"In the Bleak Midwinder"

It's almost winter solstice and it's dark much of the time.  I'm not a fan of darkness, so I seek light wherever I can get it.  So, I put up LOTS of lights for Christmas.  It takes a whole day to do it and probably longer to take it down, but it's a labor of love and Wally helps because he loves them too.  In our new abode we have lots of places to put things, but we still tend to fill the living room with most of them!  And we have several Advent calendars placed around the house as well, we are still little kids at heart and love opening new windows every day! Here's what we have so far, but we have so many rooms now, there is room for more accumulation...but where will we store it?  That's the rub!

Much of what we have are ceramic pieces made by Wally's Mom, Betty.  They are all lit in various ways which doesn't show up very well unless it's dark!  Their charm is the truly masterful job of painting she did on each piece.  The detail is incredible and only fully appreciated when you slow down long enough to REALLY look at them.  I am in awe of her talent.  She passed her fine motor skills on to her son.  I DO NOT have these skills, I am terrible at doing anything that requires a steady hand and tiny detail.  So these pieces are particularly special to me.  

Here's a peek at what we have so far!  We just got our tree yesterday, so that still needs to be decorated!

This is one of our favorite Advent "calendars".  Each stocking or mitten has a small ornament inside.  Someday it may go to a grandchild! 

Some of the ornaments inside!

 This little tree sits on my sewing table and can been seen from outside...a little light for others to enjoy as well!

 This is one of our other favorite Advent calendars.  It's a Victorian Village scene and each day you add a new building to the village!

 The reason for the season!

 We found this wonderful guy at the Goodwill in B'ham.  We were hesitant to buy anything else when we knew we'd eventually be moving, but his face was too wonderful to pass up!

McMinnville has a strong Christian presence.  It's not politically incorrect to talk of God or Jesus in public and there is evidence of Him everywhere like this lovely evergreen cross we found at a local nursery.

There is such detail in this, I wish you could see it.  The blanket is painted in plaid, the faces are amazing and I love the little bow she added to the horse!

The best part of this santa house is what's inside!   

 You'll have to come visit and peek inside yourself to see all the treasures inside.  There's Mrs. Claus and Santa himself sitting and resting after his long journey, and presents around the tree!

 View from the front door.

 Dining room

 Part of the kitchen

 My little Norwegian guy that I bought at a craft fair about 30 years ago!  Too bad I didn't move the dish soap container before I took this!

Betty's church and our little nativity that we bought from Sears when Jessi was just a wee one.  It was inexpensive and we wanted her to be able to "play" with it.  It's still intact, evidence that she was a careful child!  :)

Welcome to Christmas at our place!