This Christmas : 2014

Hello Sunshine! I really can't believe that Christmas has come and gone and we are a couple days from entering a new year.

Christmas was simply wonderful! I can't say it went off without a hitch but it was wonderful. This has been one whirlwind of a month with lots of activities I didn't share, finishing projects, a sickness that led to some rush shopping and late decorating. Here is a run down of this Christmas.

We picked out our tree from a great local spot. It had rained horribly the day before so, yeah you guessed it, the ground was soggy and my daughter and I ruined our flats.

So with wet feet and muddy shoes we picked out the skinniest tree, snapped a quick photo, grabbed some pulled pork and headed home. Besides great trees, there are two things that keeps my husband always coming back to this lot, the pulled pork and that they tie the tree to the top of the van. It's the simple things for him!

We barely got through the weekend before we were struck down with a violent virus. And by midweek we were all laid out. All five of us. No shopping, no decorating, no cooking, no baking, no school, no work, no nothing. I sure did miss my mamma that week.

Our tree and decorations look the same year after year. Red and gold are my colors. Side note next year I will do something different, I've been itching to try a new color combination.

I try to add something new each year which is usually an ornament. This year we added a nutcracker ornament and I made some simple wood slice ornaments. I took a bag of wood slices I got at Michael's and inserted an eye hook to string a piece of ribbon. I wanted do something different with the base of our tree so instead of a tree skirt we used a barrel. Loved it!

We also added garland around the front door and I must remember to take a picture of it before I yank it down tomorrow.

We always go see the big guy himself but this year we went to visit him at Cheekwood. Santa insisted that our oldest take a picture too so I got to have all my children in the picture this year! He talked a long time with the boys. He loved their hair! The boys asked Santa to 'surprise them' on Christmas morning!

We saw two real reindeer! A first for us all. Then explored the Cheekwood mansion. It was decked out with trees decorated for each country. They were magnificent. I had never seen anything like it. Above is the United States of America tree with mantle, and the boys and I took a picture in front of the 80 foot poinsettia tree from Mexico.

After I got all my shopping done, I try to finish before the week of Christmas to focus on family and traditions. We walked through Bethlehem. Made neighbor gifts. We love to pass out homemade treats and this year I made holiday chocolate popcorn or as we call it Christmas crack. It was a huge hit.

We baked cookies, made peppermint bark, watched our favorite holiday movies, drank hot chocolate with marshmallows, and wore pajamas everyday all day! It was simply divine and I think I gained 5 pounds from all our festivities. My workout has now resumed!

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and I wish you a very Happy New Year!

Thanks for your comments, emails, pins, likes, and for always stopping by!

See ya soon!

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Christmas, Family Outing