My new Home Christmas tour

We moved recently so it has been a very busy fall.  Today I will show you a Christmas tour of our new home so come in for a visit.  Just to let you know this tree has been up since it was moved because it was near the end of October when we moved the Christmas trees and I could not make Mr. Jones  put it away and then get it back out in a few weeks. (It wasn't decorated if that helps).  Now it is decorated and so come on in!

I found the big metal tub at an antique shop and when I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, put the tree in it!  We have very high ceilings in this house so I had to put the tree up on something or it would have been dwarfed in this room.

A place for my nativity.

I had this chalk art up for Thanksgiving and I do have one up for Christmas but I will show you that one later.

This is coming in the front entrance.

The other side of the entrance.

This is going up the stairs in the living room.

Here is the kitchen and I really love how open this home is.

The kitchen is just off the dining room and the living room.

That door comes from the back door and into the laundry room.  There is still I want to do in this house but for now I am pretty much exhausted from just unpacking so my projects will just have to wait.

This is the dining room and these large french doors are one of my favorites in the house.

The doors are 8 feet tall and they were great to have when we were moving all of our large items.

This is the view from the kitchen.

This is right off of the front entrance and there are large french doors in here as well.

This is the view from the living room and the rooms up the stairs.

This is the family room upstairs, I loved that there was already a built in for our TV.

This is the other side of the stairs.

This is the view from upstairs.

Now you can see the front entry with the french doors coming into the living room.  And a perfect place for my piano!

You can not beat the views in this house, you can kind of see out the front, through these large windows.

It's kind of brown right now but this view out the back still takes my breath away.

Can't wait to see all of the seasons out my windows.

Now you can see where the railing looks down over into the main floor.

I lost my grandkid room but gained this cute spot just perfect for all of the toys.  (I couldn't get rid of the boots or I would lose my title, "Grandma Boots," the name my little grandson calls me.

These little cubbies all along the top are perfect for toy storage and whatever else I couldn't find a place for.

This is the first place the grandkids come.

I didn't lose my sewing craft room either.

love the breathtaking views from this room as well.

My bedroom is still my safe haven and I sometimes feel like the bed is in a hobbit house.

I love standing on the bed and seeing the views out my hobbit window.

This is the view from the bed.

I should have taken  pic of the closet, it is big and so I don't need many drawers 

This is the master bath, with a tub that you can get lost in.

This door goes out to a large deck at the back of the house.

The antique drawers sink has taken some getting used to but it is pretty functional even with the wood top.

This is one of the guest bedrooms, but since this is a Christmas house tour, I haven't shown you all of the bedrooms and the rest of the house.  Come back later for a visit, and I will show you the rest!

Thanks for coming, see you later.

Journey to Bethlehem

On Saturday the Franklin Stake held the "Journey to Bethlehem."  It has been months in the planning and I just have to share how wonderful it turned out.  This event all started out with some inspiration after I was called to the Cultural Arts Specialist in our Stake.  I wondered why (because we would soon be moving?) I was to do this but the next morning after being called I had the feeling that we were to do this event in December.  This event planning all started in July and we moved at the end of September.  There was so much help from all of the people in the Franklin, CubRiver area and it would never have happened without them seeing the vision as well. I can't wait to share it with you because it was simply FANTASTIC!

Everyone was to dress in period clothing so we started out the event with this little wise man.

So, are you ready to visit Bethlehem and feel the spirit of Christmas!

Come on in!

At the city gate you were met by the money changers who gave you a scheckle to get you some warm camel's milk and desert wafer, (hot chocolate and a cookie), and a map to help you through the city.

In Bethlehem there are many shops and people selling their wares.

This shop even had a sign saying welcome in Hebrew.

Yes, this was planned for December 6th and if any of you know the weather in Idaho in December, you would have said ,"you are crazy to have it outdoors."  But the weather was perfect and the day had been one of the warmest on record. ( Another testament that this was inspired.)

There were many fires throughout the city though, to keep the visitors warm.

This was the Painters shop and there were the most beautiful paintings here.  You could also get your hand inked by one of the painters.

Of course the wise men were there.

If you got lost there were signs showing you the way.

And there were goats in the city.

The stable at the outskirts of the city.

The Inn with no vacancy.

The Inn was full.

The money changers giving the scheckels and maps.

You could buy some doves for sacrifice if you had enough scheckles.

The Goat Shop with the goat cheese, and soap made from Frankincense and Myrh.

Here is the Frankincense and Myrh soap and you can take a sample home with you.

This was the Scent shop and there were the most wonderful aroma's coming from here, and the herbs and smells were so aromatic!

This is the blacksmith shop and if you wanted he would make you an iron ring for your finger.

The rings were in all sizes.

This was a fun shop with all kinds of treasures, figs, dates, olives, pita bread with humus, and it was all delicious.

Pita, olives and humus.

Here is the bakery shop and you were able to sample some unleavened bread.

would you like some.

Of course there were Roman soldiers keeping people in line.

We had some special visitors from Galilee.

They were just wanting a place to sleep for the night, but the city was full.

The three wise men

More of those Roman soldiers.

A family coming to sign the census.  There was an actual table where everyone signed in.

Mary and Joseph were finally able to find a place to stay the night.  The greatest gift that man has ever received began His time on earth in this humble beginning.  As we celebrate this wonderful event this month, let us all remember that "He is the gift"! 

I simply loved every minute of it!