It's A Wrap!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

So, where has December flown to? Seriously. Yeah, I know, I say the same thing month after month but has someone tweaked the speed button this year? It seems as though the days are passing like lightning. If you think that's a stretch look at these babies above. They're growing up at supersonic speed! This month, in particular, has passed in the blink of an eye. It seems as though yesterday was Thanksgiving and I was beginning to decorate the house for Christmas, now the day is here! Come, stroll through the house with me in the quiet early morning before this day has zipped past.

"Sing, choirs of angels..." Joining my vintage white angel this year are the three on the right, I inherited these from my MIL. These angels are at least fifty years old. They now have formed an angel band on the buffet in our breakfast area to herald in this Christmas morning.

 Our tree stands guard in the space between our family room and kitchen. A few weeks back I baked gingerbread people, filling the space with their aromatic goodness.

Our family room is filled with many Santas, these are among a few I have made over the years.

This Santa quilt resides under glass in our coffee table, this is another "vintage" piece: circa 1992. I taught this Santa Star quilt class all those years ago at a local quilt shop, such happy memories this piece evokes.

This sleepy Santa rests on a chair next to our fireplace with a quilt of his own, it's been a long night!

A grouping of Jim Shore Santas joins the mix: three of these were likewise inherited in this past year, they've made themselves quite at home here.

"Santa's" basement workshop was a busy place in December. This Maple bed for our youngest grandchild will be delivered today. It features sixteen dovetailed drawers for storage.

That wasn't the only bed to come out of the workshop this year-- this triple bed for our oldest granddaughter 's American Girl dolls stopped in by my sewing space long enough to get outfitted with sheets and pillows before it made a trip to the Capital City yesterday! Hannes wonders where his bed is. 

Yep, just like that-- it's a wrap! Thanks for stopping by today. From our home to yours, I wish you special joy and abundant blessings on this holy day. Let us take time to reflect and remember why we celebrate today and carry true Christmas love in our hearts each and every day of the new year to come.

So, what's been going on this month at your house? 

Merry Christmas!

Life is GRAND!

Gregory (7), Mason (9), Lucy Ann (7), Lynnleigh (4)

A Joyful Glimpse

Another glimpse into December at Chez Goodneedle, this happened yesterday; the joy was contagious! Two of the children (and their gingerbread houses) have returned home already. The remaining two will depart before too long, it will be awfully quiet here tonight. 

Life is Good!

Timeless Greetings

"Greeting cards have all been sent 
The Christmas rush is through ..."

These lyrics from the Carpenters' "Merry Christmas, Darling" played in my head as I finished addressing and putting stamps on a stack of Christmas cards this year. I wonder what tunes played through my own mother's head as she performed the same ritual sixty two years ago. I wonder, too, what she was thinking when this photograph for their Christmas card (with a three-month-old me on her lap) was taken. Most likely she was longing for a full nights' sleep but wishing good health, peace and the joy that is Christmas to remain in the hearts and minds of her friends and family well into the New Year. I wish you that very same thing today.

In memory of my dear friend, Helen, let me pass along this idea from a former blog post for recycling the Christmas cards you've received from friends and family far and near; we continue this practice every morning. I hope that she knew what a blessed prayer legacy she was creating. Thank you, Helen!

Merry Christmas!

Life is Good!

Loving Hearts and Hands

Our church's Quilt Ministry gathered here yesterday for the fourteenth time to celebrate with food and fellowship at Christmastime, all served up over piping hot tea. Four of us pictured above have been a part of the group from the beginning. I was able to share history and some fun facts about the Quilt Ministry with everyone before we ate yesterday, having recently found the original sign-in sheet that included an early summary of the group's accomplishments.  Our Quilt Ministry began meeting on January 25, 2001, the average attendance back then was between 9 and 10. By April of that year we had completed, and gifted, eleven quilts; at that time we worked where we could find the space and begged for, borrowed and/or shared storage area for our (then) meager supplies. Fast forward to now: the average attendance is about the same, and these ladies with their loving hearts and hands have completed somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 quilts! We now have a dedicated work space and two large closets (holding a treasure trove of donated supplies) from which we operate on a weekly basis. Some of the names and faces may have changed throughout the years, we mourn the loss of a few dear friends and warmly welcome new ones; through it all the mission and purpose has remained the same: to make and give away quilts that will warm bodies and souls. At Christmastime we pause, reflect and give thanks; we're carrying on a tradition...oh, and we drink tea!

Life is Good!

Signs of the Season

It's been a busy few weeks around Chez Goodneedle, I'm sure it's been just as busy at your home too.  We are looking forward to spending Christmas Eve in the Capital City with our daughter and her family and attending a Christmas Eve service there with them before heading back home to our own church for the 11 PM service, always the most special of all times for me. When we gather as a church family outside the sanctuary, singing "Joy To The World" on the sidewalk by candlelight and receive the blessing and prounouncement of "Merry Christmas" it really is Christmas once again! Christmas morning will see us enjoying breakfast  and festivities at our son and daughter-in-law's home with the rest of our grandchildren and the afternoon will be spent eating dinner with more family and my husband's precious 91 year old mother; we are blessed. What is Christmas to you?  Allow me to share a few of our personal treasures and traditions here this morning; all the things and events that are, also, Christmas... by way of our own signs of the season!

Life is Good!