It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

After lots and lots of effort, I believe that the Christmas decorating is finally done!

I have all of the outdoor lights up ....

And our family room is all decked out, including our Christmas tree at it's brand new location this year!



With the lights off, our family room is the epitome of coziness, I think!



Some new decorating ideas this year include the collection of vintage frames that I have collected and used to display all of my photos of the kids from Christmases past.



A couple of those frames are also on the mantle along with our new, matching, embroidered stockings that I ordered after Christmas last year.



Some of my old favorites are still here, including the nativity scene that Mark gave me as a gift, piece by piece, for each of the first 8 Christmases of our married life.



We still don't have any store-bought mistletoe, but I find no reason to buy any because every year somebody makes their own and hangs it in the doorway for our family to enjoy.



It was so much fun buying new things to decorate our new dining room this year! 



And I'm just thrilled that my mom and dad gave me this musical ceramic nativity that brings back so many fond memories of my childhood.



Last, but certainly not least, is the treasured grouping of 4 little paintings that Mark's dad made and framed for us at Christmas a few years ago.  What a priceless gift, especially now that we are missing him this Christmas season.  I'm so glad that he finally agreed to give his art work as gifts in the last few years before he passed away.  Definitely a keepsake that I'll always love to hang.