Christmas Day Filled With Joy

 This will be a quick post, mostly pictures, as it is getting late already and I am ready to head for bed soon. It's been a LONG, but very lovely day!  

I know many of you were aware that one of our blogging friends and her hubby were going to have Christmas dinner with our family today...our dear friend Linda and her hubby Dave, from Just Simply Linda.  Well, in spite of a rainy day, they did make the one hour drive to our home as planned, and brought a big pan full of delicious lasagna as also planned (at their request), and added it to our pan of lasagna and salad and garlic toast and desserts...and we had a marvelous feast and a wonderful time together with our family and dear friends.  So here are the pictures from our day, and I will let them speak for themselves:

I'm glad our son Scott has figured out the time delay photo app on my cell phone so we can get a picture of all of us together at the table!

Linda, Dave, our son Scott, yours truly, hubby John, friend Pamela,our DIL Rose and our son Benton.

Here we are again after dinner and dessert, Pamela, Dave, Linda, Me with Lily Grace, John, Rose, Benton and Scott.  One of the highlights of the day was when we all gathered in the living room together, and Linda's hubby Dave shared a special Christmas story from the Bible...the miracles surrounding the birth of John the Baptist as well as the Angel Gabriel coming to talk to Zechariah and also to Joseph and especially Mary, regarding the birth of Jesus, The Son of God. It was a very beautiful time together as we pondered the amazing story of  how all things are possible with God!

And this is just our family.  Yes, Lily Grace wanted to be in all the pictures today. She had on a new dress, sent to her from her "Auntie Debbi" from South Carolina, along with some fun little toys, so of course she needed to be in the pictures.  As a matter of fact, here she is again:

My friend Pamela had fun putting Lily's new dress on her as I was busy with dessert and other hostess activities:

Sometimes big girls just wanna be a little girl again...

I am working backwards in time now...this was the scene in our living room earlier this morning, before the family arrived and all the activities began for the day:

The table was set and ready, and all the gifts were in place, awaiting our kids to come and begin the "grand opening"...

That smaller brown sign says

"Christmas at the Cabin,

Where Memories are Made".

I know our house isn't really a "cabin", but at Christmas time it kind of feels like it, and we certainly do make a lot of happy memories here.

There's the "little cabin" where many memories were made years ago, and all these pictures on these shelves are silent witnesses to our celebrations...some of these dear ones have gone on to glory and are celebrating Christmas in heaven with Jesus right there with them!

Here's our son Scott, having his morning cup of coffee while we await the festivities to begin:

Oh, Rose and Benton have arrived, and they are also ready to begin...

Here's hubby John, smiling and bright eyed and bushy tailed...LOL.

And there I am, ready to get things going...

Toys for the boys, and lots of fun gifts for the family...We have a lot of fun on Christmas morning with our family.  It looks like a mountain of gifts, but in reality  a lot of things are just little things...candy, nuts, cookies, socks, underwear, shirts, not a lot of "big stuff", mostly little things that look  like a lot, and that makes it more fun. (but a lot of work wrapping little gifts).  

However, this was one gift son Scott loved...a tee shirt with a picture of his current car on it...(not his exact car, but the same model, year, etc.  He does love his old Camaro!)

Now lets back up another day to Christmas Eve day...the kids came over with our grandpups Sugar and Spice. We decided to give them their gifts then because they weren't going to bring the pups back over on Christmas day as there would be just too much confusion with so many people, etc.  So we got them new beds and a couple of toys to keep at our house...

Sugar looks happy in her bed with the toys...

And now Spice looks happy in the same bed with the toys...they finally figured it out, but they were funny.

Also, the boys went out and cut some low hanging tree limbs in our front yard. That was a big job and much appreciated.

When we came home from the Christmas Eve service Scott had baked a wonderful batch of my mother's Orange Cookies...

It's a family tradition, and they smelled and tasted so good! I'm so thankful that he loves to bake them as his gift to the family each year! (or when he has time...)

Speaking of Christmas Eve, when we got home from our church's Candlelight Service,  I wanted to have our picture taken, but hubby went and took off his "Sunday go to meeting clothes" as soon as we walked in the door, so we still managed a picture in his comfy clothes and I am wearing a dress that I've had for probably close to 30 years. I "lost" it in the back of my closet for a while, and rediscovered it, and was thankful that it still fits and is still in good condition! Of course, I would only wear it once a year...so that's probably why! LOL.

