MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOME

 This is our Christmas card this year. We used CardStore.com and overall I'm very pleased with the company, (what really got my attention was the fact that they pay for ALL THE SHIPPING, including the stamps for all your cards~WHAT?)!!  That really adds up at .44 a pop!  


I won't go without saying that for some reason they hit a few glitches with our card. The front of our card was always correct, it was the back that caused all the trouble.  At first it was funny, then annoying....take a look yourself:


SHIPMENT #1: not the right text.

 

SHIPMENT #2:  not really sure what happened here! 
Pictures cut in half and all jacked up!

SHIPMENT #3: can you find the problem?

   hahaha!  Just a few extra words there, 
"OPTIONAL CAPTION GOES HERE".
I just shook my head at this one and called the company again. 
This time I asked for a full refund and 30% off my next purchase. 
So, we ended up getting our cards for free, (with a little bother in there).  And the kids had packages of cards to play with, build with and "deliver".  So really, this is a completely pointless post that many of you could care less about, but I wanted to share anyway!  


Several of our friends and family did use the company and had NO problems.  I plan to use them every year because of the substantial savings in postage....plus their designs are so cute.  And I have our addresses all uploaded which will make ordering next years pictures a breeze, (fingers crossed)!  


It's Christmas week, but I don't have to remind anyone of that.  I can hardly believe it's HERE; 
upon us, in us, around us.  

This culture demands intentional slowing down and I anticipate doing just that.  It's so easy to get caught up in what HAS to be done, even within my own home, (laundry, cleaning, cooking).  Stuff that keeps our little world spinning 'round.  Sometimes I feel myself getting lost in that, feeling it overwhelm me because it's NEVER truly done.  

Clothes get worn.
I share a bathroom with 3 boys.
Bellies leak. 

What does slowing down look like?  Propping your feet up for a bit?  Turning the TV off and grabbing a book instead?  Leaving the laptop lid closed for more than 24 hours?  Those are some practical things, but I'm on the lookout for more....an INWARD slowing down that is manifested into outward actions.  A calm of the soul, (not necessarily my situations or struggles because they will ebb and flow).  Here's a quote that I felt summed it up for me: 


"As soon as we are alone…inner chaos opens up in us. This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again. Entering a private room and shuttering the door, therefore, does not mean we shutter out all our inner doubts, anxieties, fears, bad memories, unresolved conflicts, angry feelings and impulsive desires. 

On the contrary, when we have removed our outer distraction, we often find that our inner distractions manifest themselves to us in full force. We often use the outer distractions to shield ourselves from the interior noises. This makes the discipline of solitude even more important."

~Henri Nouwen~

Well said don't you think?

Dear friends, I will see you in again in 2012. 

A new year is upon us and what a gift it is. 

Fresh Hope.

Days unlived.

Treasures hidden within.

"I will go before you and level the mountains, to make the CROOKED PLACES STRAIGHT; I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron.  And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know it is I, the Lord, Who calls you by name."  

Isaiah 45: 2-3

MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS, NEAR AND FAR. May PEACE makes it way DEEP into your heart and mind this week and always. 

Love, Janelle.

Our Suite Christmas

 

Normally our room is the last to feel the "decorating love."  I didn't want that to be the case this Christmas so today was the day I gave her a little makeover.  Plus I needed to "de-stress" by investing into something other then refereeing the children!   

Our old faithful Christmas tree that's been with us since the first year we were married.  Just unplug it and take it to the attic each year...makes for easy set-up and tear-down!

 

Found these darlings at a flea market in North Carolina while visiting our dear friends.

Meet my vintage orange chair, (crazy comfortable and in excellent condition).  Rescued her from an auction across the street, for $3!!!! 
Jake kindly carried her home. 

Cozy corner in which I rarely sit. 

But when I do, it's quite a treat.

Crystal Shabby Chic shower hooks have more then one purpose!

This whole project got started with the idea to make a fresh wreath to hang above our bed.  It smells so good and looks welcoming.

I had a small fake wreath in the attic that I wasn't using so that was my base.  Just cut a few different kinds of twigs and stuck them in, anchoring them with the "fake" part of the wreath.

.  

comfort & joy

Shamelessly stole some wrapping paper from the trash pile at my niece's bridal shower.  This was the intended purpose.  I think it's from Target.

Thanks for stopping by today.....

We wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

"Baby, it's cold outside."
~Dean Martin~

AND THE WINNER IS.......

  

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED.  It was truly so heart-warming, (for myself and for others) to read about your childhood Christmas memories.  And not surprising, most of them had nothing to do with some extravagant, expensive gift.  On the other hand, it was TOGETHERNESS that stayed with us most.  

