Decking the Halls (and the Schneiders!)

Ha!  How do you like my little play on words?  Decking the Hall, that's ME!  :)

We have been as busy, busy, busy as Professor Hinkle writing, "I am very sorry for what I did to Frosty" a hundred zillion times so maybe, just maybe he'd find a new hat under his tree Christmas morning.  

We got our tree Monday afternoon, a beautiful Frazier fir (my favorite!) and got it up and decorated, Larry spent all day Tuesday putting up lights outside and we decorated the inside the past two nights.  Whew!  Maybe we're finished...

Here's the house!

I've had this Pooh Bear for ten years.  It was given to me by my cousin, Kim, when his kids outgrew it.  This is the first year Pooh has been lit up!  Larry fixed him up with his own light today.

Sweet little snowman that we picked up at a yard sale last summer.  

 And my old Santa Claus, who follows me everywhere.  :)

I borrowed this idea from Miss Margaret (Corley).  She has pictures of four of my beloved aunts and uncles at a Christmas party at her house in the 60's.  I just love those pictures!  So I hung tinsel garland over the opening from the living room to the kitchen and hung vintage ornaments on it.  Vintage ornaments that I got at an estate sale last summer ten for a dollar.  These six are all that survived.  They have hairline cracks and are verrrrrrry fragile and I broke four of them trying to put them up.  I don't expect these six to be long for this old world either so I'm going to enjoy them as long as I can, especially since my 6'4" husband hits his head on them coming and going.  :)

I just love this pink one!

And I love how my tea cart turned out!!  It's perfect for displaying the vintage Christmas stuff I've collected this year!

Here's Santa all lit up! 

Larry found this beautiful vintage Hazel Atlas egg nog bowl and cup set at a yard sale for three dollars!  

I've replaced the every day dish towels with Christmas ones and we've wrapped a few presents.  When I think back to about this time last December and how much has changed since then, I want to slow it down and savor every minute of this Christmas.  We were rushed to get a tree, rushed to get things done at the last minute.  Not this year.  This year we are going to enjoy every second of this beautiful, magical month!

Sunday Cake

When Larry came home last month, I started baking him a cake every Sunday.  He's had German chocolate, carrot and last week's was triple chocolate fudge.  Today's Sunday Cake is strawberry!

I liked it because it's pink.  He liked it because it's cake.  :)

A little update

What have we done this week?  What haven't we done is a better question.  We have been organizing closets and making more room for two in this very small house and we have done great!  Larry is amazing at arranging and organizing.  We bought some bookcases to house our huge library and Larry has worked so hard going through his massive autographed photo and baseball card collection (there are over 11,000!) and clearing out the closet where I had been storing the boxes.  He consolidated them into fewer boxes and now we have more closet space.  We bought a small chest to keep seasonal things in, too. 

We got a new computer, too, since my laptop is four years old and is starting to really slow down.  Larry has two online classes and I really didn't want him having to deal with the frustration of a slow computer AND getting used to using a computer and the internet.  We got a Samsung laptop and we love it.  It is SO fast!

Last Sunday afternoon, we went to the Big Peach (or as I call it, the Byron antique mall) and spent three hours just walking around and looking at stuff.  We found some really cool albums and I finally got that green vintage Pyrex mixing bowl I've wanted forever.  I love old Pyrex and Fire King and the Big Peach is full of that stuff! 

Tuesday, we went to the doctor to get Larry's right elbow checked out.  He's had some pain there after he played football in October.  Dr. Kinnebrew x-rayed it, said it was just tendonitis and gave him a cortisone shot.  We left there and went to Macon to drop off some donations and since we had a little time before I had to be at work, we went to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.  It was so much fun!  And quiet, too.  We had the place all to ourselves!  We walked around looking at the museum displays and we watched the movie in the theater and then Larry played a little bit upstairs.  He tried out all of the interactive exhibits and played basketball and football.  He's such a jock.  I watched.  And took pictures.  :)

Today after church, we had lunch at Mama Mia's.  I had spaghetti and meatballs and Larry got a pizza. It was so delicious!!  We brought all but two slices of the pizza home with us.  Their food is so good and they give you so much!!  It's authentic Italian food and the place is owned and operated by two brothers from New York. Two very large brothers.  They put their money where their mouth is!  Or vice versa.  Ha!

