Simple Christmas Pleasures!

Ahhh...it's that time of year again!  I absolutely LOVE it! 

It's that time when you pull out the Christmas tree...and the decorations...and the brownies!
It's that time when we take on the Christmas songs (I'm waiting for Luke to get his Christmas singing on full-fledge) and it's that time when we celebrate our dear Savior's birth.  I read a book to Luke today about when Jesus was born and when I told him about the manger and why Jesus slept there, he said (in a concerned voice), "Why?  There might be spiders!"  Talk about cute!  :)

Yes, it's just November, but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here (and it's definately looking like Christmas at my cousin Trey's house...he and his wife put up their tree the day after Halloween).  The Christmas tree is up, the fall decorations are going into storage and the Christmas decorations are coming out (and so is the mess that comes with them!), Christmas lists are being formed, and Christmas sweets are being cooked up!

Speaking of which, I found a simple "recipe" for cinnamon toast the other day and I had never made it before, so I tried my hand at it.  I made it another time since then and had help from Daddy and Luke.  It's so pretty and really gets you in the Christmas mood with that cold wind blowing outside and the cozy Christmas tree lights glowing.



I took this with my daddy's camera--we call it "rinky dink".  I was suprised at how well it turned out!



Again, I was suprised at how well the pictures turned out!  Isn't it pretty?  Mama and I have always thought cinnamon smelled so yummy!

The traditional advent calendar is up...what a joy!

I always had so much fun with this.  You leave all the little dolls in the pockets until the first day of December.

I always start with the trees and end with Baby Jesus, so I guess you could say I add them to the scene on the calendar in order of importance.  The funny thing is, when I added the Wisemen....

I always added this one first, because for some reason to my child mind, he looked meaner than the other Wisemen...therefore, he was less important!  I think it's his eyes, don't you?

This one came in the middle, because he wasn't the nicest looking fella, but he wasn't mean looking, either.

And this one came last, because I thought he looked very kind.

Don't you love memories like that?  I always liked the Little Drummer Boy for some reason, too.  Maybe it was because he was so small and I liked his clothes.

On Friday night, we watched A Smoky Mountain Christmas (starring D*lly Parton) and The Saunta Clause (starring Tim A*len).  We didn't like The Saunta Clause much...it doesn't quite give you that Christmas-y feel--the parents are divorced and Tim/Scott seems to always be yelling at his kid. 

But, A Smoky Mountain Christmas is such a cozy and Christmas-y movie!  It also stars Lee M*jors.

Fun fact: My older brother, Colt, was sort of named after the character that Lee M*jors played in The Fall Guy, Colt Seavers.  That's where my Mama first heard the name, anyway. 

More favorites of ours are It's a Wonderful Life, A Holiday for Love (starring Me*issa Gilbert), A Holiday Romance, and of course, Prancer.  But a post of Christmas movies is coming soon! 

And of course, if you've seen the movie Prancer, you probably have come across this article that Jessica Riggs reads in the movie.  Well, Mama found it in a magazine one year and tore out the page.  We just recently framed and hung it, but before that, it had a place of honor at the piano.

Sorry for the glare!

So what are your Christmas traditions and memories?  Favorite Christmas movies?

God bless you!
Joy :D

                                              ~*~

Please keep Luke in your prayers.  His stomach is bothering him and he's already thrown up once.  He needs prayers for feeling better quickly and we also need prayers that the rest of the family won't get whatever he has!  We realized last night that Luke has actually never thrown up in the year and five months we've had him. 

Thank you for your prayers!