Be Still and Know...Then and Now

Having just spent the day at the grocery store getting ready for next week I am a bit tired and a bit overwhelmed as the pending holiday approaches. I think the older I get the need to simplify become more and more attractive. My tolerance for family drama and an all the wonderful things that go into those holiday family gatherings can be a bit much for me in my hormonal stage of life. However I am trying to breath through it and remember what it says in the the instruction manual Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. I think I may have that tattooed on the palm of my hand so it will be readily available to me a a moment notice. Thanksgiving is really one of my all time favorite holidays, not because I have a lot of warm and fuzzy memories but because most of the good memories I do have revolve around spending time with my grandmother in her kitchen. When I am in my kitchen and getting a meal, even a big production like Thanksgivin...

Here is the money shot prior to the carnage of unwrapping. My tradition of rising early and getting the coffee going allows me the privilege of having a few quiet moment alone. However now that my little ones are nearly all grown up the chaos of Christmas morning is a lot calmer. In fact I had to finally go and wake the DD up after I had endured the peace and quiet long enough. Mom wanted to open some presents! But moving on the really important things…My Little Sock Monkey on her first Christmas! She had a wonderful time playing with all the torn up paper and empty boxes. Merry Christmas Y’all Blessings Robin Stay tuned for a post about our snowy adventures at Biltmore Estate and an exciting tale about the perils of 7 minute frosting and a chocolate cake extravaganza!

Where to start… On Thursday I went to meet the newest addition to the world. She was born Thursday morning at 10:27 to the DD of one of my oldest and dearest friends. She is a precious 7 plus pound bundle of sweetness. I am looking forward to being able to share the blessings of grandmother-hood with my friend, however we are having a slight disagreement. Going under the principles of seniority I feel I deserve the lone title of “Her majesty” gather than granny, ma ma or whatever other grandma-ish type names are out there and she is sadly under the mistaken idea that she can claim this prestigious title for herself. Oh well, I suppose there is room in the world for two supreme rulers of the grandmother realm, even if I was first. In any event I suppose our grandchildren will decide for themselves what they will call us in due time. We both wait with great expectation to see what that will be. On Friday I met skoots1mom for lunch and she brought me my birthday present. It ...

Hi There! Remember me??? Things have slightly settled back down to normal here. We are now in the process of a “New Normal” as my husband, his siblings and my MIL adjust to life without the one they loved for so long. But even with the sadness and the loss life goes on. So I’m jumping back in with this weeks Random Dozen hosted by Linda over at 2nd Cup of Coffee . Y’all pop over and see all the Holiday Randomness going on in the blog-o-sphere! 1. Gingerbread: For or against? Discuss. Having made gingerbread cookies as well as a few gingerbread houses I will say that my favorability rating for gingerbread is about 50/50. I am down with making gingerbread cookies. I love seeing a whole plate of simple gingerbread cookies outlined with simple white icing. It just screams Christmas to me. As a matter of fact I think I have all the ingredients in my pantry for a batch. Nothing smells better that a warm batch of gingerbread fresh out of the oven. Throw in a steaming latte to dunk...

Blessings Robin

Ya’ll, I am so doing the happy dance. It’s is my all time favorite thing, getting a huge bargain .  Given the fact that I absolutely hate to shop, I take great pleasure in making the system work for me.  Last year I got a huge deal on a beautiful pre -light Christmas tree and several (lot and lots of them, I mean seriously I had a brand new (and much bigger) tree, so it needed more oraments to fill it out) boxes of ornaments.  This year I am overjoyed to show you the newest addition to my Christmas décor .  I got two sparkly green and gold Christmas trees (originally priced $49.99 a piece) to go on either side of my fireplace...... A large nativity statuette (originally $79.99) to go with my growing collection of nativity scenes.  I got a new red wreath (originally priced $69.99) for over my fireplace. I am planning to add a bow and maybe a few springs of greenery (the holly garland was purchased to use on this wreath) to fill this out a bit.  Two small snow men (original price $24...

Merry Christmas Here is my contribution to this years "I see what you're saying - Christmas Edition" It is breif (3:25 minute video) of the Holidays at my house. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Blessings Robin

Before we get to the incredibly Rocket Scientists portion of this blog, I am officially launching my first Mr. Linky opportunity for all to participate in, woo hoooo. I wanted to give you all a glimpse into no doubt what has happen and is happening all over the world. Our homes are taken from a state of clutter and chaos as we unpack and unwrapped all the decorations and begin the transformation. So here goes. The Before................................................... The After......................................... Now for the Rocket Scientist portion of this post! I am so impressed with myself for figuring this out, you all will have to forgive me. I am sure (I hope) it will wear off quickly! So what is your favorite ornament? I shared with you in a previous post abut my favorite Christmas ornaments. We all have them, the ones made by tiny hands with glitter construction paper and lots of glue. I wanted to share with you my most precious Christmas ornaments. The first one was ma...

I figured since I was decorating my house for the holidays my blog needed a bit of a holiday make-over as well! Blessings Robin

I was thinking this morning about how the transformation that happens in my home after thanksgiving? It is a slow gradual process as the tree gets put up and the decorations get put on. I love unwrapping all my precious homemade ornaments and finding just the right spot to place then on the tree. One of my favorites is a small baby Jesus ornament that my son made when he was a very little boy. It is made with Popsicle sticks and a peanut wrapped up in a small piece of blue cloth, Baby Jesus in the Manger, it is the sweetest ornament and quite possible my favorite. (I will post a picture of the ornament as soon as I come across it, all the ornaments are still waiting to be unboxed) But as I was standing in my kitchen pouring my coffee I thought to myself that today is the day that I will make the switch. I will take all my Christmas coffee mugs down from their shelf and put all my normal everyday coffee cups away. This for me will then signal the beginning of the holidays. It is such sm...

It’s in the air, the anticipation, the preparation, and the smells from the kitchen. I have a cake cooling on the counter, a pan of brownies in the oven, a pot of green beans in the crock pot and there are plans for homemade Mac and Cheese later. With all this busyness the payoff is the gathering tomorrow at my sister’s house for our family thanksgiving. In my blog hopping this morning there was a very similar theme going on. It seems that as the holidays grow nearer our thoughts are more focused on the things to come then the things of today. I know for myself with all the turmoil on the nightly news who would not want to place all their attention on sweet potato soufflé and looking for the perfect stuffing recipe. With Thanksgiving just around the corner I am thinking about my life and all that I am thankful for. It at times is difficult to set aside the other aspect of life that at times scream louder then the praises, yet the wonderful thing about anticipation and preparation is t...