Merry Christmas... Christmas hath a beauty lovelier than the world can show~ Christina Rossetti

Welcome sweet friends! Christmas blessings to each of you and your dear ones! I have just a few more decorations to show you, this time in our pink dining room, as mentioned in my previous post, and in the kitchen. I hope you all are having fun with your Christmas preparations. We are enjoying being home together. We are so glad my husband had off this week. I have been baking lots of cookies for my husband and son to enjoy. Pearl the poodle has had a few too and she loved them!



An Annie doll I made holding some sweet pink candycanes. I found the pink candycanes, the adorable skates and gingerbread girl, you will see in other photos, from Tami at Pinkbuttercreme, she is a sweetie and has a lovely Etsy shop with lots of pretties she makes.



Another Annie and snowgirl I made.



These skates are so sweet! Don't forget you can click on all my photos to enlarge!



Over my kitchen sink I have these Annie's (I did not make) to keep me company while I wash dishes. They really do make you smile!



Here is the sweet gingerbread girl from Pinkbuttercreme.



At the kitchen table we have a few vintage decorations.

I found the vintage books at the antique store this past Saturday, where my dear husband took me and told me to pick out some Christmas gifts which I have pictured below. Thank you dear husband, you are the best antiquing buddy (and husband!)... so patient and so sweet to buy me pretty things to feather our nest.


...for it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself. ~ Charles Dickens ~ A Christmas Carol



I found some lovely things. My sweet son found the vintage deer planter to go with my other deer figurines. The bird cage went perfectly in the parlor, the old tin tray and pretty rose teacups are happily situated in the kitchen, the linen in the bedroom, the fabric washed and waiting in the sewing room and the Christmas cup and plate we have been using.

Mrs. March was both surprised and touched; and smiled with her eyes full as she examined her presents, and read the little notes which accompanied them. the slippers went on at once, a new handkerchief was slipped into her pocket, well scented with Amy's cologne, the rose was fastened in her bosom, and the nice gloves were pronounced a "perfect fit."

There was a good deal of laughing and kissing and explaining, in the simple, loving fashion which makes these home-festivals so pleasant at the time, so sweet to remember long afterward...
~Louise May Alcott, "A Merry Christmas" from Little Women~

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For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6


I would like to wish you all a very blessed and merry Christmas! May the Prince of Peace Jesus fill your hearts and homes with peace, love and joy! Just think of the beautiful angel appearing to Mary... And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Luke 1:30-33

.... And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us. And they came with haste and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Luke 2: 15-21


I am so thankful for Jesus, so thankful He was born and so thankful for Christmas to celebrate His birth!



At last the dinner was all done, the cloth was cleared, the hearth swept, and the fire made up. Then all the Crachit family drew round the hearth, in what Bob Cratchit called a circle, meaning half a one; and at Bob Crachit's elbow stood the family display of glass- two tumblers, and a custard-cup without a handle.

These held the hot stuff from the jug, however, as well as golden goblets would have done; and Bob served it out with beaming looks; while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and crackled noisily. Then Bob proposed:

"A merry Christmas to us all, my dears, God bless us!"

Which all the family re-echoed.

"God bless us every one!" said Tiny Tim, the last of all.
~ Charles Dickens ~ A Christmas Carol


Yes, God bless us every one!
Merriest of Christmases to you!

Christmas Decorating

“Love came down at Christmas; love all lovely, love divine; love was born at Christmas, stars and angels gave the sign.” ~ Christina Rossetti




Welcome dear friends! I hope you all are enjoying your Christmas decorating. My sweet son has had so much fun putting out lights with his dad, on the front porch, the fence and tiny lighted candy canes in the front raised flower bed. It is looking very cheerful and festive. We decided the wreath on the front porch could use a strand of lights too.



There were a few clippings from our Christmas tree, so I put some around this sweet bird my sweet husband bought for me. My son found the pretty pine cones in our yard.



When we purchased our tree at Home Depot, we also came home with a few Johnny-jump-ups (Violas) to plant. If you remember, this is Mr. Toad's summer abode. He did quite the job on the flowers that were in there, rooting them up to make himself at home. We now believe he is living in his winter abode, a tree stump with an entrance and an exit. He was quite plump the last time we saw him, so I will be curious to see what he looks like when he emerges in the spring, no doubt to uproot my Johnny-jump-ups! He is welcome though, as he earns his keep by eating a great deal of bugs!



I found this beautiful pink Cyclamen as well. The red ones were so pretty, but I decided on pink for our dining room, which I will share some photos of in my next post.



Here is our lovely Christmas tree. It smells wonderful! My son and I enjoyed decorating it. This is our favorite tree we have had so far. It is small, but sweet!





The Nativity looks lovely with some added greenery and sweet wool animals. I love celebrating Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the very best gift of all. I am so very thankful He came and saved me from my sins. He is everything to me, He blesses and helps me so much. I could not get through a day without Him!



