2016

 ~ a trip to a beautiful place

 

  

~ new friends

 

~ destination: home

 

~  home

  

~ customs

 ~ my new toy (I must have been a good girl )

 ~ back to school in a couple of days

Have a wonderful New Year!

Happy Advent!

                                                        This is my favourite advent calendar. 
                                                    I always like revisiting it every year.



   
                                                     Happy December!

christmas

May you all have a blessed Christmas

and a wonderful holiday season!

xxx

December

is it really december today?

i guess it is.

i bought my son this advent calendar

and left  a little note in the number 1 box, with directions for him to find this gorgeous book! ( i've just got it from the post office and i'm already in love with it! i wish I had ordered one for me, too!)

my son and i are secretly planning to decorate daddy's office when he's not there

-the tree ornaments are patiently waiting in their hiding place and we'll buy a tree one of these days.

and i'm - not at all patiently - trying to get over a nasty cold which has left me 'voiceless' for a week now.

hope you all have a warm, blessed december!

{ for a good dosage of graditude, you can revisit last year's advent calendar;

if only i had time to do it again this year! }

take care!

xxx

December 25th - grateful for ...

{ His Birth }

~ El Greco ::The Adoration of the Shepherds ~

~~~~~~

Troparion for Nativity

Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath given rise to the light of knowledge in the world. For they who did worship the stars did learn from them to worship thee, the Sun of Justice, and to know thou didst come from the east of the Highest. Glory to thee, O Lord!


~~~~~~

Kontakion for Nativity

The Virgin brings forth today the omnipotent, and the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable. Angels give glory with shepherds, and the magi journey with the star, when for our sakes was born, as a new babe, He Who is from eternity God.


~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~

May you all have a blessed Christmas!

xxx

December 12th - grateful for ...

{ twinkle lights }

they were so worth the 4-hour bus ride back and forth!

24

happy advent!

xxx

family traditions

I've recently read the book "Lessons at Blackberry Inn" by Karen Andreola.

It's a book that speaks 'home' through and through and I've underlined some extracts that spoke to my heart.

One of them is the following:

'anything a mother does with her family for two consecutive years becomes a family tradition'.

Since my hubby is quite satisfied with the traditions everyone in this country shares, whereas I'm always on the lookout for something new, I was eager for little one to grow up a little so that he can join me in the fun and little by little pull daddy in as well.

Do you remember my salt dough ornaments from last year?

We're making some of these again tomorrow

and I've been working on an Advent Calendar idea for a while.

~~~~~~

The weekend is all about fun for two; little one and I will be alone this weekend.

We're planting bulbs tomorrow morning and then we're clearing the kitchen table for some serious (!) crafting! Stay tuned!

I may not be crazy about a huge Christmas dinner or endless shopping, but spreading some joy is one of the things in my to-do list, so some of our creations will be flying around the world the following weeks.

~~~~~~

What are your plans for the weekend?

XXX

Happy Holidays!

(picture courtesy of Yahoo images)

Tomorrow is the last day at work and the first day of...

Christmas holidays.

We're leaving as soon as I get back from work

and will be back on the 2nd of January.

We'll be spending the holidays on a mountainous village in northern Greece

(details when I get back)

I'm going back to work on the 8th.

I'll be visiting you from hubby's laptop

but there won't be any posts.

So...

I need to tell you all how lucky I feel to have met you;

you've made my (often miserable this year) life brighter.

Many blessings to you all!

Love,

Peace,

Hope

to everyone!

Salt dough ornaments -TA-DAH!

Remember these?

Little one and I did these what seems like ages ago

and just yesterday we found the time to finish them

and put them on the tree!

So what do you think?

Did we do a good job?

For the dough recipe I'm using, see here. (there are many others, though)

Enjoy all the Christmas preparations

and don't forget to pause a moment

and think of Little Jesus.

Take good care of youselves and your loved ones!

xox

Let the Party begin!

(Byzantine Nativity 4-5th century CE

courtesy of Yahoo images)

'And she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room or place for them in the inn.' Luke 2.7

... and so the greatest story of all begins...

Welcome my dear friends!

Make yourself at home; how about some tea and biscuits? Or maybe some red wine and finger food? Let's turn the radio on; my favourite radio station plays Christmas songs all day long. Ready to share some Christmas joy and warm our hearts with happy thoughts?
Ok then. Let's have some fun!

This year more than ever

I've decided to focus on the true meaning of Christmas;

the one about love... hope... peace

in the world.

This has really warmed my heart

together with ...

