Tour of Homes

Welcome to the Tour of Homes! I really thought this was a fun idea......take some time and visit a few homes!! Check out more homes at www.boomama.net!!
When I started getting out the Christmas things, I realized how many Christmas plates I had so I decided to put them out for display and start adding to my collection! If you can see the one in the center in the back that has the Clarks on the top...a couple of friends and I did a ladies night at Different Strokes (a local paint store) a few weeks ago. Vicki Carroll was there and had designed a plate and gave us a few pointers on painting. I thought mine turned out real cute!!

Here's the tree this year. I LOVE a Christmas tree. I love the smell it brings to the house. Most if not all of our ornaments are handmade..either by me or the kids. Each year, I paint or do some type of crafty ornament. One for our family and one for each of the kids with their name and year on it. My plan is to give each one all of their ornaments when they get married as a gift.



This is something I started a few years ago as I was cleaning up after Christmas and going through Christmas cards. As I was throwing away some cards, I thought, "You know, people really take a lot of time doing a picture or searching for just the right card to send..." So I started keeping all of the cards. The photo cards I glue to construction paper. The other cards I let Hannah cut and glue onto the construction paper to decorate the pages. She makes a cute cover for the book..we laminate it and tie the edges together. I've gotten quite a stack over the past few years and we enjoy looking back at each one to see how people have changed and grown!



I LOVE nativity sets. This one I got from Dollar Tree several years ago. I thought it looked alot like the Fontanini pieces! I've often thought about leaving this nativity out all year long..just as a simple reminder that Jesus was a person just like me and you..



This is the table right inside of the front door. My mother gave me these wooden wise men a couple of years ago and I just love them. I've thought about leaving them out as well...is that weird??



This is a little arrangement I did for the coffee table. I love this frosted fruit. I use it almost year round for different things!

Another nativity I got on clearance one year. I just about can't resist a nativity set. Hannah has always loved to play with it and arrange the characters. It was so great to watch her do that as a toddler and to know that she knew the Christmas story!

As far as any recipes, I really don't have any specific ones...there are some favorites that may be worth mentioning though. During the holidays when the boys have been hunting all day and are STARVING when they get home..I usually make a big pot of homemade chili, hot dogs and all the fixin's. I know this sounds like a gut bomb, but they really seem to enjoy it. And it's easy! Along with that for them to take in the woods is sausage balls (with a little cayenne pepper added) and pigs in a blanket. Another favorite is white chocolate dipped pretzels. I'm the only one in the family that likes egg nog, so I usually buy some and just enjoy whenever I think I won't be ridiculed for drinking "egg snot".

Hope you enjoyed the tour. It's not real elaborate or fancy but it's Christmas to us!

Merry Christmas!!