Welcome to Thankful Thursday Dec. 31, 2009 & Happy New Year!

Good Morning Sweet Friends

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Hope this finds you all well, content, and happy

this New Years Eve!  *

Wow,  can hardly believe another year has come

and almost gone.........Unbelieveable how fast the

time is flying.  Always heard from my mom and

grandmother the longer you live the faster life goes

and I must say I have to agree!

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#1

I am thankful

Hubby has been off from work and will be till

January 4th,  and he is sooooo enjoying his vacation.

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We never take our Christmas decorations down

until after he goes back to work just so he can

fully enjoy his time off,  cause usually the beginning

of it we are preparing for the big day and you

know all that involves.

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#2

I am thankful

 we have watched every Christmas movie

there is!  lol 

Jim's absolute favorite thing is watching movies,

but we pretty much watch nothing but... tmas

movies during this time of year and we love it!

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#3

I am thankful

We have also been reading our Sunday School

book and a new book he bought me for tmas,

"You were born for this" by Bruce Wilkerson.

We are about 4 chapter into it and it is pretty

exciting book.

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#4

I am thankful

Tuesday Jim went for his stress test and we are

still awaiting the results,  but feel like No news

is good news,  cause the Dr. said if there is a

problem they will call you right away.

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#5

I am thankful that

Tuesday morning it was neat cause he usually

reads a devotional online by Charles Stanley

and when he pulled it up,  he said guess what

the title is?????? 

It was "A healthy Heart!"

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Made us feel like the Lord was saying don't

worry, you have a healthy heart,  course,

the devotional was on a spiritually healthy

heart of course, but it was sure an encourage-

ment to us,  so we went to the Drs.  with

peace in our hearts.

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Some would say that is probably conincidence,

but we have walked with the Lord long enough

to know there is no coincidence with the Lord.

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#5

I am thankful that

While he was having an EKG the Dr. told him

that it did not show where he had the heart

attack before (4 yrs ago), and he said that is

a very rare thing, that just doesn't  happen.

So that was also a huge encouragement cause

it shows us the Lord has been doing some

work in there for sure! 

They still have to go over some sort of

images or xrays they took for the final

results but we are expecting the results to be

very exciting, in a good way, which will

confirm a lot of  things we have said to our

Dr. over these last 4 years.

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I was just writing,  but decided all these things

really are praises so I went back and stuck

in the numbers and the I am thankful for line,

that way my post will be shorter.

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#6

I  am thankful

We were given Carabbas cards by my sister-

in- law for tmas and so we were able to

go out to dinner after the stress tests and

just enjoy the rest of the day.

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after dinner we ran to Sam's and Target

to return something, and then we went

guess where???

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To see the movie, Disney's "Christmas Carol"

#7

I am thankful

For what a great movie it was,  if you haven't

seen it,  by all means go............

It was delightful and fun with that wonderful

message of hope.  All those special effects

were great,  and they were singing real Christmas

Carols with the the true meaning of Christmas.

  The 3d effects were just truly amazing,  you really

felt like you were flying over the city,  it was truly

 such a  fun and meaningful movie.

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Yesterday we didn't do a lot just did some

more reading,  sat out in the sun some to

keep warm,  that was earlier in the day

when it was still a bit chilly,  got to 71

yesterday. 

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#8

And I am thankful for

This beautiful Florida Winter Scenery

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This is a tree in our backyard,  and altho

we have the dead wintery looking trees

we also have this.

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We have 2 large pots full of this bougainvilla and it

is the first year it has bloomed like this in the winter.

Guess it must have finally gotten established.

Sure brightens up a winter yard!

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And this is the bougainvilla Scott gave me for

my birthday,  it is just blooming away too.

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And this is called a "Powder Puff tree".

I think it might be a kin to the Acacia tree,

cause it looks very much alike,  accept it has

pretty light pink and yellow powder puffs.

We had one in our yard when I was a kid

and I used to play in it all the time and loved

to play with the powder puffs,  great toy

for lil girls,  cause they pretend to be putting

on their makeup!! lol

It always bloom only in the winter time.

