Christmas Blessings...From Our Home to Yours!

 

 O Come O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

~

Christmas blessings from our home to yours, sweet friends...may your day be lovely and special as you celebrate our Lord's birth!

Love always in Jesus...

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,

which is Christ the Lord.

And suddenly there was with the angel,

a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will toward men."

 

~ Luke 2:11,13-14 -

Decorative Decoupaged Christmas Baubles

Hello lovely friends and happy Friday to you!  It is exactly a week till Christmas Day, and am I ever so excited!  I have a few more projects I am hoping to complete before my grandmother arrives next week, but I shall see how much time I have...I always enjoy a bit of Christmas crafting, and would love to share a simple idea with you should you feel like doing something Festive and fun this weekend!  {{smiles}}

I saw an idea for beautiful decoupaged Christmas baubles a few years ago, and ever since, I have wanted to try my hand at making them...yesterday evening we older girls gathered together, poured tea and cut homemade Christmas cake, and played with fabric remnants, plain baubles and Podge...

What fun it was to cover each silvery bauble in fabric scraps, and it was amazing to see the different designs each of us came up with!  

To make your own, you will simply need plain baubles, fabric scraps cut into little blocks, Podge and decoupage varnish which is optional.  I like a glossy finish, but if you prefer or don't have varnish on hand, it isn't actually necessary...

Cover the one half of your bauble with Podge (if you do more, the Podge will dry out before you have reached the second half), overlap pieces of fabric, securing them to the bauble by spreading and smoothing more Podge over them with the tips of your fingers.

Continue in this way, using as much Podge as you need...it dries clear so don't worry...and remember - handmade us not perfect, nor should it be!  {{smiles}}

Leave your bauble to dry overnight, then cover in a layer of varnish, if you so desire.

And there you are!  Hang your beautiful bauble on your Christmas tree, stand back and admire your creativity!  Now how about making a few more...?

Do stop by tomorrow, sweet readers...I have a sewing tutorial to share with you, which I am sure you will love!

~

Much love and Christmas blessings in the Lord!

 

~

  This post may be shared with...

~ The Art of Homemaking Mondays, Roses of Inspiration, Wise Woman Link-Up, Raising Homemakers Link-Up, Cooking and Crafting with J and J and Modest Monday

Tea Party Traditions...❤

Despite my wonderfully good intentions to take ever so many pictures of the time we spent with our sweet friends, I sadly did not...however, I did manage to snap a few photographs at our traditional tea party!  Ah...how special it was to be together again!  {{smiles}}

What fun it was to be together...sipping tea, eating chocolate cake which was oh so delicious, chatting away and laughing at our failed attempts to behave like Victorian ladies...{{smiles}}

 

Miss M and I baked a scrumptious chocolate cake (recipe can be found at Blessed Femina) in the morning, then we all decorated our party table...of course we had to add freshly cut flowers, and pretty tea cups!  What tea party is complete without these lovely feminine touches...?

 

 Homegrown flowers...cosmos, cornflower, yarrow, feverfew, and lemon verbena...artfully arranged in milk jugs...

Two of the loveliest little ladies I am so blessed to have as sisters...Gabrielle who is eight, and Beth who is eleven...

Ladies in white...Gabrielle and I...

Little girl with the most beautiful, giving of hearts...Rebekah who is six...
 

All us ladies...Miss M and Miss J are two of the sweetest ladies that I am privileged to know!

...And so our lovely morning and tea party came to an end, but oh!  We shall treasure those delightful moments forever!

Blessings to you, dear friends!
May each of you have a wonderful week further!

Ornament Exchange Happiness ~ A Reveal

I have such a delightful post to share with you today, my sweet friends...

I participated in a lovely ornament exchange this year, hosted by my dear blogging friend, Vicky!

I discovered Vicky's sweet blog, Life on Willie Mae Lane, last year December, just as she shared the link up for her second ornament exchange...I knew I wanted to join in next year (this year) should she host it again...and guess what?  She did!  {{Smiles}}  Do take a moment to visit her...she has a lovely blog and a very kind heart!

I very excitedly signed up, and was partnered with Brownyn from Queen B Creative Me...she lives in Canada, and I sent her a Christmassy package which was oh such fun to put together!

Dear Cecilia from The B Farm, sent me this beautiful parcel...

I stopped by the post office yesterday afternoon and excitedly found my parcel waiting for me!  And my goodness...I was simply blown away at Cecilia's generosity!

