christmas revisited week :: day 1

Wow! How is it already January? December kinda went by in a blur. I had planned several things to post over Christmas, but we got so busy right before Christmas and then we spent a week with family that I couldn't seem to find the time to post. That and we have discovered the show Psych on Netflix and have four seasons just sitting there waiting on us. Well, not so much waiting since I have the overwhelming need to watch at least one episode every single night. It is so addictive. Anyway, back to Christmas. I decided that while I try to get us back on track with homeschool this week and find our groove, I would just post the things I was too busy lazy to post in the past few weeks. So, for those of you who, like me, are still enjoying the Christmas spirit, enjoy!

I had planned to spotlight some of our Christmas decorations. It was weird being in a different house and having to figure out where things should go, but it was fun just the same. In this house, our living room does not have the space for our regular tree, so the small one that used to be in our kitchen is now in the living room. Oh, and the pic above is the regular one in another room. I would have a tree in every room if I could :)

Michael and I bought this nativity when we first married. We bought it at our local Ten Thousand Villages. One day I came in the room to find baby Jesus on the back of the ox and then he went missing for a few days. This incidence produced an odd feeling. But moving on...

Once I saw this wreath that Eren made, I wanted to make something similar. OK, very similar. I love it, and am considering leaving it up all year. I think I have a total of three dollars in the project.

These birds found their way to our home this year. And I have had these books for years with no way to display them. I think this is a great way. And I have so many vintage books that I think I will rotate with the seasons/holidays.

I have a bag of bottle brush trees that I bought several years ago. This year I found this cute jar and decided to put a tree inside. I would love to have a whole display of these in different sizes. I will have to build up that collection up slowly.

One thing we have never had is a mantle. We have always hung our stockings from a door frame. This Thanksgiving while we were at my parents' I had my dad take me out into the woods to find a limb to bring home. I had no idea what I was going to do with it so for a couple of weeks it sat on our front porch. Then one night, Michael had the great idea to hang it above the couch and hang our stocking from it. I love it! I am also going to leave it up and hang something different from it the rest of year. I have a few ideas I want to try. But if you have a good idea, let me know!

As I mentioned in my last post, we did make our first gingerbread house this year. I used this recipe and I altered a pattern from this site. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and now I know some tricks that will be helpful next year. The most important thing is how much fun the kids had with it!

Lucy made a sled with people wearing hats. I love it.

So, there you have it. A small tour of our Christmas home. I am pretty sure that Christmas will be on our minds quite a bit this year. I posted earlier about Smalltown Poets releasing a Christmas album this year. Last night Michael cleaned out the studio/library and got things set up. He has named the room, "Christmas Town" and has informed me that we will move the white Christmas tree into that room. And of course, Christmas tunes will fill our house for months to come. It will be fun!