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Thought you might like to see a  close up of the powder puff, 

aren't they neat!! The ones from the acacia tree are baby pink on

top with just a little layer of  sunflower yellow near the stem.

I love that the flower bud looks sort of  like a raspberry

before it opens

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We haven't had a freeze yet,  so that is winter in Florida

for now anyway.

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Hope you have some nice plans for New Years Eve,

and that you will be somewhere safe!

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#9

I am thankful

We are going to our church a 11:00 tonight for a Watch night

 prayer service.  They are always a sweet time of fellowship.

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#10

I am thankful

We are going out to breakfast after, at International House

of Pancakes possibly with some friends.

And none of this is too far from our house, so that is nice as well.

 Not a night I like to be out driving around with all those Celebraters

out there indulging in too much alcohol.

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#11

I am thankful

For another year to look forward to,  with all it ups and downs,

and all the neat things the Lord will teach us through them.

Because with Jesus the best is always yet to come!

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Well My Friends...................

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Have a Very Happy New Year,

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Love, Peace, and Joy to you all!

Nellie

P.S.  My header picture is from http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/

Have a Praising Sunday

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Happy Sunday Afternoon Sweet Friends,

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Hope all of you had a Most Wonderful Christmas Celebration!

and that you are recooping from all that hard prep work.

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We had two days of sheer delight with our family,  and lots of

great food, games, movies and leftovers,  Yea!!

Want have to cook for a few days.........works for me!!

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Yesterday it was dismal and cold so we stayed in our

jammies all day and just lounged around,  boy,  was

that fun!!  Also watched polar express,  that is such

a cute movie!!

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Oh yea,  Guess what???????? Hubby bought me a new

camera,  and my kids also bought us a camera,  so they said

we should take it back and get the money and do something

fun together,  so when the lines go down in about a week,

we will do that!

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I have been using my sister-in-laws camera since I broke

mine way back months ago, can't remember when,  but for

 quite a while now,  and have really grown to love it, 

 and I was worried,  because you see,  I am somewhat

Pitifully technically challenged and do not have to learn another

new way of doing things,  but much to my bliss,  it is not hard

to work at all,  and I love it just as much! 

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 It's a Samsung SL502.

Haven't had a lot of time to take too many pics yet,  but

sure seems like it is gonna be easy and produce very nice

pictures.  Just what the Dr. Ordered.

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And now I can give Susie back her camera...........Thank

you so much for letting me use it for soooooooo long!

It was a true blessing.

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Well,  guess maybe we will start to visit each other

and leave comments again,  at least after New Years

Day anyway or maybe before.  I have been reading

just not leaving a lot of comments.

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Well,  hope all is well with each of you,  and that

Christmas was very Special for you!

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There are still some things that happened

after Jesus was born so..........

I will leave you with these verses from

Luke 2:8-20

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And there were shepherds living out in the fields

nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

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An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the

glory of the Lord shone around them, and they

were terrified.

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But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid,

I bring you good news of great joy that will be

for all the people.

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Today in the town of David a Savior has been

born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

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This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby

wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger."

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Suddenly a great company of the heavenly

host appeared with the angel,  praising God

and saying,

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"Glory to God in the highest,  and on earth

peace to men on whom his favor rests."

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When the angels had left them and gone

into heaven,  the shepherds said to one

another,  Let's go to Bethlehem and see this

thing that has happened, which the Lord has

told us about."

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So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph

and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

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When they had seen him,  they spread the

word concerning what had been told them

about this child,

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and all who heard it were amazed at what the

shepherds said to them.

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But Mary treasured up all these things

and pondered them in her heart.

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The shepherds returned , glorifying and

praising God for all the things they had heard

and seen, which were just as they had been told.

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Hope you have a great Sunday

full of Praise for all God has done

for us!

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Love, Peace and Joy,

Nellie

We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

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And

Merry Christmas to all you Sweet Friends

out there in blogland!

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We wish you the Merriest Christmas Ever

and Hope you have a Lovely and Joyous time with

your Family and Friends.