This afternoon, I helped Larry change the idler pulley on his truck.  First time I'd ever actually worked on a vehicle!  I held the belt in place while he changed out the part.  Teamwork makes the dream work!  :)

I've been baking a cake every weekend, too.  I call it our Sunday Cake.  I have this week's in the oven now.  A triple chocolate fudge.  Last week, it was carrot cake.  I'm late getting this one done today but it's okay since we're both off work and class tomorrow.  It's a Monday Cake this week.  :)

Home

 


Wow!  What a week this has been!!  
Ami, Brian and I went to get Larry last Saturday afternoon and brought him home.  Finally.  We had a wonderful Christmas that was jam-packed full of activities, fun and love.  I thought I'd show some pictures from our first amazing, incredible week at home.

Ami and I tied yellow ribbons to every tree in the front yard to welcome Larry home.







We stopped off on the way home Saturday night to change clothes and saw this huge cow at a nearby Dairy Queen.  We just had to pose for a picture!

Sunday, we went to church and then out for lunch with our pastor, his wife and daughter.  Afterwards, we went and got our tree!

We had so much fun decorating our tree!  I think it's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen.

Christmas Eve, Larry and I hosted a little family get-together for my mama, daddy, Ami and Brian.  Ricky, Audra and Lizzie stopped by on their way to another family party and I was so happy to see them and to finally introduce them to my Larry.

Larry got me a record player for Christmas and it was so nice to listen to Christmas albums again!

Tabbie Hoffman struggled a little getting used to Daddy being around but now he's Larry's best buddy.  He follows him around the house and swats at Larry's feet when he walks by.  It's really so sweet.  Here we are opening his present from Aunt Ami and Uncle Brian.

Ami made us a beautiful framed depiction of our journey, every town we've been in, every road we traveled to get to this day, with a red heart right on Warner Robins.  Home.  We will treasure it always.

Christmas Eve, Larry and I opened all but one of our gifts to each other.  Here he is opening a GI Joe Vietnam Combat Engineer (which is what he was over there) I bought him 12 years ago and saved for his first Christmas home.  He also got a new phone and a new stereo for his truck.  Santa was real good to him this year!! 

 Tabbie Hoffman's loot from Santa!  :)

New ornament for our tree this year

We've been out to eat several times, gone to see the new Hobbit movie in 3D, been shopping...just normal every day ordinary stuff and we LOVE it!

Friday, we went to Wild Adventures and just had the best time!!  They went all out for Christmas, with lights and decorations and activities and we got to enjoy them all!  Larry even got me on a few rides, after he dragged me on kicking and screaming.  :)

 

Here we are at the Tigers of India show.  Larry bought me that little stuffed baby giraffe after we rode the safari train.  Her name is Gigi.  :)

We saw a beautiful performance of the Miracle of Christmas that made us both cry. 

 Us at the very top of the Ferris wheel.

This picture pretty much says it all.  It was taken in my parents' front yard Christmas Day.  We are so, so happy to finally be together!  We are also so grateful for the outpouring of love, good wishes and prayers that our friends and family gave to us during this amazing week.  We love each and every one of you!

Remember that time it was December 8th and I didn't have a tree up yet?

Yeah, me neither.  

It is killin' me not to have a tree up!  I've seen so many beautiful Christmas trees on my Facebook news feed and of course, Mama and Daddy, Ami, Debee, every-dang-body has gorgeous trees!  While it's killing me not to have one up yet, too, I am determined to wait on Larry and wait on that live one I've wanted for years.  It'll be worth it.  I think.  I hope.  :)

I have decorated for Christmas, though, and wrapped most of my presents.

 

 

The sweet little rosy-cheeked family from Taproot 

 A few things I thrifted this year.  

I am so happy to give them a new home and a new life!

 

I have three Nativities but this one had never spent Christmas outside the box.  

I thought this year was about time.

