A Time For Reflection

December has been such a busy month for me and I have missed visiting with you. I am now back home after just returning from Texas where we had a wonderfully busy time with our kids and grandkids. The few Christmas decorations I put up this year are safely tucked away up in the attic and I have some time to reflect on this past year and think about some goals for 2009. Can it be 2009 already? It seems just yesterday that we were all worried about Y2K!



In my studio there is a round table where we have our breakfast each morning. It usually is pushed up against the wall next to our kitchen, but I decided to move it in front of the window to better enjoy the view of the woods. So here is where I sit right now as I write.

When I was younger I used to have too many things I hoped to accomplish in the new year. Now I am older and wiser, or maybe just have less energy! In any event my goals are much different now. Over the next few days I'll share some of them with you.



I know that one of them will be to live more with my heart and less with my head. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5

"Many people miss their whole lives you know. Listen, life isn't when you are standing on top of a mountain looking at a sunset. Life isn't waiting at the altar or the minute your child was born, or that time when you were swimming in deep water and a dolphin came up alongside you. These are fragments. Ten or twelve grains of sand spread throughout your entire existence. These are not your life. Life is brushing your teeth, or making a sandwich, or watching the news, or waiting for the bus. Every day thousands of events happen and if you're not watching, if you're not careful, if you don't capture them and make them count, you could miss it. You could miss your whole life."

I am going to pay more attention to the little things this year. I don't want to miss my whole life. Do you?

See you next year! I always loved saying that on New Year's Eve when I went to bed !

Rhondi xo

*The quote is from a book titled Addition by Toni Jordan. I haven't read it. I saw it on someone else's blog but can't remember who!

Merry Christmas

Hello friends
We have just spent a week in Florida on vacation and have been only been home two days. Today I've run around getting last minute presents and tomorrow we drive to Houston to spend Christmas with our kids and grandchildren. I wish I had time to visit each and every one of you and say Merry Christmas, but for now I'll just have to say Merry Christmas from a distance and promise to visit all of you in the new year!

I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and that God will bless you in this coming year.
Thanks for being my friend.
Rhondi xo

Christmas House Tour

Welcome to our home. Come on in. Amidst all the busyness of decorating, shopping, and visiting, I want to always remember why we celebrate Christmas, so I make sure the nativity scene is in a prominent place. I bought it at Dollar Tree a couple of years ago!

We aren't going to be home for Chritmas this year. actually we aren't home very much this entire month, but I had to have at least one tree, so this little one sits on the island in the kitchen. And these little felt trees march across the dining room table. Also Dollar Tree finds from a previous year! The mantle in our living room gets a little Christmas finery. Mr. and Mrs. Santa and some brass candlesticks decorate the mantle in our TV room. I placed red garlands over doorways..

And above windows...Some greens from the garden fill blue and white containers.Bows, pinecones and greens adorn baskets. I gather red from around the house to make things look festive: a quilt, books, ceramic cardinal, little wooden hearts and lots strings of apples.All my large blue and white vases get filled with strings of apples. Red and white china sits on tables. Snowmen pop up here... and there....and everywhere.. A couple of favorites find a special spot to perch: this little wooden doll that came from my mom's home.
And the final ornament which we put out this year is this silly Santa on a motorcycle that moves and plays "born to be wild"! My husband doesn't have a motorcycle but he is always joking about getting one and this is the nearest that he'll get.There are some other Christmas Home Tours going on today: at Boo Mama's and Heather's and at Hooked on Houses, and at Southern Hospitality, so I hope you find the time to visit all of them and see lots of other homes all decorated for Christmas.

This is such a busy time and we aren't going to be home very much, so I am not going to be posting for awhile.

My prayer is for you that you have a happy, safe and blessed Christmas and remember, you are the reason for the season. Jesus came to this earth for you!

Merry Christmas.

