• At the beginning of the month, I celebrated my 44th birthday. (You know it’s going to be a good birthday when your dear hubby serves you red velvet cake for breakfast!) Oh, I love that man! ; ) At work, I arrived to find cakes, cookies, chocolates and other goodies from my sweet co-workers. It was glorious! For dinner, Tom took me to one of our favorite local restaurants. It’s always a treat as they are known for outstanding food, and service that is second to none. (Even moreso when it’s a special occasion.) At the end of the meal, we were treated to a wonderful dessert, compliments of the owner. It was a lovely day!
• That weekend, Tom and I hosted the youth leaders of our church for a Christmas dinner. We used to serve with these great people and many are very good friends...we absolutely loved having them in our home…it was a great, great time!
• The following week…Christmas cards, baking and a little shopping.
• The second weekend was a busy one! Friday was an ornament exchange at work. It was great because several former co-workers returned and it was soooooo good to catch up. More baking on Saturday and that night, a surprise birthday party for our friend, Tracy Robertson. Yet another wonderful time (and I remembered my camera!)
On Sunday…our annual cookie exchange! Two friends who had taken part for years relocated since our last one - one to North Carolina and one to Ireland! Needless to say…we really missed them. We welcomed a couple of new friends this time, met for lunch, had a great time together and exchanged our cookies.
• It was also during this particular weekend that our local city officials were judging homes in our community for a Christmas decorating contest. For the second year in a row, our house was one of the winners! Tom had worked very hard and did a WONDERFUL job! I was thrilled for him because he absolutely LOVES Christmas! You need to know he never puts up lights to compete, instead it’s just an expression of joy (which makes winning even sweeter). The mayor and other city officials came to our house to present Tom with a plaque and a large, beautiful poinsettia.
Those candles were given to us by Tom's Mom. She used them for years at her house and they are truly vintage! We love them!• Just a few short days later, our local newspaper featured Tom as one of four homeowners with beautiful Christmas light displays. As you can see, although we love all the whimsy of Christmas, first and foremost our display points to Christ. When the article was written, I was delighted to see the reporter made a point of highlighting that, both in photos and her story!
• Later in the week…it was time for more baking! We had set aside an evening and my Mom, my sister, Marcia and my niece Brooke all came over and we baked like crazy ladies! (As you can see from the photos...we take our baking very seriously! LOL) Several different kinds of cookies, buckeyes, candy, etc…soooo much fun! 
• That weekend, two biggies…Tom narrated our church’s beautiful Christmas Program, “One of Us.” He did a great job, as did the choir and orchestra. It's been a couple of years since our church did a large Christmas program and we really enjoyed it. Later that same night…our kids arrived home! We could not wait to see them! Married life certainly agrees with both of them. We had a a great time “catching up” for an hour or so and planned a dinner together the following night. They’re so happy to be home and we’re thrilled to have them! Bless their hearts, they’re trying so hard to spend lots of quality time with BOTH sides of the family. = )
• The last few days before Christmas, more baking! This time - loaves and loaves of pumpkin bread, and also…this incredibly easy (and very addictive) snack, found on a great blog...Beneath my Heart!
• Since my first Christmas with Tom's family as his fiancée in 1983, we’ve spent Christmas Eve at the home of his sister, Nancy and her husband, Dan. They have a log cabin...so beautiful and cozy -- it’s hard to imagine being anywhere else. The fire in the stone fireplace and the Christmas decor make the house look extra special. We had a great time and if you saw the slides in the previous post, you know that the hit of the night was the digital frame we got for Bob & Millie. Nancy had compiled photos from all of us and grouped them into decades. There were over 300 of them! Bob and Millie absolutely loved it, as did the rest of the family. It was especially fun to watch Breezy as she saw many of her new family members as they looked “back then.”
After Nancy & Dan's, we came back to our house to celebrate “Our Christmas” with Brennan & Breezy. We had such a sweet time together and they absolutely loved their gifts. They surprised us with a beautiful wedding portrait. LOVE it!
