Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful day it has been with family here for Christmas. It's a little sad because some couldn't be here too!! {Melissa and Buddy!!!} My sister, Melissa, will be happy to know that I made her traditional Cherry Date Balls, and they turned out good. I just wish they were here to have some too!

I have to tell you about the coolest gift that we "received". It was from my niece, Kristin. When I opened it, I couldn't understand what it was...I looked at my Mom who had received the same gift, and she too had a puzzled look on her face. Then my niece explained what it was....on the paper it had a person's name {ours was a male}, his age, a size, and an item on this person's wishlist. This was a person that was homeless, and Kristin had given the gift that was on the person's wishlist and had given it in our name. That was the coolest thing! I was soooo tickled that she did something like this! She is such a caring, giving person, so I wasn't the least surprised. Somewhere out there, there is a 17 year old boy that got the Old Navy jeans that he had wished for, because someone {Kristin} cared!

Thank you Kristin for this gift of giving!

I hope your day was Merry and Bright!

I hope your day was filled with wonder.

I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas surrounded by those you love.

I hope Santa was good to you and...

that you got what you wished for!

And shall we always remember...

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THIS SEASON!

So I won't be saying Happy Holidays.....

but I will...

Wish you a Merry CHRISTmas!

Back Porch Christmas Blessings,

Rebecca

Christmas Goodies...YUM-O!

There's no other time of the year that I love being in my kitchen more than at Christmas. I love to bake all kinds of goodies and yummies. There are some goodies that are a tradition and everyone looks forward to them at Christmas time. Then there are new recipes found and tried. Some may become a must each year, and some are replaced with new recipes next year. Do you have special goodies that you make every year? If so, leave me a comment about them!

I'm going to share some goodies that are always a must.

{Remember my camera has konked out, so most of these are taken from my phone. Some of them, I already had pics of before my camera gave out}

Nanny Sue's Peanut Butter Balls

Potato Candy

FUDGE

Cherry Date Christmas Balls

Sweet Blessings To All!

Rebecca

Christmas Decorating Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my Christmas decorating.

I do need to sadly say, my camera has bit the dust, I believe. Oh this camera has been a faithful friend for several years...my first digital camera. It goes with me everywhere. I am sooooo going to miss it! So until I get it replaced, I have to use the camera on my phone...ugh...not great quality. So bear with me with the pictures for now. Thanks!

The above photo is a shot of our mantle in the family room...but can you see what I have zoomed in on? This little vintage Santa in his miniature sleigh is one that we had when I was a child. Isn't he so cute? And look at his tiny reindeer. Precious!

It is so wonderful to sit here at night in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate looking at our Christmas tree and our Santa collection. I could get lost in thought for hours doing this if I would let myself. Ahhhhhhhh. hee hee

Ok enough of the daydreaming. Let's get on to some more pics for your pleasure.

Here are my carolers and music tree atop of the piano. Once again, my apologies for the poor quality of my phone camera.

Here are some more vintage Christmas ball ornaments. I just love this little tree. It is full of colorful bead "ornaments". I rescued this from a fellow teacher's pile of "Christmas giveaway goodies".

The nook of vintage kitchen goodies is decorated with the red and green of Christmas. That is a huge red ball ornament candle atop my vintage kitchen scales. Yep, there's more vintage ball ornaments in a bowl on my vintage "Clabber Girl" tin.
The dining room table has a small tree as well. A sugary iced berry and pinecone garland is down the length of the dining table. This is where many hungry family members will gather to enjoy Christmas dinner this year. That's my Bethlehem tree in the right corner of the photo.

The tea cart in my dining room holds more vintage Christmas ball ornaments. I just love this display! Are you wondering when enough is enough of the vintage ball ornaments? Well, when I get that far, I'll let you know...but not yet...hee hee

I had planned to share a lot more pics in this Part 2 post before my camera konked out. Maybe I can get some more up for you soon. Hope your day is merry and bright! I plan to post at least once more before Christmas.

Back Porch Christmas Blessings,

Rebecca

A Family Tradition

This week for Pink Saturday, we are to share a Christmas tradition.

One of my family's tradition is to attend the Christmas Eve candle light service at church.

A time to come together for the real meaning of Christmas and to sing Christmas carols together.

At the end everyone lights their candle {that they received when they came in} and sing Silent Night.

