looking inward... what's ornamenting the holidays inside my home

first, i wanted to say thank you

for all the kind comments on my late-night downtown photo-walk post.

i'm so glad that several of you enjoyed them.

it made me feel like i got to invite you

to visit

and walk around in the lights with me.

i like that!

well, even though i had planned to break away from my blog for most of the rest of december,

i found that i was taking more photographs than when i was blogging every day.

but the photos i was taking weren't for my blog...

they were for my christmas card designs.

i started out with the idea that i would use one for our family card this year.

but then i realized that i absolutely had to use a photo of issac for our card...

it is his first christmas, after all.
{oh, and you're just gonna have to wait to see those pics!}
*wink*

but i had so much fun taking photographs of the christmas decor

that is ornamenting my home right now,

i figured i'd just keep right on shooting,

and use them for generic cards that i could possibly sell some day.

who knows whether i will ever sell them or not.

but even if i don't,

i have a bunch of photos,

and i felt it was a shame to not use them right now.

so after taking you on that little adventure
to see what's ornamenting my town outside this christmas,

i thought i'd let you see some of what is ornamenting my home inside.

much like what was outdoors lining the streets,

there's a lot of glitter and shimmer and shine in here.

one thing you couldn't see outside in the streets, though, was chocolate.
but you can bet it can be found inside these four walls!

a little chocolate never hurt anyone.
{well, i guess that's not true for dogs. *wink*}

of course, who am i kidding?

i don't need christmas as an excuse to have chocolate around my home.

this photo was not taken with a christmas card in mind.

but i did take it for the shutter sisters december "savor" one word project.

these little purple wrappers

{with fun little messages on the inside}

are adorning many surfaces inside my home right now.

i guess the foil could be considered festive.

again... i don't need christmas to enjoy chocolate.

but i thought i'd post it anyway.

something else you wouldn't have found out on the streets... my friends.
{or any people, for that matter... it was midnight, remember.}

this holiday season, it's been nice to have my home filled with the warmth of friends.
over this past weekend,

they came to play games, bring homemade bread, pick up furniture,
give gifts, eat mexican cuisine, laugh...
and of course, see isaac!

here is one such friend...

...with her two daughters.

{this was not taken for any christmas card either... but rather to record great memories.}

her husband and son came, too... but they were busy hangin'
with isaac and mr. b when this was taken.

i treasure my friends, and i've been so glad to have them around at this time.

it means the world to me that they take the time

to come visit and watch isaac grow.

well... you know what i mean...

it's not like they get here and sit on the ground
while literally attempting to watch him grow bigger and taller.

what i mean is, they make a point to see him often,

and thus get to see him change and develop.

tomorrow, he'll be six months old,
and i can't believe how different he is since the day we brought him home.

yes, it only makes sense.

but i still marvel at the many changes i see every single day.
that's why i am happy when a friend gets to witness those changes, too.

anyway, it's fun to have the holiday decorations out for a change.

{this is the second year they've been out after a stretch of many years

where i did not put up any decorations... not even a tree.}

but it's friends that make this home warmer than any soft white lights ever could.

here {on the left} is another shot of the friend above.
this time, with her son {who happens to be isaac's best bud} and one of her daughters.

on the right is a different friend who came to visit the day before.

she and her husband don't have kids... yet.

but they like to practice being parents with isaac.

i love her nickname for him... "handsome".

he's just got her wrapped around his finger... or is it the other way around?

okay... you get the idea.

there are a lot more things i could picture.

but i've hit the major themes.

i've got just a couple more photos to add.

the above photo was another attempt at a christmas card.

when i set it up, i really did not intend for it to have any symbolism.

but when i looked at it on screen,

i realized it has some, even if it was not intentional.

the three ornaments seemed to sort of represent mr. b, me and isaac.

and the star at the top of the tree...

i guess that could represent the gift of God's son at christmas,

but also His gift to us of our son too.
just two christmases ago, we certainly did not expect

that we would ever be celebrating with a little guy in our home.

i hope to encourage anyone else out there that is waiting for something...

hoping for something...

wishing for something...

maybe even coming to expect that that something won't ever be.

take it from me.

it just might.

it very well could.

if you have stopped expecting,

i hope you'll start again.

"now faith is the assurance of things hoped for..."

we hoped to be parents one day.
on many of those days, hope dwindled.
but now... look what ornament is adorning our christmas 2011! . . .


like many of you, this is a busy month for me.
we have more visitors this coming weekend,
and i've got designs in the works,
and there are a lot of changes going on in my life that require preparation.


i'll be back for a couple special posts before the new year.
but other than that, i'm going to be keeping pretty busy.


i hope you are enjoying this season.
christmas day is just around the corner...
i hope you are finding the time to celebrate and enjoy it now as well as then.


~xo