Just look at what she blessed me with...



First I discovered an gorgeous tea cup and some delicious Christmas tea...did I mention how much I adore tea cups and anything to do with tea...? 

 

Well, I couldn't believe my eyes when I beheld such a beauty!  I am busy sipping some wonderfully spicy tea now...thank you, Cecilia!

...And see this handpainted card...so sweet!  I hung it on our little Christmas tree along with some other decorations and a few more cards...



Next I drew out an adorable snowman ornament...Cecilia made this little chap...can you believe it?
I love him so much, and have already popped him on our tree...I will think of Cecilia each year I hang him on our Christmas tree!  {{smiles}}

 




I have seen these lovely cookie stamps online before, and I was thrilled when I withdrew a one from my box!  It says 'Made With Love'...I simply cannot wait to use it!

Oh my...and see these sweet crafting goodies Cecilia included as well...I love Baker's twine and will so enjoy using it in my crafting!  And some snowflakes made from plywood, as well as darling little clothes pegs!  Perfect for use when I am in the mood for creating!

 

Oh Cecilia...you really spoilt me with so many delightful goodies...thank you so very much!

~

I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to Vicky for hosting such a wonderful event in this lovely blogworld...I have been truly blessed by her friendship this year, and am so glad we ''met''!  Here is to many more wonderful years of blogging, dear Vicky!  {{smiles}}

And to Cecilia for being so willing to ship something all the way to South Africa for me!  You truly blessed me with your kindness!

Do pop by Vicky's blog here where you can see the other ornaments in this exchange...I will be joining her for a link up today!

~

As I write, the rain is falling heavily, and I give the Lord all the glory!  

In my previous post, I shared how we were praying for much needed rain...oh, how good ours Father is to us!  He provided just in time, and I couldn't think of a lovelier way to spend my afternoon than listening to the sound of pattering rain!  

May each of you ladies have a wonderful week ahead!

Enjoy all your Christmas preparations...this week I am working on gifts for the little girls, as well as Christmas crackers!

My dad arrived home on Sunday afternoon, so now we can cut our tree and decorate it in time for Christmas...what fun!

Christmas greetings to you, dear readers!

A Lovely Little Post of Thoughts and Festive Musings...

Hello lovely readers and happy Thursday to you!

Can you believe that Christmas is a mere two weeks away...?

I haven't been in the blog world too much of late...if read my post from a week or two ago, you will probably understand why!  {{smiles}}

My precious mother is finding this 7th pregnancy much more challenging and tiring, so I feel honoured to still be at home and able to help her where I can!

Thank you to each of you who are dilligently praying for her and our baby brother...your thoughts and prayers are truly appreciated!

How I long to meet this little one who is already loved and cherished by his family...

~

I thought I would share a little post of thoughts, happenings and various projects that I have been working on of late instead of the usual, Thursday Pearls...I had hoped to return to the blogosphere last week but alas!  The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity with more set to come!

In my absence, I have been working on completing a delightful little order for a sweet customer...can you guess what I have been creating?  Oh indeed...reindeer!

Oh, and I have a wonderfully festive tutorial planned for next week, sweet friends, so do stay posted!  If you like to sew and create, then you will love these darling fabric trees...

 

These patchwork fabric Christmas trees are also available on my Etsy shoppe...

My grandmother arrives late next week...she will spend Christmas with us and oh my!  

How much we have to complete before then!  Christmas crackers...we always love making our own...gifts for the girls...organising the final menu...what fun!

But our hope is to keep our Christmas celebrations Christ centred and simple so as to not lose the beauty of this time of year by stressing about trivial matters...a few years ago I shared a post on celebrating Christmas for real...would you perhaps like to read it...?  You can find my post here...

Christmas card making is something I just love, don't you...?

Each year we make a couple gift boxes for dear friends and family members, and I love popping a handmade Christmas card in each box of handmade and homemade goodies!

Simple and sweet...Christmas cards

This Monday coming we have a lovely Christmas brunch to look forward to...two dear friends and precious sisters in the Lord are hosting this little party for us and a few other young ladies, and I am sure it is going to so wonderful!

My dad has been away for a good few days now on a business trip, and is only expected home this coming Tuesday...of course we all miss him dearly, but we have tried to be productive in his absence...in the evenings we older girls have enjoyed watching Wives and Daughters which he got for us before he left!  Ah...how I love this BBC adaption!  So beautiful...