...this poem

Letter to Santa

Snowflakes softly falling, upon your window they play
Your blankets snug around you, into sleep you drift away.
I bend to gently kiss you, when I see that on the floor
There's a letter, neatly written, I wonder who it’s for.

I quietly unfold it, making sure you're still asleep,
It's a Christmas list for Santa, one my heart will always keep.
It started just as always with the toys seen on TV,
A new watch for your father and a winter coat for me.

But as my eyes read on
I could see deep inside
there were many things you wished for
that your loving heart would hide.

You asked if your friend Molly could have another Dad;
It seems her father hits her, and it makes you very sad.
Then you asked dear Santa, if the neighbors down the street
Could find a job, that they might have some food, and clothes, and heat.

You saw a family on the news, whose house had blown away,
"Dear Santa, send them just one thing, a place where they can stay."
"And Santa, those four cookies that I left you for a treat,
Could you take them to the children who have nothing else to eat."

"Do you know that little bear I have, the one I love so dear?
I'm leaving it for you to take to Africa this year."
And as you fly your reindeer on this night of Jesus' birth,
Could your magic bring to everyone, Goodwill and Peace on Earth?"

"There's one last thing before you go, so grateful I would be,
If you'd smile at Baby Jesus in the manger by our tree."

I pulled the letter close to me, I felt it melt my heart.
Those tiny hands had written what no other could impart.
"And a little child shall lead them," was whispered in my ear
As I watched you sleep on Christmas Eve while Santa Claus was here.

...Christmas children's books scattered all over the place (literally!)

...Christmas cards from and to special friends

...a tiny hand putting an angel at the top of the Christmas tree

...going to church when it's still dark

... kissing my wonderful husband for his name-day

...listening to my lovely son telling me how lucky we are for what we have because there are children in the world who don't even have clean water

...driving to work, listening to Christmas songs while the sun has barely come up

...singing Christmas carols with my hubby and son at home, just the three of us, just because little one wanted to practise for his school play

... teaching my students more meaningful season's greetings than just "Merry Christmas"; they loved it yesterday when I told them about hope and peace and being grateful for all the blessings we have been given.

* * * * *

Thank you all for joining in and visiting;

sing all the beautiful Christmas songs (I love them all; really, I tried to think of a favourite but couldn't)

at the top of your voice

and make sure you make the people you love smile -

giving is so much more heart-warming than receiving!

xox

Yiota

PS. If you want to see who's here, at our little gathering, check my previous post.

Christmas Party - a list of bloggers

( image courtesy of Yahoo images)

Below is a list of bloggers

who accepted the invitation for tomorrow's Christmas party.

Please leave a comment here if you want us to add you to the list.

Last minute visitors are more than welcome!

* * * * *

I'll see you all tomorrow with my cuppa or a glass of red wine

to warm our souls up!

* * * * *

Scattering Lupines

The Curious Cat

Yada Yadah

4-Bushel Farm

Farmhouse Kitchen

May All the Seasons Be Sweet to Thee

Ramblings of a Duchess in Waiting (Maybe?)

Recipes, Tips, and Thoughts

Everyday Possibilities

Beads, Crochet and Puppydogs

Around the Hook

A country mouse writes

The Garden Bell

Gramcracker

Kimbles at Home

Real life in a minute

Good morning Mary Sunshine

Bird's Eye View.....

You're Invited to a Christmas Party!

My friend Scattering Lupines and I are hosting

a Christmas Party

this Friday!

Put your brightest smile on,

and share with us

what warms your heart and soul at Christmas!

If you'd like to join the fun,

leave a comment here or at Lupines' blog

so we can make a list of links!

Spread the word!

The more, the merrier!

XXX

December!

What do you do when you're on the verge of insanity?

No!

That's not a rhetorical question;

I do want an answer!

Here's what I've found particularly soothing:

a cup of hot chocolate... a good book (or two)...

making Christmas ornaments...
(I'll show you the end product when they're ready)

making Christmas cards...

learning how to crochet
(this could actually make things worse if I allowed myself to be discouraged - but I haven't- and
Yes! Feel free to laugh all you want; I know there are so many mistakes!
So glad if I made you smile! You're welcome!)



watching my favourite film
and dreaming
I could own a little shop like that
one day...



I must admit
all these cosy, homey, seamingly trivial things
have brightened my days.

The last days of November were stress-loaded.

December is a very comforting month, though.

Thank you all for stopping by. I do appreciate each and every one of you and am excited to get to know you little by little through your blogs and e-mails.

HAVE A WONDERFUL, BLESSED NATIVITY MONTH!

xxx

Christmas inspiration...

crafts...

decoration...

children's books...

a trip...?

If only...

Take Care!

xxx