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Love,  Peace and Joy to you all,

Nellie

Thankful Thursday Dec. 24th, 2009 and a few more tablescapes

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Merry Christmas From Our House

to Your House!

Morning Sweet Friends,

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Hope you are all wrapping everything

up so you can just enjoy the rest of your

day and tomorrow.  I have a few small

things left to do,  nothing earth shattering.

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We are having dinner tonight with Scott and Dee

 and a few of their friends and my sister-in-law,

so we are looking forward to it.  Dee gets off at

 noon and should be over shortly thereafter,  and

Scott will get off hopefully by 3:00,  and hubby is

 working at home today and will be off at noon as well.

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Guess I had better get on withThankful Thursday

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#1

I am thankful for the Christmas Season

and all that it encompasses as we Celebrate

the birthday of that baby in a manger

who grew up to be the savior of the world.

#2

I am thankful I know that Savior, Jesus

and the difference He has truly made in my

life and the life of my family.

#3

I am thankful for my precious family

and the blessing that they are to me.

# 4

I am thankful for all the friends old

and new that the Lord has given me.

#5

I am thankful for all my bloggy friends

who are such an encouragement  and

inspiration thru their writings ,

comments and prayers.

#6

I am thankful for great food and the

ability to afford to eat well.

Not everyone can say that!

#7

I am thankful for my lovely home

and warm bed to sleep in.

#8

I am thankful for good weather and

no catastrophies this year.

#9

I am thankful for the excitement and

anticipation surrounding Christmas,

that brings us so much joy.

#10

I am thankful that I live in the

good ole USA,

#11

I am thankful to be healthy for

Christmas! 

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Well,  that wraps up my thankful list

Hope you are thankful today too!

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I will show you a few more tablescapes ideas,

this one is very easy yet elegant!

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All you need is a platter and Christmas balls

and  candle holders.  I was gonna use

smaller ones that I had,  but then I

saw an arrangement on the BH&G email

that had stemmed custard dishes with candles,

and remembered I had bought these glasses

of a ladies brunch I had once and I had used

2 of the glasses as candleholders then, as well.

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I was just playing here on my kitchen table

cause the other table is set,  so I don't have

a full table shots of any of these.

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I remembered I had these stars leftover from 

the 4th of July and they were the perfect

shade of red.  I liked that lil extra bling.

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Add a candy cane to the glass or plate

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Well, that is it for today! Hope I got your

creative juices flowing!

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As you are going about your day

remember to count your blessings

not the things on your list!!  lol

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Have a Merry Merry Christmas

Sweet Friends!

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Love , Peace and Joy to you and yours,

Nellie

Guess what I have been up to???

Good Morning Sweet Friends,

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Have missed everyone!!!

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And know you have too,  cause everyone

is preparing for the joyous birthday celebration

of our Sweet Jesus!

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I have been reading your posts just haven't

taken the time to comment on every one,

as I am sure you are probably doing as well.

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Yesterday,  I spent most of the day moving

dishes around and working on centerpcs.

for our 2 dinners and 1 brunch.  So cause

I love setting a pretty table,  it was such

fun!!    Thought I would share them with

you in case you might be looking for ideas

at this point in time.  I love to take things

I have around and use them on the table!

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Today,  I am working to finish up Jimmy

and Dee's cards,  wash my hair,  make

party chicken and rice, and maybe squash

casserole,  and decide what to wear for

the next few days.  So I actually felt I

had time to blog a bit since it was mostly

pics anyway,  cause I can go do something

as they are downloading

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Here is the first one for Christmas Eve

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These dishes belonged to my late Mother-in-law

and my sweet Sister-in-law gave them to me! 

 Always wanted Christmas dishes, 

 and they look so festive!

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I also love these glasses!!  They were given to

me by the sisters of my elderly neighbor years ago

when we lived in Ft. Lauderdale, and

when she passed away.  She was such a

sweetie and was our next door neighbor,

and we used to visit with her quite often

as her hubby passed away not too long

after we moved in and she was all alone

and had no children of her own,  and was

up in her 80's.  She told me once that

she had gotten these glasses in a restaurant

in New Orleans when she was quite a bit

younger,  well,  that was over 30 some odd

years ago,  so the glasses must be at least

over 50 years anyway.  I always thought

they were just so beautiful!!

