IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

Is it really almost Christmas 2018???  Seems like just yesterday we were enjoying soaking up the rays and listening to the ocean waves at the beach.  It’s amazing how quickly the days go by (and the years too)!  But I’m about ready for the BIG DAY…decorating is all done and most of the shopping is finished.  I am NOT a procrastinator.  I like to get finished with the preparations & shopping early so I won’t be rushed and stressed.  I do NOT work well under pressure😊  Most of the shopping was done online…or either I bought it all through the year.  So do you want to see what I’ve been up to???

The kitchen is my favorite room to decorate.  Each year I use a gingerbread theme.  The tree is filled with ginger boys & girls, apples, and my antique cookie cutters.  I am very particular about my gingers though…their face has to be just right! 

 This little red rocking chair was a Christmas gift to my husband on his first Christmas.  My ginger dollies love to sit here every year.

The table is set and ready for Christmas morning breakfast with my small family.

 Ginger boys & girls everywhere!

The side porch gets decorated with gingers too.

And I just had to have a "little red truck" this year...it will be helping the grandkids and me count down the days.  (This came from Dollar General.)

 This is my snowman themed tree at the far end of the den.  I had received so many snowman ornaments from students I decided to dedicate a whole tree to them.  Granddaughter M decorated it all by herself...and did a great job.

My husband’s office also has a small tree decorated with hunting-related ornaments.  Even the deer get dressed up!

                           (Note:  These are NOT Santa’s reindeer:)

And then there is the BIG tree…filled with all the ornaments I have collected through the years.  The first to go on the tree are some balls & bells that I bought for our 1^st Christmas together.  We were in college and poor as church mice, and I was thrilled to find these ornaments at a great bargain at a fire sale!!!  After 48  Christmases they are looking a little tired, but they will always be very special to me.  There are ornaments found on trips, gifts from friends and students, and (of course) those made by my children in grade school.  I only use ornaments that I love and that have special meanings.

The fireplace is ready for our first fire…the weather is getting really chilly so maybe we’ll have one burning soon.

The hall tree belonged to my husband's grandmother.  He would sit on the bench every Christmas & open his gifts from her.  We hang the grandkids' stockings here...because they are SO big!

And here is the outside....

I couldn’t have gotten all this done in record time this year without the help of this sweet granddaughter who L-0-V-E-S Christmas and wants to keep the tree in her room up all year! 

She even helped with preparing Thanksgiving dishes to take to my husband’s BIG family gathering at his sister’s. 

So….have you decorated?  Is the shopping done?  Are you ready for “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” and “Jack Frost” to nip at your nose?  Hope you are all enjoying the preparations and getting ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus…the REAL reason for the season.

AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Preface:  Excuse the crazy spacing…Blogger and I don’t seem to agree on where my words should go...and it's driving me NUTS!!!

I have SO MANY things to be thankful for!  Do I have everything I want?  Well, no.  Do I have everything I need?  Most definitely.  Do I have as many or as nice or as expensive material things as others I know?  Yes and no…not as much as some but SO MUCH more than others and certainly more than I could ever possibly deserve.  Each day I thank God for my blessings of family, friends, home, etc.  But I also try to name 3 specific things…blessings I’ve received recently that may not occur every single day.

I just saw something on Pinterest that gave me the idea for this post.  I’m not sure who originated it or even who pinned it, so I can’t give credit where credit is due…hope that person doesn’t mind me borrowing it!  The title of this activity is 30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE

and you are to answer one question per day.  However, I’m going to use just a few of the questions and answer them here….you might want to borrow the questions yourself for a blog post or just food for thought😊

1.  What smell are you grateful for?

          My answer:  either the smell of bread baking in the oven or those yummy looking

and wonderful smelling cinnamon rolls at CINNABON (I’ve never eaten one but they sure do smell awesome!)

2.  What sound are you grateful for?

          My answer:  the voices of my grandchildren saying, “I love you, Cheri.”

3.  What place are you most grateful for?

          My answer:  definitely my home but also my church

4.  What abilities are you grateful for?

          My answer:  Of course, I am thankful to have the ability to see, hear, etc. but I am SO very grateful for the ability to teach.  I was in public education for 40 ½ years and I also often teach Sunday School.  My journey into teaching is a long story but once I became a teacher I had no doubt that it was what God wanted me to do.  I’ll have to tell you that story some other time😊

5.  What touch are you grateful for?

          My answer:  the touch of my husband's hand when he gives me a big hug (and

maybe a kiss too:) and tells me he loves me….SO very thankful I have a soul mate who tells me he loves me every single day!

6.  What tradition are you grateful for?

          My answer:  I’m big on tradition but one of my very favorites is THE PICKLE PRESENT that I do with my grandchildren every Christmas.  It is something they both look forward to every single year.  I wrote a post about it quite awhile back and you can read about it at https://cherischatter.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-pickle.html

7.  Other than your family which person in your life are you grateful for?

          My answer:  This is a tough one because there are many that I could name.  Two very special people that made a big difference in my life were my first grade teacher Miss Roberta Champion and my third grade teacher Mrs. Katherine Baggarley.  They both instilled in me a love of reading and of school in general.  School was a place of refuge and joy for me as a child, and Miss Champion’s and Mrs. Baggarley’s love for education and for their students shaped me in many ways.  Miss Champion lived to be in her 90s I believe and never married.  Mrs. Baggarley is now in her 80s and we exchange Christmas letters every year.  How I love both of these beautiful women and marvelous teachers.

8.  What texture are you grateful for?

          My answer:  This one’s easy….. my blankie.  Yep, I have a security blanket:) It is soooo soft and I love snuggling with it by the fire on a cold winter night or a really lovely rainy day.

9.  What knowledge are you grateful for?

          My answer: I have to give two answers for this one!  First (and foremost) is the knowledge of the birth, death, and resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Without my Lord, I would be lost.  My second answer would be reading. I learned to read rather quickly as a first grader under the wonderful instruction of Miss Champion…I was in the Redbird group (we were the best readers in the class!!!:)  Reading is one of the joys of my life and I am so thankful for this ability.

10.  What piece of art are you grateful for?

          My answer:  Well, I don’t own a Picasso or a Rembrandt but I have some very,

          very special pieces of art that were created by my children and my grandchildren!

          To me, they are priceless.

years  gone  by

Thanksgiving will be here soon (even though the stores are already filled with Christmas

decorations!) At least for the month of November, most of us are counting our

blessings….and hopefully we all remember to be thankful every single day! 

Now….TAG, you’re it!  What are you most thankful for?

PS:  I am thankful for anyone who finds their way to my little piece of Blog Land and stops in for a chat.  Please come back anytime!

PSS:  Also very thankful for these 2 who fill my life with joy...and so much craziness:)