guess it just smells like Christmas in the house. I can't imagine a Christmas without a tree. Great memories!

Where do you get your tree??

That time of year

Christmas lights, stockings, trees, nutcrackers, candles, shopping, cookies, ornaments, candy canes, ginger bread houses, caroling, bells, sweaters, Santa hats, fuzzy socks... 

yup it's that time of year. Let the count down begin.

Chacos... their very own post!

 

My beloved Chacos have made a few quick appearances on this here blog, but now I think it is about time that I formally introduce you to them...

My Chacos have been just about everywhere with me. You saw them in a picture to Colorado last summer, in a picture at the Grand Canyon... so yes, I like to say that they have traveled all over the U.S. These Chacos have been my companion for about 3 years now and they are still in tip-top shape! They are great shoes. I would barely even call them a sandal... I walked all over Arizona in these shoes and they never let me down:)

So, since these shoes have treated me so well these past few years and will in the years to some, I thought they deserved their own post...

Dear Scarecrow,

Dear Scarecrow,

You will soon be taken down, put in the attic and replaced by Santas... but don't worry things will be ok. I will miss you, because as you leave, fall goes with you. Don't worry things will be alright. I'll See you next year.

Until then, Maddy

Thank You

Thank You for Your Word

Thank You for Your promises

Thank You for Your sacrifice, Your blood shed

Thank You for Your blessing

Thank you for Your guidence

Thank You for Your love

Your protection, Your power, Your might

Thank You for Your silence

Thank You for Your patience, Your persistence

Thank You for Your people

my family and friends

Thank You for a second chance.

-Amen

Happy Thanksgiving!! We have so much to be thankful for:)

5 things...

5 things... 5 things i like, enjoy, or things that just plain make me happy:)

 

 

Shadow pictures. Any kind of shadow. I love them, they are so unique. I especially like shadows on a building from trees. The best shadows make an appearance around 3-4 o'clock.

Bare feet. Their the best. None can compete, except maybe Chacos, but that is for a later post. Bottom line... i love bare feet, they make me feel free :)

Mirror pictures always turn out so neat. I love taking mirror pictures and looking at other people's mirror pictures. Mirror pics can tell a lot about a person from small details that you have to pay close attention to.

 

 

 

Fall leaves. Who doesn't like fall leaves?  They are gorgeous, unique, and make the world so colorful. Fall leaves is one of the reasons that I am almost completely against leaf blowers... just let the leaves fall where they may...

Apples, refreshing, sweet, satisfying, enjoyable crunch... bliss. I cut my apples a special way that makes them even more enjoyable... i wouldn't say I am the only one that cuts my apples that way, but I like to think so sometimes ;)

Psalm 139:13

"you knit me together in my mother’s womb."

-Psalm 139:13

I have recently gotten into knitting, I actually knit an entire scarf, and let me be the one to tell you that it took a l.o.n.g time! A lot of endurance and diligence, not to mention time go into knitting a scarf or anything for that matter. The cool thing about knitting is that you can do it anyway you want, it's your creation.

For me to think about being knit together in my mother's womb is pretty incredible. Not only did He knit my body, but He knit together my spirit, my character, my mind, my soul. He knit me together in a way that no one else is knit together. That's pretty special... no, that's really special!

The scarf that I knit is really special to me, because it is something I spent a lot of my time on. If my purple scarf is that special to me, I can only imagine how special I am to the Maker.