Our winner* Sarah shares her memory: 

"Growing up in Montana, Christmas Eve was a favorite time to ski as a family. I remember in particular how I'd watch the silent snow-covered forests pass below my feet as I rode the chair lift. Shifting my skis so that the powder would drop sparkling into the quiet below. Magic was thick in the air and my contented breath came out in billowing clouds."

So delighted for you Sarah! 
We'll be in touch and see that this giveaway gets to you safe and sound before Christmas morning! 

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air."  ~W.T. Ellis~

*winner chosen by using the random number generator at random.org. 

600th BLOG POST GIFT-AWAY!!

It's giveaway time at 
Three Men and Their Ladies! 

Somehow 600 posts have been published over the past 5 years! Thank you for journeying along with us...
here's our small way of celebrating!!! 

It's a cozy time of year, so all these little gifts will hopefully help you stay that way!  
 
Let's start by spreading out your beautiful new burlap and lace table runner so lovingly created by Lauren over at
Paper Heart Studios.   
She is quite the talented event stylist and I'm sure you'll enjoy her website, her inspirations and her products.  Here is a better look at the details of her runner and it's LONG!  It's stunning!

Here's your little birdie mug to be filled with hot drinks.

Maybe you'd like a cup of Starbuck's....

or perhaps you're a hot chocolate lover.

Enjoy your cozy drink while listening to this equally cozy cd by

JJ Heller and her husband, (autographed copy).  
Here's a little taste of their music.
Soothes the soul.

And don't forget to wipe that hot chocolate mustache away, with your new paper napkins, before heading out the door!

Put on your new African handmade necklace and grab your new colorful "hobo" bag and you're out the door.....

These beautiful items are brought to you all the way from Africa by Mosaic Designs, featured under their NEEMA PROJECT. If you're looking for a unique way to give a gift this year, please check out their etsy shop  Their store only has a small fraction of what they have to offer, so if you are interested in other purchases please do contact Faith. 

To enter our giveaway please leave a comment with    

ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS!  

If you'd like to enter TWICE you could share this giveaway and let me know with another comment how you did so,(either via your own blog, facebook, twitter, etc.).  

One of my favorite Christmas memories is when my parents told me I get to go with them to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  It was to be my first time on an airplane and we were going to visit my oldest sister Fan and her husband.  They were living down there at the time and I missed them so much.  I remember sitting on my Dad's lap when they told me. I just put my fingers in my mouth and laughed. 

I was seven.

ENJOY REMINISCING....

we can't wait to read them!

All comments, 

from near and afar are welcome..... 

The winner will be picked on

Monday, December 19th. 

being present

 

What a busy week.   Sometimes it seems like all the commitments we've made all meet up in the same slot of time, vying for our attention and mental energy.  

That was last week.  

I found myself just getting through one day at a time.  Not in a bad way, just a very thought-out way, from one task to the next, to the next.  
I don't like living like that.  
Feels too bound up, 
too aligned, 
too prepared.  

We don't have much planned for the Christmas weekend.  And we like it just like that. Making the time to do nothing. Just be.  Earlier this week I read a beautiful quote by my friend on facebook, (thanks Sarah G.).  It really resonated with me. 

"The great gift of uncharted, unscheduled, un"productive" time: an evening wide open enough to allow wrestling/cuddling and reading with our children, long deep talks out on our front porch..."

Doesn't that just FEEL nice.  Just reading it?  A lot of our nights do have bits and pieces of that description in them, but it feels like there is always "something" brewing beyond what our hands our actually touching:  Plans for tomorrow, cleaning up, packing lunch, laundry, baths, bed, brush teeth, prayers, stories, hugs, kisses, fall on the couch!

 

It's not easy living in the present, but it can be so beautiful. A dear woman in our community died just recently. I thought of her the evening she died.  Watching the sun sink down beneath the hill. Did she know that morning, that it was her final sunrise?  That she would never see the sun set that day?  But instead, she would be ushered to see the Glorious Face of the Son?

There's a desire in me, in many of you, to live life to the fullest right where we're at.  I'll be the first to say that I'm not sure how that's done.  When the "demands" of my day seem to outweigh my heart.  Maybe it begins my acknowledging that "getting through" the day(s) isn't how we were created.  Of course, there are seasons of trudging on, of deep valleys of death and grief, when the next breath is all we think about, of the mundane and the necessary.  And they are just that,  SEASONS,  

not meant to be permanent dwelling places. 

So, wherever this moment finds you, I sincerely hope you can find a way to be truly present.  

You're definitely not alone in that pursuit. 

