Little Touches Of Christmas

Can you believe that Christmas is one week from this Friday? I know I sure can't! I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it's been so darn warm here lately...mid-70's. Now, I'm not a big fan of cold weather, but I do like it to be cold during Christmas. Chris wore shorts to go golfing over the weekend and I'm running around in bare feet. Very odd for late-December.

That said, I thought I'd share with you some of the Christmas decorations I've put up in our home...

This is the nativity set Chris got me for our first or second Christmas when we lived in Knoxville, TN. So, it's probably 25-26 years old. It's always the perfect reminder for what this wonderful season is truly all about...

We bought this old fella back when the girls were little and he's been a welcomed addition ever since..

I absolutely love banners. This one hangs from our mantle and I have three more on display...

Every time we go on vacation, I try to pick up an ornament from the place we visited. This one came from St. Kitts when we were there on a cruise...

Chris's grandma carved this Santa several years before she passed away.  Every time I put it out, I think warmly of her...

Our tree stands in the corner of our family room. I always love how the lights look at night...

I can't recall if I showed you this table yet or not. It's made from an old chest that belonged to Chris's grandfather. He refinished it and added legs to it. I really love how it turned out...

                               

I want to share with you something that happened two nights. Abby and I were heading upstairs to bed when we heard the screeching of tires and a loud bang. We ran outside and spotted a car sitting with its headlights on in the neighbor's driveway two houses up. We quickly decided that was the car we'd heard. Abby ran inside to call 9-1-1. By that time, a good amount of neighbors gathered around the scene and the driver had exited the car and appeared to be just fine. He kept saying, 'I'm OK, I'm OK.'  A police officer arrived and shined his flashlight on the car to assess the damage. The entire windshield was completely smashed in, as was the back end of the car. Debris was all over the driveway. Apparently, the young man had come up our hill at around 55 MPH and didn't make the curve, which caused his car to shoot across the road. He grabbed the steering wheel and over-corrected, which made the car flip and land in the driveway. Thank goodness he was wearing his seatbelt or he likely wouldn't have survived. It just goes to show how quickly life can change, often without any warning. Yes, his car was totaled, but he was able to walk away seemingly unscathed. I can only imagine how grateful his family must feel that his life was sparred. There is no doubt in my mind...he's a Christmas miracle.