{always my favorite!!}

Then we head back home where we sit around the Christmas tree singing together as a family as the guys play their guitars. Our boys then exchange the gifts they got each other. This is always such a special time with my family. Even now that our boys are grown, we still enjoy doing this. I suppose when they are married, their wives will join in on this special time as well.

Be sure to go by Beverly's to see what traditions others are sharing this week.

God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Rebecca

Petticoat Junction As Promised...PART 1

Several of you have commented and emailed me about sharing pics of our faculty/staff Christmas Luncheon at Petticoat Junction. So grab a snack and a cuppa your fav and enjoy a little tour of Petticoat Junction!

First off, Bonnie is the sweetest thing. Petticoat Junction is a dream that is coming true for her. As I mentioned before, Petticoat Junction is located in the sleepy little railroad town of Normandy, Tennessee...an 1892 Victorian beauty...an all inclusive Retreat House...and just about 20 min. from my home. *insert screams here* The owner, Bonnie, a retired teacher herself, had dreamed of opening a "Girls' Retreat" in an old Victorian home. When we learned that our Christmas Luncheon would be held here, we were ecstatic!

So without further ado...here's Petticoat Junction Part 1

The Christmas tree is the first thing you see when you enter Petticoat Junction.

I love the little glitter "P J " letters on the tree!

A shot of the foyer taken from the staircase.

Below is a closeup of a shelf that holds old photos in Mason jars. Cute idea!

The sitting room is to the left of the foyer. French doors in this room lead to the dining area where we were served.

After receiving out wonderful plate, we climbed the stairs to "Inspiration Station" that is the usual place for crafting. However, they had tables set up for us to all eat together.

OMGosh! This "Girly Girl" room is TDF!!! Just take a looksy...

This room will sleep four.

Sweet Dreams For Sure!

~Precious~

Well, that is the end of Part 1 of the Petticoat Junction tour Be sure to come back soon, as I will share more pics of this special little place!

Back Porch Blessings,

Rebecca

Christmas Decorating Part 1

Happy Monday everyone! Hope your week started off great, and hope it only gets better each day!

Today, your hostess is Miss Maggie Bleu, herself. She is anxiously waiting for Santa's visit on Christmas Eve. She hopes Santa brings her lots of treats, and a new "dolly".

She would like to share a few more pics with you of our Christmas decor. So sit back and enjoy some Christmas fun as Maggie takes you on a small tour in Part 1 of Christmas Decorating!

This is what my Momma calls our "Country Christmas Tree". It's in our Family Room by the fireplace. There are lots of fun goodies on this tree, and many look like they could be fun toys for me to play with. However, Momma says not to bother the tree, so I mind her really well, 'cause I want Santa to see how good I am!

Momma says she really likes this boy and girl because they look old-fashioned. All I know is, I am not suppose to bother them. So, I don't!

This guy in red must be pretty special 'cause my Momma has soooo many of these all over the place. These are just a few of the ones on our mantel. They are too high for me to count, but trust me...Momma put a bunch of them up there!!

This picture was taken in our kitchen. You can see the Family Room in the distance and the tree that my Momma calls "The Gingerbread Tree". There are lots of yummies on this tree but Momma said they are not for eating. They are just for looking at. I don't know...I may need to sample one or two of these sugary treats and find out for myself.

Well, that is all Momma said to show for today. Come back again, and we will continue the tour...we have lots more to see and several more trees!

Childhood Christmas Memory and Pink Saturday

Who says Christmas has to be JUST red and green? Surely not me! I think pink has a place too! Just take a look at my vintage Christmas ornaments. I love these so much! They sit on a counter in my kitchen so I can see them all the time! Gotta love those pink sparkling glitter balls!

A few more up close. Of course the pink one is my favorite!

*A Christmas Memory*

My sister and I shared a room as children. I remember us talking and giggling in the dark at night. However, there were never more talk and giggles than on Christmas Eve each year. Many years a new doll was on my Christmas list. After we were silent, I would imagine what my new doll would look like, what I would name her, what we would do together. I always loved this night!! Here is a picture of my sister and me on Christmas morning, December 1973. You can see me proudly holding my new dolly.

Ok, I'm sneaking in one more *giggles*, our parents let my sister and me decorate the tree, Here is a angel ornament that we always put on the tree. She now proudly hangs on my "Bethlehem Tree" each year. She always takes me back to Christmastime in my childhood.

Want more pink or more Christmas memories? Head on over to Beverly's to check out more!

Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Christmas Memories!

Rebecca