Cornflowers are blooming...aren't they beautiful...?  There is just something soft and romantic about them...{{happy sigh}}

In amongst daily happenings, the garden is growing and there is much preserving to be done too!  Cucumber pickles...summer squash bread...jam (made with berries from our neighbour!)...

Beth is lending a hand in the garden now as goodness!  There are just too many jobs to be done each day to keep the fresh produce coming in!  

Tomato Chilli Jam...oh so scrumptious...recipe can be found here...

And not to mention the watering...summer has arrived, and that means lots of hot weather!  

There is a terrible drought in our country at the moment, so would you perhaps pray that the Lord would see fit to send us some much needed rain?

Where we are, we have been fortunate to have more rain than most places in South Africa...and we are very thankful for that!

Gem Squash...

~

Well now, dear readers...I must be off to finish off some house cleaning...with guests coming to stay, it is always a good idea to use the opportunity to give our homes a little tidy up and a sort through...my task has been to clean windows, and we have those lovely windows that are made up of tiny individual panes...this means a bit of extra work, but how satisfying it is to stand back and admire your handiwork!

Blessings to you and much love...thank you for your continued friendship in the blog world...I appreciate each one of you sweet ladies!

Oh, and for those of you who followed Beautiful Girlhood on Facebook, I would like to let you know that I no longer have a page as I deactivated my personal profile...I dearly want to spend more time enjoying my home, family and writing my blog/reading blogs, so hopefully I can free up some time to do just this by not being on Facebook...  I hope you will continue to follow here, though!

With joy in Jesus!

Thursday Pearls...on Friday

 

"The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life."

~ William Morris

 ~

Blessings on your Friday, dearest readers...after a deligthful week of laughter, chatter and enjoying special time with friends,I have returned to the blogging world excited to share some wonderful Christmas delights, recipes and crafty things!

Much love to you all, friends!

Painting by:  Jessie Wilcox Smith

Family Favorite Christmas Traditions ~ A Guest Post by Elizabeth...

My sweet friend, Elizabeth who writes at Elizabeth Mary Online, kindly agreed to share a beautiful Christmas post with my readers today!

In this post she shares some of her favourite Christmas traditions and oh!  Traditions are very special, especially at Christmastime, don't you think...?

Thus...I am sure you will enjoy her lovely post today, sweet friends!  And do pop by her blog for some sweet crafting and baking delights!

~

Hello, friends! I am so excited that Kelly-Anne invited me to share a guest post with you all today. And since it’s about Christmastime, it’s all the more exciting!!

Christmas at my house has always been one of my most favorite times of the year. Growing up, my sister and I looked forward to December all year long. We would excitedly anticipate the day when we would go and pick out the perfect tree, when all the movies and TV specials would be on, and when we could finally pull our favorite decorations down from the attic.

 Merry be your Christmas,

Peaceful be your home,

Joyful be your family,

Blessed be each one.

 My parents always made sure that at Christmas we did things that stood out as special for this time of year. A few of my favorite traditions are…

Listening to Christmas music *all the time*…I am a music lover, and Christmas music is some of my very favorite. We love to play our favorite CDs while running errands during the day or while we are preparing dinner. I personally love the traditional sounding Christmas carols; they just seem to get you in the Christmas spirit. If possible, we try to go to a Christmas show or concert in December. And that is a particular favorite of mine!

Baking lots and lots of sweet confections…My mom has always baked a ton at Christmas and has passed on that love to both my sister and I. We have several old stand-by recipes that we make, several of which come from my mom’s childhood. I love getting in the kitchen, music playing in the background, and pulling out a tray of freshly baked cookies from the oven. Sharing with friends and neighbors is one of my most favorite things, too!

Decorating…Every year we set out to find the perfect tree. And in my mind, the bigger the better. It’s always so much fun pulling out old ornaments that my sister and I made as young children. (Even though some of them look quite interesting! Ha! Ha!) The centerpiece of our decorations has always been our Nativity scene. It makes its home on our fireplace mantle and is one of the most beautiful decorations I think we have. Such a simple reminder of why we celebrate Christmas.

 

Crafting…Making homemade ornaments was something we did several years ago, and it was the perfect Christmas craft. We also always, always made gingerbread houses out of old cardboard milk cartons. My mom would hot glue graham crackers onto the outside of the carton, and then my sister and I would pile on the icing as glue and tons and tons of brightly colored candies.

