Happy New Year!

Blessings!  Peace and Joy to All!

                                          "I heard the bells on Christmas Day
                                           Their old, familiar carols play,
                                           And wild and sweet
                                           The words repeat
                                           Of peace on earth, good will to men!"
                                                                         Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
                                                                                                            "Christmas Bells"

The Santa in the center was on my Mother-in-law's tree the year she was born over 90 years ago!  The Mrs. Claus over his head to the left was made by my godmother for me back in 1976.  The crocheted snowflake in the upper right is part of a set made as a wedding gift by my husband's aunt.

It has been much too long since I last posted.  I  could give lots of reasons for the absence but the biggest is... once you stop, it is hard to make the time to start again.  We have been richly blessed and we are all doing well.  In fact, 2014 has been the first calendar year that my husband didn't spend time in the hospital in a long time!  Thank you, Holy Spirit!

We did lots of renovations to our home that has kept us topsy-turvy.  We now have no carpet at all in our home, only tile and hardwood floors.  All the rooms have been repainted and I have new window treatments in my bedroom!  Yay!  The fence has been replaced in the backyard and new sod laid there.

Both my children are doing well in college (full-time students) and both work.  Victoria-Rose teaches piano and voice and Logan works with a contracting friend of ours remodeling, painting, etc.  I have loved having more time with them over the past couple of weeks.  We will be back to school on Monday.  I am in my 27th year of teaching kindergarten at the same school I helped open in 1988. (I have been teaching a lot longer than that, though!) 

I have been busy sewing, cooking, and creating and have lots of projects to share.  Some I will wait to share at the appropriate times of the year.  Here is a little taste of things to come:

As Sarah Ban Breathnach says at the beginning of her book Simple Abundance,  "January, the month of new beginnings and cherished memories, beckons....    This is the month to dream, to look forward to the year ahead and the journey within."  I look forward to dreaming, creating, and sharing with you!  Come back this week for a peek at what I put in my niece, Kelly's, 'hope chest' shower gifts and for my 2015 New Year's Aspirations!