New Year's Wishes With Love and Remembrance

Happy Greetings!

It seems like forever since I've been

 really connected here.

But it has been a glorious 

season for us with so much fun

and blessings galore!

I so hope that you all had 

a wonderful season as well.

And now I think

that most of us are relaxing and 

resting after the busy time of cooking

our favorite holiday foods,

creating those warm memories

 going to special outings,

working together and celebrating

the season as each family

does in their way that is 

unique to them!

How wonderful is that?

I really enjoyed seeing pictures and

hearing about your special times. 

And now we are getting on with

everyday life. I was thinking last weekend

how fond I am of everyday life.

Just tending to the normal things.

And, yet, there is still some celebrating to be done.

A New Year. A fresh start.

Hopes... Goals... Dreams and the responsibilities, too. 

Without going into much detail,

I will say that 2015 was a tremendous year of growth

for me personally. And though my blog following

is quite small, I must say that 

I have some of the kindest, most sincere

friends here. 

 Followers and visitors alike. 

It has been an amazing year of

inspiration for me as I have read your blogs 

and learned so much from you.

Thank you for sharing your gifts and talents!

And I have been so blessed by your kind, 

enthusiastic and generous spirits!

Friendships have grown and my little

spot here has grown a little as well. 

And for all of this, I am very grateful.

And so it is with

love and remembrance 

of all my friends

and visitors here that I say with

gratitude and affection...

In plant language, Rosemary is the symbol of love and remembrance.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart

for being my friend and supporting me here.

I wish for you, in the coming year, all 

that your heart desires!

As well as peace and contentment

in whatever you find yourself doing. 

Life is made up a lot

of "ordinary"  things and I hope you 

find the extra-ordinary in it all.

Happy New Year!

Tamara xo

Paper, Stars, Angels and Thoughts of the Season

Christmas time is here.

Happiness and cheer.

Fun for all the children call

their favorite time of year.

Snowflakes in the air...

Beauty everywhere....

Oh that we could always see such spirit

through the year. 

*************

Those words belong to a song that I
learned for the Christmas season.
And yes. 
There is so much beauty everywhere.

What have you been doing?

My days have been filled with

the work, wonder and 

excitement of the season.

There's always an abundance of it all.

But in spite of all that...

Time has been waltzing so slowly

through these past couple of weeks. 

It has been the most peaceful of Christmas'

that I can remember.

There's a quiet acceptance of the things that

I can't get to and a deep contentment that has washed over 

our home. We're still "doing" and "going" but

not quite as much and with a different heart.

This Christmas seems to have brought an introspection

and attentiveness to pray for others.

I'm sure this has been one of the very things

that keeps me counting my blessings.
Which are many.

Here's a sampling of moments from

our Christmas memories so far...

*a surprise visit from distant travelers...

*a gathering of daughters to practice our song of hope..

*making cut out cookies to frost and share...

*waiting for the cranberry pecan bread to come out of the oven..

*watching Christmas movies..

*taking in the excitement of bright-eyed children

*tending the ever-hungry fire in our wood stove...

AND

so many more.

 And I always have such good
intentions to share about them.

Such as The Christmas in My Heart books.

If you are a read aloud family or just

like to read stories that will warm your heart

and build your faith or just make you laugh,

you will love these books. 

Some of the stories are true. 

Some very, very old.

 Many of our books are falling apart
  and have the bindings burned off.

It was almost Christmas, 9

years ago that our house burned.

But we don't want to replace them

because every time we read a story,

we record something memorable

about that day or week!

One thing that I have not done much of is blogging.
I have just been at such a loss for words
and have been so touched by so many blogger
friends as they share their hearts
and wonder.

I can't seem to get passed
the thoughts of reverence and awe for
this season of hope that has settled
in my heart.
Why is it that anything seems possible during  
 the Christmas season?
Faith abounds and hope just seems
to rise up!

 But I decided to go ahead 
and share a handful of photos of some of my work and
just a few other things that have held some special 
meaning for me.

I'm hoping that all of you are enjoying your days.  
Peace and joy to you.
Thank you so much for coming by.

~Warmest of wishes~
Tamara xo

Simple, Handmade Paper Ornaments

Hello Friends..

I hope this finds you well

and enjoying the peace and beauty of these

almost winter days.

There's so much to take in!

I have to remember to 

*breathe and notice.*

I'm not quite sure what to write in this post.

Last evening, I spent an hour or more 

working on a post and published it.

This morning, I opened my dashboard

and the post is just gone.

Hmmm.

Has that ever happened to you before?

Anyway. I guess I'll try again!

Last week did not go as planned. 

I have been busy with many things.

Mostly getting back on top of this 

rambling home of ours after our

most glorious and fun, and memorable Thanksgiving.

We had sleep-overs

with kids and grandkids.

Guitar music and sweet voices

filled the room as we sang some of our 

old favorites and new songs.

To celebrate

the beauty of the season and everyday

life in song is one of my favorite things.

And there's something very special in that

"sit-around-the-living-room"

kind of singing.

 And to hear our grand children lift their requests

to heaven during family prayer

was one of the sweetest things I can think of.

So sincere and pure.

Our Apples to Apples game got 

very wild and crazy.

My oldest daughter said, "It was a blast!" 

She's 33.

A little organized chaos always adds fun and laughter!

And watching the little to pre-teen kids play Twister

was a highlight for sure!

Blessed would describe our time together best.

And I'm so grateful. 

It won't be like that every year because

the travelers can't always break away.

They were very brave to drive

900 miles with a 6 month

and two year old. And then back

home again through icey Texas and Oklahoma.

*******************

Are your hands busy with creating

gifts and offerings for this wondrous season?

I hope you're having a most enjoyable and fulfilling time.

And that you're experiencing the warmth that just

seems to surround us during this time.

 music

visits

delicious hot drinks

sweet treats 

wild birds and

 animals outside your window

working with your hands

the lights

(we have ever so many lights)

Here's a bit of what I've been doing.

They are pretty quick and easy.

One could use them as ornaments,

gift tags or package embellishments.

I made a pattern and cut two pieces

of the chosen card stock or paper.

The plan was then to sew them together

and stuff them with pillow filling.

After finishing the sewing,

I used my crop-o-dile to set 

an eyelet in each one. It makes them stronger

and I like the finished look.

I, then, trimmed around the outside edge with

a pair of zig-zag craft scissors

to give them a tree branch look. 

Then comes the fun of embellishing.

I just used whatever I had that

co-ordinated with the paper that I chose.

I enjoy this kind of detail work very much!

And these days, I'm lighting a candle

to remind me, while I'm working, to 

pray for my friends and family.

Thank you so much for stopping by. 

And thank you for your thoughtful and encouraging 

comments that you leave here.

What kind of things have you been doing?

Peace and joy to you all..

Tamara xo 

Linking up at:

Shabbilicious Friday Party

Creating Christmas the Old-Fashioned Way