Rhondi xo

Something's Missing

I was thinking about inviting you over for a cup of tea today. I can get out my cute little red and white tea set I bought last Christmas. I've got some cheery candy cane stripe mugs we can use.

But wait....something's missing! I have no Christmas cookies!

Maybe if I put your mug in the middle of the plate you won't notice?

I know, I'll could put these hearts I made on the plate. That might distract you from noticing the plate is empty.

Maybe if I spread the hearts out so they fill up more of the plate it won't look so empty.

Oh well, come on over anyhow and have a cup of tea with me. None of us really need any cookies anyway do we? So tell me, are you all ready for Christmas? I'm not!

Rhondi xo

Great Giveaway

Catherine Holman is having a great giveaway of this latest painting of hers on her blog. It's only open until midnight tonight, so I hope you make it in time to enter.

Hope you had a good weekend.

Rhondi xo

Blue & White For Christmas

It's time to decorate the house for Christmas, something I love to do. But I am only home for 7 days the whole month of December, so I am doing very little this year. However, no matter what the season there will always be some blue and white in my decor.
teapots... Dutch shoes...

paper copies of blue willow plates...cups... dogs..pitchers... For several years now I have tied some of my smaller blue and white items to a little tree and put it in the kitchen. This year it sits on the kitchen island. I think it looks very cute! There are 2 other blog friends of mine, Cindy and Linda , who have blue and white trees this year and I am sure that you will really enjoy visiting them. If you've never been to their blogs before you are in for a treat!

Some of you asked to see pictures of the quilting projects I did while I was away this week. We had a wonderful time, but I didn't get any of the projects finished, so you'll have to wait for awhile.

I hope you are having a good weekend.

Rhondi xo

Gone Quilting

The sign says it all. I'll be away for the rest of the week.
Sorry there will be no Thankful Thursday post today although if there was I would be saying I'm thankful to get away and spend time with my girlfriends doing what we all love to do: make quilts.
Hope you have a good week.
Rhondi xo

Happy Birthday To Our First Born

It was thirty three years ago today that we started on this adventure of being parents and what an exciting time it has been.

Birthday parties. Here is John at 3 years old. Graduations. Here is graduating from eighth grade.

More graduations, birthday parties, family vacations, soccer, basketball, awards, part time jobs, moves, sickness, celebrations, weddings, and now you are a man with a family of your own.

We love you so much and are so proud of you. We thank God every day that he gave you to us and we especially thank him for healing you of cancer. What would life have been like without you?

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Love from Mom and Dad xxxxx

Bows and Greens

Now that Thanksgiving is over, most of us turn our thoughts to decorating the house for Christmas. One very simple way to make your home look festive for Christmas is to tie bows on things you already have in your home. Every year I dress up my brass candlesticks. Lampshades, chandeliers, doorknobs can also be made festive with a bow too. When we had cats we would tie a bow around their necks. They never liked it much but they put up with it! I put bows on baskets and fill them with greens and pinecones.

Greens are another simple way to brighten up your home for the holidays. Any greens from the garden can be used to decorate your home.

Just put the greens in a container you like. If you don't have any greens in your garden, there are lots of quite real looking greens you can buy at Michaels or A.C.Moore at 40% off. That's where I got these. Just by putting them in one of my blue and white pots, the exisiting arrangement on this table takes on a festive look.

What do you already have around the house that you can use to decorate without having to spend much money? Look around. You'll be surprised!

Hugs, Rhondi

Thankful

I am thankful for a lovely Thanksgiving day yesterday. It was very quiet with just 2 of our kids being able to come, but we still had a great time. We went for a walk in the woods , watched a movie, put up some decorations outside and ate a wonderful meal. Here we are just before we sat down to eat. I just noticed I left my apron on! It was a very mild afternoon so we took advantage of the weather and put up these big 10" balls on the dogwood tree in our front yard.

They really sparkle in the sun and even at night they provide a little interest.

The day after Thanksgiving I am still feeling very thankful.

Rhondi xo