No Lamb to Sacrifice

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.  ~John 1:14

Consecrate to me all the first born.  Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine. ~ Exodus 13:2

And when the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. ~ Leviticus 12:6

And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtle doves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering.

 ~ Leviticus 12:8

 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord,) "Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord", and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." ~Luke 2:22-24

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

~Galatians 4:4-5

According to the law and the requirements of the day, Joseph and Mary were required to make a burnt offering and to present their Son to the Lord.  They could not afford a lamb to offer as a sacrifice.  I envision Mary going to the temple in Jerusalem to present her Son to the Lord with the turtle doves or pigeons, probably wishing she had a bigger sacrifice to offer...such as a lamb.   How could Mary have known that the child she carried to the temple is the Lamb?  The Lamb that would be sacrificed for us all!  He came to this earth as a simple baby.  He lived a simple life of humble means.  He died a horrible death to redeem me and to make me right before a Holy God.  I can barely comprehend His love and the sacrifice He gave, because I am so unworthy.   As I reflect on this Christmas Eve, I am so incredibly grateful.

~

Note:  My four year old is pouting in the last few pictures because she wants to be 'Mary!'  Seems she might be missing the meaning of it all! 

Children love to pretend and play dress-up!  This is a great tradition to start with young children!  We keep a big bin of clothes and items collected through the years to help with the re-enactment.  They can choose from this or use their own imaginations to create outfits.  I send them downstairs to dress and to decide who will do each part.   Even when they are older, have them do a puppet show or a skit.  It is a fun way to remember the birth of our Lord!"

Merry Christmas!

 

Leave Your Boots by the Fireplace Santa!

Some of our friends were missionaries in Africa for many years.  One of the traditions they shared was to make Santa's footprints right inside the fireplace.  We love this tradition and have had so much fun with it!  To do this, find some really large shoes or boots, stamp them in flour and make an imprint on the carpet (I added extra flour with a paint brush so you could see!)  We don't have dark carpet at the fireplace, so we put a rug down and tell the children that Santa is a bit messy carrying all that snow on his boots, so the rug is a place for him to wipe his feet!  After Santa wipes his feet, he bows at the crib (or nativity) with the baby Jesus and often his knee imprints are seen in snow (flour!) right below the crib!

Another fun thing to do with your kids is the Portable North Pole message from Santa!  Rob and I love this as much as the kids!  Here is the link if you want your kids to receive a 'live' message from Santa!  It is so cute!  You put in the information about your child and Santa sends a message to them!  

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

Enjoy making memories with the little ones in your life!

~

Merry Christmas!

I am linking this tradition to Tales from Bloggeritaville's Decor, Traditions and Memories!

Gifts

I made these flower arrangements for my sweet neighbors!  The red wooden boxes were purchased at Tuesday Morning in a set of three.  I found more red boxes at Marshall's, too.  I bought one bouquet of red roses and divided them amongst the boxes.  The greenery is from around my yard and along the side of the road!

To make these, put floral foam in the bottom of the box and use small water picks for the roses.  I purchased some at Hobby Lobby in the wedding section.  The cost of this gift is minimal and they were fun to make!

This miniature poinsettia in the tea cup was a hostess gift.  I find pretty tea cups throughout the year and use them for gifts.  I believe this one came from TJMaxx.

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

~

Merry Christmas!

Sugar Plums and Gum Drops for Christmas

When I was growing up, my Aunt Jane Ellen always had a little display for the holidays on her counter top!  I use the clear glass jars and add in a few decorative ones for the holiday.  My secret tip:  I reuse the candy gum balls and large lollipops each season!  Ssshhhhhh....my kids think they are poisonous, because I use the same ones as decorations year after year!  Store them in a zip lock bag and store in a cool, dry place!  The candy canes and mints are for grabs, as well as the cookies and chocolates.  With little kids, this adds some whimsy to the kitchen!

The little sign above the jars was made from an unfinished chalk board purchased at Michael's.  I painted it, wrote in paint the 'days 'til Christmas' and hung it from a ribbon.  My kids love the count down and climbing on the counter to change the number and to sneak a goody!

I made the snowman jar from an ornament and a jar from Hobby Lobby.  Goop or hot glue will adhere.  The bottom of your ornament should be flat.

Old-fashioned candy can be found at World Market and at Cracker Barrel.  TJMaxx carries some, too! 

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Breakfast

Merry Christmas!

This fun little breakfast china was a birthday gift.  It is made by Le Comptoir De Famille of France.  The placemats are from K-Mart and are part of the Country Living Collection.

Another little lamb sits center stage in the cloche and keeps our focus on Him and the sacrifice to come.

More on the marshmallows later!

Where is the egg cup placed? I need a little help from my friends!

I am linking to these wonderful sites for all the fun parties!  Check them out for some wonderful holiday inspiration!  I will be including one of the photos of the lamb in Trendy Treehouse's 'Reason for the Season' Shutter Love Tuesday! 

I am also linking to the Holiday Home Tour at



Side Note:  I just got this nice feature of my porch over at Remodelholic!  Just looking at it makes me sigh and take a deep breath remembering warmer days!  Thanks Remodelholic!

Three Pixie Lane at Home

If you have columns in your home, you could wrap them with ribbon and tuck in your Christmas cards.  This would be pretty with red ribbon to mimic a candy cane!

We made the paper chain a few years ago out of pretty Christmas scrapbook paper.  This old church pew is from East Sussex England and is the 'catch all' for book bags and shoes! 

 My children find a pair of elf shoes left behind every Christmas!  For the snowman pillow, have young children paint on heavy fabric and then make it into a pretty pillow.  You will enjoy their art work every Christmas and it will bring back fond memories!

The trucks are displayed to get my son involved in the decorating...of course, he just drives them around trying to crash them!

To see more of this Woodland Mantel, click here!

My mom always had a bowl of nuts out for Christmas.  I can vividly remember sitting with my dad and crackin' them open!  My grandfather would bring us buckets of pecans for Christmas from his big ol' pecan tree!

This is a bird's nest tucked into the silver bowl.  We found it on our hunt to decorate the mantel...abandoned in a cherry blossom tree.

I'll share the history of these white candy canes soon, but for now, they are so simple displayed in this wooden caddy.

Some cashmere and tartan wool blankets make for some comfy nights!

The bell was found by my son last year right out on our lawn!  We guessed one of the reindeer dropped it while coming in for a landing.

My mother-in-law gave me this olive wood Nativity set from Jerusalem for Christmas one year.

A large French basket holds more quilts and blankets.

This mid-century reindeer sits on the piano with a glass of red wine.  I broke his wife last year! 

My sister gave this handmade felt Nativity to me last year for my birthday.  It is such a nice addition to my little collection and rests on top of my wine cabinet.  I love it!

I gathered all these photos on top of the piano with an old Tole Horn and some vintage drum sticks. 

To see more of our tree and traditions, click here!

The table is set for Christmas breakfast.

Yes, I think we are ready for Christmas!

Since I am linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday, I am including this 'before' picture!  The entire upstairs of this house was painted red.  As you can see, I am not good with color and tend to choose more earth tones.  After seven years, we finally painted the walls in Benjamin Moore's Monroe Bisque.  It is a wonderful color, and now the walls don't distract from the view!

I will also be linking to these great sites and Holiday parties!

Today, I am joining

and tomorrow I will be linking to the Holiday Home Tour at