Unwrapping Christmas 2019

While things are pretty quiet around the house today, I thought I would share with you some pictures that capture Christmas Day 2019 at the Indiana Day house.

Traditions are achangin' around here this year.  What with two college girls and an engaged couple, routines and schedules have necessarily had to be adjusted.  Changes come and if anyone can go with the flow, it is this family.

Jackson and McKenna will be wed next October 2020.

Instead of opening a select few gifts on Christmas Eve, we saved them all for Christmas morning.  And because Jackson was up early to have Christmas with his soon-to-be new family, our's was pushed back some, which was fine because we were all moving slowly anyway.

Once everyone arrived, and we made ourselves presentable, we gathered in the family room in the traditional seating arrangements for the Christmas Story.

Dick always introduces the Bible reading with an interesting background devotional thought.  This always gives us food for thought and helps us see the story from a slightly different perspective.  This year he focused on the gift of life and the wonderful role of motherhood based on the beautiful story of Mary and Elizabeth.  He did good!

Then, we all take turns opening a present while everyone oohs and awes and  they pose for a picture.  This is tradition from years past that we all enjoy.

There is always a replenishing of wardrobes for the remainder of the winter months and this year there were plenty of warm, fluffy, cuddly items for both work and walking a snow-covered college campus.

Mary-Beth was thrilled with her newest Nutcracker.  She now has 18 in her collection.

Among the snugly clothing items were these awesome matching jackets for the Day gals.

Dick and I were thrilled with all our thoughtful and generous gifts and cannot wait to get home and use them.

Then everyone got presentable and pretty and we took more pictures.

We are thrilled that McKenna will soon be officially one of us.

 

Savannah and Skye are picture perfect.

Mary-Beth's smile brings sunshine to all around her.

And that's a wrap for Christmas 2019!

Christmas Touches in Indiana

Before Christmas comes and goes, I thought I would show you some of the Christmas touches we are enjoying while visiting our son and his family in Northern Indiana for Christmas.

The house used to be dark tones of gold tones and adobe red.  Earlier this year, Michelle had the entire house repainted in these light fresh shades of gray.

She based her color theme on this painting.

Since this room is her favorite, she dressed it up beautifully for Christmas.

All of the decor, down to the Christmas tree decorations carry out this color theme.

I love these beautiful boxes under the tree.  Who wouldn't want to open this on Christmas morning.

The Buffet is lovely when the aqua glass bottles capture the sunshine streaming in the windows.

This welcoming foyer is home for the traditional nativity scene.

On the side table in the family room is the other nativity set.

On the large island is this pretty little arrangement on a sled.

The live tree in the open breakfast/kitchen/family room is bedecked in tones of taupe checkered ribbons and red along with favorite family ornaments.

The ribbon on the mantel wreath continues the tree ribbon.

This is only the downstairs. Every room upstairs has favorite touches of Christmas that are special to each person.

Savannah has The Nutcracker tree in her room that we gave her when she was a tiny little girl.

Mary-Elizabeth's room is full of her Nutcracker collection.

We have a beautiful church illuminating our room.  Even the bathrooms are beautifully done with some little touch of Christmas.

Perhaps the most favorite decoration in the whole house is this little girl.

And these are our Christmas Touches in Indiana.

Merry Christmas to you!

My Christmas Touches

A few posts ago I was lamenting having to take down all my beloved Fall decor.

As you probably expected, it did eventually get removed and all is put back into the attic except the valued glass pieces.  My right hand is still not ready to be trusted to that extent.

And as you probably expected, I did get a few Christmas touches out and about before we leave for the holidays.

Before I get to that though, I wanted to share with you one of the homes in my city where signs of Christmas are not in short supply.

This article was written by a former co-worker, Melissa Airhart and published in a local magazine.  Because I did not get permission from the photographer to post the actual pictures, I will post the link to the article.

All Through The House

Whether you still need inspiration or not, you will find a lot of Christmas in this gorgeous home.

I realize there is no comparison between this house and what most of us do in the way of bedecking our homes.  My simple little "touches" pale in comparison, but that is alright.  We are all different and it is important to make our homes comfortable and a delight in which to live.

With that said, these are my little Christmas touches.

Because I don't have a lot of kitchen counter space, this arrangement is all there is room for.  I do love my large Gail Pittman classic Christmas plate and this elegant gold tree.  We also love the smell and ambiance of cinnamon candles. 

On the round dining table, I used a Pottery Barn red silk runner from many years ago . The center piece is a very simple arrangement of woven balls, red berries, strings of pearls and tiny lights.

I found this little marble-based tray at Nebraska Furniture in Plano last year and have found so many uses for it.

I love the combination of gold and pearls so have carried out this theme.

Serving pieces consist of our Christmas china on red chargers and the matching goblets.

 Would you believe I found these pretty little tapers at our Kroger store that replicate the design of the china so nicely.

The side table holds this arrangement.

This beautiful table runner came from Tuesday Morning and I think it is perfect.

In the foyer is this pretty little red bird vase that holds a strand of tiny lights.  I love this piece as it was a birthday gift from Vicki Smith, my long-time and precious prayer warrior friend.

Just a few pillows dress up the sofa and side chair.

The mantel continues the theme of gold, pearls, berries and lights that make me happy.

As you can tell, there is no tree.  As we are always gone for a long period of time during the holidays, a tree is not necessary.

These lighted items are on a timer and can be seen through the glass front door.

I also love displaying all the Christmas cards from family and friends on this round table where we can easily enjoy them.

This will be my final blog post until after the beginning of 2020.

Our prayer is that you have a most Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Days

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