oh what a beautiful Christmas!

see the rest of our pictures here

hope your Christmas was merry and bright! thank you to everyone who helped make ours so wonderfully special. we loved celebrating with all of our family and we just thank our stars for having such lovely people to spend the holidays with. it was just amazing to see how different our Christmas with matilda was this year compared to last. i was so excited i could hardly sleep on Christmas eve, anticipating her darling reactions. i love being able to create memories and traditions with sam for our little family. here's to a happy HAPPY new year. i'm so thankful for all of the lessons i've learned this past year and forever grateful for the changes.
luke 2:52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

now back to watching this...again!

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Handmade Christmas: Black Apple Doll

i'm working hard to make as many gifts as i can this year. makes me feel good. i especially love making things for matilda. i love seeing her face and hearing her say "whaaaooowww." worth every second.

my first gift i've made for her was made in her likeness using this pattern from the black apple. thanks emily!

i love how customizable these dolls are. i think i'll make her some accessories. a little scarf perhaps?



i'm really proud of her shoes because i figured out how to make them all by myself! pat pat.





matilda has already received a couple of handmade gifts this season. aren't we lucky?



jessica made matilda this sweet sweet doll. we are both so in love with her. thank you so much!



mama lou's dear friend cp sent a Christmas table runner made of some of lou's scraps. what a thoughtful person she is, she also sent this cloth book with vintage drawings. matilda ooeed and awwwed. thank you with all my heart.

got any plans to whip something up? do share!

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trim trimminy

we've been decking the halls.



come in. come in!





vintage garland made out of old pearls, vintage flash cards, old railroad tickets, and ornaments. yoyos from yo yo cottage.





a collection of sam and my childhood Christmas books.



the main attraction! we added some color this year. big, bright colorful bulbs. makes me incredibly happy!



matilda loves to take the ornaments off!



happy advent. love this one.

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coker tree farm

sam and i decided to go all paul bunyan this year by going to a tree farm...this one to be exact. according to my country living this month, cutting down a tree from a farm and then recycling it is the most eco-friendly holiday option. we went with a cypress because i love the grinchy look they have.







sam did an amazing and swift chopping down of the tree! (they provided everything: saw, supplies for tying the tree to the top, net, etc)



the kids jumped right in, grabbed the tree from sam and got everything ready, while this sweet little thing brought us candy canes and an ornament.







don't you just love supporting a family Christmas tree farm? the best part is, all of this produces one of my favorite images of the Christmas season:



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