I was a little surprised to see some retail stores decorating for Christmas in October {just a bit too early for me}. Now that December is upon us, I am ready to move forward and into the Christmas season. The first thing our family decided to do after Thanksgiving was to go and get our Noble Fir Christmas tree. It’s now in our house with lights and decorated with ornaments. Our house will be in the decorating and cleaning stage for awhile longer. Here’s a little glimps of what’s going on.
.
I always look forward to opening the Christmas bins and rediscovering all the things again. To see my kids find excitement and talk about what they uncovered was great to be a part of. The picture of the pine tree and a bible verse, “For unto us a Child is born” was a printable I created last year for a blog post, Christmas quotes. I reduced the size of the image to fit the matte and frame for the display. {to print, click HERE}.
One of my favorite methods to wrap presents is by layering the gifts and using clear cello wrap to tie all of it together. The cello adds a little sparkle to the gift and gives a sneak peek of what’s inside.
.
The morning temperatures have been low and cold enough to put a blanket of frost outside. These beautiful little berries looked quite delicate with a layer of frost on them.
.
Homemade cranberry relish with pear & orange is a favorite of our family. This year I decided to preserve the relish and give it as gifts for Christmas. The packaging was easy and fast using what I already have around the house {brown lunch bags, rubber bands, double sided tape and labels printed from the computer}. continue reading…
.
A fun and whimsical display of a tinsel Christmas tree against black paper {or chalkboard}.
July 4th is the day to celebrate and reflect on the birth of our nation.
The founding Fathers wanted this nation to be independent and separate from Great Britain. The decision by 56 of the 58 members of the Second Continental Congress to sign the Declaration of Independence was not without struggles, challenges and risk of death. Some names are easier to recognize than others but all were needed to give relevance and significance to this document and show unity. Some signatures have been colored by me to identify individuals mentioned below.
John Hart, signer of the Declartion of Independence, Judge and Lesgislator. He was one of the men who became a target of the British and was forced to flee from home and family. His house, mill and crops destroyed. After the long hardship of being on the run for over a year his health deteriorated and he never fully recovered. { continue …}
.
Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826
Thomas Jefferson, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd President of the United States, Secretary of State, Diplomat and Governor of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson’s well know phrase, ‘Separation of Church and State‘ was taken from letters written to the Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut . It was not written in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution as many people have assumed.
.
Thomas McKean, 1734-1817
Thomas McKean, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, President of Congress Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Governor of Pennsylvania and Governor of Delaware. The following is an excerpt of a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer issued by Thomas McKean, November 19, 1781: “It is therefore recommended to the several states to set apart the THIRTEENTH day of DECEMBER next, to be religiously observed as a day of THANKSGIVING and PRAYER; that all the people may assemble on that day with grateful hearts to celebrate the praises of our glorious Benefactor, to confess our manifold sins, to offer up our most fervent supplications to the God of all grace that it may please Him to pardon our offense, and incline our hearts for the future, to keep all His laws, to comfort and relieve all our brethren who are in distress or captivity, to prosper our husbandmen, and give strength to all engaged in lawful commerce; to impart wisdom and integrity to our counselors, judgment and fortitude to our officers and soldiers; to protect and prosper our illustrious ally and favor our united exertions for the speedy establishment of a safe, honorable, and lasting peace, to bless our seminaries of learning, and cause the knowledge of God to cover the earth as the waters cover the seas.” {continue …}
The HBO 2008 mini series, John Adams is one of our family favorite history series to watch. I can’t say that our kids were excited to sit and watch history, but by the time part 1 ended, their interests heighten and were eger to continue to part 2. There were a few small parts that we decided to skip for the kids, but overall they watched everything else. Bringing history of our nation to the next generation will help them to understand, appreciate and celebrate this day with pride and joy.
We hope you and your family have a wonderful 4th of July celebration!
Jesus said, “It is finished.” and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.(John 19:30) Jesus fulfilled ALL the work and will of the Father (salvation, our sins are forgiven, redemption, sacrifice, “paid in full”). He was buried in a tomb. Three days after his death on the cross, the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He Said.” (Matthew 28:5-6) Jesus is alive. He gave his everything so that we will be with him forever.
I have admired vintage egg prints for years and collected a few for my home. Eggs are simple yet there is such a variety in colors and sizes out in nature. These egg and botanical images used to create tags and cards came from the Vintage Printable website. Go and check the website out, they have a wonderful collection of free images to copy or download.
Make sure to reinforce the punched out holes to prevent from ripping. I applied basic office supply white rectangle sticker tabs over the area before punching out the hole. Here are a few places to find hole reinforcements {Amazon} {Etsy}.
Gift cards are easy to attach to packages and bags or as place cards at the table.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Free gift cards and tags to print for Easter. Follow the instructions below the images.
