A Christmas Home Tour ~ 2013

Over at The Nester many blogger's are sharing a tour of their Christmas home. Two dear friends, Kristin and Barbie, inspired me to join in. I'm not sure if I will link up but I thought I would still share with you a bit of my Christmas. My simple Christmas that is.

The wreath has significance as I purchased it to lay at the grave site of a friend of my dad's who was killed in the Vietnam War. We were unable to get to his grave site this year so instead I have hung the wreath in his memory.

{A quick side note: last weekend I joined Wreaths Across America by placing wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery to remember our fallen heroes. You can see my photos here.}

If you happen to be visiting my place for the first time, this will be a difficult Christmas for my family as my husband is currently deployed. I ask you to please pray for our service members and their families who will spend Christmas apart. Thank you.

You will quickly discover I have a thing for snowmen. I'm not sure why. There are not many winters I recall being outdoors building snowmen as I dislike being out in the cold. Nonetheless, my Christmas theme is primarily snowmen.

I also keep things very simply in my home so decorations are kept rather simple.

These three snowmen sit above the refrigerator. They find a home somewhere within the house every year no matter what since they were painted by my mother-in-law. She is missed dearly.

I love this cute guy. Years ago he had a string of ornaments hanging from one hand to the next but the string broke. It wasn't in me to part ways with him just because he didn't have his string of ornaments anymore. None of us are perfect. Maybe it's his imperfection that I love.

The carrot-nose snowman was once broken too. A bit of wood glue to re-attach his legs made it possible for him to still have a home every year. The window over the kitchen sink has been his favorite spot. Please ignore the dirty window!

Fancy Santa has a story. (Once again, ignore the overly obvious cup stains on our piano.) He was a gift from a former boss and his wife. They happen to be billionaire's and I'm sure Santa has quite the value associated with him. Their generous Christmas gifts every year made me smile as they never seemed to quite fit our simple home. I don't find Santa overly appealing but he makes an appearance every Christmas.

Now this Santa I adore. He is usually the first to find a home. He too was painted by my mother-in-law. She was one talented lady. I miss her. She would be so proud of her son right now.

And the snowman...I have about five of these but only put out two this year.

There is no good place in our home to hang stockings. Once they are stuffed they will need to go somewhere else or the table will fall over. Yes, I know they are rather plain. I'm all about simple! I do plan to have names embroidered on them. However, I've said that the past couple years and they still remain blank. Next year! In the background are a few of my favorite family photos.

I love my helpers. These two are two of my greatest blessings. Trying to survive this deployment without them would not be pretty. They take care of me in so many ways. Primarily, they keep me smiling. By the way, my son really needs a hair cut. :)

You can laugh at our tree. Really, go ahead. I have no clue what is up with the shape. Seriously, did we put it up wrong? I don't care though. The two blessings in the previous picture make me LOVE this tree. {Kristin: I have an odd shaped tree and you have a crazy tree!}

The tree looks better lit up don't you think? It's still oddly shaped. The "Merry Christmas" I added to the photo is covering up the coffee cup I forgot to move before taking the picture. :)

Before you compliment me on the nativity scene, it's not mine nor does it reside in my home. I stopped by to say hello to my parent's (they live right down the street from me) and seeing this always reminds me of childhood Christmases. My mother made each piece and they would be placed under the tree every Christmas. The picture doesn't come close to revealing their true beauty.

I hung these ornaments a few years back. It was decided they could have a year round presence in our home after being hung as they go perfectly with our patriotic decor. I love our Red, White and Blue.

Taking a picture of the hallway did not prove to be easy. This was the best I could do.

Our small bathroom actually has four snowmen in it even though you are only seeing two (up and down). While I'm not giving you a full view, I so love the way my husband did our bathroom. It's rather awesome. It took him a LONG time but it was worth the wait.

Even though I love Mr. Snowman, ending with a picture from the bathroom doesn't feel appropriate so...

I'm sending you Christmas greetings from my beautiful family. The picture above is from a few Christmases back but happens to be one of my favorites. I'm grateful my Navy son and his wife will soon by home for Christmas.

And again, your prayers are appreciated for my family, and the many others who are celebrating Christmas apart. I miss this man something fierce right now.

Merry Christmas dear friends. Wishing you peace, love and joy.

Come, let us adore Him...

It's decided...I'm sharing with The Nester where you can tour the homes of many.