A Peaceful Christmas

Merry Christmas dear friends!  Thank you for reading this year (and for sticking with me through some blogging ups and downs).

My prayer this Christmas is for peace...peace in the midst of trying times globally...peace in our homes and lives...peace that surpasses understanding and transcends our circumstances.

"For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

--Isaiah 9:6--

Celebrating the Prince of Peace this Christmas!

Christmas Decorating for Normal People

Confession: I wasn't going to do a Christmas Home Tour this year.  There are just so many gorgeous home tours online, and yes I love checking them out.  I am super inspired by (and in awe of) you ladies who have beautifully coordinated Christmas decorations throughout your homes.  Then I realized, there's very little out there for normal people.  By which I mean people whose kids insist on colorful lights and handmade ornaments.  People who can't afford to coordinate their entire home, or change up their theme each year. So hey, here's my normal-person Christmas Home Tour. Welcome...enjoy...and remember it is the comfort of traditions we are after, not a magazine spread!

The Kitchen

I just tried to bring simple little touches to the kitchen.  I will keep my pheasant feathers in my rustic gilded jar all winter.  The glitter "Joy to the World" is something I crafted--you can get a smaller version in my etsy shop.  

The console in my kitchen "mud room" has become central station for outgoing gifts.  It's a great place to keep our kneeling Santa.

This is one of the things that has given me major joy this year, and it isn't even a true "Christmas" decoration.  Paper light garland above the sink?  I just love the warm glow it gives off, especially early in the morning when I *might* not be at my best.  I don't remember where I got these, but World Market carries a similar one which you can find right here.  (They also have 15% off everything starting today!)

Coming into the kitchen, we look at the blank side of a cabinet, so this year I filled it up with our past Christmas cards.  The boys love seeing themselves from past years:)  All this is is burlap ribbon and mini clothespins.  Easy peasy.

 Living Room

Our living room is our main hangout, and for that reason it reflects the style of everyone in my house. This year I tried to get the boys to accept white lights for the tree and they just can't.  And I get it. They're kids, and we are normal people.  I've had people praise our colored lights but also, in one notable case, tell me that our color-changing star is horrible.  It might be.  But I love it.  Because I am normal and that's how I roll.

The mantel is much as it was last year, because I can't change out all my stuff every year.  And it makes Rudy (the reindeer) happy to be up there.

Our elf Barry is keeping an eye on that cat.

 

 The Front Room (aka the Music Room)

So.  What's a girl to do when the big tree has all the colorful, hand-made ornaments and flashy star? A Mommy Tree, silly.  This year mine is tiny, because it is a live tree with roots and everything that is going in the garden after Christmas.  A Dwarf Alberta Spruce, to be precise.  This year I just didn't want to drop a wad of cash on a living tree and then kick it right out to the curb.  So I went small.  It's practical and hopefully will be with us a long time.

Opposite the wall with the tree and windows is this little vignette.  Lesson: if it's not Christmas-y enough, just stick a $1 evergreen sprig on it.  Bam!

Oh!  I haven't shown you our "new" piano yet!  It was given to us by a family that had it for the last 30 years.  Their kids learned to play on it, and now mine are.  Above is a little gallery wall and on top is Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, among other things.

"Paint me," says the old, dingy piano.  "Are you sure?" I say.  "That seems like a big step."
  "Yes, please.  Please paint me as soon as possible."

The Dining Room

By far my favorite decoration is my Nativity Scene.  I love displaying it with olive branches--a symbol of peace for the Prince of Peace!

So...hope you enjoyed my "normal people" Christmas Home Tour and can be inspired to love your home and the mish-mash of decorations we all have just a little bit more!

P.S. This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are 100% mine, all mine.

Seeking Beauty in...Monotony

Back when my boys were tiny I felt like I was getting a repetitive motion injury to my brain.  Every day was the same to the point of absolute monotony.  I could count on diapers, laundry, and tears.  The highlight of my day, people, was getting the mail.  Bless it.  It’s not that I didn’t enjoy being home with my babies—oh my goodness, it was a blessing and an honor.  However, the sameness of every day was extremely difficult for me. 

These days, as a stay-at-home mom to school-aged children, every day is wildly different.  There is a pattern to my weeks, certainly, but my days are pretty varied.  Between volunteering, Bible Study, working from home, being with friends, working out, blogging and shuttling kids to their activities, the days are a whirlwind and each one is different. 

I was thinking about this change recently as I headed out for yet another walk with my oh-so-energetic puppy.  He needs a minimum of 45 minutes a day walking and at times it has felt like a burden to get him out each. and. every. day.  Yet it’s been dawning on me that there is beauty to be found in the repetition of this act—dare I say, in the monotony of it.

You know where I am going with this, right?  These days, I’m finding that a little monotony is good for me.

It’s not just that my daily walk gets me out into the natural world (that might be a post for another day).  It’s the actual repetition that is so beautiful.  By engaging my body in an activity I could do automatically, I’m giving my mind some space.  As I head out each day my thoughts turn first to deciding on a route.  Then, the route settled on and the dog into his good trot, my mind just…settles.  It settles in a way that is hard to explain.  It’s like coming back to myself. 

So, my mind can settle and turn toward what’s important.  Sometimes it’s planning blog posts.  Oftentimes, it’s praying for people or asking God what he would like to show me that day.  Occasionally, it’s just enjoying some silence.  My body is busy but my mind is at rest.  Rest in an almost sanctified space which I can rarely find without the monotony of the walk.  The repetition of familiar sights, the repetition of step after step after step, the sameness of it all--it is all just incredibly soothing.  I guess you could say it’s a form of meditation.      

This feels really personal to me, so why am I sharing it?  It’s because I hope to encourage you to seek beauty, even in monotony.  Perhaps especially in monotony.  If you have a long commute, turn off the radio and let that repetitive drive become an opportunity for your mind to turn toward what’s important.  If you are home with a couple of tiny things, folding your seventh load of laundry, try making that your time to pray, to focus on what’s important and lovely, to meditate.  

So what do you do every day, over and over?  Whatever it is, let that be your moment to seek God’s face.  If you consistently carve out those moments, I promise he will show up.  And that is beautiful.

Deal Alert! Big savings at minted today!

Hey!  So minted  has a great deal on all their beautiful holiday cards going on today (and EXTENDED thru this Thursday 12/3 at noon PST!):

If you haven't made your Christmas cards yet you need to check this out!  I absolutely love minted--they make really quality products and you can find things designed by talented artisans that are just unique and lovely.

Personally, I just love the foil designs:

Then again, there are always the classics:

Or how about turning your child's artwork into your card?  How cool is that?

Makes me wish I hadn't already chosen a design for this year!  The shopping is half the fun, isn't it?  I hope you are inspired by these ideas but please jump on over to minted  and take a look at all they have to offer!  You can see their complete collection of holiday cards right here.  Have fun!




P.S. This post may contain some affiliate links but the opinions are, as always, 100% mine all mine.