• Christmas Morning at our house was quiet. Had my devotional time and then after a little while, finished wrapping a couple of things and we headed to my parents’ house to celebrate with my side of the family in the early afternoon. We enjoyed delicious lasagna and homemade lemon meringue pie, cheesecake, cookies, etc. (I love my Mom's cooking, but especially her desserts!)
As to our gift exchange, we did things differently this year. Because we’ve all felt the pinch economically, we opted to forego the usual gifts and instead each person brought only 1 gift valued at $10-15. They all went into a pile in the middle of the floor and we drew numbers to determine the order. You could choose a gift, but the person after you could either take it or choose a new one. Our family had an absolute blast with this! There were movie certificates, blockbuster certificates, gift cards for food, ice cream, Starbucks and even some board games in the mix. Besides spending only about 15% of what we normally would, there was so much less stress and time spent running all over town looking for this or that gift, which made for a much calmer, more reflective Christmas. Definitely helped me keep my focus on Christ like never before.
As we wrapped up our time at my parents' house, we headed to my in-laws to once again join the rest of his family for a little while on Christmas night. Every year, as we leave their house to head home, Tom and I simultaneously thank God for granting us yet another Christmas with them. Both his Mom & Dad are in their upper 80’s and every year is truly a gift.
• Saturday evening (the night after Christmas), Tom and I went along with Brennan, Bri, Bri’s Mom, Lisa and our friends, the Robertsons to Bethlehem Blessings at the Creation Museum. Despite very cold temps, we really enjoyed our time together there…we were especially partial to the vignette of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (played by a wonderful family friend) and the live animals.
• Sunday was a day of rest! (And boy, did we need that!) Hope you and yours have had a wonderful and special December celebrating CHRIST and making some great memories with family and friends.
• If you’ve made it this far and you’re still reading…I want to say THANKS! Leave a comment and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $10 St*rbucks gift card (a Merry Christmas gift from me!) If you share your favorite December memory in your comment, I’ll enter your name twice! Feel free to enter up until midnight (Eastern time) New Year’s Eve…I’ll draw and announce the winner on New Year’s Day!
Love & sweet blessings!
Tracy
Here is Breezy, ready for Black Friday shopping!
My nephew, Blake and Brennan..."um, nice skirts guys..."
...and you thought those were just Christmas trees!
My sister, Marcia modeling these lovely "earrings"...aren't they just the perfect compliment to your favorite Christmas ensemble??
My niece, Brooke finds her long lost friend in the toy section! (No, she didn't really kiss him!)
They gave me such a hard time last year about not being in the photos...they insisted this year on "crowning" me the Christmas queen and snapping this one...
The WHOLE wedding party!
Awaiting his bride...
What a great moment...
Signing their covenant
At the close of the ceremony, there was unmistakable, radiant joy that these two were now husband and wife!
LOTS of family photos after the ceremony. I love this one. = ) 
My Mom & Dad (He was wearing dress shoes for the first time since his injury...every time I thought about how bad my feet were aching, I thought of him. He was in a good bit of pain, but kept on smiling.) 
From the decor to the favors, Breezy's family did an incredible job. They had worked on various items for several weeks and everything looked so elegant. Breezy's Grandmother made 40 of these beautiful arrangements! On Thursday, everything was brought to the church and we started putting it all together. As friends arrived from out of town, they all jumped in to help....it was a great time!
Here is the happy couple making their grand entrance at the reception!
The extraordinary cookie table! In keeping with Italian tradition, there were all sorts of cookies offered. (In addition to the beautiful cake!) Among them, Kolache, thumprint cookies, crinkles, Mexican wedding cookies, shortbread, biscotti and clothespins. With the exception of two cookies, all the rest were made by family friend, Brittany Robertson. She was baking and freezing for several weeks, and did an amazing job...they were INCREDIBLE!
The food itself was delicious... Italian wedding soup, salad, chicken & fettucini alfredo and Italian green beans. 
My nephew, Blake and his lovely girlfriend Lydia
As the play ended and they prepared for the tossing of the bouquet and their departure...they took a few moments to thank everyone for sharing in their special day.
All smiles at the end of the reception, my beautiful nieces, Jordyn & Blaire.
And finally...a picture of my sister, Marcia with my lovely niece, Brooke!