Must have been a fancy restaurant!! lol

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I just usually keep this lil wagon sitting

around with the bears in all by them

selves,  but decided it might make a

cute and whimsical table centerpc.

What do you think???

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Wrapped a few lil presents,  threw in a few Christmas

balls, and some beads and pinecones, made a lil

Merry Christmas sign on the computer for the

top of the gifts,  and wella.........

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I decided since it had a lil bit of a country

look to use the gingham napkins and I found

these cute lil gift package scrapbooking stickers

months ago and thought they were so cute,

and thought they would be cute stuck to napkins.

They were all different,  so each napkins has

it's own.  I always like to put a pc. of candy

at each place as well.

The best part was I was about to take it all

apart and then the thought came why don't

you just leave it, Christmas eve is only

2 days away,  so my table is already done

all I need is to add the silverware and

people.  Yea!!  One more thing off my list!

I just love it!!

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The next group of pics is for Christmas Day

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Remember seeing these lil village boxes back in

the fall........... I thought they might be cute

as well!

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I turned the village boxes a different angle.

Also did you notice my candle holders,

they are jar lids from another type of

jar candle you get at Michaels.

I just love repurposing!!

Think they look great, you would never

know they weren't originally tea lite holders.

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Well maybe if I can I will share our

brunch table with you tomorrow!

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God has been so good to me.......

cause I can't believe I have gotten

so much done with so much less

 time than usual after being sick,

and then throwing my back out again

Sat nite when we were wrapping, so

I was moving very slowly Sunday

and Monday, and thank the Lord

I was better on Tuesday!!

Amazing Grace

is all I can say!! 

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Have a Joy filled day my friends,

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Can't believe tomorrow is

Christmas Eve..............

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Merry Christmas

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Love, peace and Joy to you and Yours,

Nellie

P.S. Header pics is compliments of http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/

Have a Holy Contemplative Sunday

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Good Sunday Morning Sweet Friends,

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Hope this finds you well rested and unstressed.

I know you are thinking...........she is joking, right??

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Actually, I am sort of.........but I really am hoping

you are able to enjoy this wonderful season of

the year and get done what you have to with

joy and peace in your heart.

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We have been wrapping gifts last night and

 tonight and watching movies as we did,

so that made it fun!

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We are finished (Yea) and have it under the tree

and got the stuff put away and the dining room table back

 to normal!  We did some smokin' work on that,  but we

are happy to be done,  but yet we did enjoy it too!

I thank the Lord for my husband and all his help,

 he is such a blessing. Like the ole saying goes,

Many hands make the work light.

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Now I can start turning my attention to food and tableware.

  I already know what I am making.  I have 3 meals to

prepare for,  Christmas Eve will be our traditional Christmas

 dinner cause my daughter has to work Christmas Day

from 3-11p.m,  so we are having her favorite dinner then,

 and Christmas morning we always have a brunch and

then Christmas dinner in the evening.

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I made Lasagna and some Banana macadamia bread

to freeze for christmas dinner and brunch.  I have

never made that Banana macadamia bread before,

 it sure looked and smells good,  so hope it taste as good

as it looked! Saw the recipe in Family cirlce I think it was.

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My header pic is taken from a sofa pillow that I got

 some years back..... it  just looks like just a snowman scene

but  if you look closely,  it is a manger scene .......... don't you

just love it,  I think it is so precious!

Makes me smile anyway!

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I will leave you now with some verses

from Luke 2: 6&7

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While they were there (In Bethlehem), the time came

 for the baby to be born,

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 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped

 him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there

was no room for them in the inn.

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This Holy event...........how amazing it was that God

stepped out of heaven to come here to this earth

for our sakes!

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Oh, How He loves You and Me!

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Contemplate that for awhile as you are

wrapping or cooking or whatever you

have left to do!

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Merry Christmas!

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Love, Peace and Joy to you, My Friends,

Nellie