Aren't these vintage Christmas kitchen towels adorable?!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Etsy?

My friend and coworker, Andrea, and I discovered that there are ten children living with their recovering moms at a drug rehab facility in Macon and that they are probably not going to have much of a Christmas.  So we decided instead of doing a Secret Santa thing at work, we would involve the guys in playing Santa for those children.  There are five of them who are just babies, aged one month to a year old.  They really just need clothes and diapers.  The rest are ages three to thirteen years.  I'm sponsoring a little 5-year-old boy who only asked for a Lite Brite.  So Santa's bringing Jeremiah his Lite Brite along with a book that I hoped would encourage him and a stuffed Snoopy to cuddle.  The guys have been really, really sweet about choosing children to sponsor and donating money.  We've gotten so much that we were also able to fix a stocking for each child filled with coloring books, crayons, stickers and a little bit of candy and every child is getting packs of much-needed warm socks.  The babies are all getting clothes, diapers, wipes, bath stuff, toys and new pacifiers, too.  And the older children are all getting the toys they asked for.  I am so excited about this!  I can't wait to deliver everything to them. 

Oh Santa Claus, I still believe in you
There's still a kid inside of me that still believes you're true
Oh Santa Claus, the kids are tucked in tight
It's time to play ole Santa Claus tonight  

(Santa Claus (I Still Believe In You) - Alabama)

Kickin' off Christmas

Our Maw was smiling so big down at us today!  My cousin, Debee, and her husband, Ben, hosted our Hall family Christmas at their home and we had a blast!  Great food, great conversation, beautiful Christmas decorations (three trees!) and oh my goodness, lots of laughs.  My face hurt from laughing so much.  When I was growing up, we always had Christmas Eve at Maw's house.  Always.  Nobody missed it.  They knew better but better than that, they didn't want to miss it.  Debee has been so sweet to host our get-together the past two years.  I didn't get to go last year but I went today with Ami and Brian.  Here are some pictures from our day!

 One of Debee's three gorgeous Christmas trees

 

Debee made some awesome sausage balls, Ami made brownies and some delicious ham and cheese sandwiches on those yummy sweet Hawaiian rolls, I made buffalo chicken dip and Rice Krispy treats, we had pigs-in-the-blanket, a pumpkin roll, Christmas cookies and cake.  Everything was SO good!

A tradition my mama started is the Ornament Swap.  You bring one, you get one.  I got two!  A beautiful gold bird and a glittery red bow and since I don't have a tree up yet and won't until my hubby gets home on the 21st, I decorated myself!  And then all the girls joined in!

 

 Here's the whole gang, complete with Ruger and Lucky!

We just had the best time!  I hope we do this every year.  Maw would just be tickled if we did.

After we left Debee and Ben's, Brian, Ami and I went on an adventure (possibly our last for just the three of us!) to Bolingbroke to piddle around in the antique shops there.  We got there and discovered that we had JUST missed the Christmas parade!  We got some awesome pictures of this old fire truck all decked out, though.

 

We found a couple of treasures here!  Ami added a new globe to her collection and I got an antique Saltine cracker tin that I've wanted forever.

 These little cuties met us at the door!
 

This yard made us want to come home and decorate some more.  Wow!

 

And we all just loved the old Methodist church. 

Brian spotted some mistletoe down the street and we walked down to try to get some.  It was so high up in the tree that you very nearly would have to climb the tree to get it.  I had to have some!!  Larry will be home in 13 days!!  And it's Christmas and you gotta have mistletoe at Christmas.  I saw some very close to a low-hanging branch wrapped in vine and I thought I could pull that vine down and that would pull the branch down and I'd have it.  Nope.  Vine snapped in two.  Dang it!  I was struggling with it when the owner of the shop came over to see if he could help me.  Mr. Jerry Schmitt pulled the branch down and I held it while he got the mistletoe!  What a sweet man!  He and his wife were closing up by that time but they stayed open and were so gracious to us.  That's that small town thing, you know.

We had such a great day!  A wonderful kickoff to Christmas!  Which will be here in 17 days and Larry will be here in 13!!