“Our spiritual life is a life in which we wait, 

actively present to the moment..."
~Henri Nouwen~

SPEAKING OF "PRESENT".... 
COME BACK LATER THIS WEEK FOR OUR CHRISTMAS GIFT-AWAY!
IT'S GOING TO BE LOVELY! 

Christmas Tea with Auntie Anne

 

Hello Friends, wanted to let you know about this wonderful Christmas Tea that's right around the corner.  YOU are welcome to attend, to relax and enjoy a few hours to yourself!  

Gather some friends and pull up a seat.  I've been asked to decorate for this event and look forward to making it sparkle and shimmer with all that's merry and bright! I'm going with a vintage silver and turquoise theme! Loves it! 

Anne is sure to make it worth your time with her words of encouragement and inspiration.  The food will be delicious and the company will be delightful, (and there may be a few surprises tucked in there too)!   

Space is very limited so as to make it a more intimate gathering, (only about 30 ladies).  So, please, if you can make it be sure to reserve your spot TODAY! 

Please call Sharon at 717.442.0569 

RESERVATIONS HAVE BEEN FILLED.

"The perfect temperature for tea 

is two degrees hotter than just right."   

~Terri Guillemets~

What I did today.

Today is my birthday. I took the children out for breakfast to my favorite diner, (Jennie's) where I spent many of my younger years!  I always feel younger in there because that place has a way of transporting me back in time!  It hasn't changed much in twenty years.

Today I did what I do most days, 
just with a little more meaning:

Laundry.

 

Wrote cards:

Played games with the kiddos:

And decorated for Christmastime:

It was the perfect day and I couldn't ask for more
except for about 29 more weeks for Lovie to grow and form.......  :)

"For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Dear Wife, I have something to say.

Over the last week my husband has shared some things with me that he's been keeping to himself for years!  YEARS!!(And don't get worried, we're doing just fine)!

There have been some habits that have became all too welcomed/unnoticed/undealt with in my life and he had to say something to me. He's a brave man, to breach that hidden territory of offense that so many of us, (I) can fall into.  Although it wasn't easy to hear, the things he had to share, they were TRUTH and I  knew they were there, my spirit knew he was right on.  I just didn't want to acknowledge them.  Because if you leave something alone it will disappear, right?  It won't grow into something bigger and more deadly, it won't rule you or control you, it will just stay nice and neat and pretty, right?  

WRONG.

Attitudes unchecked become character in action.

There are so many opportunities to take offense when someone THAT TRULY LOVES US tries to bring correction*truth*guidance.  Notice the "truly loves us" part.

My heart felt so secure as he spoke into my life.  He shared out of love for me, protection for me, wanting the best for me, for us. {And perhaps you don't have a husband, (or anyone in your life) that speaks into your heart, that wants to see you become the best you.  I genuinely pray that if that's your desire that there would be an answer, a leading to someone that can help facilitate the wholeness God desires for you and in you}.  

He will make a way, He's been doing that from the beginning. 

"LOVE suffers long and is kind;

LOVE does not envy, 

LOVE does not parade itself;

it is not puffed up, 

does not behave rudely, 

does not seek its own, 

is not provoked, 

thinks no evil;

does not rejoice in iniquity, 

but rejoices in the TRUTH;

bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things, 

endures all things...."
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I'm a joke.  

Looking at those "loving" things and holding them to the mirror of my life is laughable.  

Truly.   

 

And yet, my God promises so sweetly to HELP me, (and YOU) to become more like HIM.   

To journey us into a place of
atonement and abandonment, 

righteousness and refining, 

holiness and heartache, 

freedom and fire, 

truth and testing.  

And so I say DO IT.  

Do in me what I want done in others.

"God's purposes in our lives lead to humility, 

but Satan's purposes in our lives cultivate self-promotion.

The INTENT OF THE HEART 

is always the dividing line between the two....."  

~John Paul Jackson~

A Limo ride to Red Robin!

 To our surprise, Tyler was randomly picked as the Kindergarten winner for a special treat.  He, along with one first grader and one second grader and Dr. Young, (their principal) were awarded a trip to Red Robin.......in a limo! :)

He was so excited, he could hardly sleep last night.
Honestly, he talked most of the food he would eat at Red Robin, more then the actual Limo ride.  Such a typical boy! 

 We passed by Red Robin while they were there and snapped a picture of the Limo waiting for them.

"I was excited to go in the Limousine.  It was all black and shiny and I liked it.  It was my favorite car.  I ate a cheeseburger, steamed broccoli and chocolate milk.  And I got a red balloon that says Red Robin.  And I went with two Emily's and I went on a Limousine.  My favorite was eating lunch at Red Robin.  

Love, Tyler S."  

(he was reciting this to me as I typed)!!  

Oh, my sweet boy!  What a special day for you!