Christmas Tour of Homes

Welcome! If you are here visiting because of the Christmas Tour of Homes, thank you so much for stopping by! We're pleased to have you visit our home. If you are a regular reader of Reading to Know, then you are already aware of the fact that Christmas is, (just a little bit), my favorite time of the year! I have been looking forward to this Christmas with much anticipation. It is lovely to end this year on a celebratory note and we've been doing our best to do exactly that as 2009 comes to a close.

We were visiting a church recently wherein the pastor made the comment that we should celebrate this Christmas because it may be our last on earth. This is a comment I would normally mentally have dismissed except that the moment he said that, the following picture sprung into my mind:


We snapped this picture of my dad reading the Christmas story to my then two year old. Sitting next to him, on the left, is my brother(-in-law), Landon. Neither they or we knew that last Christmas was to be their last Christmas here on earth. Now, I'm not trying to be all morbid here or make you feel too sober. All I merely want to say is that it's very true that you don't know which Christmas is to be your last. Our family members were taken from us suddenly, and both without much, if any, warning (dad to cancer, Landon to a car accident). So we're celebrating for more than a few merry reasons this year. We're celebrating because we have great hope for the future.

As you enter our home via pictures online, I hope that you will feel cozy and at rest, ready to sit back and think about all that God has been doing in your life this year and all that you have to truly celebrate and thank Him for.

This Christmas we say: "Lord, You are SO good to us! Thank You for showing your faithfulness to us as we walked through 2009. Thank you for preparing us for 2010. Thank you for showing us that celebrations aren't just for fun (though they are for that!) but they hold great meaning. Help us not to take for granted the moments and celebrations You have graciously given us. AMEN!"

Now for the tour itself! If you drove up our driveway, you'd probably be greeted by an exuberant three year old, who would be eager to welcome you into our log cabin home.



He'd be the most excited to show you our tree, which he played a role in helping to decorate.


These are some of our favorite ornaments that are on the tree:



The little square White House Christmas ornament is special to me because it was given to me by a dear friend of mine who lives in D.C. Putting it on the tree and looking at it this season reminds me of her, how much I MISS HER, and how excited I am to be seeing her right after Christmas when she comes to visit!!!

Last year, during all the post-Christmas sales (mostly at Goodwill!) I began collecting a little Dickens-like village (even though I'm really not a Dickens fan...I do like A Christmas Carol). I keep the village away from curious little hands by placing it atop my bookshelves. (And no, I'm not going to tell you how many bookshelves we have around here. More than some, less than others!)


One of the things I tried to do last year was to find shops and places to add to our village which would describe our family. I picked up a "solicitors" office (because I went to law school) and a toy shoppe for the bookworms running around. The church symbolizes our Christian faith which is a part of who we are in everything else. But the two pieces I am most excited about are as follows:



HAD to have the library. ;) The Royal Opera House is for (my husband) Jonathan.

I LOVE my Christmas village. I'm not sure what I'll try to add to it this year (if anything). I don't know if I could possibly find anything more perfect than the pieces that we have but I do love looking at it. (And at 1/2 off Goodwill prices of $2 and $3 each...welllll...you can't really beat that!!!)

Lastly, we leave you with the greatest message of Christmas, which we keep on display in our home as a visual reminder (my set & then one for the kids):

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

One for me and one available for little hands to play with:



Have a blessed and very MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting!

**To go on more tours and meet more new people, visit The Nester who is kindly hosting this event.**