Many Blessings & Happy New Year!

I just wanted to take this time to wish all of you a safe and Happy New Year! May it be filled with many blessings this year.

We don't normally "celebrate" the new year by going out and about. We generally stay home and order Chinese food and I fall asleep by 10:00 while the rest of the family does their own thing until the ball falls at midnight and then they are off to bed too. This year however, we are having Daryl's family over.

I'm pretty excited about it as we've never had a Christmas gathering at our house with his family. His mom is coming as well as his brother and his wife and their little son (our nephew) Kyle, who's going to be turning six this year. It will be fun having him here! Daryl's aunt and her husband are also coming. We're going to have lasagna, cavatini, tossed salad, rolls and for dessert I'm making two peanut butter pies and a pumpkin cheesecake. Needless to say, we won't go hungry as we're also serving some appetizers.

Since Daryl's grandmother (his mom's mom) passed away last year, just two days after Christmas, it's been pretty hard on the family. The first year is always the hardest and for some life gets easier and for some life is lonely and bitter sweet no matter how much time has passed. That's the way it is for Daryl's mother. She was her mother's main care giver and she was with her every day, visiting after work, taking her shopping and making sure all her needs were met.


Bertha McLellan, Grammy.


With that all said, I'm hoping this time together will be spent sharing warm memories of Grammy and how she loved Christmas and being together with the family. Here are a couple of pictures of four generations, the first one is of grammy, my dd Amanda, my mil, Elaine and my dh, Daryl.



The next picture is the same except with our son, Christopher. He was overjoyed the day he discovered he was taller than Grammy (which was about six years ago).



I'm so thankful to have these pictures of of grammy with my family as last year she was in the hospital over Christmas so we didn't get any pictures of her.

I hope for you a year filled with many blessings, opportunities to make many warm memories with your loved ones, good health and much happiness. Hugs & blessings~ Birgit

Wynter Friends

Well here it is, two days after Christmas and I hope that you are all finding time to relax and enjoy some down time. We had a wonderful Christmas day! Even though my kids are teenagers, they still wake early. This year they woke us up with Merry Christmas wishes and kisses at 6:30 in the morning. That wasn't too bad. It sure beats the 5:00 wishes when they were younger.

Here's a picture of our tree before and then what the room looked like after.






Since we are huge animal lovers, we of course give gifts to our furry family. Our dog, Hunter, is 9 years old and he just loves rawhide bones. He instantly picked out his gift under the tree.





We can't forget our kitties, Adventure and Glory. They are brother and sister and they have filled our lives with joy and laughter with all their feline antics. Here's Adventure opening her gift. She loves tissue paper so we knew if we wrapped the kitties' gifts in tissue paper they would open them, and open them they did!




Here's Glory. He was content to let Adventure do the opening and then he stole the mice from her to play with on his own.


The picture of the goldfinch on my header is one that I took on Christmas morning. I love to photograph the various birds that come into our yard to feast at our feeders. Here's a couple others. One is a blue jay and the other is a mourning dove.




I hope you enjoyed visiting with our furry family and wynter friends. Hope you'll come by and visit me again soon.
Hugs & blessings~ Birgit

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

As I write this, we are in the midst of a nor'easter here in Maine. A nor'easter is a very large, heavy snowstorm that we here in the New England states are blessed with a few times each winter season. I think it's quite fitting that, since it is the first day of winter, we welcome it in with a big storm.


So far, we've gotten about 8-10 inches and it's still falling steadily. My kids are already rooting for a day off from school tomorrow, though I'm hoping they go so I can get some Christmas preparations done without too much interruption.


I finally learned how to add all my pictures to a slideshow from photobucket, so I thought I'd share my slideshow here with you.

All of our Christmas ornaments have special memories that go along with each one. We still have some of the very first ornaments my hubby and I made for our first Christmas together. We didn't have much money to buy them so we made most of them. Then of course, there's the home made ornaments that our kids have made growing up through the years and there's also many that my mom has made over the years. Those are among my favorites. And still others are the ornaments that we give to our kids each year when we decorate the tree. I would always pick out an ornament that related to some type of sport or activity that they were especially enjoying that year. I love that we have stringed popcorn and cranberries added to the tree this year. That was a gift from our church Christmas party. They were going to toss it away! So please sit back, grab a cup of your favorite warm drink and enjoy!
Hugs & blessings~ Birgit

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Warm Wynter Weather Memories

It's snowing here in Maine, as I write this and I think about how thankful I am of the snow. Recently we, as many New England states, have been dealing with winter ice storms. As I've read Linda's blog, I realize that here in Maine, we've faired much better from the storm as some of them did in other states.






On the day the ice storm hit us, the kids were let out early from school so thankfully they were home before the worst of it hit. We awoke early Friday morning to no electricity and of course, many cancellations including school. I was glad to have my kids home safe with me and to start enjoying a long weekend together. They were very happy too that there was no school, however having no power was a different story. That meant no tv, no video games.... what's a teenager to do??

Really, it turned out to be a very fun day without power once the kids accepted that it wasn't coming back on for a while and we needed to find things to keep us busy. Afterall, we were safe and snug with a fire in the woodstove so that meant we were warm. I had just made soup for supper the night before, so that meant we wouldn't go hungry. We could heat it up on the woodstove. Really, we were well taken care of and in the good hands of the Lord.