A stocking I made last year.




One of the mittens and a strawberry pincushion I made. I love to make things!



I added some more of our tree trimmings to this vignette, and a tiny teacup and saucer for Miss Bear. I cross-stitched the sheep ornament several years ago.

Let's go down the steps to the library.



A little woodsy looking tree.




A little bird I recently made that looks very happy perched upon the candlestick.



Sweet Pearl enjoying the cold weather.



She looks so cute in her snowman shirt! I am sure she is wondering, "Where is the snow?"



I made another corduroy skirt using the same pattern as I did in one of my previous posts, which I forgot to share! It is a Simplicity 5597 6 Skirts Made Easy. I made this skirt a little longer than the others. I love the cherries!

Thank you so much for visiting, and looking at my Christmas decorations. We have been listening to Josh Groban's Noel Christmas CD that my husband gave to me. It is wonderful! He has a beautiful voice! I hope you all are staying warm and cozy and enjoying all your Christmas preparations. We are planning out our menu and what cookies to bake for Christmas next week. My husband is off all week, so we are looking forward to having him home! May you all be filled with God's love and blessings!

My Gift

What can I give Him
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would give Him a lamb,
If I were a Wise Man,
I would do my part-
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

~Christina Rossetti

Decorating and Gardening

Welcome sweet friends! I hope you all are doing well and staying warm. It has been very cold here, but sunny and beautiful! I saw the sweetest Carolina Wren at our feeder, all pouffy and frisky. He was a wonderful cinnamon color with a lovely buff chest and that distinctive white brow. Oh, I love those wrens! I was thanking the Lord for blessing me, being able to see it as I opened the curtain this morning, as it makes me so happy to watch them!

I made these mitten ornaments for decorations. I used warm and natural batting for the mittens, lace trim, vintage buttons, and charms from my stash. I used a mitten pattern I had, but while visiting sweet Claudia at her lovely Teeny Tiny Cabin I saw she had a link to a wonderful mitten tutorial that inspired her to make some lovely mittens.



The Paperwhites I planted are blooming and filling our home with their wonderful scent. I have some here in the parlor, the dining room and in the library. A dear friend gave me an Amaryllis bulb and I look forward to seeing it bloom!



I made these little stockings a few years ago.




Here are a few Christmas decorations in the parlor.





My dear husband and sweet son gave me these adorable teddy bears last Christmas.



Would you like to see what is growing in the garden? The heirloom lettuces we planted from seed are doing well and have survived the few freezes we have had. They are so fresh and tasty!



All the pepper plants died in the freeze, but we harvested a couple of bell peppers and a handful of jalapeno peppers.



We have heirloom peas, arugula, beets, kale and chard that we planted from seed that are growing well too and were not affected by the freezes.



Some lovely parsley and behind it you can see the kale.



I am so very thankful for our garden. We garden organically and use heirloom seeds. I have so much to learn, but I am so happy to have a garden to learn in! The Lord blessed us with this home a little over two years ago and we were so thankful to find so many things we hoped for, a large garden already in place, a shop for my husband and son, a laundry room that is inside our home (in our previous home it was in the garage), and so many other wonderful things, including living on the lake. We have a bayou (a small river) that runs behind our home and into the lake. The boat house is beside the shop and once you hop in the little jon boat (I like to call it our johnny boat), you will be on the lake in a few minutes. My husband and son love to fish and I enjoy going out with them when the the weather is nice. Pearl the poodle enjoys it as well and has her very own scooby doo life jacket. She looks so cute in it. She just wears it when we are going in the deeper parts of the lake, most of the lake is somewhat shallow. She is a good swimmer, though we don't let her swim in the lake because of alligators.



Pearl loves the garden too and here she sits watching my son intently, as he has her frisbee and she is ready to pounce him!



Oh, I love this boy, and his serious gardener look! You can see the green shop my husband and son enjoy having! They are very thankful too!



Here is how my son always looks, a big smile on his face. He is a great help in the garden, as is my dear husband. My son once loved to garden all the time, until we moved here, and he discovered how much he loves fishing, but he will still help in the garden. Over the weekend he helped his dad make a compost bin. I hope they will make a nice chicken coop so we can keep some chickens!



My son and I also have fun together in the kitchen. We made a homemade organic pizza for his dad and him to enjoy! I forgot to take a photo of the dough after it had risen. My son's favorite part is to punch the dough!



They said it was delicious!

Thank you all for visiting me at my Rose Cottage by the Lake today! I thank each of you for the sweet comments you leave, and for taking time to visit. I am so blessed by each of you and the kindness you show me! May the Lord bless you this week as you keep your homes and care for your dear ones. Enjoy this beautiful season and have fun with all your Christmas preparations.

At Christmas play, and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year. ~ Thomas Tusser