Another thing we enjoy making each year is a Christingle (which I will be sharing about on my blog soon). My sister introduced the idea to us several years back, and now it's become a favorite tradition. When I was in first grade, I made an Advent wreath at church using little tea candles. This year, I wanted to make one that could be used year after year. It is such a beautiful centerpiece on our kitchen table. I’ll also be sharing how to make an Advent wreath soon on my blog.

Christmas is always a very family-centered time of year in our home. We don’t really do anything too extravagant, but it is always a special time of year. Nights spent at home watching a favorite holiday movie, driving around to look at all the lights in the city, or going to a Christmas concert are some of the things I love most.

 

I would love to hear what your favorite Christmas traditions are, especially if you have any special traditions pertaining to where you live. I hope you all have a beautifully blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Lastly, I want to say a special thank you to Kelly-Anne. I loved getting to share on your lovely blog and with your sweet readers. Thank you for this fun opportunity!!

May your day be lovely and blessed!

~

Thank you, dear Elizabeth for sharing this lovely post today...it certainly put me in the mood for some deligthful Christmas baking and crafting...{{smiles}}

Blessings to you, friends and happy December...the Christmas countdown has begun!  

Thursday Pearls

 

"There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human society are created, strenghtened and maintained."

~ Winston Churchill

 

"...And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and thou risest up."

Deuteronomy 6:7, KJV 

~

Thursday blessings, sweet friends!

 

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I will be taking a short blogging break, dear friends...we have some sweet friends coming to spend a few days with us, and we are thrilled to welcoming them here!  

I look forward to sharing photographs from our visit when I return...until then, may you have a truly blessed rest of November!

~

Much love in Christ,

 Painting:  Artist Unknown...

Greater is He...and More Special News...

I didn't think I would ever have the blessed opportunity of sharing something as special as this on my blog again...certainly not after my dear mother had not one or two, but three miscarriages in the past two years...

Dear friends I am simply delighted to be writing this post today and sharing with you the workings of our Almighty Father in our lives...

My precious mother is carrying a beautiful bundle, and for the first time, it is a...little boy!

Can you believe that...? 

We have never had one of those around here...only girls have been welcomed into our little family so far...  But we are all thrilled at this new blessing due to arrive in April 2016, Lord willing of course, and we are eagerly anticipating his arrival...

How strange to say his...surprisingly, from the very beginning of my mom's pregnancy, we all fell into saying ''him'' or ''his''...this was even before we discovered it was indeed a ''him'' all safe and healthy in my mother's womb!

My mother and I bought the first little babygro the other day and what joy it was to browse the baby section of the store again...without experiencing pain and heartache...

 

Rebekah, who is now a sweet six year old, was the first baby I wrote about on my blog...I started my blog in April 2009, and she was born a few months later in June of 2009...

My mom's past three miscarriages were difficult for us as a family to accept, and it was so hard to watch our mom go through such pain - both physical and emtional...

In August my mom quietly told me she was expecting once again, and although every ounce of me wanted to shriek with glee, I withheld my joy and remained focused on serving my mother and helping her through the next few weeks...each time she miscarried, it was at about 12 weeeks.  This time we withheld from telling the little girls until Mom was further along...

At 11 weeks my mom scheduled a scan, and we all waited anxiously at home, assuming the worst...but when my dad texted me with the news that all was well...oh my!  I burst into tears of joy and relief!

This week marks 19 weeks gestation, and after another scan, it appears that we are expecting a little brother...a precious, adorable baby boy!  

Having only had sisters up to now, this is a whole new experience and I can't wait to meet him...what will a little Gray boy look like?

You can imagine the happiness around here...we are so grateful to the Lord for seeing fit to bless our family with another little one and are humbled at His goodness...

Little Sofia is four years old and too adorable for words...she was the second baby I wrote about on my blog...and I thought she was the last...praise the Lord that He had other plans!

Having gone through the pain of losing unborn siblings, I have become more sensitive towards those ladies who have either lost an unborn precious babe or not been able to have children at all...  Oh, what pain, and I pray I may never take the gift of life for granted!  

While my family may be rejoicing at this time in our lives, I realise many other dear ladies may be reading my post today and experiencing tremendous heartache...I pray that your hearts may be comforted by the True Comforter...I believe He aches for us in our pain, and sees our sorrow...

Sometimes we need to go through certain trials in life to be more sympathetic towards others...even though the past three miscarriages were not something we would have chosen to go through - no one likes to suffer - but we did come out of these challenges stronger in our faith and closer towards each other...

