Thursday

Good Tidings of Great Joy: The Birth of Jesus Christ

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.
Enjoy this beautiful video.
I'm taking a blogging break.
See you in the New Year.
Love, Kerin

All Around the Cottage......

 All around the cottage...daily life, and preparing for Christmas.
I went to a little shop, looking for a unique gift.
I found a few unique, and wonderful gifts.
I also found a beautiful, heavy framed mirror.
After the holidays are over, I'm going to re-paint, and re-decorate the bathroom, and this mirror will be perfect.
Love when a plan comes together.
I also have a new tube for the bike tire.
I think I waited a little to long to repair the tire though... we ended up with quite a few inches of new snow.
Also, temperatures.... are just downright cold!
Winter officially starts tomorrow, and we're certainly  having winter  like weather.
 "The Girls" have been laying beautiful brown eggs.
Today, we'll be cracking eggs, and doing some Christmas baking.
Like every Christmas season, we are baking up a storm, and making treats.
Chex mix, Cinnamon baked nuts, fudge, and gingerbread cookies, dipped in chocolate.

Hope all your holiday plans are going well, and you are enjoying the magic of the season.
Wishing you, happy baking, candy making, gift wrapping, Christmas carol singing, craft making, and most of all.... enjoying that warm feeling that comes with remembering the reason for the season.... our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful for the power of prayer.  A few nights ago, around midnight, I was waiting for our son to get home from work. The snow was coming down hard, and visibility was practically non-existent.  I felt prompted to kneel down and to offer a prayer on his behalf.
I prayed for his safety.
A few minutes later, he arrived home .. safe and sound.
He told me that just outside of town, the roads were super slick with snow and ice, and suddenly in the middle of the road, there were two deer. He knew that he could not stop in time. He heard a still small voice , tell him to honk the horn. He did... over and over again.  Suddenly, the deer ran off and he slid right by on the road, where the deer had been standing.
He didn't hit the deer, or run off the road.
When he got home, I told him that at that moment, I had been praying for his safe return. He felt the power of my prayers, and he told me "mom, I know that your prayers helped me."
How very grateful I am for the power of prayer, and for the blessings that our Heavenly Father blesses us with...... each and every single day.

*Just a little side note: generally speaking.. deer do not run off when you honk your horn.  They will freeze and stand there just looking at you.

Monday

{Oh Deer, Oh Dear...}

 Oh Dear, where does the time go?
It's hard to believe that so many weeks have gone by, and I've neglected to blog.
Like everyone, we have been so busy, and the days pass by so quickly, before I know it, weeks have passed by.

We've been enjoying the deer.......they're moving into town more.
There are a few impressive bucks in the herd that has been hanging out in our neighborhood.
Spencer snapped the picture of this guy, on Saturday.

 Spencer finally received his new kilt, all the way from Scotland.
He had to wait almost two months for it.
He couldn't be happier to finally have the kilt, and all the accessories.
 We've been enjoying beautiful winter sunrises.....
 and sunsets.
                             
 
All around town, it's beginning to look  like Christmas.
Decorations are up, and twinkly little lights,
Yesterday, we had a snow storm ..... it added a magical Christmas touch.
 
Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that we are going to have all of our children home for Christmas
~I'm grateful that my MIL will finally have surgery on her shoulder tomorrow, and begin the healing process.
~I'm grateful that will the hundreds, and thousands of miles that we've driven over the past few months,  our Heavenly Father has watched over us, and kept us safe from harm and accident.
~I'm grateful that my CD from "Time out For Women" finally arrived. I can't wait to watch it, and enjoy the music, and the presenters talks once again..... so inspiring.