Thursday, December 23, 2010

At Long Last....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas on Vallette St. now that I'm home and can put some time and effort into it.  The Bearded One is off also, so he's been busy helping with lights and cookies.  All the inside decorations are finished and it looks so warm and cheerful, it's a delight to settle down at night with a cup of tea and Christmas music on the stero.  I use this month of December to read or re-read my Christmas favorites which includes devotionals, heart-warming stories and this year a wonderful family Advent companion that Jess' church puts out.

This is "our year" for Jessi and Josh and we met them at the Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach on their way up last night.  This is such a magical place, it instantly transports me back to childhood wonder!  Lots of photos follow, settle in with a cup of coffee and enjoy!

The Christmas Village made by Betty Whitaker.  She was a master at ceramics and taught classes for many years and our home is filled with the beautiful things she produced in love.
Betty's Church

The horse and sleigh taking the family from church back to their little log cabin, made by a delightful woman from Austria

Then it's time to work on cookies, another tradition of the Bearded One's family.  These are labor intensive and involve a day to bake them, a day to glaze them and then another day to frost them.  The results are impressive though, and the Bearded One is in his element as he studiously works on the details.  I help, but I'm not as patient as he is!

First there is the glazing


Glazing in process

Then comes the frosting


Jessi gave me a sheep cookie cutter last Christmas, how cute are these!



Mt. Baker in lights at Warm Beach


This scene was one of my favorites, the sun "sets" in the sky and then the lights of the village in the foreground come on !





The Twin Sisters and Mt. Baker from another vantage point

And of course, many photo ops of the happy couple!



This was another one of my favorites, all of the flowers are made with lights and each one is identified with a plaque!

A third favorite, the Polar Express winds its way through this village.

And the best for last....the very reason for the season!  May He find His way into your heart this year!


3 comments:

Les Hon said...

I am overwhelmed by your cookie project!! I almost want to convey my sympathies to you at this cumbersome tradition -- except that the results are SPECTACULAR!! Good for you for keeping it up...someday the grandkids will be having fun with it too!!
Merry, Merry Christmas to you, friend!!!

mph said...

Ridge and Wally - we are in complete awe - especially since our family tradition is to eat all the cookies before we have time to even frost them.
Love to all of you - Bob and Marlyn

christina said...

beautiful! merry christmas!
xo