We chose to praise the Lord for seeing fit to allow my mom to carry and give birth to six healthy girls...I think experiencing the fragility of life makes us all the more thankful for the blessings we do have and more appreciative of the time we have had with them.

Every day we live and breathe on this earth is a gift from our Father in heaven, and each day spent with a precious loved one is only by God's grace...  I am striving to embrace and enjoy each swiftly passing moment and season in life, and thank Him for the privilege of being a big sister to so many...

Do I love being with them all the time...?  No.  Am I always wonderfully patient and giving of my time...?  Oh, definitely not!  But the Lord sees my failings and is so gracious in giving me another sibling to practice on...
How do we develop patience, self-control and gentleness within ourselves...?  By daily practicing!  What better way to rid myself of all selfishness than to be in this home where I am surrounded by imperfect individuals like myself and am constantly on call and available for His glory!  No, it is not easy and many times I cry out to our Father for His strength and grace!

And then He reminds me of the beautiful sacrifice made by my dear mother...

...She has laid down her plans and her life to carry another arrow for His army...another precious babe for the Kingdom...  I pray someday I may be just like her...what a blessing to learn from her and see the workings of our Almighty God in our lives because of her obedience.

We continue to trust Him to carry our baby brother and uphold our mom, giving her all the strength she needs...and I ask that you, my dear friends who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, would you keep this little one and my mother in your prayers...?

~

I am so glad to have had the blessing of sharing this special news with you today...all praise and glory to our Lord and King...for His love endures forever...

With joy in Christ ~

 "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:  and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty warrior; so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them..."

~ Psalm 127:3-5, KJV

Thursday Pearls

"We have all of eternity to celebrate the victories won and only a few short hours before sunset to win them."

~ Amy Carmichael

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A blessed and wonderful Thursday to you, lovelies!

~

Hugs and love,

"So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

~ Isaiah 55:11

The Sweetest Little Bits of Happiness...

...I was not intending to buy a beautiful tea pot today, I promise...  

And oh!  I just knew I shouldn't have gone into that second~hand store...  

But dear oh dear!  When I walk into a shop that has pretty tea cups, milk jugs, tea pots and other darling vintage~y items...I am a hopeless case!  

I was on the hunt for a pot to melt soap base in...yes indeed!  We are about to attempt a little soap making this week, dear friends!  

And then...I spotted it...

I fell in love and I simply had. to. have. it!  

 

 One thing I have learnt over the years that I have had an obsession for all things lovely is...never walk into a second~hand store with something...even a little something...in your purse.

As I was about to head to the fabric shop to do some much needed material shopping...I did have something on me...  I walked out the store deep in thought...and walked back in...then I walked out again, this time carrying my darling little tea pot carefully with a big smile on my face!

You see, my mother and grandmother have a few of the tea cups in this set which you may have seen dotted around my blog over the years...  

And I also wanted to have something just like theirs...although mine has a yellow pattern on it instead of the green theirs has.  Don't you simply adore the pretty rose and leaf pattern?

But oh!  I love it and I have just poured myself a cup of tea...brewed in my sweet little tea pot of course!  {{happy sigh}}

"Tea and letters are the best combination..." 

~ Kelly-Anne

I also popped by the post office...and discovered a deligthful letter from my sweet friend Miss M, and also from Margaret who blogs at Tea in the Valley...  

My sister, Nancy, met Margie during a tea cup exchange earlier this year, and now all three of us write letters - blog friends are the loveliest, aren't they...?

And Margie sweetly included two yummy blends of tea for each of us...both Christmassy flavoured!  I just had to sample the one now, but I did save the Christmas Morning tea for...Christmas morning!

Hmmm...I love spicy tea, and it is all the sweeter knowing it was lovingly sent all the way from Canada by Margaret!

~

I have some other splendid news to share too...our lovely friends, Miss M and her dear sister, Miss J, are coming to spend a week with us soon!  

Oh, we are all so thrilled and are already planning tea parties, walks and photo~shoots in the forest, along with watching the concert Nancy is playing in on the 28th together!  

Sisters in the Lord are hard to come by, and I am truly thankful for these sweet friends who share our love of vintage, tea and all things lovely...and of course for Jesus!

~

Ah...I just had to share this happiness with you today, dear friends!

May you have a blessed Tuesday further...I am off to sew a bit whilst watching Sense and Sensibility...{{smiles}}

~ Love and hugs ~

~

Do you have penfriends in other countries?

Do you have an obsession for anything lovely and vintage?