Here's the dress...

Well, it's time to call it a night. It's been a lovely lovely Christmas Eve and Day...we are truly thankful and blessed.  And most of all, let us remember why we have been celebrating...Jesus is the heart of the holiday...Jesus, our "Emmanuel", God in the flesh, is with us, now and always...and that is certainly something to celebrate!

So good night my friends in blogland!

I pray that your Christmas was also blessed and filled with the grace and love of Christ!

Amen.

(And good night and thank you to Linda and her hubby Dave for coming to visit with us today and for making our Christmas even more special! May God bless you both with His peace and Joy and love in the New Year!)

Wednesday Treasures: Joy in this Place

Good Morning!  (I started writing this this morning, but had a busy day, and it is now afternoon)

and Welcome to:

I know you've seen this story before, about the history of my Grandparents' cabin in the Cook's Forest of Pennsylvania.  If not, then click HERE for that story, but please come back and enjoy today's story too.

This year our little family from Pamela's Victorian Cottage have come to the Cabin for a wonderful Christmas vacation:

They are having a great time exploring everything around the cabin.  It looks really cold and wintry there. Too bad our little children don't have any winter clothes...

But they don't seem to mind. They are loving the fresh beauty of the new fallen snow as they dance around the cabin...

They've been busy making snowmen and talking to the old Santa sitting on the front porch, whispering all their special dreams and hopes for Christmas into his ear.

And they have enjoyed exploring the old tree house and swinging on the tire swing left there just for them to enjoy.

They enjoyed watching some of the neighborhood children sledding on the hillsides

Some even got to take a sleigh ride and see some beautiful deer!

All in all, a grand time was had by all at their "Christmas at the Cabin" vacation:

Back to my little old world...I've been enjoying my own little "Christmas at the Cabin"

If you recall a couple of weeks ago I told you I was trying to get a more "cabin feel" for Christmas by covering our flowered couch with sheets and blankets. Well I did finally order a real slip cover for the couch, and it came and it is now under the blankets, but it looks so much better than it did before. I am really happy with it.

It's been a bit chilly here lately, and we've been wearing a lot of flannel shirts. I love the feel and look of flannel, don't you? Especially at this time of year.

I know this isn't real cabin-ish, but I wanted to bring out a few of my dolls in their Christmas outfits for the season...This is my "Margie Doll", so named for my Aunt Margie who gave her to me for my 7th birthday. My mother made her this beautiful dress many years ago, and I love to let her wear her winter finery for Christmas.

And then I brought out my other little Christmas doll, and I've probably shared her story before too.

Yes, if you click on this LINK you will see all these special friends from before.

My mother made her pretty little taffeta dress to match the dresses she made for my sister and me many years ago.

This is the card my mother wrote with the picture of my sister and me in our pretty little taffeta Christmas dresses.

And the "Martin Sisters" have come for a tea party and are gathering around the piano to sing some Christmas carols.

And Valerie is having a tea party with Santa in the kitchen.  Looks like he brought her a special doll for Christmas!!

And we are having some cinnamon rolls for breakfast...

That always makes me smile, even if they are just poppin' fresh. It's just fun to do something different

once in a while!

Yes, I think we need to "Let there be joy in this place!"

That's the title of our church Christmas cantata that we are working on.  The theme song is:

"Let There Be Joy in This Place"

Chorus:

"Let there be joy in this place,

Let there be joy in this place,

Let there be joy, exceeding great joy be in this place...

Let there be joy in this place, 

Let there be joy in the place,

Let there be joy, exceeding great joy be in this place.

"After Mary heard the angel's news 

She rejoiced in God her Savior,

She began to praise and magnify His name.

Mary sang to God Almighty, 

"Lord, You've done to me great things,"

Now let us feel the joy that Mary felt on that day.

Chorus

There were shepherds on the hillside

Who were startled by a bright light.

The angel bro't good tidings of great joy.

And the wise men and the shepherds,

And all the host of heaven

with thankful hearts they praised the Christ Child Baby Boy!

Chorus

"Let there be joy in this place,

Let there be joy in this place,

Let there be joy, exceeding great joy be in this place...

Let there be joy in this place, 

Let there be joy in the place,

Let there be joy, exceeding great joy be in this place."

(Written by Otis Skillings)