I found it rather enjoyable going back to relying on the old fashioned way of doing things. We put buckets outside under the eaves to collect the icy rain as it rolled off from the roof. We used that water to wash dishes with after we heated the water on the woodstove. We also used that icy water to keep our toilets flushed and clean since having no power and being on well water, we didn't have a pump to bring the water up to the house. Another thing I enjoyed was using candles as a necessity and not just a decoration. After shoveling outside to try to keep as much ice from building up on the sidewalk as possible and filling the bird feeders so our feathered friends would be plump and happy, we all came inside and warmed ourselves by the woodstove.

That left much of the day to play games and play games we did! We played many games of hang man and monopoly, which lasts forever.





Any of you dog lover's out there, know that our doggies always want to be the center of attention. Well, our dog, Hunter, is no different. Whenever one of us would get up from the game to stretch our legs, he would lay right down in our spot and mess up all our money and properties. My kids got a kick out of letting the dice roll off his nose to shake for the next persons turn. Hunter turned out to be pretty good luck for me when I got up. I earned me lots of money in rent from my kiddo's!


At one point, Christopher got out an old set of Lego's and started building. Both Amanda and I went down to the storage area in our basement and brought up three more boxes of Lego's and we built all afternoon. By early evening, around supper time, the power came back on. I was surprised that neither one of my kids jumped to turn on the tv or anything! We continued to sit there and talk and build with the Lego's. It really was a great day!




I think we all need these times, when we're taken back closer to where we came from. It may be harder work but it's not so fast paced. Relying on God's provision for us and resting in the fact that He is in control of everything is so comforting to me.



I also found that after the storm passed and we were back on the road on Saturday and Sunday, how beautiful and sparkly the trees were. There was a brightness in the skies that had been absent for two days. Everything glistened and gleamed! It was truly a sight to behold.



I hope that during the storms of your life, you can look beyond your circumstances and see the hand of God at work.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28



May God Bless you all and keep you safe in His care! Hugs & blessings to you~ Birgit

A Saviour is Born

In the hustle and bustle of preparation for Christmas day, let us have a heart of remembrance of the true reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place. It isn't just about the gifts that we open on Christmas morning, it's about the first and most important gift EVER given from the Lord our God, His very own son, Jesus, whom He gave to us to bridge the gap we've put between the Lord and ourselves. Yes, Jesus died for the sin of the world, and that includes me and you.



It isn't just a manger scene that many put up at Christmas time, it's to symbolize and cause us to stop and ponder the TRUTH of Gods Word in the Bible. It isn't just a children's story, it was real and it DID happen over 2000 years ago.


Passage Luke 2:6-20:

And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.

And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people:

for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.

And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger.

And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child.

And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them.






John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.

I encourage you, even plead with you to blow the dust off your Bible, and read the real story of Christmas. It can be found in the four books called the Gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and may God Bless you greatly this season.

Making Merry Dumplings

Hello friends! We've had our first snow and then today it got up to 50 degrees and rained, and now it's all gone. Not that we had a lot of snow, but the ground was looking white and wintery and sets the mood for the onset of the Christmas season.

Amanda and I didn't let the rain dampen our spirits, we still sang to the Christmas songs playing on our computer as we made some festive apple dumplings. My friend, Linda, from Ohio sent us her recipe and I'll share it here with you so you can try them while singing "Frosty the Snowman" and "Jingle Bells". We think it adds to the flavor. :)



Dough for dumplings:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup crisco
pinch of salt
2/3 cup milk
Mix dough and dividing into 8 balls.


Peel and slice thin, 5-6 apples.
Roll out each ball on a floured board and add apple slices and sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and about 1 TBSP butter on top of apple slices.





Wet the edges with water and pull the dough up around the apples and pinch together.


Place in a lightly greased baking dish. Turn upside down so pinched dough is on the bottom.
We then spinkled them with a little green and white sugar


Bake in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Personal sized apple pie just for you!

Some Christmas Decorating

I've been so inspired by looking at all the Christmas decorating that so many of my fellow bloggers have already busied themselves with. I'm the kind of person who likes to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to take down the fall decorations and put up Christmas decorations. I know Thanksgiving has been over for coming on a week now, but I like to take my time. I finished decorating on Saturday and took some pictures on Monday. I've finally found a block of time to sit at my pc and share pictures with you. I hope you enjoy!



I chose to us a theme on our mantel this year. I pondered it for a while and came up with a "Gingerbread Cookies and Milk" theme. I made the gingerbread men and took down some of the old enamelware pieces that grace the tops of our kitchen cabinets. I included an old batter bowl with cookie cutters, a child's rolling pin and some old milk bottles, also borrowed from the tops of my cabinets.












This vintage cabinet in our kitchen holds all of my grandmother's china dishes. On top you'll find a small lit Christmas tree with a Santa that my mom made years ago and a wooden reindeer that my b&SIL made years ago too. The Santa is holding a small teddy bear that I brought home from Germany when I was 11 years old and doll that were among my favorite toys when I was a little girl.




This teddy bear belonged to my dad when he was a young boy. I draped a vintage hankerchief over the front of the crate and filled the base of the crate with some childhood books from me and my dh.




















My dear friend, Heather, who lives in Utah, made the stitched snowman pillow as well as many other pillows I have placed around the house. She's the best stitched pillow maker in the world! :)





Thanks for stopphing by to visit. I hope your December is blessed with joy, love, family and health.
Hugs~ Birgit