Here we are in the second week of December and things seem to get busier with each passing day as Christmas approaches. I hope you are able to enjoy some quiet times of reflection in the midst of your busy life. This week I decided to start by sharing with you some of the lovely decorations that are unique to Williamsburg, which is a beautiful place to live any time of the year, but especially at Christmas. This is our third Christmas here and we always enjoy taking a walk or two through Williamsburg to see all of the unique decorations.
As much as I like these beautiful and unique Colonial decorations, I love even more being able to decorate our own home for Christmas. We have accumulated a lot of decorations over the years, and it is such a pleasure to be able to make our home pretty and festive for our own enjoyment and for others. To me, that is one of the most rewarding aspects of homemaking! Let me give you a little peek into our home this Christmas:
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| Our tree |
We changed the look of our tree once we became empty-nesters. We had always had a tree with "cute" and varied family ornaments. When our youngest son got married I wanted to make a change, so we went with a more "elegant" look. I still display many of those old family ornaments on a small tree I put up in a corner of the kitchen. (not pictured) I also wanted to show you the special ribbon I got for our big tree this year, so I took this close-up shot. I was so excited when I found this pretty gold and white ribbon with the names of Jesus on it! It's hard to see in the picture, but "Emmanuel" "Prince of Peace" and "Good Shepherd" are just three. I love it because it helps us to keep the right perspective even in decorating our tree.
Another very special part of our decorating is putting out my collection of 9 vintage Santas that my mother hand-painted for me. My husband made a special display of them and my Victorian village pieces on the high shelf that runs across our two-story living room wall. I appreciate his help!
I hope that this little glimpse of Christmas at our house inspires you to make your home inviting at Christmas. God has given us the privilege and pleasure of creating a beautiful and inviting home for our family and loved ones. As God's women, we are blessed with our God-given assignment to "weave a tapestry of beauty" into our homes (Elizabeth George). Proverbs 14:1 reminds us that a wise women builds a home, and Titus 2:5 tells us that women are to be homemakers. Often the word "homemaker" is held in disdain by society today, and conjures up images of dull, mundane labors by a boring housewife. While there are dull and mundane jobs in the course of homemaking, there are dull and mundane jobs in ANY vocation in life. Being a homemaker literally means we are to be a "home-lover." It is our blessing to be able to make our homes warm and inviting. God is able to take our planning, effort and creativity and use it to make our homes beautiful as a testimony for Him.
Until next time,
I'm not sure if you will see this, but thought I would comment. We are supported by your ministry. I stumbled on your blog and have enjoyed browsing through it. I will be back! I, too, have a collection of vintage Santas painted by my grandmother. She had several and I was the recipient of 4 of them. I decided to give one to each of my adult children and keep one for myself. =)
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